Category Russia

Some are gone forever

This past July, Howard Chua-Eoan wrote on Bloomberg: In 1931, the Politburo ordered the demolition of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow; it was built by Czar Alexander I to commemorate Napoleon’s retreat from the city and the…

The oil subsidy 2

Discounted Russian crude oil keeps flowing to India: “It’s amazing that India is buying at these levels because the summer months – June-July – are the lowest in terms of overall demand due to the monsoon. But it seems the…

The oil subsidy

The Soviet Union subsidized the economies of some developing nations if they leaned politically towards Moscow and were considered strategically important. Supplying raw materials at discounted prices is one way to provide a subsidy to the buyer. Today, if Indian…

“To be honest, I think it’s absurd.”

A quote from September 2021: Only two major pollsters, FOM and VTsIOM, are allowed to publish their findings in Russia. Naturally, both are Kremlin-friendly. Levada Center was declared a “foreign agent” in 2016 and banned from reporting its polls during…

And who benefits?

Two recent tweets (not mine): Western pundits in thrall to American “dissident” conservatarianism all “independently” share the same opinions on Covid, ecology, Ukraine, and many other topics. Source. Also, check out Russian conspiracy theorists from 20 years ago. You may…

A Christmas warning

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the most senior bishop in the Christian Orthodox world, summed up the Russian church’s political stance in a recent speech: The Russian Orthodox Church sided with the regime of President Vladimir Putin, especially after the election…

No holy fool II

Following up on the Karamazovs, an obvious remark. It is said that Dostoevsky’s portrayal of women was lacking next to his male characters. It is not generally true – The Idiot is a counterexample – but The Brothers Karamazov is…

No holy fool

On Hope by Tara Isabella Burton in the Hedgehog Review: In order to accept our lives as a comedy, we must accept that none of us are the heroes we imagine ourselves to be. This is the truth understood by…

Van der Bellen II

Alexander Van der Bellen has been re-elected President of Austria. As I wrote in 2016, when he won his first term, Van der Bellen’s ancestors had moved from the Netherlands to Russia in the 18th century. They lived in Pskov…

Angry Taxi Driver

Commenting on Putin’s “annexation speech” on September 30, Shaun Walker wrote in the Guardian: Today, he offered an angrier but less coherent denunciation of the west, more angry taxi driver than head of state. If you’ve ever heard a post-Soviet…

This too shall pass

Seven and a half years ago, in 2015, Stratfor released a 10-year forecast that saw Russia falling apart by 2025. When the think tank updated its forecast five years later, it no longer mentioned Russia’s disintegration. But I’ve never stopped…