Fragments of a blog
Fragments of a blog
Essential to Russia’s economy are exports of raw materials and intermediate goods: crude oil, gas, oil products, steel and pipes, non-ferrous metals, timber, and so on. Naturally, Russia needs to import a whole lot, including consumer goods. Nowadays, it is…
60 years ago yesterday, the Allies landed in Normandy. This year, Russia’s president was at last invited to join the festivities. Let’s hope this will bring all the former Allies one step closer to recognizing the true significance of the…
I don’t watch TV often. Well, no, I actually watch it every day when I come back home from the office, but my attention span is about two minutes by then, so I am the advertiser’s dream target. Yet there…
Masha Gessen writes on Why Russians Want Democracy. I didn’t quite get why Russians wanted democracy from her article, but at least she is convincingly arguing they do want it. She doesn’t make clear what kind of democracy she is…
Garry Kasparov (I guess it should be ‘Harry’ but never mind), the 13th world champion in chess, has produced a piece for The Opinion Journal (i.e., WSJ). It’s pretty much the same old neocon propaganda, and as all modern propaganda…
By December 1991, the USSR was out, and so was its anthem. A year earlier, the Russian Federation adopted its own anthem: a re-orchestrated version of Mikhail Glinka’s sketch, known as The Patriotic Song. Glinka, the author of the first…
Russia’s official anthem is, speaking carefully, eclectic. Its story goes back to the 1940s, when German troops were still controlling Ukraine, Belarus, and big chunks of Russia proper. When the USSR was on the brink of defeat, Stalin turned away…
Tim Newman of We the Undersigned has published an account of his visit to Russia — of all places, to Moscow and Nizhnekamsk. I enjoyed reading it so much that I recommend Tim’s travel notes without reservation; I have a…
Yesterday, the Russian Duma passed an amendment to the Criminal Code that allowed investigators to detain individuals suspected of complicity in acts of terrorism for a month without a formal indictment. Normally, they have to bring charges within three days…
…or, to put it better, thugs and plain f*cks. Take a look at this: Duma Bill Sharply Restricts Rallies. “…[T]he United Russia majority in the State Duma gave preliminary approval to a bill outlawing protests near government buildings Wednesday… The…
Writing on the recent presidential election in Russia, Nikolas Gvosdev makes mostly valid points, but something must be wrong with his consolationist view of the Russian polity. I haven’t pinpointed the problem yet, but I know something’s rotten in this…
It turns out the Moscow city government, together with its business cronies, had its own plans for the Manege before it caught fire last Sunday (This link to an article in Kommersant will expire soon). Moscow’s chief architect admitted he…