Russia

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    The Moscow Times

  • In the Spotlight: Boris Moiseyev

    5 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    Moiseyev has carved out a a career despite the obstacles of being openly gay and, it has to be said, not having a singing voice.

  • A Different Pace Beneath the City

    5 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    Our staff photographers have shared their favorite shots from one of the world's largest, fastest and most architecturally stunning underground transport systems.

  • Novatek Snags Supply Deal From Gazprom

    5 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    If the deal is signed, Gazprom, one of Novatek�s main shareholders, would see its gas purchases from Inter RAO reduced to nothing.

  • Ukraine Has Enough Gas for Winter, Says EU

    5 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Union's executive Commission, urged Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Thursday to prevent any delays in payments for Russian gas that might affect gas flows to EU citizens.

  • New Bolshoi Brings New Premieres, Hope

    5 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm
    On Friday, the Bolshoi presents the first of this season�s premieres, a ballet known almost everywhere in the world except Russia as �La Fille Mal Gardee,� which will be followed later in the season by a new production of "Wozzeck."
 
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    russia source:news - Google News

  • Russian authorities announced names of dead in Russia's Far East plane crush - Focus News

    7 Nov 2009 | 12:17 am
    Britain NewsRussian authorities announced names of dead in Russia's Far East plane crushFocus NewsThe Ministry of Emergency Situation press office of Russia in Khabarovsk district has announced the names of the killed in the plane crush. 10 missing after Russia loses military planeMacau News11 Missing In Russian Military Plane CrashRTT NewsReports: Russian military plane crashes; 10 aboardeTaiwan NewsBBC Newsall 147 news articles »

  • Emery meshing well with Flyers - Buffalo News

    6 Nov 2009 | 8:49 pm
    Emery meshing well with FlyersBuffalo NewsAfter being run out of Ottawa, Emery was forced to spend a season in Russia. He played great, going 22-8 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .926 save and more »

  • Next Step in Russian PR Blitz: Rehabilitate Stalin - Wired News

    6 Nov 2009 | 3:11 pm
    Next Step in Russian PR Blitz: Rehabilitate StalinWired NewsGlance at this week's headlines from Russia, and it's tempting to agree with Economist scribe Edward Lucas: It's beginning to look a lot and more »

  • The Berlin Wall in Retrospect - News@Northeastern

    6 Nov 2009 | 2:32 pm
    Malaysia StarThe Berlin Wall in RetrospectNews@NortheasternPhoto by Craig Bailey Since the Berlin Wall was dismantled and the former Soviet Union dissolved, Russia has moved to a two-party political system and a Cal Thomas: Left had it wrong about communism, even when it collapsedThe News-Pressall 132 news articles »

  • Going rogue? Palin bans gadgets, reporters from speech - CNET News

    6 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm
    MiamiHerald.comGoing rogue? Palin bans gadgets, reporters from speechCNET NewsSend em to Russia..or lock her up in China some where in a labor camp and never to be heard again. by terminalblue November 6, 2009 2:29 PM PST funny you Palin Jumps into NJ, Virginia RacesCBS Newsall 966 news articles »
 
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    World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk

  • Berlin Wall timeline

    8 Nov 2009 | 4:05 pm
    Dates and events that shaped the Berlin Wall and finally brought about its downfall

  • Barcelona diary: Russia keeps everyone in dark and Pershing scores direct hit

    John Vidal
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:53 am
    Russia tries to hang on to its carbon credits, UK wins a fossil booby prize and US negotiator charms the IndiansRussia's credit richesRussia is such a dark horse at these talks that you would barely know it was here, let alone it was the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Not only does the country give no briefings or make any public appearances, it has steadfastly refused to divulge its position. What it is clearly trying to do in secret negotiations, though, is hang on to its 4-6billion "assigned amount units" (AAUs) — effectively credits to emit billions of tonnes of…

  • The Tories' foreign foibles go far beyond just Europe | Geoffrey Wheatcroft

    Geoffrey Wheatcroft
    5 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm
    Cameron's volte-face on Lisbon is just the latest example of clumsiness beyond Britain's borders. There is, however, one ray of hopeSince becoming Conservative leader David Cameron has shown considerable skill on the domestic scene, impressing foe as well as friend. He completely outplayed Gordon Brown over the expenses scandal, and although only time will tell whether he really has an answer to the financial crisis, his initial response was politically adroit.But abroad it has been a quite different story – a series of missteps and own goals, culminating in the gruesome embarrassment…

  • Critic of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov abducted in Moscow

    Luke Harding
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:35 am
    Fears for safety of Russian human rights campaigner Arbi Khachukayev after he is flown to ChechnyaA Russian human rights group today said that gunmen loyal to Chechnya's pro-Kremlin president had abducted a human rights activist in Moscow and flown him to Chechnya.Chechen security officials grabbed Arbi Khachukayev this afternoon and then bundled him on to a flight to Chechnya's capital, Grozny, Memorial said. Its staff were deeply concerned for his safety, it added.Khachukayev runs a Chechen human rights organisation, Law. It has exposed human rights abuses allegedly committed by forces…

  • Two arrested for murder of journalist and lawyer in Moscow

    Luke Harding
    5 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am
    Human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasia Baburova were gunned down in Moscow this yearInvestigators today said they had solved one of Russia's most notorious killings and had arrested a man and a woman for the murders of the human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and the journalist Anastasia Baburova.Markelov – a friend of the assassinated journalist Anna Politkovskaya – and Baburova were gunned down in January in central Moscow. They had been walking towards the metro when a hitman shot Markelov in the back of the head. Baburova may have tried to grab the assassin…
 
 
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    Russian Athletics: News

  • Samokhvalova finishes third in Venice

    27 Oct 2009 | 1:19 am
    Russian Athletics News. Alyona Samokhvalova finished third at the Venice Marathon setting a PB of 2:28:47

  • Aleksey Sokolov second in Dublin

    27 Oct 2009 | 1:14 am
    Russian Athletics News. Russian marathon record holder Aleksey Sokolov finished second at the 30th Dublin Marathon held in Ireland on 26 October. He clocked 2:10:38

  • Isinbayeva’s 27th record ratified

    25 Oct 2009 | 2:21 am
    Russian Athletics News. IAAF has ratified Yelena Isinbayeva’s World record of 5.06 set at the Golden League in Zurich on 28 August

  • Yelena Isinbayeva receives Prince of Asturias Award

    25 Oct 2009 | 2:15 am
    Russian Athletics News. Yelena Isinbayeva received the prestigious Prince of Asturias Awards for her achievements in sports during the last year

  • Lamine Diack in Kazan

    25 Oct 2009 | 2:09 am
    Russian Athletics News. IAAF President Lamine Diack arrived in Kazan this morning to take a part in the “Russia – Country of Sports” Forum
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    The Beet Goes On

  • My Favorite Moscow Museum: Decorative, Applied, and Folk Art

    6 Nov 2009 | 4:56 am
    I've mentioned this funny little museum before, as I've been probably four times now. But today I finally remembered to bring my camera.For the record, the price of the camera permit (100 rubles) was more than the cost for me (50 rubles) and the girls (20 rubles each) to get in.Also, for the record, today is Friday. All the sites I looked at said the museum is closed on Fridays.Below are a few pictures of things I really like there. Blogger isn't the best place to share large quantities of photos, so I will put them all on the blog's Facebook page. But here's a taste.The little train engine…

  • In Which I Fall in Love

    5 Nov 2009 | 7:46 am
    I'm sure I've said this before, but, for someone who has lived as an expat since 1999, I don't much care for new experiences.I like the Tried-And-True, thank you very much. The Demon I Know.So although we will have lived in Moscow and this apartment for TWO YEARS as of December, until this week I had not tried the cute little Italian place right behind us.There are so many reasons not to:What if it's too expensive?What if I can't find anything I like on the menu?What if the Cyrillic is in that cursed italic font that I find impossible to read?What if they are mean to me?I didn't say anything…

  • Grand Guignol Photos or What I Did Last Week

    4 Nov 2009 | 1:27 am
     

  • Applause, Applause!

    1 Nov 2009 | 11:07 pm
    Okay. Now I can get serious about finishing An Echo in the Bone.And cleaning the kids' room.

  • Go Ahead! Touch It!

    31 Oct 2009 | 1:53 am
    In all the excitement of play practice and Skittles' rentrée, I forgot to tell you about the visit to the State Archives yesterday.By now, I have become quite a fan of the Fabulous Larissa. So when she wrote an email saying we would "visit State Archives with Tzar's Romanovs belongings! This is the place where you can touch history, which changed the world." I had no idea she meant literally touch history.I didn't really have any idea what to expect on this outing, but with Larissa, it's usually entertaining. Skittles was still at Sports Camp, so I dragged Baboo with me.The group was, by…
 
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    15

  • Epic Fail

    Long long ago when future seemed to be so distant and dim, and people of the Soviet Union dreamt a lot and cherished a bunch of illusions about fantastic makings of the future. And straight 50 years ago, on the eve of New Year, one of most famous Russian newspapers published a special edition. Group of journalists-dreamers took their risks and tried to predict how it’s going to be 50 years after, in 2010. read more..

  • Masks Craze

    Craziness with this bird flu in Ukraine seems like it has approached its peak. Millions of Ukrainians wonder around in masks like it was better days in Hong Kong but all this with Eastern European twist. Like: ....dogs in mask (like they are afraid of the virus being mutated further from swine to dogen grippen. read more..

  • Moscow Winters

    If you're looking for something to do in the winter months while you travel in Russia, consider making an appearance at one of Moscow's winter festivals or New Year’s Day celebrating on Red Square. The Moscow Russian Winter Festival takes place in Izmailovo Park, where visitors can enjoy troika rides and hear folk music performances. It takes place on the last week of December and the first week of January. It is possible to experience Winter Festival activities elsewhere in Moscow, like ice sculpting on Red Square and snowman-building on Arbat Street. read more..

  • One Russian Wife

    In Russia even you look like this you can get the wife like that. And you don't have to be mega rich for that, just enough for you to be some famous old-school Soviet times musician for this. "If I didn't know that this is the photo of the girl and her husband I could easily assume that this is the girl with her granny." read more..

  • Way-out Places

    There are lots of freaky places round the Earth. And most probably you heard that there is such a thing like Google tourism, rather young, so to say, sport. People prowling about a map of the world looking for a new spacey spot and then upload the screenshots into their blogs. Maybe some of you have already seen some pictures of crop circles, abandoned factories and plants or even figure of a pink rabbit made on a field. And these are shots of some offbeat places in Russia and Kazakhstan. read more..
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    Sean's Russia Blog

  • Revolutionary Manliness

    Sean
    2 Nov 2009 | 12:51 pm
    For those interested in a taste of my academic work, I’ve contributed an entry called “Revolutionary Manliness” to the Soviet history site Seventeen Moments in Soviet History.  If you register, and you should because the site is a wonderful resource especially for instructors, you can check out the accompanying source, “Klasha the Komsomol Girl.” Here [...]

  • United Russia Deputy Murdered

    Sean
    25 Oct 2009 | 10:35 am
    Here’s a murder you probably won’t hear about in the Western press.  Grigory Nosikov, 48, was found dead on Wednesday of stab wounds outside the gates of his house, which is located in the Naro-Fominsk district some 60 miles west of Moscow.  Nosikov was not a journalist, oppositionist, or a human rights activist.  If he [...]

  • Zyuganov on Lenin

    Sean
    22 Oct 2009 | 7:07 pm

  • Mr. Garcia Goes to Tbilisi

    Sean
    19 Oct 2009 | 12:12 pm
    Andy Garcia has been cast to play President Mikheil Saakashvili in the upcoming film Georgia.  I just hope that Garcia’s audition required to see how he looked chewing on his tie. The film, directed by Renny Harlin, will revolve around the last year’s war between the Caucasian nation and Russia.  Though war remains extremely politically charged [...]

  • Luzhkov the Weather Warlock

    Sean
    18 Oct 2009 | 1:25 pm
    I think I finally understand why the Kremlin was so hell bent on securing Yuri Luzhkov’s continued domination over Moscow politics: the weather.  Yuri Mikhailovich can control the weather.  Or so he promises.  According to Time, For just a few million dollars, the mayor’s office will hire the Russian Air Force to spray a fine chemical [...]
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    Siberian Light

  • Russian Film Festival London 2009

    Andy
    18 Oct 2009 | 11:45 pm
    The Third Russian Film Festival London kicks off on 30 October this year, with a bundle of fascinating films from Russia, both old and new, including 10 new UK premieres. Headlining the festival is Anna Karenina, film director Sergei Soloviev’s adaptation of the Tolstoy classic. The film, shot on location at Tolstoy’s former estate at Yasnaya Polyana apparently took 14 years to make, and is the final part of his ASSA, ASSA 2, Anna Karenina trilogy. Other new premieres include the aforementioned ASSA-2, an adaptation of Chekov’s Ward 6, Paper Soldier, a drama set in the…

  • Football: How to watch England vs Ukraine Live Online

    Andy
    6 Oct 2009 | 5:35 am
    For the first time in history, an England football game will not be shown on British TV. Instead, football fans will this weekend either be forced to pay to watch England v Ukraine live online, or to take a trip to their local Odeon cinema, where the game will also be broadcast live. The ground breaking decision to broadcast the match live on the internet was taken by rights owner Kentaro after Irish-owned TV company Setanta, who had previously owned the rights to broadcast this match, went bust. Kentaro tried to sell the rights to another British broadcaster, such as BBC, ITV or Sky Sports…

  • Holiday Reading

    Andy
    9 Sep 2009 | 12:10 am
    I’m off on holiday for a few weeks so no more updates until the end of September. If you’re looking for Russia related reading in the meantime, please do feel free to check out the Russian News aggregator I built a few months ago. (Update: Sorry, I know the BBC News feed isn’t working. They’ve changed the settings on their site – I’ll fix it as soon as I’m back!) As well as covering Russian News on the homepage, it also has a page listing the latest posts from all the Russian Blogs I know about, all of which are well worth checking out. (PS – if…

  • Soviet Era Magazine Covers

    Andy
    3 Sep 2009 | 11:26 pm
    Just a quick post today. I came across this fascinating post of Soviet Magazine Covers that I thought you might find interesting. Lyndon in particular might notice that they’ve linked back to Scraps of Moscow. My favourite cover image has to be #4 The Atheist, which brilliantly depicts a Soviet worker dumping a shocked Jesus (halo and all) out of a wheelbarrow. Check out Russian News Online for the latest stories from all the top Russia Blogs. Soviet Era Magazine Covers Related posts:Introducing my new website: Russian News OnlinePutin – I am the world’s only “pure…

  • Google Translate adds Belarussian

    Andy
    1 Sep 2009 | 11:31 pm
    Google Translate has added Belorussian, yet another language from the former Soviet Union, to its stable of languages.  This brings the total number of languages that it can translate to 51, a number which includes all 23 official languages within the EU, as well as 6 of the former Soviet languages – Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, Estonian, Lativian and Lithuanian. On their blog, Google do note that, because Belarussian is newly added to their stable, some of the translations may be a little rough at first, but they promise that over time, the translations will improve.  I think a…
 
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    La Russophobe

  • November 9, 2009 — Contents

    larussophobe
    5 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am
    MONDAY NOVEMBER 9 CONTENTS (1)  EDITORIAL:  Obama teaches Russia a Lesson (2)  EDITORIAL:  McFaul Speaks? (3)  Russian Nazis on the Warpath (4)  Not since the Time of Stalin (5)  Petulant Putin, Pouting NOTE:  Kim Zigfeld’s latest installment of her Russia column on the mighty Pajamas Media megablog deals with Russia’s attack on Poland in September with nuclear missiles.  Didn’t hear about [...]

  • EDITORIAL: Obama Teaches Russia a Lesson

    larussophobe
    5 Nov 2009 | 3:24 am
    EDITORIAL Obama Teaches Russia a Lesson Last Tuesday must have been rather disturbing for the denizens of the Russian Kremlin. American voters helped the Republican Party adminster a “humiliating” beat-down of the Democrats in gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, both states Barack Obama easily carried last year in his presidential bid.  The humiliation for Obama was [...]

  • EDITORIAL: McFaul Speaks?

    larussophobe
    5 Nov 2009 | 3:20 am
    EDITORIAL McFaul Speaks? Here’s something you don’t see every day, a classic bit of Internet adventure.  Someone claiming to be Michael McFaul, Barack Obama’s chief Russia advisor, has posted two comments to Oleg Kozlovsky’s Facebook page under a post which Oleg also blogged in which he discussed a report quoting McFaul in the Kommersant newspaper; Kommersant reported that McFaul had said [...]

  • Russian Nazis on the Warpath

    larussophobe
    5 Nov 2009 | 1:25 am
    Paul Goble reports: Those taking part in the Russian March in Moscow yesterday – an officially authorized demonstration which organizers claimed attracted 7,000 people but which observers said included only about 700 – were given written instructions on how to acquire guns so that they would be able to defend what nationalist speakers called “the Russian [...]

  • Not since the Time of Stalin

    larussophobe
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:34 pm
    An editorial in the Washington Post: MURDERS OF human rights activists in Russia have been happening with such frequency that some will be tempted to shrug at the brutal slaying on Sunday of Maksharip Aushev, who campaigned against abuses by the security forces in the Caucasian republic of Ingushetia. Mr. Maksharip was driving on a major [...]
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    Russia Blog

  • Killers of a Lawyer and a Journalist Arrested in Moscow

    5 Nov 2009 | 12:03 am
    The murder of Novaya Gazeta’s journalist Anastasiya Baburova and attorney Stanislav Markelov has been solved. The killers were found and arrested; they are members of the RNU (Russian Nationalistic Union) known in Russia as RNE. While Western media presented the murder that took place on January 19, 2009 as a Russian government’s attack on the journalists, Muscovites who witnessed the event could tell you exactly the opposite story. The story less exciting and more troubling than the one about Putin eating liberal journalists for breakfast... The nationalists assassinated attorney…

  • A Kinder, Gentler Cuban Missile Crisis

    4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    Russia is once again outflanking America in the space race -- the space tourist race. On November 3, 2009, humans killed their first space tourist. Laika, we at Russia Blog salute you, “Bow-wow old friend, bow-wow.” While the Russian government looks around for a spare $600 million to build their nuclear wessel by 2021 (hopefully using the Mobile Banka as their prototype), Reuters reports that an upstart Barcelona-based company, Galactic Suite, plans to use Russian rockets and a yet to be named Caribbean island to compete with Virgin Galactic and the New Mexico spaceport: [Galactic Suite]…

  • Putin: Census 2010 Is a Go

    1 Nov 2009 | 9:03 pm
    In his recent article, Bruce Chapman—Discovery Institute’s President and former Director of the White House Census Bureau—rightly criticized the Russian government for cancelling the scheduled 2010 Census. (The census was moved to 2013). We want to believe that it was Russia Blog’s criticism that forced prime-minister Vladimir Putin to revisit the issue. The original official reason for the census cancellation was the lack of budget funds. While FSB, among many other government agencies, is using taxpayers’ money to renew its branches’ auto-fleets with brand new bullet-proof…

  • The Russo-Polish History Coverage and Some Related Matters

    28 Oct 2009 | 1:00 am
    Prime ministers Vladimir Putin (Russia) and Donald Tusk (Poland) Several recent occurrences, in conjunction with each other, have been contributing factors to the increased commentary about the history between Russia and Poland. The recent instances include: this past August's OSCE resolution on (among other things) the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement, along with last month's 70th anniversary of World War II's beginning (on September 1, 1939), the Obama administration's scrapping of the missile defense shield program in Poland and the Czech Republic and a Polish parliament resolution stating…

  • Is Iran pushing Russia closer to the West?

    26 Oct 2009 | 6:46 pm
    Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, and the rising threat of Islamic fundamentalism, not only present a clear and extreme danger, but also provide the perfect logical base for closer U.S.-Russian cooperation. Of course, it is always easier to say what should have been done afterward, but shouldn’t we at least learn some lessons from the not-so-distant past? No matter how much we despised and hated communism and the Soviet rulers, politicians with vision could have predicted the disastrous consequence of supplying the Afghan Mujahedeen, including Terrorist…
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    Windows to Russia!

  • Windows to Russia Going to Israel!

    1 Nov 2009 | 8:26 am
    Svet and I got "Places to go, People to See, Things to Do" in Israel. So from the 2nd of November 2009 to 18th of November 2009. Svet and I will be gone. We will still try to post a little bit and try to check on comments...Boza has been left with a good friend who he really likes and will most likely not want to come home when we get back. :) We also are going to leave frozen, snowy and very icy Moscow, Russia! You take off in subzero freezer and land in a smelt furnace. (That is how it feels when you are use to Northern temperatures...)We will take lots of pictures and that way we can show…

  • Ukraine Has First H1N1 Swine Flu Death and they Shut the Country Down!

    30 Oct 2009 | 5:42 am
    Ukraine Shuts Schools, Bans Public Events Over Flu:KYIV (Reuters) -- Ukraine has closed schools, banned all public events, and imposed restrictions on people's movements around the country for a three-week period after confirming its first death from H1N1 swine flu."All educational institutions without exception...will be switched on to a three-week holiday period," Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced. She indicated this period could be extended if it was deemed necessary."Apart from this, we will make the decision to cancel all mass meetings...for three weeks," she said at an emergency…

  • Russia's Nikolay Valuev vs. Britain’s David Haye on November 7

    30 Oct 2009 | 5:14 am
    I have ignored this long enough. I have waited to see if for some reason it gets called off like so many Heavyweight fights seem to have happen. As of right now it looks like this fight will happen.Going to be held in Bern, Switzerland on November 7th, 2009 Russia's Nikolay Valuev vs. Britain’s David Haye in a sanctioned Heavyweight match.David Haye (22-1, 22 KOs) vs Valuev (50-1, 34 KOs)My money is going to the Russian Giant - He has trained very hard and I really think he is ready for this fight...Windows to Russia!comments always welcome.

  • Russia: Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions!

    30 Oct 2009 | 4:11 am
    Remembering Stalin’s Great Purge victims:On Friday Oct. 30th, 2009 - Russia marks the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions. Millions suffered from Stalin’s repressions from the 1920s through to the 1950s.President Medvedev said attempts to justify the Stalinist repressions under the pretext of state interest are unacceptable:“I am convinced that no development of a country, no success or ambitions of the state, should be achieved through human grief and loss. Nothing can be valued above human life, and there is no excuse for repression.”

  • Russian News From Russia: October 30th, 2009!

    30 Oct 2009 | 4:08 am
    “Nothing can be valued above human life” – Medvedev:President Medvedev believes the dark pages of the nation’s history and its moments of glory should be remembered alike.Somali pirates capture Russian sailors:The Thai-flagged fishing trawler “Thai Unit 3” that was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean is crewed by 23 Russians, two Philippians and a Ghanian according to the EU naval force operating in the area.Hiddink offered new Russian contract:The Russian Football Union (RFU) has approached coach Guus Hiddink with a proposition to prolong his contract with the…
 
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    Scraps of Moscow

  • Abkhazian National Library - a thank-you, and an R.I.P.

    10 Oct 2009 | 3:55 am
    When I visited Abkhazia this spring, I was assuming I would encounter a substantial degree of hostility toward me as an American.  In fact, I encountered nothing of the sort.  I also encountered substantially less Sovok than I had expected.  One of the more pleasant experiences of my time in Sukhumi was visiting the national library and talking with the librarians and archivists there.  These professionals offered me more research assistance than I would have expected to receive (having arrived unintroduced and unaccredited) in Moscow or Washington at similar…

  • A Racist Restauranteur - Routine in Russia?

    10 Oct 2009 | 3:40 am
    This was a pretty amazing article - appeared a few weeks ago on the afisha.ru website and generated some reaction from the Moscow dining public. So I translated it:White RussianZhenya Kuida, 18 Sept. 2009"Our patio has been open all summer - it's a pity that no one really wrote about it. But we still did a great job with it - even on weeknights there was a line for it, people were booking tables an hour in advance. I've been scolded for the fact that not enough people know about our patio, but I just didn't have time, we built it all ourselves in a month, practically with our own hands,…

  • Russian world

    10 Oct 2009 | 3:07 am
    CIMG6491, originally uploaded by lyndonk2.On the occasion of Russian-language advocacy organization Russkiy Mir (not this one) opening an office in Tiraspol, I decided to translate this commentary from an Ekho Moskvy blog about the role of Russian in the post-Soviet space:Every day, there's some new story about the misfortunes of the Russian language in the former Soviet republics. Here are just three recent examples.Kazakhstan: starting in 2012, all movies will be required to be shown in the state language [Kazakh].Tajikistan: now all official paperwork, correspondence and education must be…

  • Sukhumi's Semi-abandoned Station

    15 Sep 2009 | 3:09 pm
    IMG_3014, originally uploaded by lyndonk2.The train station in Sukhumi is freighted with the historical memory of Stalinist architecture and the bitterness of failed post-Soviet conflict-resolution efforts.  The railroad from Adler, in Russia, hasn't run through to Georgia since the war in the early 1990s.  However, the possibility of restoring rail service was discussed in the final years of Shevardnadze's presidency as a potential confidence-building measure which would have had the added benefit of restoring a Russian rail link to Armenia. Blogger cyxymu posted some thoughts and…

  • Divided by a common language?*

    10 Sep 2009 | 7:25 am
    CIMG1630, originally uploaded by lyndonk2.Limba Noastra decorations in Chisinau last year.This poster says "Our Language - Romanian," whereas I saw other,similar posters elsewhere in the city that left off the word "Romanian." On August 31st (yes, I've been busy IRL** and the timeliness of this post has suffered), Moldova celebrated a holiday called Limba Noastra ("Our Language"), which celebrates the Romanian language (notwithstanding the Voronin government's preference for calling the local dialect a separate "Moldovan" language) and country's transition to the use of the Latin alphabet at…
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    Russia

  • Chronicles of a $oviet Capitalist

    Vadim Nikitin
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:36 pm
    My last post chronicled the large numbers of people (45% of Russians and up to 62% of Ukrainians) made worse off by the fall of the USSR. But what about the rest? One man who certainly did not figure among them was Misha, the hero of a vivid, at times zany, groteque and poignant fictionalised account by Georgian writer and journalist Irakli Iosebashvili, the first part of which was published in the current issue of Guernica Magazine.  By following this post-Soviet ‘Gentleman of Fortune’,  the story paints a hustler-eye view of the absurdist, tragic and exhilitaring transition…

  • Better Red Than Unfed? A Survey of Post-Communism

    Vadim Nikitin
    3 Nov 2009 | 9:42 pm
    After twenty years of post-Communism, it’s time to ask: cui bono? According to a sweeping Pew Research Center poll of Eastern Europeans released yesterday, “the prevailing view in Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary is that people were better off economically under communism. Only in the Czech Republic and Poland do pluralities believe that most people are now better off”. And within those societies, the primary beneficiaries of the transition were the elites. “It was the young, the better educated and the urban populations who were cheering [the…

  • Tale of Two Night-Witches

    Vadim Nikitin
    2 Nov 2009 | 8:49 pm
    Terrified German officers called them Night-Witches. ‘Night’ because of the way they idled their engines to glide silently over German cities in daring night-time bombing raids. And ‘witches’, because they were women. Today, the BBC aired an unmissable documentary about the legendary Soviet 46th Night Bombers Guards Regiment, the first female combat fighter pilots in the world. It is a poignant story of thousands of women, many of them teenage girls, overcoming traditional gender roles to demonstrate extraordinary heroism in defence of their motherland. But in focusing…

  • Stop Press: Decent Russia Article in The New Republic!

    Vadim Nikitin
    27 Oct 2009 | 9:46 am
    With a neo-con editor who believes that “with the Russians, if you don’t demand and threaten a little, you get zero”, the New Republic is the last place to find a reasoned view on Russia.  Or on Iran for that matter, considering this famously faux-liberal magazine’s hawkish anti-Islamic stance. So imagine my surprise at finding just such an article today! Despite its traditional headline, “Putin’s Game: Why Russia won’t cooperate on Iranian sanctions” calmly and rationally  answers the quesiton of why Russia is so against Iran sanctions: national…

  • The Looking-Glass World of Russian Corruption

    Vadim Nikitin
    22 Oct 2009 | 7:40 pm
    An interesting (fake?) discussion took place between top oligarch Boris Deripaska and Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday. According to veteran rogue journalist John Helmer, the exchange went as follows: Deripaska told Medvedev that it is impossible to get a fair ruling from the law courts without paying bribes. “The courts have become overgrown with the institutution of intermediaries and deciders (решалами),” Deripaska said, “without whom it is impossible to get a fair solution. Everybody knows you have to pay for it”. “They should be put in prison,” Medvedev reportedly said…
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    From Russia with Love

  • Runaway Bus in Russia: The Rest of the Story

    6 Nov 2009 | 1:50 am
    Just in case you missed this, recently a passenger bus in Perm, Russia had brake failure and crashed into 20 vehicles before coming to a stop two kilometers down the road. The drama peaked when the bus plowed through a pedestrian walkway and a man escaped certain death by millimeters. His peripheral vision must be amazing. Watch the video.Doesn't that just make your heart pound? Good lesson for

  • Russian-American Adoptee Gives Back

    2 Nov 2009 | 7:35 am
    I have a new hero. It's Alex Griffith, 16, who was featured earlier this year as CNN Hero of the Week. Look at what this young man accomplished.Oh, now you've got me dreaming, Alex, you got me dreamin'. . .I'm dreaming that these little guys will be adopted, with a mother and father of their very own. Then there will be no lines, no waiting, no competition with 12 other kids to get hugs and

  • Happy Birthday, Lady Liberty!

    27 Oct 2009 | 10:57 pm
    Today Lady Liberty celebrates a very big birthday. Six score and three years ago, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, Miss Liberty was inaugurated by President Grover Cleveland.Here's the view of Lady Liberty that comes up here in Russia on my Yahoo weather forecast. I have to laugh at that. As though I need a chance to live and work in the USA.Here's Miss Liberty again in a photo banner. In Russian

  • Visit Alaska: No Russian Visa Needed

    26 Oct 2009 | 11:19 am
    On October 18th, Alaska celebrated the date on which the state officially became property of the United States in 1867. The day is known, quite fittingly, as Alaska Day.Have you been to Alaska? Oh. . . you lucky globetrotter, you! Myself, I'm just dreaming of the day. . . (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Davis Kimball. Click image to enlarge.)Alaska was once owned by Russia, of course. The two are

  • Local Cuisine: On a Roll, in a Dumpling

    19 Oct 2009 | 12:27 am
    Anybody else partial to McDonald's? It's a great place to meet people. And besides that, their country-fried potatoes with cheese sauce on the side are simply yummy. Say, does your McDonald's have Caesar Wraps? Well, welcome to Russia!In Russian, it's just called Caesar Roll. (Click image to enlarge.) It's breaded chicken with salad ingredients and dressing. Pretty good, actually. Oh, and about
 
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    The Last Ditch

  • Again, Wat posts the graph that matters

    Tom Paine
    5 Nov 2009 | 6:22 am
    Burning our money: Pathetic Autistic Castrates. As everyone and his dog prattles on about the politics of the Conservatives and the EU, Wat Tyler (link above) keeps his head and posts this graph (click for the full misery); He observes, drily; UK withdrawal would hurt them a lot more than...

  • We have our answer

    Tom Paine
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:17 am
    please-go - epetition response | Number10.gov.uk. The Prime Minister has, finally, responded to the most popular petition ever on the Number 10 website; requesting him to resign. His response to the request of 72,234 signatories? He strung together the clichés he has been uttering for months, while Britain daily slides...

  • Me is mine, you is yours

    Tom Paine
    3 Nov 2009 | 11:12 pm
    Here's the antidote to the propaganda your children get in school. h/t Dick Puddlecote

  • The face he deserves?

    Tom Paine
    3 Nov 2009 | 10:40 pm
    Brown to grey: Portrait of a Prime Minister feeling the strain | Mail Online. It's obvious Brown himself has lost the will to live, but what were his advisors thinking about in permitting this undead photo to be published? Surely they had approval rights before publication? Any decent undertaker could...

  • The brittleness of cast iron

    Tom Paine
    3 Nov 2009 | 8:58 pm
    David Cameron to shed 'cast iron' pledge on Lisbon treaty | Politics | The Guardian. David Cameron was elected to lead the Conservative Party for his political and presentational skills, not his convictions. It remains to be seen if he has any convictions, but now we must also question his...
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    blackpurl's knitpickings

  • press one for....

    6 Nov 2009 | 8:06 am
    Our cellphone service provider is MTC. We have been pleased with their service for 4 1/2 years now. Today I had to call to get my cell phone working again. As I made the call I was confronted with one of my fears and one of my pet peeves while trying to solve my problem. One of my pet peeves is automated phone directory service. You know the kind where you dial the company and rather than get a live person you get a machine giving you a list of choices and telling you which number to press that corresponds with your choice. One of my fears is speaking Russian on the phone... well, not the…

  • some things are the same...

    5 Nov 2009 | 7:56 am
    Here is a photo from McDonalds in Ternopil, Ukraine. We stopped there on our way to the airport the day we were flying back to Russia. McDonalds is pretty much the same all over the world... the most noticeable difference is the language on the menu! One thing that was different and immediately stood out for us was seeing people wearing masks. I realize they face the public all day long but it was a little unnerving to see McDonalds staff in masks!

  • Thought for today

    4 Nov 2009 | 9:16 am
    Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.Italian Proverb

  • Spencer is home!

    3 Nov 2009 | 7:42 am
    We are so happy to have Spencer back with us!He spent the past year in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia (the country) and Armenia. We are not sure how long he will be with us. But his return to Krasnodar is a joy for us right now. If Nathan were here this little family reunion of ours would be complete!

  • Ternopil 2009

    2 Nov 2009 | 1:12 am
    Final day of class... DTS staff and students under quarantine in Ternopil! Fortunately, Tom and I were able to make it out of Ternopil to fly back to Russia. We are safe and healthy back in Krasnodar and are excited to have Spencer back with us again!!
 
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    English Russia

  • Epic Fail

    Long long ago when future seemed to be so distant and dim, and people of the Soviet Union dreamt a lot and cherished a bunch of illusions about fantastic makings of the future. And straight 50 years ago, on the eve of New Year, one of most famous Russian newspapers published a special edition. Group of journalists-dreamers took their risks and tried to predict how it’s going to be 50 years after, in 2010. read more..

  • Masks Craze

    Craziness with this bird flu in Ukraine seems like it has approached its peak. Millions of Ukrainians wonder around in masks like it was better days in Hong Kong but all this with Eastern European twist. Like: ....dogs in mask (like they are afraid of the virus being mutated further from swine to dogen grippen. read more..

  • Moscow Winters

    If you're looking for something to do in the winter months while you travel in Russia, consider making an appearance at one of Moscow's winter festivals or New Year’s Day celebrating on Red Square. The Moscow Russian Winter Festival takes place in Izmailovo Park, where visitors can enjoy troika rides and hear folk music performances. It takes place on the last week of December and the first week of January. It is possible to experience Winter Festival activities elsewhere in Moscow, like ice sculpting on Red Square and snowman-building on Arbat Street. read more..

  • One Russian Wife

    In Russia even you look like this you can get the wife like that. And you don't have to be mega rich for that, just enough for you to be some famous old-school Soviet times musician for this. "If I didn't know that this is the photo of the girl and her husband I could easily assume that this is the girl with her granny." read more..

  • Way-out Places

    There are lots of freaky places round the Earth. And most probably you heard that there is such a thing like Google tourism, rather young, so to say, sport. People prowling about a map of the world looking for a new spacey spot and then upload the screenshots into their blogs. Maybe some of you have already seen some pictures of crop circles, abandoned factories and plants or even figure of a pink rabbit made on a field. And these are shots of some offbeat places in Russia and Kazakhstan. read more..
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