Stories about Russia from October, 2007
Russia, Serbia, Georgia: Kosovo Implications
TOL's Steady State writes that “if the application of the ‘Kosovo formula’ to the post-Soviet frozen conflicts takes place, then it will be cooked up in Moscow – that is certain.”
Russia: Sochi Land Conflicts
Perspectives on the New Russia writes about the brewing conflict between the Russian state and individual property owners in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Russia: Remembering Victims of 1937; Podcasting Their Names
Seventy years since Stalin's Great Terror of 1937, many Russians are ignorant of their country's horrible past, Windows on Eurasia reports. Nevertheless, hundreds of people came to Lubyanka yesterday to read out the names of thousands of victims – and PODstantsiya, a podcasting project of the Moscow-based Foundation for Independent...
Armenia: Trade with Russia
Oneworld Multimedia looks at two conflicting opinions on trade between Armenia and Russia. On the one hand, the Jamestown Foundation says that increasing trade between the two countries is political whereas an Armenian economist blogger believes that it is far from its full potential and cites the example of neighboring...
Russia: Mikhalkov's “12”
Ntalia Anonova reviews Nikita Mikhalkov's “12”: “The movie isn’t some exotic, tourist-y, BBC “country profile”-y jaunt through an ethnic conflict. It crushes you, resuscitates you, crushes you some more.”
Russia: Murals at Babushkinskaya
Moscow Through Brown Eyes posts pictures of the new murals at one of Moscow's residential neighborhoods, created by Russian and Dutch graffiti artists.
Russia: Bukovsky on Putin's Prison Slang
Former dissident Vladimir Bukovsky says president Vladimir Putin doesn't understand the prison camp slang he sometimes uses, Window on Eurasia reports.
Russia: Dmitry Kozak's Replacement
Window on Eurasia writes about “Putin’s new man in the North Caucasus” and his methods.
Russia: Miss Russia 2007
The Turkish Invasion blogs about Miss Russia 2007 contest.
Russia: Chessbase on Kasparov
Siberian Light notes the reaction of Chessbase to the angry readers protesting coverage of Garry Kasparov's political involvement.
Russia: Serial Killer Alexander Pichushkin
Siberian Light writes about the Guardian's coverage of a Moscow serial killer.
Russia: Litvinenko With MI6?
Sean's Russia Blog writes on the newly revealed “spy vs. spy” dimension of the Aleksandr Litvinenko case.
Russia: Artists for Khodorkovsky, Against Putin
Robert Amsterdam reports on a classical music concert in Paris in support of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other political prisoners, and on the anti-Putin part of the Russian community of “cultural figures.”
Russia, Ukraine: Corrupt Traffic Police
Mark MacKinnon writes about a recent encounter with corrupt traffic cops in Moscow and links to a New York Times story on one man's attempt to stand up to the law enforcement's unlawful behavior. English Russia reposts a Ukrainian blogger's cell phone pictures of how Ukrainian drivers “express their disagreement...
Russia: Campaign Singing
Elections in Russia reports on the singing dimension of this year's campaign.
Armenia: Bad News Day
Raffi K at Life in Armenia says that Friday was a day full of bad news for Armenia. However, he doesn't know which was worse — former president Levon Ter Petrosian running again for office, the postponement of a bill to recognize the Armenian Genocide in the U.S. Congress, or...
Russia: Bloggers On George W. Bush and “Russian DNA”
The U.S. president's recent comments about "Russian DNA" did not cause as much of an uproar as did race comments by James Watson, a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA - but, they did not go completely unnoticed. Below is a selection of comments made by Russian bloggers and forum dwellers.
Georgia: Russian Paranoia
Steady State posts a link to an article in Russian detailing territorial claims that the Republic of Georgia might have on Russia since medieval times. The blog treats such claims with scorn and sees it more as anti-Georgian paranoia than anything based on historical fact.
Russia: Election Miscellanea
TOL's Elections in Russia writes about the voting plans of Russia's homeless; campaigning for Putin through vodka; a group of young people opposing Putin; and a group of artists supporting him.
Russia: Dubrovka Investigation
David McDuff of A Step At A Time translates an article on the investigation into the 2002 Dubrovka hostage crisis in Moscow.
Ukraine: “Hate at Hoverla”
Ukrainiana reports on the “Hate at Hoverla” incident: “At the top of Mt. Hoverla, Ukraine’s highest peak and President Yushchenko’s favorite mountaineering range, members of the Eurasian Youth Union have trashed the Ukrainian coat of arms, the trident, and its accompanying stone engravings.”