Stories about Russia from February, 2007
Soviet Union: History Syllabus
J. Otto Pohl posts his third “imaginary” syllabus: “Introduction to the History of Kazakhstan and Central Asia Under Russian and Soviet Rule.”
Russia: St. Petersburg McDonald's Blast
Lex Libertas is in St. Petersburg now, staying at a hotel about 300 yards from the site of yesterday's explosion at a downtown McDonald's; he posts some pictures. Europhobia remembers the past and admits to fearing the worst.
Russia: Interview With La Russophobe
Siberian Light runs an interview with La Russophobe.
Russia, Estonia: The Bronze Soldier, Again
Vilhelm Konnander writes about Tallinn's Bronze Soldier monument: “Why is it that a WW II-monument repeatedly sparks bilateral crises between Estonia and Russia?”
Russia: Registration
Sean's Russia Blog publishes a reader's comment on the torturous registration process in Russia.
Russia: Vladimir Vladimirovich™
Scraps of Moscow translates a recent Vladimir Vladimirovich™ episode: “Once upon a time, Vladimir Vladimirovich™ Putin was sitting in his Kremlin office and waxing his Presidential skis.”
Russia: Women
Copydude writes on “why Russian women don’t marry Russian men.”
Soviet Union: Soda Machines
Photos of the long-forgotten Soviet soda machines, at Russian Kafe.
Eastern Europe: The Islamic Peoples
J. Otto Pohl posts the second “imaginary” syllabus – “Mehmet’s Grandchildren: The Islamic Peoples of Eastern Europe and their Ottoman Roots.”
Russia: Kremin and Its Opponents
The Economist's Edward Lucas posts his piece on the Kremlin and its opponents battling in London and replies to critics in the comments section.
Russia: Dog Life
LJ user drugoi posts a photo story (RUS) about the kind man Ilya and his 44 dogs, many of them legless or otherwise disabled, living in a house outside Moscow: “For almost 20 years already he's been adopting these street dogs, treating them and leaving them to live with him....
Russia: Abramovich
Roman Abramovich news at Siberian Light – here and here. (He's no longer Russia's richest man but is still the governor of Chukotka.)
Russia: Article on TV and LJ
Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow translates a 2005 article by Yuri Saprykin on the Russian TV and blogging: “Of course, I can't say I agree with all of the author's conclusions, and maybe not even with his main point. After all, I'm not one to criticize people for sitting in...
Russia: Kaliningrad Restoration
Copydude continues to write about the attempts to rebuild Kaliningrad: “Kaliningrad is a complete paradox. After the war, while German prisoners of war were rebuilding whole Russian town centres like Novgorod completely in the elegant German style, Russians were busy reprocessing Konigsberg into the poured concrete, Soviet mould.”
Caught On Camera: Human Rights Video on GV
It has been a bumper few weeks on GV for human rights video, so let's get straight into it… Bandh of brothers… [via Neha] This footage, filmed by Dinesh Wagle, of United We Blog!, shows motorcycle riders being turned backed by members of the National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs...
Russia: Pancake Week
The Turkish Invasion writes about the celebration of the Pancake Week in Russia: “For the Russians Maslenitsa is like a carnival for the Italians, especially because the initial sense of festivals is the same: the Italian word “carnival” (carne-vale) means “farewell the beef!”, and Maslenitsa that precedes the Great Lent,...
Jordan: Warm Welcome for Russian President
Jordanian blogger Firas extends a warm welcome to visiting Russian president Vladimir Putin and gives him some advice – such as : “If you are walking in Wast El Balad (downtown) try not to make an eye contact with a policeman and smile in his face (I got IDed for...
Russia: Subway Lezginka
A month ago, YouTube user KABARDINEC (‘a Kabardian‘) posted three rather odd videos of two inspired young men dancing Lezginka at a subway station (here and here) and inside a train car (here), presumably in Moscow. Lezginka's origins are said to be in the ethnically diverse Republic of Dagestan, but...
Latvia, Russia: “Borderlands”
Marginalia continues to muse over the issues inherent in Latvia's border dispute with Russia.
Russia: Kaliningrad's Prussian Castle
Copydude reports on the plans to rebuild Kaliningrad's old Prussian castle, which was “firebombed by the RAF in 1944″ and “then levelled in 1969 to build the ill-conceived ‘House Of Soviets‘.”
Russia: Ethnic Rights Activist Assaulted
A Step At A Time reports on the beating of an ethnic rights activist in Russia’s Mari El Republic.