Stories about Russia from May, 2007
Russia: “Broken Slav-O-Meter”
Moscow-based Darkness at Noon writes about foreigner detection skills: “In a country that was trained for 70 years to view foreigners with skepticism, it's no wonder they're good at rooting us out.”
Russia: Blog Ranking
Krusenstern, host to the Blog-Carnival Russian Media (in 11 days now!), posts a ranking of Russia blogs (in German), and Siberian Light writes about it in English.
Russia: Chechnya Documentary
A Step At A Time links to a Zarema Mukusheva’s Crying Sun: The Impact of War in the Mountains of Chechnya documentary on Google Video.
Russia: A Tale of Two Women
Moscow-based expat blogger Laura Citron shares “A Tale of Two Russian Women” over at nEUrosis.
Russia: “Discrimination”
It sometimes takes more than money and time to have your computer fixed in Moscow: good looks, lots of patience and a special sense of humor may prove helpful as well. LJ user kmaka reports on a recent conversation with a technical support service representative.
Russia: Dissenters’ March in Samara
On Friday, police at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport prevented Russian opposition leaders Garry Kasparov and Eduard Limonov from boarding a flight to Samara, where they planned to take part in the Dissenters' March, scheduled to coincide with the Russia-EU Summit. The march did take place, but it was something of a failure - according to one blogger who was there, at least.
Russia: Dissent and Samara Summit
Samara-based blogger Dmitri Minaev and Sean Guillory write about the EU-Russia Summit in Samara and the regime's ways of dealing with dissent.
Russia: Nashi's Bad English; NBP
Via La Russophobe, the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi demonstrates poor knowledge of English (among other things) – a forged International Herald Tribune headline in the Nashi‘s brochure reads: “Russian soldiers, that were named a heroes for the acting in chechen war, were nailed charges in murder of chechen rebels.” A...
The EU: “The ‘Balkans’ They Love to Hate”
TOL's The nEUrosis critiques a Times’ story on the EU's newest members: “But rather than explaining the situation, the article goes on to provide no explanation or example why Bulgaria and Romania are in such a sordid state. In the same vein, anyone could say the same about any country...
Serbia, Russia, U.S.: Kosovo
Mark MacKinnon quotes William Montgomery, “the U.S. ambassador who headed the efforts to oust Slobodan Milosevic seven years ago,” on the current Kosovo situation: “Montgomery's point […] isn't that Kosovo should never receive the extra autonomy its people are demanding. He's asking why Washington and Moscow are hurtling towards a...
Russia: Cars ABC
The Turkish Invasion reproduces a hilarious Russian ABC (in Russian) and writes: “It is now a fact that there are more foreign automobiles on Moscow roads than Lada…no wonder why kids are now learning the Alphabet by auto brands.”
Russia, Ukraine: T-Shirts
Vilhelm Konnander reports on how a bit of Russian xenophobic propaganda has slipped into Britain via this message printed on Burton menswear store's t-shirt: “We will cleanse Russia of all non-Russians!” Carpetblogger displays “some fun t-shirts” of her own.
Europe: Balkan Blogs on Eurovision
A small roundup of the Eurovision-related posts from the Balkans: Pustolovina: Adventure in Serbian writes on the victory for the “new Serbia” and on “a night of belonging”; East Ethnia writes on the complex politics behind this year's Serbian winner Marija Serifovic; Bosnia Vault writes about the contest's youngest participant...
Russia: Blog-Carnival Russian Media
Krusenstern announces Blog-Carnival Russian Media – in 17 days now!
Russia, USA: Patriotism
Tim Newman pinpoints the difference between Russian and American patriotism: “Americans love their country and hate those who don’t agree. Russians don’t love their country and hate those who agree.”
Russia: May 9 in St. Pete, Moscow and on Sakhalin
Belatedly, a link to Tim Newman's photos of May 9 celebrations at the other end of Russia, in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Also, Apricotflan.com's notes on the celebration in St. Petersburg. And, Flickr user Leonid V. Kroujkov's photos from the celebration in Moscow.
Ukraine: Deportation of Crimean Tatars
J. Otto Pohl writes about the history of the beginning of Stalin's deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944.
Russia: Deripaska Invests in Canada
Oleg Deripaska – the man “seen as the closest to the Kremlin of Russia's remaining oligarchs, largely because he often does the president's bidding” – is investing $1.54 billion in the Canadian auto-parts giant Magna International. More at Mark MacKinnon's Blog.
Russia: Anti-Estonian Rallies
“Estonian Ambassador dressed as an SS guard” graffiti and other observations from the anti-Estonian rallies in Moscow – by Laura Citron of TOL's The nEUrosis.
Russia, EU: On the Eve of Samara Summit
Time to study Russian, again, writes Jonathan Newton of Tales from the European Underbelly: “I would have had much use for such skills today, as I seem to be surrounded by Russian-speaking colleagues at the EU Council’s Press Centre, where the EU’s foreign ministers and assorted colleagues will wriggle around...
Russia, Estonia: Cyber-Attack
“Estonia has faced down Russian rioters. But its websites are still under attack,” the Economist‘s Edward Lucas reports.
