· May, 2008

Stories about Russia from May, 2008

Russia: Oleg Kozlovsky Update

  20 May 2008

Political activist Oleg Kozlovsky blogs about his release from jail: “I look a little worse for wear because I refused to eat while in prison as a way of protesting against the obviously illegal nature of my arrest and trial.” LJ user ivansim reported (RUS) that Kozlovsky was hospitalized shortly...

Russia: British Fans and UEFA Cup

  20 May 2008

LJ user yashin posts LJ user marie_automne‘s pictures of the British football fans arriving in Moscow for the Champions League final. Pictures of Moscow posts a photo report from the “idol worship” in Moscow's Red Square, where the UEFA Cup is being displayed next to Lenin's Tomb.

Russia: Church vs Blogger Priests

  17 May 2008

Window on Eurasia writes that the Moscow Patriarchate is planning “to discipline Russian Orthodox priests who use the Internet to advance views at variance with those of the hierarchy or to challenge the church’s leadership in other ways.”

Ukraine: Moscow Mayor's Sevastopol Controversy

  15 May 2008

Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov got himself barred from Ukraine this week, after announcing during a trip to Sevastopol - "a Ukrainian naval base mutually used by the Ukrainian Navy and Russian Navy" - that the city did not belong to Ukraine. Below are a few opinions from the Russophone blogosphere.

Georgia: Abkhazia Crisis Drones On…

Steady State is confused by the ongoing crisis between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway region of Abkhazia. The blog says while Abkhazia claims to have shot down numerous drones monitoring troop movements in the region, Georgia denies that more than one was downed. Even then, Tbilisi lays the blame...

Ukraine: Luzhkov and Sevastopol

  14 May 2008

Ukrainiana writes about Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who has been declared persona non grata in Ukraine, following his speech on the status of Sevastopol.

Russia: “Rules” for Activists

  14 May 2008

“A Russian blogger has offered six detailed rules for those who wish “to engage in civic activism” in that country without risking being “beaten in the head,” a guide that highlights both what cautious Russians can do to advance their interests at little risk to themselves — and what they...

Russia: May 9

  13 May 2008

Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow posts two informative and insightful entries on the complex politics and other dimensions of May 9 in Russia – here and here.