· November, 2008

Stories about Russia from November, 2008

Russia: The Plight of Journalism

  25 November 2008

As the West continues to turn attention to the Politkovskaya case, Foreign Policy Association's Russia Blog gives focus to the plight of Mikhail Beketov, editor of the obscure Khimki Pravda.

Russia: Rise of Orthodox Militia

  22 November 2008

Sean's Russia Blog writes about Moscow Patriarch's plans to found an Orthodox People's Militia serving the Church. WindowonEurasia and Windows to Russia! continue the discussion.

Russia: Tatars Ask UN to Condemn 1921 Famine as Genocide

  19 November 2008

Window on Eurasia reports: “Tatar nationalists have appealed to the United Nations to recognize the 1921-22 famine in the Middle Volga as a genocide organized by Bolshevik Russia to destroy the Tatar nation and its elite and reduce Tatarstan’s opportunities to develop its own national life and pursue its independence.”

Russia: The Crisis and the Hajj

  19 November 2008

Window on Eurasia writes: “For the first time since the end of the Soviet Union, the number of Muslims from the Russian Federation making the pilgrimage to Mecca is set to fall significantly, the result of a financial crisis that has cut incomes, increased prices and reduced private and government...

Russia: Lustration

  19 November 2008

Robert Amsterdam writes that “it is time for Russia to reconsider lustration, no matter how difficult and complicated the politics of memory.”

Estonia: Citizenship

  19 November 2008

Itching for Eestimaa writes about “a renewed public interest in the criteria for obtaining Estonian citizenship”: “The news that the Russian embassy handed out more Russian passports to stateless persons than the Estonian government did last year, however, is symbolic of the challenge that faces either this Estonian government or...

Russia: “Different Family” Photo Project

  18 November 2008

"These people may have no home, no jobs. They may be doing drugs, their neighbors may hate them, and they may be banned from entering a theater because of their inappropriate looks. But within such families, love and caring relationship still reign." This is how photographer Irina Popova describes the subjects of her "Different Family" project, currently on exhibit in St. Petersburg. But since the series is centered as much on a toddler named Anfisa, the daughter of Popova's marginal adult subjects, the photographer's interpretation of her own work has caused harsh criticism.

Nagorno Karabakh: Insular View

  17 November 2008

Security in the Caucasus comments on the recent declaration signed by the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian presidents in Moscow regarding the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. The blog finds it ironic that opposition and nationalist groups have reacted to it in the way they have and wonders what they propose instead.

Georgia: Fox News and the War

  14 November 2008

The Tbilisi Blues comments on video footage of Fox News reporters fleeing what they describe as “Georgian forces firing at journalists” during the recent war with Russia. Tbilisi-based journalist Paul Rimple says that the news channel got it wrong.

Romania: Elections and Gazprom

  14 November 2008

Kosmopolito writes that in Romania, “[t]he fight against corruption is ongoing and is progressing according to schedule: endless” – and as the country prepares for the parliamentary election on Nov. 30, “[m]ost likely it will not vote”: “Those who will vote, will have to choose pretty much the same thing....

Central & Eastern Europe: A Travel Roundup

  13 November 2008

Olive harvesting in Albania, John Paul II monuments in Poland, a Soviet military hardware cemetery in Moscow and more: Central and Eastern Europe-based bloggers share their recent travel stories and photos.

Russia: Financial Problems

  13 November 2008

Streetwise Professor posts a detailed update on Russia's financial problems: “Whichever way Medvedev or Putin […] turn, they face stark choices. Protect the Ruble – burn through the reserves or throw an already wobbly economy into a tailspin by jacking interest rates. Let the Ruble fall – serious potential for...

Russia: Voina “Storms” Russian White House

  11 November 2008

IZO reports, via LJ user kassian (RUS): “The latest Voina group action, on the night of 6-7 December, involved the ‘storming’ of the grounds of the Russian White House and projection of an anarchist skull-and-crossbones on the building's facade.”