Stories about Russia from August, 2011
Russia: 20 Years After the Putsch
Putin Watcher joins in commemorating all the bicentennials of soviet demise coming up this August by writing about the failed coup against Gorbachev in 1991.
Russia: Arresting Political Opposition
Vladimir Kara-Murza of Spotlight on Russia argues that Putin's Russia is becoming increasingly Kafkaesque as opposition leader Boris Nemtsov again – twice in two days – has been arrested for exercising political rights and freedoms, at the same time as Prime Minister Putin is seemingly becoming all the more detached...
Russia: Volga German Deportation Turns 70
Otto's Random Thoughts commemorates the 70th anniversary of the soviet deportation of Volga Germans during the Second World War.
Russia: 20 Years Since the Putsch
Putin Watcher writes about the Putsch that dealt “the fatal blow to the Soviet Union” 20 years ago.
Russia: New Legislation to Allow “Creative Commons” License
Russian Communication Ministry submitted to President Medvedev a project for legislation update that would allow using “Creative Commons” (CC) copyright license in Russia, newspaper Vedomosti reports [ru]. The project is a follow-up to a meeting between Medvedev and leaders of Russian Internet community [en] where the president promised to support...
USA-Russia: Pros and Cons of the Reset Policy
Morning in Moldova joins an intensifying discussion about the US Russia reset policy, and lists pros and cons with the Obama administration's relations to Moscow.
Russia: “On the Eve of Collapse”
To mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the August 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, OpenDemocracy.net publishes two excerpts from Susan Richards’ 1990 book, “Epics of Everyday Life: Encounters in a Changing Russia.”
U.S.: The Soviet Arts Experience in Chicago
Poemless posts an overview of some of the current exhibitions taking place in Chicago as part of The Soviet Arts Experience, “a 16-month-long showcase of works by artists who created under (and in response to) the Politburo of the Soviet Union.”
Russia: Moscow Calls for Limited OSCE Election Observation
The Democratist argues that the OSCE should not bulge to Russian demands to limit the number of election observers for the December 2011 parliamentary elections in the country.
Russia-Georgia-US: Versions of War
Eugene Ivanov of The Ivanov Report – on the third anniversary of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war – argues that US demands that Georgia should control its entire territory to become a NATO-member was a key motivation for escalation of the South Ossetian conflict into outright war.
US-Russia: Reset in the Balance
Gordon Hahn of Russia: Other Points of View provides perspective to the gradual decay of US Russia reset policy against the background of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war and increasing political turmoil in Ukraine.
Russia: Prokhorov Launches Pravoe Delo Pre-election Campaign
Kevin Rothrock of A Good Treaty presents an extensive analysis on billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and his Kremlin-close opposition party Pravoe Delo [ru], as the party joins an intensifying campaign to lay the ground for success in parliamentary elections due in December this year.
Russia: No Exaggeration in Rumours of Reset Death?
Edward Lozansky of Russia Blog argues that the US Russia reset policy is losing steam in view of decreased domestic support and increasing opposition.
Russia: Babe Armies of Putin, Medvedev and Limonov
Gerhard Mangott reports [ger] that the use of Russian pre-election campaign videos with scantily clad girls now has spread from Prime Minister Putin [ru], via President Medvedev [ru], to National Bolshevik leader Limonov [ru].
Germany: 50th Anniversary of the Berlin Wall
Kelly Hignett at The View East writes about the Berlin wall, and its historical significance as a divide between East and West, as it is now 50 years since the wall – demolished in 1989 – was constructed.
Russia: A Psycho-Neurological Patient's Photo Stories
Pasha Kyshtymov, a lifelong psycho-neurological patient in Siberia, cannot communicate through speech, but had no problems learning to express himself through photography. On his blog, the Russian photographer Oleg Klimov has documented the poignant impromptu experience of teaching Pasha to share his worldview with others.
Syria: World Cities Rally Against and For Bashar
Events in Syria are being echoed around the world. Syrians in the diaspora rallied in the majority of the cities in the world, either asking to overthrow Bashar Al Assad and his regime or chanting their love to their leader. Check out this video round up for footage from demonstrations worldwide.
Russia: Bloggers’ Summer of Civic Actions
Although August is traditionally considered a quiet month in Russia, the country's Internet has been alive with hundreds and thousands of people taking part in a number of social actions. Marina Litvinovich explores this new summer phenomenon.
Russia: President is Critisized for New Open Data Initiative.
Russian expert for open data criticized President Medvedev's initiative [RUS] to put more government data online. The criticism revolves around the lack of transparency, a question of what data should be published and the lack of public discussion around this issue.
Russia: One Million Twitter Accounts in Russian
The number of Twitter accounts in Russian crossed the point of one million, according to recent reseach [ru] by Russian Internet company Yandex. Now, Russian speakers publish around 370,000 tweets a day (comparing to 150,00o a year ago). The percentage of daily active Twitter users (of the total Russian speakers)...
Russia: Soviet Sources to Middle East Actions
Vladimir Kara-Murza of World Affairs blog discusses a recently published book – Behind the Desert Storm – by Russian emigré Pavel Stroilov, which is based on secret soviet archives concerning policies towards the Middle East.
