Stories about Russia from May, 2008
Ukraine, Russia: More May 9 Photos
May 9 photos from St. Petersburg – at Russian Kafe; from Kyiv – at Moscow Through Brown Eyes and Greetings from Kyiv.
Lithuania, Russia: May 9
Lituanica writes on Victory Day in Moscow – and in Vilnius, where “the two remaining Soviet statues in the centre of Vilnius were vandalised” on May 9.
Lithuania: EU Politics
Lituanica writes about the EU-Russia relationship and “the first time Lithuania has dared to fight for its interests in the EU with such fervour.”
Georgia: Needless Confrontation?
Penny for your Thoughts comments on the opinion that support for Georgia in its current conflict with Abkhazia risks bringing the United States into needless confrontation with Russia. The blog says that contrary to that view, there are strategic reasons why Washington should support Tbilisi in its continuing spats with...
Soviet History: Music
Wu Wei writes about “musical life in the Soviet Union.”
Russia: George Watts and Dmitry Medvedev
Robert Mackey writes on the New York Times’ The Lede about “the ‘Voice of Russia Today'” – as well as the voice of president Dmitry Medvedev during the inauguration broadcast: “[…] George Watts, a Canadian-born announcer who emigrated to the Soviet Union in 1952 with his parents. Before the fall...
Musical instruments from around the world
Videos with interesting instruments from different corners of the world, including some made from recycled cans and plastic sodabottles, a record of how didgeridoos are made, and a Russian folk song on a hurdy gurdy.
Russia: Victory Day
Victory Day was as much of an event in the Russian blogosphere as it was in the streets of Moscow and other Russian cities on May 9. Veronica Khokhlova reviews some of the posts.
Georgia: Russian Miscalculation?
Window on Eurasia highlights the opinion of a Moscow-based military analyst who likens the recent escalation of tensions between Georgia and Russia to the Winter War with Finland. According to Pavel Fel’gengauer, military affairs analyst for a Russian newspaper, Russia might have miscalculated.
Russia: Putin Out, Medvedev In
On Wednesday, Dmitry Medvedev became Russia's third post-Soviet president. Bloggers discuss the outgoing president's legacy, the political situation in Russia, and the traffic situation in Moscow on the day of Medvedev's inauguration.
Russia: North Caucasus Photos
Photos from a quick trip through North Caucasus – Makhachkala, Grozny and a few other locations – by LJ user maxialla (text in Russian).
Georgia: War with Russia?
The South Caucasus has always been a volatile and unstable region riven by ethnic conflict and instability. This is definitely the case in Georgia where tensions with Russia have increased to the extent that the battle of words between Tbilisi and Moscow might yet turn into war over the breakaway and defacto independent [Georgian] region of Abkhazia. The increased tension follows last month's apparent downing of a Georgian drone allegedly by a Russian MiG-29 and reports that Russian troops are being sent to Abkhazia in case of a Georgian attempt to re-take the territory by force. Russia and Georgia are playing brinkmanship again, but this time the consequences are uncertain.
Russia: “Russia – A Sovereign Democracy?”
Vilhelm Konnander posts an abstract of his report “on the state of democracy in Russia.”
Soviet History: “Agitation Trials”
Sean's Russia Blog comments on the article about Soviet “agitation trials,” which appeared in the Russian-language weekly Kommersant-Vlast – and was translated into English at Robert Amsterdam's blog.
Russia: Victory Day in 2005 (And Now)
Scraps of Moscow posts pictures from the 2005 Victory Day parade preparations and writes: “Hard to believe it has been three years since Moscow marked the 60th anniversary of the victory in WWII with a parade of military equipment from wartime days. Somehow that seemed like a much more endearing...
Russia: Gazprom's Stasi Connection
Robert Amsterdam writes about “the Stasi connection to Gazprom.”
Ukraine, Russia: Gas Market News
Kremlin, Inc writes, among other things, about “the entry of Gazprom’s fully-owned subsidiary into Ukraine’s gas market.”
Russia: “The March, Sort Of”
The Russian opposition was to hold a protest rally on May 6 in Moscow, on the eve of Dmitry Medvedev's inauguration as president Vladimir Putin's replacement, but city officials refused to allow it - and leaders of the oppositional coalition ended up canceling the Dissenters' March at the last minute. Dozens of protesters were detained by police anyway.
Russia: Anniversary of Karachay Return From Deportation
Window on Eurasia writes about an anniversary of the Karachay people's return from deportation.
Russia: Ingushetia and Free Speech
Window on Eurasia reports: “The current drive by Ingushetia President Murat Zyazikov to shut down an independent website there through the use of the Soviet-era practice of legal analogy and a post-Soviet Russian pattern of defining almost any criticism of officials as extremism, will, if it proves successful, likely be...
Russia: A Dystopian Novel
Window on Eurasia writes about a newly-published dystopian novel about Russia: “In the space of ‘a few years,’ the novel continues, ‘the Ukrainian rulers cut the population of Moscow to two million,’ thus ending Russia’s existence as a state and that city as its most important expression and organizer.”
