Category Archives: Russia

Boonies

Posted on May 24, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Salon has passed on a wire service report about a Russian journalist arrested for making fun of Vladimir Putin: The article was published by Vladimir Rakhmankov, editor of the online newspaper Kursiv in the central city of Ivanovo, said Andrei … Continue reading →

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Shattered

Posted on May 22, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Even Arnaud de Borchgrave, editor at large at Sun Myung-Moon’s Washington Times and United Press International, thinks the Putin-bashing is excessive: Beating up on Russia’s shrinking democracy has become a geopolitical blood sport from Vice President Dick Cheney down to … Continue reading →

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Velorickshaw

Posted on May 17, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Eleven velorickshaws* currently operate in Moscow, tooling around on Tverskoy Boulevard, Tverskaya Street, and in the area near the All-Union Exhibition Center (they haven’t renamed that yet?**). You can’t tell the driver where to take you—for now, at least, the velorickshaws travel along … Continue reading →

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Rhetoric

Posted on May 17, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Well, it least someone is trying to remove the chill from the air. In an interview with the London Times, Putin’s chief of staff said: The problems that have been highlighted recently in the media and political circles have been … Continue reading →

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Sacked

Posted on May 14, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Two days after declaring the elimination of corruption one of his government’s highest priorities, Russian president Vladimir Putin fired ten high-ranking officials. He said the dismissals were not timed to coincide with his state-of-the-nation address, although he said he knew … Continue reading →

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Agenda

Posted on May 11, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Yesterday Vladimir Putin delivered his yearly address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation—the Russian equivalent of the American president’s “state of the union” address. His basic themes were (in order of delivery): The need to eliminate corruption and … Continue reading →

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Preacherman

Posted on May 8, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Our beloved vice president has journeyed to Vilnius in the former Soviet Union to criticize the democracy being run by the current Kremlin-dwellers. The Russians, naturally, found him “completely incomprehensible.” (Welcome to the club, друзья.) Cheney also accused the Russian government … Continue reading →

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Pentagon

Posted on May 2, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

What a coincidence (see the previous post). Over at Salon, Farhad Manjoo interviews James Carroll, author of a “biography” of the Pentagon, House of War. “[I]f Carroll’s book actually reads … like a story not just of the Pentagon but … Continue reading →

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Fandorin

Posted on April 18, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

I really should be writing the post I’ve been planning on deteriorating relations between the United States and Russia. It’s just a matter of digesting about eight or nine articles and a couple of major policy statements. So instead I’ll write … Continue reading →

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Tunes

Posted on April 5, 2006 by WorldWideWeber

Russia would very much like to join the World Trade Organization. Two countries currently stand in its way: The United States and Colombia. Well, one country, really. At least, that’s how President Putin sees it (as reported by Lenta.ru): At the … Continue reading →

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