Archives for October 2011

Russia Demographic Update VII

This about Futurism, tagged , , , was written by for on October 24, 2011 .63 Comments

It is now increasingly evident that Russia’s population has settled on a small but decidedly firm upwards growth trend. I have been vindicated. According to the latest data, in the first eight months of the year births fell by 1.4% (12.5/1000 to 12.3/1000) and deaths fell by 6.2% (from 14.6/1000 to 13.7/1000) relative to the […]

3000 AD: The Rise Of Polar Civilizations

This about Futurism, tagged , , , was written by for on October 16, 2011 .27 Comments

The river of time flows on, and empires crumble, leaving behind only legend that becomes myth, while new polities arise to take their place. This process of decay and creation is going to receive a boost from “peak energy” and, above all, climate change – which will redraw the maps of power to an extent […]

Esperanto Estas La Plej Facila Lingvo En La Mondo

This about Culture, tagged , , , was written by for , on October 9, 2011 .43 Comments

In the course of my Chinese adventures, all other languages started to seem a lot easier. So needless to say that Esperanto, one of the easiest of them all, looks like just a walk in the park now. In particular, I’m interested in what the glossophiles here think about it, i.e. yalensis and Lazy Glossophiliac. Here […]

Unraveling The Tandem Switch

This about Politics, tagged , , , was written by for on October 8, 2011 .19 Comments

Now that my initial triumphalism over Putin’s return has faded a bit, it’s time for a more analytical look. One of the main reasons I thought Medvedev would be the more likely person to be United Russia’s Presidential candidate is that Putin was simply unwilling to return. As Daniel Treisman wrote in his book on post-Soviet […]

Why Obama Will Almost Certainly Lose

This about Politics, tagged , , , , was written by for on October 7, 2011 .46 Comments

And ironically, despite my blog’s focus, to date my US predictions have been more accurate than my Russian ones. Obama to become President? Check. Republicans to win 2010 mid-terms? Check. The emergence of “a new party, a new politics”, with “the feds [facing] challenges from the far-left and the far-right”? Check (Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street). Dammit, […]

Maksim Schweiz – It’s Time To Shove Off To Belarus!

This about Demographics, tagged , , , , was written by , for on October 2, 2011 .19 Comments

In the vein of my recent posts on the myth of Russian emigration, I am now publishing a translation of Уехать в Белоруссию (“Go Off To Belarus”) by Maksim Schweiz writing for Rosbalt news agency. It is a joint effort by Nils van der Vegte, who blogs with Joera Mulders at Russia Watchers and is […]

Time To Shove Off! And What Then?…

This about Demographics, tagged , , , , was written by for on October 2, 2011 .21 Comments

If I had a cent for every Russia story from the past week that featured the (conclusively debunked) “sixth wave of emigration” meme… And if wishes were fishes. Still, the coverage of Russian reactions to Putin’s return does demonstrate the venality and general fecklessness of the Western MSM. As Adomanis correctly noted, it is “negative […]