Da Russophile

Da Russophile was one of the Anglosphere's most popular Russia blogs during its years of active operation from 2008 to 2014. Its main author, Anatoly Karlin, aimed to deconstruct Western myths about Russia through a focus on Russian language sources, verifiable facts, statistics, and opinion polls, and the application of a judicious comparative perspective. With the rise of many other media outlets offering a Russian perspective on global affairs, I made made the decision to archive this blog in October 2014. You may access a comprehensive list of its best posts at The Best of Da Russophile.

Russian Federation Sitrep 2014.03.20

This about Politics, tagged , , , , was written by for , on March 20, 2014 .23 Comments

RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 20 March 2014 PUTIN SPEECH. After the referendum (by the way, perfectly normal numbers for this sort of thing see Falklands Islands, Kosovo and others) the process of re-joining Russia has begun – Putin’s speech here. One of his points was the illegality of Khrushchev’s transfer in 1954 “What matters now is […]

Five Myths about the Crimean Referendum

This about Geopolitics, tagged , , , was written by for on March 16, 2014 .49 Comments

As voting gets underway – and by all accounts, it seems to be overwhelmingly heading for the pro-secession choice – it’s worthwhile to dispel four common but erroneous beliefs about it. (1) The referendum is unconstitutional. This is true enough, as all of Ukraine would have to vote on it. But there is one big […]

After The Referendum

This about Geopolitics, tagged , , , , was written by for on March 15, 2014 .13 Comments

If, as seems to be generally expected, tomorrow’s referendum in Crimea produces a substantial majority in favour of union with the Russian Federation, what will Moscow’s reaction be? I strongly expect that it will be…… Nothing. There are several reason why I think this. One is that Moscow is reluctant to break up states. I […]

Russian Federation Sitrep 2014.03.13

This about Politics, tagged , , , , was written by for , on March 13, 2014 .3 Comments

RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 13 March 2014 Propaganda. Watch for these news items in your local media outlet to indicate when it stops re-typing and starts reporting. Who is what in the new govt in Kiev; the sniper story; General Dempsey has no evidence the soldiers in Crimea are Russians; what the treaty allows Russia to […]

Russian Federation Sitrep 2014.03.06

This about Politics, tagged , , , , was written by for , on March 6, 2014 .38 Comments

RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 6 March 2014 Information battlespace. Just as in the Ossetia War, Western governments and media are in full propaganda mode. And, again, their citizens and news consumers will eventually find out they are being lied to. But this time it will be sooner because the New Media is stronger and alternative views […]

Russia Sees Ukraine’s Future in the Past

This about Politics, tagged , , was written by for on March 5, 2014 .32 Comments

Kommersant found out why Moscow insists to return to the agreement, signed on February 21st Original article here Elena Tsjernenko, Kommersant, 05/03/2014 Translation by Nils van der Vegte   Фото: Zoubeir Souissi / Reuters Yesterday, in Madrid, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov discussed the events in Ukraine with the `Minister` of Foreign Affairs of the European […]

Russian Federation Sitrep 2014.02.27

This about Politics, tagged , , was written by for , on February 27, 2014 .9 Comments

RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 27 February 2014 Olympics. A triumph, no question about it, with the added  unexpected pleasure for Russia of topping the medal list. A Levada poll showed something less than enthusiasm at the start: 53% were glad Russia was hosting but 26% were not. Bet there’s more support now! Perhaps connected is a […]

Propaganda and the Narrative

This about Politics, tagged , , , , , was written by for on February 25, 2014 .24 Comments

I assume that most of the people who read this blog agree that a great deal of what might be called the “Standard Western Media Narrative on Ukraine” could better be termed propaganda. That is to say that it is a constructed narrative designed to produce deep-rooted convictions. Or, more bluntly, constructed lies and selected […]

Western Media Coverage of Sochi

This about Politics, tagged , , was written by for on February 17, 2014 .17 Comments

Here is a radio discussion on VoR I did on Sunday with Amos Gelb and Robert Bridge on the western media’s coverage of the Sochi Olympics. http://voiceofrussia.com/uk/news/2014_02_17/Western-media-coverage-of-Sochi-The-worst-form-of-poor-sportsmanship-9458/ Please note that the written summary provided gives only a fraction of the discussion. Anyone wanting to follow the whole discussion will need to listen to it.  Please […]

Ukraine, the Nuland Leak, and the Amnesty Law

This about Geopolitics, tagged , , , was written by for on February 17, 2014 .7 Comments

A discussion on Crosstalk with Peter Lavelle in which I appeared discussing the Nuland leak. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLHXpCRPo-k I found some of the comments made by Taras Kuzio frankly surreal but judging from what I read on Kyiv Post he is pretty mainstream in Ukrainian opposition terms. Two weeks earlier in an interview on RT I said […]

The Coup in Ukraine

This about Politics, tagged , , , , was written by for on February 6, 2014 .23 Comments

In my last Sitrep I said that the West was trying to pull off a coup in Ukraine against the duly elected President. We now have very strong evidence in the shape of an intercepted phone call between Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt. They talk about how […]

Today’s Redundant Rant. Tiresome, Too. But I Amuse Myself.

This about Politics, tagged , , was written by for on February 6, 2014 .4 Comments

Got this in the mail from Jamestown. My response. Not that I expect much of an answer.  What a load of crap! Saakashvili, the as-yet-unindicted-former,-but-now-despised,-boss-of-Georgia (saved and given a comfortable retirement in the USA. His creator.) is going to feed us more lies. Wah hoo! I so want to be there to hear him emit […]