Translation: “Either We Convert, Or They Kill Us”

This about Society, tagged , , , was written by for on February 1, 2013 .No Comments

Yuri Matsarsky meets up with Egyptian Christians who fled to Russia from the persecution of Islamist extremists. “Late one evening I was walking home after a meeting with friends, when I stopped to have a cigarette at the Domodedovskaya metro station and saw a crowd of people with small children at the entrance. By their appearance, […]

A Chess Game To The Death

This about Geopolitics, tagged , , , was written by for , on January 29, 2013 .4 Comments

I am back to writing for the US-Russia.org Expert Discussion Panel, which since my hiatus has found an additional home at Voice of Russia. The latest topic was on whether Russia, China, and the West could find a common approach to the challenges of the Arab Spring. My response is pessimistic, as in my view Western […]

So Who’s The New Clown At The Economist’s Russia Desk?

This about Media, tagged , , , , was written by for on January 4, 2013 .25 Comments

I really did think it was getting better there under Joshu Yaffa, certainly it’s not typical of him to write such vitriolic but more importantly factually inaccurate articles. Let’s hope the world’s sleaziest magazine was getting one of their old-timers to file for him that day, instead of representing the start of a new descent into Lucasian raving. […]

Translation: Gleb Razdolnov – Please Answer, Gérard!… (An Open Letter To Depardieu)

This about Society, tagged , , , , was written by for on January 4, 2013 .No Comments

In the wake of Gérard Depardieu’s scandalous “defection” to Russia to escape high French income taxes, liberal Russian journalist Gleb Razdolnov yearns to know what the hell he was thinking. Dear Gérard! You’ve taken the decision to abandon your homeland, France. We will not talk of the reasons that prompted you to take this step. Such a […]

Major Misconceptions About The Dima Yakovlev Law

This about Demographics, tagged , , , , was written by for on December 30, 2012 .23 Comments

1. For Russian orphans life is much more dangerous in Russia than in America. Let’s agree to disregard the hidden subtext which implies that any country ought to give over its orphans to foreign nationals should it be ranked safer for children. Let’s first examine if the claim that Russia is 39 times more dangerous […]

Translation: Russia Today Hired You To Talk About The Cynicism And Wickedness Of The West (Konstantin von Eggert)

This about Media, tagged , , , , , was written by for on October 4, 2012 .58 Comments

This post is a continuation of the last, and can otherwise be called “Konstantin von Eggert: A Case Study In Democratic Journalism (part 2).” Alternatively, one might view it as a refutation of claims that the Kremlin controls or censors the Russian media (Eggert’s own protestations, hilarious and Orwellian in the context of what follows, to […]

In Which I Become A Liberast: Criticism Of Russia’s Expulsion Of USAID

This about Politics, tagged , , , , was written by for , on October 1, 2012 .13 Comments

The latest US-Russia.org Expert Discussion Panel focuses on whether Russia was correct to expel USAID on the grounds that it interfered in domestic Russian politics to an acceptable degree. Here is my contribution: I have no connection to USAID, or indeed to any American NGO operating in Russia or anywhere else. I do not pretend to have […]

So Apparently Germany Is A Christian Theocracy

This about Society, tagged , , , , , was written by for on September 28, 2012 .3 Comments

At least if you take Michael Bohm’s arguments in his latest Moscow Times missive on how Russia Is Turning Into Iran to its logical conclusion. Look, I’m not a fan of blasphemy laws. The First Amendment is a wonderful thing and something that makes the US truly great… even exceptional, to an extent. Although it should […]

Authoritarian Parallels

This about Politics, tagged , , , , , was written by for on August 30, 2012 .2 Comments

One of the main theses of this blog is that in many respects, Russia is far more similar to the the “West” (and vice versa) than various democratists would have you believe. Case in point (h/t Jon Hellevig): When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited an Ohio coal mine this month to promote jobs in the […]

A Genuine Case Of Miscarried Justice

This about Society, tagged , , was written by for on August 30, 2012 .6 Comments

Taisiya Osipova was sentenced to 8 eight years in jail for selling and possessing heroin. This was twice more even than what the prosecution requested. Even if the case was rock solid it would still be wildly disproportionate as she suffers from diabetes. But it’s not; to the contrary, there are reasonable suspicions that the drugs […]

Assange Should Have Picked The Russian Embassy

This about Politics, tagged , , , , , was written by for on August 16, 2012 .23 Comments

UK police descend on Assange’s embassy refuge. According to the Ecuadorians, their Embassy was threatened with a revocation of its status as Ecuadorian sovereign territory in the case that President Rafael Correa offers Julian Assange political asylum. This would clear the way for PC Plod could go in and fish out Assange. Presumably this is to avoid breaking […]

Legal Analysis Of The Pussy Riot Case

This about Society, tagged , , , , was written by for on August 8, 2012 .8 Comments

Alex Mercouris has penned a long and extremely erudite analysis of the case against Pussy Riot. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Go, read. There are just a few things I would add: (1) I think one of the closest historical analogues to this case in Anglo world is the 2 month imprisonment of Nicolas […]