So, Putin’s coming to visit George W Bush in Kennebunkport this weekend, and his advance guard are in town, checking out the place. Now, Kennebunkport isn’t the most exciting place to be if you’re a...
Archive - June 2007
AndyFractures within the Russian opposition?
In a must read article, Global Voices reports on some of the fractures in the broad Russian opposition. Maria Gaidar was prevented from addressing the crowd by, allegedly, Eduard Limonov, leader of the National...
90% of Russians drink anti-freeze
A BBC poll reported that 90% of Russians regularly drink anti-freeze. But not all was as it seemed. Russian bloggers, taking exception to a Russian language BBC article about alcohol abuse in Izhevsk, decided to spam...
Future History – The decline and fall of Russia
Every now and then, someone pops up and says that, for Russia the end is nigh: the oil boom is unsustainable, the population is falling, the Chinese are coming, the vodka will run out that sort of thing. But, if...
Military deaths rise and fall
More Russian servicemen are dying in combat this year than last, but overall deaths in the armed forces have fallen: Battle casualties in the Russian Armed Forces continue to rise. They accounted for only 10 percent of...
Moscow – world’s most expensive city
If you’re an expatriate worker, the most expensive city in the world to live in is… Moscow. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the numbers: A luxury 2-bedroom appartment will set you back a mere $4,071...
A map of the Russia-US anti-missile dispute
This beautiful map from Kommersant graphically demonstrates why Russia is concerned about the proposed US anti-missile system in Poland and the Czech republic. If the US plan goes ahead as expected, high powered radars...
Putin offers to work on joint missile shield
So, after spending the past few weeks ratcheting up the pressure, Putin has made an about turn and offered to work on a ‘joint’ missile shield with the United States. Details of exactly how such a scheme...
Australia to export Uranium to Russia
Australia and Russia have signed a deal allowing Australia to supply uranium to Russian nuclear reactors. Initially this struck me as rather odd – I’d always assumed that Russia was pretty much self...
Putin – I am the world’s only “pure democrat”
Is it just me, or does Vladimir Putin’s latest public statement make it seem like he’s completely off his rocker? Am I a pure democrat? Of course I am, absolutely. But do you know what the problem is? Not...