So, without further ado, I present you This Week in Russia Blogs (TWiRB!) #1…

My two favourite posts from this week both come from Mark Adomanis over at the Russia Hand blog. He counters those who argue that Russian Foreign Policy is motivated by an authoritarian regime’s hatred of Western democracy by pointing out that Russian foreign policy over the past decade has been consistently based on “a persistent and robust defense of Russia’s interests”. Mark talks mostly about Russia’s relations with Israel and Tajikistan, but it’s something that applies to pretty much every Russian foreign policy – take Russia’s policy towards Syria as another recent example.

In a later post, Mark also goes on to note that current US policy towards Russia isn’t really a threat at all to the current Russian regime, and that Russia’s assertive foreign policy pronouncements over the past week or so are actually more aimed at the Russian domestic audience than the United States.

A few related posts that are worth reading come from:

• Brian Whitmore at The Power Vertical who notes in horror (not really) that Medvedev was caught telling the truth about the real reason for Russia’s war with Georgia
• from Putinania, who links Medvedev’s recent statements to United Russia’s falling poll numbers and
• from Vadim Nikitin at Foreign Policy Blog who explains how Putin is pandering to Russian nationalists.

Other top Russia blog posts that caught my eye this week are:

• Actually, not quite Russia, but a great post nonetheless at Registan.net from a volunteer who has to leave Kazakhstan because the Peace Corps is closing its operation there. (Scroll down to read the 117 comments on the story)
• A Good Treaty asks whether the hope vested in Russian internet activists is a Runet delusion
• Neeka takes a trip down memory lane and posts some 2004 pictures from Keiv’s Maidan Square
• The Kremlin Stooge is grumpy because people are over-hyping emigration from Russia.
• In Far From Moscow’s music corner we have Pathetic Records – Apparently the Worst Label in the World
• A complete guide to saying thankyou in Russian. Be polite – go on, you know it makes sense.
• Russian cabbage pie! For those cold, winter nights.

And, finally, lets finish off with a nice animated video that tells the tale of the Valdai Bells, courtesy of Russian History Blog.

Well, that’s your lot for this week. If you think I’ve missed any really good blog posts about Russia let me know in the comments below.

This Week in Russia Blogs #1 is a post from: Siberian Light

OK, so Russia are never going to bring the trophy back home to Red Square, like in the picture. But its going to be a great adventure and, as you’d expect from Siberian Light, we’ll be covering the Russian team all the way.

Starting with the battle of the superpowers – USA vs Russia – on Friday, all the way through to Russia’s match against World Champions Australia in a couple of weeks time, we’ll be bringing you previews and reports of every single Russian match.

As well as the best ongoing coverage, we’ve also prepared a few articles to give you all the background information about Russian rugby that you might need. From articles about the Russian squad to a detailed history of rugby in Russia, we’ve got it all at our Russian Rugby World Cup homepage.

Oh, and as a bonus, we’ll also be covering Russia’s neighbours Georgia, as they attempt to pull off a Rugby World Cup shock or two of their own.

(Picture courtesy of rugby.ru)

Follow Russia’s Rugby World Cup Adventure on Siberian Light is a post from: Siberian Light

“We do not share the United States and the European Union’s point of view regarding President (Bashar) al-Assad and will continue to pursue our consistent and principled stance on Syria.” Assad needs to be given “sufficient time to implement the declared large-scale programme of social, political and economic reforms,” the foreign ministry said.

Whenever the US or EU take a position on an issue of foreign policy, analysts question why they have reached that view, often arguing that business interests – particularly oil interests – are the true driver of their foreign policy. With that in mind, I thought it would be useful to consider why Russia’s policy in relation to Syria is diametrically opposed to US and EU policy.

From my perspective, there are two main drivers to Russia’s Syria policy. The first is its general worldview – a realist one that sees international politics as a zero-sum dog eat dog game.  The second is Russia’s clear business interests in Syria – notably the interests of Russia’s arms industry.

Russian Realism

First, Russia’s general worldview. Having spent most of the past decade directly observing Russia’s foreign policy, and having spent a lot of time analysing its historical foreign policy, I have very rarely seen it deviate from the principle of realism – that is to say, basing its foreign policy on the national interest and its own security.

(The best explanation of Russia’s foreign policy I’ve ever seen, by the way, is Igor Ivanov’s “A New Russian Diplomacy“, published in 2002, while he was Russia’s foreign minister. Although self serving to an extent in justifying Russia’s actions, Ivanov is unwavering in his belief that “our only reliable foreign policy reference point was the consistent protection of our national interests.”)

And Syria is no exception to this. Russia has invested a great deal of energy in building its relationship with the current Syrian Government. It has written billions of dollars worth of loans ($10 billion was written off in 2005), and has made billions of dollars of arms sales to Syria, one of its most reliable clients (more on this later).

In return, Russia gets a reliable political ally, and a country that is willing to host Russia’s only naval base in the Mediterranean – the refurbishment of the Tartus base is expected to be completed by 2012. The former gets Russia support in places like the UN, the latter is seen as critical to address weaknesses in naval capacity demonstrated during Russia’s brief 2008 war with Georgia.

Russia’s Arms Interests

Russia’s relationship with Syria, and particularly its military, goes back a long way – back to the Cold War, when Soviet influence usurped French influence.

Take a quick look at the Wikipedia page on the Syrian Navy, for example. Almost every ship you see listed is Russian made. The Syrian Air Force? Packed full of MiGs and Sukhoi jets.  The Syrian Army? About the only piece of equipment it owns that isn’t stamped ‘made in the USSR’ is its boots.

Historically, Syria has consistently been one of the Soviet and Russian arms industry’s biggest clients.  5,000 tanks, more than 500 aircraft, 41 naval vessels – that’s a lot of lucrative maintenance contracts.

And, of course, it’s not just about the business to be had replacing and upgrading  stock – Syria remains a major purchaser of Russian arms today. This RIA Novosti article from last week lists contracts worth $2.5 billion for 24 new fighters, air defence launchers and the upgrade of 1,000 Syrian tanks. And that’s nowhere near a complete list.

How does this drive Russia’s current policy?

Of course, all of this means nothing if it looks like Assad’s regime is on the way out. If that’s the case, then in order to preserve its position within Syria, Russia needs to start ingratiating itself with the opposition PDQ.  Otherwise work on Russia’s shiny new base in the Med is going to slow to a crawl and arms contracts, although they wouldn’t die out completely, are going to get much harder to negotiate.

My opinion, therefore, is that Russia has taken a cold, hard look at the current crisis in Syria, and has decided that, on the balance of probabilities, the Assad regime is going to survive. It has calculated that the internal opposition to Assad is too weak, and the external opposition to Assad is too divided and uncertain to intervene. And that, given its current isolation, the Syrian government will take any friend it can get.

Which ultimately means that, no matter how brutal Assad’s fight for survival is, if he comes out on top in the end, it will be worth it to Russia’s national and commercial interests.

Image reproduced with kind permission of crossed-flag-pins.com

Why Russia supports Syria’s Assad is a post from: Siberian Light

Below you’ll find metro maps for the traveller, language software from flashcards to dictionaries, games (including Tetris, of course) and more.

I intend to keep this page regularly updated with the best new Russian iPhone applications, so if you know of any that I’ve missed, please let me know in the comments below.

Moscow Metro ($4.99)

The Moscow Metro is such a beautiful place, but it’s massive and it can be an absolute nightmare to navigate – particularly if you’re new to Russia’s capital city.

The Moscow Metro App is a very simple iPhone application that provides you with an attractive bilingual map of the metro. As a bonus, it also allows you to search for the station you’re looking for – definitely useful, as the metro is so complex that sometimes it’s hard to find your way around even on the best of maps.

iMetro ($4.99)

If you’re planning to go further afield than Moscow, though, you might find that iMetro is better suited to your needs.

iMetro has metro maps for more than 28 cities – 8 in Russia alone (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Nizhni Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara, Ekaterinburg, Kazan and Volgograd). It also has maps for 9 other former Soviet cities (Minsk, Kiev, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Krivoi Rog, Baku, Terevan, Tbilisi and Tashkent), and 10 more global cities (including my very own London).

As far as I can see, iMetro is the only iPhone app to cover all the Russian and post-Soviet metros, which makes it perfect for the Russian train geek.

Deluxe English-Russian and Russian-English dictionary ($24.99)

When I was studying in Russia back in 2002, I went through 3 dictionaries. I flipped frantically through them so often they simply fell apart. And that was only when I was in class – a decent dictionary was too heavy to carry around for day to day use. I would have killed for a mobile dictionary, something the size of a packet of cigarettes that I could carry around with me all day.

SlovoEd’s English-Russian and Russian English Dictionary for the iPhone contains everything you’d expect from a dictionary. In addition to the standard words and their translations, you also get usage samples, synonyms, antonyms and references. In addition, because the dictionary is powered by the Oxford University Press database, you know you’re going to be getting a quality set of translations.

The Deluxe Version has more than 75,000 entries, so if you think you’ll use it a lot, it’s probably worth paying the slightly higher price of $24.99. But, two cut down versions are also available which might be more use to the Russian language beginner – one with 50,000 words for $14.99 and another with just 20,000 words for $9.99.

Russian Flip ($5.99)

One of the areas in which the iPhone really excels is in its ability to replace flashcards.

I don’t know about you, but I remember spending hours putting together flashcards when I was learning Russian. I’d slowly write each word out in Russian and it’s English translation on the back, then I’d repeat the process over hundreds of cards. By the end of my stay, I was the proud owner of a massive box of cards – so big that I could only really use the flash cards my room.

Russian Flip solves that problem by creating Russian iphone flashcards. It has about 5,000 words, so is really suitable for the beginner or intermediate learner of Russian. As well as presenting you with random cards, it’s been programmed to show you the words you are weakest at more often, so you don’t waste time going over and over words you already know well.

And, if you ever run out of words, or need to learn some particularly technical words, Russian Flip allows you to add your own custom words.

Russian Flip comes in two versions – the standard version comes in at $5.99 and will be fine for most people. The deluxe version, known simply as ‘Russian’ for some reason, also contains audio, and will set you back $8.99.

Tetris ($4.99)

There’s no way that any self-respecting roundup of Russian iPhone applications can be complete without mentioning Tetris, the Russian (well, Soviet really) game that rule them all.

iPhone Tetris makes good use of the touchscreen – a simple tap to either the left or right of a falling brick will cause it to rotate, while moving your finger either left or right across the screen will cause the falling block to move to (surprise!) the left or right. It’s an odd experience for old-school gamers like myself, brought up on playing tetris with a keyboard or a controller, but now I’ve got the hang of it, I’m as pitifully addicted to Tetris as I ever was.

Tank Ace 1944 ($0.99)

Tank Ace 1944 is an iPhone app for the miltary enthusiasts among us who like to shoot stuff using their big guns. If you’re a Russophile, take control of a T34 and advance on Berlin. On the other hand, if you’re a Russophobe, take control of a German Tiger tank, and advance on Moscow instead. Your choice.

As a bonus, if you get bored of shooting other tanks, you can also shoot what is described as a “destroyable 3D landscape”.

Tank Ace is one of the few iPhone games that you can try before you buy, with a simple demo that you can play over the internet.

Russian News ($0.99)

Russian News is the ultimate iPhone App for news junkies like me. It pulls Russian language news feeds from Russian News sites including the BBC Russian site, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Argumenty i Fakty and more.

Alternatively, if you want to read your Russian News in English, you could use a customised version of Google News for the iPhone, or simply view my own Russian News Online webpage, which works fine on the iPhone

The Best Russian iPhone Apps is a post from: Siberian Light

What I really need is one page that I can visit once every morning, while I’m drinking my coffee, where I can see at a glance what dozens of online newspapers are writing about Russia. Oh, and it’d be nice to have another page exactly the same where I can check out all the Russia blogs.

I couldn’t find a site that did what I wanted (Alltop:Russia is ok, but only has a few sites), so I decided to make my own…� Russian News Online.

Russian News Online is a really simple site.

There are only really two pages. The Russian News page displays the latest headlines from each of the top English language news sites covering Russia. The Russian Blogs page displays the latest post from each of the top English language blogs about Russia.

Once you see an article you like, you click on the headline, and you’re taken to the original article.

That’s pretty much it.

(OK, there’s a little bit more.� I’ve added pictures and video news too. If you click on a video, you can play it right there in the site, rather than having to go off to Youtube.)

The site is a bit rough around the edges at the moment – as you can see, design really isn’t my strong suit – and because it pulls news from so many different places, it can be a bit slow to load at times. But I’d really value any feedback about whether there are any news sources / blogs I’m missing, and whether anything doesn’t work properly.

If you find Russian News Online useful, please bookmark it, and tell others about it.

Introducing my new website: Russian News Online is a post from: Siberian Light

The Buran was only ever flown once – an unmanned test flight in November 1988. Future flights were planned, but the collapse of the Soviet Union and economic hardship in Russia meant that the Buran programme was cancelled in 1993.

The last surviving Buran has been exhibited around the world – most notably at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney – and will now be on display at the Technik Museum Speyer, near Mannheim, Germany.

Apparently, the cost of transporting the Buran to Germany, and the construction of a new hall to house the shuttle, was over $15 million.

(Pictures with permission of: Torsten Dillenburg, Marc-Cologne, Walter Kraegeloh, eternaltedium, Joachim S Muller and Netream.

Russian Space Shuttle Buran sails the Rhine is a post from: Siberian Light

The win, secured only with two last-gasp penalties, sets up an thrilling winner takes all fight for the title next month, as Russia host old rivals Georgia.

Romania, traditionally a European rugby powerhouse, were never going to be an easy opponent. Lying third in the table, they trailed Russia and Georgia by just one point at the beginning of the match.

But, in front of 3,000 screaming fans at Krasnodar’s Stadium Junost, Russia kept their nerve and came from behind to edge past a determined and well drilled Romanian team.

Last gasp victory

After taking almost the entire game to grind out a 6-3 lead, Russia looked well placed to run down the clock and secure victory. But the Romanian players clearly hadn�t read the script.

With just 12 minutes left to play, a magnificent drive by Romania’s forwards put replacement Valentin Ursache in position to score from a maul. The conversion was missed but the try was enough to take Romania into a narrow 8-6 lead.

Suddenly finding themselves behind, and with the game almost over, the Russians finally kicked into high gear. Romania managed to resist Russia’s relentless attacking play for 8 more minutes, but two penalties in the last four minutes from Yuriy Kushnarev, Russia’s fly-half, gave Russia a last gasp victory.

Russia vs Georgia � winner takes all title fight

Russia now find themselves top of the European Nations Cup table, three points clear of old rivals Georgia.

Georgia have a game in hand and if, as expected, they beat Spain, the Lelos will go back to the top of the table on points difference to set up a thrilling climax to the European Nations Cup tournament on 12 April.

Russia, who lost 31-13 to Georgia in Tblisi last year will be the slight underdogs. Although Russia have risen to 16th in the world rankings – their highest ever – they are still two places behind the experienced Georgians. And Georgia, as some regular commenters will recall, came within a whisker of dumping Ireland out of this summer’s Rugby World Cup.

But with three consecutive wins under their belt, and thousands of home fans behind them, I wouldn’t bet against the Russian Bears winning their first major title.

Check back in a few weeks for a full match report…

(Image Credit: Russian Rugby Union).

Rugby: Russia beat Romania to go top of table is a post from: Siberian Light

The way I see it, there are three broad possibilities for the coming years.

1). Putin is really the boss, and he intends to stay the boss. Either Putin will gradually shift power to the office of Prime Minister, or he’ll run for the Presidency again in 2012 after a caretaker Medvedev Presidency.

2). A planned transfer of power to Medvedev. Either Putin plans to gradually groom his successor, or he plans to surprise us all by retiring from Russian politics in May, while he is on top of his game.

3). An unplanned transfer of power to Medvedev. The Presidency is a constitutionally more powerful role than that of Prime Minister, and Medvedev may fancy his chances of success if he can slowly build his real power base to challenge Putin’s influence.

1 – Putin stays in power

Let’s face it, pretty much everyone in the West, and probably most in Russia too, thinks Putin plans to remain Russian top dog for some time to come.

Putin is, after all, a man in his political prime. He is regarded at home and abroad as the architect of Russia’s recent revival (even if the seeds were really sown during the last years of the Yeltsin Presidency, and watered by downpours of oil), and is immensely popular among the Russian electorate.

If I was in Putin’s shoes, I probably wouldn’t want to retire either.

So, if you’re President who has to resign at the end of his second term, but wants to legitimately remain in power, what do you do?

Simple. You find another powerful job, and find someone both reliable and malleable to take on the role of President. In this case, Putin has picked the role of Prime Minister as his ideal job, and Dmitry Medvedev as his reliable, yet malleable Presidential sidekick.

As Prime Minister, Putin has all the official constitutional excuse he needs to wield power. And, working with a President whose power base is thought to be pretty much non-existent beyond Putin, he shouldn’t face any real competition for power. The advantage of being Prime Minister, of course, is that there are no term limits. If he wants to, and he can pull it off, Putin could stay as Russia’s PM until the day he dies.

However, the disadvantage to being Prime Minister is that, technically, he serves at the discretion of the President. If Putin can’t find a way to change the constitution in the next four years, he might well consider that the safest option is to run back to the security of the Presidency in 2012.

2 – A planned transfer of power to Medvedev

Russia’s economy is booming – most people’s incomes have shot up during Putin’s rule, a middle class is forming, and the country seems awash with money. Of course, everyone thinks Putin is great.

But Russia’s wealth is built mainly on energy exports and record high prices for oil and gas. It’s economy hasn’t diversified, and the global economy is uncertain, at best. If oil prices crash, the Russian economy is likely to follow.

And if the Russian suffers another financial meltdown like 1998, guess who they’re going to blame?

Given the global economic uncertainty, now might seem a very attractive time for Putin to retire on top of his game, with his reputation intact. He could crack open the little nest egg he’s supposedly been stashing away over the past eight years and live a very comfortable retirement.

In this scenario, the only real question is when does Putin intend to retire? Does he intend to go out in a blaze of glory in May, or will he hang on a while to show Medvedev the ropes.

Going out in a blaze of glory has its attractions, of course, but it has its dangers too. Medvedev doesn’t have a massive power base and, while watching Medvedev struggle might have a certain appeal for Putin, it also opens him up to dangers. Putin has made many enemies during the past eight years and, in an uncertain country like Russia, protection is vital. A weak President can’t offer much protection.

It may well be best for Putin to hold off on retiring immediately, and spend a little time showing his acolyte the ropes.

3 – An unplanned transfer of power

For Russia, an unplanned transfer of power is probably the least desirable outcome – in the short-term, at least. Journalists probably love the idea, though, as few things sell newspapers better than an epic power struggle.

The position of President of Russia is a powerful one. As noted above, the President can technically fire his Prime Minister and Government at will. Both Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev know this.

Much has been made of Medvedev’s political weakness compared to Putin. He is widely regarded as Putin’s man. And, in a very real sense, he is. Without Putin’s sponsorship, Medvedev would probably be muddling along in regional politics, or have given up politics entirely in favour of a steady management job somewhere.

If he were to try and fire Putin this year, no-one would stand for it. Medvedev simply couldn’t rule today without Putin’s active support.

But there’s something about being President of a powerful country that increases a man’s stature in the eyes of his people – and increases a man’s stature in his own eyes. Surely, one day, Medvedev will get tired of being told what to do by his supposed subordinate?

Will we see another battle for the White House?

Putin or Medvedev – who is the boss? is a post from: Siberian Light

Russians are at the polls today, voting for the man who will become their third President, after Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin.

Please note that many of the links are to Russian language news sources. Where possible, I’ve linked to a translation, as well as the Russian language article. Additonally, some of the pages seem to be being updated on the fly, so the content may change after I link to it…

Time: Monday morning – Moscow 10:15am, London 7:15am, New York 2:15am

The results haven’t quite been announced, but with 99% of the vote counted, Medvedev has snuck past the 70% mark (translation here). The candidates now stand as follows:

70.23% – Dmitry Medvedev, United Russia
17.76% – Gennady Zyuganov, Communist Party of the Russian Federation
9.37% – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Liberal Democratic Party
1.29% – Andrei Bogdanov, Democratic Party of Russia

70% is an important psychological figure, which will on the face of things give much more credibility to backers of Medvedev. On the other hand, the late increase in Medvedev’s vote share, from 64% late yesterday to just over 70% at the close of play, might arouse suspicions among the more conspiracy minded observers of Russian politics…

By the way – Medvedev gained slightly more votes in total than Putin four years ago (translation here), but a slightly lower overall percentage – Putin managed 71.31%.

Before I go, just a few more quick notes.

Vladimir Zhirinovksy has announced that the LDPR will support Vladimir Putin if he is nominated as Prime Minister in May (translation here).

Paul-Marie Couto, a Member of the European Parliament was in Russia to observe the elections. He believes the elections were free and fair (translation here), and will no doubt become a poster child for the Russian Government. In an interview, he told reporters:

“When I get back to France, will convince our fellow citizens that they did not believe that read in the newspapers”.

Not all would agree with him. Other Russia have detailed a long list of voilations on their website and Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov has apparently got a list of 200 violations, which I assume he will release at some point in the near future – either to the press, or to a court.

Finally, the Garry Kasparov led Other Russia will be holding protest marches in Moscow and St Petersburg today. I doubt it will be a good tempered affair, so expect arrests. Indeed, Echo Moscow are reporting that arrests may have already begun (translation here) – Maxim Reznik, the St Petersburg boss of liberal party Yabloko is apparently in police custody.

Time: Moscow 9:45pm, London 6:45pm, New York 1:45pm

All the polling stations are closed now, and the voting is done. All that remains is to count the votes.

Earlyy figures released by the CEC are pretty much following the polls at the moment. As of now, they’re reporting an easy win for Medvedev (translation here) – as we stand the candidates rank as follows:

64.55% – Dmitry Medvedev
18.85% – Gennady Zyuganov
12.71% – Vladimir Zhirinovsky
1.49% – Andrei Bogdanov

No official turnout yet, but I saw an earlier report (sorry, lost the link) which put it at just under 64%, which I’d imagine will be a (very very) slight disappointment to the Kremlin.

In Chechnya, Medvedev gained a disappointing 90% of the vote (translation here). Disappointing because Putin gained 99% there just four years ago…

Both Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky are unhappy. Zyuganov is reporting yet more electoral violations (translation here) – from stuffed ballots to journalists being beaten. Zhirinovsky, meanwhile, has promised to contest the election in court (translation here).

Time: Moscow 6pm, London 3pm, New York 10am

Four people have been arrested at a flashmob demonstration in Moscow (translation here). Garry Kasparov, leader of the Other Russia movement, was reportedly at the event, but no news yet as to whether he was one of those arrested.

Update: looks like Kasparov is on the loose for the time being – well, more or less. According to radio station Echo Moscow, he wasn’t one of those arrested at the flashmob. Kasparov was, however, prevented from entering Red Square (translation here).

Time: Moscow 5pm, London 2pm, New York 9am

Still a bit quiet as we await the first results.

In the meantime, you might be interested to know that 93% of Russian soldiers voted (translation here) in the Far Eastern Military District. Presumably because they were told to.

Additionally, more allegations of violations are coming from the Communist Party (translation here). They are reporting seeing ballot box stuffing, and a polling station where a poster was prominently displayed with a big tick next to one of the candidate’s names.

Time: Moscow 2pm, London 11am, New York 6am.

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev are at a nice restaurant having lunch (translated article here), along with Federation Council head Sergei Mironov, Chairman of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov, and current Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov. On the menu, says Interfax, are omul, a fish native to Lake Baikal in Siberia. Mmmmm, tasty.

Surely it’s supposed to be bad luck to celebrate victory before the vote is even done?

Meanwhile, polling stations are beginning to close in the far East of Russia, so the first preliminary results can’t be too far away…

Time: Moscow 2pm, London 11am, New York 6am.

The big names in Russian politics are all turning out to vote. Putin and his wife voted just an hour or so ago (translation here). Putin, like Medvedev before him was in a particularly chipper mood:

“I’m in a celebratory mood. Luidmilla, when she left the house, said that rain means good will”.

Communist candidate Gennady Zyuganov has also voted. Unlike Putin and Medvedev, though, he’s not in a good mood, and seems to be the first person of note to be reporting electoral violations (translation here).

“We sent almost 500,000 observers to oversee polls. Unfortunately, there have been many violations.”

Nationalist LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky was also out bright and early. Perhaps recognising his limitations, he was pretty upbeat, too, restricting himself to a quick cheer of “For victory!”

No news yet of token liberal candidate Andrei Bogdanov.

Time: Moscow, 1pm, London, 10am, New York, 5am

As I wake up in London, voters are going to the polls throughout Russia. Because of the country’s vast size, some regions, like Vladivostok are about to close their polling stations, while voters in the west of the country have many hours still to vote.

So, at the moment, no actual results to report.

The Central Elections Commission are already reporting high turnout, however. An hour or so ago, turnout was running at 15%, which is 3-4% higher than the equivalent time four years ago (translation here). As the turnout last time was just over 64%, the Kremlin will clearly be hoping for a turnout of around 70% to give increased international legitimacy to the election.

Dmitry Medvedev is, of course, among those who voted. He came out of the polling booth with a spring in his step, telling reporters that a new era was dawning:

“Spring has arrived – although it is raining, a new season has come.”

Does anyone believe him?

Election observers are already reporting on the legitimacy of the election. Unfortunately, since the OSCE decided not to send observers (citing intolerable conditions being imposed on them), the only observers seem to be from the Commonwealth of Independent States. They have observers in around half of Russia’s regions and, unsurprisingly, they’re giving the election a clean bill of health (translation here).

Finally, for this update, a bit of light relief – apparently, as is tradition, members of the Central Election Commission will not wear ties to work today (translation here). They’ll don their ties again at 9pm, Moscow Time, when they start announcing the results.

Liveblogging the Russian Presidential Election is a post from: Siberian Light

So, here, for your delight and delectation, is a brief rundown of every Russian Bond Girl, ever.

Plus a bonus Ukrainian Bond Girl – Camille from The Quantum of Solace (also known as Olga Kurylenko).

Tatiana Romanova – From Russia With Love (Daniela Bianchi)

A Corporal in the Soviet Army, Tatiana Romanova believes she is on a secret mission for her country to seduce James Bond. Instead, she is just a unwitting pawn of the evil SPECTRE, who want to get their evil mitts on LEKTOR, the Soviet encryption machine.

Although James Bond suspects a trap, he meets with Tatiana, who plans to defect with the LEKTOR machine.

After spending some quality time together, Bond and Romanova blow up the Soviet embassy in Istanbul and flee with the LEKTOR machine on the Orient Express. There, in the climactic scene, Romanova shoots Klebb, the assassin pursuing them, saving Bond’s life.

Top Quote:

Tatiana Romanova: The mechanism is… Oh James, James… Will you make love to me all the time in England?
James Bond: Day and night. Go on about the mechanism.

Anya Amasova – The Spy Who Loved Me (Barbara Bach)

In the intro to The Spy Who Loved Me, James Bond is attacked by a group of ski-ing KGB assassins. Before parachuting to freedom, he manages to kill one of his attackers – who just happens to be Amasova’s lover.

Amasova is also a KGB agent and throughout the film, she and Bond are on the trail of a stolen nuclear submarine. Competing with each other to fulfil their mission the pair, of course, fall in love.

Then Amasova finds out that James Bond killed her lover…

Amasova swears revenge but, ever the KGB professional, she refuses to kill him until they have completed their mission.

In the final scene, Amasova tells Bond “This mission is now over” and ominously points her gun at the British secret agent.

But, of course, Amasova discovers that her love for Bond is too strong for her to carry out her threat. Instead she shoots the cork off a bottle of champagne, and the two pop off into a luxury escape pod to catch up on old times…

Top Quote:

James Bond: Oh, by the way, thanks for deserting me back there.
Anya Amasova: Every woman for herself, remember?
James Bond: Still, you did save my life.
Anya Amasova: We all make mistakes, Mr. Bond.

Pola Ivanova – A View to a Kill (Fiona Fullerton)

Pola Ivanova has a short, but sweet, role in A View to a Kill.

Ivanova is, of course, another of those mysterious women from Bond’s past who just happens to also be a Soviet spy. Caught spying on billionaire villain Max Zorin, Ivanova fights with Bond until the pair fortunately recognise each other.

They then, of course, have to hop into the hot tub to wash off the sweat and blood.

Having done the not so dirty, Bond then steals a secret tape from Ivanova, swapping it for a less intersting tape of Japanese music, and goes back to fighting the evil Zorin.

Top Quote:

The bubbles tickle my… Tchaikovsky!

Xenia Onatopp – Goldeneye (Famke Janssen)

Lots of Bond girls were murderers, but Xenia Onatopp was the only Bond girl to get her sexual kicks from murdering people – preferably between her famously powerful thighs.

Early in the film, Onatopp murders a Canadian Admiral by crushing him between her thighs while loudly orgasming, and it’s not long before James Bond becomes her target. Twice during the film, Onatopp attempts to squeeze Bond to death between her legs, but is thwarted each time after an arousing contest.

When not trying to fulfil her murderous sexual desires, Xenia Onatopp is a crack helicopter pilot. After the fall of the Soviet Union she put her skills (both sexual and aviational) to good use for the JANUS crime syndicate, first stealing a prototype European helicopter from the unfortunate Canadian General, and then flying Russian General Arkady Ourumov across Siberia to steal the Goldeneye satellite weapon’s controller.

In their final confrontation, Bond as always finds himself in a tight squeeze. However, yet another sultry Russian is on hand to distract Onatopp and save Bond yet again. Having escaped Onatopp’s clutches, Bond kills her by shooting her helicopter pilot – Xenia Onatopp is appropriately crushed to death by her own safety harness.

Top Quote:

This time, Mr. Bond, the pleasure will be all mine.

Natalya Simonova – Goldeneye (Izabella Scorupco)

Computer programmer Natalya Simonova is the sole survivor of the attack in which General Arkady Ourumov and Xenia Onatopp’s steal the Goldeneye controller.

Simonova meets Bond while the two of them are tied up, captives of rogue MI6 agent Alex Trevelyan. Naturally, despite being trussed up in a helicopter programmed to self-destruct, the two escape together and become lovers.

Many adventures ensure before Simonova saves the day not once, but twice. After reprogramming the Goldeneye satellite to crash harmlessly into the ocean, she turns her attentions to femme fatale Xenia Onatopp, distracting her briefly from her mission to crush James Bond.

Top Quote:

Natalya Simonova: How can you be so cold?
James Bond: It’s what keeps me alive.
Natalya Simonova: No. It’s what keeps you alone.

Bonus Bond Girl: Camille – The Quantum of Solace (Olga Kurylenko)

Looking through the article, you might have noticed that Russian Bond Girls have always been portrayed by actors from the West – never a Russian girl, or a Soviet Bond Girl. Well, that’s about to change – almost – with the introduction of the first Ukrainian Bond Girl.

Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko has been announced as one of two Bond Girls who will star in the upcoming movie, the Quantum of Solace. She will play the role of Camille.

Not much has been announced about the fim yet, but judging by the sound of her name, and that Kurylenko is a big star in France, it sounds as though ironically, she may be the first Eastern European actress to play a Western Bond Girl.

Kurylenko , discovered by a talent scout on the Moscow metro when she was just 13, has been causing quite a storm in the media in recent weeks – not just because she is a beautiful pre-Bond girl, but because she appears in the recently released French film The Serpent, which contains quite a lot of nudity and some rather explicit Japanese rope bondage scenes.

Every Russian Bond Girl Ever is a post from: Siberian Light