The Financial Times (subscription required, but article also available from here) has an in-depth analysis of the increasing role of the siloviki (strong men/men of power) in the Russian government… When Mr Putin...
Archive - February 2004
AndyPutin dismisses entire government
The big news coming out of Russia today is President Putin’s surprise dismissal of the entire Russian government, just three weeks before the Presidential elections of 14th March. Putin announced the decision in a...
Admiral Kuznetsov to be forced into retirement?
The Vladivostok News, in an article written before the recent Russian missile test fiasco, reports that Russia is to abandon much of its large navy over the next 30-40 years, in favour of a smaller, more defensively...
Natalya Demkina update
A couple of days ago I linked to the pravda.ru report detailing Natalya’s ability to ‘see’ the organs inside a persons body and make medical diagnoses that would otherwise require an ultrasound. Well...
Russian missile goes ‘bang’, but not in right place
It looks like the consensus in the world’s press is that Russia’s missile tests on Tuesday were a failure, although the Russian Navy is still coming out with (competing) explanations as to what really...
Russian missile doesn’t go “bang”
Back from the Big Sky after a gruelling overnight ride on the Greyhound, I’m about to catch up on some well earned sleep. But before I do, I’d just like to take a brief moment to wallow in my miraculous...
Putin 2018?
Update: This article was written in 2004, just as Vladimir Putin was nearing the end of his first term as Russian President. The constitutional amendment in the article below wasn’t approved, but Putin found a...
Russia shows off its military muscle
Russia is planning to launch its largest military exercise since 1982. The defence ministry has described the exercise as an integral part of Russia’s attempts to “fend off terror”, but the exercise is...