Boris Berezovsky hit the headlines again today, claiming in an interview with a British newspaper that he was actively “plotting a new Russian revolution” – using force, if necessary. Apparently, he...
AndyWhat’s Google Maps hiding?
The image below is from Google Maps. Notice the blur in the middle? I didn’t put it there – Google did. Click on this link to check for yourself. Then scroll out a bit, using the controls of the left of the...
Russian opposition to pick unified Presidential candidate
A couple of stories have come out this week, saying that The Other Russia, an umbrella group of opposition parties, are meeting soon to pick a unified Presidential candidate to oppose any Kremlin-backed candidate in the...
Euroblog roundup
The second Euroblog roundup came out last weekend. One post in particular caught my eye – 1948 Blog’s article about how Russia is “hijacking” the European Court of Human Rights. Apparently...
The best books about Russia… on the radio
All through this week, BBC Radio 4 are reading a series of excerpts from the latest and best books on Russia. You can either listen live, or the shows will be archived on the BBC website. The books include: Monday...
Ozon.ru (Russia’s Amazon) gets $18m venture capital
Ozon.ru, Russia’s largest online bookstore, has received $18 million in venture capital funding from Cisco systems and German firm Index Ventures. The money will go primarily on expanding Ozon’s logistical...
Russian blogs under legal threat?
Interesting post at Publius Pundit about a loophole in the law that could mean Russian bloggers being held to the same standards as fully fledged media publications. Publius worries that this could lead to a crackdown...
Aeroflot bid for Italian airline
In a surprise move, Aeroflot have made a bid for the Italian flag carrier Alitalia: Aeroflot joined with the largest Italian bank, UniCredit, on Monday to bid for most of the 49 percent stake in Alitalia held by the...
Rival protests in Kiev as Ukraine crisis gathers pace
The political tensions that have been building in Ukraine over the past year or so may well come to a head over the next few days. Two rival protests have been organised in Kiev this weekend. One for supporters of...
Stalin in London
There’s a guy in my apartment block whose first name is Stalin. Well, I thought it was interesting. Anyway, you can learn more about Stalin (the former Soviet leader, not the guy who lives in my building) by...