Russia Blog Roundup – October

If you’ve not been keeping up with the Russia blogs recently, this is your chance to gorge yourself on some of the best writing about Russia you’ll see.

This month’s roundup of Russia blogs is likely to be the last epic monthly roundup.  It’s far too much hassle to compile all these links in one go, and probably quite a lot for you to read in one go. 

So, instead, I’m going to experiment with shorter, weekly roundups from now on.

Blog News

First up, some gloomy news – Rubashov may have posted his last at Darkness at Noon.  But, if you really must finish, you can’t go out on a higher note than dedicating your final post to Kvas: Magic in a Bottle.  Rubashov loves Kvas so much, he even writes poetry about it.

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All I can say is: don’t leave us Rubashov – the world cannot survive without poetic talent like yours!

In other blog news.

• Dmitry Medvedev has a brand new blog – featuring possibly the most pimped Russian bike ever.
• In Moscow’s Shadows is the new blog from Dr Mark Galeotti, who has been researching Russian and Soviet security since the 80s.  As a former student of International Security, I think this is going to quickly become one of my favorite blogs…
• Russian Language & Culture has changed its name and moved home.  It’s now called Russian Blog: Language and Culture of the Russian-Speaking World.  Phew.  Long name, great blog.
• Owen from Lex Libertas has launched a new blog – Russian Photos.
• Mat Rodina has been going for just over a year now, but somehow I managed to miss it.  Sorry!
• And the Ivanov Report’s been around for quite a while, too!

Blog posts

Moving on to the real reason I write this post – to highlight the best blog posts about Russia that I’ve seen over the past month or so.

• What is Russia actually for? Nosemonkey wonders whether Russia is suffering a crisis of identity.
• So, what’s it actually like to spend three weeks on an oil platform in the Sea of Okhotsk? Tim knows.
• Uri Geller almost causes a diplomatic incident, by inciting the murder of Putin live on Russian TV.
• Da Russophile has finished his three part series on Russian demographics.  Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3.
• 100 years of global misery – and it’s all Russia’s fault.  Bad Russia!
• Will the implosion of the world’s financial system prompt Russia’s brightest and best to return home?
• The Top Ten Similarities between Bush and Putin from Robert Amsterdam.
• Has Putin won (in Chechnya)? A good question for the mastermind behind the Turkish Invasion to ask.
• Alec was almost gassed in St Petersburg.
• Russian Blog takes a closer look at Vogue
• How the financial crisis is hitting the domestic credit market from Russia Economy Market
• Is the Russian Gas Deficit real? Notes from Tunne Kelam’s speech over at A Step at a Time.
• De Rebus critiques Richard Pipes’ “The Russian Revolution”. He’s disappointed.
• Also from De Rebus, a great piece about how it was mandatory to register domestic radio receivers in the Soviet Union. (With some very cool pictures).
• Adventures in Russian marketing.
• Yar! Somali pirates seize Ukrainian ship – hilarity ensues.
• How one Russian woman got on visiting her new husband’s American church.
• Ummm… “How was strip dance, honey?” Good question.
• Life and Death in Londongrad: Russia Blog reviews Eastern Promise, David Cronenburg’s film about Russian gangsters.
• In the scoop of the century, Edward Lucas publishes the leaked memo of Russia’s plans for world domination.
• MMD Russia Blog wonders what the financial crisis will mean for their PR firm.
• The Battle of the Ice – a history lesson from Winthrop 360.
• Unwanted cake – this month’s saddest cartoon, over at Lex Libertas.
• Finally, check out Thomas Dworzak’s magnificent photo essay, A Georgian Diary. Whatever your views on the conflict, the essay itself is fascinating.

OK, that’s it for this month. Back soon with a weekly roundup.