Stories about Russia from May, 2006
Russia: Bibliography on Russian-Germans
J. Otto Pohl posts a list of English-language publications on Russian-Germans, one of the many nations deported by Stalin during WWII.
Belarus, Russia: IMF Approves of Common Currency
TOL's Belarus Blog criticizes the IMF's approval of the common currency of Belarus and Russia: “Oh, yeah, IMF is not a political body and does not care or understand that ‘currency union’ has nothing to do with economics but only disquises attempt of political incorporation.”
Russia: “Moscow Has Lost Its Pride”
Vilhelm Konnander and Ufa Blog discuss the failure to hold the first gay pride parade in Moscow.
Russia: Moscow Photos
Moscow-Blog has Konstantin Leibovitch's most recent Moscow photos and commentary.
Estonia: “The Hole” Review
David McDuff of A Step At A Time reviews The Hole, a study on the sinking of Estonia, “a giant passenger and car ferry in the Baltic Sea in September 1994 which involved the deaths of nearly 1,000 people in the space of 35 minutes.”
Russia: “And You Call It A Gay [Pride] Parade?”
This past Saturday marked the 13th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Russia, and a number of people attempted to take part in a gay pride parade in Moscow – despite the ban by a city court and mayor Yuri Luzhkov's words from the day before: “As long as...
Russia: Pogrom Instead of Gay Pride
LJ user greenmih posts photos from the pogrom that took place in Moscow on Saturday instead of the gay pride parade, which had been banned by Moscow's mayor (RUS). Riot police, Orthodox Christians, skinheads and radical nationalists prevented those who did gather despite the ban to proceed and assaulted them....
Russia: Moscow Roma
Julia (LJ user kunstkamera) posts striking photos of the Roma living in Moscow (RUS). She went to their camp together with a friend – who, at one point, even lent his camera to the Roma and let them make some shots.
Russia: The Plight of Russian-Germans
J. Otto Pohl writes about one Russian-German family's road to political asylum in the U.S., the plight of the Russian-Germans during WWII and now, and the “deep-rooted Germanophobia among the US elite.”
Russia: Ethnic Uzbek in Moscow
Moscow-based LJ user gr_s (Grigoriy Sapov) hitched a cab and ended up having a conversation with the driver, an ethnic Uzbek (RUS): An Uzbek Driver Yesterday. The driver is elderly, respectable, speaks without an accent: *** The conversation began when we were getting out to the embankment through Neopalimovskie Lanes....
Belarus: Russian Ambassador on Pipeline
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about an interview with the Russian ambassador published in the Belarusian edition of a Russian paper: according to him, “Russia […] is firmly determined to take away the gas pipe (Beltransgaz) from Belarusans and have it under Gazprom’s control.”
Russia: Protest Over a Federal Police Unit in Chechnya
David McDuff of A Step At A Time translates an article about a recent protest in Grozny, where about 30 local residents accused of a federal police unit of human right violations and demanded its removal from Chechnya. Prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov wants the same, only for a different reason.
Russia: Relations with Sweden
Vilhelm Konnander writes about a diplomatic dispute between Russia and Sweden, and the past and the future of the relationship between the two countries.
Ukraine, Russia: Financial Aid for Mothers
As Vladimir Putin promises to increase financial aid to Russia's new mothers in order to change the demographic situation for the better, Scott W. Clark of Foreign Notes points out that in Ukraine, the significantly increased payments have not led to a baby boom.
Russia: Putin Helps WWII Veteran
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about a Russian WWII veteran from Voronezh who had been left without his veteran's pension by the local government, until the TV – and Vladimir Putin himself – interfered.
Russia: Ad Agency's Owner Advertises Himself
Konstantin Dlutskiy of Russian Marketing Blog writes about a new entertainment for Smolensk residents: they are making bets on whether the guy who put billboads of himself all over town manages to win his wife back this way.
Russia: Translating Joseph Brodsky
David McDuff of A Step At A Time has posted an interview with himself, in which he talks about what it was like to work with Joseph Brodsky on his poetry and prose translations: “I think it needs to be remembered that for Joseph the process of translating his own...
Russia: Krasnodar Encounters
Brigid of Laughter in the Dark writes about the well-meaning but racist director of Krasnodar’s archive; a Krasnodar woman whose dream is to move to the United States; and a Kuban State University historian who would really love to have a map of the world made in the United States....
Russia: Pensioners Get Young TV Stars Drafted
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes that four participants of a Russian reality show might get drafted because of a letter to the Russian minister of defense from a group of angry elderly women: “Mrs. Vrubel has a 17 year old grandson who is due for his mandatory army service...
Russia: A River “Walk”
Raffi Aftandelian of maaskva: nashimi glazami took a “river tram” down the Moskva River, part of the Moscow Cultural Walks initiative, and wrote about it both in English and in Russian: “The boat was just spilling with interesting people. I met a post-production sound man, psychologists, journalists, some delightfully out-there...
Russia, Ukraine: Misspelled Name & Border-Crossing
Stephan of Everybody I Love You writes about his “extreme Russia” adventure: dacha, banya – and problems at the Russian-Ukrainian border caused by a misspelled name on his Russian entry visa.
