Stories about Russia from January, 2009
Ukraine: Yushchenko vs Tymoshenko
Ukrainiana translates Victor Yushchenko's address to the nation – and Yulia Tymoshenko's response.
Russia: Putin in Davos
Leopolis writes about Putin's appearance at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos: “Despite being lost in translation, the Putin-Dell exchange illustrates the fact that Russia and the West are speaking at two completely different wavelengths, if not from two completely different planets.”
Russia, Poland: Robert Amsterdam's Interview
Translation of Robert Amsterdam's interview in the Polish Gazeta Wyborzca – at Robert Amsterdam Blog.
Russia: Diarchy
Robert Coalson of RFE/RL's The Power Vertical muses on the state of the Russian “diarchy.”
Russia: Moscow Riot Cops vs Garbage Container
LJ user trashman_2009, a Greenpeace activist, posts pictures of himself dressed as a green garbage container, being dragged away by Moscow riot police after a failed attempt to get an appointment with the Moscow mayor and talk to him about recycling (RUS).
Russia: Medvedev on Markelov's Murder
RFE/RL's The Power Vertical, Robert Amsterdam's Blog, and Sean's Russia Blog comment on Dmitry Medvedev's remarks about the murders of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova in Moscow last week.
Russia: Putin's Response to Dell
Eternal Remont and Scraps of Moscow comment on Vladimir Putin's response to the Dell Computer founder at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Georgia: Glukhov's Case; U.S.-Based “Georgian Chalabis”
Scraps of Moscow writes about Aleksandr Glukhov's case, and notes on the possibility “that Georgian Chalabis are already being groomed Stateside.”
Europe: The “Two Cows” Jokes
Inspired by the “two cows” joke that's “been around for years in one form or another,” 20 east comes up with a few ones of his own.
Russia, Georgia: Glukhov's Unit in Tskhinvali Since June 2008?
AnTyx comments on soldier Aleksandr Glukhov‘s mention of his unit's transfer to South Ossetia in June 2008: “If true, it would mean that the war in Georgia was deliberately provoked by Russia.”
EU: Investing in Ukraine's Gas Pipeline?
Wu Wei quotes a Kyiv Post editorial, which urges the EU to consider investing in Ukraine's gas pipeline system, and posts this comment: “But on what terms will this be offered? Will the EU (or the corporation it says it will set up for pipelines) enter into a bidding war...
Cuba: Raul in Russia
Child of the Revolution, Una Familia en Cuba [Sp] and Havana Times all blog about Cuban President Raul Castro's official visit to Russia.
Russia: Conscript Seeks Asylum in Georgia
Aleksandr Glukhov, a 21-year-old Russian conscript, has asked for asylum in the Republic of Georgia to escape the "unbearable conditions" in the Russian army. One of Glukhov's media appearances took place as he was dining at a McDonald's restaurant in Tbilisi. Russian officials claim that Glukhov was captured by Georgian armed forces in South Ossetia, where he was performing his compulsory military service, and taken to the Georgian capital. Quite a few people in Russia seem to consider Glukhov "a traitor." Below are some of the reactions from the Russophone blogosphere.
Russia: Blog as Mass Media Outlet
LJ user ottenki-serogo is the first Russian blogger to have officially registered his blog as a mass media outlet. Many readers are asking: “What for?” One of the 168 comments to the post (RUS) with a scanned copy of the registration certificate, by LJ user vlada_lad (RUS): “Good thing that...
Russia: Medvedev vs Putin's Espionage Law
RFE/RL's The Power Vertical reports that president Medvedev “has instructed his administration to re-work a controversial bill broadening the definition of treason and espionage to assure that it doesn't violate human rights.”
Russia: “Economic Shock Therapy”
Sean's Russia Blog cites the director of the Serbsky State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry, who says that “since the financial crisis requests for psychologists have grown by 10 percent and psychotherapy by 20 percent. So much so that the Center has opened a hotline for people in...
Russia: “Izbrannoe” Stops Publication; Gryzlov's Crisis Denial
Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow links to LJ user barabanch‘s report (RUS) that the online magazine Izbrannoe has stopped publication, and notes on Boris Gryzlov's denial of the economic crisis.
Russia: Siege of Leningrad Photos
On the 65th anniversary of the lifting the siege of Leningrad, one of the most popular posts in the Russian blogosphere, by LJ user komen-dant (RUS), features Sergei Larenkov's selection of contemporary photos of St. Petersburg merged with historic images that were taken during the siege from the same vantage...
Ukraine: “Gas Humor”
Ukrainiana shares some “gas humor” from Ukraine.
Russia, Ukraine: “Gas War IV”
Leopolis analyzes the Ukraine-Russia gas dispute and the agreement signed: “There is a natural temptation to assess the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ of the Russian-Ukrainian Gas War IV, which emerged from a commercial crisis to a political game.”
Russia: Finno-Ugric Dimension of Gas Dispute
Window on Eurasia writes about the Finno-Ugric dimension of the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute.
