Archive for August, 2006
The Kadyrovtsy’s Methods
By Sean at 30 August, 2006, 7:20 pm
Since I’m already on the topic of Chechnya, I urge readers to check out C. J. Chivers’ piece in the NY Times on the torture of Malika Soltayeva, a Chechen woman who is suspected of adultery. It seems that Kadyrov’s Chechnya is turning out to be no different than the late Shamil Basaev’s would [...]
Read More >>Interior Ministry Releases Casualties in Chechnya
By Sean at 30 August, 2006, 6:35 pm
Exact Russian military casualties in the Chechen War have been hard to pin down. The problem is that the Defense Ministry is known to keep such figures guarded from public scrutiny. According to Mosnews, the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces claims that 3,826 troops were killed, 17,892 were wounded, and 1,906 [...]
Read More >>Demon Caster Claims Stalin was Possessed
By Sean at 28 August, 2006, 8:23 pm
Stalin and Hitler were possessed by the devil. So says Pope Benedict XVI’s so-called “caster out of demons” and founder of the International Association of Exorcists, Father Gabriele Amorth. In an interview with Vatican Radio, Amorth said,
“Of course the Devil exists and he can not only possess a single person but also [...]
FSB Flashback from Ryazan
By Sean at 25 August, 2006, 7:07 pm
I got this email from a friend in Ryazan the other day:
Dear Sean!
I’ve just met one friend of mine who works in FSB. He told me about your problems with FSB, when you were in Ryazan. I’m sorry that you could remember my country by this accident.
The “problems” my friend refers to was when [...]
Read More >>Yuri Slezkine on Beneath the Surface
By Sean at 22 August, 2006, 7:49 pm
Two weeks ago, Suzi Weissman, who has a weekly program called Beneath the Surface on the local Pacifica station (KPFK) here in Los Angeles, interviewed Berkeley historian Yuri Slezkine on his outstanding book, The Jewish Century. I wrote a review of it months ago. You can read it here. I recommend the [...]
Read More >>Putin’s Young Guard
By Sean at 22 August, 2006, 6:42 pm
Yesterday, I wrote about Putin and the task of controlling the regional power. An article in today’s Kommersant gives a picture of one of the methods the Kremlin is using to not only combat political opposition to its rule, but to combat corruption and oppositionists within United Russia itself. However, while this may [...]
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