Nov

30

The Storm Before the Calm

November 30, 2007 | 3 Comments

As I’m write, the last day of electioneering is closing in Moscow. Now we wait for Sunday to see the results of what some Western media outlets are speculating might be “Russia’s last,” “the least democratic election since the USSR collapsed,” and a symbol of Russia’s return to “a Byzantine form of state-society relations” […]

Popularity: 4% [?]

Nov

30

“I would vote for him and I support him.”

November 30, 2007 | 4 Comments

Gorbachev endorsed Putin in an interview with the London Times.  “I would vote for him and I support him. Based on what I know, and comparing him with other candidates, I would prefer Putin.”  Gorby then added this:

“Putin has brought stabilization to Russia. Not everyone would have been able to cope with the kind […]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nov

29

“Putin’s Plan is Victory for Russia!”

November 29, 2007 | 4 Comments

“Today we are successful in politics, economics, the arts, sciences, sports. We have reasons for pride. We enjoy respect and difference. We are citizens of a great country and we have great victories ahead. Putin’s plan is a victory for Russia.”
“Why are we certain in the stable development of Russia? […]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nov

28

“Maximally Transparent and Open”

November 28, 2007 | 7 Comments

The number of Russians requesting absentee ballots has increased fourfold in the last four years, reports Lenta.ru.  The Interregional Union of Voters, a Russian outfit that seeks to protect voting rights, says that as of 24 November 99,711 people have requested absentee ballots, up from 26,026 in 2003.  This should be good news for United […]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nov

27

Elections Dagestani Style

November 27, 2007 | 3 Comments

Kommersant has published more about the incident involving SPS candidate Nukha Nukhov in Dagestan. Here are some additional details from the story. As a result of the fight between Nukhov and Mohammed Aliev on 11 March, 1700 SPS votes were annulled from the election without a quorum of regional election officials but by […]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nov

27

The Vampires of Votes

November 27, 2007 | 11 Comments

T-minus five days and counting. Here’s today’s roundup. The Christian Science Monitor, which I heard was once known for its objectivity, has apparently dumped it. In an editorial titled “Putin’s Potemkin Election,” CSM states that the Duma elections signal the end of Russia’s multi-party system. “In reality Russia is becoming a […]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nov

26

Waiting for the Clampdown

November 26, 2007 | 47 Comments

Responses to the Dissenter’s March continues. The Nation’s Katrina Vanden Huevel calls for a fight to press freedom in Russia. This comes amid news that Russian authorities shut down the Samara branch of Novaya gazeta two weeks ago. The police charged Novaya editors with using pirated software. You gotta love […]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nov

25

(An)other Russia Rally

November 25, 2007 | 33 Comments

Things are looking bad for Russia’s floundering “opposition”. I say “opposition” because the Western media has declared the Russia’s liberal forces–Yabloko, SPS, and Other Russia–the true challengers to Putin and United Russia rather than the real opposition, the Communists. Be that as it may. Apparently, pumping up small and insignificant parties is […]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nov

25

An Apple a Day Keeps the Prosecutors Away

November 25, 2007 | 3 Comments

Andrei Lugovoi has a trump card: becoming a Duma MP. If Zhirinovsky’s LDPR polls over the 7 percent threshold, which it is expected to do, Lugovoi will gain a seat in Russia’s legislature. Does a legislative seat worry ol’Andrei? What will he do for his constituency? These questions are only secondary […]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nov

24

Moscow’s Brown Eyes

November 24, 2007 | 1 Comment

I’m lovin’ the direction Moscow Through Brown Eyes is taking. Especially with Buster PhD’s meditations on race, immigration, and nationalism in Russia. I love how figures like W. E. B. Du Bois are drawn into the discussion to help us think about how race and racism are now calculated in post-Soviet spaces. […]

Popularity: 3% [?]

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