Monthly Archives: March 2008

The Financial Times has an exclusive interview with Russian President elect Dmitri Medvedev. Watch the video or read the transcript. Dima is going to have to work on that delivery. His speech is monotone. His words are technical, almost cold. He lacks the wit of Putin but also the Russian machismo. Perhaps it’s because of the FT audience. Nevertheless, the interview is in depth and gives a good glimpse of what he thinks of Russian society, economy, law, Putin, democracy, the media, Russian history and culture and many other topics. Medvedev is clearly no dummy. His words are careful and nuanced. Worth reading and worth watching.

English and Russian language blogs unite! LJ users calling for a content strike! I recommend checking out Veronica Khokhlova’s “LiveJournal: Bloggers Protest Basic Account Cancellation” for the whole story. I love the Russian’s “radical path.” Khokhlova tells us:

Some Russian-language bloggers have chosen to take a more radical path, proposed (RUS) by LJ user lleo (Leonid Kaganov), who is highly critical of LJ user beckyzoole‘s initiative:

[…] The American thinks that the whole world will support her. In fact, 3 percent will join in. Sup will notice a 3-percent drop in traffic. And then what? […]

On March 21, I’ll go to this page:

http://www.livejournal.com/accountstatus.bml

and will change my status to “deleted.” That is, I’ll delete my journal. A wonderful form will appear on the screen then: ay, oy, […] let us know what has made you delete your journal, and what we have to do to improve our service? In ..read more

Washington Profile has an interesting interview with Professor David Foglesong about his book The American Mission and the ‘Evil Empire’: The Crusade for a ‘Free Russia’ since 1881.  I reviewed Foglesong’s book here a few months ago.  Below are a few excerpts from the interview that I found interesting and pertinent to understanding where America’s “dark double” stands in the present:

Washington Profile: If we talk about the broader hope of the U.S. reshaping Russia, the United States has had a special mission throughout its history to bring democracy or enlightenment to the world, but you seem to suggest that Russia became America’s special project and as you put it, America’s dark twin.  Why is this the case? Why Russia?

David Foglesong: There have been a lot of other countries that have played the role of a foil for American national identity at different moments in time, either as the demonic opposite ..read more

There is an interview with me in “Under Western Eyes,” an article on English language Russia blogs for the Moscow Times. I especially like this line about myself. “Despite being recognized at parties and quoted in the press, Guillory is a little uncomfortable about his success.” Parties? Quoted in the press? Eek! I know I’m going to catch some shit for that . . .

Western leaders have been hoping and praying that Dmitri Medvedev will be more “liberal” in foreign and domestic policy. According to a LexisNexis search the new President elect’s name is often followed with words like “liberal,” “liberal instincts,” “liberal inclinations,” and the like. It’s not that Medvedev hasn’t given Westerners any reason to hope. Take this exchange from Medvedev’s 18 February interview with Itogi for example:

But now we will soon have a new holiday, the Day of the Lawyer. If only it could help create the rule of law.

I agree. To overcome the legal nihilism preventing the country from developing harmoniously is a long and difficult job. As it turned out, to establish a workable model of a market economy is much easier than laying the foundations of a state in which people respect the letter of the law. This is another demonstration of the thesis that democracy cannot ..read more

The BBC World Service has done a number of radio documentaries on Russia and Putin. The Kremlin and the World is a four part series on Russia’s relationship with its “near abroad,” energy politics, Europe, and the United States. The second series, After the KGB, chronicles the fall and rise of the Russian secret service since the collapse of communism. In addition to all this, BBC has set up a special website called the Putin Project. Therein are several reports and interviews on the social, cultural, political, and economic state of Russia. You can also find more Russia goodies on BBC News‘ Resurgent Russia page.

Now that your ears are sufficiently stimulated, you can get your eyes titillated with PBS Frontline‘s special report Putin’s Plan.