Daily Archives: September 10, 2008

Mikhail Kasyanov, or Misha 2% as he’s known in Russia, was interviewed in today’s LA Times.  Kasyanov proves why that 2% moniker continues to stick.  Like much of Russia’s self-described opposition, he has nothing to say that concerns Russians’ daily lives.  Instead, he counterposes Russia with the “civilized world;” suggests Russia is a “totalitarian state,” and perhaps more insulting thinks that the Russian population are simply duped by propaganda.  Here is one example,

How does Russia view the development of friendly relations between the United States and former Soviet republics such as Ukraine and Georgia?

The propaganda streaming today from television screens and newspaper pages is, in a simplified way, calling on the nation to rally together and to protect the motherland. Hinting that war is on the threshold, that the enemies are knocking on our gates and that Russia is surrounded by enemies who want to break Russia into pieces. The ..read more

Russian nationalism is gaining in political influence argues the Financial Times.  Russia’s so-called “ultra-nationalists” (and I do wonder what the difference is between nationalism and its “ultra-” variety) have been steadily climbing in political influence, particularly among Russia’s elite.  Their big political bump has come with Russia success in Georgia which proved to them that Russia was indeed back.  The FT reports,

Against the backdrop of conflict in Georgia and deteriorating relations with the west, Russia’s ultra-nationalist thinkers are starting to exert unprecedented influence. The wide acceptance of a group of ideas once dismissed as laughable signals a new era in Russia’s foreign relations, as Moscow seeks to protect what President Dmitry Medvedev calls a “region of privileged interest” in parts of the former Soviet Union.

One of Russia’s chief theorists of Euraisanism, Aleksandr Dugin agrees with this political shift.  He told the FT,

“The people that formed the centre under [former president, ..read more