Nov
26
A Night with the Paul Klebnikov Fund
November 26, 2008 | 61 Comments
My participation in the Paul Klebnikov Fund’s event “What is Russia Thinking? The Word from the Last of the Independent Media” was a great honor. Paul’s widow Musa Klebnikov and his brothers Peter and Michael were amazingly gracious and thankful for my participation. The pleasure however was truly all mine. They’ve built a vary warm, [...]
Nov
23
Happy Birthday Rose Revolution! Here’s $250 million
November 23, 2008 | 41 Comments
President Bush sent a gushing statement to Georgia on the fifth anniversary of the “Rose Revolution.” Bush said in White House press release,
One of the most inspiring chapters in the history of freedom was written by the Georgian people during the Rose Revolution. Thirsting for liberty and armed only with roses in hand, citizens throughout [...]
Nov
22
Orthodox Church Denies Creating Militias
November 22, 2008 | 5 Comments
When Kommersant reported a few days ago that the Russian Orthodox Church was planning on creating Orthodox militias to patrol Russia’s streets, the story was immediately seized by the Russian media, including this blog.
Now according to RIA Novosti, the Church has denied such claims. “The church is not setting up a private army and would [...]
Nov
21
God’s Army
November 21, 2008 | 20 Comments
Here’s a new one. The Moscow Patriarch announced that it plans to create an “Orthodox People’s Militia” under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church. The militia, according to Father Vsevolod Chaplin, will be
Small groups which will literally dominate the street life of districts, small cities, and villages. And here, I think the Orthodox militia [...]
Nov
20
Russia’s Average Joe No Longer Spared
November 20, 2008 | 15 Comments
Oil drops below $50 a barrel. The global auto industry slashes jobs in France, Thailand, Japan, and the United States. The world’s investors look for a safe haven to run to but none is to be found. Perhaps it’s time to stop referring to the current economic situation as a “financial crisis” and call it [...]
