Posted by Sean on November 20, 2008
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 a general economic crisis? For those still wondering what the hell has happened, I suggest reading Niall Ferguson’s cogent explanation of how “Planet Finance” imploded in his “Wall Street Lays Another Egg.”
And what of Russia? It was only a few weeks that we were told that the crisis was sparing Russia’s “average Joe.” After all, few average Russians have invested in the stock market so the losses were concentrated at the top. Very true. But I’m sure Russia’s oligarchs can withstand having a few billion shaved off their paper stacks. However, for the average Russian, ..read more
Posted by Sean on November 20, 2008
Evgenii Kolesov, one of the jurors in the Politkovskaya murder trial, was on Ekho Moskvy today and said the following about the sudden closing of the trial to the media:
“I can’t say that the initiative originated from us. In no way did any of us demand this,” the juror emphasized. According to him, the court secretary came to the jury room before the trial and asked them to sign a request to conduct the trial without the press, but “yesterday no one signed this request.” Today, the jurors for the Politkovskaya case addressed the court with a request to allow the print media into the trial.
It appears that the plot is thickening.
Posted by Sean on November 20, 2008
For those of you in the New York area, I will be a participant in “What is Russia Thinking? The Word from the Last of the Independent Media.” The event is organized by the Paul Klebnikov Fund, a foundation started by the late journalist’s family, and the Eurasia Foundation to honor Mikhail Fishman, this year’s recipient of the Paul Klebnikov Prize for Excellence in Journalism. Fishman is the editor-in-chief of Russian Newsweek. The panel will include a discussion between Fishman, Andrew Meier, Sarah Mendelson, and myself.
If anyone makes it to the event, be sure to come up and say hello.
An invitation for the event is available here.
Posted by Sean on November 20, 2008
From BBC in 2001.
Stalin and the Betrayal of Leningrad
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