Posted by Sean on June 12, 2010
Russia’s Far East has always been an unruly place. Tsars and Communists alike dumped its criminals and politicals there. In the interwar period it was a hot bed for lawlessness and banditry, where gangs and holdouts of the White Army made life difficult for the new Soviet state. There is one historical artifact that always stands out in my mind when it comes to the Russia’s Far East. I tend to give it to my students so they can get a flavor of the heady days of the Russian Revolution. The document is an anonymous letter to Lenin dated 15 January 1918. After lambasting Lenin for not keeping his promise to deliver “peace, bread, land, and liberty in three days’ time” the complainant ended with this warning: “If you’ve picked up the reins [of power] then go ahead and drive, and if you can’t, then, honey, you can take a ..read more
Posted by Sean on August 18, 2009
Posted by Sean on March 22, 2009
Updated: Trailer with subtitles.
For those who are still confused as to the correct narrative of the Georgian War last August, Pervyi kanal will be broadcasting a TV movie called “Olympus Inferno” on 29 March to set the record straight in high action packed, melodrama form.
The film revolves around Michael, a US entomologist (played by Israeli actor Henry David), and Zhenia, a female Russian journalist (starring Polina Filonenko) who stumble upon evidence that Georgia started the war while using nocturnal cameras to record the fluttering of rare night butterflies. Their discovery gives them a cause higher than rare lepidopterans. Natural science is quickly abandoned as the two haul ass to the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali to present their damning evidence to the world. But not so fast, like any good action-love drama the two must claw, scrape, and screw their way past evil Georgians, ducking a butt-load of explosions and ..read more
Posted by Sean on January 29, 2009
Here’s something that should wet the palates of scholars and induce wet dreams among the necrophiliacs of Soviet history. Ukraine announced that it plans declassify the entire KGB archive dating 1917-1991. The number of documents stamped “secret” and “top secret” is estimated at 800,000. The announcement comes after the law “On the declassification, promulgation, and study of archival documents connected with the Ukrainian Liberation Movement, political repression, and famine in Ukraine” was signed by Viktor Yushchenko on 23 January.
Among the documents are “Cheka instructions, execution lists, deportation maps, albums with photographs of fighters of rebel armies, reports of the KGB to the Central Committee on the development of the Ukrainian dissident movement.” Interestingly, this declassification is so sweeping that it will even go against normal archival practice in protecting living individuals. “Not a single agential file or report that possibly contains information about current politicians will stop the process of ..read more
Posted by Sean on September 10, 2008
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
Posted by Sean on August 27, 2008
As we all well know, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev did the deed and recognized the independence South Ossetia and Abkhazia. A chorus of condemnation, disappointment, and warning immediately followed.
US Secretary Rice: “I want to be very clear, since the United States is a permanent member of the [UN] Security Council, this simply will be dead on arrival.”
US President Bush: “This decision is inconsistent with numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions that Russia has voted for in the past, and is also inconsistent with the French-brokered six-point ceasefire agreement which President Medvedev signed. Russia’s action only exacerbates tensions and complicates diplomatic negotiations.”
German PM Angela Merkel: “This contradicts the basic principles of territorial integrity and is therefore absolutely unacceptable.”
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili: “This is a test for the entire world and a test for our collective solidarity . . . Today the fate of Europe and the free world is unfortunately being ..read more
