On Russia's Invincibility
A brief history of Russia's wars, both internal and external, gives context for the current situation in Ukraine and Crimea.
Russia
Poor Russians, or Putin's Complaint
On how to understand rising tensions with Russia and its divisive president.
The Kitchen Sisters and I
What happens to history when it is looked at from the perspective of the kitchen table? Russian history is seen in a new light when one explores Soviet kitchens and their practices of communal dining.
Outsourcing Propaganda
You may know that a Russian Court has sentenced Russian poets Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Santsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova to two more months in prison. Amnesty International has declared them prisoners of conscience.
In the Shadows of Ancestors, Invented and Forgotten
Thoughts on two very different recent films from Russia, Silent Souls (Овсянки, dir. Alexei Fedorchenko, 2010) and I Will Remember (Буду помнить, dir. Vitalii Votobyev, 2010).
To the Barricades: Remembering Moscow on August 19, 1991
Tomorrow is August 19 and the 20th anniversary of the coup d'état in Moscow. Speak of the law of unanticipated consequences!
“A Bitter Taste of Freedom”—How Sweet It Is!
Thanks to my friend Tom Luddy, the Director of the Telluride Film Festival, I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me in my mailbox on Sunday afternoon, “A Bitter Taste of Freedom” (2011), a cinematic biographical tribute to and about Anna Politkovskaya.
August Advice
These are the quietest days of August. Even close friends do not respond to emails. What a perfect time for a coup d'état, as in 1991, or a quick trial and execution of one's political opponents, as in 1936, or, if you think that bad things happen only in Russia, diving headlong into a "European War," as in 1914.
What Happened to Russia's New Hi-Tech City of the Sun: A Quick Postscript
Good news. My post about the new hi-tech city planned near Moscow and provisionally christened Solntsegrad, the City of the Sun, requires an update.
The New York Times and The City of the Sun: Notes toward a History of Forgetting
A history of forgetting is long overdue. I start it today with a short note prompted by recent news from Russia. The business section of The New York Times features an interesting piece by Andrew Kramer about the Russian government's push to replicate Silicon Valley by founding a new city not far from Moscow.