Russia’s year in review: terror, political surprises, and hope

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – December 30, 2013) From the sudden release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky to the tragic events in Volgograd, here are 10 top headline grabbers for 2013 according to The Moscow News staff. 1. Khodorkovsky bombshell President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suddenly pardon oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was possibly the most unexpected news of the year. After two […]

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RIA Novosti: Half of Russians Describe 2013 as Successful Year – Poll

New Year's Eve on Red Square with Fireworks, Kremlin, Saint Basil's, Crowds

MOSCOW, December 28 (RIA Novosti) ­ More than a half of Russians said they will remember 2013 as a successful year for them, an independent pollster said on Saturday. A total of 51 percent said the year was successful for them, 24 said it was unsuccessful and 25 percent had no answer. However, 30 percent said that this year was […]

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The Soviet Union, spy scandals, sex and UFOs: Top 13 stories of 2013

New Year's Eve on Red Square with Fireworks, Kremlin, Saint Basil's, Crowds

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexandra Guzeva, RBTH – December 30, 2013) As the year draws to a close, check out these 13 stories that RBTH readers found most interesting, engaging or thought-provoking in 2013. Most popular stories of 2013: Russia to ban cash transactions over $10,000 Russia beckons for Tebow Putin’s medical secrets leaked to the media […]

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Putin is the Nicholas II of Russia Today, Akhmetov Says

File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Valdai Club 2013 Meeting, Adapted from Screenshot of Valdai Club Video at youtube.com

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 17, 2013) Vladimir Putin’s efforts to exploit “the energy” of Russian nationalism and Orthodoxy to shore up his regime strike many as clever and effective, but Rashit Akhmetov points out that they recall those of Nicholas II and may have the same result, undermining both the current Kremlin ruler’s position and […]

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Russia Beyond the Headlines: Mandela and the Soviet Union: The struggle against apartheid

Africa Satellite Image Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ajay Kamalakaran, RBTH – December 6, 2013) As the world mourns the death of the great statesman, RBTH looks back at the role Russia and the Soviet Union played in the struggle against apartheid. When Nelson Mandela turned 95 in July, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave one of the most glowing tributes to […]

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Modern face of Russian communism

Kremlin and St. Basil's file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Elena Bazina, special to RBTH – November 25, 2013) More than 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian communists hope to return to power. The Communists who ruled Russia for more than 70 years are still the second most powerful political force in the country. They promise people Chinese-style socialism, […]

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“The far right, gangsters, and monopolists”: the Soviet interpretation of the Kennedy assassination

Map of Ranges of Soviet Missiles on Cuba

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ivan Tsvetkov – November 22, 2013) Dr. Ivan Tsvetkov is an associate professor at the School of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University and an expert in U.S. domestic policy. Thanks to John F. Kennedy’s actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which allowed the Soviets to save face, the reporting on his […]

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‘Stalingrad’ Blockbuster Revives Russia’s Trauma, Glory

Battle of Stalingrad file photo

(Voice of America – James Brooke – November 19, 2013) A foreign correspondent who has reported from five continents, Brooke, known universally as Jim, is the Voice of America bureau chief for Russia and former Soviet Union countries. From his base in Moscow, Jim roams Russia and Russia’s southern neighbors. Seventy years have passed since the Battle of Stalingrad, the […]

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Exhibition Shows Russian Leaders, From Romanovs to Putin

Romanov Family Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – D. Garrison Golubock – November 20, 2013) Moscow has a reputation for lines, yet even seasoned city dwellers were surprised to see the massive lines that formed in the first week of November in front of Manezh, snaking all the way to the State Historical Museum and then back around the other side of Manezh […]

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Descendant of Tsarist Duma Speaker to Head AmCham in Russia

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 19, 2013) U.S.-born banker Alexis Rodzianko has been elected president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, or AmCham, the chamber said Tuesday. The previous president, Andrew Somers, announced earlier this year he would be departing to launch a new strategic consulting firm. “We have the greatest confidence in Alex, who comes to […]

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RIA Novosti: The Many Uses of Monarchy in Russia

Romanov Family Photo

(RIA Novosti – Konstantin von Eggert – November 11, 2013) Konstantin von Eggert is a freelance commentator and consultant. In 2010-2013 he worked for Kommersant FM radio in Moscow as a commentator and as Editor-in-Chief. Even if he is styled as the “president,” the head of the Russian government’s executive branch is a de facto monarch. Accompanied by holy Orthodox […]

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Romancing the Revolution; Russians may not celebrate the start of the Revolution officially, but that has not stopped them from finding ways to revel in revolution.

Romanov Family Photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Chris Fleming, special to RBTH – November 7, 2013) Dr. Chris Fleming is a senior lecturer in Humanities and Communication Arts at the University of Western Sydney. For much of the twentieth century, Russians celebrated the October 1917 Revolution ­ the event which brought Lenin and his party to power. Russia no longer […]

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Interfax: Russian Communists celebrate 1917 revolution, call for dismissal of government

Romanov Family Photo

(Interfax – November 7, 2013) The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) marked the anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution on 7 November with rallies in Moscow and other towns of Russia, privately-owned Interfax news agency reported the same day. The CPRF has collected over two million signatures asking for the dismissal of the government, the leader of the […]

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A memorial day few Russians want to remember

File Photo of Prison in Russia with Wall, Barbed Wire, Guard Tower

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Julia Reed in Moscow – November 7, 2013) “Who was killed in your family?” A man in a beret in his early 60s asked me as he joined the long queue of people. We were both attending the annual recital of the names of the victims of political repressions in Russia by the Solovetsky […]

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RIA Novosti: Yeltsin’s Grandson Developing Hollywood WWII Film

Movie Theater file photo

WASHINGTON, November 5 (RIA Novosti) ­ Boris Yeltsin, the grandson and namesake of Russia’s first president, is producing a movie titled “Night Witches” about female Soviet pilots during World War II and has recruited an award-winning Hollywood screenwriter to pen the screenplay, the US entertainment website Variety.com reported. The project is based on the true story of Soviet female air […]

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Russia Beyond the Headlines: History meets high technology at Romanovs exhibition

Romanov Family Photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Galina Zhikhoreva, special to RBTH  – November 5, 2013) “My History. The Romanovs”, an exhibition to mark the 400th anniversary of the Russian imperial dynasty, opened in Moscow Manege this week. It features 3D installations, animated collages, and interactive content. More than 15,000 visitors crowded the halls of the Moscow Manage exhibition hall […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian History Gets State-Approved Outline

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) ­ A state commission Wednesday issued a draft outline for a line of unified history textbooks to be published in Russia on the Kremlin’s order. The draft will be filed Thursday with President Vladimir Putin, who ordered its creation last February, said a spokesman for the Russian Historical Society. A state tender will then be […]

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Interfax: Unified history textbook concept endorsed, forwarded to president

File Photo of U.S. Diplomat Teaching Class to Russian Students

MOSCOW. Oct 30 (Interfax) – A concept of a unified history textbook was endorsed at an expanded meeting of the Russian History Society and forwarded to the president for consideration on Wednesday. “Completing the work on the concept and forwarding it to the president in line with his instructions, we are completing only the first stage of the work, and […]

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New Way of Teaching History to Be Finalized by Next Month

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – October 24, 2013)  Government officials, lawmakers and education officials will finalize changes to the way history is taught in schools by Nov. 1, State Duma Deputy Speaker Lyudmila Shvetsova said Wednesday outside a roundtable discussing new state textbooks. New textbooks teaching children of various age groups a consensus opinion about historical events […]

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Thanks to Putin’s Policies, Russian Federation Will Share Fate of USSR, Borovoy Says

File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Valdai Club 2013 Meeting, Adapted from Screenshot of Valdai Club Video at youtube.com

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 21, 2013) Because Vladimir Putin has reversed the steps Boris Yeltsin took in the direction of federalization and has been able to restore “the empire in the most petty details,” the Russian Federation “inevitably faces” the same fate that the USSR met with in 1991, according to a Russian analyst. In […]

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40% of Property Ownership a Mystery to Government

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 10, 2013) The ownership of about 40 percent of all real estate properties in Russia is a complete mystery to the government, the Federal Tax Service said, creating a massive blind spot that could obstruct the Finance Ministry’s proposal to bring in a tax on real estate, a news report said Thursday. The problem […]

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Killing Irony with Ivan the Terrible and an Orthodox Activist

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(RIA Novosti – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief, The Moscow News, October 8, 2013) Ivan the Terrible lived a long time ago and the passage of time does distort historical figures ­ so that the truth is sometimes hard to separate from fiction. Still, it is probably safe to say that Ivan the Terrible was not a fan of pluralism and […]

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Autumn 1993 through American eyes

File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Wayne Merry, special to RBTH – October 3, 2013) Wayne Merry, a retired diplomat who served at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow 20 years ago, recalls October 1993. E. Wayne Merry was in charge of the analysis and reporting of Russian domestic political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow 1991-94. October 3, […]

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Split of ruling elites causes October 1993 events in Moscow – poll

File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 2, 2013) Eighty percent of Russians remember the standoff between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov’s parliament that resulted in disturbances in Moscow in October 1993, sociologists told Interfax. Sixteen percent of the 1,600 respondents polled in 130 towns and cities in 42 regions in September learned about those events from the sociologists. Most […]

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How October 1993 led to President Putin

File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Kolesnichenko, special to RBTH – October 3, 2013) Twenty years later, the changes to Russia’s political system enacted in the aftermath of the October 1993 attempted coup still reverberate. On Oct. 3, 1993, post-Soviet Russia faced its first major political crisis. The two-day conflict between then-President Boris Yeltsin and the State Duma […]

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Black October Revisited

File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 3, 2013) See the Black October Revisited Photogallery: www.themoscowtimes.com/multimedia/photogalleries/black-october-revisited/5114.html People commemorated on Thursday the 20th anniversary of Black October, a 10-day standoff between President Boris Yeltsin and the parliament that ended in military force and the deaths of at least 187 people. Members of the Alfa special forces and other law enforcement agencies who […]

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Putin chief of staff: 1993 constitution saves Russia’s ‘sovereignty and unity’

File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 26, 2013) President Vladimir Putin’s chief of staff has credited Russia’s 1993 constitution with making it possible to “preserve the sovereignty and unity of Russia.” “The constitution has made it possible to preserve the sovereignty and unity of Russia. It has made it possible to step back from a very dangerous point and put political processes […]

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New Issue of Konstitutsionny Vestnik on the the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution

File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

From: “Alexander Domrin” <adomrin@rumyantsevconsulting.ru> Subject: new issue of  Konstitutsionny Vestnik on the the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 Dear David ­ I am pleased to tell you and JRL readers that a new Konstitutsionny Vestnik issue of  can be downloaded from the web site of the Russian Foundation for Legal Reform: http://www.rfcr.ru/news_upload/kv3.pdf The issue […]

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A Dividing Issue, 20 Years On: Russia’s 1993 Constitutional Crisis

File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(RIA Novosti – Konstantin von Eggert – September 23, 2013) Konstantin Eggert was Diplomatic Correspondent for Izvestia in the 1990s and later the BBC Russian Service Moscow Bureau Editor. Konstantin has also spent some time working as ExxonMobil Vice President in Russia. Conflict is raging in Russia again. Luckily, not on the streets but in the country’s spirited blogosphere. The […]

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NEW BOOK: Strategic Cooperation: Overcoming the Barriers of Global Anarchy

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2013 Subject: New book: Strategic Cooperation:  Overcoming the Barriers of Global Anarchy From: Michael Slobodchikoff <mslobodchikoff@troy.edu> Michael O. Slobodchikoff Lecturer of Political Science Troy University Troy, AL TITLE: Strategic Cooperation:  Overcoming the Barriers of Global Anarchy AUTHOR: Michael O. Slobodchikoff PUBLISHER: Lexington Books (2013) ABSTRACT: Power inequalities and mistrust have characterized many interstate relationships. Yet most […]

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EVENT & CALL FOR PAPERS: ASN 2014 Convention Call for Papers

Columbia University Campus with Main Building

From: Dominique Arel <darel@uottawa.ca> Subject: ASN 2014 Convention Call for Papers Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 Call for Papers 19th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) International Affairs Building, Columbia University, NY Sponsored by the Harriman Institute 24-26 April 2014 www.nationalities.org ***Proposal deadline: 24 October 2013*** [Please note that the deadline is earlier than […]

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NEW BOOK: Law, Rights and Ideology in Russia: Landmarks in the Destiny of a Great Power

Map of Russia

Subject: New book: Law, Rights and Ideology in Russia: Landmarks in the Destiny of a Great Power Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2013 From: “Bill Bowring” <b.bowring@bbk.ac.uk> My new Routledge book: “Law, Rights and Ideology in Russia: Landmarks in the Destiny of a Great Power” http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415683463/ Law, Rights and Ideology in Russia: Landmarks in the destiny of a great power brings […]

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NEW BOOK: Why Communism Did Not Collapse

Eurasia Map

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 Subject: New book: Why Communism Did Not Collapse From: Martin Dimitrov <martin.k.dimitrov@gmail.com> Martin Dimitrov Associate Professor of Political Science Tulane University New Orleans, LA TITLE: Why Communism Did Not Collapse: Understanding Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Asia and Europe EDITOR: Martin K Dimitrov PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press (2013) ABSTRACT: This volume brings together a distinguished group […]

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Interview: Fukuyama On Democratization In Eastern Europe

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

(RFE/RL – August 27, 2013) More than two decades ago, at a time when the world was witnessing the collapse of the Soviet Union and its socialist economy, as well as the triumph of the free market and democracy, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama predicted that liberalism would sweep away competing ideologies. But in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL’s Belarus […]

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Taken from Chita, Made in China

Map of Russia

(opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Loginov – August 24, 2013) Mikhail Loginov is a journalist and novelist based in St Petersburg. He is the author of the recently published bestselling political thriller “Battle for Kremlin”. Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake on the planet, is part of Russia’s DNA, and many romantic ballads sing of its size and beauty. Beyond the lake […]

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Effects of 1991 August Putsch still felt in Russia

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Kolesnichenko, special to RBTH – August 23, 2013) The collapse of the Soviet Union, the transition to a market economy, the ban on the Communist Party, the complete transformation of the public and the economic structure of the country ­ all of these followed the coup attempt on Aug. 19-21, 1991. The […]

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Russia honors fallen WWI soldiers for the first time

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Russia Beyong the Headlines – rbth.ru – August 1, 2013) For the first time, Russia will honor the Russian soldiers who died during World War I. State Duma Chairman Sergey Naryshkin ­ who also serves as both chairman of the organizing committee to mark the centennial of the beginning of World War I and president of the Russian Historical Society […]

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TRANSCRIPT [Putin]: Orthodox-Slavic Values: The Foundation of Ukraine’s Civilisational Choice conference

File Photo of Ukrainians with Ukrainian Flag in Public Square Near Tower with Golden Dome

(Kremlin.ru – July 27, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in the conference called Orthodox-Slavic Values: The Foundation of Ukraine’s Civilisational Choice. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends, I just said goodbye before to President of Ukraine Mr Yanukovych. You also sent him your best wishes. Unfortunately, he has a strict schedule with a lot of events to attend: […]

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Soviet ruble was destroyed brutally, in one day

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Pravda.ru – Margarita Troitsyna – July 24, 2013) On July 24, 1993, 20 years ago, the Central Bank of Russia announced the withdrawal of Soviet banknotes from circulation. From that day, Soviet cash was no longer valid on the territory of Russia. The reform was carried out to curb inflation in the country, but it caused huge panic in the […]

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Mayakovsky anniversary reveals struggle over poet’s legacy

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Joy Neumeyer – July 22, 2013) On July 19, Moscow marked the 120th anniversary of Vladimir Mayakovsky, the rebellious Futurist poet who rose from a childhood in Georgia to become the voice of the October Revolution. The commemorations came on the eve of the controversial renovation of Moscow’s Mayakovsky Museum, which some fear will remove […]

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From Russia, lessons for Egypt

Map of Egypt and Environs`

(opendemocracy.net – Sam Greene – July 23, 2013) Samuel A. Greene is Senior Lecturer in Russian Politics and Director of the King’s Russia Institute at King’s College London. Can manipulating the democratic process ever play out in the interest of progressive politics? Samuel A. Greene suggests not: we’ve been in this situation before, in post-Soviet Russia, with largely calamitous results. […]

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Bureaucrats must not teach historians how textbooks should be written – Naryshkin

File Photo of U.S. Diplomat Teaching Class to Russian Students

(Interfax – KAZAN, July 16, 2013) Historians and history teachers, not bureaucrats, should decide how Russian history should be taught to Russian students, said Sergei Naryshkin, the Russian State Duma’s speaker and president of the Russian Historical Society. “Experts in history have wisely asked the Russian Historical Society to provide guidelines for teaching history as a subject, which will be […]

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The tsar files: Who killed the Romanovs

Romanov Family Photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yan Shenkman, RBTH – July 16, 2013) In the night between the 16th and 17th of July 1918 the family of Russia’s last Emperor, Nicolas II, was killed in Ekaterinburg. RBTH investigates the identities and lives of the killers of the tsar. Even now, 115 years after the murder of Russia’s last czar, […]

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Brief history of corruption in Imperial Russia

File Image of Czar Alexander II

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Georgy Manaev, special to RBTH – July 16, 2013) Since medieval times, corruption in Russia has been rooted in the essence of the governing system­not, however, an incurable disease. The third presidential term of Vladimir Putin has been marked by an unprecedented (for post-Soviet Russia) war on corrupt officials in the central governing […]

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New Russian cinema trend: Biopics of Soviet stars

File Photo of Yuri Gagarin and U.S. Newspaper About Gagarin Space Flight

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrey Arkhangelsky, film critic, special to RBTH – July 10, 2013) There is a new trend in Russian cinema: biopics about famous people from the past. Films about Gagarin, Vysotsky and Kharlamov are not only educational, but ideological too. There is a new trend in Russian cinema: biopics about famous people from the […]

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Architectural Preservation’s Politics

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – July 9, 2013) The battle over the preservation of Moscow’s architectural heritage has become visibly political in recent weeks, as prominent opposition parties criticized acting mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s policies. Several candidates have promised to address the issue in the run-up to this September’s mayoral race. The primary catalyst in the debate has […]

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Re: Moscow October 1993

File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

Subject: Re: Moscow October 1993 From: lsell52354@aol.com (Louis D. Sell) Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 In catching up on my reading I saw an exchange of e-mails on the events in Russia in October 1993.  At that time I was the acting number 2 at the US Embassy in Moscow, which as those familiar with Moscow know, is only a […]

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Russia Will Not Survive in Its Current Borders, Russian Regionalist Says

Map of Russia

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 27, 2013) A St. Petersburg regionalist argues in a new book, “Global Separatism as a Means of Overcoming ‘The End of History’,” that Russia is unlikely to survive in its current borders because of the historical burdens it has inherited from the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire and because of […]

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Half of Russians ready to fight for homeland – poll

File Photo of Russian Military Conscripts Boarding Train with Gear

(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 21, 2013) Russians are paying tribute to their compatriots who saved the country in World War Two. They are also ready to fight for their homeland if a new war starts, Levada Center told Interfax in comment on a poll held before the Day of Remembrance and Grief. Some 52% of the respondents said the Soviet […]

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Long-Lost Soviet Holocaust Films Under New Spotlight

File Photo of Nazi Concentration Camp - adapted from image at army.mil

(RIA Novosti – Maria Young – WASHINGTON, June 19, 2013) ­ Nearly a dozen long-lost, rarely seen Soviet films and scores of screenplays that were never produced about the persecution of Jews during World War II have been revived to offer decades-old evidence of a side of the Holocaust few people recognize today. From the dusty archives of Moscow and […]

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