Whistle-Blowing Policeman Sacked

It looks like it’s time for Putin and Medvedev to put up or shut up regarding corruption in the ranks of the Russian police force. Alexei Dymovsky, a Novorossisk police officer, recently came out with a youtube video where he makes a number of charges regarding his outfit, including false conviction and widespread corruption. The [...]

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Putin the Film Director

It would seem Putin is looking to strengthen his resume beyond that of the swimmer, hunter, fighter pilot, judo master and horseback rider – try adding film director to the list. That’s right.  Putin has thrown his hat into the domestic film scene, invoking, of all things, the history of Hollywood as an example to [...]

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More on drug abuse

I actually found this article, written by a Dutch journalist/ photographer quite at random, but it links very closely back to a previous post I made, on heroin abuse in Russia. The author documents in short the lifestyles of a few sorry young addicts, as well as those involved in their treatment. One of the [...]

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Split in the Ruling Class over Stalin?

Medvedev has just out with an attack on the rehabilitation of Stalin. The BBC article is here, the Russian version of the speech is здесь, and I haven’t found an English translation yet.  What do you make of this development?

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Heroin and AIDS in Russia

Heroin abuse in russia, and as a result AIDS, have shown a closesly linked and rapid rise in Russia in recent years. There does seem to be some very backwards policies which are not helping the problem, such as a lack of methodone substitution programs or needle exchange programs (both of which are common practice [...]

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Nigaz (Nigeria Gas, not with attitude)

I thought I’d leave a link to an article who’s subject matter many of you might have heard about. I first heard about this over the summer from an English expat I met who was living in Nigeria. Nigaz (sic!) is a joint venture between the Nigerian and Russian governements which will see pipelines running [...]

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Gorbachev enters the recent election fray

Surprising news out of Russia today – Mikhail Gorbachev has come out with some pretty harsh words regarding theregional elections that had been held earlier this month. Of course, Gorbachev has come out his share of criticism in the past two decades, but even recently it had been tempered by admiration for Putin and his [...]

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Economic Reform in Russia

Medvedev today released a statement outlining the governement’s plans for economic modernization and expansion into new fields. The РИА Новости article is available in English and Russian. I found it of particular interest that there is such an emphasis on efficient production of pharmaceuticals, which is apparently in line with plans to help extend the [...]

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What Does Russia Think?

The European Council on Foreign Relations has recently published a collection of papers from leading Russian political observers entitled What Does Russia Think? You can read a brief overview from RFERL here, and you can view and download the publication here.  It’s a great resource for anyone interested in contemporary Russian politics. Here’s a little [...]

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Villagers Steal a Church (??)

No, really: steal a church. Orthodox priest Vitaly of the Ivanovo-Voskresenskaya diocese said officials last saw the two-story Church of Resurrection intact in late July. Sometime in early October, however, people from the nearby village of Komarovo, northeast of Moscow, dismantled the building, he said.

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