“Every blog has the commentariat it deserves”, observed sad young literary man and post-Soviet film critic Konstantin Gessen.
For a long time, this axiom was clearly borne out by many cryptic, subtly menacing, and downright bizarre comments on this blog (eg. “Wasn't easier (sic) to get rid of Saakashvili by buying him a stove made in Iran?” etc).
However, I can now humbly declare Gessen's Law debunked: two recent commenters had demonstrated themselves to be made of better stuff than this organ, determined to shame/goad it to a higher level of discourse.
William Thomson, writes:
While I appreciate the tongue in cheek nature of some of these blog posts I would love to see some serious post about some of the serious issues occurring in Russia these days. The economy of Russia is struggling; the Russians are making overtures to the Cubans and the Venezuelans. The Ukrainian government just dissolved and is likely to shift towards a more pro Russian stance. Germany has made its voice heard in NATO and will more likely then not refuse to push forward on NATO membership for both the Ukraine and Georgia (which may or may not be a good thing). The Russians are attempting to project power with there navy by sending of their most powerful Nuclear Powered Destroyer (which I believe is called Peter the Great) on a tour of the Mediterranean and South America. Putin continues to consolidate the banking industry and economy as a whole in fewer and fewer hands. Russia is becoming a lender of last resort for at least one EU member (Iceland) as the EU proves yet again that it is little more then a useless bureaucratic mess. These are all events and issues currently unfolding, I would love to see some more serious discussion.
Another commenter, Chris Blask, linked to a provocative article by an influential Bulgarian political scientist who suggested that "If The Kremlin Could Vote, It Would Vote For McCain”, and asked an intriguing question: What do you and your readers think about Putin's choice for US president?
My thanks to William and Chris for raising the bar. Let me try to be equal to their demands.
Apart from Medvedev's weblog (only joking), the most momentous topics facing Russia are:
1) International financial crisis
2) Domestic problems
3) Conflict with Georgia
4) US Relations
5) Expanding international role
Over the next few posts, I'll be tackling this list. Unless I get sidetracked by Medvedev's wardrobe…