While Medvedev and Obama were negotiating nuclear quotas and ways to protect the world from atomic terrorism, back home, some wondered whether they would have been better off talking adoption quotas and ways to protect Russian kids from their American foster parents. That’s because more adopted Russian children have died at the hands of their […]
When it comes to Russia, Anne Applebaum suspects the worst at the best of times. She saw the nefarious hand of the Kremlin even behind her recent car breakdown. So if Applebaum, whose Polish foreign minister husband could easily have also been on that doomed plane, is lauding the way Russia has handled the aftermath […]
The recent events in Kyrgyzstan have not only raised the question of what actually happened there, but how we can understand it? The NYTimes and CNN have mostly been awful, with some exceptions: This opinion piece being the major one. On the other hand, Registan.net has been extraordinary. This article on how to understand media […]
This morning’s horrific plane crash that killed Polish president Kaczynski his wife and many senior staff en route to Katyn forest contained some tragic irony. Not least that, curiously for a president famous for his anti-Russian sentiments, Kaczynski insisted on continuing to use a safe but ageing Soviet jet for his official travels, long after […]
Unbelievable displays of ignorance like this make me wonder if those who accuse the US media’s post-Soviet reporting of bias are just giving it way too much credit. Here is Kyra Phillips, anchor of CNN’s afternoon newscast, on Kyrgyzstan, via Gawker: Kyra Phillips: Kyrgyzstan, impossible to spell, hard to say, good luck finding it on […]
And then there was one. Seven years after Saakashvili ushered the first of three coloured revolutions in post-Soviet Europe, February’s Ukrainian elections and now the Kyrgyz overthrow of the Tulip revolution have left him the last man (precariously) standing. While it is still unclear what the final outcome will be in Kyrgyzstan (although the opposition […]
The President Karzai-President Obama relationship was bound to be an uncomfortable one from the get-go, but things are getting ridiculous, and it is not helpful for either side. In case you haven’t heard, ever since Obama’s visit to Kabul last week, which included a personal meeting with Karzai, a diplomatic (more likely undiplomatic) row has […]
A state of emergency has been declared in response to massive protests over a spike in utility costs. Kurmanbek Bakiyev seems to have stepped down, left the country, and the opposition has claimed control over the government. 100 people have been killed, the police are firing live rounds into crowds, protesters have stormed parliament. Video […]
Throughout the world, there are 49 countries that have forced marriage or child bride problems. Forced marriage is simply breach of basic human rights. It is a form of domestic violence and child abuse that contributes to a society’s problems. Afghanistan is one of the Islamic countries where people hold strongly tight to customs and […]
“Easier to spot a splinter in another’s eye than a log in one’s own” –Russian proverb Sometimes this blog gets accused of being too soft on Russia, despite my consistent criticism of its government’s political ideology, human rights abuses, authoritarianism and economic, social, journalistic, cultural, education, environmental, law enforcement, religious and foreign policies. Yet what […]
Bamyan province is one of the largest in the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan. It is located in the centre of the country and the majority of the people are Hazaras. According to government officials, throughout the country, twenty million people are living under the poverty line, from which 40% make a home in Bamyan. Poverty […]
Yesterday’s post comparing Russia Today to Fox News provoked an impassioned rebuttal. Russian translator, blogger and Second Life estate agent Catherine Fitzpatrick of Minding Russia berated me in a comment for ‘prettifying RT’ and ‘mislead[ing] the public’. What follows is one man’s quest to set the record straight. Dear Catherine, Thank you for your spirited […]
Barack Obama made his first trip to Afghanistan as president a few days ago, and during his 6 hours in the country he met with President Karzai, Gen. McChrystal, and Ambassador Eikenberry. It has been reported that Obama pressed Karzai on clamping down on corruption and that their conversations were very much ‘down to business’. […]
They were blasts heard round the world, except on Russian TV. And in the wake of the Moscow bombs, many Russians have condemned “the near-silence of the state-controlled TV channels hours after the explosions”, according to the BBC. One blogger, Anton Nossik, noted that a full 3 hours after the attacks, “he found normal daytime […]
Terrorism never happens in a vacuum, yet questions of motive remain largely taboo. We know that the female suicide bombers that killed at least 38 (hopefully this number will keep) innocent Moscow commuters came from the restive Caucasus region. We know that Medvedev and Putin, backed by Obama, have vowed to exact uncompromising revenge. But […]