Hey, America! Think your Obama is so special?? A young charismatic man of African descent becomes a national icon, whose eloquence inspires a generation, whose dashing looks send girls fainting and whose liberal politics threaten to derail the establishment? That sort of thing might still be hot over here, but it is OLD NEWS in […]
So now we know the real reason behind the Federal hounding of the Exile, courtesy of good reporting by the Moscow Times: its associations with dissident leader Eduard Limonov. In my earlier post, I noted that Limonov was a columnist for the paper and that his radical opposition movement had had scores of its members […]
Here is a Friday Link Laydown of hopefully some informative and interesting items: A. Iranian President Ahmadinejad recent visit to India is analyzed with a geopolitical mindset by MK Bhadrakumar, a former Indian diplomat. India and Iran's postures and interests in Central Asia are discussed, as is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Bhadrakumar gives a fresh […]
Being 4767 miles away from Manhattan, Moscow has had good reason to feel left out lately. With all the hullabaloo about ‘oversharing‘, media blogs and New York culture, culminating in the appearance of sultry literary saloniste Emily Gould on the cover of the New York Times Magazine, this Blog has been forced to mantain a […]
Good morning friends, today I would just like to give an update on upcoming or recently passed regional conferences and cooperation in the CA. 1. The 6th Annual Almaty Conference “Central Asia: State and Prospects of Regional Cooperation” will be hosted in surprise, Almaty, Kazakhstan on June 11. The conference is organized by the Ebert […]
Just yesterday I had written a qualified warning against blaming Russian media meekness entirely on the Kremlin. Now, I am really tempted to take it all back. In a case of unabashed, iron gripped censorship of one of the most courageous, outspoken and thoughtful publications in the country, Russian Federal investigators have targeted The Exile, […]
IMPRESSIVE RUSSIA CRUSH LITHUANIA in Euro 2008 warm-up. (Though I’m sure many Russia fans were disppointed it was not Estonia, to have another excuse for a bit of ultra-violence….)
Here's a story, in fact really a series of events, in which I have not heard much about. The governments of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and even resource-poor Tajikistan have led many ‘urban renewal’ projects in their respective capitals and major cities. This makes sense in many ways as most of these states are receiving large […]
Today's New York Times carries on its front page an article all about how the Kremlin silences its opponents in the media. Now, it appears, the Russian government is even adopting Stalin-era airbrushing to literally photoshop people with uncomfortably critical views out of already-recorded shows. Everything in the article is true (and, frankly, something that […]
As can be easily found in my article discussing India's growing influence and interest in Central Asia, they are not alone. Those of you who check this blog often, know that it features many pieces analyzing great power relations involving Central Asia. Although the ‘Great Game’ designation has been way overplayed, it is true that […]
Dmitry Medvedev has dropped a proposed libel law that would have shut down publications accused of libel without a court order, reports the liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy. Mikhail Fedotov, head of the Russian Union of Journalists, welcomed the move, and said that he was sure that Medvedev, a lawyer by training, would have been […]
On this blog, we have discussed India's increasing economic and strategic presence in Central Asia. The reasons for this are many, as are the implications for the region. I have written a short piece describing and analyzing this geopolitical occurrence for the Foreign Policy Association that you can find on its homepage. Here is the […]
Earlier I had written about the Russian aversion to seriousness, and now there is a pertinent article in the FT about the fine time-honoured tradition of Soviet gallows humour and its apogee, the Political Anekdot. Have a read… (Courtesy of the ever-intrepid Bradley Hope, founder-editor of the New York Moon)
A few years after leaving his post, a once faithful minion publishes a sensational tell-all story that sends shock waves all through the nation's capital. Its revelations not only stab his ex-boss in the back, but cast doubt on the integrity of the entire administration, the robstness of the media, and the state of the […]
“To be honest, they abandoned us.” Unnamed Uzbek who fled the country in April, voicing his displeasure with the West's rapprochement with the Karimov regime. The three year anniversary of the Andijon incident in Uzbekistan is upon us and I have found two interesting articles discussing its significance in the here and now, mainly regarding […]