From the category archives:

Russia

UN Takes on Russian Invasion

August 11, 2008

…And I’m sure Putin is reeeally shuddering!  Of course, it’s only a matter for the UN because Georgia’s Black Sea oil supply-line and port is being targeted, otherwise they’d wait for a few more Russian-on-Georgian calamities, like a decade of famine or ethnic cleansing policies, to take place. Either way, Russia’s Security Council veto will be exercised [...]

Read the full article →

One Look at the Bush Legacy

June 22, 2008

Finally a journalist who has some sense of historical perspective beyond the contemporary headlines!  Andrew Roberts wrote this article* comparing George W. Bush to another heavily maligned US president in his day, Harry S Truman. I think the comparison may stand in historical perspective.  Harry Truman was deeply disliked by the American people in 1952, blamed for [...]

Read the full article →

Obama: Gaffing His Way to the White House

May 27, 2008

The blogosphere is buzzing with news and facts about Barack Obama’s own statements that would have destroyed any Republican or She Who Must Not Be Named.  Malkin’s got great coverage of the most recent one:  that Barry’s uncle was one of the first on the scene to liberate Auschwitz.  I knew Obama had communist tendencies, [...]

Read the full article →

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

May 23, 2008

NOTE:  A FEW LIGHT SPOILERS: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull  (2008 ) was a damn great flick, following in the serious, yet sometimes tongue-in-cheek, pulp action of the originals!  It was full of fun and outrageous death-defying action sequences, mystical plot twists, and of course the commies are the bad guys this [...]

Read the full article →

Dmitry Medvedev Replaces Putin, At Least Technically

May 6, 2008

Russia inaugurates its new President, Dmitry Medvedev tomorrow, and no one is really sure whether Russia will turn toward democracy as they did under Yeltsin. Many argue that despite Medvedev’s constitutional role, the real power will continue to rest with the puppet-master Vladimir Putin, the soon to be Prime Minister. If this is turns out [...]

Read the full article →

Conspiracy Theory Put To Bed, Maybe

April 30, 2008

The first conspiracy theory I heard regarding the last Russian tsar’s family was that Princess Anastasia escaped execution by the Bolsheviks and was living somewhere in Europe. Leonard Nimoy (or whatever that dude who played Spock is called, help me out Ryan) even hosted spooky shows about it. That is, until 1991 when the Princesses [...]

Read the full article →

Russia’s New President

March 2, 2008

While the voting is not finished over in Russia it’s safe to say that Putin’s hand-picked successor, who’s practically running unopposed by any serious candidate, Dmitry Medvedev will become Russia’s third president.  Somehow I can’t see this guy turning into a Thomas Jefferson-type 3rd President, even though on the surface he seems marginally different than his [...]

Read the full article →

Two Different Takes on Belgrade Violence

February 23, 2008

By now, most have heard about the sectarian violence which ensued after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.  Some of that violence, pictured above, was directed at the United States embassy in the Serbian capital of Belgrade.  America was of course outraged at the lack of security around our embassy and has protested through appropriate diplomatic [...]

Read the full article →

Kosovo Declares Independence

February 17, 2008

With the help of 16,000 NATO peacekeepers (of course), Kosovo officially declared its independence from Serbia!  Good for them, and it’s about time!  Yet, Serbian nationalism is closely tied to Kosovo, for in June 1389, the Serbs were defeated by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Kosovo Polje.  Up until that point, Kosovo was a [...]

Read the full article →

Time’s Man of the Year: Vladimir Putin

December 19, 2007

Vladimir Putin.  Tsar Commissar General Secretary Vladimir Putin the Great/Terrible, Man of the Year.  Seems to work for this power-hungry new version of an old Russian habit: autocratic rule through violence, intimidation, political assassinations, and saber-rattling.  I’m disappointed.  I honestly thought that Time would have chosen Algore for his global warming farce and anti-American rants at international [...]

Read the full article →

Dirty Bomb Sale Foiled in Slovakia

November 29, 2007

A very scary development out of Slovakia today:  Slovak authorities indicated that two Hungarians and a Ukrainian were intercepted trying to sell their weapons-grade uranium powder to undercover investigators.  Early indications are that the uranium was probably from Russia or some former Soviet state.  It wasn’t enough material for a full-fledged nuke (this was only about a [...]

Read the full article →

Putin or Pravda

June 25, 2007

Vladimir Putin is trying to whitewash Soviet History in a way reminiscent of the old Soviet propaganda newspaper, Pravda, which used clever language and bold-faced lies to advance the Bolshevik’s totalitarian agenda.  As an historian, this kind of thing really bugs me and is often a harbinger of reactionary and revisionist politics, which Putin is steeped in [...]

Read the full article →

Oleg D. Kalugin, Spy Man

May 19, 2007

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hearing a lecture from Major General Oleg Kalugin, KGB (Retired) at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC through the American Institute for History Education (AIHE) grant through my school district.  Not only was the International Spy Museum a really cool experience, but Oleg’s lecture was absolutely ground-shaking! His [...]

Read the full article →

Putin’s Latest Tantrum

May 10, 2007

Everyone’s favorite ex-KGB goon Vladimir Putin had a unique take on the USA and NATO at a speech commemorating the 62nd anniversary of the end of World War II on May 8:  America and NATO’s foreign policy is like that of the Third Reich!  Now he didn’t just come out and say that so bluntly, but in [...]

Read the full article →

Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007)

April 23, 2007

Boris Yeltsin, the first President of post-Soviet Russia, died today at the age of 76. Known to many as the father of Russian democracy, Yeltsin is best remembered for his bold and courageous leadership against hard line Communists during a coup attempt while the Soviet Union was on the threshold of that ash heap Ronald [...]

Read the full article →

Will Putin Pull the Plug?

April 22, 2007

It has often been said that a new democracy’s first true test occurs when its second leader is in power. A democracy’s first leader is usually more of a consensus figure genuinely committed to the ideals of the new system. This dynamic now appears to be playing out in Russia, and it doesn’t seem to [...]

Read the full article →

Next Entries →