Tag: Russia

The revenge of history in Ukraine: year of war has shaken up world order

The Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko recalls a quote attributed to Otto von Bismarck: “Wars are not won by generals, but by schoolteachers and parish priests.” It’s a country’s taught collective memory, its shared sense of its own history, that are the decisive instruments for mobilisation, and are as important on the battlefield as weaponry. Few… Read More The revenge of history in Ukraine: year of war has shaken up world order

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How organized crime plays a key role in the Ukrainian conflict

John P. Ruehland – Globetrotter On November 1, the deputy director of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation downplayed remarks made on October 30 by an agency official, who warned of Western weapons bound for Ukraine being smuggled into Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Nonetheless, the affair generated significant attention and reflected previous concerns expressed by European authorities over… Read More How organized crime plays a key role in the Ukrainian conflict

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Patriotism as a diagnosis

Stanislav Markelov First posted February 21, 2019 When a nation is filled with strife, then do patriots flourish: Lao-Tzu, Chinese Philosopher (601-531 BC) This is the last article written by Russian activist lawyer Stanislav Markelov before he was shot dead in central Moscow a decade ago. On 19 January 2009, as Markelov and Baburova walked… Read More Patriotism as a diagnosis

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Russian Nobel Peace laureate slams Putin’s ‘insane and criminal war’ on Ukraine

By Allegra Goodwin, CNN Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Yan Rachinsky blasted President Vladimir Putin’s “insane and criminal” war on Ukraine in his acceptance speech in the Norwegian capital Oslo on Saturday. Rachinsky, from Russia’s human rights organization Memorial, claimed resistance to Russia is known as “fascism” under Putin, adding this has become “the ideological justification… Read More Russian Nobel Peace laureate slams Putin’s ‘insane and criminal war’ on Ukraine

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Cracks in the Kremlin matrix. The Stalinist order, the Putinist order; Russia’s culture of bureaucratic corruption

First posted July 10, 2013 Cracks in the Kremlin matrixPeter Pomerantsev enters the matrix of managed democracy that underpins postmodern dictatorship in Russia. A society of pure spectacle, with fake parties, fake opposition, fake scandals and fake action: this is the political technologists’ project, in which (almost) everything becomes PR. NB – the articles below provide insights… Read More Cracks in the Kremlin matrix. The Stalinist order, the Putinist order; Russia’s culture of bureaucratic corruption

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When reality hits the propaganda machine

Volodymyr Kadygrob Anton Tarasyuk Despite the bizarre and evidently distorted reality conjured by Putin’s media strategists, their propaganda has proved considerably effective even outside Russia. Not in the sense that many people in Europe believe in the Russian message. From a European perspective, Russian propaganda consists of nothing more than blatant lies and deliberate disinformation.… Read More When reality hits the propaganda machine

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