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Vancouver as the mirror of Russian degradationPublished 5.3.2010 1 comment(s) Anyone who grew up and did his studies in the communist Soviet Union will remember Lenin’s article “Leo Tolstoy as the Mirror of the Russian Revolution.” To paraphrase the title of the proletarian leader’s 1908 piece, Vancouver Olympics proved to be the mirror of the post-Soviet Russia’s degradation. » |
Geopolitics of identityPublished 12.11.2009 It would appear that history is becoming a hot issue once again. As I’m currently doing some intensive conference-hopping, the politics of memory proves to be one of the most discussed topics amongst historians, political scientists and IR specialists. » |
Ankara’s Abkhazia gambitPublished 18.9.2009 1 comment(s) While Turkey’s attempts at rapprochement with Armenia have attracted much attention, Ankara’s moves to forge closer relations with Abkhazia appear to be much less publicized. Yet the recent developments in the south-western Caucasus are likely to get Turkey more involved in the region’s complex geopolitical equation. » |
Turkey’s Erdogan puts leading foreign policy theorist into the driver’s seatPublished 7.5.2009 As any long-time Turkey watcher will tell you, Turkey is never boring. Here’s the most recent confirmation of this thesis for you. Just get this. It is a beautiful Friday afternoon on May 1, when all Turkish bureaucracy along with all the other rich and powerful are leaving dusty Ankara for their weekend hideouts by the sea. It was precisely this serene moment that Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had chosen to unveil a major reshuffle of his Cabinet. » |
The return of the “bearded one”Published 10.2.2009 When a leading US academic opened his remarks at the high-profile FIIA seminar yesterday with a patently materialist quote from Marx, I wasn’t surprised. I knew it was a reflection of a powerful intellectual trend – or, as Marx himself might put it, a sign of the Zeitgeist. » |
Expanding blogosphere as an element of phony democracy in EurasiaPublished 16.1.2009 In Russia, Kazakhstan and in most post-Soviet states there cannot be a true dialog between the rulers and the ruled as the major channels making such dialog possible – democratic elections, free press and vibrant political life based on the robust multi-party system – simply don’t function. » |
Russian economic crisis: Some saw it comingPublished 27.11.2008 Happy countries, like happy families in Leo Tolstoy’s famous phrase, appear to resemble one another, while unhappy ones – for instance, those struggling with the current global economic crisis – are unhappy in their own particular ways. Russia, as some commentators suggest, has been hit especially hard, facing all the negative aspects of the financial meltdown at once. » |
Struggling to make sense of complexities of the emerging new worldPublished 13.10.2008 Two pieces of analysis that I’ve read over the weekend appear to be emblematic of two Western ways of looking at the current international situation in general and at Russia in particular. To be sure, these two approaches have a long tradition. The first tends to simplify things and sees the world as being basically black and white. The second approach focuses on ambiguities and contradictions and holds that reality is colored in zillion shades of grey. But while the first manner of seeing and reflecting produces a seemingly neat and clear-cut picture, it is the willingness and ability to see the complexities of the modern world that eventually leads to better understanding. » |
THE KREMLIN MESSAGEPublished 15.9.2008 Over the weekend, I finally found some time to sit down and watch the coverage of Russia’s Prime Minister Putin and President Medvedev’s meetings with the participants of the Valdai Discussion Club. Luckily, the videos of the two events have been posted on the Russian leaders’ respective official websites. Traditionally, Putin used these events as a channel to send out some important signals – primarily, to Western audiences. » |
