May 01, 2014

This Just in From Ukraine...


This Just in From Ukraine...

Today is the 401st anniversary of the crowning of the first Romanov Tsar, Mikhail, in 1613, and the end of the "Time of Troubles." This of course has nothing to do with the present day. Just thought I'd mention it in passing. 

A few things have caught my eye of late while trying to keep on top of the ever-changing, often contradictory and usually incomplete coverage of events in Russia and Ukraine. 

First, Russia (which, by the way does not have a demographic problem, says Forbes' Mark Adomanis) has assured the US that it will not invade Ukraine. Really. Double promise, cross-our-hearts, spit and shake on it:

"Secretary of Defense (Chuck) Hagel spoke today by phone with Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu (and) Shoigu reiterated his assurance that Russian forces would not invade Ukraine." [AFP, 4/29/14]

Whew. That's a relief. I feel so much better now.

Oh, and during that conversation, Shoigu also apparently "called on the US to tone down its rhetoric on the Ukraine crisis." Hm... Interesting you mention that, Seryozha, I was just going to point out...

Second, Moscow has been tossing a lot of rather, well, insulting epithets in Ukraine's direction. You know, stuff like "Nazi" and "fascist" and "Fritz" – basically not the sort of terms one generally uses among polite company ("Excuse me you fascist Fritz, can you please pass the artichoke spread?"). But then, these are dangerous times, and when there is a real threat to life and liberty, you can't be too.... Wait, what's that? Really? I see... Ahem... Apparently the folks at Israel's respected paper Haaretz have judged Moscow's slanders to be "outlandish," "inflammatory" and, well, "dangerous." And, well, one gathers they know from Nazis...

Showing how the propaganda effort began during the Maidan demonstrations, Haaretz notes that the tactic has been rather effective, mainly because images of WWII are rather potent for unification of public opinion. But of course it also has another potency: 

Russian news media regularly distort information to make it fit the black-and-white World War II mindset, condoning vigilante violence.

Third, apparently the US has been listening in on some people's conversations (!) and has found – surprise, surprise – that Eastern Ukraine's Free Radicals are being directed by Moscow. US Secretary of State John Kerry announced this shocker in a speech at Washington's Trilateral Commission the other day, according to the Daily Beast:

"Intel is producing taped conversations of intelligence operatives taking their orders from Moscow and everybody can tell the difference in the accents, in the idioms, in the language. We know exactly who's giving those orders, we know where they are coming from...

Who knew Kerry, with his busy schedule, had time to study Russian? Or maybe by everybody being able to tell the difference in accents, idioms, etc., he was just using the Royal We?

Fourth, today saw the first May Day celebratory march through Red Square since the fall of the Soviet Union. Now, that's a reset!

Perhaps the best way to make sense of all this is with Stephen Colbert's interview with former Ambassador Michael McFaul.

 
 
Photo: Landov, The Daily Beast.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955