"I now have mixed feelings about this trial. On the one hand, we now expect a guilty verdict. Compared to the judicial machine, we are nobodies, and we have lost. On the other hand, we have won. Now the whole world sees that the criminal case against us has been fabricated. The system cannot conceal the repressive nature of this trial. Once again, Russia looks different in the eyes of the world from the way Putin tries to present it at daily international meetings. All the steps toward a state governed by the rule of law that he promised have obviously not been made. And his statement that the court in our case will be objective and make a fair decision is another deception of the entire country and the international community. That is all. Thank you." -
Yekaterina Samutsevich: Closing Statement at the Pussy Riot Trial
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Aug 9, 2012 -
66 comments
"The Western observer tends to split the Russian press into two camps: evil statists and martyrs. But for their part, members of the Russian press are convinced of their superiority over their Western colleagues, at least when it comes to Syria. Russian journalists aren’t under the illusion that they are more objective than their Western counterparts, but they are convinced of their ability to convey a more realistic, complex picture of the events in Syria." -
The New Republic: In Russia, Even Putin’s Critics Are OK With His Syria Policy
posted by beisny
on Jul 24, 2012 -
34 comments
Lego figurines, Kinder surprises and other toys played the role of 'demonstrators'. Police in Siberian city ask prosecutors to investigate legality of protest involving display of toy figures holding miniature placards. "Political opposition forces are using new technologies to carry out public events – using toys with placards at mini-protests," Andrei Mulintsev, the city's deputy police chief, said at a press conference this week, according to local media. "In our opinion, this is still an unsanctioned public event."
[more inside]
posted by KokuRyu
on Jan 26, 2012 -
24 comments
It took
spontaneously crowd-sourced translators less than 24 hrs to make an article on the FSB's (former KGB) alleged implication in the Moscow 1999 apartment blasts accessible in Russian. Before, distribution of the issue of GQ in Russia had been
banned by the editor himself. The topic (although the allegations are anything else than new) became an
instant top in the russian blogosphere today (dynamic listing, will change with time)
posted by megob
on Sep 6, 2009 -
22 comments
A Tsar Is Born. For his "extraordinary feat of leadership in taking a country that was in chaos and bringing it stability,"
Time has announced Vladimir Putin as Person of the Year.
Al Gore and
J.K. Rowling are runners-up.
posted by XQUZYPHYR
on Dec 19, 2007 -
70 comments
"OMON knows no mercy and forgives none. This is the way it is, was, and always will be." The Russian OMON (Otryad Militsii Osobovo Naznacheniya), or Special Purpose Police Squad, is one of
the most elite police units in the world. Formed in the mid-1980s to combat urban riots, the 20,000-strong OMON now tackles terrorists, protesters, and
soccer fans. What drives former soldiers to join the beefy brigade? "Risk,"
says Major Viktor Kommissarov, "Working in the OMON always involves the risk of death."
(in Russian)
posted by nasreddin
on Jun 1, 2007 -
22 comments
Putins spy war on the West White House intelligence advisers believe no other country is as aggressive as Russia in trying to obtain US secrets, with the possible exception of China.
In particular the SVR, as the former KGB’s foreign intelligence arm is now known, is using a network of undercover agents in America to gather classified information about sensitive technologies, including military projects under development and high-tech research.
posted by jouke
on May 20, 2007 -
30 comments
"When the stars are right, R'lyeh will rise from the sea, never to sink again, and Cthulhu will awaken and revel across the world... ravening for delight." This must undoubtedly be Russian President Vladimir Putin's answer when (or indeed, if) he is asked, among other things, what he thinks about the re-awakening of Cthulhu.
On July 6, Mr Putin will respond via the Internet in his first-ever webcast to some of the questions posted through the
BBC Online and
Yandex sites, where queries can also be voted on, as part of a Kremlin media charm offensive ahead of the G8 Summit in Saint Petersburg on July 15-17. Some of the most popular questions being put by Russian web surfers to their President so far include; when he lost his virginity, when he will legalise marijuana and, as previously mentioned, when a giant fictional octopus sleeping at the bottom of the ocean will awaken. Oh, and why
he kissed a young boy on the stomach. Not that any of that matters in comparison to the awesome power of Cthulu!
posted by Effigy2000
on Jul 4, 2006 -
10 comments
Hungry like the wolf. In his state-of-the-nation address, Vladamir Putin took a swipe at the Bush administration, saying that Russia should build
"a strong, reliable home because we do see what's going on in the world. . . Comrade Wolf knows whom to eat. It's eating without listening to anyone. And by all appearances, it's not going to listen . . . Where is all this pathos about the need to fight for human rights and democracy when it comes to the need to pursue their own interests? Here everything is possible. There are no limits."
posted by insomnia_lj
on May 10, 2006 -
25 comments
The Orange Revolution --
A coup is taking place
right now in the streets of several Ukrainian cities. Following the "election" of Viktor Yanukovych, an election that
everyone from the Ukrainian man-on-the-street to
EU observers and
the US and
Canada say was marred by serious and obvious fraud, Ukrainians are turning out by the
hundreds of thousands to
show their support for the opposition candidate, the pro-West reformer
Viktor Yushchenko.
Individual cities and
municipalities, not to mention heads of
Ukrainian religious groups, have even announced that they will refuse to recognize Yanukovych as the Prime Minster.
The problem is, Yanukovych is supported by the Kremlin. Russia's state-run TV stations had been broadcasting propaganda on his behalf, they
called the election on his behalf before the polls were closed, and their increasingly despotic President Putin even congratulated him on his "win", before
backtracking slightly. And now reports are
trickling out--from
former American congressmen communicating via Blackberry, no less--about
Russian soldiers being flown across the border into Ukraine,
dressed in Ukrainian militia garb, and
set among the protestors. Phones have been cut across much of the country, including at the embassies. A semi-covert Russian-backed military push against the pro-democracy protestors is feared. Will this be another peaceful
Rose Revolution, as happened in Georgia one year ago today, or more like
Hungary, 1956? Stay tuned to
the Ukrainian bloggers and
webcams; this could
get messy.
posted by Asparagirl
on Nov 23, 2004 -
147 comments
The Ultimatum has been delivered to the UN... This conflict, simmering for over ten years is about to erupt. "In strict accordance with international law," unilatteral military action is imminent unless demands are met. Animosity has been mounting steadily for months, and Russia is ready to invade Georgia. "No one can deny today, and for ourselves we are certain, that Georgian territory is sheltering both those who are implicated in the attacks on the United States and a direct operative involved in the attacks on housing units in Russia," Mr. Putin said on Russian television, echoing the logic U.S. President George W. Bush has used to rally international support for a pre-emptive strike on Iraq. The United States said it would not support Mr. Putin if he carried out his threat to attack Chechen rebel bases in Georgia, and slammed him for suggesting he might. "The United States strongly supports Georgia's territorial integrity and would oppose any unilateral military action by Russia inside Georgia," a U.S. State Department spokesman said. This all seems rather hypocritical, business as usual new world order politics: Is the price of getting UN Security Council approval on Iraq going to be public and secret deals, and is this really about the Chechens, or about breakaway republics and Caspian Sea oil? And what about China? Will we rubberstamp their ambitions re: Taiwan, Spratley Islands, Mongolia? And finally, why Georgia? I know they put up a two-bit Olympics and never caught that one terrorist bomber, but really, Georgia?
posted by Mack Twain
on Sep 13, 2002 -
25 comments
Putin taking questions on from American call ins and emails on NPR. It's 5:05pm on the west coast and Putin is on his way from
Ground Zero to the New York studios of NPR. Switch on your local NPR station; Putin is supposedly very good at answering candid questions. I can only imagine Bush entertaining call in questions in Russia (or the US for that matter). Comments after the interview?
posted by jonah
on Nov 15, 2001 -
6 comments
Bush, Putin agree on missile talks "GENOA, Italy -- U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to tie U.S. plans for building a missile defence shield to talks on reducing nuclear stockpiles. " Arms race averted?
posted by nicolotesla
on Jul 22, 2001 -
14 comments
