My first visit to Moscow in 1991 was a trip into a surreal world. Amid so much strangeness, I was hardly surprised to discover that the Soviet Union’s greatest rock star was, like me, half Korean.
lucian in moscow
Everyone was taken by surprise by the anti-government protests that broke out after Russia’s disputed parliamentary elections in December 2011. After watching the number of attendees increase by the hundreds every time I refreshed the Facebook page dedicated to the first organized rally, I jumped on the next plane to Moscow. My blog chronicling Russia’s protest movement was born.
Between the Present and the Future
Despite police raids on the homes of protest leaders, a new law raising fines for demonstrators and violence at the last big rally, tens of thousands of Muscovites once again took to the streets to vent their anger with Vladimir Putin.
The Medvedev Snafu
I had to force myself to watch Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with TV journalist Vladimir Pozner. The sincerity with which Medvedev defends completely cynical decisions doesn’t make him sincere – or the decisions any more defensible.
Faraway, So Close
Vladimir Putin arrived in Berlin an hour late after first visiting Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko. The symbolism was clear: Angela Merkel, Germany and the West can wait – and not just an hour but two whole weeks.
Love in the Time of Cynicism
In March I attended a reception at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Moscow. When a certain, not unknown Russian-American gentleman noticed me, he smiled dryly and exclaimed: “Ah, the anti-Putin blogger!”
Inauguration in a Ghost Town
Vladimir Putin is not a loved president, he’s a default president. Just because he has managed to check off the boxes “nomination,” “election” and “inauguration,” doesn’t mean he’s home free.
An Agent for Change from the KGB
Like Vladimir Putin, Gennady Gudkov spent his formative years serving in the KGB. Today he is one of the most outspoken government critics.
Interview with a Bucket
Pyotr Shkumatov’s street antics have stumped traffic policemen and made the rest of Moscow laugh. “This isn’t about the middle class,” he says. “It’s generational.”
The Beginning of the End
Don’t worry about Moscow’s protest movement. Worry about how Vladimir Putin plans to hang on for another six years without the support of the capital.
The Politics of Fear
Politics is human speech. Fear is an animal instinct. In Moscow, fear is taking the place of politics.
