When Vladimir Putin takes the presidential oath of office for a third time, he will be facing two unexpected new challenges that will rattle and shake his once formidable power base.
Opinion
The Hitler-Stalin Pact Still Divides Setuland
You won’t find it on any map, but Setuland really does exist. The place is inhabited by the Setus, an agrarian people who have distinguished themselves as singers of marathon epics about their legendary king and fertility god, Peko.
The Middle Class Malaise
The closest I came to becoming a socialist was when I was a teenager growing up in the U.S. Midwest in the 1980s. I first had to move to Russia to grasp the folly of socialism and reclaim my middle-class roots.
Moscow Style Claims New Fashion Victims
Even Russian men, whose clothing choice was once limited to polyester business suits or polyester jogging suits, have become fussy dressers. Local trends in men’s fashion have developed in mysterious directions: pointy elf shoes or the male purse.
Putin’s Outdated Illusions are Dangerous
In his speech after the massacre, Putin didn’t mention Chechnya a single time, even though it was clear that the trail from Beslan led back to the war-torn republic.
Cracks in the Russian Regime
The paradox of the costly retention of Chechnya is that few Russians view the North Caucasus as an integral part of Russia worth keeping.
Better to Mention the War Than to Forget It
It took more than half a century to complete the reconstruction of Berlin. It took only a few weeks to reduce it to rubble.
Wall of Fear
I was 17 years old when I first saw the Berlin Wall. I clambered up an observation platform in West Berlin to peer over to the Brandenburg Gate. Two summers later, I was back. Everything had changed.
