Considered Teffi’s single greatest work, Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea is a deeply personal account of the author’s last months in Russia and Ukraine, suffused with her acute awareness of the political currents churning around her, many of which have now resurfaced. In 1918, in the immediate aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Teffi, … [Read more…]
(The events in Moscow unfolded as I wrote this, it isn’t aimed at the current events except tangentially.) I finished this review in the New York Review of Books and wanted to share it. It is a long review, but rather fascinating for someone who knows next to nothing about this history, it filled in … [Read more…]
1937 Santa Claus around the world – yikes!
Meanwhile, over at NiemanLAB, an interesting analysis of these three “enemies” of the USA and their take on the election campaigns and the presidential prospects compared to 2016. Interesting times we live in? “Intransigence” and “ignorance” Sometimes, last-minute surprises upend the final month of the U.S. presidential race. This year was no exception, with Trump’s … [Read more…]
From November 16, 2016, Masha Gessen writes in NYRDaily: Autocracy, Rules for Survival: Rule #1: Believe the autocrat. Rule #2: Do not be taken in by small signs of normality. Rule #3: Institutions will not save you. “The national press is likely to be among the first institutional victims of Trumpism. There is no law … [Read more…]
From the Guardian, Andrew Roth in Moscow, Sat 10 Aug 2019: Rosatom says five staff died in accident that caused radiation levels to spike in Arkhangelsk. Russia’s nuclear energy agency has said an explosion that caused radiation levels to spike in the Arkhangelsk region was caused by an accident during a test of an “isotope … [Read more…]
An analysis from the Guardian (11/19/17) on “Why are libertarians lining up with autocrats to undermine democracy?” is found here. However, the long-term corrosive effect of Russia’s use of disinformation to break down trust in western institutions is hard to measure and may be unmeasurable. What is clear is that it is continuing with the … [Read more…]
In the New York Review’s Daily blog, Marilynne Robinson’s essay “Year One: Rhetoric & Responsibility” reminds me that we had a President in Obama who could appreciate her gifts and actually carry on a conversation at this level. I specially like this paragraph: The Trumps are a special problem, unembarrassed money-grubbers in whom other motives … [Read more…]