Staunton, VA, January 29, 2016 -- The flood of news stories from a country as large, diverse and strange as the Russian Federation often appears to be is far too large for anyone to keep up with. But there needs to be a way to mark those which can’t be discussed in detail but which are too indicative of broader developments to ignore
Consequently, Windows on Eurasia will present a selection of 13 of these other and typically neglected stories at the end of each week. This is the twenty-first such compilation. It is only suggestive and far from complete – indeed, this week once again, one could have put out such a listing every day -- but perhaps one or more of these stories will prove of broader interest.
1.
From Genghiz Khan with a Telegraph to Ivan the Terrible with an I-Phone.Since at least the time of Alexander Herzen, Russian writers have viewed their rulers as authoritarian rulers resembling those in the past made worse by modern technology. Now
one has suggested that Putin has set up a medieval principality with i-phones and foreign cars. But Putin may be more closely tied to Soviet leaders: he noted this week that he
hasn’t thrown away his CPSU party card. And even Russian nationalists are now upset that Putin’s Russia resembles something out of 1984. For them, “Big Brother”
really is watching.
6.
Russians Are Lining Up Again. Lines, a inevitable feature of Soviet life, are
returning to Russia with a vengeance as shortages appear and people get in line in expectation that something will be available. Sometimes, however, the wait can be just too long: One story making the rounds is that a Russian got in line at a doctor’s office but
died before he could be seen. Others in the line left him in place for more than two hours.
7.
Finnish Journalist Fined for Interviewing Ousted Petrozavodsk Mayor. Having driven Galina Shirshina from office, Karelian officials are doing what they can in order to prevent her story from reaching a broader audience. To that end, they
fined a Finnish journalist for interviewing her.
8.
No One Talked about Russia in Davos. To the horror of many in Moscow, almost no one taking place at the world economic meeting in Davos had anything to say about Russia,
an indication of how marginal it has become at least in economic terms.
11.
Power Verticals Can Alienate People. Vladimir Putin clearly believes that his construction of a power vertical has helped to generate popular support for himself, but
a study of the Moscow Patriarchate’s efforts to create a power vertical within the church finds that steps in that direction have had exactly the opposite effect, alienating many Russians who earlier had been more sympathetic.
12.
Russia Doesn’t Need the World Cup, Some Russians Say. Many in the West believe that Russia should be stripped of the 2018 World Cup because of its aggression in Ukraine, the racism of its fans, its corrupt involvement with international sporting bodies, and its athletes’ use of performance enhancing drugs. But now ever more Russians are saying they don’t want Moscow to hold the cup
because the money it will cost could be better spent on social needs.
And three from Russia’s neighbors:
16. Can Baku Overcome Sunni-Shiia Divide by Having Them Alternate Services in Mosques? The Azerbaijani authorities believe that they can promote Sunni-Shiite concord by having the leaders of the two trends of Islam alternate services in mosques. Some are concerned that this will have the opposite effect and exacerbate tensions between the two or alternatively be used by the authorities to eliminate Sunni services in that majority Shiite country.
The previous issue of A Baker's Dozen is here.