Three edges of Europe: Russia, Turkey, Britain
Turkey and Russia share aspects of the past. In the middle ages, Ottomans and Muscovites alike depended on cultural inheritances from Byzantium. Over several centuries, the Ottoman and Russian Empires both … Continue reading
Victory Day: tanks on Red Square, Putin in Crimea
May 9, 2014: Victory Day, the annual celebration of the triumph against Nazi Germany. Powerful army formations and weapons of mass destruction parade across Red Square. President Putin receives the … Continue reading
Russian patriotism in Crimea: Tsar, Stalin, Putin
A nation is easier to imagine if it has a human face. Since George Washington, the American president has been a physical embodiment of the United States. The Queen’s Diamond … Continue reading
Fun for rich kids and poor kids: Crimea under Khrushchev
‘Are you ready?’ ‘I’m always ready!’ So went the refrain of the Pioneers, members of the state organization for children in the Soviet Union. Set up in 1922, the Pioneers … Continue reading
The Olympic Games and the welfare state
Imagine a midnight flit from the Balkans to southern Russia, for the sake of a lucrative job on an Olympic building site that never pays anything at all. Unpaid wages, … Continue reading
