Window on Eurasia

Officialese, Not Imported Words, Biggest Threat to Russian Language, Journalist Says 2016-02-24 16:13:09 Staunton, VA, February 22, 2016 –  Commenting on a new study by the Pushkin Institute of Russian language knowledge by officials at various levels, Marina Koroleva says that the greatest threat to the national language is not foreign borrowings, jargon or curse words […]

Designer of Lenin’s Mausoleum was Orthodox Christian, Architectural Historian Says 2016-03-02 02:55:51 Staunton, VA, February 21, 2016 — In what may constitute a last-ditch defense of keeping Lenin in the mausoleum on Red Square, a Russian architectural historian points out that the man who designed that building was an Orthodox Christian who before the revolution had served […]

Extra-Systemic Opposition Unlikely to Be Able to Make Kadyrov an Issue, Poll Suggests 2016-02-24 16:17:17 Staunton, VA, February 20, 2016 – Some Moscow commentators have been expecting the extra-systemic opposition to make an issue of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his outrageous behavior – a few have even suggested that might influence Vladimir Putin’s decision on the […]

Two of Four Parliamentary Parties Turn Down Call to Avoid Ethnic Themes, Barinov Says 2016-02-18 21:50:51 Staunton, VA, February 18, 2016 —  United Russia and Just Russia have agreed to Igor Barinov’s call that they sign a formal agreement committing themselves to avoiding any nationalist or xenophobic statements or actions in the upcoming Duma elections, but […]

Ten Reasons Putin System May Not be as ‘Sustainable’ as Many Now Think 2016-02-17 22:42:32 Staunton, VA, February 17, 2016 —  In an interview with Tomsk television, Mariya Snegovaya points to ten reasons why in her view the Putin system may not be nearly as “sustainable” as many now think given that the fall in […]

Upcoming Russian Duma Elections Becoming Ever More Meaningless – and Thus More Dangerous for the Kremlin 2016-02-16 21:30:19 Staunton, VA, February 16, 2016 — In addition to all the other “administrative resources” Moscow officials have to control the outcomes of elections, two developments this week suggest that the upcoming Duma vote, if in fact it is […]

Facebook and Twitter Now More Important News Sources for Yandex than TASS 2016-02-15 18:31:50 Facebook and Twitter “have become a main source of information for Yandex News,” the primary sources for about eight percent and five percent of all stories respectively, a new Yandex analysis shows; but traditional media still account for a total of […]

‘Third Rome to Meet First Rome to Oppose Second Rome,’ Kholmogorov Says 2016-02-13 00:33:56 Staunton, VA, February 6, 2016 — The meeting of Moscow Patriarch Kirill with Pope Francis in Cuba is not only a major boost for the status of the Russian Orthodox Church, suggesting as it does that Moscow somehow represents all Orthodox as […]

Kadyrov, Putin and the Desensitization of Russia 2016-02-09 06:37:59 Staunton, VA, February 1, 2016 – Each day seems to bring a fresh outrage from Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin and their ilk, an outrage many dutifully denounce without connecting the dots and seeing the ways in which this drip-by-drip set of actions is making Russians and indeed many […]

A Baker’s Dozen of Neglected Russian Stories – No. 22 2016-02-05 18:07:21 Staunton, VA, February 5, 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 […]