Sean's Russia Blog

Black PR vs. Black PR?

Sean — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:03:28 +0000

As the Power Vertical's Robert Coalson explains, this is the way the game is played. Anyone familiar with Russian politics over the last 20 years, if not the last century, will not be surprised by the revelation a United Russia hatchet-men hired "spin doctors" to spread black PR to smear political opponents of UR power broker and Saratov deputy Vyacheslav Volodin. But is this latest revelation merely black PR about black PR? Yet another example of the Russian elite cannabalizing itself?

RT’s Agitprop

Sean — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:06:05 +0000

When I first saw the ads Russia Today is using in its American and UK ad campaign, I immediately had the reaction that most Americans and British probably had. Comparing Obama to Ahmadinejad? That's like comparing Christ with the devil! Is RT crazy or just stupid!? But then I started to think about the ad, realizing my gut reaction is exactly what it was supposed to provoke.

In Russia, Journalist = Protester

Sean — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:56:55 +0000

According to Vremya Novosti, the local court in Tver district in Moscow set a "precedent which threatens to turn into new accusations that the Russian government is violating civil freedoms." Not only is holding non-permitted gatherings consider illegal, now it's also verboten for journalists to cover them. "According to the [court's] ruling, journalists, who enter unsanctioned protests or marches to make their reports are equated with the participants in these protests and violators of the law." Basically, the government now has the legal means to test the philosophical question: if a protest occurs and it's not in the news, did it really occur? This is one more verification that the powers that be are the true postmodernists.

Patriarch Kirill Does a Pat Robertson

Sean — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:20:05 +0000

Kirill I, the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Rus, went all Pat Robertson in Kazakhstan and declared that God smote Haiti because it lost his "moral face." As if that wasn't enough, a Russian website is claiming that the earthquake that made Haiti ripe for disaster capitalism was caused by a new weapon built by the United States. Why do all the kooks come out when there is a tragedy?

Markelov and Baburova’s Murders One Year Past

Sean — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:07:44 +0000

One year ago, an assassin in a ski masked shot anti-fascist lawyer Stanislav Markelov in the back in the head near Kropotkinskaya metro. The killer then shot Novaya gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova as she went after him. She died in a hospital shortly thereafter. Both were well known antifascists. The memory of these two figures, however, not only reminds us of the plight of human rights activists and journalists in Russia, but also the specter of Russian fascist violence.

Georgians Descend on Ukrainian Polls or Just for the Girls?

Sean — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:11:42 +0000

The results of the Presidential elections in Ukraine were as predicted. Viktor Yanukovich took 35% of the vote to Tymoshenko’s 24.7%. The two will face each other in a run-off on 2 February. If one needed more proof that all is good in Ukraine, the Moscow Times reports that traders in the Ukrainian hryvna and [...]

Yah-noo-KOH’-vich vs. Tee-moh-SHEN’-koh

Sean — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:00:30 +0000

Today Ukrainians head for the polls, the endpoint (or midpoint depending on your opinion) to a colorful campaign. Voter disillusionment is high. So high that one candidate changed his name to Vasyl Protyvsikh, or Vasyl "Against All" with the hope to garner some votes. But alas, democracy is what it is. Too often you vote for the candidate you get rather than the one you want.

Billboard Entertains Moscow Motorists with Porno

Sean — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:18:15 +0000

Hackers gave motorists quite a show when they splashed a two minute porno clip on a billboard along one of Moscow's busiest streets on Thursday. Media experts are wondering whether it was a provocation, prank, or media virus. The authorities vow the find the culprit.

New Cold War Could’ve Gone Hot

Sean — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:41:09 +0000

A new book says that "senior staffers" in the Bush White House considered "limited military options" to support Georgia in its war with Russia. Luckily, cooler heads in the Oval Office prevailed. Namely, George W. Bush, of all people, who put the kibosh on the idea.

Hocking Ukrainian Democracy

Sean — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:39:11 +0000

Ukraine's Orange Revolution might not have provided stability, but it sure has increased the entertainment factor of its presidential elections. They're far more entertaining that Russia's stuffy, no contest campaigns. Despite the high fun factor, Ukrainian voter disillusionment is high, while the candidates, hoping to jostle into a competitive pole position, are getting down and dirty. What a bunch of party poopers.