Odds and Ends

Commentary on commentators.

Can Russia Be a Great? A Moscow Times piece by Mark Katz, another American Russophobe, and my comments.

Understanding Russia: Meet Peter Lavelle, the analyst who "understands".

As I browse through (English language) news sites on Russia and even read through personal blogs, I keep coming across analyses and commentaries by so-called Russian experts. Now, Russian analysts and experts have never been a rare species. Most of the English-speaking breed originates in the United States, and ever faithful to American academic and cultural traditions, most of its representatives are instinctively russophobic. I guess it is not difficult to become a Russia expert, - you just call yourself one. A while ago, I was reading an essay on the site of Rosbalt, a regional Russian news agency. The long-winded
and wordy commentary was signed "Peter Lavelle." Read on.

The Trauma of Being Russian. A companion piece from the Untimely Thoughts website by Chris Doss, who is not nearly as vile and russophobic as Peter Lavelle, explores such issues as streets violence and nationalism rise in the former Soviet Union from the perspective of a sympathetic outsider. The piece is based on the premise that all Russians had was their Soviet identity (totally false), and when Soviet Union was dissolved they found themselves in a limbo, hence the extraordinary street violence, outbursts of tribalism and other kinds of problems.

Read on.

General interest personal sites and blogs on Russia (in English):

Alexander Blakely's website. Although I disagree with author's viewpoints, the site is interesting and the blog is fun to read.

Neil Harvey's Nevsky-Prospekt. I have several links to Neil Harvey's page. His is one of best website on Nevsky Prospekt in any language.

Miscellany:

Guide to St. Petersburg
Links
Snapshots
Index

euge_s@e-mail.ru

Senator John McCain, one of most notorious Russophobes in Washington calls for punishing Russia.

Senator Mc Cain,

Your Russophobia is appalling as are your bellicosity, war-mongering, disrespect for human rights and for human life. I feel disgusted by your outrageous behavior and the most recent report in the Financial Times on your public appeal for punishing Russia was the last drop. Not Russia or Putin, but you are the person who needs to be both punished and removed from office.

Eugene Suharnikov