In his final letter home from the army our conscript Tolya “finds” a mobile phone, is pursued by a mad officer and wonders what kind of man the army’s made of him
On Women’s Day in Russia you really get to see what your price tag is
Russian national pride has been badly dented by poor performance at the winter Olympics. It is being widely read as a political failure, reflecting the effects of corruption, and a regime which promotes PR over professionalism
It is irresponsible to fan the flames of partition as Ethan Burger does in his openDemocracy article ”Could partition solve Ukraine’s problem?” Neither the facts nor opinion polls support such wild speculation, says Adrian Karatnycky
In the first of his regular monthly reports for odRussia, Alexei Levinson of Russia’s prestigious Levada Centre offers a round-up of Russian public opinion at the start of 2010. Even when the economic crisis lead people to judge their government, he notes, approval of Prime Minister Putin remained
Viktor Yushchenko has left his successor a ticking time bomb. His name is Stepan Bandera. Should Yanukovych strip him of the official status of hero, which he has been accorded?
In 2004, some local journalists in Oryol founded an independent newspaper ‘for those who want the truth’. Although it sold well, members of staff were subject to threats, bribes, attacks and arson. Still, it lasted four years.
With the Amur tiger population facing extinction, organisations from Russia and abroad have been working to save them. They don’t always agree as to how this should be done. Then there are the politics, Mumin Shakirov observes. Perhaps the Year of the Tiger will be auspicious for the Amur big cats
Israel’s attempt to rally support for energy sanctions against Iran look like failing, for good reason. They would be likely to work to the detriment of the West’s and Israel’s goals.
Russia’s drugs problem has reached crisis point in Orenburg Region. It borders on Central Asia and is used as a transit point. Government measures against trafficking and addiction are hampered by lack of money and official attitudes
Our conscript Tolya continues his study of violence in his airborne division of the Russian army
