Archive for the ‘Russia’ Category
Posted on August 23, 2011 - by Venik
Ukraine’s Quicksand
I haven’t posted anything for a while now: been busy. It seems the subject I find hardest to avoid is the political circus in Ukraine. Maybe it’s because I am from there, or maybe it’s because I always liked circus. I guess, we’ll never know for sure. And so, Ukraine’s former Prime Minister and socialite [...]
Posted on June 16, 2011 - by Venik
NATO Says It Won’t Attack Russia
You have to agree that it would look rather strange if you were to approach some random person on the street and tell him that you you will not punch him in the face. From time to time NATO leadership likes to reassure Russia of the Alliance’s friendly intentions. But in the past couple of [...]
Posted on February 14, 2011 - by Venik
Putin’s Palace
Ahead of the presidential election in Russia, the opposition is pooling resources for an early smear campaign. The usual targets are other opposition leaders, the Communists, and the Kremlin. But the all-time favorite is, of course, Vladimir Putin. Will he run for president? Nobody knows. Gorbachev doesn’t think Putin will run. Nemtsov is certain that [...]
Posted on February 3, 2011 - by Venik
Baltic Pirates – the Mystery Revealed
Some of you may still remember the strange hijacking on the Russian cargo vessel “Arctic Sea” in the Baltic in late July of 2009. The ship was boarded by masked men wearing police-like uniforms and armed with automatic weapons. The captain and the crew were forced to sail the ship to Africa. Inexplicably, the 4.4-ton [...]
Posted on February 3, 2011 - by Venik
Cézanne and Stem Cells
The New York Times ran an interesting story on an unlikely diplomatic dispute between the US and Russia over fine art and inter-museum exchange. Apparently in July of last year a federal judge in DC ruled that Russia was supposed to hand over a collection of books and religious documents to a sect of Hasidic [...]
Posted on January 26, 2011 - by Venik
Goodbuy Lenin?
Andrew Osborne of The Telegraph talks about the unofficial online poll conducted by Putin’s United Russia party regarding the proposed burial of Lenin’s body. According to the poll, some 66% of the respondents believe that Lenin should be buried. It is interesting that Andrew Osborne is so quick to believe United Russia’s claims when they [...]
Posted on December 9, 2010 - by Venik
WikiDefendors
Today Wikileaks and Julian Assange gained two new influential supporters: the UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay and her nemesis the Batman (aka Russia’s prime minister Vladimir Putin). Putin’s vocal support of Julian Assange comes a day after a member of Medvedev’s administration suggested Assange should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. “When asked [...]
Posted on July 20, 2010 - by Venik
The Water Boys
The best way to keep a secret is not to concede its existence. Indeed, it would be difficult for your neighbor to poison your dog, if he doesn’t know you have one. Should, nevertheless, the facts escape, your next best defense is wordiness. You shall contribute to the spectacle at every opportunity in the hope [...]
Posted on May 29, 2010 - by Venik
Yak-130 Crashes in Russia
A Yak-130 advanced trainer jet crashed earlier today at the Lipetsk combat flight training center of the Russian AF. Both pilots ejected and were treated for minor injuries. There was no damage on the ground. The aircraft went out of control on takeoff during a routine training mission. This is first crash of an in-service [...]
Posted on April 20, 2010 - by Venik
Why Russia and Poland Will Never be Friends
You probably heard the story by now: a plane full of Polish russophobes flew into a tree in Russia. Too bad Dante is dead: a lot of good material for a Commedia sequel. There is a veritable flurry of news reports and editorials predicting an epic thaw in relations between Russia and Poland. A brief [...]
Posted on February 18, 2010 - by Venik
Mistral for Russia
France’s decision to sell four Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia was met with heavy criticism in the US, Georgia and the Baltic States. Interestingly enough, Russia’s decision to buy the four vessels for more than $2 billion was met with a lot of criticism within Russia as well. This is really the first time in [...]
Posted on February 9, 2010 - by Venik
Sukhoi T-50 Production and Procurement Details
The PAKFA (Russian abbreviation for the Prospective Frontal Aviation Complex) fighter project is currently scheduled to enter production at the end of 2014. The single-seat model is expected to enter service with the Russian AF in 2015. The dual-seat model for the Indian AF is expected to enter service two years after that. The two-seater [...]
Posted on February 6, 2010 - by Venik
Sukhoi Stealth Fighter’s First Flight
As many of you already know, last week the Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter prototype – Russia’s long-awaited answer to Lockheed-Martin’s F-22 – completed it’s maiden 47-minute flight from the manufacturer’s test airfield in the Russian Far East. The single-seat aircraft features low-observable geometry, two widely-separated engines with 3-D thrust-vectoring nozzles, internal weapons bays, all-movable angled [...]
Posted on February 2, 2010 - by Venik
Novaya Gazeta and DDOS Attack
The Register, among others, reports that the Web site of one of Russia’s leading independent newspapers – the Novaya Gazeta – came under a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack. Currently the newspaper’s site is unstable. The reason I even noticed this news item is not because I am a big fan of Novaya Gazeta. It is [...]
