Blog Detail
Recent Posts
Entrepreneurial Blessings
Last week, a student at International University told Maya and I that he liked Protestantism because it believes that “God says the rich should rule.” I won’t debate the theological veracity of his statement. His honesty was r...
Yakemenko Loves You
Vasili, Vasili, Vasili. How far you’ve fallen. To think that only a few years ago you were the leader of your own youth army, Nashi. Now, you’re just a bureaucrat. As for Nashi, with the “orange threat” vanquished, t...
Cleaning the Slate
Every once and I while I get emails from editors of magazines and newspapers alerting me to their articles on Russia. The intent of their communique is clear: Can you plug this? They rarely say this outright. Usually the request is masked with...
Smelly Russia
There is something uncanny about smells in Russia. Not just the musty vapors that arise from the unwashed or improperly deodorized metro rider next to you. Stink is just a fact of metropolitan life. It’s the supposed “good” s...
The Kirov Law at 75
Yesterday, December 1, was 75 years since the assassination of Sergei Kirov, the first secretary of the Leningrad Party Organization, and Stalin ally. It was on the night of December 1, 1934 that a certain Leonid Nikolaev, a disgruntled party work...
Access to Fading Lives
HIV-AIDS is something that hits close to my heart. My brother died of the disease in 1993. One of my earliest blog posts way back in 2005 addressed the issue in Russia. Sadly, the situation here has little improved though the UN reports that th...

