Logo
March 30, 2017

#Russiagate, Demos & Alaska

#Russiagate, Demos & Alaska
The Siberian Times

1. Yup, this is where we are now. The scandal surrounding the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 US election has now escalated to a pretty widespread if not trending Twitter hashtag #russiagate, and there is no shortage of conspiracy theories or trumped up charges (be it on the left or the right), or doomsday scenarios surrounding the scandal to keep one up at night (if the nuclear war threats don’t). But, as you might expect, there is also some pretty good humor and cartoonage (and more cartoonage). 

2. In the biggest anti-government demonstrations in five years, thousands of Russians across the country turned up last Sunday for spontaneous walkabouts, at the urging of opposition politician Alexei Navalny (seen above in a Twitter photo, on the metro with sneakers). It began in early March, when Navalny produced a video documenting corruption centered on Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (who, as it happened, was on a ski holiday this Sunday). The video went viral, and on Sunday demonstrators chanted against corruption with duck, sneaker, and green dye symbols. Navalny was one of the hundreds arrested, and was sentenced to 15 days in prison for leading an unsanctioned protest. In not unrelated news, on Monday, truckers staged a nationwide antitax strike.

3. Exactly 150 years ago today (yup, it’s a sesquicentennial), in 1867, the US Congress approved the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $74 million. Nicknamed by opponents at the time as Seward’s Folly (after Secretary of State William Seward), it was a crucial move in stemming British expansion in the region. And, just as with France and the Louisiana Purchase a sesquicentennial before, Russia sought the deal largely because they knew they could not defend such a far-flung imperial outpost in the face American expansion. Alaska did not become a state until 1959. We have re-posted a piece from our online archive about how it all got started (when Russia discovered America in 1741, that is). A wide range of sesquicentennial events are planned in Alaska this year.

In Other News
  • A professor in Tomsk railed at activist students who took part in last weekend’s demos, calling them “freaks” and basically telling them to “get a job.” He seems to have forgotten all the jobless freaks carry movie cameras with them everywhere they go.
  • Meanwhile, when you weren't looking, on Kamchatka the Russian volcano Kambalny erupted for the first time since 1767. (photo above, The Siberian Times)
  • Need another story about Russia and President Trump? How about one about some Russian-Americans and Trump. Spoiler alert: they love him!

Quote of the Week

"On paper it is a wonderful country;
on ice it is what is generally called a big thing.”

—Alaska Purchase humbug and New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, a few weeks after the purchase.

RosKultLit
Does not compute...

The robots may be coming for our jobs, our cars, and our thermostats, but don't expect them to be replacing translators any time soon. We ran two difficult graphs of text through two leading online translation engines to see what we would get. It was not pretty, people. Or, put another way, only the translations by people were pretty...

Top photo: The Siberian Times

Tags: russiatwitternavalnypoliticskamchatkaalaska

You Might Also Like

1741: The Year Russia Discovered America
  • March 30, 2017

1741: The Year Russia Discovered America

You probably know that Alaska was bought from Russia well over 100 years ago. But do you know why Russia claimed the territory in the first place? Hint: who doesn't love a fur coat?
Query
Template: /muraWRM/core/mura/content/feed/feedGateway.cfc:250
Execution Time: 0.798 ms
Record Count: 0
Cached: No
Lazy: No
SQL:
SELECT
tcontent.siteid, tcontent.title, tcontent.menutitle, tcontent.restricted, tcontent.restrictgroups,
tcontent.type, tcontent.subType, tcontent.filename, tcontent.displaystart, tcontent.displaystop,
tcontent.remotesource, tcontent.remoteURL,tcontent.remotesourceURL, tcontent.keypoints,
tcontent.contentID, tcontent.parentID, tcontent.approved, tcontent.isLocked, tcontent.contentHistID,tcontent.target, tcontent.targetParams,
tcontent.releaseDate, tcontent.lastupdate,tcontent.summary,
tfiles.fileSize,tfiles.fileExt,tcontent.fileid,
tcontent.tags,tcontent.credits,tcontent.audience, tcontent.orderNo,
tcontentstats.rating,tcontentstats.totalVotes,tcontentstats.downVotes,tcontentstats.upVotes,
tcontentstats.comments, tparent.type parentType,
tcontent.path, tcontent.created, tcontent.nextn, tcontent.majorVersion, tcontent.minorVersion, tcontentstats.lockID, tcontentstats.lockType, tcontent.expires,
tfiles.filename as AssocFilename,tcontent.displayInterval,tcontent.display,tcontentfilemetadata.altText as fileAltText,tcontent.changesetid
FROM
tcontent
left Join tfiles on (tcontent.fileid=tfiles.fileid)
left Join tcontentstats on (tcontent.contentid=tcontentstats.contentid
and tcontent.siteid=tcontentstats.siteid)
Left Join tcontent tparent on (tcontent.parentid=tparent.contentid
and tcontent.siteid=tparent.siteid
and tparent.active=1)
Left Join tcontentfilemetadata on (tcontent.fileid=tcontentfilemetadata.fileid
and tcontent.contenthistid=tcontentfilemetadata.contenthistid
and tcontent.siteid=tcontentfilemetadata.siteid)
WHERE
tcontent.siteid in ('default')
and tcontent.active = 1
and tcontent.Approved = 1
AND tcontent.isNav = 1
AND tcontent.moduleid = '00000000000000000000000000000000000'
AND tcontent.searchExclude = 0
AND tcontent.contentid <> '00000000000000000000000000000000001'
AND tcontent.type <>'Module'
and (
tcontent.parentid
=
'05C38466-CE10-EA10-FB432F85CF9EA4D2'
and
tcontent.subtype
=
'footnote'
)
AND (
tcontent.Display = 1
OR
(
tcontent.Display = 2
AND
(
(
tparent.type!='Calendar'
and tcontent.DisplayStart <=
{ts '2026-04-02 13:10:00'}
and (tcontent.DisplayStop >=
{ts '2026-04-02 13:10:00'} or tcontent.DisplayStop is null)
) OR (
tparent.type='Calendar'
and tcontent.DisplayStart <=
{ts '2027-04-02 13:10:00'}
and (tcontent.DisplayStop >=
{ts '2026-04-02 13:10:00'} or tcontent.DisplayStop is null)
)
)
)
)
AND (
tcontent.mobileExclude is null
OR
tcontent.mobileExclude in (0,1)
)
order by
tcontent.lastUpdate desc
siteidtitlemenutitlerestrictedrestrictgroupstypesubTypefilenamedisplaystartdisplaystopremotesourceremoteURLremotesourceURLkeypointscontentIDparentIDapprovedisLockedcontentHistIDtargettargetParamsreleaseDatelastupdatesummaryfileSizefileExtfileidtagscreditsaudienceorderNoratingtotalVotesdownVotesupVotescommentsparentTypepathcreatednextnmajorVersionminorVersionlockIDlockTypeexpiresAssocFilenamedisplayIntervaldisplayfileAltTextchangesetid
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Useful Links

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955

[email protected]