occasional reflections on culture & politics
The destruction of a Soviet monument in Riga this week was quite the sight to behold: This strange obelisk celebrating, allegedly, the victory by the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany was erected in 1985 to celebrate Soviet imperialism and colonialism and demonstrate the USSR’s hold over Latvia, a country the Soviet Union conquered when it… Continue reading #189: Soviet Monuments Need To Go
President Putin portrays himself as a fighter against Nazis and Nationalists. At the same time, today, he just bombed the Babyn Yar memorial to the victims of National Socialist genocide of Jews in Kiev, while he is fighting a young democracy led by a Jewish Russian-Ukrainian president. Somehow, Putin has his definitions wrong. Fascism is… Continue reading #151: Putin Is a Fascist per Definition
Putin has declared that there is no such thing as Ukraine or Ukrainians. He denies their existence, their culture, their very lives. We are seeing it happen today in real time. This war has been planned deliberately, executed since 2014, and there is no sign of stopping. President Putin has made clear what his aim… Continue reading #149: As Putin Is Orchestrating to Commit Genocide…
If you care about your country, you care about its people. That’s all it is. A country is not about territory, it is not about history, it is not about fame or glory or whatever egomaniacal thing it is Putin thinks it is about. Certainly, all these matter to some extent – but they are… Continue reading #148: Putin Does Not Care About Russia. It’s a Russian Leader’s Tradition
Erratic Attempts 