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Editor’s Note:
One of the reasons that non-stories such as this have tread is that all Russia is on holiday until Monday. Every year, Russia “shuts down” from 1 January to the Monday closest to 10 January. It’s like France in August. Nothing happens… so, of course, 24/7 news agencies are frantic for SOMETHING to report. The guy responsible for this calendar got the shitcan back in July… ergo, it’s a dead story. As for Andrei Kuraev, he’s become a crankish figure, only taken seriously by the Western media apparat (he’s a new Yakunin… only half the brains, but twice the chutzpah). Kuraev lost out to Vsevolod Chaplin, Varsonofy Sudakov, and Mark Golovkov in the turf war that followed HH’s accession in 2009 (Kuraev doesn’t have the savoir-faire of a Kliment Kapalin, who managed to hang on to cred despite being out of favour with the Gundyaev Mafia). He and the Blunder were the biggest losers (remember, the Blunder’s only a “Patriarchal Vicar”… a vicar bishop with a bigger title, that’s all) in the reshuffle after Aleksei Ridiger’s death. They were bright stars in the early 2000s… much dimmed as of late (justifiably so)…
Oh, should I mention that this story (like the Pussy Riot non-event) has no cred in Russia? Don’t get your knicks in a knot over an obvious media non-event. When will they ever learn? Silly wabbits…
BMD
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This week, the MP came under heavy criticism on the internet this week over a 2014 wall calendar published by a revered monastery’s printing-house featuring portraits of Soviet leader Iosif Stalin. The publisher flogs the black-and-white calendar, entitled Stalin, costing 200 Roubles (USD. CAD. AUD. Euros. UK Pounds), as “a great gift for veterans and history fans”. Historian Mikhail Babkin brought it to public attention on his blog on 7 January. One person wrote in one of nearly 200 comments under Babkin’s post, referring to the millions who died because of Stalin’s farm collectivisation and political repression, “Disgrace, shame, and insult to all those who perished”.
Stalin severely persecuted the Church, but it’s enjoyed revival since the collapse of the USSR in 1991. A Church official said that the head of the printing-house got the boot in July once authorities found out about the incident, but only after the delivery of the calendars. A Church spokesman, Vakhtang Kipshidze, told Reuters, “The Church was subject to the most severe repressions during Stalin’s rule when he ordered the deportation and execution of thousands of priests. Releasing such a publication in a Church establishment … is morally unacceptable”. However, reflecting the sympathy for Stalin still felt by many Russians who credit him with victory in World War Two, and giving their country superpower status, Kipshidze added, “Nonetheless, one should work on the assumption that both in the Church and in Russian society there are differing views on the role Stalin played in Russian history and everybody has the right to hold to their own views”.
Critics of the Kremlin accuse President Vladimir Putin of burnishing Stalin’s image and celebrating the USSR’s modernising achievements to prop up national pride. Since returning to the Kremlin in mid-2012, Putin also seeks to appeal to conservative voters to boost his authority; increasingly, he promotes the Church as a standard-bearer for national values. In turn, the Church faces growing criticism from critics who say that it fosters excessively-close ties to the Kremlin and seeks too powerful a role in secular life. Andrei Kuraev, a {disgraced: editor} cleric and religious activist, wrote on his blog, “This is business. The Church uses its resources to make money. This is where the trouble is, not in Stalin pictures”.
9 January 2014
Maria Tsvetkova
Gabriela Baczynska
Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/russian-orthodox-church-under-fire-over-stalin-calendar-210940027–sector.html
Majority of Russians Regret Breakup of USSR
Tags: Collapse of the Soviet Union, Communist Party of the RF, Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Eurasian Union, fall of the USSR, Gennady Zyuganov, KPRF, Neo-Soviet Union, political commentary, politics, Post-Soviet space, poster, Russia, Russian, Russian history, Sergei Udaltsov, Soviet, Soviet Union, USSR
We’re Coming to the Victory of Communist Labour
Unknown Artist
1970s
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On Tuesday, independent pollster Levada Centre said that more than half of Russians polled regret the breakup of the USSR; they believe that we could’ve avoided it. Of 1,600 respondents polled in 45 Russian federal subjects, 57 percent bemoaned the collapse of the USSR, whilst 30 percent said that they didn’t regret it, and 13 percent had difficulty answering. Seniors tended more to nostalgia than younger people. Only 37 percent of respondents aged 25 to 39 said that they regretted the collapse of the USSR. However, that figure reached 86 percent amongst those 55 and older. Only 29 percent said that the breakup was inevitable, whilst 53 percent said that we could’ve avoided it. The rest of the respondents couldn’t say one way or the other. The USSR formally ended on 26 December 1991.
15 January 2014 (MSK)
RIA-Novosti
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140115/186524071/Over-Half-of-Russians-Regret-Loss-of-Soviet-Union.html
Editor’s Note:
When asked who the most influential politician in Russia was, VVP answered, “Gennady Zyuganov”. Pro-Western journalists sniggered at that. I believe that Vova knows the country better than they do. As a former member of the organy, he has no illusions about life, none at all. He knows that the “provinces” want the USSR back, and that the KPRF is the only real political party in the country. Besides that, only the KPRF is looking to the future in a real way, Gennady Andreyevich wants the young firebrand Sergei Udaltsov to replace him as leader when he steps down.
VVP wants no chaos when he steps down. The country agrees with him. I believe that Sergei Udaltsov will be the next real leader of Russia, and he may very well restore the old Union under the guise of the Eurasian Union (EvrAsS). Russia will end its present infatuation with the West and sweep away the godless neoliberal crapitalism now regnant. I wouldn’t want to be an oligarch, then… there’ll be a new emigration (the Affluent Effluent will flee to the USA, where the Republicans will ooh and ah over them)… the citizens of the Union will say, “Good riddance to bad rubbish”, and most of the world will agree with them. I wonder what the ROCOR will do when (not, if) that happens (will Potapov, Lebedeff, and Whiteford flip yet again?)… perspirin’ minds wanna know!
BMD