Sunday, January 08, 2012

Holidays and News

It's been several days since I've posted because, frankly, there's not much to write about. The ten days to two weeks that begin before New Year's Eve and carry through until next Monday, following yesterday's Orthodox Christmas, are essentially vacation for everyone in business and government. And the news media, which slumbers as well.

This also includes the archives. As a result, I've had some time to do some reading, spend time with friends, including some old friends visiting Moscow. It's been a welcome bit of vacation, but I admit that I am excited, anticipating getting back to work.

There's not much to update on anything else I've written about recently. There is a sense that the next protest march is being planned for 4 February, which is about a month before the scheduled presidential election. For now, things are pretty quiet. However Stephen Cohen, in a video interview on DemocracyNow!, noted, in response to a question about the seriousness of Prokhorov's run for the presidency, that he spent New Year's Eve in a chalet in Switzerland. This is not something you do if you are anything more than a ploy by the Kremlin to eventually siphon off the protest vote.

No comments: