Russian Politics

As the Russian Presidential election quickly approaches, I keep asking the same questions of the news I read: Will anything change with the nominal transition from Putin to Medvedev? Will Medvedev be able to influence policies?

It seems as if Medvedev is projecting a more liberal image that befits a focus more toward legal reforms, social problems, and economic issues and away from the raw power of the former KGB and FSB elements in the Kremlin. We shall see...(a common refrain of mine when I think about Russia these days.)

Semester #2

I haven't written at all about my new semester and new courses. This semester I am have a different load of classes. First is the required seminar for History grad students, HIST 900, in which we work on our own personal research, in order to produce an original article length piece by the end of the semester. My research is about public opinion in the Soviet Union, specifically about a poll from May 1960 when a group of Soviet citizens were surveyed on their opinions on the chances for peace between East and West.

My other class is in Global History, where so far we are looking at wide scope theoretical models and categories of analysis, as well as the interchange between geographical areas in History and social science fields.

I'm continuing to take Russian and this semester I added a class to help me for a French exam that I will need to pass to fulfill my 2nd language requirement.

I also found out this week that I will get to go to Russia, back to St. Petersburg, for about two months in May and June this year. I'm really excited!

An American Political Aside

Fired up? Ready to go!

As you can easily tell from what I write about, I am to a certain extent a politics and news junkie. With the Presidential primary season in full gear, I got into the act and got involved.

I've lived my whole life in Indiana, a state that neither holds a relevant primary nor is traditionally in play come general election time. (Know the last Dem to carry IN? His name was Lyndon Baines Johnson and it was over 40 years ago.) That means that, largely from despair and not seeing it in action, I've never gotten active in a Presidential election before.

Fast forward to me living here in North Carolina. NC isn't voting yet, but its neighbor, South Carolina is. Or was, on this past Saturday. Earlier in the week I got an e-mail asking people to come volunteer to work as get-out-the-vote (GOTV) volunteers for the Obama campaign, and so I met some like-minded local people here from Chapel Hill and we formed a carpool. (Thanks to Linda, Erica, Carole, and Brian for making my first foray into political volunteering a great experience.)

We left the Chapel Hill area at 5:30am Saturday and got to Florence,SC after 8:00. The polls were open from 7-7, but I guess waking people up asking them to vote at 7:00am on a Saturday is a good may to make people mad! The Obama headquarters in Florence was nothing more than a house with some computers, posters, and some donuts and coffee from Krispy Kreme. Oh yeah, and hordes of people coming in to help! In addition to about 50 people from the Triangle area here in NC, there were 30 students from Howard University, and assorted individuals and small groups from a handful of different states, including a guy with a heavy British accent and a gentleman from Seattle who had also been to volunteer in New Hampshire and Nevada. He despaired that he might be a bad luck charm, as Obama narrowly lost NH and lost the popular vote while winning the delegate count in NV. His fears, however, would prove unfounded.

Because of the large turnout, our group of five volunteered to go back out into the rainy cool morning and drive about 20 minutes to a small town, Hartsville, where they didn't have as many out-of-state volunteers. Hartsville turned out to be a town of about 7500 people and with a small college in the town.

We spent the day going in groups of two or three to remind people of the primary, encourage them to vote, and arrange for transportation if they couldn't get to the polling place on their own. We weren't going door to door. Instead they wanted "targeted GOTV:" we had a list of people in a given precinct who they thought would be likely Obama voters and sent us to them. I have to admit I was a little puzzled at times, because in some situations the information was clearly out of date, which was a bit frustrating.

What wasn't frustrating was the result. Personally, we got a few more votes out. I especially remember one woman who thought we were selling something: "We don't want any." Then, when she realized we were from the Obama campaign, she was a little embarrassed to admit that she had forgotten it was primary day, but earnestly promised to go by and vote on her way to work. Statewide the results were great: not the 5-6-7% win the pre-election polls had predicted, but a 55%-27% win and better than expected showings in practically every demographic. (And, he won the county we worked in, Darlington, with 64%!)

Here's where a little hindsight would have come in handy. At about 6:00, the polls were going to be open for another hour, but the chances of getting to much more result were pretty slim. The town Obama organizer asked us to do just a little more, but also understood we had been at it all day and could beg off if we wanted. We also knew that Obama was set to give a victory speech in Columbia, an hour's drive away.

We did "the right thing" and went back out.

We also went to Columbia.

We also got left at the threshold...

...in line about 30 yards from the door when the fire-marshall stopped letting people in. If only we'd left a little earlier, we'd have gotten in to be a part of a raucous crowd and hear live a man who is, in my opinion, one of the most impressive speakers of our time. The speech was great. I know: we listened in the parking lot before embarking on a drive home that ended n Chapel Hill at almost 2:00 am.

While the drive to Columbia might seem futile, it wasn't. I was glad that we got just a little bit of the atmosphere: electric. People only talking about one thing. Thousands of different people, all coming together, a diverse bunch of Americans, all celebrating something great that I hope will catapult Barack Hussein Obama into a fancy new house in D.C. and this country off the awful drifting course its on now and get it moving in the right direction.

Can we do it? Yes we can!

It's Been a While

...since I've posted. A month and a half, to be exact. It's been a busy stretch, both for me and for Russia. The holidays were here and I have been lucky enough to spend a month with those I love. Now, it's back to school and things are going well, like they say "Time flies when you're having fun." I can't believe that January has nearly come and gone.

As for Russia, well, as you probably know, we have an heir apparent. No surprises, although I was a little surprised that the decision became public as early as it did, months before the March election. It seems like they are aiming for a seamless official transfer of power, without much real change.

Any opposition candidates (Kasyonov, Kasparov, Zhyugonov, et.al.) are finding tough sledding in their attempts to get registered, run, and find air time for their campaigns. I fail to understand why the authorities feel the need to quash opposition when they would win even in a fair election.

Elections

So the Russian Duma elections went off last Sunday and SURPRISE! pro Putin parties won.

Wow, what a shocker.

The real quiz is what will happen with the Russian presidency in the Spring, when Putin is constitutionally compelled to give up his seat in the Kremlin, but doesn't seem ready to give up his power and seat at the decision-making table.

Free Rice...

...to eat! Not for me, for hungry people in places that need it. All you have to do is answer correctly SAT style vocab questions - and maybe buy something from one of the advertisers.

Check it out: Free Rice.com

Thanksgiving is Almost Here

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone as this most American of holidays rolls around soon. I'm excited to be visiting my big sis in New York City, and that Mom and Dad are driving in from Indiana too. It's going to be Thanksgiving with a twist!

It's hard to believe that a year ago we were preparing for the madness that was our American home teacher collective bid to make Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out pretty well in the end, but most of all I remember being totally exhausted by the time is was over. To all of out there who do it every year, every holiday! Here's to you, preparers of Turkey Day feasts!

In the news, Russian Duma elections are looming closer. The old Duma has adjourned and the current squabble is with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) who typically sends election observers. "Not so fast!" the Russian government says. "We're not going to give you visas yet!"

Oh, how things always stay interesting!

Another Killer Fact...Actually a Hypothesis...

...brought to you by my history studies at UNC Chapel Hill.

The other day we were discussion the last years of Josef Stalin's life and his relationship with those around him: largely sycophants and lightweights that Stalin found easy to manipulate.

However, like most things, it's not that easy. Stalin died in March 1953, apparently of a brain hemorrhage, despite relatively good health for a man of his age. While death by natural causes is largely accepted as the true reason for his death, there is a small but significant amount of evidence that someone from amongst his inner circle did him in in order to avoid a gathering purge of the leadership at Stalin's bidding.

It's not hard to imagine. These were men who had seen and taken part in the havoc that Stalin wrought on others, secret police chief Beriia was himself the chief agent of some of the purges. If they felt threatened, it's not hard to imagine the man who controlled Stalin's residences and body guards taking a page from Stalin's own playbook.

I guess it just goes to show you that being an evil dictator has its occupational hazards too!

November Already!

It's hard to believe that October has come and gone already. It's still very much fall here in NC. Heck, the trees have just barely started to change on campus. It's going to be a beautiful month - made all the better by a big helping of turkey at the end.

On Russian matters, there's about a month left until Russia holds parliamentary elections. There's little doubt which party will win, but nonetheless there is still bickering over allowing foreign observers in for pre-election observation.

On a more personal level, I'm going to be continuing to study Russian in the spring and I hope to have an opportunity to spend six weeks or so in St. Petersburg this summer. It should be fun!

Now for a killer fact update!

Moscow: it's big, but you already knew that. In terms of population, it's got a little over 13 million people. If you toss in likelihood of 1-1.5 million people who live or work there undocumented, it comes out to fully 1/10th of Russia's population. Comparing to the US, it's as if you rolled NYC, LA, and Washington DC all into one and, if it had the same percentage of the country's population, would have about 30 million people!

As it relates to what I've been studying lately, Moscow was one of three main Nazi targets (along with St. Petersburg/Leningrad and the resource-rich lands of the south and Caucasus) when they invaded in June 1941. They reached the outskirts of Moscow, with the closest advances of the Wehrmacht reaching within 40 km of the Kremlin.

Climate Killer Facts

Since it is fall these days and winter is soon approaching (for some sooner than others) I thought some climate killer facts about Siberia, the region Molly and I visited this summer, are in order.

Two things:
(1) Siberia is home to the place with coldest recorded tempurture, almost -100°F. According to Wikipedia (yeah, I know - I'm taking their workd for it) in January 1926 a temperature of -71.2 °C, or -96.1 F, was recorded at Oymyakon, Sakha Republic.

(2)Farther south, where the Trans-Siberian Railway runs, the climate is much warmer, reaching comfortable temperatures and summers long enough for agriculture. Despite this, the mean annual temperature is still 0°C, 32°F.

The moral, even though it's not a snowy frozen waste year round (I have pictures to prove it) it's still really, really extreme!

Websites of World Significance

Nope, I'm not talking Google. (Although we all know it really runs the
world.) I was thinking of the White House and it's website www.whitehouse.gov.

That got me thinking: "I wonder what Putin's website looks like?" Well, here
it is: www.kremlin.ru. (Thanks
Google!)

If you want to know a little more about the
physical Kremlin, try this one: History of the Kremlin and
other stuff.

Here's a Killer Fact: The Kremlin was a symbol of power in Russia even during the two hundred year hiatus during which the Tsars (and ruling Tsarinas) lived in Petersburg. They continued to be crowned in the Uspensky Sobor'(Assumption Cathedral) and to lavish money and talent to update the architecture of the palaces and government buildings within the red brick walls.

Putin's Next Move

Putin's Next Move

I'm waiting a while before I'll try to say what this means, but the picture is starting to clear up. It seems that Putin wants to have all of his ducks in row long before it comes to elections. It's not as if United Russia needs his help, but this begins to cement his position for the Post-Putin-Presidency Era. (PPP, if you will.)

September's Almost Gone

It's hard to believe that September has almost come and gone. School is
going well, but there is lots to do! Reading, writing, researching,
learning Russian are all part of the game. The biggest part of what I'm
learning is historiography, the history of the study of history! As
Molly said, "It's so meta!"

As for Russia, it's still in the news. The latest shakeup is near the top, when Putin axed his PM and replaced him with a surprise, obscure candidate. My first thought upon
hearing that Fradkov was out was that Putin had decided to make his successor choice obvious early by picking one of the two main rivals, Medvedev or Ivanov. Instead we get Zubkov, a bureaucrat and manager from way back in the pack.

Only time will tell what this means for Russia.

Finally, an Update from the States!

Finally, as promised, an update from Stateside. After several days of train travel and a stop to visit the Siberian cities of Novosibirsk and Tomsk, Molly and I reached Vladimir. We had twelve hours to say some final goodbyes, repack our things, and gather the stuff we had left behind in a closet at the American Home. (Also: to eat good pizza!)

A middle-of-the-night drive to Sheremetevo and a couple of hours of waiting found Molly and I on separate flights to separate cities in Germany and then to the States. Suffice it to say, we made it safely, but we were exhausted. I've never been so exhausted in my life! As bad as this picture looks, I felt worse!

A whirlwind couple of days in New York City with my sister was followed by a few more days with my parents at home in Indiana. Finally, I arrived here in Chapel Hill, NC last Thursday. I begin my graduate career tomorrow, on the first day of class here at UNC. I'm excited about the chance to take three history seminars and a Russian class at neighboring Duke in Durham, a few miles' bus ride down the road.

Since I'm no longer in Russia, the best I can do is find news and talk a little about what I'm learning. The first installment is about something many take for granted that can never be assumed in Russia: hot water.

Been
There

Long-Delayed Update

It's been at least three weeks sense I've had a chance to write anything. Two of those weeks we spent living in a tent in a forest on a hill near Lake Baikal. The other week we've been traveling around in the area and enjoying the beautiful area. This is a place very rich and beautiful in nature, if not always in other ways. I will try to write more and show what I mean with pictures when I get back to the States next week and have more consistent Internet access. Between now and then, we are beginning the long journey home with the first leg of our train trip from Irkutsk tomorrow even1ing. Then end will be a week from today when we fly from Moscow to our respective destinations and families. I'm having a great time and it's been a wonderful experience, but I can also honestly say I'm ready to come home!

To Irkutsk...and Beyond!

Irkutsk at last, vacation at last. After a long train ride (we thought of it as a four-night, three-day tea party, bed included) we reached Irkutsk on Monday morning. The first impression I had is of course that Siberia is huge. You can just sit and watch the landscape roll by. The other odd thing about the train is that it stays on Moscow time no matter where you are. I knew this on an intellectual level, but it wasn't driven home until we were on the train and the sun came up three or four hours earlier than it should have.

As for Irkutsk, its a pretty cool city. There are lots of old buildings in the center of the city where are hostel is. That said, it's also clearly a Soviet-Russian city with its industry and fair share of ugly buildings. There's also a lot of influence from East Asia, with Asian cars, products, and people everywhere.

We're leaving tomorrow morning to begin two weeks of camping and working near Lake Baikal. We're going to be near a small village called Tankhoi. It might be a while before I get to post again.

Last Vladimir Post

It's hard to imagine that almost a year has passed, but today is my last day of living in Vladimir. Tonight, Molly and I are catching a train to begin our month in Siberia before we return to the States. Since I wrote last my birthday passed; my parents, sister and family friend visited Moscow, Vladimir, and Petersburg and have safely returned home; and I have packed stuff and said goodbye to people for about three days straight Not surprisingly, they really enjoyed Petersburg and I think they now have a better idea of why I am so interested in Russia. (Even if they think me a little crazy still.)

I will try to update a time or two from Siberia, but I'm not sure when or where I'll be able to use the Internet. After three days in Irkutsk, we are embarking on a two week camping trip near Lake Baikal. As you can imagine, no Internet.

Thursday Picnic

Yesterday was the last Thursday of the semester. Because we don't have lots to do in the summer on Thursdays, the Russians teamed up to make a picnic in the backyard. We exchanged a few gifts, sang some songs, and ate some good food. (As you can tell from the picture, even Gosha got fed well!) Also, despite a Russian tradition against celebrating birthdays early, we celebrated my birthday, which is actually tomorrow. I got a cool LED flashlight and Molly baked a delicious cake! It's getting hard to believe that the year is almost at an end. Even though I'm very excited to travel and then begin school, it's also hard to leave behind friends and familiar places.

Gosha

This picture needs no explanation at all.

Blinni and a(nother) Russian Institution

Yesterday was a Saturday afternoon. We spent it, as we usually do when the weather is overcast and a little cool, at the American Home. It was a little unique because we began pulling our personal things out of our little cubbie-holes and storage spaces, only to be confronted with the fact that we either have to cart home to the States or get rid of a lot of STUFF! It's going to be interesting.

We also made a nice dinner which included Russian blinni (Thanks for cooking blinni, Molly!) and followed it up with another Russian favorite, some Cheburashka cartoons. Cheburashka is a little creature of unknown origin who cutely popped out of an orage crate and makes an appearence in four short stop-motion animation films from the Soviet '70s. He's cute; befriends an easy-going crocodile names Gena; is sometimes foiled by the quasi-evil, but strangely grandmotherly, Shapaklyak; and learns many life lessons. It's cute, and despite the fact that there is barely an hour of existing films, he is wildly popular over 30 years after his creation. (If you look closely at Olympic footage, you'll see him as a sort of mascot for Russian teams in both of the last two Olympiads.) You can read more about him here: Wikipedia, giver of knowledge.

This is also the source of one of may favorite sentences in the Russian language, which goes like this: Жил в городе крокодил. Его зовут Гена. Он работал в зоопарке крокодилом. (There lived in the city a crocodile. His name is Gena. He worked at the zoo as a crocodile.)

So, with that our semester is winding down. My parents and sister are in London now and will be here on Saturday to visit, which is still hard to believe. These next two weeks are going to be crazy!