Country
An interview becomes legendary when it gets its own page on
Wikipedia. On February 6, 2024, Tucker Carlson spoke with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. The report (127 minutes) offers a good, or at least broad, opportunity to hear the Russian perspective on the war against Ukraine.
Samizdat (Down with Big Tech)
Country
Freedom of speech is decreasing everywhere, though the reasons vary by region. Meanwhile, Big Tech’s power is growing, along with its interference. In this new era, a nearly forgotten Soviet answer is reemerging: samizdat, the underground DIY press and distribution network.
Every country has a flag and a coat of arms. The Netherlands has a lion, France has a rooster, New Zealand has a kiwi, and the United States has a bald eagle. In Russia, it’s an eagle with two heads and three crowns, and a man on a horse who has just killed a dragon with a spear.
Joeri Gagarin (1934-1968)
Country
A Russian Hall of Fame can only begin one way: by launching it with none other than Yuri Gagarin. On April 12, 1961, at the age of 27, this humble young man stepped into the
Vostok 1, was shot into space, and returned two hours later as a global icon.
Buildings you know from sight but don’t know the official name of. If this were a competition, this one would win: the Pokrov or
St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow, consecrated in 1561, better known as the
Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God on the Moat.
Russian Matryoshka Yes
Country
You need to know at least two things about one of the classic symbols of Russia. First, the
matryoshka (матрёшка) has only been made in Russia since the late nineteenth century (around 1890). There’s something Japanese in it too (some claim Chinese), and it was originally a children’s toy. Second, and take note, a matryoshka is a matryoshka.
Yury Dud’s Kolyma
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Колыма – родина нашего страха = Kolyma – birthplace of our fear. Documentary (made for YouTube) about Russia’s darker (or missing) pages. It did not go unnoticed, nor unchallenged. See, for example,
Gulag Documentary Takes Russian YouTube by Storm (The Moscow Times, April 30, 2019).
State Funeral
Country
In 2017, you could see The Death of Stalin in theaters. More about it on
IMDB,
Filmkrant,
VPRO Cinema and
Wikipedia; trailer on
YouTube. See also
In Russia, nobody’s laughing at Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin (The Guardian, 2017).
