20,000 Moscow MMA fans are whistling and booing Putin, yelling "shame!" and "get out!" - the video has gotten 502,000 views in just a few hours

A mixed martial arts fight between a long-time Russian champion Fedor Emelianenko and an American fighter Jeff Monson resulted in the Russian's victory, and became the surreal stage for the unthinkable: 20,000 Moscow fans booed and whistled Putin off the stage. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin got up on the stage to personally congratulate Fedor with the victory. However, most of his speech couldn't be heard. People in the bleachers started whistling, booing and screaming "shame!" and "get out!" Prime minister's voice trembled for a split second, but he continued with his speech, speaking louder. Main government TV channel Rossiya was airing the show live, and was unable to edit the booing out. The other government channels edited the booing and whistles out, however, Russian free media exists, and Internet is unrestricted, thus we get the news.

This small event at an MMA fight may mean a big thing for a whole era. In Russia, Internet is free, so is the media, and so are the Russians. And even though Putin will still win the elections (due to the total lack of a viable competing leader) things have changed forever in Russia, on November 20, 2011.

Posted by Yuri Mamchur at 1:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A Call for a New Republican Approach to Moscow

Two decades after the fall of Communism, Ronald Reagan is as popular as ever. Praise for Reagan is routine on the right, but also emanates from the center and not infrequently from the left. This broad appreciation of Reagan is usually bound up with his deft handling of the Cold War's denouement, and yet not a few of his admirers are motivated by a Russophobia Reagan would have found alien. Thus, they wind up undermining his legacy, whether inadvertently or not.

Those who consider themselves admirers of Ronald Reagan, and we count ourselves among their number, should support the deepening of President Obama's reset with Russia under the next Republican administration, which we hope will take office on January 20, 2013, and not a resumption of the efforts of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to strategically encircle Russia.

Continue reading "Anti-Russia Lobby Praises Reagan, Misconstrues His Legacy" »

Posted by Edward Lozansky at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today, more than 170,000 Muslims celebrated the important Muslim holiday Kurban Bayram. Russian nationalists were predicting an ethnic mayhem, terrorist explosions, and racial clashes. However, the celebrations were peaceful and joyful. In one of the Moscow's mosques along the festivities were attended by 80,000 people! Even though the Moscow police was prepared for extraordinary situations, the officers were impressed with the smooth flow of events. The successful and peaceful celebration, amid troubling nationalistic tensions in the Russian society, is an important statement that Russia's peaceful Muslims and Christian can coexist, just like they have for the past 500 years.

Posted by Yuri Mamchur at 1:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Herman Cain explained how he'll answer tricky foreign policy questions: "When they ask me who's the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan, I'm gonna say, 'You know, I don't know, do you know?' And then I'm gonna say, 'How's that gonna create more jobs?' I wanna focus on the top priorities of this country. That's what leaders do."

Although it is still a year to the US presidential election, the fight for the White House is in full swing. In this fight, everything goes, and the Republicans are determined to take away every chance of Obama winning. As he has done rather better in international affairs than in the economy, and the Reset in relations with Russia is among the brightest feathers in his cap, it clearly has to be compromised at all costs, even if the US own interests may suffer in consequence.

One would have thought that John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, has little time to waste. Congress is fiercely debating the impending dramatic budget cuts, attempts to reduce unemployment, and lessen the national debt that is nearing the astronomical $15 trillion, i.e. over 100 percent of GDP. The Occupy Wall Street protest movement is on the rise, and several cities have already seen serious clashes with the police.

Continue reading "Is Reset Good or Bad for America?" »

Posted by Edward Lozansky at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)