WSJ on Russia's recent tilt to war footing against the West.

WSJ on Russia's recent tilt to war footing against the West. The "imminent threat" of war comes as news to most US and EU citizens, as this is mostly an internal propaganda exercise.

The rhetoric reinforces Russians’ idea that their country is a superpower on par with the U.S. It also offers a distraction from an economic recession and from President Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings, which have dipped from recent highs. The threat of nuclear war also keeps the population pliant and uncritical, said Lev Gudkov, head of the Russian polling group Levada-Center.

“Most people believe that the Third World War has begun, but right now we are still in the cold phase of the war, which may or may not turn into a hot war,” he said. “And during war, you have to support your country’s authorities.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-revives-nuclear-shelters-as-cold-war-heats-up-1477301408

This cheerful Russian childrens' book about the lands of the former Soviet Union has this informative box:

This cheerful Russian childrens' book about the lands of the former Soviet Union has this informative box:

How did Auntie Gelya become a refugee?

Because of the most horrible reason -- war. In war, it's not just soldiers who die, but peaceful civilians too, from hunger, disease, bullets and shells.

Right now there's a war in Ukraine, so Auntie Gelya lives with us. Auntie Gelya is an involuntary refugee. But we hope that the war ends soon and that we will be able to just visit one another as before.

There were several such "How did Auntie/Uncle XXX become a refugee?" boxes for other lands.

Two men are standing in a long, long vodka line prompted by the limited supply.

Two men are standing in a long, long vodka line prompted by the limited supply. One asks the other to keep his place in line, because he wants to go over the Kremlin to punch Gorbachev in the face for his anti-alcohol policy. He comes back many hours later and his friend asks him if he had indeed punched Gorbachev. “No,” the man answered despondently. “The line at the Kremlin was even longer.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/02/world/europe/mikhail-gorbachev-interview-vladimir-putin.html

"Papa, is this a book about Odin's cat?"

Originally shared by Lev Osherovich

"Papa, is this a book about Odin's cat?"

The New York Times on recent revelations about Able Archer, a 1983 NATO military exercise in Europe so realistic...

Originally shared by Lev Osherovich

The New York Times on recent revelations about Able Archer, a 1983 NATO military exercise in Europe so realistic that nearly frightened the Soviet Union into launching a pre-emptive nuclear war.

The Russians were making their decisions, in part, by feeding 40,000 variables into a computer to predict the likelihood of nuclear attack.

“Soviet intelligence clearly had tipoffs” to the Able Archer exercise, the advisory board’s report said, and some scenarios suggested a nuclear first strike.

“It is an especially grave error to assume that since we know the U.S. is not going to start World War III,” the board warned, “the next leaders of the Kremlin will also believe that — and act on that belief.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/world/europe/nato-war-games-unwittingly-put-soviets-and-us-on-hair-trigger-in-83-analysis-suggests.html

The Wall Street Journal has an amusing piece on Michael Bohm, an American who routinely appears on Russian...

Originally shared by Lev Osherovich

The Wall Street Journal has an amusing piece on Michael Bohm, an American who routinely appears on Russian television to present a pro-American political perspective. The innocuous Mr. Bohm (who speaks fluent Russian) typically tries to get a word in edge-wise while being shouted at by the Russian equivalent of Donald Trump supporters.

“Michael, go for it!” said the host of top-ranked “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” with a fist pump three Sundays ago. “First of all, may I ask: Is it true that Russia is at fault for everything?”

Mr. Bohm responded: “Well, not for everything, of course."
http://www.wsj.com/articles/american-pundit-russians-love-to-hate-is-in-hot-demand-1457452420