Category: Russia

Written by lookingbeyondborders

A Century Later, Lenin’s Legacy Lives On

On Easter Sunday exactly a century ago, a train pulled out of Zurich’s central station, beginning one of the most famous railroad journeys of all time. On board were Vladimir Lenin, his wife and 30 of their closest friends. Eight days later, after two boat trips and a second train ride, the little band of […]

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Written by lookingbeyondborders

Russia’s Quest To Build A Space Empire—Or Go Broke Trying

Roscosmos has a near monopoly on the Russian space industry. It encompasses more than 60 companies and 250,000 people. And in the spirit of collaboration, it is using those resources to do new things, like develop technology, Earth observation capacity, and communications systems for Vietnam, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. Oh, and they are helping […]

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Written by lookingbeyondborders

Mysterious Circumstances Surrounding Russian Murders, Deaths

When Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s top United Nations envoy, collapsed suddenly from an apparent heart failure recently, it triggered widespread and predictable murmuring about possible foul play. With so many sudden and mysterious deaths at the upper levels of the Russosphere during the Putin years, chiefly among his opponents, it’s no surprise that rumours abound even […]

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Written by lookingbeyondborders

Russia, The Catalyst Of Change

Regardless of what one can prove in the complicated story of Russian hackers meddling in the institutions of the United States, there is still a story to tell about Russian influence on the West. It has little to do with covert operations or propaganda. Russia seems able to make its mark in the world just […]

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Written by lookingbeyondborders

The Many Faces Of Vladimir Putin

What many analysts have tended to miss is Putin’s revanchist, powerful sense of renewal of Russia’s pride and place in the world, and the strong social, emotional, and psychological appeal that this has for Russians.  This accounts for Putin’s pervasively-high political popularity ratings –above 70-80 percent for most of his tenure—which no other politician in […]

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Written by lookingbeyondborders

Russia’s Perpetual Geopolitics

For half a millennium, Russian foreign policy has been characterized by soaring ambitions that have exceeded the country’s capabilities. Beginning with the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the sixteenth century, Russia managed to expand at an average rate of 50 square miles per day for hundreds of years, eventually covering one-sixth of the earth’s […]

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Written by lookingbeyondborders

President Gorbachev’s Last Phone Call

Less than two hours before announcing his resignation as president of the Soviet Union on Dec. 25, 1991, Mikhail S. Gorbachev placed a telephone call to President George H. W. Bush, who was celebrating Christmas with his grandchildren at Camp David. Read Here – The New York Times

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