Tag Archives: death
Back to play
I return from my hibernation — sorry — with this breaking news. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who returned from his vacat– er, physical therapy in Austria for all of ten days to deal with the ecological disaster that was his … Continue reading
Out with it
Moscow authorities have been forced to acknowledge that the heat and smoke of the last week have doubled the city’s mortality rates. Some estimates put the number at 2.5 times the normal rate. This comes after weeks of speculation that … Continue reading
Surprise: lots more death in Moscow
Today, the Russian press is reporting a sharp uptick in deaths during what has been a horrendous heat wave, with temperatures constantly breaking the 130-year records that had just been set the day before. Earlier today, Interfax reported that deaths … Continue reading
Subway blast in Moscow kills 38, wounds over 100
Moscow is in chaos this morning after two female suicide bombers set off explosions in the Moscow metro at rush hour. One blast went off at the Lubyanka station, which is right under the FSB headquarters. So far, 35 are … Continue reading
Let the purges begin
You have to hand it to the Russian government. For all its corruption and mind-melting bureaucratic labyrinths, it knows how to act swiftly and decisively when trouble hits. Usually, this means firing people or kabashing things, quickly and without too … Continue reading
Incapacitating, soul-crushing beatings for all, or "welcome to the unit, son"
Last week, in a post associated with October 1, army draft day in Russia, I talked about the widespread phenomenon of “dedovshchina,” the “rule of the elders” that subjects recruits to beatings, hazing, robbery, enslavement and murder from their superiors. … Continue reading
A few more babies, a few less dead Russians
Yesterday, the Russian Health Ministry announced that the country’s population grew for the first time in 15 years. The population now stands at 141.9 million, just a hair over what it was in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed, which … Continue reading
