There’s always been a certain risk involved in flying. But there’s risk involved in crossing the street, or stepping into the bathtub. All in all, flying has long been one of the safest means of travel. Hasn’t it?

Well, that all depends on a number of factors. What’s the make and model of the plane? What airports are you leaving from and heading to? What airline is operating the flight? And, probably most importantly . . . what did your horoscope say this morning? Because, as we all know, there are no guarantees in life.

Though there are some ways we can mitigate the dangers of air travel. And at the top of that list — my list, at least — is: Do not, under any circumstances, go to Russia.

Now I hear you thinking, “Whoa! How stupid does she think I am? Why would I want to go to a place where I could be arrested just for using the wrong words, like ‘war,’ or ‘gay,’ or ‘Putin sucks’”?

Calm down — I know you’re smarter than that. I’m not speaking about the political situation there . . . only the issue of flight safety. Aeroflot, though never the most luxurious of airlines, was at one time one of the safest. Never mind that the seat backs flopped forward when you stood up, or that the overhead racks for carry-on luggage had no doors, or that there was no barrier between smoking and non-smoking so the air was always thick with a blue-gray carcinogenic haze. But the pilots were said to be expert, mostly former military; and the equipment, while old and musty, was assiduously maintained — or at least, that’s what they said. I was never nervous flying on an Aeroflot flight . . . except for the lung cancer thing from the smoke.

But times have changed, and not entirely for the better. Oh, they have more updated planes now. Boeing 777s, for example. Good planes, manufactured by a great company, right? But even a Rolls Royce has to be maintained in order to keep running properly. And from what I’ve read recently, that’s not happening.

On November 30th, 2023, an Aeroflot Boeing-777, flying out of Moscow, made an emergency landing in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The cause of the problem was initially stated to be “chassis issues.” [RIA Novosti.]

The Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Sakhalin Region said the plane had a warning of a drop in pressure in one of the landing gear wheels during the flight. Again, the reports appear to be understating the issues; looking at the photo of the landing gear in question (above, as posted on social media), I count four flat tires, the other two being hidden from view. So, not really a “chassis issue,” and not just one of the landing gear wheels.

Further details concerning the state of Russia’s airline industry have come from a Ukrainian hack of Kremlin records, which revealed that “Russia’s stricken airline industry is ‘on the verge of collapse.’” [Kyiv Post, Dec. 2, 2023.] The report states that several similar incidents have occurred in recent months, including one in August in which passengers on a Red Wings flight were stranded in Yekaterinburg for 24 hours “due to simultaneous ‘technical malfunctions’ on the only two available aircraft.”

In the same month, faults in the weather monitoring system caused a delay in Thailand of a Russian Pegas Fly plane. And in early October, “Aeroflot suffered three technical failures to its planes in a single day.” [Kyiv Post, Dec. 2, 2023.]

The foregoing information was gathered by Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (HUR) from “a hack into Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency “Rosaviatsiya” computer system on which it records all data relating to flight safety records, including reports on ‘emergency events,’” and covered an 18-month period from 2022 and 2023.

“Their analysis of the information obtained led the intelligence staff to one inescapable conclusion — Russia’s civil aviation ‘is on the verge of collapse.’” [Kyiv Post, Dec. 2, 2023.]

Lest you conclude that this is a case of sour grapes on the part of some Ukrainian journalists looking for ways to strike another blow at Russia, be assured that there is further confirmation of the sad condition of Russia’s commercial airlines. A report by Isabel van Brugen and Yevgeny Kuklychev in the December 9, 2023 issue of Newsweek states that recent Western sanctions against Russia have “suffocated” the aviation industry, resulting in a tripling of the number of plane malfunctions in just one year. Under the sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, U.S. aircraft manufacturers have stopped delivering spare parts and new planes to Russia, creating the current crisis. According to data gathered by Newsweek, in the short period from September 2023 to December 8, 2023, “Russia saw a total of 60 commercial aviation incidents that involved emergency landings, engine fires and malfunctions, along with other technical issues forcing the planes to abandon their intended routes.”

In addition, Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that, between January and August, 2023, “More than 120 air accidents were recorded in Russia involving civil aircraft used by Russian airlines,” bringing the total number to over 180 in this year alone.

In 2022, 60 such incidents — one-third as many as this year — were recorded; and between 2018 and 2022, an average of “only” 55 accidents were recorded during the same months. [Novaya Gazeta Europe.]

*. *. *

But enough statistics. Suffice it to say, things are bad — really bad — in Russia’s airline industry. I leave it to you and your good judgment to decide on your airline of choice if you find yourself in a position of having to travel to the ancient land of Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Rachmaninoff. (Ah, the good old days!) Unfortunately for people in Russia traveling domestically, there isn’t much choice. To my mind, trains are probably your best option . . . if you can stand the rest rooms.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/11/23

I watched an old episode of one of my favorite British shows — Midsomer Murders — the other night, in which clues to a long-ago family mystery were found in an old woman’s hand-written journals. And it made me wish I had thought to keep a record of my own life as she had.

I’m not rich or famous. I’m not from an old, aristocratic family with deep, dark, fascinating secrets. My journals wouldn’t be filled with daily earthshaking events; neither I nor any of my friends or relatives have ever run for president, or climbed Annapurna, or discovered a new planet. And I’ve already written about my years of travel adventures. But the little everyday stuff — the seemingly mundane, ordinary, even boring details that fill our days unnoticed and unremarked — those little details can trigger the most wonderful memories of all.

Such as . . .

“It finally stopped raining and we were able to play outdoors today.”

The long summer vacations from school, the smell of the wet grass after a soaking rain, the neighborhood kids gathering for a game of kickball, the long-awaited ringing of the bell signaling the approach of the ice cream truck. Just another ordinary summer day? No . . . not ordinary at all. Rather, a day of youthful freedom, and friendship, and ice cream. A wonderful day! A day to remember.

Or . . .

“Bubbe made chicken soup because she says it’s the best medicine for my cold.”

A grandmother who could magically cure anything, even better than my own mother could. Of course, the soup also came with big matzo balls . . . and a scolding for getting soaking wet playing in the snow and not coming inside to dry off soon enough. But somehow, even the scolding told me how much she loved me. And we were loved, and cared for, and taught right from wrong, and about respect. Life was simple . . . and good. And so was the soup.

Or . . .

“Kevin touched my arm in the cafeteria line today. What a thrill! I love him so much, it hurts. I’ll die if he doesn’t ask me to Wendy’s birthday party.”

Kevin? Oh, yeah . . . the tall, geeky boy in sixth grade who had such nice manners and got straight A’s. I wonder what ever happened to him. Lost touch with all those kids when we moved away. What a crush I had on him, though! I’ll bet he’s one of those Silicon Valley gazillionaires now. Damn!

Or . . .

“Went shopping with Melanie today. She’s so lucky, her folks are loaded and she has a credit card and can buy anything she wants. She got a whole new outfit, and I only had enough money for a purse, but it’s the one I’ve been wanting and I love it.”

I remember that purse! It was tan, and real leather, and it smelled so good. I carried it every day through high school, until it finally got put into the Good Will bag. I hope the next owner enjoyed it as much as I did.

Or . . .

“What a crappy day at work today. I wish I’d meet Mr. Right so I could get married, have a couple of kids, and stay home with them.”

Okay, so every memory isn’t a happy one. But one bad day at the office, and I was ready to wish my life away. Glad that wish didn’t come true right away . . . I’d have missed too much fun before settling down.

Or . . .

“Soviet missiles in Cuba? Please, God, no! I’m too young to die!”

Some memories we’d like to be rid of, but somehow they just won’t go away.

Or . . .

“I can’t believe that snow! It must be a foot deep. No work tomorrow, that’s for sure, and maybe longer.”

The sound of noiselessness when it snows, and the freshness of the air, as though all the usual sounds and smells of life are absorbed into the fluffy whiteness. The purity of the endless stretch of untrodden snow, just calling for my footprints to be the first. Bundling up into a big down-filled jacket, scarf, gloves, snow boots and heading down the hill to Georgetown with a few hardy souls, then the solitude of Dumbarton Oaks Park, just me and a few winter birds. Coming home looking like the Abominable Snowman, chilled to the bone and exhilarated; heading straight to the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate. It doesn’t get any better than this. Except maybe Bubbe’s chicken soup.

Or, simply . . .

“What a great book. So glad of a snow day to have time to read it.”

The luxury of doing nothing.

*. *. *

Just a few samples of the thousands of bits and pieces from the past that may have been forgotten for years, brought back by those little notations that seemed so trivial at the time. The stories of a life lived, as we all must, from day to day, never knowing what will come next, living in . . . what? Anticipation, or trepidation? Excitement, or fear? We each face the future in our own way, according to our individual character and our circumstances. But perhaps, just once in a while, it would do us all good to look back at the events of the past, to see how much we have already experienced, and to realize that we have — through both good and bad times — survived.

Thanks to Midsomer Murders, I’ve now begun a daily personal journal of my own, filling it with trivia. How I wish I’d started sooner.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/7/23

The LGBT folks I wrote about earlier today were not exaggerating. Under the pretext of a drug raid, the Moscow police— just one day after the new, onerous “family values” legislation was pushed through the Duma in record time — on Friday invaded three popular gay clubs where private parties were being held, taking the time before they were finished to photograph every patron’s official ID.

Eyewitnesses said that “In the middle of the party, they stopped the music and [the police] started entering the halls.” [Darya Tarasova, Gul Tuysuz and Jen Deaton, CNN, Dec. 4, 2023, citing Ostorozhno Moskva media outlet.] In a video from the same source, another eyewitness described the scene thus:

“I was there. I honestly sh** myself when the music stopped and they said there was a police raid. I thought that was it, I would be imprisoned for 12 years. On the way out, they took a photo of my passport [ID]. So you understand, 300 of us stood naked, in only underwear, and waited for somebody to bring us clothes, and no one understood what was happening.”

The image of that deliberately demoralizing police action gives new meaning to the term “strip search.”

*. *. *

Also on Friday, the Central Station Club — a gay club in St. Petersburg — announced its closure. The club’s management said they had been refused further rental of their premises due to the “new law.” In a truly law-based society, that’s called eviction . . . without just cause.

The speed with which these actions were planned and carried out following implementation of a law that, just days ago, was still “in progress,” is mind-boggling. There is nothing even remotely spontaneous about it; it was meticulously planned, down to the last detail. And there is no doubt that this is just the beginning.

So now the Rainbow Flag may no longer be flown in Russia. And I would hesitate to play “Over the Rainbow” too loudly, just in case anyone’s listening. Your life — including the most personal parts of it — is no longer your own. And an entire stratum of Russian society is being chased out of the country, taking with them their skills, their talents, and their money. And for what? To further solidify central control, while also satisfying the standards of “morality” of one pathetic little man sitting in isolation in the Kremlin? Are you really satisfied now, President Putin?

Or are you already working on your next victims?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/4/23

Thus spake — not Zarathustra — but Vitaly Milonov, Member of Parliament for the United Russia party — Russia’s ruling political party, ultra-conservative, and fully supportive of Vladimir Putin. No surprise there.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s the background:

During this past week, Russia’s Supreme Court banned the activities nationwide of an “extremist organization” they dubbed “the international LGBT public movement.” The ruling was made on the basis of a motion from the Ministry of Justice . . . although there is no such organization in existence as a legal entity. The Supreme Court’s hearing “was held behind closed doors, but reporters were allowed in to hear the court’s decision. Nobody from ‘the defendant’s side’ had been present, the court said.” [Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor, Reuters Moscow, as reported by BBC News, Dec. 2, 2023.]

According to a Russian constitutional amendment three years ago, marriage is defined as a union between a man and a woman. Period, end of discussion. Same-sex unions are not recognized in Russia.

Reuters’ Steve Rosenberg asked Sergei Troshin, a municipal deputy in St. Petersburg who came out as gay last year, what the effect of the ruling would be. His response — unequivocal and frightening — was:

“I think this will mean that anyone whom the state considers an LGBT activist could receive a long prison sentence for ‘participating in an exremist organisation.’ For the organizer of such a group, the prison term will be even longer. This is real repression. There is panic in Russia’s LGBT community. People are emigrating urgently. The actual word we’re using is evacuation. We’re having to evacuate from our own country. It’s terrible.”

In accordance with the draconian legislation, and under threat of active enforcement of those laws, the LGBT community has obviously felt increased pressure to go into hiding. In 2013, a law was adopted prohibiting “the propaganda [amongst minors] of non-traditional sexual relations.” As of last year, those restrictions have been extended to include all age groups. References to LGBT people have even been deleted from books, films, advertisements and TV shows.

Shades of the Stalinist era, when attempts were made to erase history by deleting from history books and other publications the names — and even the pictures — of people who had fallen out of favor. If you don’t see it, it doesn’t exist . . . and never did.

*. *. *

And that brings us to Vitaly Milonov, described by Mr. Rosenberg as “a famously homophobic MP from the ruling party, United Russia,” who has claimed that the ban on LGBT groups was “not about sexual minorities or the private life of individuals. It’s more about the political agenda proclaimed by this LGBT international movement. They have their own tasks, their own goals. They act as a political force, a political structure and the goals of this structure contravene the Russian Constitution.”

Right. All of my gay friends are out there trying to overthrow the government, so it must be true in Russia too . . . right? It’s a freakin’ international conspiracy . . . or so Mr. Milonov would have us believe. As though they’re not already busy enough, just trying to live their lives without being hassled.

Then Mr. Rosenberg asked Milonov how the government could ban a “political structure” that doesn’t exist as such; and that was when Mr. Congeniality came back with his lovely response:

“Oh, it’s easy. We can ban any activities from LGBT international organisations here in Russia. That’s nice. We don’t need them. And I’m looking forward to the next step: banning the six-colour rainbow flag. We don’t need this flag. It’s a symbol of the fight with the traditional family. I hope that no-one can show this flag in Russia.”

All right, then. Now we’re getting somewhere. President Putin has already expounded on the importance of “traditional family values” when he implored Russian women to get busy having eight or more children in keeping with their grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ way of life. Back to the days when large families were needed to grow the population, to work on the farms and in the factories, when infant mortality rates were high . . . and when the only known method of birth control was abstinence.

Back to the days when the country’s leader was known as the Tsar.

And perhaps while he’s liberating one of those old bejeweled thrones from the Kremlin Armory for his office, he’d also like to bring back the old hammer-and-sickle flag. They’re from two different eras, of course; but truth and accuracy aren’t really the point here.

*. *. *

But what’s really behind it? Sergei Troshin believes it is political:

“I think [the court hearing] is linked to the presidential election next March. [The authorities] are creating an artificial enemy. They say ‘We are battling the West.’ The battle with LGBT people fits in with this anti-Western rhetoric. Fighting both the West and the LGBT community is popular amongst the conservative, anti-Western part of society. So this topic will be pushed in the run-up to the election.” [Steve Rosenberg, Reuters.]

Okay, so blame the U.S. again. Go ahead . . . we’re used to it.

Mr. Rosenberg also spoke with Maxim Goldman, who works for a Russian group that offers support to LGBT people. “As soon as we heard about the Supreme Court hearing, the people who run our organisation realised we would have to leave the country urgently. It became an emergency.” Mr. Goldman was headed to the airport with a small suitcase, but continued:

“I feel totally rejected by my own country. We’re supposed to have a democracy here. The people we put in power are supposed to take care of us. But the opposite is happening. They’re punishing us. They’re wiping their feet on us. I’m being forced out.”

Another diaspora?

*. *. *

Sergei Troshin, the St. Petersburg municipal deputy, is staying in Russia for now. But he admits:

“I have spoken a lot in the past about LGBT rights. It’s possible this will be enough to launch a criminal case against me. I hope not, but maybe. And this is terrifying. Russian society is soaked in fear. With every word you’re crossing a mine field. Say one thing and it might land you in prison for five years; say something else, and you’ll get 10 or 15 years behind bars.” [Steve Rosenberg, Reuters.]

*. *. *

So there you have it: life in Russia for today’s LGBT community. A few decades ago, the Soviet government denied that homosexuality existed in their workers’ paradise. They also denied the existence of AIDS. They had come a long way since then, finally facing and admitting the realities of the late 20th Century. And now . . . well, now we just climb into that old DeLorean, rev up the “flux capacitor,” and we’re Back To the Future.

I can’t help wondering, though: Just how far back does Putin want to go?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/4/23

“Nyet voinye” — “No to war.” Written in the snow, that little phrase gets you ten days in jail . . . in Russia, anyway. Imagine what bank robberies go for these days.

If you’re waiting for a punchline, give it up — this is a true story, not a joke. A man named Dmitry Fyodorov was near the entrance to an ice-skating rink in Moscow’s famous Gorky Park on November 23rd, when he doodled those words with his finger on a snow-covered turnstile. Unfortunately, he was observed and detained by police, and was sentenced the following day for having committed a civil offense: specifically, publicly discrediting Russia’s armed forces.

Apparently, some 20,000 people, give or take a few, have been detained for similar acts, and over 800 criminal cases opened. Dmitry Fyodorov’s case should have resulted in a fine, but he was given a ten-day jail sentence for “disobeying the police” and allegedly refusing to go to a police station. He denied the additional charges, but no one was listening; that’s what the police charged him with, and that’s what the court sentenced him for. [Reuters, Nov. 29, 2023.]

Actually, he was pretty lucky. Imagine if, at that exact moment when Dmitry’s artistic impulses struck on that snowy day in Gorky Park, he had also had to pee and decided to write, instead of with his finger . . . well, you get the picture. I wonder what the sentence would have been for that! (Not to mention freezing his paintbrush off.)

And let’s hope that Banksy never decides to visit Moscow!

*. *. *

Equally amusing — in a diabolical sense — is the recent charge against Vladimir Kara-Murza, the joint Russian-British citizen currently serving 25 years in a Siberian penal colony for treason and allegedly spreading “false information” concerning the war in Ukraine.

Consider how difficult it would be for someone in his position to commit any sort of punishable offense, other than perhaps using the toilet too many times in one day. But poor Vladimir has recently been fined 50,000 rubles ($560) “for not providing a full report of his conduct as a registered ‘foreign agent.’” [Reuters, Dec. 1, 2023.] (Kara-Murza was declared a foreign agent on April 22, 2022, the same day he was detained for having made anti-war speeches . . . while outside of Russia.)

Apparently, a “foreign agent” in Russia must regularly submit detailed reports on their activities and finances. Well, that’s nothing new; the same is true here in the U.S., where representatives of specified foreign entities doing business or engaging in political activities here must file periodic reports under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). So what’s the problem?

Well, the problem is in the definition of “foreign agent.” It seems that in Russia, that term still carries visions of spies, or intelligence operatives. For some people, the good old days of the Cold War and their spy games were just too good to let go.

I do have to ask myself why no one in Russia has seen the irony — or idiocy, if you will — of expecting actual spies to register their activities. But what do I know?

*. *. *

Then there’s the equally bizarre case of Ilya Yashin, another opposition activist and supporter of the better-known Alexei Navalny (about whom I have had much to say in earlier chapters). Yashin is serving 8-1/2 years in prison for making statements on his YouTube channel about Russian war crimes allegedly committed in the notorious battle for Bucha, Ukraine.

His more recent offense, supposedly committed while in prison — and for which he has been fined 45,000 rubles ($500) by a Moscow court — consisted of his “failing to attach a mandatory rider advertising his ‘foreign agent’ status in capital letters to his posts on the Telegram messaging app.” [Reuters, Dec. 1, 2023.]

Aside from the ludicrous nature of the charges themselves, what’s wrong with this story? Well, to quote Ilya Yashin: “I don’t have any opportunity to post materials, I’m in a penal colony, and before that [I was] in a pre-trial detention centre. I reject the status of a foreign agent.”

Makes sense to me. But somehow, he was supposedly magically able to produce a post on Telegram from prison, and — horror of horrors! — he forgot to write “foreign agent” in capital letters on that post! And you say he was only fined 45,000 rubles? You mean that’s not a hanging offense? Those Russian judges must be getting soft.

*. *. *

And, as a piece de resistance, Alexei Navalny himself — while serving a combined sentence of more than 30 years on various charges — has been presented with new charges under a criminal law regarding . . . drumroll, please . . . vandalism. Now, what do you suppose he might have done? Written “nyet voinye” on the walls of his cell?

*. *. *

I am reminded of a scene in the film version of the Broadway smash hit Chicago, in which Richard Gere — in the role of a slightly unorthodox criminal defense lawyer — likens the trial of a murder case to a vaudeville tap-dance routine. And in Moscow, at least, he may have a point.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/3/23

“Psst! I’m over here, the one with the devilish sense of humor and the big mouth that doesn’t know when to shut itself. And by entering your country, I’ve just painted a big red target on my back. So you may as well just take me now, toss me into the slammer, and forget about me. Because I won’t last a day in your new, ‘sacred’ environment.”

That would have been me, 30 years ago, if Vladimir Putin had been President of Russia when I was living and working there, during that summer of 1993. Or if I were idiotic enough to go back today, even for a brief visit. Because now, another new law is about to be added to the mega-volume of new, ever-more-restrictive edicts being issued by His Majesty, Tsar Vladimir (as I assume he wishes to be addressed these days).

You see, I committed a heinous crime; I made a joke out loud. I referred to him as “Mad King Vlad from Leningrad.” But I had signed the mandatory loyalty oath on entering the country, and some rat fink (not sure how that translates into Russian) turned me in. My bad. I’m guilty as shit. Slap on the cuffs.

*. *. *

This is all in my imagination, of course; I’m actually safe and sound, right here in the U.S. of A. But the reason for this bad, bad dream is real enough. Because yesterday I read that “Russia’s interior ministry has prepared draft legislation that would force foreigners to sign a ‘loyalty agreement’ forbidding them from criticising official policy, discrediting Soviet military history, or contravening traditional family values.” [Guy Faulconbridge and Lidia Kelly, Reuters, Nov. 29, 2023.]

According to a report from the TASS state news agency, the draft legislation would prohibit a foreigner entering Russia from “interfering with the activities of public authorities of the Russian Federation, discrediting in any form the foreign and domestic state policy of the Russian Federation, public authorities and their officials.” It would also include clauses about “morality, family, ‘propaganda about non-traditional sexual relations’ and history . . . [as well as] distorting the historical truth about the feat of the Soviet people in the defence of the Fatherland and its contribution to the victory over fascism.”

Further, “The Kremlin said earlier this month that some measure of censorship was needed as Russian troops were fighting in Ukraine, and cautioned those who wanted to criticise the military to think carefully before they did.” [Reuters, Nov. 29, 2023.]

Well, that seems to cover just about everything but the weather . . . and you should probably be careful what you say about that as well, because what the draft law doesn’t state (as far as I know) is precisely what constitutes those various violations. And I’m not really fond of things that are left wide open to someone else’s interpretation.

As of this writing, the new law — it’s not clear what they’re going to name it — is not in effect, as it has not yet been presented to Putin for signature. But . . .

Yes, there’s that Russian “but” again. And it’s a big one.

But . . . it seems to be well on its way to his desk. As clarified in the Reuters report, in order for the draft to become law, it first has to be introduced to the State Duma, then go through a committee review and “several readings” (by whom, is also unclear), before it can be presented to Putin for signature. The Chairman of the Duma’s CIS* Affairs Committee (the rough equivalent of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee) has said that the draft law was “well advanced” and “being worked on” by the Ministry of the Interior, “the government,” the presidential administration, and by his own committee.

[* CIS: Commonwealth of Independent States.]

The Reuters report also quotes one Leonid Kalashnikov as having told Interfax that “[t]he draft law on the so-called ‘loyalty agreement’ with migrants entering the Russian Federation is in a high degree of readiness” . . . though “some details of the proposed law were still to be worked out.”

It was not clear to me whether this Kalashnikov (yes, the same name as the famous Russian rifle) and the Chairman of the CIS Affairs Committee are one and the same person. So, of course, I looked him up on the Duma’s website, and they are indeed just one man. And here he is, hopefully not in what would be considered one of his more cheerful moments:

Kalashnikov, age 60, is a deputy in the 7th State Duma representing the CPSU: the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Of course, it’s now called the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, though still somehow known by its old initials. Some things just refuse to die.

And not incidentally, he is under U.S. and other sanctions, and is further considered a “politically exposed person” — an individual who is or has been in a prominent position and may be subject to coercion or other illegal abuse. So, clearly a guy in the know, though probably not one you’d want to do business with, or bring home to meet the family. Would you?

Naahhh . . . probably not.

All in all, it appears that this draft law will have little difficulty passing muster and being submitted to His Excellency . . . His Majesty? . . . His Holiness . . . or whatever Putin calls himself these days. And you know he has his pen already poised to sign off on it, since it was most likely his idea in the first place.

I loved my time in Russia. I will always be grateful for having had the opportunity . . . when it was presented to me, 30 years ago. But today? Hell, no! It took a modicum of courage back then; today it requires complete and absolute lunacy. Stay away! Are you hearing me? Unless you’re suicidal, don’t go! They’re arresting people right and left over there. Please . . . if you must travel abroad, go to Italy, or Japan, or Australia. There are so many beautiful places in this world where the people are lovely and the food is good and the laws do not require you to remain mute and stay inside the box. Try one of those. I’m begging you . . .

*. *. *

So, while I have no further need to travel to Russia . . . nor any desire to do so, in the current environment . . . a lot of people do, for a number of reasons: diplomats from around the world, various other government representatives, journalists, the few remaining foreign business reps, and perhaps even a stray (and seriously misguided) do-gooder from an NGO or a religious organization. I wish them the best of luck, and I have one word of advice to offer them: DON’T. If you have any choice at all, for God’s sake . . . DON’T!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/1/23

You’re probably laughing right now; I did too, when I read today’s news flash. But it’s not a joke. I don’t think Vladimir Putin knows how to crack jokes about such serious matters as zero . . . no, negative . . . population growth. Russia’s in trouble, people. Like that other Wicked Witch — you know, the one from the West — Russia is melting!

Well . . . shrinking, actually. But close enough for government work. (“Melting” sounds too much like the global warming thing, which is a whole other really serious issue and not the one we’re talking about today.)

In Russia’s case, it took more than tossing a bucket of water at a Witch to start the process; it took an entire war (or “special military operation,” in Putin parlance), and the resultant deployment of around 300,000 Russian troops (of whom an estimated 50,000 have died), for Mr. Putin to become fully aware of the problem. Those losses, together with the “Flight of the Draft-Dodgers” and others — a total of another 900,000 or so people — have taken a serious bite out of Russia’s workforce since February of 2022. Not to mention the inevitable reduction in the birth rate.

So on November 28th, Putin again appeared on the big — really big — screen before the 15th World Russian People’s Congress at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, where he urged Russian women to get busy and start popping out babies as quickly as possible:

“Many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, had seven, eight, or even more children. Let us preserve and revive these excellent traditions. Large families must become the norm, a way of life for all of Russia’s people. The family is not just the foundation of the state and society, it is a spiritual phenomenon, a source of morality.

“Preserving and increasing the population of Russia is our goal for the coming decades and even generations ahead. This is the future of the Russian world, the millennium-old, eternal Russia.”

*. *. *

Wow! Get crankin’, folks. Let the orgy begin!

Granted, the decline in Russia’s population is not new. Since the start of Putin’s reign some 24 years ago, he has offered “a range of government incentives for those who have children, including payouts for families who have more than one child.” But, in a country already suffering from the effects of massive inflation, as well as the impact from more recent sanctions imposed since the start of the war against Ukraine, it appears that these incentives have fallen far short of their goal. According to Rosstat, Russia’s federal statistics service, the country’s population as of January 1st of this year stood at 146,447,424 — lower than it was in 1999 when Putin first became president. [Tom Porter, Business Insider, Nov. 29, 2023.] For purposes of comparison, the population of the United States on January 1st was 334,233,854 — a slight increase of about 1/2% over the previous year.

So now Putin is trying a different tactic: appealing to the patriotic, moral, and spiritual values held dear by this generation’s grandparents and great-grandparents. Yeah . . . good luck with that one, Vlad. I can’t wait to see how it goes over with all of those already overworked, underpaid, physically and emotionally exhausted couples who are now being told they’re nothing more than baby-making machines for the state. Forget about making love; it’s now just a manufacturing process.

*. *. *

You say you want my personal opinion on this vital matter? Okay, here it is:

That’s gonna take one hell of a lot of vodka!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/29/23

In 1949, just half a year before his death, George Orwell’s novel “1984” was published. Orwell was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic, known for his political opposition to totalitarianism and his support of democratic socialism. Any adult who hasn’t heard of “1984” and its infamous, larger-than-life “Big Brother” must have been living in a bunker. For those who would like to catch up, it is best described as a “dystopian novel” satirizing life in a totalitarian state (obviously patterned after the Soviet Union). It has become an award-winning classic, and if it isn’t required reading in our high schools, it should be (in my opinion). (The paperback costs less than $10 on Amazon. Don’t bother watching the movie, though; it’s terrible.)

So why am I promoting this 75-year-old novel by a long-deceased writer? I’m not, actually. But I was reminded of it the other day when I was researching information on a particular Russian government ministry and stumbled across one I didn’t know existed: the Ministry of Enlightenment of the Russian Federation. And I gasped. Literally gasped, out loud, for two reasons. First, although there was no “Ministry of Enlightenment” in Orwell’s novel, the principal focus of the book was on the forced dissemination of the government’s lies and propaganda under the guise of enlightenment. And second, the last such ministry in the real world of which I am aware was the “Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda,” created by Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany in 1933 and headed by Joseph Goebbels until the war’s end in 1945. (There may, of course, be others by different names in other countries that are not as well known).

See why I gasped? Because Orwell’s prescience has extended, not just to 1984, but into yet another century. Russia now has one of those real-life ministries, established in 2018, passing along the teachings and the mandates of a virtual clone of Orwell’s Big Brother: none other than Vladimir Putin himself.

Interestingly, if you do a Google search of “Russian Ministry of Enlightenment,” what pops up is the Ministry of Education. And when I double-checked the Russian words for “enlightenment” and “education” — because my Russian language skills are less than perfect and really rusty — I found a cute little translational word play. The most commonly-used Russian word for education is obrazovaniye. But the Ministry of Education is described online as the Ministry of Prosvescheniya — Ministry of Enlightenment, according to the word’s principal usage. However, Prosvescheniye also has a secondary meaning. You guessed it: it’s “education.”

Confused? I’d be shocked if you weren’t. It’s a fine distinction, so just take my word for it: while not technically incorrect, it appears that the word Prosvescheniye was intentionally used in the creation of the new (2018) Ministry to muddy the waters. It would have been so easy to avoid confusion by naming it the Ministerstvo Obrazovaniya, which does not have a dual meaning.

(By the way, the different word endings (“e” and “a”) are not typos; they have to do with the Russian grammatical cases, and you really don’t want me trying to explain those!)

But . . .

As I’ve said before, in Russia there is always a “but.”

But in any event, my point is that Russia already had a Ministry of Education, long before 2018. I know, because I met with Dr. Kezina, then the head of that Ministry, in Moscow, way back in 1993. A highly intelligent, competent woman with a strong personality and direct manner, I found her to be very impressive; she was not a figment of my imagination. She and her Ministry were very real. *

* NOTE: The Ministry existed, under various names, from the early days of the USSR. Until 1946, it was known as the People’s Commissariat for Education — in Russian, the Narodniy Kommissariat Prosvescheniya, or its acronym, Narkompros. Note that the word used for “Education” was the word whose principal definition is “Enlightenment” — Prosvescheniya. Was Vladimir Putin’s chosen naming of the new (2018) Ministry a coincidence, or was it an intentional homage to Narkompros?

So, why the need for a second institution, purportedly with the same or similar functions? Or perhaps it’s just a restructuring of the original Ministry of Education. But in either case, why cloak it under a misleading name?

Although not widely publicized, there has been an awareness of this development in Russia at least since early 2022. On March 3rd of that year, it was reported:

“Russia has a ‘Ministry of Enlightenment’ and it is as dystopian as it sounds.

’The ministry is basically the country’s answer to the ministry of education and the Kyiv Independent today drew people’s attention to its existence when it revealed something the ministry is planning today.

“On Facebook, the ministry announced it is holding a virtual lesson for children to explain why the war on Ukraine is necessary and about the ‘danger’ of Nato [sic] today.

[Quoting from the Ministry’s Facebook post about the lesson]:

‘At the All-Russian Open Lesson, schoolchildren will be told why the liberation mission in Ukraine is a necessity.

The broadcast will take place tomorrow, March 3 in the community of the Ministry of Enlightenment starting at 12 o’clock Moscow time.

Viewers will be told the background of today’s events: about the danger NATO represents to our country, why Russia stood up for the protection of the civilians of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, and will also help to figure out how to distinguish the truth from lies in the huge stream of information, photos and videos that are flooding the internet today.

You can use the materials on the broadcast website to conduct such an open lesson in your classroom, in the institute of education’ . . .” [Kate Plummer, indy100, March 3, 2022.]

The Hitler Youth . . . the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (Komsomol) . . . whatever they might name the new Russian youth organization . . . they’re all the same. Get those kids young enough, while they’re still vulnerable and their little psyches still malleable, and you’ve got a whole new generation of zombies eager to do your bidding. Perhaps they should be called “Putin’s Pioneers.” *

* NOTE: The Soviet Union’s “Youth Pioneers” was a compulsory organization for children and adolescents aged 9-14, founded in 1922 and continuing in existence until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. 

*. *. *

But wait . . . they already exist!

Dig deep enough, and you find the most amazing things. On October 29, 2015 — the 97th anniversary of the 1918 founding of the Soviet Union’s Komsomol* — Vladimir Putin, in a master stroke combining nostalgia and foresight, created what he calls The Russian Schoolchildren’s Movement. Komsomolskaya Pravda said in its website headline: “On Komsomol’s birthday, Putin signed a decree on creating new Pioneers.” But the article went on to clarify that the new movement would be “free from Communist or any other ideology.” Ministry of Education officials “appeared unfamiliar with Putin’s plans, while a social affairs official in Russia’s Cabinet said the new movement was ‘exclusively the presidential administration’s’ idea.” [Anna Dolgov, The Moscow Times, Oct. 30, 2015.]

* NOTE: Komsomol was the Soviet Union’s political youth organization for 14-to-28-year-olds who had graduated from the Pioneers. Komsomol was also dissolved in 1991.

*. *. *

So this apparently was all Putin’s brainchild. And within three years following its inception, along came the new Ministry of Enlightenment, with its Soviet-style, almost subliminal, daily dosage of official rhetoric, now complete with programs available for use in classrooms.

Free from propaganda, huh?

*. *. *

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/29/23

Someone asked me yesterday how I’d managed to live so long.

No, not that long!

Only a young person would ask a question like that, thinking it was a compliment; and I’m sure she meant it that way. I actually thought it was rather funny, and as I contemplated my answer, I realized that I had never thought about it before. And my answer was:

By doing pretty much whatever I wanted to do.

I’ve never smoked, but not because of the health hazard; I tried it twice in my teens, and hated it. Plus, it’s a very expensive habit. But lots of other people did, so there was a good bit of second-hand smoke being inhaled.

I didn’t do drugs because they were illegal and I was afraid of being caught. Plus — even more so than cigarettes — there was the cost. But otherwise . . .

Did I drink? Sure. Did I drink and drive? Sorry to say, I did, and the fact that I didn’t kill myself or anyone else is due to just plain dumb luck. And in my younger days, I was hell on wheels, even when sober.

Did I eat red meat? Oh, yeah . . . lots of it. A day without beef was an incomplete day. And fatty foods, spicy foods, all kinds of ethnic foods, without consideration for the grams of fat, sodium, or cholesterol. And dessert? To me, dessert was an essential food group. Every meal ended with something sweet.

Did I get enough sleep? Never! There was too much partying going on to waste my time sleeping. How about staying hydrated? We didn’t think about that when I was younger. Exercise? Every now and then, but it was too much work to keep at it.

I traveled, to countries where food wasn’t always properly stored or refrigerated. I never got sick from the food, or from spending hours in an airplane with people exhaling germs. And antibacterial soaps weren’t readily available. I learned not to worry about it.

And even before young adulthood. When I was a kid, we roller skated, rode bikes, climbed trees . . . and all without helmets. We fell and skinned our knees. So what? A little iodine and a bandaid, and we were back outside. Cars didn’t have seat belts. Kids shared soda bottles and popsicles, exchanging germs without thinking about it. Nobody cared.

And finally, I guess I have good genes. Most of my family members lived long, productive lives. They . . . we . . . have always worked hard, taken care of one another, and lived decent lives (apart from that drinking-and-driving thing).

Let’s face it . . . life’s a crap shoot. You can do all the right things, and still die young; or you can jump out of a plane without a parachute, and survive. (I don’t recommend that, however.) Basically, it’s a matter of luck. And I’ve been pretty lucky . . . so far, anyway.

Thanks to that young lady for asking.

Brendochka
11/28/23

It’s official at last: Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has finally been declared a “war,” and by Vladimir Putin himself. And it only took 21 months.

In his address to the G20 leaders on November 22nd — his first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022 — Putin, attending virtually from Moscow, first said that some leaders had expressed shock at the ongoing “aggression” of Russia in Ukraine. His unsurprising response to that was:

“Yes, of course, military actions are always a tragedy. And of course, we should think about how to stop this tragedy. By the way, Russia has never refused peace talks with Ukraine.”

While far from acknowledging any blame for having started the “tragedy,” this was by far Mr. Putin’s most conciliatory remark to date. And, to everyone’s surprise, he finally used the “w” word:

“I understand that this war, and the death of people, cannot but shock . . .”

. . . before then launching into a statement claiming that the Ukrainian government itself had persecuted its own people in eastern Ukraine, apparently referring back to the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in Crimea in 2014.

He further commented on the present Israel-Hamas war, touched off by Hamas’ October 7th unprovoked attack on Israel, the slaughter of 1,400 Israeli citizens, and the kidnapping of another 240 innocent women, children and elderly civilians, as follows:

“And the extermination of the civilian population in Palestine, in the Gaza Strip today, is not shocking?”

. . . somehow managing to ignore those Israeli deaths that precipitated Israel’s retaliation.

But my principal point today is that Putin has finally, after nearly two years of dancing around the reality of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, used the word “War” to refer to what the whole world has long since identified, acknowledged, and castigated as such. Was it a slip of the tongue? Or could this be the first step toward a genuine effort at ending the “tragedy” in Ukraine? Might he even be willing to offer some conciliation in order to move things along? Is he finally feeling the pinch from the censure of most of the rest of the world?

And if so, wouldn’t that be the best holiday gift of all!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/24/23