I love trivia, and especially historic trivia — those little tidbits they didn’t teach us in school that would have made all the dry statistics so much more palatable. Which is why I enjoy receiving my daily column from History.com, from which I sometimes draw inspiration for my own blog posts.
Like today, January 5th. Did you know that, in . . .
1933. Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge. When it officially opened on May 27, 1937, the 1.7 mile-long marvel of engineering was the longest bridge span in the world. The previous day, some 200,000 people had walked, run, or roller-skated across its length. And it stands tall and strong today, having survived nearly a century of California’s infamous earthquakes, and more traffic than its creators could ever have foreseen.
1530. Pope Clement VII forbids King Henry VIII from remarrying. Well, we all know how that went down . . . five times, in fact. He was unhappy in his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and wanted to divorce her in order to marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope refused to nullify his marriage, Henry rebelled and was excommunicated from the Catholic church, ultimately leading to the creation of the Church of England. Interesting times for the people of England; not such good news for Anne, or her four successors. As history will testify, neither money nor a royal title can guarantee you a happily-ever-after.
Portrait of King Henry VIII
1781. Benedict Arnold captures and destroys Richmond. Happily, it was rebuilt and remains a vibrant Southern city today. And old Benedict did get his comeuppance: deemed a turncoat, he died a pauper in 1801, and his name is still synonymous with the word “traitor.”
Portrait of Benedict Arnold
1968. Prague Spring begins in Czechoslovakia. It was a brief period of democratic reform, that unfortunately came to an end in August of the same year, when Soviet tanks entered Prague and Communist rule returned with a vengeance for the next 21 years. In 1989 — as, one by one, Eastern European countries broke free of the Soviet yoke — Czechoslovakia followed suit, electing playwright Vaclav Havel as its new President.
Former Czech President Vaclav Havel
And finally, some historic happenings involving U.S. presidents on January 5th:
1949. President Truman delivers his Fair Deal speech.
1957. President Eisenhower proposes new Middle East policy.
1972. President Nixon launches space shuttle program.
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And for next year’s column:
2025. President-elect Donald Trump raves and rants because the American flag will be at half-staff (though he called it “half-mast”) for late President Jimmy Carter at his (Trump’s) inauguration on January 20th, saying it’s disrespectful to him.
“It’s All About Me, All the Time”
Honestly, folks . . . what have we come to? And where are we headed?
It’s a new year, with all of the promise that each January brings. Let’s make this the year we bring home the rest of those American and other political prisoners who missed out on the swap in August of last year, who have committed no crimes, and who are merely being held hostage by Vladimir Putin for his own diabolical purposes.
Perhaps if the incoming U.S. president will give less thought to the position of the flag on his Inauguration Day, and think instead — unselfishly, for once — about the lives of the people he is supposed to represent, something will actually be accomplished.
Let’s Recreate This Scene This Year
It saddens me beyond words to have to face the beginning of yet another year by once more listing their names in my small effort to ensure they are not forgotten. But here they are again:
David Barnes Gordon Black Marc Fogle Robert Gilman Stephen James Hubbard Ksenia Karelina Andrey Kuznechyk (in Belarus) Michael Travis Leake Ihar Losik (in Belarus) Daniel Martindale Farid Mehralizada (in Azerbaijan) Robert Shonov Eugene Spector Laurent Vinatier Robert Romanov Woodland Vladislav Yesypenko (in Crimea)
To each and every one of them — and all those whose names are not known to me — I once again wish continued courage, hope, and a one-way ticket home in the months to come.
That has to be where he’s living — in some alternative place in space — because there is no way that he could possibly believe the steady stream of dermo (use your imaginations on the translation of that one) that flows from his mouth. Nor could he reasonably expect anyone else to take him seriously.
Here’s an example:
In 2014, Russia illegally took control of the Crimean Peninsula — geographically and historically belonging to Ukraine — and has occupied that region ever since.
On February 24, 2022, Russia staged a massive invasion of eastern Ukraine. Since that time, it has taken control of additional swaths of Ukrainian territory, bringing the total Russian-occupied area to an estimated 27 percent of all of Ukraine.
The 2022 invasion has turned into the longest, bloodiest war Europe has seen since World War II, and continues to this day — with Russia refusing to negotiate a settlement that would include returning any of Ukraine’s sovereign territory to its rightful owners.
Daily bombardments throughout Ukraine — using advanced weaponry such as hypersonic missiles and thousands of drones — continue to decimate Ukraine’s population and its infrastructure.
AP Photo – Kyiv, Ukraine – February 25, 2022: Only the Beginning
But when, after more than two years, Ukraine’s military finally struck back onto Russian territory with the use of its own armaments plus those supplied by its Western allies, Vladimir Putin screamed bloody murder — accusing Ukraine and the West of unwarranted aggression and acts of terrorism.
And the latest such absurdity has to do with a report by Russia’s Izvestia newspaper of the alleged death of a freelance Russian correspondent, one Aleksandr Martemyanov, from injuries sustained when a drone — allegedly controlled by Ukrainian forces — hit his vehicle on the Donetsk-Horlivka Highway . . . in Ukrainian territory illegally occupied by Russia. [Mariya Knight, CNN, January 4, 2025.] (Emphasis is mine.)
And Russian authorities — Putin’s people — are blaming Ukraine for the alleged (as yet unverified) drone attack, and demanding that the United Nations condemn Kyiv for it.
And they’re serious!
Is it just me, or is there something seriously wrong with Putin’s logic? Have I only imagined the past three years of death and destruction rained upon Ukraine at the hands of his armed forces and hired mercenaries?
Is the world really swallowing this bullshit? And do people not understand that if Putin wins so much as a square mile of Ukrainian territory, he will not stop there?
With pro-Putin leaders in Hungary, Slovakia, and even Austria, and other countries bordering on Russia frantically shoring up their defenses, Europe is in the most precarious position it has endured since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Is anyone paying attention?
The founder of the USSR, Vladimir Lenin, once said that “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” He knew what he was talking about — and Vladimir Putin knows it as well.
And might I add, as a further caution, the words often attributed (though possibly incorrectly) to Edmund Burke:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Putin knows perfectly well what he’s doing. The question is: How long are we going to continue allowing it?
February 20, 1993: Saturday evening, back at home in Virginia.
In the two days between my meeting with Valentin Aksilenko and my departure from Moscow, I had had little sleep. And since that trip had included a second person — an American business colleague — there wasn’t much time to think, either. Our entire week had been taken up with business meetings, dinners, and other discussions; and I couldn’t very well talk to her about my predicament in any event.
By the time I walked into my apartment, I was too tired to do much of anything. Without even unpacking, I called a couple of people to let them know I was back, took a quick shower and flopped into bed, anticipating another restless night. Surprisingly, though, I slept soundly for the first time in days, and woke up around noon the next day.
Feeling much better, I immediately fell into my usual Sunday routine of opening the front door to retrieve the Washington Post, dropping the paper on the kitchen counter, and reaching for the orange juice in the refrigerator. But a headline had caught my eye, and I turned back for a second look. What I had seen were the letters “KGB.”
The article was about a former KGB officer who had walked into the Moscow office of the Post to give an interview about a book he was writing concerning his years as a spy in Washington in the 1980s. His name was Yuri Shvets, and I knew immediately that he was Aksilenko’s “friend.” But he was no longer anonymous.
And I lost it. For a solid ten minutes, I stormed around the apartment, cursing everyone and everything that came to mind.
What had all the cloak-and-dagger secrecy been about in Moscow? If it was too risky to publish the book in Russia, why was this idiot shouting about it to the press? Was he suicidal, or just plain stupid?
It was just after 8:00 p.m. in Moscow as I dialed Aksilenko’s home number. When he answered, I got straight to the point.
“Valentin, what in hell is going on??!!!” I practically shouted into the phone.
And he laughed. He actually laughed. Then he said simply, “I guess you’ve seen the Washington Post.”
So I was right — this Shvets person was indeed Valentin’s unnamed friend. And at the same time, I realized that the phone at the other end of my call was likely not a secure line. Calming myself, I listened as Valentin assured me that everything was “under control,” that the business we had discussed was to proceed as planned, and that they still wanted me to help out at my end . . . even offering to draft a contract between us for my finder’s fee. He didn’t seem concerned about the possibility of anyone listening in on his calls — much less about any repercussions from the Russian authorities.
As I sat down to read the article once more, I could not imagine how he could have said that everything was under control. I began thinking about what to do next in light of this new development. I could always just wait a few days and tell him I hadn’t had any luck in finding anyone with contacts in publishing. But something . . . some niggling little thought in the back of my mind . . . kept telling me there was more to this than just a book. Common sense was saying to drop it; but for whatever reason, my conscience was arguing to keep my options open.
And of course, there was also the possibility of earning some honest money if the book were to be published. So, first things first, I decided to call a friend in the Justice Department on Monday morning, to be sure there was no legal prohibition against entering into a commercial arrangement with a couple of ex-KGB spies.
Great Britain, Kazakhstan, New Jersey . . . They were everywhere, just a few weeks ago. And now they’re not. Or at least we’re not talking about them.
So what were they, and why aren’t there any more of them?
Actually, it all depends on whom you ask. And the answers just keep getting funnier and funnier . . . or scarier and scarier, depending on your personal level of conspiracy vulnerability.
*. *. *
In my usual fashion, I went digging. And I didn’t have to dig far, because it turned out that there have continued to be reports of sightings in all sorts of places. By all sorts of people. And there has been a satisfactory explanation for quite a few of them . . . but not all. And they haven’t made the headlines of the major news services.
To begin with, let’s take the eastern U.S. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has broadened its no-fly areas across the tri-state region of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which would account for a reduction in legal, privately-operated fly-overs.
Then you can deduct for the expected number of hysteria calls, UFOlogists hoping for a visitation from another galaxy, copycat callers, and some honest mistakes.
But that still leaves . . . how to say this diplomatically? . . . the loonies that just seem to pop out of the woodwork whenever anything unusual happens. And they’re out there; just Google “drone sighting update,” which is what I did.
You’ll have more fun reading the full articles yourselves, so I’ll just stick to some of the highlights. For example:
“Two witnesses in Manalapan Township [New Jersey] . . . videotaped a bus-sized, 25- to 50-foot-long black triangle UFO that they saw ‘pull off a high g [force] maneuver over a residential area’ just days before Christmas.” It was said to have “lasted at least one minute, ended with the object zooming ‘in the general direction of McGuire [Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst]’ — matching a persistent pattern of ‘drone’ UFO incursions over US bases in recent years.” [Matthew Phelan, dailymail.com, January 2, 2025.]
Another person in New Jersey described “a classic ‘flying saucer’ with an ‘aura or haze around [the] object’ just three miles off the coast of Atlantic City.” [Id.]
But those might easily have rational explanations. So try this one on for size:
On December 31st, the FBI received notice of an email that they now believe “was likely written by the Army soldier who died in the Jan. 1 [Las Vegas] explosion, Matthew Livelsberger, 37, [saying] the drones in New Jersey were being operated by China.” [Dan Alexander, New Jersey 101.5, January 3, 2025.]
In the email, Livelsberger also says the drones are an “operational use of gravitic propulsion systems powered aircraft by most recently China in the east coast, but throughout history, the US. China has been launching them from the Atlantic from submarines for years, but this activity recently has picked up. As of now, it is just a show of force and they are using it similar to how they used the balloon.” [Id.]
Mr. Livelsberger, who blew himself up in a leased Tesla, is said to have been a decorated combat veteran struggling with PTSD and “other issues.” So perhaps we can just overlook this particular theory; his story is sad enough without it.
*. *. *
However, things take a decidedly funny turn when Dr. Steven Greer — retired physician and founder of the Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence and of the Disclosure Project (which seeks the disclosure of alleged classified UFO information) — chimes in with his unsettling theory.
Dr. Steven Greer – UFOlogist Extraordinaire
Dr. Greer, speaking to Rob Finnerty of Newsmax, said that this whole “alien invasion” — his words, not mine or Mr. Finnerty’s — is “a staged distraction to mask something far more significant: decades-long, government-funded, illegal UFO research projects.” [Sahiba Tahleel, soapcentral.com, January 3, 2025.]
He predicts the arrival of more drama in the next 30 days, with an expose by alleged insiders ready to reveal the full extent of the alleged covert programs:
“Coming forward in the next 30 days or so, they will bring forth positive evidence of this and the fact that these programs have been run illegally and outside of constitutional oversight.” [Id.]
Supposedly, this is about to happen because there are some extraterrestrial civilizations that are tiring of our (Earth’s) “hostility.”
Thank you, Dr. Greer. I shall be counting down the days until the arrival of . . . no, not an ET invasion . . . just February.
And by the way, you may have meant “Congressional oversight” . . . not “constitutional.” Just me, being nitpicky.
*. *. *
And finally, we have the one we’ve all been waiting for: the “Blame the Russians” theory.
Oh, come on, now . . . you knew someone had to think of it, didn’t you?
In this case, it was one Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former head of the UK’s Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment — a man with obviously impressive credentials. And he claims that Russian “sleeper agents” could be orchestrating the “drone swarms” as “part of a coordinated Kremlin operation to probe Western defences.” [Eliana Silver, GB News, December 17, 2024.]
The Colonel believes that Vladimir Putin’s covert operatives may be conducting surveillance operations on both sides of the Atlantic, citing the numerous spottings near multiple US and UK air bases in both countries since November 20th. The timing is said to be of particular concern as one of the UK bases is about to house American nuclear weapons for the first time since the Cold War (the original Cold War, that is . . . not the instant replay we’re experiencing now).
Current UK defense sources insist there is “no evidence” linking the drone activities to Russia, China, Iran, or any other hostile country. But Colonel de Bretton-Gordon says:
“You can approach people who could do a service for you, and I expect you can pay some young kid or young person money to do it. I would have thought the Russians and Chinese were paying quite a lot” . . . calling it “espionage 2.0,” and suggesting that operatives are collecting data on response times, troop numbers and equipment. He warned that “They are testing to see where the weaknesses and vulnerabilities are.”[Id.]
*. *. *
Okay . . . we can laugh at alien invasions and “gravitic propulsion systems.” But, of all the theories out there, Colonel de Bretton-Gordon’s is the one to which I would tend to give a good measure of credence. He has the experience, the knowledge, the insight . . . and one of those great hyphenated British names.
In any event, they (the drones) are still up there, and we’re still left wondering. We’ll just have to wait and see what revelations the next 30 days bring, won’t we?
As I waited for the proverbial second shoe to drop, I knew for certain he wasn’t suggesting a blind date. But what he did say next was every bit as unexpected.
He said that his “friend” — whom he didn’t name — had also been stationed in the Soviet Embassy in Washington in the ‘80s, ostensibly as a reporter for the TASS news agency, but in reality as a KGB intelligence agent. And this “friend” was now secretly writing a book revealing the truth behind Moscow’s operations in the United States. Of course, he said, such a book could not be published in Russia . . . not even in the current post-Soviet climate of glasnost and perestroika.
And Valentin was wondering whether I knew anyone in the publishing industry who might be of help.
Had lightning struck at that moment, I would not have been at all surprised. I thought I was prepared for anything . . . but not this.
And if my mind hadn’t suddenly become a whirl of thoughts — each more ridiculous than the last — I might have been able to see the corollary between what was happening at the moment and the plot of a 1990 Sean Connery movie titled — coincidentally or not — “The Russia House.” In it, a Russian woman delivers to a British publisher in Moscow a manuscript from her scientist friend that cannot be published in Russia. But I wasn’t thinking about Sean Connery just then.
“The Russia House” – 1990
Instead, I was trying to figure out what the hell I was supposed to say to this absurd proposal. Was it some sort of provocation? Was anyone observing us nearby? Was there actually a book . . . or, for that matter, was there even a “friend”? Perhaps Valentin himself was the author. And — most concerning of all — would it be legal for me to get involved?
Or possibly even dangerous?
And while my innards were in complete turmoil, something in my brain suddenly clicked into place and said:
“Stall.”
And that’s exactly what I did. Taking a moment to find the right words, I told Valentin — in all honesty — that I did not personally have contacts in publishing, but that I did have friends in New York who might. And while I couldn’t make any promises, I would make some calls when I returned home.
Inexplicably, I suddenly felt quite calm, though it had all become blindingly clear to me that I had just chosen a path that would lead to . . . what? To some final destination as yet unknown. But I did know what my first steps would be.
I had had my “Aha!” moment.
“Aha! I’ve got this!”
*. *. *
To be continued . . .
*. *. *
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7th, in accordance with the old Julian calendar. But the Feenstras, while Christians, do not belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, and so they celebrated their first Christmas in Russia as they always did in Canada — on December 25th.
And what a Christmas it was! I was able to grab some screen shots from the YouTube video of the occasion — that photographer never seems to have a day off! — to share with you.
Outdoor Lighting
It looked as though many days of planning and hustle and bustle went into the preparation for the big day: cleaning, stringing outdoor lights, hanging styrofoam snowflakes, attaching an endlessly long garland of greens to the indoor stair rail.
And then the baking, cooking and candy-making began. With everyone participating as always, the Feenstras prepared enough food to feed a small town for a week: turkeys, potatoes, fresh vegetables of every color, tons of rolls, bowls of prepared dishes . . . and a dentist’s dream of a dessert table. How many people were actually expected? And who were they?
Let the baking begin!A lot of KP went into those vegetables!
Well, the video didn’t say who they were, but they seemed to be speaking English for the most part. More recent arrivals from the West? Quite likely, as the Feenstras have apparently become the unofficial (or perhaps official) Welcome Wagon for other English-speaking transplants to the Nizhny Novgorod region.
The first of the guests have arrivedGathering in the kitchenA gift from a guest
Which would explain that kitchen. While it was still a lot of work, even with a half dozen helpers, all of that baking and cooking was certainly made easier by top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances, including a huge side-by-side refrigerator, a five-burner gas stovetop, wall oven, a first-class electric mixer, the proper utensil for every job, and banquet-length concrete countertops and a dining table and chairs enough for a regiment.
Check out those appliances!Almost ready to eatWill there be leftovers?Saying Goodnight
*. *. *
Now, I have been honored to visit families in Moscow: professional people, mostly, but certainly not wealthy. And without exception, they were incredibly welcoming and hospitable, and spared no amount of effort in preparing wonderful home-cooked meals for me. But not one of them could have imagined ever having what the Feenstra family has acquired in such a short time . . . nor could they have afforded it, or the amount of food it took to feed that army of guests.
And why has it all been possible for this simple emigre family? Because, sadly, the Feenstras have become propaganda for the Putin government. Which means that whatever they need, they get, whether it’s the materials to build their huge home for their huge family, or a van large enough to transport everyone, or the best medical care. As long as they toe the line.
Receiving their “Year of the Family” award
So yes, a very merry Christmas was had by all, and I’m glad of that. I just have to wonder how long it will take for the novelty to wear off and the reality to set in.
*. *. *
And one other thing I found myself wondering as I watched the video. If I’m wrong, I apologize in advance to Anneesa Feenstra — I certainly do not mean any disrespect. But it looks to me, from this shot in the kitchen and the second one taken at their “Year Of the Family” awards ceremony, as though she may be expecting Little Feenstra No. 10.
Is she, or isn’t she?
If I’m right, then there will be the complex question of citizenship. Since the parents are not yet Russian citizens, the child will not (as I understand it) automatically be granted citizenship. Will he or she be able to claim Canadian citizenship? I presume it then becomes a question of Canadian law, which could become sticky.
Or perhaps Putin will simply sign another decree, changing the citizenship laws to accommodate the Feenstras.
Thanks to a sharp-eyed — and knowledgeable — reader, I have added to my understanding of British history, and am able to correct an error in my earlier post of 12/26/24: It’s All In the Genes.
It turns out that I misread a family tree of the British royal family, and conjured up a marriage between Queen Victoria and Denmark’s Christian IX that never actually happened. In fact, it was the marriage of Christian’s daughter, Alexandra, to Victoria’s son, Edward VII, that established the link between the two royal houses.
Victoria and Albert
Thanks to Jillian Nobbs for reminding me — as I should have known — that Victoria was married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. My late sister, who was a long-time student of the history of the Kings and Queens of England, would certainly have set me straight as well.
Perhaps I should stick to the more familiar territory of Russian history. It’s not any less complicated, but somehow I’m more at home amongst the Rus’ and the Romanovs than the Tudors and the Windsors. It’s genetic, I think.
I was bingeing the other day — not on chocolates, but on reruns of my favorite British TV series, Midsomer Murders — when I saw again the episode wherein Tom Barnaby’s aunt is in short-term post-surgical rehab at a senior nursing home where several of the regular residents have died under mysterious circumstances. Well, Tom Barnaby being the local DCI (Detective Chief Inspector), naturally there had to be deaths to investigate.
But it was the living characters that interested me, and the depiction of the sad emptiness of their daily lives, even though it was quite a lovely nursing home. And what one still-vibrant gentleman resident said to a young visitor struck me as particularly poignant. I don’t recall his words verbatim, but in essence he said that when you’re old, you become invisible. When you’re young you have presence: you’re tall or short, handsome or ugly, perhaps smart, funny, sexy, etc. You’re interesting. But when you’re old, you become extraneous. You’re excluded from everything; you are no longer relevant. People look right past you as though you’re not even there. For all intents and purposes, you are invisible . . . or so said the elderly gentleman.
I see her. Do you?
And it occurred to me — from my own experience and observations — that he was right. Absolutely, completely, tragically right. Oh, not in the eyes of my own generation of friends . . . the few who are left alive. (I seem to be the one designated to survive all the others.) But to the younger ones, the people who have inherited the responsibility of running the world that my generation created (for which, please forgive us, by the way). At social events, or dining out with a group — if they’re mostly younger people, they’re so engaged with one another, they forget you’re there. They’re not being intentionally disrespectful; it’s just that you’ve become irrelevant.
I wonder: Is this a typically American thing? Or is it true in other countries as well? I know there are societies that revere their elders — Asian nations, for example. Why do we think we only need to make sure the old folks are “taken care of”? Don’t they realize we miss our social lives? Or that painting pottery in some senior center isn’t enough to satisfy our intellectual needs? Or even that we still have intellectual needs?
Now, I do know that I’m not actually some amorphous bit of ectoplasm floating in the air; I have a body (tired as it may be), and substance. People don’t bump into me in the market; I’ve never been run over on the street or in a parking lot. I am visible, in the corporeal sense. It’s just that younger people don’t seem to care.
Ectoplasms Я Us
But I have things to say. I have experience. I’ve had a long, interesting life. I keep up with the world news, politics, show biz gossip. I know who Volodymyr Zelensky, and Elon Musk, and Taylor Swift are. I have opinions, viewpoints based on all those years of experience. I even have a sense of humor. I have a blog, for Heaven’s sake!
And the same is true of most of my contemporaries . . . the ones who haven’t gone around the bend, at any rate. I can understand if the 20-somethings, who think they possess all the wisdom of the world (and are they in for some surprises!), believe we seniors have become obsolete. But those of you in your 50s, 60s . . . even your 30s and 40s . . . well, you should know better.
And one day you will.
Because your day is coming, kids . . . sooner than you think. I’m glad I won’t be around to see your reactions when you realize that you, too, have faded from sight.
Because by then it will be too late to make amends.
Inevitability
Just sayin’ . . .
Brendochka 1/2/25
(This is a reprint of a post of 4/22/24 … because its relevance was recently brought home to me again.)
And it seems that only in Russia could both be turned into fodder for the political machine.
Yes, Sigmund Romberg did write an operetta in which a good deal of beer was guzzled, but that was all in good fun. This is big business . . . and politics, of course.
First, the beer. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, numerous Western companies pulled out of Russia in protest, some selling their assets to local buyers, others just shutting down and taking their losses. Relatively few stayed, and later found themselves under “temporary management” in accordance with a decree issued by Vladimir Putin in April of 2023, which grants the Russian manager full control of the assets (with the exception of being able to dispose of them).
In addition, Putin has made it more difficult for the remaining companies to exit by seizing their subsidiaries and requiring the companies to sell at below-value prices. [RFE/RL, December 30, 2024.]
And now Belgian brewing company AB InBev Efes Russia (AB InBev) finds itself in just such an untenable position. In a joint venture with Anadolu Efes of Turkey, the Russian company was launched in 2018. AB InBev originally had wanted to sell control of both its Russian and Ukrainian operations to Anadolu Efes, but they were unable to overcome Russia’s objections to the plan.
Accordingly, in October of this year, the two JV partners agreed to swap stakes in their businesses in Russia and Ukraine, whereby the Turkish brewer would become sole owner of the Russian business, while the Belgian company, AB InBev, would acquire the Ukrainian share.
Carlsberg Assembly Line – Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Finally, under a further decree signed by Putin on December 30th, all of the shares of AB InBev Efes Russia have been transferred to the “temporary management” of a Russian group of companies called Vmeste — an organization created in August of 2024. [Id.]
Other brewing companies that remained in Russia are now finding themselves in similar situations, including Heineken (Dutch) and Carlsberg (Danish).
All of which demonstrates one way in which Russia has continued to finance its “special military operation” in Ukraine despite multi-national sanctions: If something is making a profit, just seize it.
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And what does opera have to do with the beer industry? Absolutely nothing. But — like brewing — neither should it have anything to do with politics; yet, in Russia, it does.
During Soviet times, it was a given that any Russian company touring outside the country — whether opera, ballet, folk dancing, or sports team — would be accompanied and heavily guarded by its own cadre of KGB agents to prevent defections.
That is supposed to have changed by now. Yet Russian soprano Anna Netrebko has been taught otherwise.
Anna Netrebko
At the time of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Netrebko was scheduled to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In support of Ukraine, the general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb, demanded that she publicly distance herself from President Vladimir Putin before being allowed to perform in his venue. [RFE/RL, December 30, 2024.]
Caught between the proverbial rock and hard place, Netrebko issued a statement on Facebook condemning the war in Ukraine, and saying that her thoughts were with the victims of the war and their families, and that she was “not a member of any political party, nor am I allied with any leader of Russia.” [Id.]
Clearly, that would not have made Vladimir Putin or any of his minions particularly happy. An upcoming Netrebko concert, scheduled in Novosibirsk (Siberia) in June of 2022, was canceled, the theater accusing her of choosing European stages over her “Motherland’s fate” in making the statement.
She subsequently sued the Met and Peter Gelb for defamation, breach of contract, and everything else she could think of, inexplicably including gender discrimination. A U.S. judge has dismissed most of her claims . . . except, oddly, the last one.
Peter Gelb
And now Ms. Netrebko has had to withdraw from her scheduled appearance at the Vienna State Opera, saying that ill health earlier in the month had limited her preparation time.
When in Russia, you don’t speak against Putin’s policies . . . and especially not against the war in Ukraine. In fact, you don’t even call it a “war” — not if you value your career, your freedom, and your life. The theater operators in Novosibirsk who condemned her for choosing Europe over Russia may not have made the moral choice; but they were not incorrect, because that is exactly what she did. And now it has cost her dearly.
*. *. *
So from beer, to opera, to the number of children in a family (the subject of a couple of my earlier posts), nothing escapes Vladimir Putin’s attention, and no miscreant escapes punishment. He needn’t even concern himself with justification or evidence; he simply signs another decree to cover the situation.
The Blog About Everything … and Sometimes Nothing 