Oh maybe the writing is on the wall and maybe the times will soon be a-changin' in Russia.  The departure of Surlov, Putin's long time chief of staff and the architect of "managed democracy" may be seen as another sign of Putin's increasing authoritarianism and the strength of the hardliners, but it may also be seen as a sign of growing discontent with his rule by powerful politicos in Russia. And the "grey cardinal" talks about possibly developing a Jon Stewart style political comedy show in Russia... oh, the possibilities!  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/08/vladimir-putin-cardinal-forced-government

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/world/europe/russian-protest-goes-ahead-despite-volunteers-death.html


Recent news has been all about the trials and Putin's crackdown on dissidents.  Well some are not being intimidated and taking to the streets!

Dr. Nick Hayes, professor of history who holds the university chair in critical thinking at Saint John's University in Collegeville, MN, while writing about Chechnya in MinnPost this past week in the aftermath of the Boston said that "Grozny is the Potemkin village of Putin’s Russia…" 

Do you know what he was saying about Grozny? 

Do you know why the Potemkin Village meme keeps showing up in discussions of Russian politics? 

Can you use that phrase intelligently when answering a free response question on the exam next month? 

Read the following article on the Sveta phenomenon to understand some of the divisions in Russian society today and how the media plays a role in perpetuating these differences and Putin's agenda.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/27/world/europe/sveta-pussy-riots-perky-antithesis.html?src=recg

For 200 or 300 years, philosophical and political arguments have been going on between Slavophiles and Zapadniki in Russia. The Slavophiles contend that Russian culture and tradition are superior to anything non-Russian. Zapadniki, often labeled Westernizers, advocate making Russia modern and more like the economic, industrial, and military powers of Western Europe.

Peter and Catherine, the greats, would be considered Zapadniki. The final tsars of Russia, especially Alexander III and Nicholas II (and their tutor Pobedonostsev) were Slavophiles. It's been argued that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Slavophile organization (without the religious connotations).

It may be that Putin is leading Russia as a Slavophile as he seeks a unifying ideology. Please read the article below.  What do you think about Putin?  Slavophile? Zapadniki? or both? 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/21/world/europe/vladimir-putin-pushes-patriotism-in-russia.html?_r=0