1. Fewer textbooks = less homework, right? Russia’s 14 million schoolchildren might hope so, but the effects of Russia’s new textbook eradication appear to speak more to shady political deals than the dreams of bored schoolchildren. The Russian government has reduced by half the number of approved textbooks across the country and just one company, the publishing giant Enlightenment, seems poised to turn a profit on the publishing purge. Why Enlightenment, you ask? Look no further than the head of the company’s board of directors: Arkady Rotenberg, aka the Textbook Tsar, aka Putin’s long-time friend. 2. President Vladimir Putin announced earlier this week that Russia will spend over $15 billion on the World Cup. Even with a struggling economy, that’s not so bad, right? Perhaps not, but consider this: Russia’s proposed budget for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi was $12 billion, and it ended up costing nearly $51 billion, or more than 4x the original budget. Does this mean Russia will spend $63 billion on the World Cup? (Or about $400-500 per Russian citizen.) Russians do love their soccer (sorry, football), but do they love it that much? 3. The morbidly titled study “Mass Repression in the Soviet Union,” released this week by Russia’s state-owned Public Opinion Foundation, found that fully 48% of Russians think that a return to Soviet-era political repression in their country is possible during their lifetime. What is arguably more shocking, however, is that one-third of respondents believe the media talks too much about Soviet repressions. “…A part of society is irritated that liberals remind people about the Stalinist repressions,” noted one of the reports authors. Yes, the past may never be dead, but if you insist on bringing it up all of the time, those horrifying memories sure can get irritating. Quote of the Week “Bite your tongue! Everything’s fine.” – Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in response to rumors that Putin has pancreatic cancer
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 19:42:57 +0000
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