Snails. Gossip. Playwrights. Annoying actor types. The greatness and terriblness of power. Class anxiety and cheap wine. Or, in other words, a personal take on the famous (and, some would say, famously obnoxious) cafe that became the site of a police crackdown during Vladimir Putin’s inauguration on May 7 of this year. Remember that oldContinue reading “Moscow. Jean-Jacques on Nikitsky”
Category Archives: Dirty Politics
Perhaps the gods will punish me for this column
But I really don’t see why Vladimir Medinsky is apparently The Most Horrible Person Of All Time. I was genuinely afraid that a genuinely polarizing figure such as Nikita Mikhalkov or Stanislav Govorukhin or whoever was about to be appointed Culture Minister – so when I heard it was this guy, I was busy beingContinue reading “Perhaps the gods will punish me for this column”
Also – Ukrainian beer is cheap and good
Just sayin. Reading the comments, I have to reflect on how much British readers don’t understand the way Ukrainian government works. When I say that “racism in Ukraine is no longer being swept under the rug,” they say, “Aha! But your Foreign Ministry is denying it even exists!” That’s because Ukrainian government doesn’t really *do*Continue reading “Also – Ukrainian beer is cheap and good”
Childbirth is not an abstraction. Why do I even need to point this out?
This refers to an interview I gave earlier – one that, I hope, won’t be published, because it was all kinds of whack. Let’s just say that it was for a Scandinavian publication that bills itself as women-oriented. The person who interviewed me is welcome to respond in the commenting section, but something tells meContinue reading “Childbirth is not an abstraction. Why do I even need to point this out?”
Student debt and double standards
So ever since this interview went up on Forbes, I’ve had a couple of people dropping in here to troll – of course. I’m used to the trolling, but I’d just like to point something out: Student loans reflect a double standard in our society. You, person who calls me “one of the worst examplesContinue reading “Student debt and double standards”
Natalia A. 