Eastern Radar #23
Children of Russian gangsters, the man who drank cholera, the king of Russian virgin hair and more
Beeps
Under the Radar
OPG* children: five stories about growing up when your father is a legendary gangster [RU]
Kirill Rukov | Baza | November 18
*“Организованная преступная группа,” organised criminal group
My father took part in the murder of his brother. It’s a story that the family tries not to remember. Let's call him Sasha. His cousin Sasha worked as an actor in a theater. He failed to become famous so, in 1993, he opened a shop near Cherkizovskaya and began to smuggle clothes from Turkey - a pretty standard story. He wasn’t the shy type, had served in the airborne troops, thought he didn’t need a krysha [protection], that he could stand up for himself. But the Golyanovskye mafia group took over, and my father’s brigade was in charge of the Cherkizovskaya area. They called my father, said “some guy named Sasha doesn’t want to pay. What do we do?”. And he’s on edge, answers “for fuck’s sake, alright, get rid of this Sasha, so I don’t hear about him anymore”. They called him back in the evening, said Sasha had the same surname as him on his passport. That’s when my father’s entire world collapsed.
Russia's Bronka deepsea port chief accused of corruption by government
Oleksandr Gavrylyuk | The Loadstar | May 12 | 700 words
The Russian government appears set to take control of one of St Petersburg’s privately owned container terminals following a long-running turf war. Allegedly, Dmitry Mikhalchenko, once St Petersburg’s most influential businessman, used corrupt methods to win government contracts, worth Rb33bn ($446m), to carry out numerous business projects, including construction of the Bronka marine terminal from 2011 to 2015. The Prosecutor-General’s office claims Mr Mikhalchenko exploited close ties with high-powered law enforcement officials to siphon off Rb18.5bn of state funds. It further claims that Mr Mikhalchenko and his ally, then lieutenant-general of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Dmitry Negodov, used public assets to finance a private business empire – the so-called Forum holding company – and cash out the money.
My Bizarre Reign as New York’s King of “Virgin Russian Hair”
Vijai Maheshwari | Narratively | May 13 | 5,000 words
I researched the issue as an investigative journalist would, learning everything I could about “Russian hair” on the Ukrainian internet, visiting every single salon that advertised “virgin hair” on its website, then visiting them in person to check the quality of their product. Most salons actually sold the same dyed-blond ponytails that I had bought earlier for inflated prices.
I eventually stumbled upon two fast-talking track-suited Ukrainian hair dealers — Slava, slim and tense; Vova, paunchy and jovial — who were the real deal. (I’ve changed their names here, as well as those of several other people mentioned in this article.) They had barrels and barrels of gorgeous, washed, natural Russian hair languishing in a claustrophobic basement studio on the seedier “left bank” of the city, across the river Dnipro from the golden Orthodox spires of downtown Kyiv.
Research, Culture & General Nerdistry
The Man Who Drank Cholera and Launched the Yogurt Craze
Lina Zeldovich | Nautilus | May 19 | 1,700 words
After Metchnikoff discovered phagocytes, he plunged into researching human immunity, hopeful to find ways to extend lives. He was motivated by his own grim experiences with disease. When his first wife died from tuberculosis, despite his zealous efforts to save her, a grievous Metchnikoff took an overdose of opium, but lived. When his second wife, Olga, battled typhoid fever, he inoculated himself with a tick-borne disease to die with her—but they both lived. But having discovered the body’s natural defense system, Metchnikoff grew optimistic. “With the help of science,” he wrote, “man can correct the imperfections of his nature.”
No. 268: The State of the Russian Economy 🔓
Center for Security Studies (CSS) | Russian analytical digest | May 6
This issue provides an overview of the state of the Russian economy. In eight shorter contributions international experts discuss the longer-term trajectories of the Russian economy and assess the impact of Western sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic. Separate contributions look at the real sector of the economy and agriculture. The financial sector features prominently in several contributions. Finally, based on an assessment of past trends several contributions provide an outlook for Russia’s socio-economic development. At the end of the issue there is a section with graphs illustrating the development of major macro-economic indicators over the last 25 years.
From fiction to reality: Presidential framing in the Ukrainian comedy Servant of the People 🔒
Nataliya Roman, Berrin A Beasley, John H Parmelee | European Journal of Communication | May 12
This study examines presidential framing in the Ukrainian sitcom Servant of the People, which may have helped Ukrainian comedian and political novice Volodymyr Zelenskyy win the presidency in 2019. Building upon research into fictional framing and political satire verite, this study analyzes the roles and character traits of Vasiliy Goloborodko, a fictional Ukrainian president played by Zelenskyy. The findings expand framing theory to include fictional political leaders in sitcoms.
Class, Agency, and Citizenship in Belarusian Protest 🔒
Elena Gapova | Slavic Review | May 21
This paper focuses on the unprecedented mobilization that unravelled in the aftermath of the Bearusian elections of 2020. The argument made is that issues of agency and participation in political decision making are it its core.
ICYMI
Stories from well-known outlets you might nevertheless have missed.
Wall Street Journal: Russian Military Seeks to Outmuscle U.S. in Arctic
Wired: This 'Post-Soviet Sad 3D' Game Is Not About Having Fun
Agence France Presse: Crossing through forest, Belarusians flee 'the horror'
The New York Times: Ukraine’s Burial Mounds Offer Meaning in a Heap of History
Financial Times: Russian businesses start counting cost of EU carbon border tax
The New York Times: Countries Are Scrambling for Vaccines. Mongolia Has Plenty.