Columnists »

Musings of a Russophile: Babushkas Rule

Weekly column by Frederick Andresen

Russia has changed a lot in the last two decades, but there has one thing that has remained constant - the vital role played by the country's babushkas.

Transmissions from a Lone Star: Osama bin Laden, the great unifier

Weekly column by Daniel Kalder

When I first saw the headline that Osama Bin Laden had been killed, I assumed it was a nonsense story that a lazy web editor had put online to score hits – you know, like “bacteria discovered on Mars”, or ‘nails from Christ’s cross found’.

Uncertain World: Pakistan’s vicious circle

Weekly column by Fyodor Lukyanov

Russian-Pakistani relations, historically somewhat frosty, have recently improved. Little wonder then, that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Moscow has attracted so much media attention.

Due West: VE-Day Truths and Lies

Weekly column by Konstantin von Eggert

I watched Russian TV on Victory Day with mixed feelings – because the coverage itself was mixed.

The Russian Tongue: Is there a doctorate in the house?

Biweekly column by Sara Buzadzhi

So we’re nearing the end of another academic year, and many Russian students are nearing the end of their высшее образование (higher education) and will soon graduate from a university, which is often referred to simply as вуз (высшее учебное заведение – institution of higher education).

Features & Opinion »

Europe shuts doors to illegal immigration

RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Fedyashin

Denmark has shocked the European Commission by closing its borders without waiting for recommendations from the EU interior ministers who met on May 12, the foreign ministers who met today, or the EU leaders who will meet on June 24.

Arab Spring threatens freedom of movement in Schengen area

RIA Novosti political commentator Dmitry Babich

The Schengen area, which guarantees free movement across and between 22 European Union members and 3 non-EU countries, has encountered unexpected difficulties in the wake of the protests that have swept the Middle East and North Africa, and gained the moniker Arab Spring.

And now let's deal with Pakistan

Dmitry Kosyrev, RIA Novosti political commentator

On May 6, a bill was presented in the U.S. House on stopping all aid to Pakistan until the Americans get a full understanding of what Pakistan knew about Osama bin Laden's whereabouts.