I am convinced that Russia has always been a good deal less “mysterious” and “unfathomable” than a great deal of Western commentary has traditionally had it. I point to Anatoly Karlin’s most recent “Russia Update” covering the latest news from that country. Highlights include the removal from office of Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov by President Dmitry Medvedev, the catastrophic August heatwave, and a new, colossal, decade-long rearmament program.
The latter is of particular interest to many people from Eastern Europeans warning of the Russia’s “neo-imperial foreign policy” and to countries like that France that are keen on selling arms to said country.
Letters from Europe 