A while back we pointed to the Twitter feed of Russia's Amb. to NATO Dmitry Rogozin.  Today it looks like he has launched a personal assault on Radoslav Sikorski, the Polish MFA (everybody is just so prickly around this Berlin Wall anniversary).  I put Dima's tweets in chronological order to better understand his thought process:@Rogozin  Polish FM Sikorsky gave a very strange interview. Hu suggested demolishing the Stalin-style House of Science and Culture in centre of Warsaw about 6 hours ago from web ...

One criticism that you not likely to hear about the Russian government is its lack of enthusiastic applications of new media technologies.  The Prime Minister posts his topless photos at a much more timely rate that the White House page is updated, the President has impressive blogs and video podcasts, they've got a school of bloggers to push the official government line and drown out online dissent, and now, Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's envoy to NATO, has got himself a pretty robust Twitter feed in English and Russian going on right here.This is particularly fun stuff to read, and not just because Rogozin's essential professional function is to be like a Russian version of John Bolton before ...

TODAY: EU Russia-Georgia report out! Tilted towards blame on Georgia; Russia claims vindication on who started it issue; denies report's accusations of Moscow violating international laws; PR machines crank up on both sides.  PACE to vote today on rights; Yushchenko says he will meet Medvedev despite recent freeze in relations; Medvedev to ditch Putin's wordsmith? 'Open hostilities began with a large-scale Georgian military operation against the town of Tskhinvali and the surrounding areas, launched in the night of 7 to 8 August 2008' - the Telegraph quotes the EU report which suggests the blame for starting the war lies with Georgia, whose actions in South Ossetia were unjustifiable under international law.  Reuters argues the report is 'likely ...

TODAY:  Georgia-Russia tensions simmer in advance of EU report; Council of Europe hullabaloo.  Russia edgy on Washington's new defense scheme; Obama forward looking; Kremlin does not feel Iran missiles justify sanctions.  Journalist in hiding over anti-Soviet article; no joy for beer drinkers and hackersAccusations are flying ahead of today's publication of EU-backed report on the war in Georgia which is expected to be critical of both parties.  The Times says that Georgia has preemptively accused Russia of spreading 'patently false information about fictitious attacks on Russian peacekeepers'.  Tbilisi has also claimed that the report has concluded that Russian troops were responsible for ethnic cleansing during the conflict.  Russia is bristling at motions in the Parliamentary ...

For years I have enjoyed Mark Helprin's novels - "Winter's Tale" is specifically quite good.  What many may not have known is that Helprin is a pretty prolific and uncompromising political opinion writer - and I believe that for many of my readers he may come off as strident and absolutist.  In other words, his writing not the typical dreamy political ramblings of an arts-oriented observer.  This is from his latest in the Wall Street Journal, which is sure to raise some objections among some of you, myself included:

What we have here is an inadvertent homage to Lewis Carroll: We are going to cancel a defense that takes five years to mount, because the threat will not materialize for five years. And we will not deploy land-based interceptors in Europe, because our new plan is to deploy land-based interceptors in Europe.

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TODAY: Obama firm on reasons for missile defense decision; Medvedev and Putin seem to take it as a positive sign; Putin wishes to see trade the next barrier broken; Russia will abandon Kaliningrad missile plans.  Pressure mounting regarding Iran situation; Israel apparently promises Medvedev no attack on Ahmadinejad regime.  Top cleric murdered in Ingushetia; disappearances abound.Barack Obama is still arguing the independence of his decision on missile defense saying, 'the Russians don't make determinations about what our defense posture is,' but if they are 'less paranoid' as a result, than can be considered a 'bonus'.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates has reiterated this position in an article in the New York Times.  Medvedev sees otherwise: '...

TODAY: US missile defense in Eastern Europe plans officially scrapped in favor of 'more efficient' new program.  A matter of concession or conviction on Obama's part; mixed reaction from former would-be host countries fearful of Russian dominance; is the US expecting Russian cooperation in Iran in return wonders media - and will it get it?  NATO to have increased involvement in new plans. Georgia and Russia to negotiate.  Gapzrom may get its tower. The US plans to build missile defense bases in Poland and the Czech Republic have been binned; the Moscow Times reprints President Obama's speech on the decision here.  'This is not about Russia',  White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has said.  According to the ...

TODAY: US to modify or jettison missile defense plans? NATO chief to meet with Russian envoy; Lukaschenko sends out mixed messages.  South Ossetia denies book burning; think tank leader says Putin could be heading for Brehznev-style decades in power; Medvedev finds inspiration on blogosphere.The Wall Street Journal reports that the White House may abandon the Bush-era missile defense plans which have caused consternation in Russia.  AP sources quoted on the Washington Post suggest a compromise measure, tempered to Russian concerns.  RFE/RL has an entertaining list of the 'dissidents' President Medvedev might like to meet on his upcoming US trip.  NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Russian envoy to the alliance Dmitry Rogozin will hold an ...

TODAY: 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two - officials meet in Gdansk for carve up of history; Putin acknowledges 'immoral' treaty and Katyn suffering; NATO receptive to plans for Russian defense; Stalin's grandson sues for libel; Other Russia leader detained; Arctic Sea carrying weapons?; five-year anniversary of Beslan. 'We meet here to remember who started the war, who the culprit was, who the executioner in the war was, and who was the victim of this aggression', says Polish premier Donald Tusk in Gdansk.  Reuters has a preview on the anniversary service - quoting a poll from Rzeczpospolita newspaper which says that most Poles believe that Russia carries equal responsibility for the outbreak of the ...

TODAY: Putin orders infrastructure overhaul; blogger charged; Rogozin praises cooperation with NATO; Abkhazia warns Georgia over blockade; criminal charges for 'negligent' Ingushetia police; fire at rights organization HQ; Medvedev warns United Russia against complacency.  Flag owners beware.Prime Minister Putin has ordered a review of all of Russia's Soviet-era structures in light of the Sayano-Shushenskaya power station disaster.  Russia's roads, airplanes, and pipelines have all shown signs of being dangerously outdated in recent times. Putin also promised payouts of $31,300 to each of the dead worker's families, to be paid by Rushydro.  The New York Times reports that blogger Mikhail Afanasyev, who questioned the government's handling of the disaster, has been charged with libel.  Envoy Dmitry Rogozin ...