Free Republic

The memory of Stalin’s Terror is now receiving more attention in Russia than at any time since the 1980s. The Stalin epoch’s influence on Russia is undeniable. Present-day Russians mainly live in a country inherited from the Stalin-era Soviet Union, not least in terms of infrastructure, architecture and social institutions. However, scholars, intellectuals and journalists agree that Russian society has yet to thoroughly work through the totalitarian legacy of Stalin’s era. According to a recent Levada-Center poll, Stalin’s popularity is actually rising. Around 40 percent of respondents expressed positive attitudes towards Stalin, while around one third agreed that Russia now...

Russia's big round-up of Georgians in the capital brought protesters out onto the streets on Sunday. Near Pushkin's statue in Moscow city centre, some wore yellow stars with "I am a Georgian" written on them. Banners like "Persecuting people because they are Georgian is Russia's shame", and "No to state fascism" could be seen as several hundred people expressed their disgust at the increasingly nasty diplomatic war that has broken out between the two countries. Liberal politician Vladimir Ryzhkov said: "Georgian authorities provoked Russia with the arrest of four military officers. It demanded an answer. But the measures with which...

More than 100 people are deported, and schools are told to look for suspect surnames. MOSCOW — Russia deported more than 100 ethnic Georgians accused of entering the country illegally and ordered some Moscow schools to compile lists of children with Georgian surnames to detect illegal residents, officials said Friday. Russia and its fellow former Soviet republic have been locked in a bitter dispute since Georgia arrested four Russian officers last week on charges of spying. Despite their release, Moscow has imposed a variety of sanctions on Georgia.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - An unknown number of people were killed in an explosion at a Moscow market, Interfax news agency reported on Monday, quoting an eyewitness.

The anti-tank missiles proved to be one of Hezbollah's most effective weapons in combat with Israeli soldiers in Lebanon. Such missiles killed at least 50 of the 118 soldiers who died in the 34-day war that ended this week. Another government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media, said the delegation was "senior," but refused to say who they would be meeting with in Russia.