This week's Share Spotlight comes from the Vlogbrothers.
Understanding Ukraine: The Problems Today and Some Historical Context
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia keeps rolling on. Frankly, I've lost track of what's actually happening. But here's John Green, author and all around amazing person to give you a quick summation of the background of the conflict in Ukraine.
And, as a bonus, here's Mid-Revolution: Ukrainian Museum Updates from The Uncataloged Museum, which is from a month or so back and talks about the particular challenges of being a museum on the front lines of a revolution.
What do you think of everything that's been going on? Have you been keeping track? What do you think the best outcome is at this point?
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Baba Yaga
Every culture has a being used to scared children. In America, it's the Bogey Man. In Russia, it's Baba Yaga.
Baba Yaga is a witch common in the folklore of Eastern Europe and Russia. Baba means grandmother, but is probably better translated as old woman or wise woman, since Baba Yaga is far from grandmotherly.
Baba Yage is generally depicted as an old crone who lives in the woods. Her house stands on chicken legs, spinning shrieking constantly until the magic words are said. The house's windows are often characterized as eyes and sometimes a fence made of bones encircles the house.
Baba Yaga herself travels in a mortar, using a pestle as a rudder and sweeping away traces of her presence with a silver birch broom.
Baba Yaga is a complex figure in Eastern European and Russian Folklore. She is often the antagonist of the story, preventing the hero from reaching his goal and misdirecting people in the woods. However, she is also known to share her wisdom when approached correctly.
One of the most well known stories involving Baba Yaga is that of Vasilisa the Beautiful. Similar to the Western European Cinderella, Vasilisa finds herself at the mercy of her step-mother and two step-sisters. When all of the lights are extinguished, she is sent to Baba Yaga to get coals to relight the fires. After numerous tests, and with the help of a doll given to her by her mother, Vasilisa receives a skull full of coals from Baba Yaga. When she returns home, the skull burns up her step-mother and -sisters and Vasilisa lives happily ever after (in some versions she become Czarina of Russia).
Baba Yaga has made several appearances in popular culture, including Bartok the Magnificent, the much less well known but still adorable spin-off movie from Anastasia, where she sends Bartok to complete impossible tasks before she will help him with his own quest.
Baba Yaga is a witch common in the folklore of Eastern Europe and Russia. Baba means grandmother, but is probably better translated as old woman or wise woman, since Baba Yaga is far from grandmotherly.
Baba Yage is generally depicted as an old crone who lives in the woods. Her house stands on chicken legs, spinning shrieking constantly until the magic words are said. The house's windows are often characterized as eyes and sometimes a fence made of bones encircles the house.
Baba Yaga herself travels in a mortar, using a pestle as a rudder and sweeping away traces of her presence with a silver birch broom.
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| Baba Yaga traveling in her mortar and carrying her pestle and silver birch broom. Painted by Ivan Bilibin. (Wikimedia Commons) |
One of the most well known stories involving Baba Yaga is that of Vasilisa the Beautiful. Similar to the Western European Cinderella, Vasilisa finds herself at the mercy of her step-mother and two step-sisters. When all of the lights are extinguished, she is sent to Baba Yaga to get coals to relight the fires. After numerous tests, and with the help of a doll given to her by her mother, Vasilisa receives a skull full of coals from Baba Yaga. When she returns home, the skull burns up her step-mother and -sisters and Vasilisa lives happily ever after (in some versions she become Czarina of Russia).
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| Vasilisia leaving Baba Yaga's house with the skull full of coals. Painted by Ivan Bilibin. (Wikimedia Commons) |
Baba Yaga has made several appearances in popular culture, including Bartok the Magnificent, the much less well known but still adorable spin-off movie from Anastasia, where she sends Bartok to complete impossible tasks before she will help him with his own quest.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Winter Olympics Part III: Politics in Sochi
Politics has always played a part in the Olympics, and Sochi is certainly no exception.
Ever since Sochi was announced as the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics in 2007, tensions have been running high. This is the first Olympics to be hosted in the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Every eye has been on Russia and not everyone is liking what they see.
Here's a rundown of the major issues surrounding the 2014 games.
The Circassian Genocide
As I wrote in my last post, the area around Sochi was conquered by Russia in the mid 19th century, an event that ended in the deaths or expulsion of most of the native Circassians.Circassians around the world still remember the genocide and have called for the games to be moved or cancelled unless a formal apology is issued.
Putin's Anti-LBGT Stance
Check out any of the news sources and this issue will come up, fast. In July, Putin, Russia's President, signed a law that forbids any pro-gay "propaganda" anywhere accessible to minors. Humans Rights Activists have turned the Sochi Olympics into a platform to protest this law and numerous athletes and officials have expressed and are expected to express their disgust with the Russian law.
Tensions with Georgia
This concerns events that happened during the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Even as the Opening Ceremonies were happening, Russia invaded Georgia. (It was much more complicated than I'm making it out to be, check out this NY Times article for more information) The conflict was short and brutal. Sochi is less than 25 miles from the region of Georgia that was invaded in 2008 and the Olympic security zone has been extended to include parts of Georgia, which has tensions riding high once again.
Terrorist Activities
Two suicide bombings in the region north of Sochi and two threats directed at the Olympics have everyone on high alert. The Caucus Mountains are home to known terrorist groups, including Chechen separatists and Islamist extremists (which may spring from the same sources), and others who feel the Games defiles the land of the native Circassians (see above). The Olympics are a world stage and are always at risk for violent demonstrations, but the Sochi Games seem more at risk than most. Putin has reacted by creating a strong security ring around Sochi (see the note above about the tensions with Georgia) and everyone involved is hoping for an uneventful Games.
On a lighter note, the Opening Ceremonies are tonight. If you live in the US, you can catch them on NBC at 7:30p Eastern. Sorry, NBC refuses to live-stream them.
Ever since Sochi was announced as the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics in 2007, tensions have been running high. This is the first Olympics to be hosted in the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Every eye has been on Russia and not everyone is liking what they see.
Here's a rundown of the major issues surrounding the 2014 games.
The Circassian Genocide
As I wrote in my last post, the area around Sochi was conquered by Russia in the mid 19th century, an event that ended in the deaths or expulsion of most of the native Circassians.Circassians around the world still remember the genocide and have called for the games to be moved or cancelled unless a formal apology is issued.
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| Circassians commemorate the banishment of the Circassians from Russia in Taksim, İstanbul (Wikimedia Commons) |
Putin's Anti-LBGT Stance
Check out any of the news sources and this issue will come up, fast. In July, Putin, Russia's President, signed a law that forbids any pro-gay "propaganda" anywhere accessible to minors. Humans Rights Activists have turned the Sochi Olympics into a platform to protest this law and numerous athletes and officials have expressed and are expected to express their disgust with the Russian law.
 |
| In front of the Russian Embassy in Helsinki, Finland. In a group of activists painted the pedestrian crossing stripes with rainbow colors to protest the Russian anti-LGBT sentimentality and legislation, notably the bans on "homosexual propaganda".(Wikimedia Commons) |
Tensions with Georgia
This concerns events that happened during the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Even as the Opening Ceremonies were happening, Russia invaded Georgia. (It was much more complicated than I'm making it out to be, check out this NY Times article for more information) The conflict was short and brutal. Sochi is less than 25 miles from the region of Georgia that was invaded in 2008 and the Olympic security zone has been extended to include parts of Georgia, which has tensions riding high once again.
Terrorist Activities
Two suicide bombings in the region north of Sochi and two threats directed at the Olympics have everyone on high alert. The Caucus Mountains are home to known terrorist groups, including Chechen separatists and Islamist extremists (which may spring from the same sources), and others who feel the Games defiles the land of the native Circassians (see above). The Olympics are a world stage and are always at risk for violent demonstrations, but the Sochi Games seem more at risk than most. Putin has reacted by creating a strong security ring around Sochi (see the note above about the tensions with Georgia) and everyone involved is hoping for an uneventful Games.
On a lighter note, the Opening Ceremonies are tonight. If you live in the US, you can catch them on NBC at 7:30p Eastern. Sorry, NBC refuses to live-stream them.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Winter Olympics Part II: Sochi, Russia
Part II in my three(ish) part series on the Winter Olympics, today is all about the host city for the 2014 Olympic Games: Sochi, Russia.
Sochi, Russia lies on the west coast of the Black Sea, just a few miles west of the Caucus Mountains, one of the traditional divides between Europe and Asia (the others being the Ural Mountains and Dardanelles straights, if you were curious).
Due to its position on the Black Sea, Sochi enjoys a subtropical climate
(roughly the same as the Southeastern United States), and is one of the
few places in Russia you can see Palm trees.
Beginning in the 14th century, the area, known then as Ubykhia, was controlled by the native people of the nearby Caucus Mountains, the Circassians, and was generally known as Circassia. During this time, the area was supposedly a part of the Ottoma Empire and the Circassians were predominantly a part of Sunni Islam.
In the mid 19th century, Russia, under the Tsars Alexander I, Nicholas I and Alexander II, began a push to expand its territory into Central Asia. The Ottoman Empire was expelled from the Eastern Caucuses in 1955, but the Circassians continued fighting in the Western Caucuses until 1964, when Russia took complete control of the region.
After the Russian victory, the Muslim Circassians fled to Sochi and were expelled from Russia, generally into other parts of the Ottoman Empire. Numerous Circassians died during the flight and the expulsion and many Circassians today consider this an instance of genocide.
The city of Ubykhia was renamed Sochi in 1896 after a local river. In the first decade of the 20th century, Sochi began to grow into a resort town that would host numerous government officials and wealthy Russians through the harsh Russian winter. The town was favored by Stalin and a key tourist attraction is his Summer Residence, complete with a wax figure of Stalin himself.
Sochi continued to be developed through the first part of the 20th century, but didn't regain its status as the Summer Capital of Russia until after the fall of the Soviet Union and the loss of the Crimea to Ukraine.
Today, Sochi is home to more than 300,000 people and around 2 million people visit every year. It is also one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Russia, home to more than 100 ethnic groups.
For more on the People of Sochi today, take a look at this National Geographic article: Sochi, Russia
And the USA Today feature: Where in the World is Sochi?
Sochi, Russia lies on the west coast of the Black Sea, just a few miles west of the Caucus Mountains, one of the traditional divides between Europe and Asia (the others being the Ural Mountains and Dardanelles straights, if you were curious).
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| Location of Sochi, Russia on the Black Sea. (Wikipedia) |
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| Sochi from the Black Sea (Wikipedia Commons) |
Beginning in the 14th century, the area, known then as Ubykhia, was controlled by the native people of the nearby Caucus Mountains, the Circassians, and was generally known as Circassia. During this time, the area was supposedly a part of the Ottoma Empire and the Circassians were predominantly a part of Sunni Islam.
In the mid 19th century, Russia, under the Tsars Alexander I, Nicholas I and Alexander II, began a push to expand its territory into Central Asia. The Ottoman Empire was expelled from the Eastern Caucuses in 1955, but the Circassians continued fighting in the Western Caucuses until 1964, when Russia took complete control of the region.
 |
| Dombay, Caucasus, Russia (by acidka on Flickr) |
After the Russian victory, the Muslim Circassians fled to Sochi and were expelled from Russia, generally into other parts of the Ottoman Empire. Numerous Circassians died during the flight and the expulsion and many Circassians today consider this an instance of genocide.
The city of Ubykhia was renamed Sochi in 1896 after a local river. In the first decade of the 20th century, Sochi began to grow into a resort town that would host numerous government officials and wealthy Russians through the harsh Russian winter. The town was favored by Stalin and a key tourist attraction is his Summer Residence, complete with a wax figure of Stalin himself.
Sochi continued to be developed through the first part of the 20th century, but didn't regain its status as the Summer Capital of Russia until after the fall of the Soviet Union and the loss of the Crimea to Ukraine.
Today, Sochi is home to more than 300,000 people and around 2 million people visit every year. It is also one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Russia, home to more than 100 ethnic groups.
For more on the People of Sochi today, take a look at this National Geographic article: Sochi, Russia
And the USA Today feature: Where in the World is Sochi?
Friday, January 24, 2014
Winter Olympics Part I: History
The first in a three (or more) part series on the upcoming Winter Olympics.
The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics will open on Friday, February 7th and I, for one, am very excited. The Olympics are one of the greatest stages in the world to see international history, culture, and politics.
Compared to the Summer Games, the Winter Olympics have a much shorter history. While they don't stretch back to Ancient Greece, the idea for the Winter Olympics is more than a hundred years old.
Figure Skating became part of the Summer Olympics (if you can believe it) in 1908. The International Olympic Committee considered creating a separate Winter Games in 1912, but Sweden, who was hosting the games, already had a popular Nordic Competition and declined. A separate Winter Games was again proposed in 1916 in Berlin, but both were cancelled due to World War I.
Ice Hockey was added to the Summer Games in 1920 and, in 1924, an agreement was reached to host an International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix, in the French Alps.
In 1928, the 2nd Official Winter Olympics were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, making the Chamonix Games the 1st Official Winter Olympics. The Winter Olympics were then held every four years, except for 1940 and 1944 (due to World War II).
Until 1992, the Winter Olympics were held the same year as the Summer Olympics. Since 1994, the Winter Olympics have been held every four years, two years after the Summer Olympics.
The Sochi Olympics are the 22nd Olympic Winter Games.
For more information on the Sochi Olympics, check out the Official Sochi 2014 Olympics website.
For a schedule of the Olympic events in the US, check out NBC Olympics.
Check back next week for Part II: Sochi, Russia
The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics will open on Friday, February 7th and I, for one, am very excited. The Olympics are one of the greatest stages in the world to see international history, culture, and politics.
 |
| Olympic Rings (From Wikipedia.com) |
Compared to the Summer Games, the Winter Olympics have a much shorter history. While they don't stretch back to Ancient Greece, the idea for the Winter Olympics is more than a hundred years old.
Figure Skating became part of the Summer Olympics (if you can believe it) in 1908. The International Olympic Committee considered creating a separate Winter Games in 1912, but Sweden, who was hosting the games, already had a popular Nordic Competition and declined. A separate Winter Games was again proposed in 1916 in Berlin, but both were cancelled due to World War I.
Ice Hockey was added to the Summer Games in 1920 and, in 1924, an agreement was reached to host an International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix, in the French Alps.
 |
| Poster of the Chamonix 1924 Winter Olympic Games (From Wikipedia) |
Until 1992, the Winter Olympics were held the same year as the Summer Olympics. Since 1994, the Winter Olympics have been held every four years, two years after the Summer Olympics.
The Sochi Olympics are the 22nd Olympic Winter Games.
For more information on the Sochi Olympics, check out the Official Sochi 2014 Olympics website.
For a schedule of the Olympic events in the US, check out NBC Olympics.
Check back next week for Part II: Sochi, Russia
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