Edward Slavsquat

Strelkov warned almost a year ago that his arrest would mean that the “liberal oligarchic group [in Russia] has won”https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/security-forces-arrest-igor-strelkov

Earlier this month your humble Moravia correspondent typed up a blog post urging his cherished and very attractive readers to avoid the temptation of making sweeping generalizations about Russia’s economy. But to help you make up your own mind about what the heck is happening in Russia, economically, I have compiled some views on this subject from across Russian media. I hope you find this information mildly informative, and I wish you a very pleasant day. https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/deep-thoughts-about-the-russian-economy

Edward Slavsquat endorses this excellent discussion between excellent Moldovan journalist Iurie Roşca, and excellent podcast host Hrvoje Morić. 1.5 hours of non-stop excellence, basically. https://geopoliticsandempire.com/2023/07/18/rosca-no-multipolarity-only-one-global-center-of-power/

Russia’s vax evangelists want a “mRNA vaccine platform” so they can “immunize a patient often, a lot, and for a long time.” Oh happy days. https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/a-new-low-for-vax-depravity-in-russia

Warm greetings and welcome to Edward Slavsquat’s Weekend Link-Dump & Open Thread: Prague Mischief Edition. You know the drill: Shill your finest URLs in the comments section. Or just say hi. https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/at-least-we-have-each-other-547

Important journalism from Czechia. https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/how-do-people-of-modest-means-clip

Is the Russian government downplaying the socioeconomic hardships of its proles? This is the incendiary claim put forward by State Duma Deputy Sergei Mironov, the leader of the sometimes surprisingly uppity (but mostly pro-Uniparty) political faction A Just Russia For Truth. According to Mr. Mironov, Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) has employed creative methods to “fix” the number of impoverished Russians at 9 million people—apparently forever. https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/is-moscow-manipulating-poverty-statistics

The wait is over! The Bank of Russia’s centralized, programmable digital token officially received the State Duma’s blessing on Tuesday.https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/the-digital-ruble-its-finally-here

A “devalued” ruble is bad in some ways, and good in other ways, and guided by your preexisting biases and prejudices, you can make a sound, objective argument that Russia’s economy is about to collapse, or, on the other hand, everything is fine and dandy, and maybe even getting better. Obviously there is no middle ground or room for nuance. Thanks for reading, have a very nice day. https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and

Dobré odpoledne, welcome to Edward Slavsquat’s Weekend Link-Dump & Open Thread: Saturday Phone It In Edition. You have permission to shill any and all links in the comments section. Or you can exchange pleasantries with other commenters. Or feel free to do none of the above. Choose your own adventure. https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/at-least-we-have-each-other-801

Russia’s Unified Biometric System (UBS), a commercially operated national biometrics database, has been billed as a safe and effective way to identify the proles. But there’s a problem: Many Russians don’t know about the miracle of for-profit biometrics, and the ones who do know about it are not very excited for some weird reason. Obviously this is unacceptable, so TASS (a state-owned media outlet) and VTsIOM (a state-owned polling agency) teamed up to host a biometrics cheerleading event. https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/state-agencies-and-friendly-bank

There is a revealing historical event from April 2019 that succinctly illustrates why you should laugh and laugh and laugh whenever a Very Serious Pundit suggests the Russian government is heroically fighting worldwide vax sadness. https://edwardslavsquat.substack.com/p/is-moscow-anti-vax-no