Slava Malamud
Slava Does America
The Story of Three Soups: A Guide to Russian Food, Part I
I am starting a series of “Russia Explaining” posts which will deal with our cultural and social quirks for the benefit of my curious Western audience. It can’t be just Slava Ranting About Politics all the time, even though I really feel like it a lot lately. To be sure, Russia Explaining is a bottomless rabbit hole, so I am making no promises as to the comprehensiveness of this exercise, […] Read More
What Trump Understands And You Don’t
You think you have him now, don’t you? Don’t get me wrong, it’s OK if you do. It’s easy to think that. It’s tempting. One of these days, surely, the tipping point must be reached. I mean, the guy has done and said enough to sink a couple of Nixons by now, and this new Ukraine thing is surely much worse than Watergate. Right? Right??? Right. In a normal system […] Read More
Ex-KGB General Says There is “Definitely” Kompromat on Trump
Ukrainian site Gordonua.com has published an interview with Oleg Kalugin a retired KGB general and Vladimir Putin’s former boss in foreign intelligence, currently living in Washington, DC. The interview was conducted in March. In it, Gen. Kalugin had a few insights on the current president’s relationship with the KGB and “comrades of the female sex” when visiting Moscow in the 1980s. Here are some relevant excerpts. Oleg Danilovich, you have […] Read More
Russian to Judgement: Y’All Nuts
I love you, America, and this is precisely why I need to tell you that you are crazy. “You have lost your goddamn mind” might be a better turn of phrase but the word “lost” clearly indicates prior ownership, and I am no longer convinced it applies here. There is a variety of reasons one may come to this conclusion. Some are trivial, some are mundane, some may lead one […] Read More
Slava Stories: What Do You Know About Russian Soul?
In 2004, I worked the World Championship in Czech Republic out of a refugee camp and was a part of a fight involving the 74-year old Soviet coaching legend Viktor Tikhonov. This is I, immediately after stepping off the plane in Ostrava, the day before the start of the 2004 Worlds. I have arrived perky and optimistic, safe in the knowledge that nothing can be as bad as 2003. See, […] Read More
Recent Posts
- 1 The Article That Ended My Life in Journalism February 7, 2022
- 2 Protected: Politics in History Education: Another Culture War Battlefield September 16, 2021
- 3 You Hoard It Wrong March 17, 2020
- 4 “Not To Be Penis-Like”… Explaining the Brilliance and Insanity of the Russian Language February 23, 2020
- 5 The Glorious Communist Patty… Russian Food Guide, Part 8 January 12, 2020