In Memoriam Alexander Solzhenitsyn

One of the most renowned and controversial figures of the past century, the Russian writer, dramatist, and historian Alexander Solzhenitsyn, died in Moscow at age 89. For his having brought to light the Soviet labor camp system in his writings, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, he was exiled from the Soviet Union to Germany and to the United States, where he likewise failed to find peace. But despite the controversy surrounding his ideas, the epitome of a great man will always be remembered both by kindred spirits and opponents alike.
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In Russia, an Expensive Car Can Be a Road Sign of Misfortune

It appears that a purposeful informational blockade is preventing the Russian public from conducting an informed debate on the consequences of significant political events. But instead of patiently waiting for an uncertain outcome, many all-encompassing trends can be inferred from the surroundings of our everyday life –for example, from the growing number of expensive cars on Russian roads. Which, in reality, doesn’t mean that the economy is booming.
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