Greece and Belarus are two largely Orthodox Christian nations in Central Europe. Both have roughly the same size populations. And both, according to international bond ratings agencies, are now virtually bankrupt. Over the last year, European Union officials have labored to persuade Greece to accept a $161 billion aid package under International Monetary Fund supervision. […]
Russia Back on a Roll?
Posted June 20th, 2011 at 5:12 pm (UTC+0)
Peter the Great built St. Petersburg as Russia’s “Window to the West,” opening up landlocked Muscovy to Europe. But from the East, here came China’s President Hu Jintao, looking like a Chinese emperor in a business suit. President Hu addressed rows upon rows of business suits gathered at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. This […]
Life: When will Russians live as long as Brazilians?
Posted June 9th, 2011 at 6:44 am (UTC+0)
When will Russian men live as long as Brazilian men? A Russian baby boy born today can expect to live 59 years and four months. That is two months longer than a baby boy born in Haiti. By contrast, a boy born in Brazil can expect to enjoy almost an extra decade of life – […]
Democracy: Can Russia Catch Up With Brazil?
Posted June 3rd, 2011 at 8:19 am (UTC+0)
When will Russians attain the political maturity of Brazilians? When will Russians, like Brazilians, be allowed to elect state governors and big city mayors, and to have free, competitive elections for congress and the presidency? These questions are faintly offensive to many Russians. After all, Brazil was a mere Portuguese colony of banana trees and […]
