russia – The Orbital

Repeating History? | ‘Munich’ and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

27Feb

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Repeating History? | ‘Munich’ and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Netflix recently released 'Munich: The Edge of War', a film adaptation of Robert Harris's book. It centres around the Munich agreement, Chamberlain’s attempt to ensure peace in Europe via the negotiation of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. With Vladimir Putin’s Russia waging war on Ukraine, reading this book felt very apt for me, and terrifying. Looking up from the pages to hearing the news at the moment felt like I hadn't left the world of the book at all. Europe is facing one of the largest attacks since World War Two, leading to many people referring to the current events as the prelude to world war three. This is not the first recent Russian threat to Ukraine, but it is it’s most unjustified, violent and daring. Missiles and helicopter attacks began on Thursday resulting in...

As anti-gay torture continues, we need to pay attention to Chechnya

30Mar

By Maria GreenNo Comments

News

As anti-gay torture continues, we need to pay attention to Chechnya

It's likely you'll remember the first wave of attacks on LGBT+ people in Chechnya, a federal subject of Russia, in April 2017. The independent Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, reported that up to 100 people suspected of being gay were abducted and tortured as part of a coordinated government campaign. At least three men were reported to have been killed by this governmental scheme, but the actual number of victims is likely to be much higher. 'Honour killings' still take place in Chechnya, as individuals deemed to have dishonoured their family by being LGBT+ are sometimes killed by a family member. While some gay men have been able to flee Chechnya and tell their stories, others in the LGBT+ community desperately need media attention, activism, and governmental help. Since December ...

5Nov

By No Comments

News, Opinion

Russia is more than its politics

Russia is a country that Westerners almost inevitably view in a negative light. Thanks to a selective representation of its social and political backwardness, and its destabalising foreign policy, this vast and diverse nation has been condensed into a single, villainous entity. It is there to be lambasted, mocked, and feared. I went to Russia and spoke to some of its citizens. This is what I learnt. The Russian population is suffering. Gripped by the constricting vice of an economic slump, their infrastructure is failing; even in the major city of Samara, a quick detour from the centre reveals unmade roads and dilapidated housing. Speaking to residents, it’s clear that this deficit extends beyond the aesthetic. Soviet-era apartment blocks experience regular shortages of cold water – a ...

28Jan

By Catriona O'SullivanNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Rich, Russian & Living in London – A Documentary Review

‘Rich, Russian & Living in London’: a title worthy of Channel 4, but it is, in fact, the name of the BBC’s latest foray into cutting-edge documentary. An account of a selection of wealthy Russian-Londoners, we delve into the depths of a world unseen by, and unknown to most of the population. Those of us who cannot afford rhinestone-encrusted Jaguars or whimsically spend hundreds of thousands on an artwork. It is, in a way, for the majority of the documentary, a sort of fetishisation of a high-life, seemingly without care or consequence. A disgustingly gluttonous display of excess. It is appealing. But it is capitalism on steroids. A reaction against years of suppression and corruption in Russia (although the latter is merely hinted at). They have signed up holus-bolus to th...