The good, the bad and the dancing king

In my previous post, I looked at the frequencies of different countries and organizations in Putin’s speeches. But we can also check which countries appear more frequently in positive and negative contexts, like I did once. This time I made a list of all countries of the world plus some organizations like NATO and the … Continue reading The good, the bad and the dancing king

NATO’s expansion as a fig leaf for Putin’s true obsession

Our crazy times forge strange alliances. Pope Francis claims that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “provoked”. With this opinion, he joins the company of left-wing intellectuals like Sahra Wagenknecht and right-wing populists like Alice Weidel. Who could only have imagined that these radically different people would join their forces, spreading the idea that NATO and … Continue reading NATO’s expansion as a fig leaf for Putin’s true obsession

Putin’s Bipolar World and AI’s Empathy

Russian version below. Русская версия внизу. At the International Economic Forum (which was less international than usual), Margarita Simonyan asked if artificial intelligence represents a danger for the humanity. Putin replied that it was too early to speak about that. AI doesn’t have empathy and a soul yet. That’s a dangerous idea, I think. If … Continue reading Putin’s Bipolar World and AI’s Empathy

A Gopnik and a President

Russian version below. Русская версия внизу. The latest version of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was peculiar not only because it was attended by the Taliban, or because drinks and ice-cream were served by the robot Dunyasha dressed as a Soviet barmaid. Unkind people say that Dunyasha used to be a sex doll in … Continue reading A Gopnik and a President

Russia doesn’t take away, Russia returns!

Russian version below. Русская версия внизу. Putin's story-telling has taken another unexpected turn, this time from the whining "It's all NATO's fault, we are only defending ourselves!" to the audacious "What's ours is ours!". Again, Putin is hiding behind a historical figure, which is literally and figuratively bigger than he is. During his meeting with … Continue reading Russia doesn’t take away, Russia returns!

Strategically unimpressive: Putin’s speech on May 9

Putin speaks at Victory Day parade. Hardly any speech had been so anticipated recently as Putin’s address at the military parade on May 9, and hardly any has been met with so much disappointment. The world expected some big gestures — from announcing general mobilization to committing suicide in public. Instead, we heard a rather … Continue reading Strategically unimpressive: Putin’s speech on May 9