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14 April, 2017



✔︎ NATO: "I said it was obsolete. 
It's no longer obsolete." - ABCNews

✔︎ Venemaa sokutas Sinimägede 
mälestusüritusele oma natsi - Kapo 

✔︎ Eesti lahkumist Euroopa Liidust 
ei poolda isegi EKRE valijad - ERR


- Eesti Pank Foto: 
—



_____________

Friday 14. April
_____________


✔︎ Fotod ja video: Suure Reede Ristikäik Tallinnas
(ERR | Delfi)
"Suurel reedel toimus ristitee rännak Tallinna kirikutes, millest võttis osa rekordarv inimesi."
--

- Õpetaja Triin Käpp: eestlased ei ole üldse usuleiged, vaid usuvad lihtsalt erinevaid asju
(Postimees)

- Kristlikud lihavõtted ja jänesed - millest selline seos?
(ERR)



✔︎ Aino Lavoie’s “Coming to America” story
(Worthington Daily Globe - Minnesota)
"While under Russian control, many Estonian people were taken to Siberia, including Aino’s grandparents, her aunts, cousins and her younger sister, Helju. Aino and her mom fled west."
--
“We went through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland with hopes the war would end and we could go back,” Aino shared. “It didn’t happen like that. ...”



- Raine Karp: Linnahall on käest lastud selle ehitamise ajast saadik
(Delfi - login required)
"Linnahall on nõukogude aja lõpupoolest üldse üks halvemini ehitatud ja kehvema kvaliteediga hooneid, mille ehitasid vabakäiguvangid ja sõjaväelased…"



- Europe Is Still a Superpower
by Princeton professor 
Andrew Moravcsik
(Foreign Policy)
"Modern Europe is messy, and its institutions and policies are imperfect. Some of the threats facing the EU are real: slow growth and austerity, for instance, within the eurozone. Others, like rising right-wing nationalism and migration, are less so … Yet amid all the hyperbole and hysteria, a basic point gets missed. Europe today is a genuine superpower and will likely remain one for decades to come."



- Arvamus: Eesti lahkumist Euroopa Liidust ei poolda isegi EKRE valijad
(ERR)
"85 protsenti Eesti elanikest (sealhulgas 85 protsenti EKRE valijatest) on arvamusel, et Eesti on globaliseerumisest võitnud."



- Campaign to bring Tesla factory to Eesti
(Postimees)
"The campaign to lure Tesla to Estonia is pulled by the Pakri Science and Industrial Park head of which Enn Laansoo Jr. believes it would be entirely possible to have the factory come to Paldiski."

- Tesla will seek sites for European factory next year
(Automotive News Europe - Nov. 2016)



- Off Topic: British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia
(The Guardian)
"GCHQ first became aware in late 2015 of suspicious “interactions” between figures connected to Trump and known or suspected Russian agents.”
--
 “… until summer 2016, a number of western agencies shared further information on contacts between Trump’s inner circle and Russians, sources said. The European countries that passed on electronic intelligence - known as sigint - included Germany, Estonia and Poland. Australia, a member of the “Five Eyes” spying alliance that also includes the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, also relayed material, one source said. Another source suggested the Dutch and the French spy agency, the General Directorate for External Security or DGSE, were contributors."




_____________

Thursday 13. April
_____________


✔︎ NATO: 'It's no longer obsolete’
(ABCNews | BBC | Fortune)
"President Donald Trump reversed course on his view of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Wednesday, saying the organization is "no longer obsolete" after months of bashing the defense alliance as no longer relevant during his campaign. "I said it was obsolete. It's no longer obsolete," Trump said in a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House."
--
"The secretary general and I had a productive discussion about what more NATO can do in the fight against terrorism," Trump said. "I complained about that a long time ago, and they made a change and now they do fight terrorism."
—
—


- Paul Ryan will lead bipartisan delegation to NATO allies next week
(Washington Post | Estonian World)
 “… to meet with leaders of key NATO allies including Estonia, a nation seen to be on the front lines of Russian aggression toward the West. … Estonian leaders have been particularly concerned about Russian aggression at their front door."
—



- Toronto Eesti Maja: 'From the next generation’ …
(Estonian World Review)
[Linda Veltmann, a CPA, comments on the financial condition of their Eesti Maja and explains the rationale for moving to a new facility.]
—
"Our beloved (Toronto) Estonian House has operated and run its course. Its capital equipment is patched up by the best volunteers a community could ask for. However, patchwork is not sustainable. It addresses the immediate problem but not the long-term solution. … Net income of the Estonian House has been on a decline and it is operating in an ever-deepening loss position. … we have an exponentially larger part of the community who no longer comes to the current Estonian House because they do not feel that it reflects who they are as Estonians. … we have a viable opportunity on Madison to secure a Class-A “trophy” space that reflects our success as a community (so) why apply bandaid after tattered bandaid at 958 Broadview?"
—


_____________


- Closer to home: The New York Eesti Maja 
Visit their website:
Then please make a contribution to the NYEM. Use the PayPal button on their homepage. 
Aitäh!
_____________



- 10 kõige-kõige-kõige paika Eestis
(Puhka Eestis)



- Estonian troops give up their barracks to NATO allies
(BBC)
“… the Estonians will have to sacrifice at least one Baltic tradition: "The main difference with the Tapa military compound is that we live in the open air and there's no sauna."




_____________

Wednesday 12. April
_____________


✔︎ Kapo: Venemaa sokutas Sinimägede mälestusüritusele oma natsi
(ERR)



✔︎ Russia sends it’s own right-wing extremists to Estonia for Nazi labeling
(Postimees | Baltic Times)
"Sticking labels on Estonia is typical for Russian propaganda …”
--
"We have noticed a tendency to delegate right-wing extremists from Russia to Estonian events in order to publicly display Nazi symbols, which leads to media coverage of this 'social problem' in Estonia. One of the best examples from last year is the attempted provocation where the St. Petersburg skinhead Aleksei Maksimov was sent to Estonia to be captured on film as a 'local Nazi activist’."
—



- New report says Russia is intensifying its spy game in Eastern Europe
(Business Insider)

"The most recent notice of such activity comes from Estonia, whose intelligence service's annual report says the "Baltic Sea area is especially vulnerable to threats from Russia."
--
"According to Estonia's national intelligence service, Russia, acting through its military intelligence agency, the GRU, and its Federal Security Service, or FSB, has taken a special interest in the foreign and security policies, defense planning, armed forces, arms development, and military capabilities of its neighbors."







- Eesti kontuur saab täna 100-aastaseks
(ERR)
"1917. aasta 12. aprillil andis Venemaa Ajutine Valitsus välja Eestimaa autonoomia määruse Eestimaa kubermangu administratiivse valitsuse ja kohaliku omavalitsuse ajutise korra kohta. Sellega liideti Liivimaa kubermangu Pärnu, Saare, Tartu, Viljandi ja Võru maakond Eestimaa kubermanguga ning täna võime öelda, et tekkis haldusüksus, mis oma kujult sarnanes nüüdisaegse Eesti Vabariigiga."

- Eesti esimene rahvusatlas võtab kokku riigi 100-aastase arengu
(Tartu Ülikool)



- BBC planning to broadcast its news in Baltics 
(Baltic Times)
[Just not in Estonian.]




_____________

Tuesday 11. April
_____________

- Estonia's Koit Toome and Laura are returning to the Eurovision Song Contest
(Eurovision)
"Their song for 2017 is called Verona and is described as a modern take on Romeo and Juliet."



- Montenegro: Approved for NATO Membership
(RFERL | The Hill | RFERL)
—
—

- Montenegro Has the U.S. Greenlight to Join NATO. Now What?
(Foreign Policy)

- Russia protests US approval of Montenegro’s NATO membership
(Politico-Europe)



- Lapland reindeer herders still carrying radiation from Cold War nuclear tests
(Yle)




_____________

Monday 10. April
_____________


- Eesti julgeolekuolukord on hetkel rahulik
(Delfi)
"Täna kogunes Kadriorus Jääkeldris riigipea kutsel riigikaitse nõukogu, kus räägiti nii terroriaktidest Peterburis ja Stockholmis kui ka arengutest Süürias."

- Estonia's independence better protected than ever before
(Baltic Times)
"Despite the tense global situation and terrorism that has penetrated Europe, Estonia's independence is better protected than ever before, Prime Minister Juri Ratas said in his speech at the St. John's Church in St. Petersburg on Saturday. … 



- Propastop: pronksöö 10. aastapäev kogub tuure
(Postimees)

- Venemeelne propaganda Tallinna televisioonis
(Delfi)
“… saates kiideti Krimmi annekteerimist, elu olevat seal parem kui Eestis…”




- EU: German Campaign Turning into a Debate Over Europe
(Spiegel)
"In six months, Germany will go to the polls in a showdown between Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Social Democratic challenger Martin Schulz. One issue is set to dominate the campaign: What to do about the European Union."




_____________

- Russia -
"Trust No One"
_____________


- Putin’s Façade
(Atlantic Council)

"An increased NATO presence in the Baltics and more robust defense measures are all necessary and proportional steps towards creating a formidable deterrent to protect the United States’ more vulnerable allies in Russia’s neighborhood. Russia, however, is not the existential threat to Europe that the Soviet Union once was, and it shouldn’t be treated as such. Time is not on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s side, and he can only ignore fundamental flaws in the socioeconomic landscape of Russian society for so long. Building submarines and nuclear weapons will not reinvigorate the Russian economy, and could eventually degrade what progress has been made to reestablish Russian prominence on the world stage."
--
"The inertial nature of demographic pressure makes it an exceedingly difficult problem to address, but also allows nations to forecast more easily. By nearly all calculations, Russia’s projected population growth appears stagnant at best. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the population of Russia (despite upwards of 9 million immigrants) declined each year until 2013."



- After Rex Tillerson Leaves, Putin Orders Sweeping Arrests of Nine Opposition Figures
(Paul Goble)
"Ilya Ponomaryev, a longtime Russian human rights activist, told the news agency that these arrests were the Kremlin’s response to the success of the March 26 actions and that their timing reflected both Putin’s statement yesterday after fighting “color revolutions” and his desire not to have them become the subject of US-Russian conversations."



- Russia papers are now critical of Trump
(BBC video report)



- Humor: Putin Angrily Resigns from Trump’s Reëlection Campaign
(The New Yorker)
"In an unusually emotional comment by the Russian President, a visibly bitter Putin added, “I worked very hard on Trump’s 2016 campaign, and, at the end of the day, I have no more to show for it than Chris Christie does.”



- ‘Anaconda': Siloviki Launch Major Campaign in Moscow to Find and Confiscate Illegal Weapons
(Window on Eurasia)



- Book Review: 'Who Lost Russia? - How the World Entered a New Cold War' 
(New York Times)
"The hopes for a partnership between Russia and the West have been dashed, and in “Who Lost Russia?” Peter Conradi, the foreign editor of The Sunday Times of London who spent seven years covering Russia for Reuters, seeks to explain what went wrong."



- Russia makes a lot of noise for propaganda's sake
(The Baltic Times)
"Ants Laaneots, member of the Estonian parliament's national defense committee … was asked if Russia could seek to strike back at the United States elsewhere if the conflict in Syria escalates and could choose to do it in the Baltics, for instance, Laaneots said that one should not overdramatize the situation."



- Venelased süüdistavad Putinit korruptsioonis
(Postimees)



- Opinion: The White House is getting smarter on Russia — but still has a lot to learn
(Washington Post)



- Is the humble Lada now a classic car?
(BBC)
“… a new generation of people in their 20s and 30s like the car's shape - there is nothing like it on the road. They've now become a fashion statement."

- Finland: Lasting Lada love
(Yle)
"Lada clubs exist across Europe, including in Hungary, UK, Estonia, the Netherlands and, of course, Russia."

- The iconic Lada is back as Russia’s best-selling car
(BNE)

- Lastly:
- What do you call a Lada at the top of a hill? 
A miracle.
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Posted by at

07 April, 2017



✔︎ In 1917 Estonians held a demonstration in St Petersburg in support of the self-governing autonomy for their country. The 100th-year anniversary of that march is Saturday.

✔︎ Eesti kultuuripäevad New Yorgis: 5. aprill - 9. aprill

✔︎ Lääneranniku Eesti Päevad 2017: 31. augustist – 4. septembrini UCLA Campus, Los Angeles, California 

- Foto: 


_____________

Friday 7. April
_____________

✔︎ Celebrations in St Petersburg mark 100 years from the demonstration of Estonians
(Estonian World)
"On 8. April 1917, 40,000 Estonians held a demonstration in St Petersburg in support of the self-governing autonomy for their country. Estonians started marching at the St John’s Church and headed towards the Tauride Palace, which housed the Russian Provisional Government. The peaceful protest achieved its goal four days after the demonstration, on 12 April 1917, when the Provisional Government issued an order on the provisional autonomy of Estonia. …"



- Discussing Identity and Minorities in an Estonian Border City
(Deep Baltic)
“… a transcript from a roundtable discussion on the subject of “being a minority in a small country”, held 23. March 2017 in Narva …”



- Kaljulaid hiidlaste vastuseisust meretuulepargile: ma ei suuda seda väga hästi mõista
(Postimees)
—

- Tiny Baltic state Estonia plans big plunge into wind power
(Deutsche Welle | BNN)
—



- EU: Tighter security checks could cause longer waits on Schengen borders
(Politico-Europe)



- Railway hiking trails to connect Latvia and Estonia
(Latvian Broadcasting)
"Disused railway lines in northern Latvia and southern Estonia will be joined, connecting a huge network of rail trails for hikers and cyclists within two years."



- Stockholmis sõitis veoauto rahva sekka
(Postimees | ERR)
"Vigastatute seas on lapsed."
—
--

- Man wanted by police in connection with suspected terror attack
(Radio Sweden | Foreign Policy)
"A lorry drove down the pedestrianised Drottinggatan street in central Stockholm and crashed into the Åhléns department store. … The lorry, which belongs to the brewery Spendrups, was hijacked outside a restaurant in central Stockholm earlier today."






_____________

Thursday 6. April
_____________

- Putin signed revised decree granting visa-free entry to Russia for 'non-citizens' of Estonia and Latvia
(Latvian Broadcasting)
"There remain around 250,000 non-citizens in Latvia and around 80,000 in Estonia. These are mainly Soviet-era immigrants to the countries and their descendants who have chosen not to undergo naturalization during the last two decades. However, the new decree will affect only around 6,000 people in total, according to earlier information from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs." 



- Kelly Sildaru kerkis Itaalias pargisõidu juunioride maailmameistriks
(ERR)
"Itaalias Chiesa in Valmalencos tuli naiste pargisõidu juunioride maailmameistriks Kelly Sildaru, kes kogus 95,33 punkti. MM-tiitlini aidanuks teda ka avavooru 94,00 punkti."
—



- Kui palju on Eestis politseinikke ja kuhu neid juurde tuleb
(Postimees graafik)





_____________

 St. Petersburg Subway Bombing
_____________

- Terrorism in Russia
(Foreign Affairs)
"On Monday, the subway system of St. Petersburg, Russia’s second city, was the site of a massive bomb blast that killed 14 commuters and wounded more than 50 others. (A second, unexploded device was subsequently found and defused by authorities.) The attack marked the most significant terrorist incident to hit the Russian Federation since December of 2013.”
—
"Russia’s involvement (in Syria) … has also made Moscow the target of Islamist ire, with both the Islamic State (also called ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, pledging to retaliate in Russia."
--
"Monday’s attack may well have been the start of just such an offensive.”


- Arvamus: Hirm - Putini liitlane ('Fear - Putin’s Ally’)
(Postimees)
"Kui küsida, kes on suurim kasusaaja Peterburi sündmustest, siis on see Putini režiim. Hirm on olnud Putini Venemaa oluline komponent ning ühiskond pole suutnud sellest seisundist viimase 18 aasta jooksul välja rabeleda. Algas kõik elumajade plahvatustest, millele on regulaarselt järgnenud uued ja uued plahvatused rahvarohketes kohtades, mis on aidanud ühiskonda terroriohuga pinges hoida. 1999. aastal töötas see suurepäraselt, kuid ei pruugi töötada praegu, kuna on palju neid, kes kahtlustavad, et võimude hirm ühiskonna ees ning terrorirünnakud on omavahel seotud."


- Will Petersburg Terrorist Act Stabilize or Destabilize Russia?
(Paul Goble)

"Just as he has in the past, Vladimir Putin is counting on being able to exploit the latest horrific terrorist attack in Russia to boost his authority, to tighten the screws on Russian society, and to try to convince Western leaders that they should overlook his actions in Ukraine in the name of fighting international terrorism."

--

            "But the big question now and in the coming days is whether he will succeed in these efforts or whether the precedents from his own past will combine with the fact that this is the first major terrorist attack in central Russia in seven years and have exactly the opposite effect, undermining Putin’s power by raising more questions and thus contributing to destabilization."


- Terror is opportunity in Putin’s Russia
(EuroMaidan Press)
"One of the most famous Russian political emigres Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who had served ten years in Putin’s prison, wrote on the day of the metro bombing that the tragedy blurred the differences between the regime supporters and the opposition. 'Today we are all in the same boat regardless of views, rank, and age,' he stated. 'What matters is that we are together.' Such an impulse, while understandable from the human point of view, shows that terror attacks in Russia objectively work for the authorities’ benefit, allowing to shift the attention from civic protest sentiments to the existential danger that touches upon everyone. Khodorkovsky in fact admitted this point three days later."


- Seeing Opportunity In Tragedy - Again
(Brian Whitmore)
"Yury Shvytkin, the deputy chair of the State Duma's Defense Committee, has proposed a moratorium on public demonstrations in response to the attack. And State Duma Deputy Vitaly Milonov is introducing legislation banning online calls for unsanctioned demonstrations and requiring all social-network users to register with their passport details."



✔︎ How Tyrants Use Terror Management to Consolidate Power

(Slate)

"The sudden disaster that requires the end of checks and balances, the dissolution of opposition parties, the suspension of freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, and so on—this is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Do not fall for it. Modern tyrants are terror managers. Do not allow your shock to be turned against your freedom. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that aspiring tyrants exploit such events in order to change regimes and to consolidate power.”

—
"James Madison nicely made the point that tyranny arises “on some favorable emergency.” For tyrants, the lesson of the Reichstag fire is that one moment of shock enables an eternity of submission. For us, the lesson is that our natural fear and grief must not enable the destruction of our institutions."


- Kremlin Planning 'Anti-Terrorism' Rallies to Match Corruption Protests
(The Moscow Times)
"Demonstrations will be held in large Russian cities on Saturday, Apr. 8 … 'We haven't been given any target numbers or slogans, but it's clear that there should not be fewer people than there'd usually be [at a regional demonstration].' … special attention would be given to cities which saw a large turnout during mass anti-corruption protests on March 26. The protests, organized by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, were the largest Russia has seen since 2011-2012."




_____________

Tuesday 4. April
_____________

- Ülevaade: Rail Baltic
(Delfi)
"Oli aasta 1995, kui Lennart Meri käis Tapal. Raudteejaamas pistnud ta pea piletimüügikassasse ja küsinud rahulikult: "Palun mulle kaks piletit Pariisi!". Ajanud piletimüüja segadusse, meenutas Meri, kuidas kolmekümnendatel aastatel ostis isa Tapa jaama kassast ilma probleemideta endale ja talle piletid Pariisi. Kas nüüd ongi aeg nii kaugel, et presidendi soov saab teoks ning Eesti haagib end nõukogudeaegsest raudteesüsteemist lahti, et ühenduda Euroopaga?"

- Rail Baltic FAQ
—

- Rail Baltic to cost €5.8 billion
(ERR)



- The Tiny Nation That’s Leading Europe In Digital Innovation
(Huffington Post)
[Another E-Estonia article.]



- Opinion: No playing Russian roulette
(The Washington Times)

- Lithuania says Russia has ability to launch Baltic attack in 24 hours
(Reuters)



- Commentary: Europe Wakes Up
(Ziet Online)







_____________

Propaganda 101
_____________

- Russia's 'Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model
(Rand Corporation | PDF report)
"Russia has taken advantage of technology and available media in ways that would have been inconceivable during the Cold War. Its tools and channels now include the Internet, social media, and the evolving landscape of professional and amateur journalism and media outlets."

- Russian Narratives on NATO’s Deployment
(Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab)
"How Russian-language media in Poland and the Baltic States portray NATO’s reinforcements."
https://medium.com/dfrlab/russian-narratives-on-natos-deployment-616e19c3d194


- If you want to see Russian information warfare at its worst, visit these countries
(Washington Post)

- Baltnews: Sputnik’s Unknown Brother
(re:Baltica)
"Three Baltic Russian-language news sites known collectively as Baltnews are secretly linked to the Kremlin’s global propaganda network.”
—

"Three years ago, the Kremlin decided to power up its propaganda efforts and created Sputnik News, a younger brother to the globally-known TV channel RT. The new multimedia news agency opened offices around the world, including in the three Baltic capitals. Meanwhile, another news portal for the region’s sizeable Russian-speaking minority appeared. It was named Baltnews and, unlike Sputnik, tried to keep its connections to Russia secret. In truth, both outlets are brothers."
—

- Lithuania Rules to Block 'Biased' Russian TV Channel
(The Moscow Times)
"The decision follows a broadcast of the channel's flagship news program, “At the Center of Events with Anna Prokhorova,” on Jan. 27. … Officials said that TV Center's take on the events broke Lithuanian laws against spreading misinformation and inciting hatred, calling the show “biased and one-sided.”



_____________

- Way Off Topic -
_____________

- 'London Bridge is down': the secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death
(The Guardian)

"At what point does the pomp of an imperial monarchy become ridiculous amid the circumstances of a diminished nation? “The worry,” a historian said, “is that it is just circus animals.” If the monarchy exists as theatre, then this doubt is the part of the drama. Can they still pull it off? Knowing everything that we know in 2017, how can it possibly hold that a single person might contain the soul of a nation? The point of the monarchy is not to answer such questions. It is to continue. “What a lot of our life we spend in acting,” the Queen Mother used to say."




_____________

- Russia: 1917 -
_____________


- Putin Likes to Pretend 1917 Never Happened
(The Atlantic)

"1917 is the most uncomfortable year possible for Russian propaganda. In the story of the fall of the Russian empire, there is no character for Putin to equate himself with as he did with Stalin, the man who led his countrymen to victory in the war—not Nicholas II, that loser who surrendered an empire. Nor can he equate himself with Vladimir Lenin, the revolutionary who wrecked an empire. (Putin doesn’t hide his antipathy for Lenin, referring to him as the man who put a ticking atomic bomb under Russia.)"

--

"And Putin certainly cannot compare himself to the democratic revolutionaries who governed the country from the February and October 1917. Thanks to their efforts, Russia became, for a short time, the most progressive country in the world, the first nation in Europe to abolish the death penalty, and one of the first to introduce universal suffrage, including for women."



- 'March 1917: On the Brink of War and Revolution'
By Will Englund
(Christian Science Monitor)
 - Book review -
"Journalist Will Englund suggests that World War I set both the United States and Russia on the paths they would follow for the next century."



- Reframing Revolutions: Russia’s Centenary of 1917
(Intersection)
"It is easy to see why the revolutionary aspects of the February and October Revolutions have been dialled down by the regime: They pose two direct ideological challenges. First, since revolutions represent an illegal seizure of power from established rulers, any celebration of their occurrence is far from welcomed by the Russian government. Ever since the Colored Revolutions erupted across the post-Soviet space, and after the anti-government protests in Russia in 2012, the Russian government has been eager to highlight the negative consequences of revolution. A positive commemoration of revolutionary activity is unthinkable in this context. Secondly, the October coup – contrary to “the Great Patriotic War,” which has been successfully adapted from Soviet times into the Russian Federation’s culture of remembrance – is still a bone of internal contention in Russia. It resulted in a Civil War that split society into two main camps: “Whites” and “Reds” - historians and politicians to this day are divided over which was the righteous cause. It leaves the Kremlin in a strange state of indecision on whether it should give an answer to a perennial question of Russian history: was the USSR a continuation of the Russian Empire or its distortion?"



- Russia commemorates 1917 revolution - timidly
(The Art Newspaper)
"The centenary of the Russian Revolution is being commemorated this year by major museums in Europe and the US. … Back in Russia, however, museums have been subdued in their commemoration of a year that changed the world. Russia’s relationship with its revolutionary past is far from simple. Ever since the Kremlin crushed a fledgling uprising by urban liberals in 2012, it has been propagating the idea that revolutions are insidious foreign imports. Yet the preserved corpse of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet state, is still on display in Red Square and statues of him dominate public spaces around the country."



- Russian Officials Cautious on How to Mark 1917 Revolution Centenary
(VOA)
"It is impossible not to mark the revolution at all. This is a global event, and it affected the entire history of Russia and the whole world," said the State Museum of Political History's Sergey Spiridonov."
--
"But it is quite unclear, both for the authorities and many other people, whose side to choose in this revolution," said Spiridonov. "We do not seem to support Bolsheviks anymore; we try to avoid this situation, to keep a distance from the Bolshevik ideology. But nevertheless, we realize that the present Russia is a successor of the Soviet Union."

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