Girkin,Igor (later Strelkov). Key figure in Russian occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbass; charged by the Ukrainian authorities with terrorism and sanctioned by the EU; now being sued by the families of passengers killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down, allegedly by forcesunder his control. (查看原文)
History seems logical in hindsight, when the outcome is known and the events are traced back to their origins. It may even seem to have a purpose, a design, whereby what happens could not have been otherwise. Its protagonists retroactively invent grounds to justify their actions. They find cause where none existed and pluck logic out of the air.
It is logic that Putin-era Russia lacks. The chain of events that I have been able to link together reveals the absence of a clear plan or strategy on the part of Putin himself or his courtiers. Everything that happens is a tactical step, a real-time response to external stimuli devoid of an ultimate objective. (查看原文)
Prime Minister Primakov, for whom the Communist members of parliament had voted unanimously in September 1998, topped the polls among politicians nationwide and seemed the most likely candidate for the presidency. (查看原文)
Putting Putin forth in that role was dangerous, since an electoral failure would make it impossible for him to succeed Yeltsin in the presidential contest. Therefore,another popular candidate was chosen as a safety net: minister of emergency situations Sergei Shoigu. "Shoigu to Save Russia" headlines appeared in pro-Kremlin newspapers even before he had agreed to run. In the end he had to be persuaded by Yeltsin himself. (查看原文)
In the Kremlin's corner was Vladislav Surkov, and in Primakov's was a young political consultant from Saratov by the name of Vyacheslav Volodin. It was the first of their many scraps. They would spend the next fifteen years fighting for influence over Putin. (查看原文)
Much less was known about the Republican candidate, George W.Bush. Therefore, Voloshin decided to send a large delegation from Unity to attend the Republican National Convention in August 2000, where Bush would receive the Republication presidential nomination.Voloshin explained to the delegation that the Republicans were more pragmatic and constructive politicians, not as "ideologized" and less concerned about human rights, and noted that relations between Russia and the United States had always been much easier under Republican presidents. (查看原文)
What's more, the task of composing the new words would been trusted to the author of the previous version, the old Soviet poet Sergei Mikhalkov, father of Andron Konchalovsky (who had directed War and Peace at the Mariinsky) and Nikita Mikhalkov,also a film director. (查看原文)
作者: Mikhail Zygar 副标题: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin isbn: 1610397398 书名: All the Kremlin's Men 页数: 400 定价: USD 27.99 出版社: PublicAffairs 装帧: Hardcover 出版年: 2016-9-6
