Word: czars
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...long been a sad joke that if Putin can't raise pensions and wages for the disgruntled population, he can still resolve the problem by just giving one huge raise to the OMON. Russia's suppression machine is strong as ever, and most people still believe in their Good Czar President, even if they have lost confidence in the state institutions. Putin does not have much to fear - yet. However, if there is a lesson to draw from a history of Soviet experience, it's this: power and might don't matter much if the exhausted people lose their faith...
...keep it polite--but he has certainly re-established his country's credibility as a great power. Ten years ago, Russia was in a state of disarray reminiscent of the early 17th century "Time of Troubles." Putin's predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, was like a caricature of the disastrous Czar Boris Godunov, on whose watch Russia suffered hunger and humiliation. Plagued by heart trouble and alcohol abuse, Yeltsin had secured re-election in 1996 only by turning the privatization of the Russian energy sector into a sleazy scam, trading oil and gas fields for campaign contributions. Meanwhile, ordinary Russians...
...techie bigwigs who were this crowd's brightest stars. Star Wars effects czar Richard Edlund received the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation and a standing ovation. Visual effects software developer Ray Feeney took home the coveted Gordon E. Sawyer Award, coveted because it is the only actual Oscar statuette given (the other awards are plaques, medals and certificates). Also honored were the creators of something called the Rosetta Process, which will ensure safekeeping of today's movies for some 1500 years. Joshua Pines, who won for another digital archiving technique, clearly understood both the positive and the negative ramifications...
...latter ostensibly enhances productivity. The fact that such a gadget is fast becoming the trendiest luxury item in the Yard is a good indicator of how overly serious—and seriously un-hip—Harvard students are. Is it any wonder the administration deemed a fun czar necessary...
With its 6-ft-thick walls and squalid cells, the Patarei sea fortress on the edge of Tallinn, capital of the Baltic republic of Estonia, has long borne witness to the brutality of occupation. Built in 1840 by Russian Czar Nicholas I, it was used as a prison and execution site by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. But one Friday night not long ago the fortress was pulsating with hundreds of youngsters--some speaking Russian, others Estonian--packed into the place for an all-night techno rave. "It was an experiment, the first time we've done this...