Euro-2008 1/4 finals

The Russian squad has beat Sweden 2:0 and qualified for the quarter-finals, for the first time in 20 years.

I am wondering if it will generate a renewed upsurge of 'patriotism' (read chauvinism) and eventually be mentioned in the 'victory' sequence, next to ice hockey, handball, Eurovision contest and whatever.

Winning all those is an incredible and rewarding experience. The only thing I regret to be missing here is the connection a) of all these items (the link between Dima Bilan and football) b) to the whole "Russia is standing back up from its knees" rhetoric of the propaganda.

Each of said events is valuable in its own right, without loading them with any extra meanings which somehow devalues them and draws attention away from individual achievements.

Yay! Andrey Zaliznyak receives the State Prize of Russia

The State Prize this year was awarded to - among others - Alisa Freindlich, Jacques Chirac, Andrey Zaliznyak, and an unnamed physicist.

It seems to be one of the rare occasions where a linguist's contribution has been acknowledged, with the balance always being tilted towards hardcore science. Now the balance is promising to be restored, although hopefully not reversed.

Another issue here is that person whose identity could not be revealed because he works at some top secret institution or on top secret projects, or more likely - both.

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Whither, then, are you speeding, O Russia of mine

Inflation in Russia has reached 8% since the beginning of this year. Since the beginning of June alone it has been 0.4% which is twice the amount from the same period last year.