For teenagers like me in the 1960s, Ashura was a time of sorrow and grief, yes, but the schools were closed for a few days. Now it is grief and politics, a lot of politics. Hate and a lot of slogans. "Down with..." or "Death to..." for political opponents -- even those who are Shi'ite clerics -- and moderates, and everybody and anybody who is not fully behind the current rulers of Iran.
Conditions in Pakistan have been ripening for another military coup d'etat. This time, the soldiers may not have to use guns and tanks. They can bide their time until the elected government descends into chaos, then march in as national saviors.
When I first met Yegor Gaidar in early 1990, he was an editor at "Pravda" and I was looking for a job. He was explaining what his department was doing, what was allowed and what wasn't. "I'm outta here," I decided, just as he concluded: "You don't want to work here."
In the short term, an even harsher crackdown is foreseeable if the opposition presses ahead with the planned demonstrations for the month of Muharram -- and many bet they will.
There is a complex game playing out in Chisinau, combining elements of three-dimensional chess, no-limits poker, and bare-knuckled kickboxing.
Kyrgyzstan today is still a place where people of different ethnicity live together peacefully. But in the summer and fall of 1989, it really seemed as if things could turn out far worse. I don't think we realized the danger of the fire we were playing with.
Russian policymakers can't be unaware of the problems inherent in their draft treaty. So why push it? One reason: Medvedev needs a foreign-policy initiative of his own. The other? Probably the dead end that Kremlin policies have reached in Europe.
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and his supporters believe the best preparation for the Mahdi's reappearance is the consolidation of an absolutist regime that brutally suppresses all real and potential opposition.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the European communist dominoes, which ended the Cold War. Unfortunately the Hungarian contribution to the fall of the Berlin Wall, which symbolizes that collapse, has not been fully recognized.
"A History Of Russia: The 20th Century" is a rare book that rejects the traditional depiction of Russia as the invariable victim of foreign aggression, and deals with its past without colored glasses.
Charismatic politics and particracy have staged a momentous comeback over the past two decades, says Vladimir Tismaneanu. To prevent such phenomena taking root permanently, the region must overcome the two most grievous legacies of the communist past.
Tatarstan's capital, Kazan, is usually thought of as a political hub. But the city also has a vibrant cultural life that focuses on preserving the legacy of some of Russia's most illustrious cultural figures.
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