Monthly Archives: April 2008

News 2 May: Russia’s Second Oil Peak

Posted on April 25, 2008 by AK

For all the noise being made this month about Georgia, about NATO, about Tibet, etc, possibly the most portentous is that it seems Russia hit its oil peak (strictly speaking, its second – the first happened in 1987), well in … Continue reading →

Posted in Da Russophile, Sublime Oblivion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Editorial: We need a Fat Tax

Posted on April 19, 2008 by AK

Further to the discussion on mortality demographics, I present my arguments for why all countries that care about the health of their people should introduce a fat tax. In my previous topic on these matters, You Live How You Eat, … Continue reading →

Posted in Coffee House | Tagged , , | 32 Comments

Editorial: Demography II – Out of the Death Spiral

Posted on April 14, 2008 by AK

As we covered in the previous instalment, Demographics I: The Russian Cross Reversed?, fertility rates are not abnormally low by European standards and are likely to rise further in the future. The same cannot be said of mortality rates – … Continue reading →

Posted in Da Russophile, Sublime Oblivion | Tagged , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Editorial: Demography I – The Russian Cross Reversed?

Posted on April 8, 2008 by AK

The demographic situation in Russia is usually painted in apocalyptic terms. The Russian Cross – the post-Soviet transition into a world of death without new life – will supposedly preclude it from attaining First World living standards and wreck any … Continue reading →

Posted in Da Russophile, Sublime Oblivion | Tagged , , , | 29 Comments

News 7 Apr: NATO Founders, Western Media Deconstructed

Posted on April 7, 2008 by AK

America’s desire to have Ukraine and Georgia accede to MAP foundered on European opposition from Germany, France and (somewhat surprisingly) the UK, despite Saakashvili’s implicit comparison of this to Nazi appeasement. Nonetheless, this is good for NATO as an alliance … Continue reading →

Posted in Da Russophile | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Editorial: More Reflections on Election Fraud

Posted on April 7, 2008 by AK

Two weeks ago Illarionov gave an interview on the Echo of Moscow radio station. Covering it in-depth is somewhat of a pointless exercise, what with him comparing 1999-2007 Russia with Nazi Germany in 1932-40 (because of their rapid economic growth … Continue reading →

Posted in Da Russophile | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Editorial: Lying Liars and their Lies

Posted on April 6, 2008 by AK

1. The Myth of Russian Corruption In this blog, I have documented how a) corruption in Russia is similar to the average for middle-income countries and b) it has improved slightly under Putin. This is backed by data from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Da Russophile | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Editorial: Lovely Levada

Posted on April 2, 2008 by AK

As long time readers probably know, I’m a bit of a sucker for statistics, and I’ve recently found a site that I’ll no doubt be sucking dry from now on. Levada Center is Russia’s foremost polling company (equivalent to America’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Da Russophile | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments