Standup routine from 2016 sounds like it was written for 2023 — A long-time friend of mine from Russia, who now lives in Europe, messaged me last night about a standup routine he saw on YouTube, which former comedian Volodymyr Zelensky performed in 2016. Before he was elected President of Ukraine in 2019, Zelensky had a lot of comedy hits, such as…

Is she KGB? A Russian Bot? Kremlin Propagandist? Putin Puppet? You decide! — As of next month, I will have been writing about Russia, Ukraine, and the ongoing conflict for a full year. April 7th will mark the anniversary of my return to writing. I’ve written more than 75 articles in that time. It’s not as many articles as I would have liked…

This Week’s Special Guest: Sue Champion — This week on “Russia: Then and Now,” our special guest is a good friend of mine who lived in Russia for twelve years! Sue Champion, an American citizen from Michigan, has loved ballet all her life and trained as a classical ballet dancer from a very young age. …

Ukrainian “hero” awarded in White House ceremony — Eleven “extraordinary women…who are working to build a brighter future for all” were invited to the White House where they were presented with the International Women of Courage Award last Wednesday, March 8th, in honor of International Women’s Day. First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented…

Episode One: Introduction with Kevin Michelizzi and Deborah Armstrong — We introduced ourselves, shared some stories about Russia and the old USSR, and announced next week’s guest. Be sure to tune in next week at 9AM Pacific/8PM Moscow!

My dear readers, subscribers and followers! I am excited to announce that starting tomorrow at 9AM PST/12EST/8PM Moscow, Kevin Michelizzi and I will be starting a new live streaming podcast called “Russia Then and Now”! The show will feature weekly guests who will talk about all things Russian. We will…

Three women speak out about sexual abuse by the world’s most powerful men — In honor of International Women’s Day, a March 8th holiday which is celebrated internationally, three women who have made prominent allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of some of the most powerful men in the world, came together to share their stories and discuss what can be done to…

Scott Ritter: Bakhmut is Ukrainian “Stalingrad” — Fighting has once again intensified in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut as Russian troops close in on the cauldron they have created, after it was announced last week that the city was fully encircled. You’ll recall, in my last article how Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private military…

Wagner to Zelensky: Evacuate your remaining fighters! — As I write, Russia is tightening the noose around the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut (known as Artemovsk in Russian), where fighting has been going on since August. …