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The Vietnam War showed that the need still existed for dedicated strike aircraft performing World War II-style close air support missions. Hence in 1968 the Sukhoi Design Bureau started work on an aircraft initially known as the SPB (the acronym stood for "battlefield support aircraft") and then as the T-8. First flown in February 1975, the aircraft incorporated much of the philosophy which had gone into the famous Il'yushin Il-2 attack aircraft, including a forward fuselage made of welded armour to offer maximum protection for the pilot. Designated Su-25 in service, the aircraft entered the fray of the Afghan War immediately after entering service with the Soviet Air Force and quickly earned a reputation as a mean fighting machine. The survivability measures incorporated by the Sukhoi OKB more than paid off, the aircraft often coming home with tremendous damage inflicted by Stinger missiles. The type has also seen action in other parts of the world, including Angola and Bosnia. The album contains about 150 black/white and colour photos illustrating the Su-25's development and service, detailing the various versions and operator nations. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from APS Diplomat Recorder, published by Pam Stein/Input Solutions on January 12, 2002. The length of the article is 701 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: RUSSIA - Jan. 11 - TV-6 Shut Down.(Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky's media platform)(Brief Article)
Publication: APS Diplomat Recorder (Newsletter)
Date: January 12, 2002
Publisher: Pam Stein/Input Solutions
Volume: 56Issue: 2Page: NA

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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The "detektiv", Russia's version of the murder mystery, has conquered what in Soviet days loved to call itself "the most reading nation on earth." Most Russians don't read much Tolstoy, but they devour the lurid covers and cheap paper of the "detektiv"s by the millions. Serials based on the works of two of the most popular authors (Andrei Kivinov and Aleksandra Marinina) have been hits of the last few TV seasons, their characters now a part of Russian everyday life. The ubiquity of the "detektiv" may puzzle Westerners, who may conclude that this is a post-Soviet import like McDonalds. Not so--Russia sprouted its own versions of "penny dreadfuls" as soon as peasants came off the land and learned to read. The guardians of Russia's "high culture," however, were enraged by this pulpy popular genre and so contrived under the Soviets to supress it, making everyone read "improving" and "uplifting" literature instead. Russia's junk readers hung on, though, snatching up the few "detektiv"s that made their way through censorship, until, in the Gorbachev era, the genre blossomed as the perfect vehicle for social criticism--the "detektiv" talked about social problems in a way that was exciting enough that people wanted to read it. When the Soviet Union finally collapsed, one of the few things left standing in the rubble was the "detektiv"--which now is sold on every street corner and read on every bus. The first full-length study of the genre, "Russian Pulp" demonstrates that the "detektiv" is no knock-off. Summarizing and quoting extensively from scores of novels, this study shows that Russians understand law-breaking and crime, policemen, and criminals in ways wholly different from those of the West. After explaining why solving a crime is always a social function in Russia, "Russian Pulp" examines the staples of crime fiction--sex, theft, and murder--to demonstrate that Russians see police officer and criminal, thief and victim, as part of a single continuum. To the Russians, both chased and chaser are products of human imperfection, separated from one another only by the imperfect laws of human creation. What both criminal and policeman seek---but seldom find---is the much rarer quality of justice. "Russian Pulp" is intended for all students of Russia, from those making first acquaintance to those who have worked for years to understand this puzzling country and its people. Using the "detektiv" and its counterpart--the many mysteries and thrillers set in Russia but written by Westerners--as evidence, "Russian Pulp" demonstrates that Russians and Westerners view the basic issues of crime, guilt, justice, law, and redemption in such fundamentally different ways as to make each people incomprehensible to the other. At the same time, however, "Russian Pulp" also demonstrates that Westerners and Russians alike share a passion for literary gore, pulp fiction thrills, and the deep furtive pleasures of junk fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

50 pages of information crammed into 250 pages of text.
Anthony Olcott wrote one of my favorite detective novels with a Russian setting, Murder at the Red October, so it was with much anticipation that I began reading his distillation of the "detektiv" genre of Russian fiction.In general, one can say that Mr. Olcott's valuable insight into the genre is to point out that a Russian's view of the world is not the same as a westerner's and that we just do not comprehend things in the same manner.While we, for example, generally tend to regard individualism as good and collectivism as bad, a Russian is very likely to hold the exact opposite view.

Mr. Olcott cites numerous - in fact, far too many - examples of this from various authors of Russian detektivy. Repetition may be the mother of learning, but re-repetition is just filling up space.

What was especially disappointing, though, was Olcott's thinly veiled attacks on those western authors who write works of fiction with a Russian setting.He disingenuously admits that these authors are successful and have sold millions of books, but he then attacks them for their egregious inaccuracy, especially in matters of Russian language usage.(Hint: Olcott is a professor of Russian.)It seems no one is spared, including Albeury, Clancy, Hyde, Ignatius, LeCarre, et al.The obvious answer, of course, is that these authors write commercially for a non-Russian audience that merely wants a good read.Those readers want as much accuracy and truth in their fiction as possible, but who in his right mind would ever expect true insight from anything written, for example, by Tom Clancy?Criticizing these authors for lacking something they never claimed to possess in the first place is just being petulant.

What's more, I expect that buyers of Olcott's Russian Pulp mostly want an examination of Russian authors' detektivy, not a criticism of the Russian-related fiction of American and British writers.Instead, though, Olcott devotes an entire chapter to this petty nit-picking.In any event, he should already know that he's preaching to the choir.

Olcott wears two hats, one as a writer of award-winning mysteries and the other as an academic.In Russian Pulp it seems that a pedantic academic has won out over the accomplished fiction writer.

Disturbing insights into the nature of Russian democracy
Russian Pulp deserves a wide audience. Regrettably, it probably won't find it unless more people come to appreciate its wide ranging implications.

Although ostensibly "about" the Russian detective novel today, the real value of this gem of a book lies in the author's splendid grasp of what the Detektiv genre tells us about Russian democracy today. As Olcott demonstrates, Russian detective novels reflect rampant cynicism and distrust of law, individualism, capitalism and materialism. Rather empowering the reader to help "solve the crime", through the use of clues and evidence, as Western detective novels typically do, the Russian detektiv is little more than a "morality play" designed to show that individuals cannot ignore the will of society.

Reflecting conditions and mores in Russia today, the detektiv depicts good cops as people who are willing to bend the law, while criminals are often portrayed as people who have the temerity to want to improve their own circumstances (the "zero-sum" implication being that, sooner or later, the society will suffer as a result).

For anyone who cares about democracy, Russia, US-Russian relations, public ethics, and many other matters, this is a lively, well-written book that will offer fresh, if disturbing insights, on every page. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1883 edition by W. H. Allen & Co., London. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from New Internationalist, published by New Internationalist Magazine on June 1, 2010. The length of the article is 1627 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Professional hazard: murder: the gunning down of the country's media stars is a body blow to Russian democracy. Tina Burrett reports.(POLITICS AND POWER)
Author: Tina Burrett
Publication: New Internationalist (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2010
Publisher: New Internationalist Magazine
Issue: 433Page: 24(2)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

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After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the Russian Orthodox Church once again found itself in a new political environment. When the new constitution was introduced, it allowed for freedom of religion, which meant that religious denominations in addition to the Orthodox Church would be tolerated by the State. The Russian Federation's first President Boris Yeltsin and other leading political figures during the Yeltsin years (1991-1999) seem to have shown some favoritism toward this Church.

Once more, a change in the official attitude toward the Church occurred in 2000. The new presidential family, the Putins, have openly proclaimed close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. Legal changes and official statements through the media have signaled an increasing level of Church influence on matters of State. However, although many Russians identify themselves as Orthodox, this does not translate to high public participation in religious life. The Orthodox Church would appear to have failed to fill the ideological void, caused by the collapse of Marxism-Leninism. ... Read more