About Soviet Russia


Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

Although nearly seventy years have passed since Winston Churchill uttered these words and sixteen since the Soviet Union was dissolved, this quote is still valid to describe how Russia is usually perceived abroad. Yesteryear isolation and a press coverage that has often been deficient have made it so that the world’s largest country remains a great unknown.

XaviI became aware of such ignorance when I visited Russia for the first time in 2001. Ever since then this country has not ceased to amaze me, both for what it is nowadays and its exceptional history. Now, after several more trips and since I have been living in Siberia for a couple of years, I begin this blog to share what I discover day by day. My name is Xavi, I am from Barcelona, I am 28 and I live in Omsk. As you guessed, I am not a native English speaker, but I will try my best to keep the English version of this blog up.


¿Why ‘Soviet Russia’?

Truth be told, considering that this blog is devoted to present Russia and the former Soviet Union, ‘Soviet Russia’ is not much a proper name, as this term would be only suitable to refer to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the equivalent of current Russian Federation as one of the republics of the Soviet Union. But, as briefness is a key factor in the Internet, Soviet Russia would be a way to synthesize Soviet Union and Russian Federation.

Soviet Russia name is also a nod at the joke popularized in the 80s by comedian Yakov Smirnoff, widely referenced in many on-line communities like Slashdot or Reddit. It doesn’t mean that the blog content will be humorous, but I don’t rule out making use of “In Soviet Russia…” statement if the occasion deserves it so. ;-)

Finally, of course, the main reason why most domains are chosen: it was free!

¿Which topics will the blog cover and how it will be done?

Soviet Russia aims to relate stories which may be appealing to people interested in knowing better Russia and the Soviet Union. Beyond obvious historical and geographical boundaries, there is no subject restriction foreseen: science, travelling, history, wildlife, space, technology… Maybe I will just avoid writing about current politics, not because I don’t have an opinion about it, but because there are plenty of blogs writing on the state of political affairs (some of them shown at the sidebar blogroll) and because I think it exceeds the blog’s scope.

Soviet Russia wants to go beyond what is just curious or spectacular, trying to find a balance in-between information and entertainment. Therefore, although a post may consist of some pictures, I’ll do my best to put them into context and to explain the story beneath.

What you will not find for sure in Soviet Russia will be bad tasted or yellow posting.

¿Is it written in Russian the logo at the header?

Not at all, it’s written using a typographic font called Kremlin which makes use of some cyrillic characters. The proper transcription of Soviet Russia in Russian is: Советская Россия.

If you think this about page is not complete, have any doubts about Soviet Russia, want to suggest a topic or just want to get in touch with me, you can write me filling in the contact form or sending an e-mail to contact[at]sovietrussia.co.uk

February 10, 2008