A couple of weeks ago, being under a strong impression of Victor Zubkov’s appointment to the prime minister, I wrote that political science in Russia died. Now it is completely clear that this conclusion was hasty and erroneous. In fact, it is impossible to explain the inevitable failures of the experiments of alchemists by the fact that the laws of physicists do not work. Another how they work.

An anonymous source provided us with a recording allegedly made at the residence of the President of the Russian Federation, in a sauna. At first we thought it was a provocation. But after listening to the text, we decided that it was very plausible, and the voices were recognizable.

A working group to develop the position of the Russian Orthodox Church on the issue of primacy in the Ecumenical Church was created during the plenary meeting of the Synodal Theological Commission. The working group was headed by the Deputy Head of the DECR, Bishop Mark of Yegoryevsk, reports the website of the Moscow Patriarchate. The group members will have to develop a draft document; it is expected that a meeting of the Theological Commission in December 2007 will be devoted to this topic.

What is happening in Nizhny Novgorod can be called “idiocy”, “insanity” and other pleasant words. These definitions, it must be said, are extremely adequate: on October 5-6, an international forum in memory of Anna Politkovskaya was supposed to take place in Nizhny. Human rights activists, journalists and ordinary people wanted to get together and talk - no demonstrations, no “Dissent Marches”. And then it began.

Putin-Prime Minister? It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. It is ridiculous to watch how the president who tasted the authorities by any means tries to maintain his influence. It is sad because his efforts can be crowned with success. In full of the whole world, without hesitation, the authorities demonstrate its main goal - to maintain the prevailing arrangement of political forces. The authorities call this stability. It's not about the names.

It is no secret to anyone that in recent years between human rights and Orthodox communities there is a certain tension. The Orthodox are dissatisfied with the criticism of human rights activists of the subject “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” and the defending the right of relevant (and any other) artists to free statement, even if it sometimes seems offensive to someone.

It’s hard to say – we now have a new round of tension. The car we were driving all this time was stolen by gentlemen from the traffic police under the pretext that it was stolen. And we go to the conference site, but on public transport - because we are already afraid of what else the authorities might do, and there is no point in taking risks. I can say one thing: what is happening now is complete insanity, and the authorities in Nizhny Novgorod have completely disgraced themselves.