The Hopeless Quest for Language Purity

Общеупотребимые слова: commonly used words Every year or so some state organization at some level in Russia demands or proposes or drafts a law that would keep foreign words out of the Russian language so that the Russian language will remain, well, purely Russian. The fact that this happens regularly suggests that the process is…

Russia’s Central Bank Warns of Labor Shortage Following Mobilization

The governor of Russia’s Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, warned on Friday that the country was facing a growing labor shortage following the conscription of over 300,000 civilians during the Defense Ministry’s recent mobilization campaign. “The external environment for the Russian economy remains challenging and significantly constrains economic activity,” the Central Bank said, adding that Russia’s…

Russian Job Sites Recruit Trench Diggers for Occupied Ukraine, Border Areas

Russian job sites are advertising trench- and fortification-digging jobs in occupied Ukrainian and nearby Russian regions, independent media reported Thursday. Russia started building defensive fortifications near the front lines as well as in its border regions following alleged Ukrainian counterstrikes that stoked authorities’ fears of further attacks that could reach deeper into Russian territory. Popular Russian classifieds…