I may be wrong, but the most cherished American freedom is the Freedom of Speech. We have it and we want everyone else in the world to have it. Of course we all know that you can’t yell “free pop-corn fire” in a crowded theater, or say the word “bomb” in the airport. Oh, you [...]

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WARNING: This post is not kosher on any day of the year.
My imaginary friend Moxie Mama wants to celebrate her 1/4 Ukrainian heritage by eating what real Ukrainians eat. Well, that’s real simple and no cooking required to boot. Ukrainian National Food is salo which is non-rendered pork fat. There is nothing like a thick [...]

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I you’d like to find out what’s going on in American prisons you have two choices: commit a small crime or read the best-selling Prisons For Dummies series. It’s a lot harder (but not entirely impossible) to get yourself locked up in a Russian correctional institution, so for the only other practical choice I recommend [...]

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When I was growing up© every able-bodied male over 18 years old was drafted to serve 2 years in the Army or 3 years in the Navy. Very few people were able to escape the draft based on health and other reasons. Going to college resulted in getting the lowest officer rank but even then [...]

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For a little musical interlude I present the video that has Gorbachev, zombies and plenty of hammers and sickles operated by pretty women. Last 20 years of the post-Soviet era replay right in front of your eyes. Enjoy!

GORBACHOV: THE MUSIC VIDEO - BIGGER AND RUSSIANER from Tom Stern on Vimeo.
You can watch this video in [...]

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Memory is a strange thing. One minute I am reading a story about outpatient surgery in prison and the next minute it takes me back about 20 years when I was sitting in a small army hospital room and another soldier, who was supposed to be a nurse, was poking a scalpel at the infected [...]

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In the USSR May 19th was celebrated as the “Pioneer Day”. Pioneers were the members of the Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union, which was a second step in the official Soviet brainwashing pyramid. After a general but unorganized brainwashing from ages 0 to 7,a child entered the first stage of the pyramid [...]

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Long time ago (and I mean long,long time) I was traveling in what was then a beautiful and welcoming Republic of Georgia, still a part of soon to be defunct Soviet Union. Georgia is known for its beauty, Caucasus mountains and warm beaches on the Black Sea, ancient cultural relics, great food and some of [...]

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This is the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Odessa, Ukraine. Every year on the 9th of May my Dad took me there to lay some flowers and in a moment of silence remember his father and more than 20 million Soviet people who were killed in the World War II.

Victory Day was probably the [...]

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By the time I was growing up, the International Day of Worker Solidarity celebrated on the 1st of May became just another day in a long weekend of partying, spring outings, camping trips and fun. May Day usually started with the demonstration, the biggest one of course in Moscow, attended by the Politburo of [...]

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