A good legend takes at least a hundred years to establish itself. That’s because the heroics, magic and certainty that legends are made of aren’t real. It takes time for reality to die out and for the evidence to be buried where no one alive can find it. That King Arthur was a Russian has […]

by John Helmer - Friday, April 13th, 2001
No Comments »

A few days ago, the British Broadcasting Corp, published what its researchers claim is the most accurate likeness ever made of the face of Jesus Christ. The face of the bearded, thick-lipped youngish man reveals a slight asymmetry between right and left eye, and a disheveled look, as if he had just woken up and […]

by John Helmer - Friday, April 6th, 2001
No Comments »

If you knew the people I know, it would not require advanced science to realize there is no fundamental difference between some people and rats. Don’t get me wrong – I respect rats for their resourcefulness under pressure and for the sharpness of their teeth. I wasn’t surprised when the English and American partners in […]

by John Helmer - Saturday, March 3rd, 2001
No Comments »

It is recorded in the Analects Of Confucius that Yuan Xian once asked Confucius about the virtue of benevolence and the four vices, “”insisting on winning, boastfulness, greed, and harbouring bitterness”. Confucius acknowledged it was extremely rare for people to be without these vices. But whether they are also benevolent, he said: “”I cannot tell.” […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, July 18th, 2000
No Comments »

By John Helmer in Moscow Many things can make a person greater than he or she really is, except time. Time activates the bacteria that strip the flesh off the bones, until only a forensic pathologist can detect the tiny signs of individuality; and even they add up to nothing more than a catalogue of […]

by John Helmer - Friday, December 24th, 1999
No Comments »

The only thing more stupid in politics than a stalking horse is a stalking ass, as Sergei Kirienko is proving by his campaign against Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. Don’t get me wrong -I am very fond of the donkey family, in their place. Aesop thought the same when he told the fable of the ass […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, June 13th, 1999
No Comments »

Not long ago, at a luncheon meeting of foreign businessmen in Moscow, the question was asked: Does anyone believe his business would be better off if Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov was sacked? The answer was unanimous. Primakov was viewed as the most stable, and also the most honest, candidate for leadership of Russia today. Now […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, May 12th, 1999
No Comments »

Suppose, just suppose, that the real reason for running $50 billion in Russia’s Central Bank cash reserves through the accounts of a shelf company registered in the Channel Islands, was not to hide the money from foreigners intent on seizing state assets, but rather to hide from Russians trying to steal them. And suppose, just […]

by John Helmer - Saturday, February 20th, 1999
No Comments »

What leads fine performers of Bach cello sonatas, Rachmaninov piano concertos, and Chekhov plays and stories to imagine they can enter Russian politics as nimbly as they move their fingers over their instruments and scores? One answer Rostropovich the cellist, Petrov the pianist, and Mikhalkov the film-maker have given is that they have the right, […]

by John Helmer - Friday, February 19th, 1999
No Comments »

For years now, officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), of Russia’s Finance Ministry, and of the Central Bank of Russia have been conducting a discreet conversation among themselves they intended no-one else to hear — at least not in Russia. Mikhail Zadornov — who complained this was unprincipled and undemocratic when he was a […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, February 16th, 1999
No Comments »