Physical Dramaturgy: Ein (neuer) Trend?

Dramaturgie im zeitgenössischen Tanz ist ? positiv gemeint ? ein heißes Eisen. Idealerweise sind Dramaturginnen und Dramaturgen während der Erarbeitung eines Stücks die besten Freunde der Choreografen. more more

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Time to back the Other Russia

Thursday 3 May, 2007

Russia has long since degenerated into morally bankrupt totalitarianism. Europe used to take a proud stand on freedom. So why isn't it doing anything? By Andre Glucksmann
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But something could happen

Wednesday 18 April, 2007

The recent represssions of demonstrations by "The other Russia" suggest that Putin's regime is very concerned about the opposition. But why? He has the country solidly under his thumb, his ratings are good, the people fear his departure. But of course, as Sonja Margolina reports, "controlled instability" has certain advantages.
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The source we drink from

Wednesday 28 March, 2007

It was only with the end of the Soviet Union that Russians got the chance to get discover their own 20th century literature. Forbidden authors like Nabokov, Mandelstam, Brodsky and Kharms became hugely popular. But until today the most enduring are the Oberiuts, a group of avant-garde poets from the 20s and 30s. By Olga Martynova
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Give the Peace Prize to Politkovskaya

Tuesday 13 February, 2007

Granting the 2007 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade to Anna Politkovskaya would not be a gesture of criticism directed at Russia as a whole, but a sign of hopeful expectations for the country, its people and its culture. By Gerd Koenen and Norbert Schreiber
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Dostoevsky's dowager

Monday 12 February, 2007

TeaserPicSvetlana Geier's magnificent translation of Dostoevsky's "The Adolescent" brings to an end her monumental project of translating all five of the author's "elephants", or major novels, into German. Although many disparage the book as muddled, in her eyes it is Dostoevsky at his most modern. Martin Ebel has paid a visit to the Grande Dame of Russian-German translation. (Image © Niklaus Stauss)
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Nobody is safe anymore

Friday 13 October, 2006

The murder of Anna Politovskaya shocked not only the world, but critical voices in Russia as well. Philosopher Michail Ryklin talks with Caroline Fetscher about the new degree of fear in Russia.
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The man who gave second chances

Thursday October 12, 2006

In one of the last articles she wrote for the Novaya Gazeta before being murdered on October 7, 2006, Anna Politkovskaya paid tribute to the recently fallen Buvadi Dakhiev. A warlord with humanity, he was a rare find in Chechnya.
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Kowtowing to the Petro Czar

Friday 14 July, 2006

Nothing is forcing the Western democracies to crown the Petro Czar. The only thing supporting the Russian economy is the price per barrel. Its industry is stagnating, and Russia needs the West more than vice versa. The powers meeting in St. Petersburg today have to choose: either they prolong an enormous misunderstanding even after its death, or they bury it altogether. By Andre Glucksmann
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Moscow revisited

Thursday 23 February, 2006

Russian poet Olga Martynova returns to Moscow after 15 years away and discovers that the city has lost its grey communist pallor. In fact, it's a pleasant, busy, contented metropolis, whose buildings and memorials, while kitschy at times, actually have a certain charm.
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Russian dichotomies

Wednesday 14 September, 2005

Like his country's heraldic eagle, the Russian president Vladimir Putin has one head facing west and the other east. By Viktor Erofeyev.
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Stalin for president

Monday 9 May, 2005

Sixty years after the end of World War Two, Russia is seeing a dramatic re-Stalinisation under President Putin's leadership. As hopes for prosperity dwindle, "Uncle Joe's" star is on the rise again. By Sonja Margolina
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"This is not art, it's pathology"

Wednesday 23 March, 2005

A wave of thinly disguised attempts at censorship are causing concern in Russian artistic circles. By Jens Mühling
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Thanks from the new Czar

Friday 11 March, 2005

On Tuesday, Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov was reported to have been assassinated by the Russian secret service. Philosopher Andre Glucksmann says "Thank you, Messrs Chirac, Bush and Schröder", on behalf of Czar Putin.
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