"We are more or less at the same crossroads, like during the reign of Czar Alexander II," Akunin added in an interview, referring to the Czar who was assassinated in 1881. "And the stories are repeating themselves, like after the liberal times of Alexander II came the reactionary times of Alexander III. So it is like Yeltsin and Putin."
Boris Yeltsin was Russia's first post-Soviet leader who was succeeded by current President Vladimir Putin.
"We have to live through this period. It is logical, it is inevitable, it's going to go on for five or 10 years. But because it is five or 10 years of my life I cannot be very happy about it. Now in Russia it is not the best time for people working in the mass media in general who have to do something with freedom of speech."
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Boris Akunin on Renewed Russian Authoritarianism
Ian MacKenzie's conversation with the Russian mystery writer contains this observation:
