Kaboom, Reinvention, and Travel Books for the Holidays and 2025
LIGHT HOLIDAY READING - MAYBE
Dear BWR Shoeshiners and Barbers!
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please be aware that some e-mail servers (G-mail in particular) may truncate the BWR newsletter, thus depriving you of total enjoyment. If this problem occurs, please read BWR on the Substack platform to enjoy the full newsletter.
Follow BWR’s daily posts on the Blue Sky platform for daily updates and posts.
“Barbershop Whispers….Russia (BWR)” begins with “My Takeaways” on the main topic, followed by a discussion on the main topic. The last two BWR sections are “Follow-ups” on previous publications and “Quick Bites” on emerging events.
In last week’s BWR, I discussed Putin’s marathon citizens call-in/press conference talk show. It was four hours and 26 minutes of questions and answers from citizens and the press.
This week, in the spirit of Christmas and Hanukkah, I try to break from Russian geopolitics and business and instead discuss an eclectic variety of books I have read over the years. I recommend these for some ‘light’ holiday reading or for your 2025 reading list.
In the meantime, enjoy the holiday season with family and friends!
Takeaways:
Takeaways are at the end of the book reviews.
Kaboom, Reinvention, and Travel Books for the Holidays and 2025
LIGHT HOLIDAY READING - MAYBE
I’ve chosen and recommended four books for your holiday reading pleasure or 2025 readings. These books are relevant to current events or provide an escape from them.
LIFE REINVENTION
A Gentleman in Moscow (Author: Amor Towles, Published: 2016)
This is an elegantly written novel about reinvention, adaptability, love of country, and the unpredictable journey of life.
It is a story about Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, a Russian aristocrat, or, in Bolshevik terms, byvshiye lyudi (Бывшие люди), who was sentenced to house arrest in 1922 as an “unrepentant aristocrat” in the luxurious Metropol Hotel in Moscow.
In internal exile, he advises one of his Bolshevik tormentors on dining etiquette, becomes a waiter in the hotel, and a mentor to a young girl who grows to become a minor disposable leader of the revolution.
Towles does a superb job infusing the character with the subtleties of Russian aristocracy despite his “former people” status and his current position as a waiter. For example, his discreet recommendations of wine pairings with culinary dishes to visiting journalists and powerful party members when they visit the Metropol discreetly reflect his nobility.
This book will appeal to both Russian and non-Russian experts. It is humorous and uplifting in its own way, addressing the sour lemons that life sometimes throws at us all and how we can adapt to them.
It goes without saying the book is much better than the Netflix series.
Takeaway - Don’t give up on life.
ALL ABOUT KABOOM!!
Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety (Author: Eric Schlosser, Published: 2014)
Given Putin’s recent nuclear saber-rattling, I recently re-read this book, which the late Bruce Blair, a Princeton scholar, nuclear security expert, and founder of Global Zero—A World Without Nuclear Weapons—recommended to me.
The book outlines the risks involved in managing the world’s most advanced nuclear weapons system and the potential problems that can arise. Human fallibility combined with technological complexity creates a dangerous mix that has led to nuclear accidents, which, by some divine grace, have resulted in only minimal fatalities.
For example, Schlosser tells the story of the missile silo accident in Damascus, Arkansas, and how the US Air Force struggled to prevent a missile—equipped with the most powerful nuclear warheads ever developed by the US—from detonating. This accident began with a dropped wrench and escalated into a significant nuclear crisis of our own making. Another incident, among several detailed in the book, is the Goldsboro incident. A B-52 bomber carrying two 3.8-megaton hydrogen bombs crashed along the North Carolina coastline, releasing the two bombs with parachutes. One bomb was found intact and had completed most of its arming sequences, but one of four switches prevented it from detonating. The high-voltage switch of the second bomb, which triggers the detonation, was destroyed on impact, preventing it from going off.
One should also be aware up until 2019; many nuclear silo messaging systems were run off 8” floppy disks.
Apart from insomnia, the takeaway from this book is that the US nuclear command and control system is thought to be the most sophisticated and safest in the world. Assuming this to be the case, imagine the command and control systems of the newer and less experienced nuclear powers.
Takeaway - What could possibly go wrong?
A FUN JOURNEY OF HISTORICAL FICTION
The Long Ships (Author: Frans Gunnar Bengtsson, Published: 2010)
A Russian friend of aristocratic origin once told me, “Scratch the skin of any Russian, and you will find a Viking.” Viking warriors are known to have traveled, raped, and pillaged down the Volga River to the Caspian Sea.
Long Ships was originally published in Swedish in 1941 under the title ‘Röde Orm’ (Red Orm) and has since been published in several languages. It is the life story and adventures of Viking Orm.
\He traveled from Scandinavia to Moorish Spain and Italy during his life and adventures. In Spain, the Moors capture him, and he fights for the Caliph of Cordova, from where he escapes to find himself washed up on the shores of Ireland.
Bengtsson blends historical facts with fiction and delivers an entertaining journey filled with good humor and adventure.
Takeaway - Travel the world and enjoy it.
ANCESTRAL HOME
The Ghosts of Spain – Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past (Author: Giles Tremmlet, Published: 2007)
Modern Spain is a vibrant European country and an engine of the EU, particularly in the tech sector. Its economic success was not always the case. Spain’s transformation began with the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. King Juan Carlos I solidified the country’s path toward a constitutional monarchy in 1980 when he personally intervened to quash a military-led coup.
Tremmlet’s travel book delves into the rich cultural diversity of Spain, from its fiercely independent and industrial Euskadi (Pais Vasco) to Andalusia, the birthplace of Flamenco music, and Catalonia, home to the world’s greatest fútbol team, FC Barcelona. He examines the social and economic impact of centuries of change across the country, from the Reconquista against the Moors to the expulsion of Jews following the 1492 Alhambra Decree. An example of Spain’s transformation is when the government enacted a law granting citizenship to Sephardic Jews—"Ley de Memoria Histórica"—allowing descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in the 15th century to gain Spanish citizenship.
This is an excellent read for an imaginary journey through the diverse cultures of Spain while you lay on a beach lounge chair.
Takeaway - Time to visit Spain again
INSURGENTS ARE COSTLY
Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present (Author: Max Boots, Published: 2013)
This is a must-read book for foreign service, military, and economic development officers. Invisible Armies is a comprehensive history of guerrilla and irregular warfare from pre-Roman to modern-day Afghanistan.
Max Boot discusses nearly 60 conflicts, but the most interesting discussions are the 20th and 21st century conflicts such as Northern Ireland, Pais Vasco, Catalonia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Contrary to popular belief, guerrilla warfare had a high historical failure rate until 1945. Thereafter, success was materially more likely. Nevertheless, the cost to occupiers – win or lose – is high in treasure and blood.
It’s a challenging read, but not for those passionate about international relations. Putin and his associates should have read this book before waging war on Ukraine and believing Ukrainians would roll over and accept occupation. Ukraine will be tormented by insurgents, just as the Ukrainians did to the Bolsheviks up until 1950s.
Takeaway - Occupation does not pay.
TRUE PATRIOT
Patriot: A Memoir (Author: Alexei Navalny, Published: 2024)
I will review and comment on Navalny’s memoir at a later date. His memoir, and Alexei Navalny himself, deserves a stand-alone piece.
Follow-ups & Quick Bites
Follow-ups
No follow-ups this week.
Quick Bites
Russia Shoots Down Azeri Civilian Passenger Jet
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, apologizing for the incident that took place in Russian airspace, but stopped short of admitting that Russian air defense shot the plane down.
According to Baku, Aliyev had "emphasized" to Putin that the plane was hit by external interference over Russia, saying it wanted those responsible "held accountable." The Kremlin’s claim that the plane struck a flock of birds did not gain any traction with fellow strongman Aliyev.
The phone call between Putin and Aliyev took place three days after the airliner crashed in Kazakhstan after being denied landing clearance in Russia three times, killing 38 people out of the 67.
Azerbaijan is a crucial Russian gas partner and is closely allied with Türkiye. Kazakhstan is another third-country middleman for sanctions re-exported to Russia.
Watch this space. The Kremlin is losing influence in the region to Türkiye.
Additional Reading(s)
Azerbaijan Passenger Jetliner Crash Suggests Russia Missile Strike (NPR, 27 Dec 2024)
Ded Moroz and Russian PVO SHoot Santa Out of the Sky
Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels circulated a video depicting Russian air defense systems shooting down Santa Claus’ reindeer sleigh.
The video, first shared by the Pul N3 Telegram channel, begins with Santa flying over central Moscow to the tune of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
Santa has in hand a Coca-Cola and a sleigh filled with rockets with NATO logos.
Santa says, “Happy New Year,” then “Holy Shit!” as he sees the rocket coming toward him and blows him out of the sky in a fireball.
The scene then shifts to a Russian voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony (PVO) soldier and Ded Moroz — Russia’s Santa Claus.
Ded Moroz: “Is it done?”
PVO Soldier: “Yes, it’s done. The target was destroyed,”
Ded Moroz: “Good. We don’t need any kind of foreign stuff flying above our heads,”
This was circulated the same day Russian anti-aircraft missile defense shot down the Azeri passenger airliner over Grozny airspace and later crashed in Kazakhstan.
Additional Reading(s)
Pro-Kremlin Video Shoots Down Santa’s Sleigh (The Moscow Times, 28 Dec 2024)
Vol 2, No 62 - BWR 29.12.2024
Thank you for reading “Barbershop Whispers....Russia” written by Adam A Blanco! “Barbershop Whispers…Russia” is a product of e8Q Technologies, a consultancy with insights on all things Eurasia. Subscribe for free to receive new posts.