Terrible

• This is because Russian history has swung back and forth between chaos and autocracy, which have become mutually reinforcing symptoms of the same historical condition.
• Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has come to symbolise a new cycle of this history taking place in Russia today.
• Whether or not Prigozhin may have exposed Putin’s vulnerabilities, history suggests that what is to come could well be worse.
• By referencing the smuta Putin was reminding Russians of the profound dangers of dissent – and of his mandate to suppress it.

The gathering of the lands

• The campaign, begun under his predecessor Ivan III (“Ivan the Great”), is known as the “Gathering of the Lands”.
• Ever since, Russian leaders have perpetuated the idea that Russia must dominate its peripheral lands as a defensive act of national survival.
• The terror he wrought on his people, economy and lands through years of war and repression sowed the seeds for the smuta to come.

Boris Godunov

• Boris Godunov was inspired by a period of crisis that forms the bedrock of Russia’s national mythology.
• Pushkin’s play tells the story of Boris Godunov, a Russian nobleman who came to power at the end of the 16th century during the “Time of Troubles”, the first period of smuta – a succession crisis that began in 1598 with the death of Tsar Fyodor I, the last of Russia’s founding Rurikid dynasty.
• When Fyodor died childless with no appointed heir, his brother-in-law Boris seized the throne, becoming Russia’s first non-Rurikid Tsar.
• Pushkin’s play ends as Boris, haggard in the face of increasing dissent, dies as a result of foul play.

Smuta

• Otrepyev was crowned Tsar Dmitry I, but his reign lasted less than a year.
• Over the following eight years a brutal struggle for sovereignty took hold.
• The smuta thus ended with the founding of a new autocratic bloodline that would rule and expand the Russian Empire for the next 300 years.
• It has been used to justify the absolutism and revanchism of Russian leaders from Tsars through to Soviet Commissars and modern-day politicians.

Divine right

• Russian Tsars were legitimised by the myth of divine right, meaning their power and authority as “Guardian of Holy Russia” was derived from God, rather than the Russian people.
• The General Secretary of the Communist Party was vested by the laws of History to lead Russians and their Soviet comrades along the true path to their glorious future.
• Putin has made it his spiritual mission to shield the Russia from the chaos of democratic and liberal freedoms.
• Read more:
  'Today is not my day': how Russia's journalists, writers and artists are turning silence into speech

The roots of Russian silence

• All he asked for in return was “unity”, which in Russian is a byword for passivity and acquiescence.
• The passivity of the Russian people often baffles the Western world, particularly in response to the war in Ukraine, which is being waged in their name.
• Pushkin describes the narod – the Russian people – as “obedient to the suggestion of the moment, deaf and indifferent to the actual truth, a beast that feeds upon fables”.
• The truth is that the Russian ruler’s prerogative as tsar-batiushka or “Father Tsar” can only hold sway over an acquiescent, even infantilised realm.
• An old question arises: will the Russian people remain silent?

• This marks the first appearance of officially licensed digital collectibles from Wētā Workshop, the award-winning concept design firm, on Quidd.
• The Dark Crystal x Wētā: Masterpieces features stunningly-detailed 3D renditions of fan-favorite characters, carefully crafted by the artists at Wētā Workshop, ensuring each digital collectible is of the highest quality.
• "We are excited to be partnering with Wētā Workshop and The Jim Henson Company on this exciting, first-of-its-kind collection," said Michael Bramlage, CEO of Quidd.
• We are really pleased to be teaming up with The Jim Henson Company and Quidd to work on this drop of premium digital collectibles and think The Dark Crystal fans will love these new creations.

• "Kids' television is all about iconography; memorable characters who bring joy and warmth to the story and watching experience.
• And some of the most iconic, timeless characters in kids' television came from The Jim Henson Company," said Jelani Memory, CEO and founder of A Kids Company About.
• A Kids Show About will be produced by The Jim Henson Company, with Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford executive producing.
• is a new kind of kids media company that works to empower a generation of kids through diverse storytelling.

• Webcast to be held on Read Across America Day, March 2, 2022.
• "The incredible guests joining us for this event are a testament to the impact reading has for all of us," said Alicia Levi, President and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental.
• Sekou Andrews - Actor, musician, two-time national poetry slam champion, entrepreneur, creator of Poetic Voice, and former teacher.
• To learn more about Rally to Read Reading, visit https://www.rallytoread.org
  Reading Is Fundamental would like to recognize the generous support of its partners.