Earlier this summer, Russia celebrated its 27th birthday. The National Day ceremonies didn’t go as smoothly as the country’s officials would have hoped. Anti-corruption protesters staged rallies at several big cities, with the largest protest in Moscow. Several thousand demonstrators marched through the capital’s main street, chanting anti-Kremlin slogans and waving flags. Nearby, and visibly distressed, stood the group of Muscovites dressed up as Cossacks and agents of Soviet secret police. Those most annoyed with activists (the Cossacks, naturally) shouted “Shame!” at demonstrators. You couldn’t come up with a more suitable metaphor for a nascent nation struggling with age-old tensions and a …read more Source:...