http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2011/11/big-is-beautiful-again-in-russia-the-return-of-the-bolshoi-theater/ Informed reflection on the events of the day Wed, 15 Jul 2015 17:00:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.23 http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2011/11/big-is-beautiful-again-in-russia-the-return-of-the-bolshoi-theater/comment-page-1/#comment-25254 Thu, 03 May 2012 21:15:00 +0000 http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/?p=9893#comment-25254 Jeff, I *just* saw your question, I have no idea how I missed it 5 months ago, apologies!
I don’t think I really have the answer to it though. I was wondering about it myself. At the time, I thought that by not showing up Putin might have tried to avoid being hissed, again, in public—he had been booed after some martial arts event a few weeks prior. It would have been a lot more embarrassing to be mocked at such a huge event live-streamed across Russian and abroad. But I’ve also heard people say that Medvedev has been playing Putin’s “first lady”—going to “girly” events like ballet, while Putin himself attends fights, hockey, and such. Or maybe Putin just hates opera. Although he is not a stranger to music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS-IZrccItw&feature=related

]]> http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2011/11/big-is-beautiful-again-in-russia-the-return-of-the-bolshoi-theater/comment-page-1/#comment-20802 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:29:00 +0000 http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/?p=9893#comment-20802 I like this piece for the way it shows the contours of the new Russia in the cultural and social details. But I wonder, why wasn’t Putin at the premier? Was there any significance in this?

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