About Me

Дермократия (dermocratia) is Russian for shitocracy. It comes up a lot in the ex Soviet Union, where I've been working as a reporter for the past few years. It refers to the western idea of government being applied here like really thick make-up or too small shoes, and I'd like to figure out whether this system can ever make sense in this region, or even fit. I'll start out in Ukraine, whose democratic experiment is right on the brink. Then on to Moscow's putinocracy, and hopefully some other places like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, where it's just a bloody horror show. I'll look out for what's replacing Communism a generation after it fell, and what that could mean for the future of things.