City authorities claimed there were more than 30,000 fireworks in total, at 23 coordinated displays in different parts of the city, all to mark the city’s 875th anniversary. It was an incongruous sight when the news from the front lines in Ukraine got more disastrous for Moscow by the hour, with even patriotic Ukrainians amazed at the speed with which Kyiv’s forces were advancing in the north-east .
Numerous politicians called on Moscow to postpone the annual City Day celebrations, but the bad news seemed to catch the Kremlin flatfooted. Reluctant as it is even to admit that what is happening in Ukraine is a “war” and not a “special military operation”, cancelling the festivities would have been an admission that everything was going wrong.
As Ukraine took back towns where just weeks ago Russia was proclaiming itself the new overlord “ for ever” , all Russians heard was a forlorn statement from the defence ministry that a “regrouping of forces” was under way.
Meanwhile, state TV showed Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, giving Vladimir Putin a tour of a new martial arts centre , chuckling obediently as Putin recounted a jokey anecdote. Later, the y inaugurated a new observation wheel, the tallest in Europe.
Denne historien er fra September 16, 2022-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra September 16, 2022-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.
'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler
Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses
Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute
Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.
'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading
After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"
Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
Should you that is, not can you) cook with extra-virgin olive oil? Antonio, Atlanta, Georgia, US
Going underground
A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate
All work and no play
Hard Graft, a powerfulnew London exhibition, focuses onworkers’ exploitation, from the ruined hands ofa washerwoman to mothers forced to sell their bodies
What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege
It should have been an Instagram-perfect wedding image, but it turned out to be something more embarrassing.
