Russia’s Stalinist diplospeak

This article by CCLP visiting fellow Vasily Gatov was originally published in The Daily Beast. A Russian linguist closely examines how the Russian Foreign Ministry's communication has resurrected the creepy old Soviet style. Russian is a tough language to learn not because of the complex tenses and six cases, but because the style of communication is what matters most. The Russian style not only expresses the mood of the speaker or writer, a certain political situation, or the time and circumstances of the moment; the Russian style also "smells." Or stinks. Thus, Russian politics are all about the style of……