Top all-time · #9066
Ilya Varlamov
Personal blog · varlamov.ruculturehistory
Ilya Varlamov writes Teletype, a personal blog at varlamov.ru about culture and history. Since 2016, 9 different Hacker News readers have linked it 13 times. The last post was in 2024, but the archive is still widely read.
Too few sampled comments (8) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN commenters link Ilya Varlamov's Russian-language posts as photo-driven reporting on places such as Kabul and Moscow. Most links are cited as sources rather than praised directly.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 8 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Только крокодилы спасут эту страну от мудаков!
What Hacker News says?
I can relate. I was a citizen of Turkmenistan, which is even more opressive than Uzbekistan. It's one of the most closed countries in the world on par with North Korea (or worse). If you're interested, you can read a good travel report from a Russian blogger (translated into English) [0]. So yeah, I totally agree that citizenship/passport of a free (or relatively free) country can be one of the greatest assets that…
Comment linking /1740845.html
on “Passport Index 2016”Submitted Ashgabat: the city of the living and the city of the dead as a story · 5 points
HN discussionthere is a russian blogger in Kabul, you can use google translate to read his articles, in short there're plenty of heroin addicts in plain sight https://varlamov.ru/tjm1DhGAHsj https://varlamov.ru/gLxlGFc6GCc?cda= https://varlamov.ru/VndQif0KCJw?cda= a lot of very interesting photos https://varlamov.ru/p_aaaYHw724
Comment linking /p_aaaYHw724
on “Taliban enter Kabul as Afghan government on brink of collapse”Submitted Ghost city of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan: Recently built in marble and unoccupied as a story · 2 points
HN discussion- I don't think they're actually going to demolish those. Where are the money for that? They didn't even begin to explain how whis is going to work economy-wise. - Now is precisely the worst time for projects of that scale. The only mass housing the modern Russia can build is 25-story ugly buildings without parking, trees, roads, schools but with chilling winds between the apartment towers. Urban planning and landsc…
Comment linking /2210604.html
on “The Disappearing Mass Housing of the Soviet Union”As a Russian citizen, all I can say is that Rogozin is tiresome. Instead of trolling SpaceX, I'd rather see him address criticisms like this one [0], where Russian engineers talk about the sorry state of our space industry. Although ultimately there is no mystery here. The Soviets had a real commitment to science and technology. It was one of the few silver linings of the communist regime. Present day Russia is devo…
Comment linking /3912524.html
on “Dmitry Rogozin on SpaceX Crew Dragon Launch”Oh, this will be A LONG answer. I will honestly try to do my best to be objective. There will be errors, too, so I apologize in advance. If you find some point unlikely or doubtful, please let me know: I can prove most of the following claims, but I may skip the link or proof in this particular comment. As for me: I am, as you've put it, "a part of a liberal minority". However, I don't think that it should discount…
Comment linking /1637956.html
on “How Far Is Europe Swinging to the Right?”Moscow's metro has been a mess the last few days as big crowd waiting for permission checking: https://varlamov.ru/3860702.html
Comment linking /3860702.html
on “Bolsonaro fires health minister, calls to reopen economy”As a Russian citizen who is following the scandal (and Russian politics), I am a bit baffled by the article. First, all of its reasoning will fall apart if we examine its premises. >there is no evidence of Putin’s direct involvement—not in any company involved in the leak, much less in criminal activity, theft, tax evasion, or money laundering. There are documents showing that some of his “friends” have moved “up to…
Comment linking /1637956.html
on “Are the Russians Actually Behind the Panama Papers?”Honestly I'm worried about ordinary Russians, especially the older generation - check this link where people line up in droves to kiss an Orthodox icon: https://varlamov.ru/3830001.html Navalny gets reports that people who are tested for Coronavirus are told the following: "The result will come in 10 days. We will not answer queries. If the test turns out positive, they will find you". Meanwhile not a single person…
Comment linking /3830001.html
on “Russia deploying coronavirus disinformation to sow panic in West, EU says”