These are exciting times in Russia, that’s for sure.  Under Putin a move towards a stronger state and a rollback of democratic freedoms seems to be gathering momentum.  But, at the same time, many of the countries on Russia’s borders are moving in an entirely different direction.  Revolutions in a rainbow of colours seem to be entrenching a ring of democracy around Russia.

Add to that the fortunes of a burgeoning oil industry, a weak economy, a troubled military, a brutal conflict spilling over from Chechnya, a society still in transition - it’s all too much for one person to keep up with on a daily basis.  I can post four, five times a day and still not cover everything in the way I’d like to, and the need to hold down a day job prevents me from writing more.

So, I think that now is the time to open up siberianlight.net to some new writers.

If you have something to say about Russia, let me know either by emailing me, or by dropping me a note in the comments below.  If you want to write long posts, short posts, one post a month, five posts a day, let me know.  Your politics are irrelevent - pro-Putin, anti-Putin, I don’t care - the more voices, the better the blog will be.