It looks like my blog has gotten a few readers in the last few weeks. I am not sure if it is actually reviving or not. But, it appears I may again be up to a half a dozen readers. So maybe it is time to do another reader survey. I haven't done one since I was in Ghana, a country I left well over a year ago. So if you ever read this blog leave a comment about what you would like me to write more about.
1. More essays and articles about Germans in Russia.
ReplyDelete2. Updates on life in Suli.
3. Kurdish Cuisine.
1. I can do. Although there is a lot from previous years on that subject on this blog.
ReplyDelete2. I think I am already doing this somewhat.
3. I like Kurdish food, but I am not sure how much I can blog about traditional cuisine here. The number of dishes seems limited compared to some neighboring cuisines.
I've been reading your blog on and off for years. I came across it roughly 10 years ago when I was reading all I could about the former Soviet Union and I found your blog unusual enough to merit attention. I'm not a historian or humanities scholar, although based on my predilections in school I could have become one (I'm glad I didn't and not just for financial reasons). Nevertheless, what you wrote about the histories of largely overlooked peoples in the Soviet Union, not just the Russian-Germans, captured my interest. I'm Bavarian by birth, upbringing and conviction, live in the UK and my wife is Ukrainian. My interest in the Eastern part of Europe, though intermittent, was first aroused when I had the opportunity to visit the Soviet Union when still a boy (and with Brezhnev still alive, just). Your descriptions of a life less ordinary for a while chimed with my sense of adventure, and although that's lessened considerably now I still enjoy your descriptions of life in far-flung lands, terse as they may sometimes be. So even though I only read in short bursts interspersed with long months of absence I have enjoyed each of my returns to your blog and hope you will keep it alive for many years to come.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Der Rach. Though I am also interested in other displaced and deported ethnic minorities in the Stalin-era USSR (e.g. Crimean Tatars).
ReplyDeleteAgree with the comments above. Any discussion of displaced minorities in Stalin's USSR, whether German or not, is definitely something I am interested in reading.
ReplyDeleteAlso would appreciate any insights that you may have arising out of your stay in Suli. The Middle East is obviously on the verge of significant change and you have a front row seat in the very proto-state that seems positioned to kick off the next phase of major geopolitical realignment.
So when it comes to inspiration for blog material, I say, "carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."
Ok:
ReplyDeleteSo the consensus is to focus on deported peoples in the USSR and life in Suli. I can manage that.