ATDTDA 761

[Ya Sam]

ATDTDA 761

Anglo-Russian Entente

AGREEMENT CONCERNING PERSIA 
The Governments of Great Britain and Russia having mutually engaged to respect the integrity and independence of Persia, and sincerely desiring the preservation of order throughout that country and its peaceful development, as well as the permanent establishment of equal advantages for the trade and industry of all other nations; 
Considering that each of them has, for geographical and economic reasons, a special interest in the maintenance of peace and order in certain Provinces of Persia adjoining, or in the neighborhood of, the Russian frontier on the one hand, and the frontiers of Afghanistan and Baluchistan on the other hand; and being desirous of avoiding all cause of conflict between their respective interests in the above-mentioned Provinces of Persia; 
http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/The_Anglo-Russian_Entente

“their colleague Volodya’s latest scheme”

Volodya (the diminutive form of Vladimir) is a marked name. The first association is with Volodya Ulyanov who will grow to become Vladimir Lenin. Why isn’t it at all surprising that this Volodya’s plan is “to steal the great jade monolith at the Guri Amir mausoleum…”?

Lenin's Mausoleum (Russian: Мавзолей Ленина Mavzoley Lenina) also known as Lenin's Tomb, situated in Red Square in Moscow, is the mausoleum that serves as the current resting place of Vladimir Lenin. His embalmed body has been on public display there since the year he died in 1924 (with rare exceptions in wartime). Aleksey Shchusev's diminutive but monumental granite structure incorporates some elements from ancient mausoleums, such as the Step Pyramid and the Tomb of Cyrus the Great.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin's_Mausoleum

Guri Amir Mausoleum

Guri Amir mean in Tajik, the Tomb of the Emir.
This is the mausoleum of Timur, his 2 sons and his 2 grandsons, inclukding the well known Ulughbek.
This fine monument with its blue azure tiles was built by Timur order back in 1404 for some of his sons and future grandsons. Timur had order to build his simple crypty in Shakhrisabz, but stories tell that he got some kind of flue while traveling to China and before he even got to Shakhrisabz he died and was burried here instead.
http://joaoleitao.wordpress.com/2006/05/20/guri-amir-mausoleum-samarkand/

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/guri_amir_mausoleum.htm

“the semi-mythical aeronaut Padzhitnoff” Another interesting issue to discuss, why is there only one Padzhitnoff to counterbalance the chums? The crew of Bol’shaia Igra remains mostly anonymous. Is Pynchon stressing the monarchism and later the totalitarianism of the Russian Empire here?

“local word for jade is yashm” It’s also noteworthy that the Russian for ‘jade’ is yashma.

“He had been sent east in 1895”

Cf. On December 7, 1895, Lenin was arrested, held by authorities for fourteen months and then released and exiled to the village of Shushenskoye in Siberia, where he mingled with such notable Marxists as Georgy Plekhanov, who had introduced socialism to Russia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin

Alexander III

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSalexander3.htm

Craven A

Craven A is a brand of cigarette which were made in Canada, Jamaica, and Vietnam. The cigarettes exhibit the English-style flavor of a Virginia-tobacco dominant blend, with that plant's attendant nutty sweetness. The cigarette was named after the third Earl of Craven in 1860.
Craven A's were a favourite cigarette during World War II. In Vietnam, Craven A is one of most popular brands, especially in the southern part of the country.
The Craven A brand has in recent times been closely associated with a number of entertainment events in Canada. Amongst these has been the "Just for Laughs" Canadian Comedy Tour in March of 1999.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craven_A

“Oh, as if boundary-lines mattered anymore”  Tell us about it!

Eurasia Irredenta  
 
Irredentism is any position advocating annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity and/or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. Some of these movements are also called pan movements. It is a feature of identity politics and cultural and political geography. Since most borders have been moved and redrawn at one point, a great many countries could theoretically present irredentist claims to their neighbours.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irredentism

See also

Neo-Eurasianism (Russian: неоевразийство) is a Russian school of thought, popularized in Russia during the years leading up to and following the collapse of the Soviet Union, that considers Russia to be culturally closer to Asia than to Western Europe.
The school takes its insipiration from the Eurasianists of the 1920's, notably Prince N.S. Troubetskoi and P.N. Savitsky. Lev Gumilev is often cited as the founder of the Neo-Eurasianist movement, and he was quoted as saying that "I am the last of the Eurasianists."[1].
At the same time, major differences have been noted between Gumilev's work and those of the original Eurasianists[2]. Gumilev's work is controversial both for its scientific methodology (using his own conception of ethnogenesis and the notion of "passionarity") and for overtones of anti-semitism. At any rate, Gumilev's work has been a source of inspiration for the Neo-Eurasianist authors, the most prolific of whom is Aleksandr Dugin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Eurasianism

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