Kevin Henderson: More russophobia in international press RESPONSE

This article is interesting and likely true - the Western media does not give due credit to the improvements in the Russian economy and status. The article does however do a disservice to its own main point. The article states "109 soldiers died in 2003 out of 1.2 million" and compares this with Britons "285 soldiers between 1989 and 2000 and 1/3 smaller forces".  That is 31.6 suicides per annum for the British.  These numbers are close enough to suggest that the death rates in both country are very similar. Yet the author assumes that no one will do the math and fail to notice the Russian statistics are for 1 year and the British stats are for 9 years. When attempting to point out the failings of western media it is important not to use the same misleading tactics as your example.  Keep up the good work- I enjoy the different perspective provided by PRAVDA.Ru.
 
Kevin Henderson