Try being constructive: When protesters on municipal councils ‘get in the way’ of democracy

Map of Russia

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – Anna Arutunyan is the politics editor of The Moscow News – Dec. 17, 2012) I should say something about the latest anti-government protest ­ how about 2,000 people showed up to the first white-ribbon demonstration that failed to get City Hall authorization, but… snore. The rallies have disintegrated into a mere tribute […]

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Russian Pundits Blame Lack Of Clear Agenda For Wane In Protest Movement

File Photo of Moscow Winter Protest

(RIA Novosti – Dec. 17, 2012) The decision of the Russian opposition Coordination Council to hold off on mass rallies until spring 2013 is a sensible one in view of the wane in protest activity, political analysts told state-owned news agency RIA Novosti on 17 December. Meanwhile, the managing director of the independent Levada Centre pollster, Lev Gudkov, predicted a […]

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Russian Foreign Ministry’s ombudsman slams EU’s human rights

EU Map

(Interfax – December 17, 2012) The Russian Foreign Ministry’s ombudsman for human rights, Konstantin Dolgov, has criticized the human rights situation in the European Union. Dolgov was speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) conference in Turin, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax on 17 December. Speaking about some EU countries’ involvement in the […]

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Magnitsky Act is not targeted against Russia – Ambassador McFaul

Ambassador Michael McFaul file photo

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON. Dec 17 (Interfax) – The Magnitsky Act endorsed by the Congress and signed by U.S. President Barack Obama is not targeted against Russia, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul posted in his blog. He said the act did not stipulate any extraterritorial measures. The act concerns the U.S. sovereignty and ability to bar persons involved in violations of human […]

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Coping With Cancer: Patients Struggle in Faulty State System

Map of Russia

(Moscow TImes – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – Dec. 18, 2012) When Maria Gritsai was diagnosed with late-stage cervical cancer, she didn’t spend much time grieving. She knew she had to act fast. With the support of her husband and son, she turned to the Blokhin Cancer Center, one of Russia’s best oncology hospitals, where the diagnosis was confirmed. Doctors […]

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Russia still far from solving Politkovskaya murder

File Photo of Mourners with Photo of Anna Politkovskaya

From: “Committee to Protect Journalists – ECA” <eurasia@cpj.org> Subject: CPJ: Russia still far from solving Politkovskaya murder Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2012 Committee to Protect Journalists www.cpj.org News Alert Russia still far from solving Politkovskaya murder New York, December 17, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for a retrial of a key defendant in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. […]

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No ‘Color Revolutions’ in Russia – Security Council Chief

Kremlin and St. Basil's file photo

MOSCOW, December 18 (RIA Novosti) ­ Foreign forces trying to spark “a color revolution” in Russia won’t succeed, Russia’s Security Council chief said in an interview published Tuesday. “There are no grounds for ‘color revolutions’ in Russia and we will not permit those scenarios to develop in our country,” Nikolai Patrushev, security chief and longtime ally of President Putin, told […]

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Pride of the nation: Searching for a new national idea, the Kremlin hedges its bets on patriotism

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – Dec. 17, 2012) On the day that President Vladimir Putin called the nation to patriotism last week, Josef Stalin, wearing his recognizable overcoat against the frost, had a lot of “foreign stuff” to gripe about. “How can you talk of patriotism?” he said, puffing on a smokeless pipe as he stood at […]

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Moscow’s Cabbies, Prices, Locals ‘World’s Worst’ ­ Poll

Moscow Traffic file photo

OSCOW, December 17 (RIA Novosti) ­ Moscow ranked last in four categories in a new list of the top 40 global tourist destinations, its score ruined by vicious cabbies, antisocial locals and ungodly prices. The Russian capital scored last on “friendliest locals,” “friendliest taxi drivers,” “best taxi services,” and “best for shopping” in the new World City survey by the […]

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U.S. school shooting buries idea of free selling of weapons in Russia – Pushkov

Makarov Handgun file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 18 (Interfax) – The shooting incident at a primary school in Connecticut, the U.S., which claimed the lives of 20 children and seven adults, will make it impossible to freely sell weapons in Russia, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov tweeted on Tuesday. “The consequences of freely selling weapons in the U.S. and the beginning campaign […]

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Kremlin to stay impregnable for 10-15 years – poll

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com –  Alina Lobzina – Dec. 18, 2012) After a year of tensions between the Kremlin and opposition-minded citizens not seen for over a decade, Russian society decisively split into three parts, with only a minority ready to push for thorough reforms, a new poll reveals. The reform efforts of the 20 percent of “wealthy, educated and […]

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JRL Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2012-#223 – 18 December 2012

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List 2012-#223 18 December 2012 davidjohnson@starpower.net A World Security Institute Project JRL homepage: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: http://russialist.org/funding.php Your source for news and analysis since 1996n0 “We don’t see things as they are, but as we are” In this issue POLITICS 1. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Fyodor Lukyanov, Putin outlines his […]

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General: NATO Air Hub Being Tested

NATO Meeting file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – Dec. 17, 2012) A planned air cargo route for NATO countries’ military equipment from Afghanistan via Ulyanovsk is being tested and should be operating soon, a top general for the alliance said. General Knud Bartels, who chairs the alliance’s military committee, told reporters Friday that containers are being shipped from Afghanistan […]

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Russia Implicated in Litvinenko Death

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – Dec. 14, 2012) The dramatic affair about the death of Alexander Litvinenko resurfaced with force Thursday, when a lawyer told a London judicial hearing that an initial assessment of evidence showed that the Russian state is to blame for the mysterious poisoning of the Kremlin dissident. An examination of British government […]

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Moscow Times Files False Report on Litvinenko Hearing

file photo

From: “William Dunkerley” <wd@publishinghelp.com> Subject: Moscow Times Files False Report on Litvinenko Hearing Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2012 “Russia Implicated in Litvinenko Death,” The Moscow Times, December 14, 2012 (JRL #221) appears to tell what happened at a London hearing on the suspicious death of Alexander Litvinenko. Unfortunately it paints a false picture. The story claims the hearing was told […]

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Soul-Searching Starts After Puny Rally

Map of Russia

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – Dec. 17, 2012) Hundreds of protesters braved subfreezing temperatures and the threat of detention on Saturday to voice a wide range of grievances against President Vladimir Putin’s government in the first major demonstration to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the street protest movement. But the event was the smallest major demonstration since […]

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Number of Orthodox Church members shrinking in Russia, Islam on the rise – poll

Russian Mosque File Photo

MOSCOW. Dec 17 (Interfax) – Orthodoxy is the most common religion in Russia. Seventy-four percent call themselves Orthodox believers, while 7% say they are Muslims. Less than 1% profess other religions (Catholics, Protestants, Jews and others), the Yuri Levada analytical center told Interfax on Monday. The center polled 1,600 people in 130 towns and cities in 45 regions in late […]

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RIA Novosti: Children’s Rights Activists Rally at US Embassy in Moscow

Kremlin and St. Basil's file photo

MOSCOW, December 17 (RIA Novosti) ­ A rally in support of children’s rights took place Monday outside the US Embassy in Moscow, combining expressions of sympathy for victims of the Conneticut school shooting with calls to protect Russian children adopted by US citizens. Russian media have given extensive coverage to the shooting rampage in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 children […]

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JRL Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2012-#222 – 17 December 2012

Map of Russia

[click here to inquire about an e-mail newsletter subscription: davidjohnson@starpower.net] Johnson’s Russia List 2012-#222 17 December 2012 davidjohnson@starpower.net A World Security Institute Project JRL homepage: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: http://russialist.org/funding.php Your source for news and analysis since 1996 In this issue POLITICS 1. www.russiatoday.com: Medvedev upholds Russian arms ban after US school massacre. […]

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Minister Seeks Exemption From EU Energy Package for South Stream

File Photo of Blue Flame from Natural Gas

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – Dec, 17, 2012) Gazprom’s $12.7 billion South Stream gas pipeline should be exempted from the European Union’s third energy package, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday. An updated Russian proposal arguing that the functioning Nord Stream pipeline and the planned South Stream pipeline should receive special treatment because they straddle both […]

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No new legal acts needed on privatization procedure – Shuvalov

Igor Shuvalov file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax) – All of the procedures for privatizing federal property are enshrined at the presidential and governmental level; the legislative framework is adequate to what should happen with privatization in the coming years, and it does not need to be enhanced, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said. “All procedures are now fixed in federal law, […]

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Russia Faces Economy Trap as Oil Decline Looms, EBRD Says

Oil Well file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer and Agnes Lovasz – Dec. 14, 2012) Russia, the world’s largest energy exporter, is becoming increasingly dependent on commodities and failing to prepare for falling oil output in 20 years, the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development said. Corruption, poor education, immigration barriers and state dominance in the economy, which curbs private innovation, all […]

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Diaspora Youths Sold on Russian, but not Russia

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – Dec. 14, 2012) Members of the diaspora who gathered in Moscow on Thursday for the Forum of Russian Compatriots welcomed President Vladimir Putin’s recent edict to support remote Russian language-learning amid efforts in their home countries to limit the status of their mother tongue. However, attendees also voiced doubts that the language […]

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In 20 years 341 journalists have been killed in Russia

File Photo of Mourners with Photo of Anna Politkovskaya

MOSCOW. Dec 16 (Interfax) – In 20 years 341 journalists have been killed in Russia, the Russian Journalists’ Union announced on Saturday. The list includes reporters killed in conflicts and counterterrorist operations, in peaceful times, reported missing and dead under uninvestigated circumstances. On December 15 the union marks the Day of Remembrance of Killed Journalists and on that day the […]

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NEWSLINK: Russian politics: A new ideology for political ends: Vladimir Putin’s state-of-the-nation address

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

[Russian politics: A new ideology for political ends: Vladimir Putin’s state-of-the-nation address – The Economist – Dec. 15, 2012 – http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21568431-vladimir-putins-state-nation-address-new-ideology-political-ends] The Economist reports on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s State-of-the-Nation Address, noting what it saw as a values-oriented focus: For a man known for his pragmatism ­ even cynicism ­ President Vladimir Putin’s state-of-the-nation speech on December 12th was heavily […]

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NEWSLINK: Did Russia Just Throw Assad Under the Bus? Not really. Watch what the Kremlin does, not what it says

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

[Did Russia Just Throw Assad Under the Bus? Not really. Watch what the Kremlin does, not what it says – foreignpolicy.com – Andrew S. Weiss – Andrew S. Weiss, director of the RAND Center for Russia and Eurasia, served on the National Security Council staff, the State Department’s Policy Planning staff, and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense […]

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NEWSLINK: Details of U.S. bill on Russia trade, human rights

U.S. Capitol at Twilight With Washington Monument, National Mall, Washington, D.C., Environs and Sunset in Background

[Factbox: Details of U.S. bill on Russia trade, human rights – Reuters – Dec. 13, 2012 – http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/12/13/uk-usa-russia-trade-idUKBRE8BC18120121213] Reuters sets out bullet points recent U.S. legislation consider trade and Russian human rights, developed in response to Russia’s August 22, 2012, accession to the WTO. Regarding trade, the legislation repeals the Jackson-Vanik amendment and looks to ensure investment-related rule of law, […]

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NEWSLINK: U.S.-Russia ties take a hit: As the Jackson-Vanik amendment is finally repealed, the controversial Magnitsky act provokes similar legislation from Russia and may hamper U.S.-Russia relations.

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

[U.S.-Russia ties take a hit: As the Jackson-Vanik amendment is finally repealed, the controversial Magnitsky act provokes similar legislation from Russia and may hamper U.S.-Russia relations. – Russia Beyond the Headlines – Alexander Gasyuk – Alexander Gasyuk is Rossiyskaya Gazeta’s Washington D.C. Bureau chief  – Dec. 14, 2012 – http://rbth.ru/articles/2012/12/14/once_again_us-russia_ties_take_a_hit_21107.html] Russia Behind the Headlnies covers U.S. Congressional passage of the […]

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NGO Says Russia Ordered It Out Over USAID Funding

USAID Logo with Caption USAID From the American People

WASHINGTON, December 13 (By Carl Schreck for RIA Novosti) – A Washington-based political advocacy group, the International Republican Institute (IRI), said on Thursday it was ordered to leave Russia because it is funded by a US government agency. Russian officials told IRI that it must halt its work in Russia because it is financed by the US Agency for International […]

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Russians favor immigration restrictions – poll

Migrant Workers file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax) – The majority of Russians want the government to restrict labor immigration. The number of people favoring labor immigration restrictions has grown from 57% to a six-year high of 64% over the past 12 months, according to a November poll held by the Levada Analytical Center. The number of those who have not yet formed an […]

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Georgian Organized Clashes, Investigators Say

Map of Russia and European Region of Former Soviet Union or Commonwealth of Independent States

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle and Alec Luhn – Dec. 14, 2012) On the eve of the next major anti-government protest, investigators announced that they had evidence that a Georgian politician helped organize violent clashes at a May 6 protest in Moscow. Givi Targamadze, a close ally of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, “managed” opposition leaders responsible for the […]

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Opposition protests change nothing in Russia – poll

File Photo of Moscow Winter Protest

(Interfax – Dec. 13, 2012) Mass protests in Russia, such as For Fair Elections, March of Millions and others that have taken place in the country since the end of 2011, are now supported by 40 per cent of Russians. As many people (41 per cent) are against them and others could not say (19 per cent ), Russian Interfax […]

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Medvedev comments on proposed way to fight corruption

Dmitry Medvedev file photo

SKOLKOVO, near Moscow. Dec 13 (Interfax) – Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has poured cold water on a proposal for starting a crackdown on corruption in Russia by choosing one of the government’s activities, such as issuing passports, and making it completely transparent. The proposal came from a speaker at the “Open Government” conference in Skolkovo on Thursday. “I believe that […]

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Medvedev’s Gaffe And The Elite’s Jitters

Dmitry Medvedev file photo

(RFE/RL – Brian Whitmore – Dec. 13, 2012) When Dmitry Medvedev was caught by a live microphone last week referring to Investigative Committee agents as “kozly,” a deeply offensive insult in Russian, it sparked a minor scandal, embarrassed the prime minister, and infuriated many in the law-enforcement community. Medvedev’s gaffe cast a light on the turbulence that President Vladimir Putin’s […]

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Russian Power Tandem Wobbles as Medvedev Spars With Putin

File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin with Heads Bowed Over Microphone

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer and Ilya Arkhipov – Dec. 13, 2012) Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin cemented his position atop Russia’s pecking order. Dmitry Medvedev, the protege he pushed aside, is having difficulty accepting that. “It’s not the easiest thing to do, when you become prime minister after serving as president,” Prime Minister Medvedev said in an […]

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Ex-Policeman Sentenced Over Politkovskaya Killing

File Photo of Mourners with Photo of Anna Politkovskaya

MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti) – A Moscow court sentenced a former police officer to 11 years in prison on Friday for his role in the 2006 killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was convicted in a separate trial from the others accused of involvement in the killing, the mastermind of which remains at liberty. Politkovskaya, a reporter […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Address to the Federal Assembly

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

(Kremlin.ru – Dec. 12, 2012) [Scroll Down for Transcript] The Kremlin Vladimir Putin made annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation which outlines priority targets for national political and economic development. The event took place in St George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace and was attended by the members of the Council of Federation, State […]

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JRL Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2012-#221 – 14 December 2012

Johnson’s Russia List 2012-#221 14 December 2012 davidjohnson@starpower.net A World Security Institute Project JRL homepage: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: http://russialist.org/funding.php Your source for news and analysis since 1996 In this issue POLITICS 1. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, Dec. 14, 2012. 2. Interfax: Medvedev comments on proposed way to fight corruption. […]

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Putin Targets Transparency of Offshore Companies

Empty Boardroom

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – Dec. 13, 2012) President Vladimir Putin expanded Russian vocabulary Wednesday, as he called for “deoffshorization” of the country’s economy, a measure he said would help repatriate capital channeled to offshore jurisdictions. In his state-of-the-nation address, which covered a wide range of economic issues, Putin pushed for agreements with tax havens that would […]

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NGO Warning ‘Not Linked’ to Foreign Agent Law – Justice Ministry

Shelf of Alcoholic Beverages with Red and White Tape Across It

MOSCOW, December 13 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Justice Ministry on Thursday denied reports that a regional branch of the No to Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Foundation had been warned under the new “foreign agent” law. “This requirement [to disclose sources of foreign funding] has existed since 2006. Thus, the warning issued is in no way linked to the coming into […]

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Kasyanov sees liberal rhetoric in Putin’s message but doubts its implementation

Mikhail Kasyanov File Photo

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Cochairman of PARNAS opposition party and former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov has said he agrees with many proposals made by President Vladimir Putin in his Wednesday message to the Federal Assembly but is not sure that all of them will be implemented. “A significant part of Putin’s speech was predictable. Just a year ago I […]

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Putin’s message indicates determination to continue old course – Communist Party

Kremlin and St. Basil's file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – First Deputy Chairman of the Communist Party Central Committee and State Duma vice speaker Ivan Melnikov did not hear anything fundamentally new in President Vladimir Putin’s message to the Federal Assembly. “Judging by the document as a whole, I must say that one and the same idea is repeated year after year – the stage […]

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Putin’s address is declarative – expert Pavlovsky

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Political expert Gleb Pavlovsky has mixed feelings about the state-of-the-nation address President Vladimir Putin presented at the parliament on Wednesday. He thinks the address is inertial. “The address does not contain fresh ideas; it is inertial, which means it is based on the principle “we have done this and that and we will carry on […]

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Putin Offers Little Political Reform

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – Dec. 13, 2012) The government will continue to bolster the country’s economic and military prowess as well as dole out benefits to citizens, but political change can only be incremental, President Vladimir Putin said in his state-of-the-nation address Wednesday. Putin’s first major policy speech since he returned as head of state […]

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Putin calls for revival of provincial intelligentsia as moral pillar of Russia

Map of Russia

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Provincial intelligentsia should be revived as a moral pillar of the country, President Vladimir Putin said in the state-of-the-nation address he presented at the parliament on Wednesday. “I would like to speak particularly about the social sphere. Specialists working in this field are formally indentified as ‘public sector employees’. These people have a good education […]

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Putin Vetoes Proposed Breaks for Medvedev Innovation Hub

Skolkovo File Photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Scott Rose & Ilya Arkhipov – Dec. 12, 2012) Russian President Vladimir Putin vetoed legislation passed by parliament on changes to the Skolkovo innovation hub, a project championed by Premier Dmitry Medvedev, threatening to widen a rift between the two men. The bill, which proposed delaying mandatory residency requirements for Skolkovo, needs additional work to determine […]

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Plea Bargain Upheld in Politkovskaya Case

File Photo of Mourners with Photo of Anna Politkovskaya

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – Dec. 13, 2012) A Moscow judge upheld a controversial plea bargain that could complicate efforts to determine who ordered the killing of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006. Judge Alexander Zamashnyuk ruled that Politkovskaya’s two children had no right to challenge the deal, which includes a reduced sentence for the suspect, […]

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Foreign policy provisions of Putin’s address create new understanding of Russian international role – Pushkov

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov has stressed the importance of foreign policy provisions in the state-of-the-nation address presented by President Vladimir Putin to parliament on Friday. “This (foreign policy) part of the presidential message contained a number of significant provisions, primarily the emphasis on the sovereignty of Russia and its policy. The […]

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