Business Travel in Russia Fraught With Bureaucratic Pitfalls

Map of Russia

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – March 27, 2013) While most Russians wade through a bureaucratic quagmire to get a visa for the European Union or the United States, once they arrive they enjoy almost complete freedom of movement. For those who choose to come to Russia to live and work, however, the bureaucratic challenges really begin to […]

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Federation Council members criticize idea to make Northern Sea Route international

Federation Council file photo

MOSCOW. March 26 (Interfax) – Russian presidential envoy for international cooperation in the Arctic and Federation Council member Artur Chilingarov has objected to making the Northern Sea Route an international route, and Federation Council member Yury Neyolov has proposed expanding Russia’s Arctic area by adding a number of regions to it. “Options for providing different kinds of assistance to Russia […]

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Adopted Russian Boy Had Dozens of Bruises – Autopsy Report

Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., file photo

WASHINGTON, March 27 (RIA Novosti) Max Shatto, the 3-year-old Russian adoptee who died on Jan. 21 in Texas, had more than 30 bruises on his body in different stages of healing at the time of his death, according to an autopsy report obtained by the Odessa American (OA) newspaper. The report ­ acquired through a Freedom of Information request to […]

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JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2013-#55 – 26 March 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#54 :: 25 March 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net 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 POLITICS 1. Moscow Times: Most Russians Suspicious of Wealth, Survey Shows. 2. Interfax: Russian lawmakers are richer than ministers – poll. 3. ITAR-TASS: PM adopts long-term forecast of Russia’s socioeconomic development up to 2030. 4. […]

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Kremlin Backs Cyprus Bailout Deal

Cyprus Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – March 26, 2013) A deal between Cyprus and European lenders was backed by the Kremlin on Monday even as top Russian officials unleashed a storm of angry rhetoric about a compulsory levy on local bank accounts included in the rescue package. President Vladimir Putin “decided to support” the agreement between Cyprus and […]

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Prague Spring Comes to Moscow

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – March 25, 2013) “A lot of people these days are finding parallels between the present and the 1930s, but the real connection I see is between the present and 1968.” Playwright Mikhail Durnenkov made that comment to me as we chatted Friday prior to the beginning of an evening called “1968. Prague […]

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Russian Nationalism ‘Far More Terrible’ than Non-Russian Extremism, Novocherkassk Scholar Says

Map of Russia

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 25, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/03/window-on-eurasia-russian-nationalism.html) In a review of the literature on the attitudes of young people toward members of other ethnic groups, Aleksandr Skorik, a professor at the South Russian State Technical University, says that research suggests that “Russian nationalism is far more terrible than non-Russian extremism” as a source of […]

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Russian innovation now saddled up, and riding fast

Skolkovo File Photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – March 25, 2013 – Conor Lenihan, special to RBTH) Russia has been climbing rapidly up the innovation rankings over the last five years. Conor Lenihan is Skolkovo Foundation Vice President for External Economic Relations. He previously served as Ireland’s Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation. German statesman Otto von Bismarck once famously observed […]

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Pussy Riot stunt was caused by moral decline – justice minister

File Photo of Pussy Riot Member in Courtroom Cage, Grinning and Gesturing with Clasped Hands

MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) – Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov believes the stunt carried out by the feminist punk group Pussy Riot in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is an indication of a moral decline in society. “There has been a considerable moral decline. The dancing of the girls, who consider themselves art revolutionaries, on the ambon of a church […]

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Poll suggests over one-third of Russians want parole for Pussy Riot performer

File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) – Russians who would like Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, one of the jailed members of the Pussy Riot punk rock band, to be released on parole make up roughly the same proportion as those who want her to serve out her two-year term, an opinion poll suggests. On March 20, the chairman of the Public Supervisory Commission of […]

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Prosecutors start audit of Memorial anti-discrimination center in St. Petersburg

Kremlin and St. Basil's

ST. PETERSBURG. March 26 (Interfax) – Prosecutors are conducting an audit on Tuesday in the Memorial anti-discrimination center in St. Petesrburg. “The audit is continuing. We are writing an explanatory letter. The procedures are being conducted in a calm and matter of fact manner. There is something connected with extremism behind the audit,” Memorial Director Olga Abramenko told Interfax. Meanwhile, […]

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‘Berezovsky Was a Scapegoat and a Criminal’

Boris Berezovsky file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – March 26, 2013) “Is Boris Berezovsky the godfather of Russia’s godfathers? It sure looks that way,” Russian-American journalist Paul Klebnikov wrote in an article published in late 1996, the year a small group of Russian oligarchs, including Berezovsky, engineered President Boris Yeltsin’s re-election. Berezovsky, then a billionaire businessman, objected to the portrayal, […]

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Residence Issue Crucial to Berezovsky Estate Decision – Expert

Boris Berezovsky file photo

MOSCOW, March 26 (RIA Novosti) – Resolving the fate of the Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky’s estate will depend on whether the United Kingdom or Russia is ruled to have been his official place of residence, an expert told the Rapsi news agency on Monday. Since 2000, the Russian businessman had resided in the United Kingdom, where he died on Saturday […]

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Russia Lets China Into Arctic Rush as Energy Giants Embrace

Map of Barents Sea and Polar Environs

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Rakteem Katakey & Will Kennedy – March 25, 2013) Russia’s decision to give China a share of prized Arctic exploration licenses as part of a “breakthrough” deal signals how the world’s largest oil and gas producer and the biggest energy consumer are redrawing the global energy map. Under agreements signed during President Xi Jinping’s first state […]

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BRICS summit to discuss global economic recovery

File Photo of Flags of BRICS Nations and BRICS Logo from Past Summit

(Interfax – MOSCOW, March 26, 2013) – Proposals for global economic recovery dominate the agenda for a planned summit of BRICS on Tuesday and Wednesday. President Vladimir Putin will represent Russia at what is the fifth summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The meeting will be held in Durban, South Africa. “The pace of growth of the […]

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Russia reveals its strategy for BRICS cooperation

File Photo of Flags of BRICS Nations and BRICS Logo from Past Summit

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yuri Paniyev, special to RBTH – March 26, 2013) Russian Foreign Ministry has released an official strategy for Russia’s participation in the BRICS association. The document stresses the need to turn the bloc into a comprehensive institution for daily cooperation on key global issues The Kremlin and Russian Foreign Ministry have released an […]

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Russian, US defence chiefs discuss need for ‘resumption of dialogue’ by phone

Sergei Shoigu file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, March 25, 2013) Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu and US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel have held a telephone conversation on issues of global and regional security, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoliy Antonov has told journalists on Monday (25 March). “Literally an hour ago, at the initiative of the Russian side, a telephone conversation took place between […]

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Ukraine’s pugilistic democracy

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Business New Eruope – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – March 26, 2013) After a four-week hiatus during which Ukraine’s feisty opposition blocked the workings of parliament in protest at President Viktor Yanukovych’s heavy-handed policymaking, the Rada resumed work in the middle of March and opened with a full-scale brawl between deputies. The opposition had been blocking parliament’s work […]

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Amnesty Intl’s Russian office chief says may be summoned to prosecutor’s office

Kremlin and St. Basil's

MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) – The head of Amnesty International’s Russian office Sergei Nikitin announced after police visited the office that he could be summoned to the prosecutor’s office soon. Prosecutors, Justice Ministry and tax officials started an audit on several nongovernmental organizations on Monday, among them Amnesty International, Public Verdict and the Movement for Human Rights. “They spent five […]

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Foreigners adopt far more disabled children than Russians – deputy minister

File Photo of Back of Wheelchari with Line of Persons in Business Dress in Background

(Interfax – March 22, 2013) According to data from the Russian Education and Science Ministry, over the last few years foreign citizens have adopted several times more disabled children than Russians have, privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 22 March. “If we look at the number of disabled children adopted, we see that for Russian citizens this is 40 in […]

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Checks at Russian NGOs seek to identify ‘foreign agents’ – Justice Ministry

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Interfax – Moscow, March 25, 2013) The Justice Ministry has explained that mass checks at NGOs are being carried out to uncover the organizations that fall under the definition of “foreign agents”. “If breaches of the laws of the Russian Federation are uncovered, including the provisions of the Federal Law “On the introduction of changes to legislative acts as regards […]

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A Bad Example

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Institute of Modern Russia – www.imrussia.org – Alexander Podrabinek – March 21, 2013) Despite their mutual aversion, the Russian government and the Russian opposition have one common trait­a tendency to oversimplify the image of their enemy for propagandistic purposes. Author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek argues that the opposition is making a grave mistake when it focuses all its efforts just […]

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Corruption is the Communism of Today, Russian Analyst Says

Cropped File Photo of Two Men in Business Suits Shaking Hands and Passing Cash

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 26, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/03/window-on-eurasia-corruption-is.html) For Vladimir Putin’s Russia, corruption is the communism of today, Stanislav Belkovsky argues, and the struggle against it is like the struggle against the CPSU a quarter of a century ago, a battle that will lead to “Perestroika Version Two” and a series of events resembling those […]

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Pushkov says liberal media fighting with State Duma, Kremlin over power

Russian Duma Building

MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) – Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, believes the liberal media have assumed the role of the right-wing opposition. “The right-wing opposition is now extremely weak. The liberal media have assumed its role. Their attacks on the State Duma and the Kremlin are not just episodes, but a tough fight for […]

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Russia moving away from totalitarianism but destination dim – minister

Kremlin and St. Basil's

MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) – Russia is moving away from its totalitarian past but it is unclear what kind of political system it is heading for, the justice minister has argued. “It needs to be realized that we are getting through an inevitable period of transition from a totalitarian society to another form of society. At the moment, it’s hard […]

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Russian lawmakers are richer than ministers – poll

Duma Session file photo

MOSCOW. March 26 (Interfax) – Recent polls indicate that in the opinion of Russian citizens, lawmakers are the wealthiest of civil servants, and they proposed setting an income limit for those seeking civil service. Fifty-five percent of respondents said deputies of the State Duma and the Federation Council are the richest among civil servants, and 52% said government executives are, […]

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Most Russians Suspicious of Wealth, Survey Shows

File Photo of Man Placing Stack of Large Bills into Inside Pocket of Suitcoat

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 26, 2013) Most Russians find it distasteful when lawmakers and officials are wealthy, a survey published Tuesday said. According to a poll conducted by the Levada Center, 77 percent of Russians believe it’s either “indecent” or “criminal” for government representatives to be flush with money, Kommersant reported. An even greater proportion, 82 percent of […]

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Foreign companies operating in Russia saw little changes in the business environment in 2012

Empty Boardroom

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – March 25, 2013) The survey conducted by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) together with Fleishman-Hillard Vanguard shows that 44% of respondents noticed the improvement of the business environment (34% considers the improvement minor) versus 55% in 2011, RBC daily reported. The improvement in the quality of tax administration is accompanied by […]

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Cyprus Deposit Haircut is ‘Legalized Theft’ Says Russian Businessman

Cyprus Map

NICOSIA, March 25 (RIA Novosti) ­ The Cypriot authorities’ plans to force losses on local account holders to unlock a much-needed bailout from international lenders breach international accords and will be challenged in court, the head of the Association of Russian Businessmen in Cyprus said on Monday. The finance ministers of the 17-nation euro area agreed early on Monday on […]

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Poverty rate in Russia went down in 2012 – Russia’s Statistics Agency

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Interfax – March 25, 2013) The number of people with incomes below the survival minimum in Russia in 2012 went down to 15.8 million people from 18 million in 2011, Russia’s Statistics Agency Rosstat has reported. The poverty rate (the percentage of people with incomes below the survival minimum) in Russia in 2012 decreased to 11.2 percent from 12.7 percent […]

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New Russian laws: no chance of a drink or a smoke

No Smoking Symbol

(opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Loginov – March 21, 2013) Mikhail Loginov is a journalist and novelist based in St Petersburg. He is the author of the recently published bestselling political thriller “Battle for Kremlin”. Throughout Russia’s history its rulers have attempted to curtail the consumption of alcohol and/or tobacco. Gorbachev had little success in the 1980s; will this year’s new laws […]

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New history textbooks may promote conservative values in Russia

File Photo of U.S. Diplomat Teaching Class to Russian Students

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Stanislav Kuvaldin, special to RBTH – March 22, 2013) A single textbook is being drafted in Russia, following Putin’s call for a single concept of Russian history. The Russian government has tasked scholars with preparing a single textbook of the history of Russia, to replace the host of Russian history manuals on the […]

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After Kremlin Talks, China’s Leader Takes Dig at U.S.

China Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky and Jonathan Earle – March 25, 2013) In a veiled criticism of the U.S., new Chinese President Xi Jinping has denounced foreign governments that meddle in the domestic affairs of other countries, adopting rhetoric favored by President Vladimir Putin as he wrapped up his first foreign trip in Moscow. Xi, who underscored China’s […]

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Russian rejects Cyprus to embrace China

Cyprus Map

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – March 25, 2013) The news images on Friday were dripping with symbolism. A Cypriot delegation lead by Finance minister Michael Sarris was on its way out to the airport having failed to secure a 10bn rescue package from the Kremlin, while newly anointed Chinese premier Xi Jinping was on his way in from the […]

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Russian human rights activists expresses fears about closure of prominent NGOs in Russia

Lyudmila Alekseyeva file photo

(Interfax – March 24, 2013) Lyudmila Alekseyeva, Russia’s oldest human rights activist and the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, is concerned that the recent inspection of NGOs conducted by the law enforcement agencies may lead to the closure of many prominent NGOs in Russia. “I don’t know what they are looking for. They are probably looking for evidence of […]

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Russian Language Second Most Popular on the Internet

File Photo of Little Russian Girl at Laptop Next to Globe

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 25, 2013) Russian became the second most frequently used language on the Internet in 2013, having passed Germany by a narrow margin, according to a report by analytical company W3 Techs. The company counted the number of sites in each language regardless of the number of hits the sites get, Vedomosti reported Friday. The […]

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Berezovsky And Putin — The Real Tandem Of Putinism?

Boris Berezovsky file photo

(RFE/RL – www.rferl.org – Robert Coalson – March 24, 2013) Boris Berezovsky ­ who was found dead of as yet undetermined causes in his London home on March 23 ­ was a key figure among those who brought Vladimir Putin to power in 1999. And although Berezovsky was driven into exile by the end of 2000, over the years he […]

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NEWSLINK: Russian Prosecutor General’s Office to continue its legal actions to bring Berezovsky’s criminally acquired assets back to Russia

Boris Berezovsky file photo

[Russian Prosecutor General’s Office to continue its legal actions to bring Berezovsky’s criminally acquired assets back to Russia – ITAR-TASS – March 25, 2013 – http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/686220.html] ITAR-TASS reports on Russian efforts to seize assets of exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, recently found dead under undetermined circumstances in Britain, where he had been granted political asylum. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office […]

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NEWSLINK: Exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky died in Britain

Boris Berezovsky file photo

[Exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky died in Britain – ITAR-TASS – March 25, 2013 – http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c142/686021.html] ITAR-TASS covers the death of exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky in Britain: Boris Berezovsky, an exiled oligarch and one of the main figures on the Russian political scene of Boris Yeltsin’s epoch, was found dead at his mansion in the town Ascot in the English […]

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Berezovsky dreamt of being buried near Moscow region church where he was baptized – newspaper

Boris Berezovsky file photo

(Interfax – March 25, 2013) Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who has died in London, wanted to be buried near a Moscow region church where he was baptized, Former Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Ivan Rybkin, said. “He told me – there is a cemetery in the Moscow region’s Tarasovka near an ancient brick church, where he was baptized after the […]

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NEWSLINK: No radiation at Berezovsky home, no sign of outside role in death

Boris Berezovsky file photo

[No radiation at Berezovsky home, no sign of outside role in death – Reuters – Olivia Harris – March 25, 2013 – click here for full article] Reuters covers the death in Britain of exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.  The post-mortem still awaits completion, and Berezovsky had been the target of multiple assassination attempts.  But there has been no announcement […]

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Berezovsky, Putin and an Absence of Respect

Boris Berezovsky file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky and Natalya Krainova – March 25, 2013) Boris Berezovsky would probably heap all of his ill fortunes at the feet of Vladimir Putin, the man whom he helped make Russia’s president but then spent the rest of his life trying to topple. Still, the relationship between Putin and Berezovsky, who was found dead […]

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JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2013-#54 – 25 March 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#54 :: 25 March 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net 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 POLITICS 1. Moscow Times: Berezovsky, Putin and an Absence of Respect. 2. Reuters: No radiation at Berezovsky home, no sign of outside role in death. 3. Interfax: Berezovsky dreamt of being buried near Moscow region […]

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Will U.S., Russia launch new dialogue on ABM?

Missile Defense Control Room file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Ilyashenko, special to RBTH – March 22, 2013) Although some Russian experts argue that Washington’s decision to cancel the final stage of its ABM in Europe is a reaction to Russia’s strong opposition, the U.S. denies these assumptions. Some experts believe Washington’s decision to cancel the final stage of its European-based missile […]

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Visas main obstacle to broader Russia-EU ties – Medvedev

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

MOSCOW. March 22 (Interfax) – If visas are not scrapped, strategic partnership between Russia and the European Union will not be possible, said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. “We must understand that visas will have to be scrapped in any case if we are to build a strategic partnership,” Medvedev said at a press conference on Friday after talks between […]

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Replay of Libyan scenario in Syria would be major strategic mistake – Russian diplomat

Syria Map

MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) – A replay of the Libyan scenario by NATO forces in Syria would be a major strategic mistake, says Russian permanent representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov. “If this is an element of some political pressure, it is one situation, which I think is unlikely to help the cause. If this is serious, this is even […]

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Russia, BRICS will cooperate closely with UN, resist using UNSC to dismiss unwanted regimes – concept

UN Building file photo

MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) – Russia and its partners in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) intend to resist attempts to use the UN Security Council to dismiss unwanted regimes and to settle conflict situations with force. “The main goals of Russia in the sphere of international political cooperation with BRICS partners are: world-wide development of cooperation with […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Interview to the ITAR-TASS news agency

File Photo of Flags of BRICS Nations and BRICS Logo from Past Summit

(Kremlin.ru – March 22, 2013) QUESTION: BRICS’ relatively new phenomenon attracts increased global attention due to the optimistic predictions about its development, especially against the backdrop of global crisis developments in the world economy. What is BRICS’ immediate and long-term significance for Russia? Is such a format practical for the development of relations among these countries? PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR […]

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136 National Languages Now at Risk in Russia, UNESCO Says

Map of Russia

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 22, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/03/window-on-eurasia-136-national.html) Some 136 national languages of the Russian Federation are at or already beyond “the edge of extinction,” according to UNESCO. Many of these languages are subgroups of others, but the danger of disappearance exists for groups as large as Avars, Bashkirs and Chechens. According to the United […]

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Russians’ greatest worry is corruption; only 4 percent worried about rights – poll

Cropped File Photo of Two Men in Business Suits Shaking Hands and Passing Cash

(Interfax – March 21, 2013) Over the past three years, the Russians have become less concerned about inflation, unemployment and economic crisis in the country and significantly more concerned about growing corruption, social inequality and uncontrolled immigration, Russian Interfax news agency reported on 21 March, citing an opinion poll carried out by the Levada Centre in February. According to the […]

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