Month: July 2013

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#119 :: 1 July 2013

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
Map of Russia

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#119 :: 1 July 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support […]

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Putin Signs ‘Blasphemy’ and ‘Gay Propaganda’ Bills

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 1, 2013) President Vladimir Putin has signed the so-called “blasphemy bill” and the “gay propaganda bill” ­ two pieces of legislation that have outraged the liberal opposition. Both bills were passed unanimously by the State Duma on June 11, 2013, and their full texts appeared on the Kremlin’s site Sunday. The blasphemy law will […]

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Pressure ratchets up on major Russian NGO

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – July 1, 2013) The Movement For Human Rights is among dozens of organizations teetering on the brink of a shutdown for protesting new legislation on NGOs and the first one that authorities have evicted by force. Lev Ponomarev, a 71-year-old human rights activist, is going through a hard time […]

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One Russian in Eight No Longer Views Chechnya as Part of Russia, Poll Finds

Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus
Map of Chechnya and Environs

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 1, 2013) Twelve percent of Russians say Chechnya is already independent, 24 percent say they would welcome that outcome, and 27 percent more suggest they’d be indifferent to that development, while only 10 percent say they would back the use of force to prevent that step, according to the results of […]

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‘Open part’ of Russian military development plan published on official website

Military
File Photo of Russian Tanks in Military Parade

[plan published in Russian at http://mil.ru/mod_activity_plan.htm] (Interfax – Moscow, June 27, 2013) The Russian Defense Ministry has completed eight of the 18 targets that were set in the five manifesto presidential decrees of 7 May 2012, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu has said. “These decrees determine the main priorities in the development of the Armed Forces, military-industrial complex, military service […]

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WTO entry disappoints, but Russia stays attractive

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Outdoor Electronic Sign with Russian Exchange Data

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Regina Sadykova, special to RBTH – June 28, 2013) By comparison with other European countries, Russia remains attractive as a business and investment destination. The Association of European Business (AEB) in Russia has presented the results of its annual research project ­ “Strategies and Perspectives of European Companies in Russia”­carried out in conjunction […]

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Turkey could become biggest Russian gas importer before long – Miller

Oil, Gas, Energy, Turkey
File Photo of Blue Flame from Natural Gas

(Interfax, MOSCOW, June 28, 2013) Turkey could become the biggest importer of Russian gas before very long, overtaking Germany, Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) CEO Alexei Miller told reporters. “Turkey wants to buy more of our gas as its needs grow and possibly due to a shortfall from other suppliers. The growth could be 20% in the near future on top of […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Officials Back Snowden, Issue ‘Not on’ Kremlin Agenda

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden file photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, July 1, 2013) ­ Russian lawmakers and officials voiced support for fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden at a round table meeting in the Public Chamber on Monday, in contrast to muted comments by the Kremlin’s spokesperson who has said that Snowden is “not on the Kremlin’s agenda.” The head of Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council, […]

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RIA Novosti: Agreeing to Disagree on Snowden

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden file photo

(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments – June 28, 2013) The Snowden affair is fresh evidence of how much the world has changed in a historically short period of time. In the not too distant past, spies were the main target in […]

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Over half of Georgians dub Russia as enemy, 30% call it friend – poll

Georgia
Tblisi, Georgia, File Photo with Building with Tower on Hillside and City Buildings in Valley in Distance

(Interfax – TBILISI, June 28, 2013) Fifty-seven percent of Georgians have dubbed Russia as an enemy in a poll the International Republican Institute (IRI) held in Georgia. Thirty percent said Russia was a friend, IRI reported on Thursday. The United States is also on the enemy list, although 41% of Georgians call it a friend. Six percent of the respondents […]

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Interfax: Putin, Medvedev, Shoigu most popular politicians in H1 2013 – Levada Center

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Sergei Shoigu file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 28, 2013) The ratings of Russian leaders remained stable in the first half of 2013, sociologists say. A total of 63% respondents gave positive evaluation to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s work in June and 36% said they trusted Putin, Levada Center told Interfax on Friday on the results of the all-Russia survey. The trust rating of […]

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Gerard Depardieu: Russian needs a leader like Putin

Europe, EU, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Gérard Depardieu file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 29, 2013) Prominent French actor Gerard Depardieu, who recently became a citizen of Russia, believes Russia needs such a leader as President Vladimir Putin. “Putin and I are friends. He is a very strong personality, and Russia needs exactly such kind of leader now,” Depardieu said at a press conference on Saturday following the press screening […]

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The Big Chill: Critics Say Kremlin Waging A War On Ideas

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Robert Coalson – July 1, 2013) It’s not a great time to be a freethinker in Russia. Offending somebody’s religious sensibilities could get you prosecuted according to legislation signed this weekend by President Vladimir Putin. Criticizing the wrong person with a snarky comment on a social network could run afoul of a vaguely worded law criminalizing […]

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