Russians Deeply Conflicted on Ethnic Issues, Poll Shows

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, September 19, 2013) Ethnic Russians often hold positions on ethnic issues that are at odds with one another, a reflection of the difficulties of tapping in to such sensitive questions and of real uncertainties among them about themselves, their nation and country, and about other groups. At the request of the Norwegian […]

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Russian Parliament Gives Approval for State to Take Over Academy of Sciences

Duma Session file photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) ­ A bill to hand over control of research institutions in Russia from the country’s Academy of Sciences to the federal government was approved on Wednesday in the federal parliament despite vehement objections from the scientific community. The landmark bill, which has yet to be approved by the upper house of parliament and […]

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IT, Retail Executives Make It to the Top of Russian Business Leaders

Empty Boardroom

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 19, 2013 – Alexander Panin) The top 25 of the ranking of Russia’s top executives published Wednesday for the first time in its 14-year history had three new names that were not associated with state companies or traditional resource-oriented industries. The Top 1000 Business Leaders ranking, prepared by the Russian Managers Association, is based […]

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Eco-Consciousness Growing, One Package at a Time

Siberian Natural Scenery, with River, Trees, Hills

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – September 19, 2013) Russian consumers have more interest and demand for environmentally friendly packaging than their counterparts in some developed countries, but still are ranked at the bottom among 11 large consumer markets in terms of actual recycling activity, according to a study that global packaging giant Tetra Pak released this week. […]

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Americans’ Views on Russia, Putin Sour – Poll

United States Map

(RIA Novosti – WASHINGTON, September 18, 2013) ­ For the first time in 15 years, more Americans view Russia as an unfriendly or enemy nation than as an ally or friend of the United States, and for the first time since Russian President Vladimir Putin took office in 2000, a majority of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of him, a […]

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Needling, Wary Collaboration

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(The Weekly Wonk – weeklywonk.newamerica.net – Joshua Tucker – September 12, 2013) It is hard to imagine a more interesting—and confusing—time to take stock of modern U.S.-Russian relations. My Twitter feed is currently ablaze with reports of the possibility that the #US will adopt the #Russia plan for solving the current #Syria crisis. At the same time, Vladimir Putin has […]

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Interfax: Russia is restoring its military presence in Arctic, not expanding it – Foreign Ministry

File Photo of Polar Bear on Ice and Snow with Water Nearby

(Interfax – MURMANSK, September 19, 2013) The strengthening of any country’s military forces in the Artic is in most cases not targeted against any of the neighbors, Russian Foreign Ministry charge d’affaires Anton Vasilyev said. “If we don’t take into account strategic nuclear weapons, which are an element of a different, global strategic dimension, it’s difficult to speak about any […]

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Russia shrugged: Searching for national identity

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – September 18, 2013) As the Russian government continues to search for a national identity unifying Russians, a recent study shows a society atomized along ethnic and economic lines. With so little holding a people together, the findings, sociologists say, challenge a long-held assumption that Russia is an inherently collectivist society. “We are […]

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#170 :: 18 September 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#170 : 18 September 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: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Moscow News: Anna Arutunyan, Russia shrugged: Searching for national identity. […]

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Interfax: Moscow to send to UNSC proof that insurgents used chemical weapons in Ghouta – Lavrov

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) Russia intends to provide the proof, provided by Damascus, that the opposition used chemical weapons in eastern Ghouta near Damascus, to the UN Security Council. “Of course, we will provide all of this to the UN Security Council,” Russian Foreign Minister told reporters following his speech at the Valdai Discussion Club. This proof has […]

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RIA Novosti: Pundits Dismiss Russian Trace In UN Report On Chemical Attack In Syria

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

(RIA Novosti – September 17, 2013) Armed Syrian opposition could have used parts of Soviet ammunition when preparing the chemical attack in the vicinity of Damascus, editor-in-chief of the Natsionalnaya Oborona (National Defense) magazine Igor Korotchenko told RIA Novosti news agency on 17 September. The UN report confirming the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which was published on 16 […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Expert Decodes Information On Shells Found In Syria By UN Inspectors

Syria Map

(RIA Novosti – Valday, Novgorod Region, September 17, 2013) The parts of Soviet-made munitions found by UN inspectors near Damascus belong to projectiles used in multiple-launch missile systems that the Syrian army took out of service long ago and have probably been improvised to carry chemicals, the director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Ruslan Pukhov, has […]

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RIA Novosti: U.S., Russia Spar over Truth, Consequences in Syria

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

(RIA Novosti – Carl Schreck – WASHINGTON, September 17, 2013) ­ The United States and Russia remained at loggerheads Tuesday over the potential use of force against Syria should Damascus fail to abide by a US-Russian plan to secure chemical weapons stockpiles controlled by the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Washington is pushing for a UN Security Council resolution […]

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Russia Beyond the Headlines: Can Russia and the U.N. save Syria?

UN Building file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yuri Paniyev, special to RBTH – September 17, 2013) Despite ­ or perhaps because of ­ its touchy bilateral relations with many member countries, Russia maintains that the United Nations is still relevant today. On Sept. 17, the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly was opened with a strike of a […]

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Russian business ombudsman urges amnesty for migrants

Boris Titov file photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) Russia’s business ombudsman proposed on Tuesday that the country’s authorities should declare amnesty for illegal migrants to help both the foreign workers and their employers. Ombudsman Boris Titov, who helped put forward amnesty for Russians jailed on economic charges, wrote a column saying that business in the country needed a considerable inflow of […]

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Russia could cut, redistribute some budget expenditure in next three years

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Interfax – MOSCOW/KAZAN, September 17, 2013) Russia could cut budget expenditure by more than 1.2 trillion rubles in the next three years. Some of this as well as money saved by other means may be redistributed or used for other priorities. Cutting and maneuvering The Kommersant newspaper said the Russian Finance Ministry was proposing to slash budget spending by more […]

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Russian strategy: new article in International Affairs

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 Subject: Russian strategy: new article in International Affairs From: Andrew Monaghan <a.c.monaghan@gmail.com> Please find below a link to a new article just published in the current edition of International Affairs journal. http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/ia/archive/view/194090 The article reflects on the nature of strategy and explores how this can be applied to Russian strategic thinking and planning. This is […]

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NEW BOOK: Strategic Cooperation: Overcoming the Barriers of Global Anarchy

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2013 Subject: New book: Strategic Cooperation:  Overcoming the Barriers of Global Anarchy From: Michael Slobodchikoff <mslobodchikoff@troy.edu> Michael O. Slobodchikoff Lecturer of Political Science Troy University Troy, AL TITLE: Strategic Cooperation:  Overcoming the Barriers of Global Anarchy AUTHOR: Michael O. Slobodchikoff PUBLISHER: Lexington Books (2013) ABSTRACT: Power inequalities and mistrust have characterized many interstate relationships. Yet most […]

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EVENT & CALL FOR PAPERS: ASN 2014 Convention Call for Papers

Columbia University Campus with Main Building

From: Dominique Arel <darel@uottawa.ca> Subject: ASN 2014 Convention Call for Papers Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 Call for Papers 19th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) International Affairs Building, Columbia University, NY Sponsored by the Harriman Institute 24-26 April 2014 www.nationalities.org ***Proposal deadline: 24 October 2013*** [Please note that the deadline is earlier than […]

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MEMORIAL SERVICE: Reminder: Peter Juviler Memorial Service, Friday September 20 in New York City

Columbia University Campus with Main Building

Subject: Reminder: Peter Juviler Memorial Service 9/20 From: The Harriman Institute <harrimanevents@gmail.com> Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 Columbia/Harriman Institute Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies Reminder: Peter Juviler Memorial Service A memorial service will be held for Professor Emeritus Peter Juviler on Friday, September 20, 2013 at 4 pm in the James Memorial Chapel at Union Theological Seminary (3041 Broadway […]

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EVENT REMINDER – PONARS Eurasia Policy Conference – September 23-24, 2013 (RSVP by Thursday September 19)

File Photo of George Washington Bust at George Washington University

Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 From: PONARS Eurasia / IERES <ieresgwu@gwu.edu> Subject: REMINDER – PONARS Eurasia Policy Conference – September 23-24, 2013 IERES – The Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies We are pleased to invite you to the annual PONARS Eurasia Policy Conference September 23-24, 2013 GW Elliott School of International Affairs 1957 E Street NW Washington DC […]

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Russian territorial integrity must be protected at any cost – poll

Map of Russia

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) Russia should be preserved within its current borders at any cost, said 93% of citizens polled by the Public Opinion Foundation in September. Some 57% of 1,000 respondents polled over the phone said there was a threat to Russian territorial integrity. Such answers were mostly given by citizens older than 60 (69%), vocational school […]

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Why Russia still needs the UN

UN Building file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Vyacheslav Morozov, special to RBTH – September 18, 2013) Although Russia is involved in many other multilateral groups, the UN gives the country status and influence. Russia’s attitude towards the United Nations is defined by two key concerns: status and influence. Being a permanent member of the UN Security Council is crucial for […]

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Over 500 businessman pardoned in Russia under economic amnesty in ten weeks – business ombudsman

Boris Titov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW. September 17, 2013) Over 500 people have been pardoned under the economic amnesty declared in July 2013 by the Russian State Duma, the office of Russian business ombudsman Boris Titov said. “As of September 16, the number of individuals, to whom the State Duma’s decree On Declaring Amnesty from July 2, 2012 was applied, is 525 people,” […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia’s Economy at Worst Since Global Crisis – Minister

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is growing too slowly to pull the country out of its worst economic situation since the 2008 global financial crisis, the country’s economic development minister said Wednesday, and the stagnation is unlikely to improve in 2014. Alexei Ulyukayev said during a “government hour” meeting in the State Duma […]

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Filin Returns to Bolshoi 9 Months After Attack

Bolshoi Theater file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ian Bateson – September 18, 2013) Bolshoi Theater artistic director Sergei Filin appeared at the theater Tuesday to help kick off its 238th season, nine months after being splashed in the face with acid in an attack that shocked the world. Standing up at the event and looking around wearing protective sunglasses, Filin said he […]

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Will new standards improve Russian education?

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

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alina Lobzina, special to RBTH – September 18, 2013) During the Cold War, American students were told to study hard to compete with their Soviet counterparts. How does Russian education stack up today? Svetlana Levkovets, a 49-year-old teacher from St. Petersburg, has grown accustomed to competing with mobile phones in the classroom. Levkovets […]

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Have the September elections changed anything?

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(opendemocracy.net – Grigorii Golosov – September 17, 2013) Grigorii Golosov is Professor of Political Science, Project Director, Center for Democracy and Human Rights Helix, St. Petersburg Recent regional elections in Russia provoked more interest than usual, mainly because charismatic and controversial opposition leader Alexei Navalny was standing in the Moscow mayoral election. Some results were dramatic, but Grigorii Golosov wonders […]

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Duma to Consider Science Reform Amid Protest

Russian Duma Building

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – September 18, 2013) The State Duma on Wednesday is set to review a controversial reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences in a key second reading amid a flurry of scandalous accusations against both the academy’s leadership and federal lawmakers who’ve sponsored the reform. The proposed reform has been met with major […]

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Campaign of lies launched against Academy – ex-president

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 17, 2013) Academician Yury Osipov, who was the Russian Academy of Sciences’ president for 12 years, said an unseemly and insulting campaign has been launched in the media against the Academy. “A well-orchestrated and large-scale information campaign against the Academy of Sciences, which is apparently linked to the Academy reform, aims to convince the public, whose […]

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Declining Voter Participation, Not Rising Support for Opposition, Greater Threat to the Kremlin, Moscow Analyst Suggests

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, September 18, 2013) Ever fewer Russians are taking part in elections, a trend that one Moscow analyst has suggested is a greater threat to the Kremlin than any increase in support for opposition figures because it sets the stage of “either a ‘cold’ civil war” with real elections “or an ordinary civil […]

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‘Delai Sam’ – Russian community DIY

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(opendemocracy.net – By Tatyana Kargina – September 18, 2013) ‘Delai Sam’ is Russian for ‘Do it yourself,’ a concept supposedly alien to the average Russian, who is used to having other people take decisions for him or her. But, as Tatyana Kargina reports, herself a ‘Delia Sam’ believer, more and more people are becoming civic grassroots activists. ‘Do it yourself,’ […]

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Russians still have largely positive view of USA but trend is negative – poll

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(Interfax – Moscow, September 17, 2013) Nearly half of all Russians (46 per cent) have a generally positive perception of the USA today, yet the share of those with a negative attitude to this country is rising (35 per cent against 30 in February), VTsIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Centre) pollsters told Interfax on Tuesday (17 September). Those with the […]

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Could U.S. Assets Seizure Lead To Expansion Of Magnitsky Blacklist?

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Richard Solash – WASHINGTON, September 18, 2013)  As shady Russian businessmen snapped up luxury apartments in New York, lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was confined to the few square meters of a Moscow jail cell. He would die there under suspicious circumstances in 2009 after revealing a scheme by a circle of high-ranking government officials and associates to […]

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Ivanishvili: Normalization of Georgian-Russian relations will take 5-7 years

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

(Interfax – TBILISI, September17, 2013) Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili believes his country will take another 5-7 years to normalize relations with Russia. “Our relations with Russia are normalizing gradually,” Ivanishvili said in an interview with the French publication Le Point, fragments of which were published in Georgian media on Tuesday. The fact that Russia recently lifted an embargo on […]

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#169 :: 17 September 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#169 : 17 September 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: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. RIA Novosti: Moscow’s Grasp of the Regions: For Development or […]

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Is Russian as difficult to learn as they say?

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexandra Kulikova, special to RBTH – September 17, 2013) Renowned polyglot, interpreter, psycholinguist and TV host Dmitry Petrov talks about the incentives for learning the Russian language. RBTH: What is the role of psychology in foreign language learning? Dmitry Petrov (D.P.): Learning a new language is about both psychology and mathematics. A range […]

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Vladimir Putin, the Richest Man on Earth

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky, an Editor and Novelist, is a Bloomberg View contributor – September 17, 2013) If you’ve ever wondered about the size of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s private fortune, allow me to offer a clue: He doesn’t need one. From time to time, Western journalists and bloggers speculate about whether Putin is one of the world’s […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Prosecutors Probe Opposition Figure for ‘Extremism’

Boris Nemtsov file photo

(RIA Novosti – YAROSLAVL, September 17, 2013) ­ Russian opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov is under investigation for publicly inciting “extremist activity,” local prosecutors told RIA Novosti Tuesday. Prosecutors in Yaroslavl did not indicate which statements concerned them, but Boris Nemtsov, who is co-leader of the Parnas opposition party and a local lawmaker, links this to […]

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Capital outflow from Russia not yet slowing, ruble not to weaken substantially – Klepach

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) Capital outflow from Russia is not yet slowing but the ruble will not weaken to any great extent, even if oil prices fall, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach told Interfax. “The ruble will not weaken substantially even if oil prices fall markedly. The Central Bank (in that event) will lose more reserves,” Klepach […]

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Wage Growth Stagnant on High Inflation, Economic Slowdown

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – September 17, 2013) Moscow jobs pay 40 percent more compared to similar positions in regional centers, but wage growth has remained stagnant in the last five years across all regions in the country, according to findings from international consulting firm Hay Group. A five-year overview of Russia’s employment market demonstrated no growth […]

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Business looks to tech to salvage U.S.-Russia relationship

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH – September 17, 2013) The reset may be over, but business leaders hope that trade ties do not have to be completely dependent on the whims of Washington and Moscow. Russian Innovation Week, which has started today in Boston and would continue this week in Silicon Valley, is the latest […]

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RIA Novosti: Russians Feeling Increasingly Negative Toward US – Poll

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 17, 2013) ­ Russians have been feeling increasingly negative toward the United States over the past few months, and they now view the Western superpower more pessimistically than at any other point in more than four years, a new state survey showed Tuesday. Thirty-five percent of respondents to the poll, conducted on August 24 and […]

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U.S.-Russia Deal on Syria Gets Off to Wobbly Start

Syria Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – September 17, 2013) Two days after reaching a lauded agreement on resolving the Syria conflict, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have voiced opposing approaches on how the agreement should be implemented. After three days of talks in Geneva, Lavrov and Kerry framed a plan Saturday that […]

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Interfax: Lavrov: U.S. contacted Assad government about safety of chemical stockpiles

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) Before the current international diplomatic crisis over the reported chemical arms attacks in a Damascus suburb on August 21, the United States had contacted the Syrian government to find out how safe its chemical stockpiles were, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “We were working with the Syrians directly to understand the how […]

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Interfax: Analysts: deal with U.S. on Syrian arms ‘diplomatic victory’ for Russia

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) Two Russian political analysts interviewed by Interfax have put Saturday’s U.S.-Russian agreement on Syrian chemical arms, a deal that eliminates the possibility of any immediate military strike against the Syrian government, to the credit of Russian diplomacy. “This agreement sharply raises the odds of the problem of Syria being solved in a diplomatic way. […]

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Interfax: Pushkov worries U.S. may interpret accords on Syria in its own way

Alexei Pushkov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) The Geneva agreements between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are doubtlessly a significant diplomatic success but the question is whether or not they may be given different interpretations, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov said. “An important diplomatic success has been achieved in Geneva. First […]

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RIA Novosti: Moscow Mayor Touts ‘Fair’ Election, Denies Presidential Ambitions

Sergei Sobyanin file photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) ­ Moscow’s pro-Kremlin mayor, who recaptured his post after a closely watched election last weekend, said Monday he would not run for Russia’s presidency in 2018, but suggested that his victory against opposition leader Alexei Navalny has bolstered his legitimacy. Asked about plans to run in the next presidential race, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, […]

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Nerds Gone Wild: Argument Over Philosopher Kant Ends in Shooting

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(RIA Novosti – September 16, 2013) Natalia Antonova is the Acting Editor-in-Chief of The Moscow News. She also works as a playwright ­ her work has been featured at the Lyubimovka Festival in Moscow and Gogolfest in Kiev, Ukraine. It was a headline worthy of instant fame on Reddit or Buzzfeed: “Man shoots another man following argument over philosopher Immanuel […]

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Russia Reopens Military Base to Control Key Part of Arctic – Putin

Polar Map Showing Permafrost Areas, Adapted From NOAA.gov Graphic

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) ­ Russia will reopen a military base in the New Siberian Islands, an Arctic archipelago north of Yakutia, to secure control of the strategic region, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday. “Our forces left the area in 1993, and in the meantime it has become a very important point in the Arctic Ocean, […]

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