Russia proposes fresh round of U.S. trade talks

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

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – David Miller, special to RBTH – January 31, 2014) Russian officials are looking to open talks on reducing trade barriers with the country’s former Cold War adversary, despite facing a host of political disagreements in other areas. Russia has proposed a new round of trade negotiations with the United States, aimed at kickstarting […]

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Putin’s Russia Will Prosper Until It Doesn’t

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg editorial – bloomberg.com – January 30, 2014) The recurrent turmoil in emerging markets raises a difficult question about Russia: Is it a fundamentally sound economy that can weather the storm, or a corrupt autocracy headed for disaster? Unsatisfying as it may be, the answer is both. As the U.S. Federal Reserve starts to pull back on its extraordinary stimulus […]

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Skolkovo Foundation Touts Growth as Innovation Rating Drops

Skolkovo File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – January 31, 2014) Despite the fact that Russia went down 11 positions to 62nd place in the 2013 Global Innovation Index, Skolkovo Foundation executives said Thursday that the technology incubator plays an important role in buoying the country’s position in such ratings. The index, jointly prepared by Cornell University, INSEAD and the […]

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A non-review of Anna Arutunyan’s ‘The Putin Mystique’

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova – January 30, 2014) Anna Arutunyan’s “The Putin Mystique” came out in Britain this week, and this article is not an attempt to review the book. Although we frequently highlight the accomplishments of our friends and colleagues as part of the buys of the week rubric, an actual review of Anna’s book would […]

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New Bill Proposes Weakening Presumption of Innocence in Favor of ‘Objective Truth’

Russian State Duma Building file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 31, 2014) A bill has been introduced to the State Duma that would replace the presumption of innocence in Russian trials with the concept of “objective truth,” scrapping the impartiality of the court in what critics say will amount to the establishment of an “inquisitorial” system. The bill, which has the backing of Investigative […]

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A Week Before Games, Sochi Still Lacking Final Touches

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – SOCHI – January 31, 2014) With a week to go before the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Games, one would expect the Olympic Park to be filled with the bustle and buzz of arriving athletes, journalists and spectators. What might be less predictable is the noise and tumult created by excavators, […]

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It’s Been a Bad Week for the Ruble

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – January 31, 2014) It has been a punishing week for the ruble, and for many, the ghosts of previous crises feel all too near. Despite the Central Bank pouring more than $1 billion a day into propping it up, the Russian currency fell 6 percent against the dollar and reached an all-time […]

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Ukraine Is Caught in a Tug of War

Maidan Square file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer and Carol Matlack – January 30, 2014) The antigovernment protests in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev are finally getting results. The prime minister has resigned, and President Viktor Yanukovych, who triggered the demonstrations by abruptly refusing to sign a trade treaty with the European Union, has 60 days to form a new government. Yet […]

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#20 :: Thursday, 30 January 2014

St. Basil's file photo

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#20 :: 30 January 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. Interfax: Poll shows 65% of Russians approve Putin’s performance – […]

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Russian TV Promoting ‘Permanent Hysteria’ about Ukraine, Commentator Says

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 29, 2014) Any Russian with access to the Internet can get some idea of the dizzying and kaleidoscopic developments in Ukraine, but Russians who rely on government-controlled television are being fed a more or less constant diet of propaganda designed to promote “permanent hysteria” about that country, according to a “Novaya […]

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RIA Novosti: EU Lawmakers Pass Ukraine Resolution, Prompting Russian Ire

EU Map

MOSCOW/STRASBOURG, January 30 (RIA Novosti) – An outspoken Russian lawmaker has labeled a resolution by Council of Europe lawmakers on unrest in Ukraine as an attempt to damage Russia. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a forum that brings together parliamentarians from 47 members states across the continent, passed a resolution Thursday during an emergency debate over Ukraine’s […]

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Ukraine at Impasse on Amnesty After Russia Warns on Aid

Maidan Square file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Kateryna Choursina and Daryna Krasnolutska – January 30, 2014) Ukraine’s president went on sick leave after protesters seeking his ouster rejected an amnesty offer and Russia threatened to withhold aid until the crisis-torn country forms a new government. President Viktor Yanukovych angered the opposition by pushing through a law requiring activists to surrender seized buildings before […]

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Yanukovych kills off amnesty bill compromise as oligarch rebellion grows

Viktor Yanukovych file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – January 30, 2014) Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych visited the Rada for the first time in two years on January 29 to enforce discipline over the Party of Regions and added conditions to an amnesty bill that in effect killed any chance of a compromise with the opposition to end the fighting. The dramatic events […]

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No decisions, but progress at EU-Russia summit

EU Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nikolay Surkov, RBTH – January 29, 2014) Two sides move towards new partnership agreement despite low expectations for recent meeting. Despite pessimistic forecasts going into the latest EU-Russia summit, the two sides were able to discuss their differences, and demonstrated their willingness to pursue further dialogue on key issues. For Russia, one of […]

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Chubais Unveils New-Look Rusnano

Anatoly Chubais file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – January 30, 2014) Anatoly Chubais, known in the West as the driver of post-Soviet privatization, is counting on his reputation and corporate savvy to attract external investors to Rusnano – the state-owned technology company he has run since its inception in 2007. Chubais outlined the company’s restructuring plans that involve a separation […]

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Echoing Soviet Era, Putin Uses Oil Giant Rosneft to Tighten Economic Grip

File Photo Rosneft and Russian Flags Next to Rosneft Banner

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Irina Reznik, Stephen Bierman and Henry Meyer – January 30, 2014) The record stretched across the history of the party and its socialist predecessor — from the first meeting in March 1898 to the last one in July 1990, a year and a half before the Soviet Union collapsed, Bloomberg Markets will report in its March […]

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A Russia investor’s wish list for 2014

File Photo of Outdoor Electronic Sign with Russian Exchange Data

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Chris Weafer, special to RBTH – January 30, 2014) Lower rates and higher standards along with more transparency could attract more FDI this year. Chris Weafer is a senior partner at Macro Advisory, a Moscow-based research consultancy. Russia suffered a poor economic performance in 2013 and the government is desperate to avoid a […]

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Russia is No. 3 in Attracting Foreign Direct Investment

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 30, 2014) Foreign direct investment in Russia rose by 83 percent last year to reach $94 billion, making the country the 3rd most successful in the world in attracting capital from abroad, according to a United Nations report. The U.S. led the rankings, pulling in $159 billion in 2013, while China attracted $127 billion, […]

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Sochi: New beginnings when the party is over

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – January 29, 2014) Alexander Yakovenko, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, ponders how the Olympics will affect international diplomacy and tackles some of the misunderstandings surrounding the Games. In little more than a week, the Winter Olympic Games start in Sochi, but the prospects after this landmark event are visible now. I am […]

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A Quarter Century Of Rights Activism: Memorial Turns 25

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Kristina Gorelik and Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW – January 29, 2014) Memorial, one of Russia’s most venerable human rights and history organizations, is 25 years old. Memorial began as a group of Soviet-era dissidents, including Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov, that formed during Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika in the late 1980s. It came into existence as a formal […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Prosecutors Check TV Channel Over WWII Poll

St. Petersburg

MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti) – Staff of an online TV station in Russia face a threat of up to two years in prison after prosecutors announced an “extremism” investigation Thursday into an opinion poll concerning World War II. The liberal Dozhd (“Rain”) channel triggered the ire of conservatives by asking on its website whether the Soviet Union should have […]

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Russian financial watchdog says regions lack funds to implement Putin’s orders

Map of Russia

(RIA Novosti -January 29, 2014) The Russian regions do not have sufficient funds to implement the May [2012] orders of Russian President [Vladimir Putin], the Audit Chamber has said. The watchdog has come to this conclusion as a result of the monitoring of the regional situation. The most acute situation has emerged in connection with order No 600 about measures […]

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Ice Age Thrives In Southern Siberia

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Antoine Blua – January 30, 2014) If you ever wondered what the Ice Age looked like, then look no farther than Eurasia’s Altai-Sayan mountains, where thriving mammalian communities are frozen in time. Parts of the range along the Russia-Mongolian border have served as sanctuaries for Ice Age mammals since the last glacial period. While the sizes […]

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Russian State Duma: ‘Possessed printer’ or executor of the people’s will?

Russian State Duma Building file photo

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova – January 29, 2014) Whether you’re sick of people’s garlic breath on public transportation, or else scandalized by frank discussion of sex on TV, you may rest assured that someone in the State Duma is probably working on introducing a law addressing your very concerns. In 2013 alone, 1,513 new legislative initiatives and […]

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Interfax: Poll shows 65% of Russians approve Putin’s performance – poll

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

MOSCOW. Jan 30 (Interfax) – As many as 65% of Russians praised Vladimir Putin’s performance as president in January, which is as many as was in December 2013, the Levada Center sociological service told Interfax on Thursday in summing up outcomes of a nationwide poll of 1,603 Russians it conducted in 130 communities in 45 regions of Russia on January […]

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#19 :: Wednesday, 29 January 2014

St. Basil's file photo

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#19 :: 29 January 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 Times: Individual Rights Increasingly Valued by Russians, Poll Shows. […]

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Legal Online Video Has Inroads in Russia

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eradzh Nidoev – January 29, 2014) While online video streaming in the U.S. has shown that the Internet can be effectively monetized by film and television, the fear of piracy in Russia has limited the spread of such services here. Only now, a few companies are taking the plunge and offering online streaming services, and […]

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Moscow Times: Putin Rebukes EU Actions in Ukraine

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – January 29, 2014) At the EU-Russia summit in Brussels on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin promised that Russia would not interfere in the political conflict raging in Ukraine and rebuked European Union officials for visiting the opposition protests. Putin argued that too many mediators getting involved in the 2 1/2-month-long conflict could have […]

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RIA Novosti: No Evidence Snowden Spied for Russia – U.S. Senator

Edward Snowden file photo

WASHINGTON, January 28 (RIA Novosti) – A senior U.S. lawmaker said Tuesday that she has seen no evidence that intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was working with Russia when he disclosed troves of documents on classified US spying programs. “I have no information to that effect. I have never seen anything to that effect,” Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate […]

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Interfax: Ukrainian opposition should be urged as well as government to use civilized methods – Putin

Ukraine Map and Flag

BRUSSELS. Jan 28 (Interfax) – In demanding that no force should be used and that civilized methods should be chosen in settling the conflict in Ukraine, Europe should address these demands not only to official Ukrainian authorities but also the opposition, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. In speaking at a press conference following an EU-Russia summit on Tuesday, Putin agreed […]

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Rain or Shine, Putin Takes the Blame

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – SOCHI – January 28, 2014) It has been raining in Sochi for two weeks. The rain isn’t expected to disrupt the Winter Olympics, which open Feb. 7 on the snow-covered mountains looming over this subtropical Black Sea resort. But the rain is the subject of urban legend. Both good and bad weather […]

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Interfax: Lawyers of Lebedev, Khodorkovsky think their clients could be rehabilitated, repaid legal costs

Platon Lebedev

(Interfax – January 29, 2014) Former Menatep CEO Platon Lebedev could try to get his confiscated property returned and also receive compensation for moral damages inflicted on him during the criminal prosecution over the first Yukos case. “Due to the cancellation of the guilty verdict in the part of the conviction under the Russian Criminal Code Article 315 Part 33 […]

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Billionaire Quits Business to Better Fight Kremlin

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

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – January 29, 2014) The only billionaire in the country at the head of a political party, Gleb Fetisov, has sold out of all his assets, showing his resolve to jostle for a greater role in current affairs. Worth an estimated $1.9 billion, Fetisov let the word out about the move at a […]

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What public opinion polls tell us about Russians

Map of Russia

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Anastasiya Maltseva, special to RBTH – January 29, 2014) Recent polls show that Russians value family first and look cautiously at the West. But well over half of the population will follow the Sochi Olympics. For Russians, family is what matters most. Most Russians hope for the better as they look into the […]

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Individual Rights Increasingly Valued by Russians, Poll Shows

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – January 29, 2014) The majority of Russians think that individual rights need to be protected even if they contradict the interests of the state, with political rights growing increasingly important in the nation’s perception, a recent poll has shown. About 46 percent of Russians think that people have the right to fight […]

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Minister Plans Accelerated Privatization

File Photo Rosneft and Russian Flags Next to Rosneft Banner

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 29, 2014) Improvements in the stock market mean that the privatization of several large state corporations can be accelerated, and the sale of 19 percent of the country’s largest oil firm Rosneft can be fast-tracked to this year, Economic Development Minister Aleksei Ulyukayev said. Stakes in Rosneft, Aeroflot, shipyard Sovcomflot, Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, […]

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Interfax: Gazprom totally undervalued, time could be right to buy back shares – deputy CEO

Russian Gas Facility file photo

MOSCOW. Jan 29 (Interfax) – Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) is not just undervalued, it is totally undervalued, the Russian gas giant’s deputy CEO, Alexander Medvedev, said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel. “Perhaps now is the very best time to buy back shares,” which could later be sold on the market, Medvedev said. This is Gazprom’s first official […]

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Interfax: Russia to set up appraisal center for WTO issues

WTO Logo

(Interfax – January 29, 2014) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered to set up an autonomous non-profit organization, a center for appraisal of World Trade Organization issues, jointly with the National Research University Higher School of Economics and Sberbank (MOEX: SBER), the Russian government website reported on Wednesday. “To establish jointly with the federal state autonomous institution of higher […]

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Russia moving away from rate control to manage declining ruble

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – January 28, 2014) The rapidly depreciating ruble recovered slightly on Tuesday, after recording a five-year low against the euro of 47.50 on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon, the Central Bank indicated a rate of 47.37 against the euro, and 40.36 against the weighted currency basket of dollars and euros. The ruble’s managed decline […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Russia-EU Summit

EU Map

(Kremlin.ru – January 28, 2014) Vladimir Putin took part in the Russia-EU summit meeting. The Russian President had a private meeting with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The meeting was at the EU’s initiative. The meeting continued in a working lunch format with participation by the delegations’ members. Following the summit, the […]

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PACE Threatens European Magnitsky Act

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – January 29, 2014) The Parliamentary Assembly for the Council of Europe, or PACE, voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to approve a resolution critical of Russia for its handling of the investigation into the death of Sergei Magnitsky, over the fierce objections of Russian lawmakers present for the vote. By adopting the resolution, which […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia to Wait for New Ukrainian Government Before Releasing More Aid

Ukraine Map and Flag

KIEV, January 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russia warned Ukraine on Wednesday that it will halt the implementation of a financial aid package until the crisis-hit former Soviet nation has formed a new government. Financial and energy agreements with Ukraine will only be honored when “we understand what sort of government there will be, who will be working in it and […]

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Interfax: Russian Federation Council concerned about events in Ukraine – statement

Federation Council file photo

(Interfax – January 29, 2014) The Russian Federation Council believes that the ongoing events in Ukraine are aimed at discrediting and overthrowing the legitimate authorities, says a statement on the situation in Ukraine the Federation Council members unanimously passed on Wednesday. “The Federation Council is concerned about the situation in Ukraine and believes that the mass unrest provoked by the […]

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#18 :: Tuesday, 28 January 2014

St. Basil's file photo

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#18 :: 28 January 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 Times: Ukraine Unrest Spreading to Russia? Unlikely. 2. ITAR-TASS: […]

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Yanukovych’s “family business” links him to Russia

Viktor Yanukovych file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.ru – January 28, 2014) The pro-Russian leanings of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his associates have triggered a national crisis following November’s shocking decision to back out of signing a deal that would have brought the country closer to the EU. Yet the Kremlin’s hold over Yanukovych may not be restricted to the international power […]

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Perspectives on the Ukrainian Protests

Maidan Square file photo

(Stratfor.com – George Friedman – January 28, 2014) A few months ago, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich was expected to sign some agreements that could eventually integrate Ukraine with the European Union economically. Ultimately, Yanukovich refused to sign the agreements, a decision thousands of his countrymen immediately protested. The demonstrations later evolved, as they often do. Protesters started calling for political […]

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Russia seeks to further decrease abortion rates

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Elena Lysak, special to RBTH – January 28, 2014) The Ministry of Health will set up crisis pregnancy centers in an attempt to decrease the number of abortions each year. Population loss through abortions in the 1960s to 1980s cost Russia more than double the number of lives it had lost in the […]

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Davos Discussions Disprove Russia’s Resurgence

File Photo of "World Economic Forum" Display at Davos from Past Session

(Pavel K. Baev – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 11, Issue 16 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – January 27, 2014) So much self-congratulating has been emanating from the Kremlin following the spectacular triumphs of Russian foreign policy since September 2013, that the court of President Vladimir Putin prefers to ignore the fact that the annual meeting of the World Economic […]

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Top Russian diplomat says current violence in Ukraine “unacceptable”

Maidan Square file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, January 27, 2014) Actions of Ukrainian “fighters for human rights”, who are throwing Molotov cocktails at representatives of the authorities and beating up other citizens, are unacceptable and should receive a corresponding assessment of international organizations, Russian Foreign Ministry’s ombudsman for human rights, democracy and rule of law Konstantin Dolgov has said. “To fight for human rights […]

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