Russia Heartbeat – Monday, Feburary 17, 2014
Sochi Olympics, Sports
Russian President Vladimir Putin was in attendance for Russia’s Olympic men’s hockey game against the United States, a non-medal round victory for the Americans … over all, Putin seems to be basking in the Sochi games … Putin chief of staff Sergey Ivanovochi argues that invisible security is the best security … Russians and Westerners have different reactions to journalists at Sochi … David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, has had an unusual role as an Olympics correspondent for NBC … in a museum dedicated to Russia’s tapestry of people, hockey is a thread that binds the country … The Globe and Mail (Canada) reports on construction, corruption and controversy in the Sochi that Putin built … the National Journal features commentary arguing that Sochi doesn’t make Russia look bad, but rather makes the media look bad, with a successful week of the Winter Olympics seemingly allaying earlier reports about Sochi’s unpreparedness … the Moscow Times features commentary on Konstantin Ernst and the epic Sochi Olympics opening ceremonies …
Health Care
An admiral’s suicide has shaken Russia’s healthcare system, especially with regard to issues surrounding access to pain-killers for cancer sufferers ….
Economy, Business
Close to Sochi, the Winter Olympics are changing little for Russians living in poverty … large-scale privatization deals could begin in the second quarter of 2014, according to the head of the Russian Federal Property Agency (Rosimushchestvo) Olga Dergunova … Economist Sergey Guriev is blaming corruption for economic downturns … Business New Europe comments that Russia’s bank consolidation is going surprisingly smoothly … Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has issued and order intended to support small and medium-sized enterprises … the Moscow Times looks at how Nokia, Citi, Coca-Cola and Nike treat homosexual employees in Russia …
Iran
Reuters reports that Iran is saying that Russia could build a nuclear reactor in exchange for oil …
Far East/Siberia
RIA Novosti reports that the powers of Russia’s Far East Ministry are set to be expanded …
Government, Politics
The Wall Street Journal features commentary that Putin’s razzle-dazzle diplomacy seeks to reverse, delay or hide his own country’s decline … RIA Novosti reports on a poll examining Russian attitudes on homosexuality …
Corruption
The Globe and Mail (Canada) reports on construction, corruption and controversy in the Sochi that Putin built …
Media, Literature, Human Rights
Russian Writers celebrating the birthday of Boris Pasternak are calling for free speech … The Moscow Times and BBC Monitoring: Wperuse Russian print media …
Ukraine, EU
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov writes in Kommersant about Russia-EU relations and Ukraine … the Ukrainian opposition is seeking to curb on the powers of Ukrainian President Viktro Yanukovich powers … one commentator argues in Reuters that neither the United States nor the EU has a strategy for Ukraine … Business New Europe reports that tensions are highin Kyiv as an amnesty law deadline expires … ITAR-TASS reports on Lavrov accusing Western media of concealing information on the situation in Ukraine … Ukrainian opposition figure Klitschko reportedly has given up German residency … the New York Times comments on the Ukrainian city of Lviv spinning “beyond the government’s reach … a commenter argues that the Ukrainian opposition needs to face up to some painful realities … and The Economist takes a look at Ukraine’s protestors …
Central Asia/Stans
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty assesses whether Turkmenistan is the Achilles Heel of Central Asian security …
Middle East
The Christian Science Monitor examines whether Russia is looking to increase its sway in the Mideast …
U.S.-Russian Relations
The Asia Times considers whether there is a new U.S.-Russian Cold War … USA Today says that Ambassador Michael McFaul, popular with the Russian masses, is optimistic as he reflects on two years of service and the future of U.S.-Russia relations … ITAR-TASS cites Russian experts as saying that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to shift blame for a deadlocked Geneva-2 … one commentator suggests that with his arguments about Western deterrence, Putin has taken the “deterrence game” to new absurd heights …
Afghanistan
The Carnegie Moscow Center’s Dmitry Trenin looks at Afghanistan, 25 years marking the quarter-century anniversary of the Soviet pull-out … opendemocracy.net and Artemy M. Kalinovsky also look at the subject of leaving Afghanistan …
the Voice of Russia provides commentary arguing that the Soviet Union struggled to avoid the Soviet invasion of Aghanistan.
Baltics
ITAR-TASS reports on Latvian human rights activists preparing for a referendum on the Russian issue …