Tag: Corruption
Ukraine ‘breadbasket’ prepares for its next heyday
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Benjamin Rahr in London – October 7, 2015) Despite Ukraine’s 18-month old civil war and the loss of territories in the east of the country, it has impressively maintained its status as one of the world’s leading exporters of agricultural products. Now the pro-European government in Kyiv hopes that its agribusiness, bolstered by a […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Atlantic Council/Anders Aslund: “How to Fight Corruption in Ukraine”
Putin Pushing New Social Contract Based on Fighting Corruption Rather than Economic Growth, Petrov Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, September 24, 2015) The recent arrests of governors is part of a broader effort by Vladimir Putin to create a new social contract with the population, Nikolay Petrov says. In the old one, he offered stability and economic growth; now that he cannot offer those things, he is pushing himself forward as […]
» Read moreSaakashvili for Prime Minister of Ukraine?
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Marc Champion – September 23, 2015) After 24 years of independence and two revolutions, the promise of reforms that would turn Ukraine from a kleptocracy enabled by Soviet-era institutions into, say, Poland still hasn’t materialized. Popular patience is wearing thin. So three months ago, President Petro Poroshenko sent his friend (and Russia’s bete noire) Mikheil Saakashvili […]
» Read moreA Loyal Governor Feels Putin’s Wrath
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – September 21, 2015) Russia has never seen a corruption case like this. The successful governor of the Komi Republic, who was faultlessly loyal to President Vladimir Putin, has been accused of leading a criminal organization that allegedly included a number of his region’s top officials. As cheap oil forces Russians to tighten their […]
» Read more‘Team Georgia’ graftbusters open container of worms in Odesa clean-up
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Odesa – September 21, 2015) Odesa region governor Mikheil Saakashvili wants to crack down on corruption and the shadow economy in Odesa’s ports, and with the appointment to the post of regional prosecutor of Davit Sakvarelidze he now has the power to do this. After intense lobbying in Kyiv, the former […]
» Read moreCorruption is Putin’s biggest failing, finds poll
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Lottie Millington in London – September 17, 2015) [Charts here http://www.bne.eu/content/story/bnechart-corruption-putins-biggest-failing-finds-poll] Corruption is Vladimir Putin’s biggest presidential failing, according to a survey by Russia’s independent Levada Center. According to the survey respondents, some of Putin’s biggest failures were dealing with the “fight against corruption and bribery”, and improving “relations between Russia and the West”. […]
» Read moreKids of Russia’s billionaires charge into business
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – September 14, 2015) It’s been just under a quarter of a century since the fall of the Soviet Union and in that time a relatively small group of men have become fabulously wealthy in the rough and tumble of Russia’s “wild capitalism”. As most of Russia’s tycoons are approaching […]
» Read moreRussia’s Regional Elections Marred by Pressure on Observers, Fraud
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – September 14, 2015) Multiple violations were registered by independent elections watchdogs during Sunday’s regional elections across Russia, and in the most drastic development, the office of an observers’ organization was raided by police who said they had reason to believe it was a murder scene. The Central Elections Commission (CEC) said it […]
» Read moreKhodorkovsky Calls for Civil Disobedience against Unjust Laws and Putin’s Unjust System
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 27, 2015) Mikhail Khodorkovsky says that Russian citizens are fully entitled not to observe unjust laws imposed not to promote justice but to protect the power of Vladimir Putin, a potentially dramatic development in the relationship between the Russian opposition, the Russian people, and the Kremlin. In a blog post on […]
» Read moreRussian ombudsman slams ex-Defence Ministry official’s parole as “elite” justice
(Interfax – August 25, 2015) Russian human rights ombudsman Ella Pamfilova has strongly condemned a court decision to release on parole Yevgeniya Vasilyeva, a key figure in the Oboronservis case, suggesting the move amounted to “elite” justice, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 25 August. Earlier on 25 August, a court in Vladimir Region granted Vasilyeva parole after she […]
» Read moreUkraine’s largest lender PrivatBank investigated for diverting $1.8bn of IMF funds
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Kyiv – August 24, 2015) PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest lender partly owned by controversial oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, is under criminal investigation by the authorities for fraudulently diverting around what was then about $1.8bn, the bank has confirmed. “We are aware of the existence of criminal proceedings. PrivatBank fully cooperates with the investigators […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Reuters: “A $620,000 watch tells what time it is in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.”
UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#163 :: Wednesday Afternoon 19 August 2015
Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#163 Wednesday Afternoon – 19 August 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Support for JRL is provided in […]
» Read moreWhy are we so worried about the Russian doping scandal?
Fresh allegations over doping in international athletics have cast plenty of shame and doubt. They also reveal the west’s political prejudices and ignorance. (opendemocracy.net – Rolf Fretheim, Thomas Rowley – August 14, 2015) Rolf Fredheim is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Cambridge, where he works on […]
» Read moreWestern Experts Cry Foul Over Russian Books Published in Their Names
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – August 10, 2015) Prominent Western experts and journalists accused a Russian publishing house Sunday of pirating their work and printing books using their names without their permission or prior knowledge. Journalists Luke Harding and Edward Lucas and U.S.-based Russia expert Donald Jensen confirmed to The Moscow Times that they did not know […]
» Read moreRussian Opposition Cornered by Authorities in Regional Election Race
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – August 10, 2015) Attempts by the opposition’s Democratic Coalition to take part in upcoming regional elections have been thwarted by local election commissions’ refusal to register its members as candidates, in what analysts say is a concerted effort to nip opposition bids in the bud. The coalition, which consists of opposition firebrand […]
» Read moreRBTH: Proposed extensions to Russian police powers spark controversy
A new bill proposing to extend policemen’s rights, including those concerning the use of weapons, has provoked major disagreements among Russian public figures and rights activists. While its authors believe that extending police authority is necessary for defending the rights of fellow policemen, critics worry that if the law is adopted it will legitimize police brutality and may be used […]
» Read moreAverage Bribe in Russia Doubles in Rubles, Remains Steady in Dollars
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 31, 2015) The amount of the average bribe in Russia has nearly doubled this year, reaching 208,000 rubles ($3,485 at today’s rate), as the country’s currency has shed value amid Western sanctions and an economic downturn, according to Interior Ministry estimates cited by pro-government Izvestia daily on Friday. This compares to about 109,000 rubles […]
» Read moreCrimea Is Now Putin’s Problem Child; Russian security services are cracking down on alleged corruption in the newly annexed peninsula
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Carol Matlack – July 24, 2015) President Vladimir Putin likened Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea to a family welcoming home a long-lost relative. Now the family is showing signs of strain. Russia’s federal security service, the FSB, has opened criminal investigations of three high-ranking Crimean government officials, accusing them of graft and other misdeeds. Four regional […]
» Read moreA Moscow Education, in More Ways Than One
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Evan Haddad – July 27, 2015) A recent article published in British weekly Times Higher Education revealed that one in seven Russian undergraduates admits to cheating on exams. The figure is probably much higher. Any expat in Moscow teaching English will confirm that. Cheating in the Russian educational system is rampant, even acceptable. I experienced […]
» Read moreMajority of Russians think it is impossible to make millions honestly
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Francesca Moll in London – July 23, 2015) Most Russians believe that the country’s millionaires earned their money dishonestly, according to a recent survey. In a survey by the independent pollster Levada Centre, an overwhelming 70% of respondents answered “no” when asked if they thought you can earn millions of rubles honestly now in […]
» Read moreBlack cash still oils Ukrainian politics
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – KYIV BLOG: Graham Stack in Kyiv – July 17, 2015) In his first interview since being fired as head of Ukraine’s state security service on June 16, Valentyn Nalivaichenko alleged that Ukraine’s leading political parties are behind huge flows of secret funds moving to and fro from offshore jurisdictions. He is only the highest […]
» Read moreSaakashvili is turning politics upside down in Ukraine
Down on the Black Sea, the newly appointed governor of Odessa (and ex-president of Georgia) Mikheil Saakasvhili is making waves. Is the balance of the Ukrainian state beginning to shift? (opendemocracy.net – Victoria Narizhna – July 9, 2015) Victoria Narizhna is a Ukrainian columnist, essayist, translator, cultural manager, and civil activist from Dnipropetrovsk. During EuroMaidan, Yaroslav Hrytsak, one of Ukraine’s […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK The Times (UK)/Edward Lucas, We help Ukraine best by hitting Putin’s cronies. The way to liberate the country is to freeze Russian money invested in Britain and America
NEWSLINK Financial Times/Taras Kuzio: Ukraine’s citizens have defeated Putin’s “New Russia” – now Poroshenko must defeat Ukraine’s oligarchs
NEWSLINK Washington Post editorial: Seeing conspiracies in Armenia where none exist
Interfax: Over 40 per cent of Russians do not believe corruption could be defeated – poll
(Interfax – June 17, 2015) A public opinion poll conducted by the independent pollster Levada Centre has shown that two thirds of Russians believe that President Vladimir Putin is making progress in fighting corruption, but, at the same time, more than 40 per cent believe that it will be difficult to defeat it because corruption cannot be eradicated in […]
» Read moreMajority [of Russians] See FIFA Scandal as Attack on Russia
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – June 18, 2015) Most Russians think that corruption allegations against officials at FIFA, football’s governing body, leveled by U.S. investigators last month are an attempt to prevent Russia from hosting the 2018 World Cup, according to a survey published Wednesday by state-run pollster VTsIOM. A total of 65 percent of respondents said […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Reuters: Economy weighs on Russia World Cup plans amid FIFA scandal
President Vladimir Putin is still likely to host the World Cup in 2018 despite an FBI investigation into Russia’s winning bid but his hopes of staging a tournament that impresses his critics are fading.
» Read moreSwitzerland probes Russian 2018 World Cup bid over bribery charges
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – May 27, 2015) Russia’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup is under criminal investigation on corruption suspicions, Switzerland’s attorney general announced May 27, after investigators seized data and documents from the Zurich headquarters of soccer’s global governing body FIFA. The move comes only weeks before the draw for the qualifying rounds […]
» Read moreUkraine tries to prove that is serious about corruption
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – May 20, 2015) Ukraine is trying to publicise its efforts to clamp down on corruption, as a crucial deadline looms for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to review conditions for extending billions of dollars in credits. In the south-eastern city of Zaporizhia, the head of the local anti-corruption committee and a […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH Wall Street Journal: The Putin Recession; Russia’s economy keeps shrinking, but the West won’t take advantage
The Wall Street Journal editors address Russia’s economic crisis and the West’s apparent unwillingness to step up economic pressure. The Russian recession is expected to continue unfolding. An oddity of recent weeks has been the attempt to argue that Russia’s economy isn’t as awful as it looks. Then along comes Friday’s report that GDP fell 1.9% year-on-year in the first […]
» Read moreQuestions Raised Over Poroshenko’s Role In Valuable Kyiv Land Deal
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Maksym Savchuk, Daisy Sindelar – May 13, 2015) KYIV — An investigation by RFE/RL shows that Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko may have used his presidential influence to shut down investigations into a land deal aimed at building a private mansion on a historic site in the Ukrainian capital. Two reports broadcast on RFE/RL’s Ukrainian-language television program, […]
» Read moreRussia’s road to deoffshorisation and capital amnesty still ‘under construction’
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Artem Toropov, senior associate in the tax practice at law firm Goltsblat BLP – May 7, 2015) More than a year has passed since the Russian “deoffshorisation” reform was switched into “active” mode by the Russian president. 2014 was dominated with work on the new legislation – but the result, to many, was quite […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK New York Times: Judge Rebuffs U.S. in Rejecting Extradition of Ukraine Billionaire
In a defeat for the United States, an Austrian judge refused Thursday to order the extradition of Dmitri V. Firtash, a Ukrainian billionaire and onetime patron of the country’s ousted president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, siding with defense lawyers who said the American request was politically motivated.
» Read morePersecuted Russian Lawyer Finds New Ways Around Foreign Agents Label
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sergey Chernov – April 29, 2015) The life of St. Petersburg human rights lawyer Ivan Pavlov has changed dramatically in the last 12 months. After his American wife was deported as a “threat to national security” in August, the family moved to Prague, but Pavlov returns regularly to lead high-profile cases and manage a group […]
» Read moreChampagne Tastes On Beer Incomes: Tax Declarations In Ukraine Suggest Enduring Corruption
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Katya Gorchinskaya – KYIV, April 21, 2015) Yulia Tymoshenko didn’t have much of an income in 2014. The former Ukrainian prime minister spent part of the year in prison, part of it rehabilitating in the hospital, and much of it in back-to-back campaigns for president and parliament. But nevertheless, she managed to buy a luxury car, […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Christian Science Monitor: Curbing the kleptocrats: Kiev chips away at its pervasive corruption
‘We have a total kleptocratic state,’ says Yegor Sobolev, Ukraine’s lead anti-graft legislator; But he is cheerfully confident that ‘we will win’
» Read moreNEWSLINK Newsweek: Mystery of Ukraine’s Richest Man and a Series of Unlikely Suicides
Feuding oligarchs are battling to retain or increase their influence in the new order, and their lieutenants are turning up dead. Melnychuk was a prosecutor in the southern port town of Odessa, governed by Kolomoisky ally Ihor Palytsia. He is just one of at least eight officials appointed by the Yanukovych regime, ousted by pro-democracy protesters in February last year, […]
» Read moreFormer Finance Minister Slams Russian Government on Corruption
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 8, 2015) While the Russian government is trying to involve itself in more economic spheres, the state is failing to perform its basic functions and corruption has swelled to levels “unimaginable” during the heydays of previous administrations, the head of Russia’s second-largest bank said at an international conference on economic development conference on Tuesday. […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Kyiv Post: A group of lawmakers wants Yatsenyuk corruption charges investigated
A group of lawmakers blocked the parliament’s rostrum in the morning of April 7 to demand a probe into the work of the Cabinet and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Serhiy Kaplin, a member of Ukrainian parliament representing Petro Poroshenko Bloc, also initiated a rally in front of the parliament, where people could sign a petition to create a temporary investigative […]
» Read moreNemtsov Allies Plan to Publish ‘Putin.War’ Report on Russian Soldiers in Ukraine
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – March 31, 2015) A report being prepared by supporters of slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov claims that Moscow has started discharging its soldiers from the army before sending them to Ukraine and then denying compensation to the families of men who were killed in order to cover up Russia’s involvement in the […]
» Read moreVladimir Putin: A Reincarnation of Dracula?
(©2015 Ukrainian Magazine (Chicago) – ukrainianchi.com – Rev. Myron Panchuk, M.A. – March 24, 2015 – article also appeared at ukrainianchi.com/vladimir-putin-reincarnation-dracula/ – reprinted with permission) In August of 1991 a miracle occurred: Ukraine declared its independence. I remember the joy, the euphoria felt in our Ukrainian-American community in Chicago. People greeted each other in the streets as if it was Easter Day, and on […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK New York Times: Chechen’s Ties to Putin Are Questioned Amid Nemtsov Murder Case
Ramzan A. Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Chechnya, has been at the center of intrigue surrounding the murder of Boris Y. Nemtsov, a prominent critic of the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. So before a busy weekend that included a night out with the boys to watch cage fighting, Mr. Kadyrov wanted to clear something up. “I am utterly devoted […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: How Nemtsov’s killing puts Putin in the crosshairs
[“How Nemtsov’s killing puts Putin in the crosshairs” – Los Angeles Times – Paul Stronski – ] Writing in The Los Angeles Times, the Carnegie Endowment’s Paul Stronski considers prospects for Russian political turbulence following the assassination of opposition figure Boris Nemtsov. Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov’s killing is not just a tragedy for Russia, but could be a harbinger of political turbulence. […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Foreign Policy: Ukraine’s Rotten Front Forget Russia — if the new government wants to save the country, it needs to drum corruption out of its ranks.
Ukrainian leaders, it has been said, never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Though it’s still unclear whether the new government can break this pattern, the opportunity before it now is nothing less than to undo the system of institutionalized corruption that has held Ukraine down since independence, and made it vulnerable to aggression and dismemberment. Despite the enormous […]
» Read moreRussia Beyond the Headlines: New evidence sheds doubt on ‘Islamic’ motive in Nemtsov killing
Experts say that conflict between Russia’s security services and the president of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, likely played a role in the murder. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yekaterina Sinelschikova, RBTH – March 12, 2015) New details in the Feb. 27 murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov have cast doubt on the claim of the investigators that Nemtsov was […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: Federal Judge Orders Browder to Comply with Subpoena in Money-Laundering Case
Wall Street Journal: A Manhattan federal judge has ordered London-based hedge fund manager William Browder to comply with a subpoena that could force him to reveal the sources of information he gave to federal prosecutors in a high-profile money-laundering case. …
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