(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 17, 2013) “Time is working for President Putin and his regime” because the aging of the Russian population means that he can rely on the ever greater share of the population of pensioners, some Moscow experts say, but concomitantly time is working against Russia because it is rapidly driving down the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – December 17, 2013) The State Duma will vote Tuesday in a first reading on President Vladimir Putin’s draft bill to grant amnesty to certain categories of prisoners, a piece of legislation that could exonerate high-profile detainees despite what critics say are its narrow criteria. As part of an effort to free space […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 17, 2013) Vladimir Putin’s efforts to exploit “the energy” of Russian nationalism and Orthodoxy to shore up his regime strike many as clever and effective, but Rashit Akhmetov points out that they recall those of Nicholas II and may have the same result, undermining both the current Kremlin ruler’s position and […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 12, 2013) Finally, we need to speed up the adoption of laws that would enable Russian universities to actively develop distance learning, which would also be aimed above all at our compatriots abroad and at the CIS countries. As we improve professional education, we must remember that the labour market is becoming more flexible and people need […]
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(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Ekaterina Mishina – December 12, 2013) December 12 marks the 20th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. According to some estimates, over $600,000 were spent on pompous celebration activities. Meanwhile, as IMR legal expert Ekaterina Mishina notes, the constitution has begun to be treated as a fetish, while its real content […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Ineffective federal programs might be discontinued, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a cabinet meeting devoted to the performance of these programs over the first nine months of the year. “We need to either radically change the situation with the programs of close them down. We’ll reach a decision on this by the end […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Companies with Russian assets that are registered in foreign jurisdictions have to pay taxes according to Russian law, while at the same time will receiving no government support, state contracts, or VEB credits, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. “As nothing [has been done about this] in this sphere [‘de-offshoring’ the economy] this year, I […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 13, 2013) Senior managers at state companies can review proposed key performance indicators, or KPIs, for the quality of their work, which have been published on the website of the Federal Property Management Agency, a news report said Thursday. President Vladimir Putin authorized the development of KPIs for senior managers of state companies during […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – The economic focus of the Russian president’s address to the Federal Assembly derives from the challenges faced by contemporary Russia and some of the presidential ideas will determine the national development vector for the next few years to come, State Duma deputy, United Russia General Council Deputy Secretary Olga Batalina said. “The address was largely […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – One of the leaders of Russia’s Communist Party (KPRF) has slammed President Vladimir Putin for allegedly hyping a “liberal economic model” but credited him with “a desire to pull the political and economic train out of the station called Stagnation.” Ivan Melnikov, KPRF first deputy leader and first deputy chairman of the State Duma, was […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – December 13, 2013) More than 1,000 members of the Russian elite gathered in the golden halls of the Grand Kremlin Palace on Thursday to listen to the annual presidential address that sets the state’s policy for the coming year. This was an occasion for deputies of the State Duma, governors of the […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 12, 2013) Complete Russian text here: kremlin.ru/news/19825 Click here for partial transcript in English: russialist.org/transcript-partial-presidential-address-to-the-federal-assembly/ Complete Russian text here: kremlin.ru/news/19825 Video with English translation from eng.kremlin.ru/video/1675 (70 minutes) [featured image is file photo from past event]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 12, 2013) Complete Russian text here: http://kremlin.ru/news/19825 Video – Introduction/Abstract – Text Video with English translation from http://eng.kremlin.ru/video/1675 (70 minutes) Introduction/Abstract from Kremlin.ru Vladimir Putin delivered the annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly. In his Address, President Putin outlined the main areas of work, instruments and techniques to achieve Russia’s future development goals. In the portion […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for introducing legislative guarantees next year for establishing an independent and financially self-sufficient local self-government system in Russia. “I am addressing the All-Russian Local Self-Government Council, municipalities, governors, the Federation Council members and the Russian government: let’s look at all aspects of these problems once again so as to […]
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(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov – December 13, 2013) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments. In his annual State of the Union this week, President Vladimir Putin for perhaps the first time clearly articulated the philosophy that guides Russia’s leadership conservatism. This is […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG – December 13, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his state of the nation speech on December 12 where he laid out his plans for the coming year. In a nutshell he called for decentralisation and for the regions to take more responsibility for promoting their local economies. These speeches are important […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – December 13, 2013) President Vladimir Putin capped off a year of aggressively seeking to fill the government’s coffers by announcing Thursday that the government would begin to tax Russian offshore companies and no longer support foreign-registered enterprises. Praising Russia’s improving business environment, Putin also used his annual Constitution Day speech to highlight […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 12, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to re-integrate the former Soviet space not only will fail because integration presupposes “a unity of culture, economics and culture rather than seeking to seize the most territory” but will undermine the possibilities for Russia’s own development, according to Vladislav Inozemtsev. In an article […]
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ST. PETERSBURG. Dec 12 (Interfax) – International terrorism, extremism and crime may jeopardize the Russian constitutional system, Russian Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin said. “The constitution’s anniversary should inspire all people who are not indifferent to holding a profound discussion of any possible threats to the constitutional system of our country. This is the question of international terrorism, extremism and […]
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MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti) Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that civil society should be more actively engaged in decision-making by government and parliament, but that NGOs should not be motivated by politically biased positions. All bills should be submitted to public review before reaching the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, Putin told a gathering of […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) – The Russian Ministry of Economic Development says it considers it wrong to give unrealistically upbeat forecasts, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told journalists in Moscow on Monday. Ulyukayev was commenting on a statement by presidential aide on economic issues Andrei Belousov that the Economic Development Ministry and Finance Ministry are not looking for additional reserves […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) – Russia will stop issuing domestic passports in 2017-2018 and replace them with plastic cards, head of the Federal Migration Service (FMS) Konstantin Romodanovsky has said. “We will launch the cards in 2016,” he said during a lecture at Moscow State University on Friday. “We would want to launch wide-scale use of the document as of […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Daisy Sindelar – December 10, 2013) A popular clip circulating on the Internet shows just how much a journalist can change in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In 1999, as Putin was coming to power, Dmitry Kiselyov was a promising television broadcaster with strong opinions about the difference between journalism and propaganda. “A journalist cannot be separated from […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – December 10, 2013) Dmitry Kiselyov, the ultraconservative television host who was appointed Monday to head a new global news service on the base of RIA Novosti, said Tuesday that parts of the news agency would be preserved and that its staff would remain “in demand.” Kiselyov also said he would meet soon […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – December 10, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Monday issued a decree ordering the liquidation of RIA Novosti, the massive state-owned news agency, and mandated the creation of a new global news agency to be headed by an aggressively pro-Kremlin television host. In its own article about the news, RIA Novosti’s English-language service […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – December 9, 2013) Moscow will get a new master plan by 2015 to reflect its forthcoming transformation into a polycentric city, in which peripheral areas become alternative hubs for work and cultural activities, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at the third annual Moscow Urban Forum. Wrapping up on Saturday, the forum brought together […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 6, 2013) Academician Valery Tishkov, director of the Moscow Institue of Ethnology and Anthropology, argues that divisions within the elites of Russia rather than any challenges from outside constitute the main threat to the country and, if unchecked, could lead to its “degradation and disintegration.” Tishkov, an advisor on ethnic affairs […]
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MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) Russian law enforcement officials are considering bringing new charges against jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other figures over alleged money laundering, Vedomosti daily reported on Monday. Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev told Russian media last week that “several cases against former Yukos CEO Khodorkovsky and other people are being probed,” fuelling speculation […]
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BARNAUL. Dec 8 (Interfax) – Amendments related to the confiscation of bribe-takers’ property could be added to the law, Russian presidential administration head Sergei Ivanov said. “I will not anticipate the events but certain amendments could probably be added to the law,” Ivanov said in an interview with the NTV TV channel on Sunday. The confiscation institution in Russia does […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 5, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in a conference, the Action Forum, organised by the Russian Popular Front. Conference participants discussed key issues concerning the implementation of the main presidential policy lines in healthcare, the economy, housing and utilities, education and culture. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, dear friends. I am glad to be able […]
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[Putin dissolves state news agency, tightens grip on Russia media – Reuters – Timothy Heritage – December 9 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/09/us-russia-media-idUSBRE9B80I120131209] Reuters covers Russia President Vladimir Putin’s decision to dissolve RIA Novosti and absorb its operations into new entity called Rossiya Segodnya, with a mission of promoting Russia abroad: President Vladimir Putin tightened his control over Russia’s media on Monday by […]
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MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) The Kremlin announced Monday the dissolution of RIA Novosti, the country’s major state-run news agency, amid a significant reorganization of state-owned media assets. News agency RIA Novosti and the state-owned Voice of Russia radio will be scrapped and absorbed into a new media conglomerate called Rossiya Segodnya, according to a decree signed by President […]
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[transcript concluded. 1st part in JRL #221, December 6; click here for Part 1] (Government.ru – December 6, 2013) The traditional annual live interview with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the round-up of the Government’s work over the year. Asking the questions were Irada Zeinalova (Channel One), Sergei Brilyov (VGTRK), Marianna Maksimovskaya (Ren TV), Vadim Takmenyov (NTV) and Mikhail Zygar […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – December 6, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said the government would have to improve the country’s economic performance in order to fulfill his campaign promises. He also complained that his tap water was sometimes brown from rusty pipes. Putin’s decrees from May last year, which seek to raise living standards, have […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) – President Vladimir Putin has stressed the legal equality of all citizens of Russia regardless of their ethnic origin or religion. “More than 80% of our population are ethnic Russians, and they are without a doubt a nation-building people both culturally and simply from the point of view of demographics. But what makes Russia strong is […]
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(RIA Novosti/Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 6, 2013) Russia’s top brass are not immune from the same problems faced by ordinary Russians, it turns out, after the president and prime minister admitted to having rusty tap water from time to time. “Can you imagine: Even my tap water is sometimes rusty,” President Vladimir Putin said Thursday at a conference […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) – The Russian civil rights organizations that have won in a tender for government grants are not going to abandon foreign financing. “These are our projects. We are pursuing them regardless of financing sources. We are not carrying out projects ordered by Russian or foreign funds,” Memorial historical and civil rights society head Arseny Roginsky told […]
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(Government.ru – December 6, 2013) [Complete transcript in Russian here: http://government.ru/news/8790] The traditional annual live interview with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the round-up of the Government’s work over the year. Asking the questions were Irada Zeinalova (Channel One), Sergei Brilyov (VGTRK), Marianna Maksimovskaya (Ren TV), Vadim Takmenyov (NTV) and Mikhail Zygar (TV Rain). Transcript: Sergei Brilyov: Good afternoon. TV […]
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MOSCOW, December 6 (RIA Novosti) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday during a televised interview that there were no problems in his relationship with President Vladimir Putin. “Everything’s OK between the president and me,” Medvedev said in response to a question about an apparent disagreement with Putin over the powers of criminal investigators. While Putin and Medvedev are close […]
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MOSCOW, December 6 (RIA Novosti) Russia’s Finance Ministry predicted serious difficulties Friday for the budget in 2016 and 2017 as slowing economic growth means there will be insufficient funds available to honor spending commitments. Short term and long term growth forecasts for the Russian economy have been cut repeatedly this year, with officials warning Russia is entering a period […]
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NOVO-OGARYOVO. Dec 4 (Interfax) – President Vladimir Putin criticized the slow pace at which planned improvements to business conditions in Russia are being implemented. “Unfortunately, one-third of the measures in the approved road map have not been implemented on time. A whole host of proposals from business are stuck undergoing inter-ministerial coordination. Occasionally, the ministries propose limiting themselves to purely […]
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MOSCOW, December 5 (RIA Novosti) Investigators plan to formally charge a former Russian defense minister with negligence on Friday, according to a police source familiar with the situation. Investigators said last week they were opening a criminal case on negligence charges against Anatoly Serdyukov over claims he caused 56 million rubles ($1.7 million) of damage to the state by […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – By Anna Arutunyan – December 4, 2013) The Louis Vuitton pavilion controversy highlighted lack of transparency in managing areas surrounding the Kremlin As workers dismantled a giant Louis Vuitton suitcase that went up suddenly on Red Square last week, just who authorized the project and who issued orders for it to be taken down remained […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, December 4, 2013) A member of the public council at the Russian Interior Ministry, former Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin, has announced that according to his data, the number of recorded crimes committed in Russia is understated at least by a factor of four. He told this journalist after the first meeting of the new composition of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – December 5, 2013) President Vladimir Putin has turned down proposals to amend the Constitution so that an official state ideology can be established, though the rebuff doesn’t signal the end of his search to find a “national idea” to unite Russians, the Kremlin’s spokesman said. The proposal, put forward by United Russia […]
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MOSCOW, December 5 (RIA Novosti) State grants worth 200 million rubles ($6 million) allotted by Russian President Vladimir Putin for human rights initiatives have been distributed among 124 projects, including some organizations critical of the Kremlin. In early September, Putin ordered the Civil Dignity movement to hold a grant competition for socially important initiatives amid Russia’s efforts to decrease […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 4, 2013) Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the Presidential Economic Council. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon colleagues, Two years ago at the Business Russia congress, we launched the National Business Initiative. We set the goal then of creating a comfortable environment for doing business in the regions and in the country in general. We […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 4, 2013) Vladimir Putin discussed the declaration of an amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of Russia’s Constitution at a meeting with Presidential Adviser and Chairman of the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov and Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin. Also taking part in the meeting were Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) – Sberbank of Russia (MOEX: SBER) President and CEO German Gref has taken a seat on the public council of the Economic Development Ministry, the ministry he headed in 2000-2007. The makeup of the board is contained in an instruction from Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev. Deputy Economic Development Minister and State Secretary Oleg Fomichev will […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 4, 2013) Opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been stripped of the right to practice law due to his criminal conviction earlier this year, a post on his LiveJournal blog said. “Since I am a criminal and convicted of a premeditated crime the bar association simply didn’t have any other options legally,” Navalny wrote Tuesday. […]
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