(RIA Novosti – Karin Zeitvogel – WASHINGTON, September 30, 2013) Russia earns low marks on a global index that rates countries by the quality of life and wellbeing of their old folk, ranking 78th out of 91 countries in the first-ever Global AgeWatch Index released Monday. The index, which lists Sweden at number one and Afghanistan at rock bottom, ranks […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Andrew McChesney – October 1, 2013) Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov has expressed surprise about the opposition’s growing political clout, particularly Alexei Navalny’s strong showing in Moscow’s mayoral election this month, but indicated that President Vladimir Putin was unconcerned by any threat to his grip on power. Ivanov, who made the comments in an […]
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(Interfax – SOCHI, September 27, 2013) Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said the main risk for the Russian economy was the risk of not implementing a new economic development model. There are external and internal risks that can affect the rate of economic growth, he said. “But I think the major risk us the risk that we will nit […]
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Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 Subject: Re: Current History’s October issue From: Joshua Lustig [Managing Editor] <JoshuaLustig@currenthistory.com> Current History’s October 2013 issue, devoted to Russia and Eurasia, is available at www.currenthistory.com, in print, and via Kindle. It includes the following essays: Can Putin Keep His Grip on Power? by Daniel Treisman Moscow’s Soft Power Strategy, by Andrei P. Tsygankov Russia’s […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 26, 2013) President Vladimir Putin’s chief of staff has credited Russia’s 1993 constitution with making it possible to “preserve the sovereignty and unity of Russia.” “The constitution has made it possible to preserve the sovereignty and unity of Russia. It has made it possible to step back from a very dangerous point and put political processes […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 27, 2013) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said that investors have an “irrational fear” of Russia, a country he described as “incomprehensible” and “sometimes unpredictable,” in a long opinion piece published Friday in a Russian newspaper. The article of over 3,000 words was titled “The Time of Simple Solutions Has Passed” and focused […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – September 26, 2013) A state of emergency has been declared in Sochi as water and mudslides have blocked the Olympic resort’s newly built main roads, just as International Olympic Committee inspectors arrived for their final assessment ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games. Many local residents could not travel to work Wednesday […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Lyudmila Nazdracheva, special to RBTH – September 26, 2013) This year, thanks to a program that facilitates the return of nationals to Russia, around 15,000 people have moved back to the country. The plans for the program estimated the influx of returning émigrés to be in the hundreds of thousands per year, and […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – September 25, 2013) A key United Russia lawmaker said Tuesday that he supported granting amnesty to suspects in the high-profile Bolotnoye case, echoing recent comments by President Vladimir Putin. Speculation about a possible amnesty for suspects in the case has grown since Putin said at the Valdai Club meeting last week that […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Andrew McChesney – September 25, 2013) People should focus on Vladimir Putin’s work as president and avoid prying into his personal life not that he has one because he is so busy with his Kremlin duties, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov, who made the appeal in a far-ranging interview published Wednesday in Izvestia, […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – September 25, 2013) Russia leapt 10 places in the latest “Economic Freedom of the World” report, released in September by Canada’s Fraser Institute, to 101st place largely thanks to its financial reforms. The US fell 13 spots, largely because of its financial mess. The Kremlin is regularly lambasted for […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 25, 2013) Nearly half of Russians believe that the recent regional elections were fair and are pleased with the results, the state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) said. About 7,000 elections of various types, in which over 40 million of Russians were entitled to vote, were held across 80 Russian regions on September […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 24, 2013) EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti acknowledged Tuesday that Russia’s sputtering economy combined with deeply ingrained problems such as corruption and a weak court system were deterring both foreign and domestic investors. But he insisted that the opportunities continued to far outweigh the risks and said the Russian authorities were taking much-needed steps to […]
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(Interfax – September 24, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has approved a plan to create and develop mechanisms for public oversight over the activities of natural monopolies with input from consumers, along with the relevant road map, the government press service said. The goal of the document is to involve consumers in monitoring the development and implementation of monopolies’ investment […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – September 24, 2013) The appointment of former “gray cardinal” Vladislav Surkov to a post in President Vladimir Putin’s administration has prompted a flurry of speculation among Kremlin watchers with some saying it signals a return to a more flexible policy in political affairs and others insisting it is just a sinecure for […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 23, 2013) The 2014 budget that is being drafted by Russia’s government is the most austere in years, according to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. “It will be a difficult budget, the most difficult in recent years. It aims to ensure the stable development of Russia in a deteriorating global economic environment,” Medvedev said at a meeting […]
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(Interfax – September 23, 2013) Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev has acknowledged that security and the armed forces are a priority for state spending and social needs will have to take their place in the queue, Interfax news agency reported on 23 September. “I hope that after we complete the reorganization and restructuring of the armed forces, on which we’re […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ezekiel Pfeifer – September 23, 2013) A Moscow court on Friday rejected a lawsuit brought by opposition politician Alexei Navalny seeking to cancel the results of the city’s Sept. 8 mayoral election, in which Navalny placed second behind Kremlin-backed winner Sergei Sobyanin. Navalny’s team argued that the results were illegitimate because of violations including unequal […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 22, 2013) Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has categorically dismissed online rumors that the Russian president has remarried in a church ceremony at a secluded monastery in central Russia. A Twitter message that swept through social networks on Saturday claimed that Putin, who divorced in June, tied the knot again earlier in the day at the […]
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(Interfax – September 20, 2013) Russian pundits seem not to be surprised with President Vladimir Putin’s statement that he does not rule out standing in the next presidential election in 2018. Putin said this during a question-and-answer session at the Valday discussion club in Novgorod Region on 19 September. They believe Putin considers this scenario as basic and that this […]
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(Kremlin.ru – Novgorod Region, September 19, 2013) MODERATOR SVETLANA MIRONYUK: They say that Senator McCain followed your example and published an article of his own in Pravda newspaper. He probably remembers from the Soviet years that Pravda was a well-known publication and the most popular newspaper in the country. True, a lot of time has passed and things have changed […]
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(Kremlin.ru – Novgorod Region, September 19, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in the final plenary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The theme of the club’s anniversary session is Russia’s Diversity for the Modern World. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends, ladies and gentlemen, I hope that the place for your discussions, for our meetings is well […]
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(RIA Novosti – September 19, 2013) The Russian president’s press secretary, Dmitriy Peskov, has said that the question put to Vladimir Putin during the meeting of the Valday (also spelt Valdai) discussion club on 19 September about the possibility of him standing in the 2018 presidential election was “rhetorical” and received an appropriate answer, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti […]
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(Pravda.ru – September 19, 2013) When Pravda.ru editor, Dmitry Sudakov, offered to publish my commentary, he referred to me as “an active anti-Russian politician for many years.” I’m sure that isn’t the first time Russians have heard me characterized as their antagonist. Since my purpose here is to dispel falsehoods used by Russia’s rulers to perpetuate their power and excuse […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) A relevant parliamentary committee on Wednesday recommended that lawmakers pass a bill providing additional grounds for unscheduled checks of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The committee for public unions and organizations recommended that the bill, submitted by the Russian government in June, be passed in its first reading. According to the bill, grounds for […]
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(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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(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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(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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(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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(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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(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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(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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(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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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Paul Duvernet, special to RBTH – September 17, 2013) Intellectuals, politicians and journalists gathered in central Russia for four days of discussion about the country’s future. The 10th annual meeting of the Valdai Club opened Sept. 16 with a collective inquiry into the competition between identities at the international and regional levels. The […]
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(Howard Amos, RIA Novosti – VALDAI, September 16, 2013) Russian officials, opposition leaders and pundits wrestled on Monday with the disjuncture between the country’s capital and its far-flung provinces at an international conference, where two erstwhile political rivals from the mineral-rich Urals region surprised observers by publicly settling their differences. The newly elected mayor of Yekaterinburg and outspoken Kremlin […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 17, 2013) Earlier this Tuesday, the RIA Novosti Agency launched a project called A Quarter Century of Independent Media in Russia, a focus on the history of post-Soviet media from 1989 to this day. The core of the project is based on events related to the founding or closing of high-profile mass media outlets, […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH – September 16, 2013) The fight against graft has emerged as a rallying cry for Russia’s nascent opposition, yielding victories in local elections. The Kremlin agrees with its critics about the problem. Analysts hope the business climate stands to benefit. Dmitry Bykov, the charismatic Russian TV host-turned-opposition leader, stepped to […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 13, 2013) President Vladimir Putin will meet prominent opposition politicians at the 10th annual Valdai International Discussion Club, where Russian and foreign experts will discuss diversity, political and otherwise, in modern Russia, a news report said Friday. The forum is being held in the Novgorod region from Sept. 16-19 and will conclude with a […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 13, 2013) Public awareness in Russia of two criminal investigations and trials of leading opposition figures is on the rise, and the public is increasingly seeing these issues as politically motivated, a new poll has found. The survey published by the independent pollster Levada Center yesterday asked respondents about their knowledge of anti-corruption activist […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yaroslava Kiryukhina, RBTH – September 11, 2013) Women are poorly represented in politics in Russia, although a handful of women politicans have reached key positions. Russia is known for being a patriarchal country, but despite considerable barriers, some women leaders have managed to reach high levels in the political hierarchy. Women make up […]
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(Moscow Times – temhoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – September 12, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Thursday appointed business lobbyist Alexander Galushka as Far East Development Minister, completing the staff changes meant to spur investment in a region sitting next to major Asian powerhouses. A co-chairman of business association Delovaya Rossia, Galushka will work in tandem with Deputy Prime Minister Yury […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – September 11, 2013) When Aleksei Navalny addressed thousands of supporters on Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square, he surprised many when he urged the crowd to go home peacefully after the rally ended. Earlier on September 9, the anticorruption blogger-turned-opposition leader appeared to implicitly be threatening mass unrest when he said he would call his supporters […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – September 11, 2013) Audit Chamber chief Sergei Stepashin, who is being replaced by presidential aide Tatyana Golikova, said goodbye to his colleagues at the chamber’s headquarters in downtown Moscow on Tuesday, to a round of applause and the patriotic marching tune “Farewell of Slavyanka.” Stepashin, who earlier headed the Interior Ministry and […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG, September 12, 2013) Everyone assumes that the Kremlin cheats when it comes to elections. Did the Kremlin steal the Moscow City election for mayor on September 8 from opposition blogger Alexei Navalny? Ballot stuffing has been par for the course. It is widely accepted that the authorities added about 12% to the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 11, 2013) Opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman, who won Sunday’s mayoral vote in Yekaterinburg, was scheduled to be questioned by investigators Tuesday as a witness in a criminal case against a former employee of his City Without Drugs foundation. Roizman, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, was one of the few opposition members to win […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – September 11, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday hailed the recent regional elections as “more transparent than ever” as Moscow’s elections commission announced acting Mayor Sergei Sobyanin as the official winner of the city’s mayoral vote and set his inauguration ceremony for Thursday. Describing the elections as “legitimate, transparent and regulated,” Putin […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris – September 11, 2013) How much does the rest of the world hate Russia? Answer: a lot. This excerpt below is part of an internal memo by a major US bank, which will remain nameless, to clients on the results of the Moscow mayoral elections at the weekend. What is supposed to […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, September 11, 2013) Their identity increasingly defined not by what they are or want to be but by what they fear and view as alien, Russians as a nation are fraying at the edges with some like the Siberians identifying in terms of a region, others like the Cossacks in terms of […]
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(RIA Novosti – NOVO-OGARYOVO – Moscow Region, September 10, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called on newly elected heads of Russian regions to get in contact with their former opponents and use their proposals. “I am urging you to build relationships not only with your support groups but with all your opponents as well, bearing in mind […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Tatyana Lisina, special to RBTH – September 9, 2013) A mega regulator of the entire financial market began work in Russia on Sept. 1. According to experts, this will have a positive impact on the economy as a whole and increase Russia’s investment attractiveness. On Sept. 1, the Central Bank of the Russian […]
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