(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, January 19, 2016) Ramzan Kadyrov’s increasingly outrageous statements confront Vladimir Putin with what for him is a Hobson’s choice: if he sacks Kadyrov, he will undermine his longstanding approach to the North Caucasus and quite possibly lead to a situation in which Moscow could no longer hold it. But if the Kremlin […]
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(Kremlin.ru – January 19, 2016) The President held a meeting on the development of the Advanced Research Fund. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues. Today we will discuss the development of the Advanced Research Fund. We will consider the implementation of its main projects and how they are assisting the development of applied research. We will look into […]
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(Kremlin.ru – January 20, 2016) Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session of the National Entrepreneurs’ Forum Small Business – National Idea? The forum examined issues such as support for small and medium-sized enterprises and measures to encourage business activity. The forum, organised by the OPORA Russia national public association of small and medium-sized enterprises, is taking place in […]
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DJ: Recent comment on Johnson’s Russia List by a former State Department official: “I have just returned from travel and started in on JRL #7, only to find the first ten percent or so of the issue taken up by a banal, boring, partisan regurgitation of Putin’s Bild interview. Why do you continue to inflict on your readers such tripe […]
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(Interfax – January 13, 2016) Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the government to closely monitor changes in the economic situation and be ready for any turn. “We should be ready for any scenario,” he said at a meeting with Cabinet members. The president drew attention to how the situation changes on the markets. “I know that the government has […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, January 12, 2016) Vladimir Putin has had the time and resources “to transform Russia if not into the next China then into a new Emirates by laying the foundations for economic growth over several decades,” Vladislav Inozemtsev says. But he didn’t do so and as a result, these years for Russia were […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Irina Reznik – January 12, 2016) He was one of the most powerful men in Russia for a decade, an old pal of the president who oversaw a million workers and a rail network spanning 11 time zones. But then Vladimir Yakunin was suddenly out, ending a career that included a stint as an intelligence officer […]
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(Kremlin.ru – January 12, 2016) The final part of Vladimir Putin’s interview to the German newspaper Bild is being published. The interview was recorded on January 5, 2016, in Sochi. Question: Mr President, will you take any steps to re-establish the G7 format as the G8? And another question: what did you think when the US President said that Russia […]
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(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Maxim Trudolyubov – January 11, 2016) Maxim Trudolyubov is a Senior Fellow at the Kennan Institute and the Editor-at-Large of Vedomosti, an independent Russian daily. Mr. Trudolyubov was the editorial page editor of Vedomosti between 2003 and 2015. He has been a contributing opinion writer for The International New York Times since the fall of […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, January 9, 2016) Ever more Russians are thinking about a future for themselves without Vladimir Putin, a positive development because it shows that they no longer imagine he will be as eternal as he thinks and because it is allowing them to consider many issues now that will have to be addressed […]
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(Interfax – January 11, 2016) German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Holland, who are part of the Normandy Quartet, should pay more attention to implementation of the Minsk agreements on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. Speaking in an interview with the German Bild newspaper, Putin said that the constitutional reform in Ukraine should underlie the political […]
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(Kremlin.ru – January 11, 2016) [As published in Bild: bild.de/politik/ausland/wladimir-putin/russian-president-vladimir-putin-the-interview-44092656.bild.html] The interview was recorded on January 5, in Sochi. Question: Mr President, We have just marked the 25th anniversary of the end of the Cold War. Last year, we witnessed a great number of wars and crises across the world, something that had not happened for many years. What did […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) – Russia is ready to defend its interests in a non-confrontational manner, based on international law, which must be understood uniformly by all, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. “You asked me if I was a friend or not. The relations between states are a little different from those between individuals. I am no friend, bride […]
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(Kremlin.ru – January 8, 2016) Vladimir Putin met with Russia’s national judo team at the Southern Federal Centre for Sports Training Yug-Sport. During the meeting, the President presented the Russian passport to national judo team head coach Ezio Gamba. Earlier, Vladimir Putin took part in a training session with judo players. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, Thank you very […]
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From: John Evans <EvansinAmerica@aol.com> Date: January 5, 2016 To: letters@washpost.com Subject: Putin’s Crude and Desperate Propaganda To the Editor: With all due respect to Paula Dobriansky and David Rivkin, and with prior apologies for engaging in “Whataboutism,” I question the authors’ one-sided excoriation of Russian media and officials (Op-Ed, Jan. 5) for some racist and decidedly off-color remarks and representations, […]
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(Voice of America – Bernard Shusman – January 6, 2016) Russian President Vladimir Putin gets a bad report card, even a failing grade, for his handling of the economic crisis in his country, according to 27 percent of analysts who participated in a major survey conducted by Bloomberg Business. These are hard times in Russia, with the collapse in oil […]
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KURSK. Dec 31 (Interfax) – Anna Abramova, 11, from Kursk, received from Russian President Vladimir Putin a Labrador puppy as a gift, the press service for the Kursk City Assembly reported on Thursday. The girl named the puppy Undina. The girl has been dreaming about a dog for a long time, but the income of her family (her mother, Tatyana […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 31, 2015) President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, friends, In a few moments, we will see in the New Year of 2016. The sensation of this wonderful moment between the past and the future is familiar since childhood. We look forward to it with joy, hope and excitement, believing in the best. Traditionally, we celebrate […]
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(RFE/RL – Carl Schreck – December 29, 2015) In December 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama fielded a question about Russia while addressing a group of American business leaders in Washington. President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into Ukraine and “backward-looking” policies, Obama said, are “isolating Russia completely internationally.” If it was Russian expansionism last year that triggered this isolation, it was Putin’s […]
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(RIA Novosti – December 25, 2015) Vladimir Putin has intervened in the case of the Library of Ukrainian Literature in Moscow, whose director is in custody and facing charges of inciting hatred, RIA Novosti news agency reported on 25 December. Natalya Sharina was held on 28 October when the Investigations Committee carried out a search of the Library and found […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 25, 2015) Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Presidential Council for Culture and Art in the Kremlin. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues. This meeting is taking place ahead of the New Year, so I want to begin by wishing you a Happy New Year. Greetings to all of you! The year of 2015 […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – December 24, 2015) “How great is it that our nation is ruled by a man that we can be so proud of?” To be honest, this is a first in my life.” This was the praise given to President Vladimir Putin in the wake of his speech before the United Nations General […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 24, 2015) President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, The first official visit to Moscow by India’s Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, is coming to an end. Our talks were very substantive and fruitful. I hope they would assist in promoting the privileged Russian-Indian strategic partnership. Yesterday Mr Modi and I had a […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 24, 2015) Vladimir Putin held the final meeting of 2015 with Government members. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Medvedev, colleagues, friends, I would like to begin by thanking the Russian Federation Government, its ministries and agencies and all your employees for the good work. In a frankly complicated situation, you have demonstrated a high level of […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 25, 2015) Vladimir Putin attended a gala reception at the Kremlin celebrating the arrival of 2016. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, friends, It gives me great pleasure to welcome you and wish you a Happy 2016. There are signs of the approaching holiday everywhere, and it feels like there is no need to […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Sergei Khazov-Cassia – December 19, 2015) VEGARUS, Russia — The stream bounces gaily on its bed of pebbles as it passes through this tiny village in Russia’s republic of Karelia, some 70 kilometers from the Finnish border. Up until 1939, the pristine, wooded area was part of Finland. Today, despite its proximity to one of Europe’s […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Natasha Doff and Marton Eder – December 20, 2015) A two-year feud between Ukraine and Russia is on the verge of being played out in a London courtroom after the government in Kiev defaulted on $3 billion in bonds. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko followed through on months of threats on Friday by reneging on the debt […]
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(Interfax – December 20, 2015) Moscow, 20 December: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he has always warned Western partners against “automatically, mechanically” spreading their ideas about democracy to other countries and nations. “I have spoken to many leaders, both European and American, over many years. And when it came to various operations, in Afghanistan, or in Iraq, or […]
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(Interfax – December 20, 2015) Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, 20 December: Russian President Vladimir Putin regrets that in the implementation of its policy with regard to Ukraine and the whole post-Soviet space, the West is guided by the erroneous notion that Moscow wants to restore the Soviet Union. “As for Ukraine and all the former Soviet Union, I am convinced that the position […]
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The Wall Street Journal reports on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s December address, and prospects of Russian budget cuts prompted by oil-related economy downturns. … Putin said on Thursday that the government may have to cut the federal budget because of a plunge in oil prices, but tried to reassure Russians that the worst of the economic crisis was over. At […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 17, 2015) The President’s news conference was broadcast live by Rossiya-1, Rossiya-24 and Channel One, as well as Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii radio stations. Television channel Public Television of Russia (OTR) and its site (http://www.otr-online.ru/online/) provided live sign language interpretation of the news conference. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends and colleagues, We regularly meet […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, December 17, 2015) Russian commentators across the political spectrum, from the most liberal to the most nationalistic, agree that Vladimir Putin achieved a significant victory for his policies in Syria and Ukraine in the course and as a result of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Moscow. One Moscow analyst […]
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s official visit to Moscow this week for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov caught Russian pundits off guard, with Kerry striking a conciliatory tone and insisting that the U.S. was not seeking to isolate Russia. But can any serious change in Washington’s stance be read into Kerry’s comments? (Russia […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 17, 2015) [Text in Russian and video here http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/50971] The President’s news conference was broadcast live by Rossiya-1, Rossiya-24 and Channel One, as well as Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii radio stations. Television channel Public Television of Russia (OTR) and its site (http://www.otr-online.ru/online/) provided live sign language interpretation of the news conference. President of Russia Vladimir […]
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RFE/RL and AFP report on theories that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unusual gait, including a tendency to keep his right arm closer to his torso while in motion, might be linked to KGB training that valued the ability to draw a weapon quickly. A team of European neurologists says … Putin walks with a peculiar “gunslinger’s gait” — a reduced […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 14, 2015) Vladimir Putin spoke at the plenary session of the IV St Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The IV St Petersburg International Cultural Forum is taking place on December 14-16, 2015. Every year the forum brings together experts in culture, politicians, representatives of state bodies and business people, and this year’s event is dedicated to the 70th […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, December 13, 2015) Russia didn’t succeed in modernizing itself, Sergey Shelin says; instead, “on all fronts, archaic forms and values are triumphing;” and Russia is achieving ever greater “successes in the construction of feudalism” and the promotion of ignorance as a value to the point that one can speak of the formation […]
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(Interfax – December 9, 2015) Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered that the government resume coal supplies to Ukraine in response to Kiev resuming electricity flow to Crimea. “They [Ukraine] might only have gotten only one line up and running, but it’s still one line [of power transmission]. It is necessary to resume coal supplies,” Putin said at a meeting […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, December 10, 2015) Yesterday, exiled Russian oligarch and opposition leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky gave an online press conference in which he said that a revolution in Russia is both “inevitable and necessary, a declaration that has attracted broad attention in the Russian segment of the Internet. But he said a number of other […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, December 9, 2015) Many people now say that they do not believe the findings of pollsters that 86 percent of Russians approve of Vladimir Putin, Denis Volkov says; but in fact, the figure is correct – it has been replicated many times – although it does not mean what either the Kremlin […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson- December 10, 2015) Alexei Navalny has spent years publishing revelations of the ill-gotten luxuries of Russia’s elite and seeing them ignored by authorities. But when the blogger and opposition politician’s anti-corruption fund unveiled an investigation linking colleagues of Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika to the bloodiest bandits of recent years, Navalny thought they […]
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