MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russians are divided about the use of conscript soldiers in the army, according to a survey published Tuesday. A total of 48 percent of Russians believe the military draft should remain a key source of manpower for the army, while 40 percent think only professional contract soldiers should serve, the poll by the independent […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 18, 2014) Three newly released statistics – one on births in Kazakhstan, a second on how Russians understand events in Ukraine, and a third on where websites of the .ru domain are hosted – say more about where the Russian Federation is heading than do more prominent declarations of Moscow political […]
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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 […]
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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#33 :: 17 February 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Politics 1. Moscow Times: Sochi Notebook: Russian vs. Western Styles of Talking. […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Artemy M. Kalinovsky – February 15, 2014) Artemy M. Kalinovsky is Assistant Professor of East European Studies at the University of Amsterdam and the author of A Long Goodbye: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan (Harvard University Press, 2011). Twenty five years ago today, Soviet General Boris Gromov oversaw the final withdrawal from Afghanistan. How will the International Security […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – February 16, 2014) Central Asian governments are already on heightened alert over the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. This sense of alarm is almost certain to increase in coming months. But in Turkmenistan there does not seem to be the same concern heard in the neighboring Central Asian states. Ashgabat seems content to rely on […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 16, 2014) Ukrainians in the Maidan as well as their supporters need to face up to some painful realities if Ukraine is to escape its current impasse given that at present no good exit is obvious, according to Irina Pavlova, one of the most thoughtful observers of the post-Soviet space. In […]
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MOSCOW, February 16 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s boxer-turned-opposition politician Vitali Klitschko said Sunday he has given up his residency in Germany to prove his right to run for the president next year. The leader of the Udar political party, Klitschko, 42, has spent several years living and paying tax in Germany rather than Ukraine. Last year, the world heavyweight champion […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – February 17, 2014) After two weeks of calm, tensions in Kyiv are high again as a 15 day deadline on the new amnesty law expires. So far the prospects for compromise seem good as both sides in the conflict made gestures that will deescalate tensions, the threat of renewed violence remains is again just […]
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MOSCOW, February 17 (RIA Novosti) – Greater powers are to be handed over to a government department overseeing affairs in Russia’s Far East within the coming month, a top official has said in an interview published Monday. The move is in line with government designs to boost the fortunes of a vast expanse of territory between Siberia and the Pacific […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – February 17, 2014) Russia’s central bank moved in on its latest two victims on February 11, pulling the banking licenses from Moscow-based European Trust Bank (Eurotrust) and Link-Bank. Eurotrust was already a zombie. The bank stopped taking in new retail customers last November due to the tough economic conditions, […]
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GORKI. Feb 17 (Interfax) – Large-scale privatization deals could begin in the second quarter of 2014, the head of the Russian Federal Property Agency (Rosimushchestvo) Olga Dergunova told journalists on Monday. “Agents will be best prepared for deals such as that of Sovcomflot in the second quarter. We will answer questions concerning the deal’s structure and [share] placement location. The […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – D. Garrison Golubock and Olga Chetina – February 17, 2014) Feb. 11 marked the 124th anniversary of the birth of Boris Pasternak, the famed Soviet author best known for his book “Doctor Zhivago,” which was published abroad after being banned in the Soviet Union. Pasternak’s birthday was celebrated with great fanfare by Russia’s literati, including […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Anna Arutunyan – February 17, 2014) The shocking suicide of a Navy admiral has prompted official investigations into the bureaucratic hurdles Russian cancer patients face when trying to obtain pain medication. According to the experts, administrative problems, a lingering Soviet mentality and a misguided drug policy are to blame for continued lack of […]
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MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti) – The vast majority of Russians find same-sex relationships unacceptable, according to a survey published Friday by a state-run pollster. VTsIOM found in its poll that lesbian couples were deemed inappropriate by 78 percent of respondents, with only 3 percent answering that relationships between two women were normal. Relationships between men were even more unpopular. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – SOCHI – February 17, 2014) Political overtones reared their head at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Saturday night as Russia and the U.S. played each other in a tense hockey game. After the Cold War hockey rivals found themselves tied 2-2 at the end of overtime, the U.S. team won after eight […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – SOCHI – February 17, 2014) Russians tend to become reticent when approached by reporters at the Winter Olympics. In contrast, North Americans and many Europeans show no qualms at all. They go up to reporters on their own initiative and are not wary about giving their last names. They also volunteer details […]
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Sochi Olympics Following an extravagant opening ceremony, with ticket sales reportedly exceededing one million … the Sochi Winter Olympics seem to be going smoothly, but controversy persists. Meanwhile Moscow is not seeing a hoped-for influx of tourist in connection with the Winter Olympics. Russians seem to be uniting around the Sochi Winter Olympics, producing political benefits for Russian President Vladimir […]
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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#32 :: 14 February 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Reuters: Olympics-Tolstoy’s words ring true as Putin goes for Sochi […]
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[“Russia holds rate, warns of rises if inflation accelerates” – CentralBankNews.info – February 14, 2014 – http://www.centralbanknews.info/2014/02/russia-holds-rate-warns-of-rises-if.html] CentralBankNews.info covers Russia’s Central Bank and its decision to maintain its key policy rate at 5.50 per cent. The Central Bank cautions that it could raise rates if inflation exceeds the bank’s target, but asserts an expectation that inflation will be held in […]
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[“Russians hold outdoor kissathon in coldest city” – AFP – February 14, 2014 – news.yahoo.com/russians-hold-outdoor-kissathon-coldest-city-140334458.html] Russian couples in Yakutsk took part in a Saint Valentine’s Day kissing contest called “Love warms you up,” with the winners kissing for one hour and twenty minutes, the last 20 minutes spent with the man also picking the woman up and holding her in […]
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[“Russia, NATO plan joint operation on Syria’s chemical weapons” – Reuters – Gabriela Baczynska and Adrian Croft – February 14, 2014 – reuters.com/article/2014/02/14/us-syria-crisis-russia-nato-idUSBREA1D0Y120140214] Reuters covers plans for a NATO-Russian joint naval operation in the Mediterranean to protect a U.S. ship playing a role in the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons. The mission would be a cooperative step even as Russian […]
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[“Putin and the media – Dreams about Russia – Beyond the spectacle of the Sochi Olympics is a crackdown on Russia’s media” – The Economist – February 15, 2014 – economist.com/news/europe/21596580-beyond-spectacle-sochi-olympics-crackdown-russias-media-dreams-about-russia] The Economist reports on concerns over media freedoms in Russia, including actions taken in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympics: Just as Vladimir Putin’s greatest project [the Sochi Olympics] […]
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[“Russians use ‘love’ emoticon on Facebook more than any other” – San Francisco Business Times – Steven E.F. Brown- February 13, 2014 – bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2014/02/russians-love-emoticon-facebook-berkeley.html?page=all] The San Francisco Business Times reports that the top emoticon for Russian facebook users is the love icon. Yet researchers at Cal-Berkeley and Cambridge provide a mixed assessment of what that means: Russians choose an emoticon […]
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[“What the Papers Say, Feb. 14, 2014” – The Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring – themoscowtimes.com/news/article/what-the-papers-say-feb-14-2014/494555.html] The Moscow Times and BBC Monitoring parse the latest news from Russian print newspapers. Nezavisimaya Gazeta 1. Sergei Neverov article headlined “People’s support is priority” says that today the State Duma is to pass in the third reading a bill on elections to the State Duma […]
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[“Olympics – Tolstoy’s words ring true as Putin goes for Sochi gold” – Reuters – Timothy Heritage – February 14, 2014 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/14/us-olympics-halfway-idUSBREA1D0VN20140214] Reuters covers the Sochi Olympics, commenting that at least some concerns voiced prior to the Olympics seemingly have been mitigated: For all the talk of war from Islamist militants before the Sochi Games started, the Russian organizers […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – February 14, 2014) Most Russians (60%) think that the financial standing of their families will not change during the nearest year, according to findings of a survey conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM). The Russian people have been in such downbeat mood over the past ten years 17% of respondents expect […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – February 14, 2014) The Olympic Games seemed a golden opportunity for the Moscow tourism industry, with the majority of tourists bound to pause in the capital on their way to Sochi. But the city has not been deluged with Olympic visitors. Those few who have stopped in Moscow have been quick to […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – February 14, 2014) Russia has seen an increase in violence motivated by ethnic hatred and physical attacks on the LGBT community in the past year, experts said Thursday. The topic has taken on a new sense of urgency in light of Russia’s anti-gay propaganda legislation and the ongoing street protests in neighboring […]
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(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Tatiana Stanovaya – February 12, 2014) The question of whether or not the Kremlin will abolish direct mayoral elections in major Russian cities is likely to be one of the major political intrigues of 2014. Although the Russian Constitution prohibits cancellation of direct mayoral elections, as does the European Charter of Local Self-Government, […]
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MOSCOW, February 14 (RIA Novosti) – Only a single NGO has registered as a foreign agent under a hotly contested 2012 Russian law to regulate the activities of foreign-funded organizations, the Justice Ministry said on its website Friday. The law, widely denounced by human rights organizations as an attempt to suppress political opposition in the country, obliges organizations receiving foreign […]
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(Kremlin.ru – February 13, 2014) Vladimir Putin met with Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin and Chairperson of the Presidium of the Civil Dignity national public movement Ella Pamfilova. Mr Lukin’s term of office as Human Rights Ombudsman expires on February 18, and Ms Pamfilova has been nominated to this post. The new candidate must be approved by the State […]
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NOVO-OGARYOVO, February 13 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian president formally nominated an outspoken Kremlin critic as Russia’s next ombudsman on Thursday, saying he expected her to watch Russia’s political life with “a critical eye.” Vladimir Putin told rights activists on January 23 that he would formally nominate Ella Pamfilova, former head of the Kremlin human rights council, to the post […]
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MOSCOW, February 14 (RIA Novosti) – Most Russians remember their first love but only 13 percent would like to meet up with that person again, a poll conducted ahead of St. Valentine’s Day showed. Eighty-five percent of adult Russians said they had fallen in love, while nine percent of Russians said they have never lost their hearts to another. Nearly […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Stepan Kravchenko, Ilya Arkhipov and Henry Meyer – February 14, 2014) Even Vladimir Putin’s Russian critics are rallying around the president to revel in the country’s first Winter Olympics, dismissing western complaints about facilities, security and graft. As the competition in Sochi enters week two, Russia is swelling with pride over its first Olympics since Moscow […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Nicole Gaouette – February 14, 2014) If mounting U.S. frustration with Russia wasn’t clear enough after President Barack Obama blamed Moscow on Feb. 11 for the starvation of Syrian civilians, this week offered plenty of other signals. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Congress that “an assertive Russia” poses a risk to the U.S. and […]
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WASHINGTON, February 13 (RIA Novosti) – With the eyes of the world trained on the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Americans’ opinions of Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin have reached their lowest point in 20 years, according to a survey released Thursday by the US pollster Gallup. Both Putin and Russia registered their highest “unfavorable” ratings – 63 percent and […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm – February 14, 2014) Michael Bohm is opinion page editor of The Moscow Times. Although Michael McFaul masterminded the “reset” between the U.S. and Russia, ushering in a welcome period of warmer relations, albeit short-lived, his ambassadorship to Moscow was doomed from the start. The sandy-haired Montana native fell right into the Kremlin’s […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – February 14, 2014) Russians disapprove of Ukrainian protesters who cast stones and bottles of incendiary liquid at the police, the Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) said. 55% of the respondents condemned the aggressive behavior of Ukrainian demonstrators; 26% admitted their dislike for radically minded Ukrainian opposition activists; 15% said they were disappointed and […]
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[“Russia accuses EU of seeking Ukraine ‘sphere of influence’” – Reuters – Gabriela Baczynska, Alexandra Hudson – February 14, 2014 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/14/us-ukraine-russia-eu-idUSBREA1D0PT20140214] Reuters covers tensions between Russia and the EU over Ukraine, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov bemoaning the prospect of an EU sphere of influence on Russia’s borders: Russia accused the European Union on Friday of seeking to […]
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(Interfax – February 14, 2014) Russia is prepared to act as a mediator between Ukraine’s opposition and government in their search for a solution to the crisis in the country if Russia is asked to, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. “We will not mind acting as a mediator between the authorities and the opposition if the authorities and the opposition […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Daryna Krasnolutska – February 14, 2014) German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host Ukrainian opposition leaders next week as protesters try to raise pressure on the government to step down and Russia accuses the U.S. and European Union of meddling in its backyard. Merkel will meet opposition leaders Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Vitali Klitschko, a former world heavyweight […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 14, 2014) Every historical period is symbolized by a specific event in a specific place when and where societies and their rulers demonstrate whether or not they are capable of responding to the challenges they face. Today, Liliya Shevtsova says, Ukraine is that place and that time not only for the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – D. Garrison Golubock – February 14, 2014) On Feb. 15, 1989, the last Soviet military formations departed from Afghanistan, leaving behind a country they had occupied for more than nine years and where more than 14,000 of their comrades-in-arms had died. Twenty-five years later, the Soviet Union has long since ceased to exist, and the […]
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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#31 :: 13 February 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Reuters: Olympics-Ice hockey-U.S. v Russia far from David and Goliath […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Nariman Gizitdinov and Torrey Clark – February 12, 2014) Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he may extend the longest reign of any former Soviet leader by running for a fifth term in 2016. “There definitely will be a transition of power — there’s nothing frozen, it will be changed,” Nazarbayev, 73, said in an interview last […]
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(New Eastern Outlook – journal-neo.org – Martin Harris – February 13, 2014) Martin Harris, a freelance journalist and analyst based in the Eurasia region, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”. The recently leaked diplomatic exchange between United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasia Affairs Victoria Nuland and US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyat is more […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 13, 2014) Ukraine’s immediate future may be defined by the positions of Russia, Europe and the United States, but its long-term one depends on the nature of the relationship between those backing the Maidan and those in the southeastern portions of the country, according to a Moscow commentator. And that relationship […]
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(Valdai Discussion Club/Gazeta.ru – Fyodor Lukyanov – February 13, 2014) Fyodor Lukyanov is Chairman of the Russian council on foreign and defence policy, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, member of the Valdai Discussion Club. US Ambassador Michael McFaul attracted much more attention during his tenure in Moscow than any of his colleagues or predecessors. But his efforts as […]
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MOSCOW, February 13 (RIA Novosti) – Russia may have to spend up to $7 billion over the next three years to maintain infrastructure and venues around the Olympic host city of Sochi, Bloomberg news agency reported Thursday. Bloomberg cited unnamed planning officials as saying the government is not yet sure of the final bill for the Olympics partly because plans […]
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