(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – September 27, 2013) A former Soviet republic has its sights set on moving closer to Europe, a move staunchly opposed by Moscow. With the Kremlin’s tacit support, one of its majority ethnic-Russian cities votes to secede, sparking fears of violent conflict. Officials in Moscow vow to defend the rights of its smaller neighbor’s […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 24, 2013) Over 18,000 applications of those wishing to move back to Russia within the framework of the state program to assist the voluntarily return of Russian natives from abroad were submitted in 2013. “Over 18,000 applications were taken this year. An analysis of the applications shows that the majority of (Russians) are of employable age. […]
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(RIA Novosti – SOCHI, September 23, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday named Russia’s priorities during its presidency in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance of former Soviet states. The CSTO Council, the organization’s supreme ruling body comprising leaders of the six member states, gathered in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. Kyrgyzstan handed […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 19, 2013) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has reiterated that Ukraine cannot combine its associated membership in the European Union with integration in the Customs Union. During a meeting with the participants in the 15th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia- Pacific News Agencies (OANA), he said such statements by the Ukrainian administration on its […]
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Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2013 Subject: New book: Strategic Cooperation: Overcoming the Barriers of Global Anarchy From: Michael Slobodchikoff <mslobodchikoff@troy.edu> Michael O. Slobodchikoff Lecturer of Political Science Troy University Troy, AL TITLE: Strategic Cooperation: Overcoming the Barriers of Global Anarchy AUTHOR: Michael O. Slobodchikoff PUBLISHER: Lexington Books (2013) ABSTRACT: Power inequalities and mistrust have characterized many interstate relationships. Yet most […]
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(Interfax – BRUSSELS, September 13, 2013) Russia is not planning to put pressure on any state or drag it forcibly into any association because of its relations with the EU’s Eastern Partnership, Russian envoy to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Interfax on Friday. “Our partners, primarily European parliamentarians, are unfortunately deeply misled on this. It is not about Russia’s […]
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(Interfax – GORKI, September 9, 2013) A group of lawyers has arrived at the conclusion that the normative bases of the European Union and Customs Union are incompatible, and that if Ukraine joins the EU free trade zone it will not be able to take on Customs Union obligations, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has said. “The conclusion […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, August 29, 2013) Gazprom, one of Moscow’s main sources of leverage in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, is losing its positions in both places, something that has domestic consequences as well because the company is one of the largest taxpayers of the Russian Federation, according to a Moscow analyst. In […]
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(Kremlin.ru – July 27, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in the conference called Orthodox-Slavic Values: The Foundation of Ukraine’s Civilisational Choice. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends, I just said goodbye before to President of Ukraine Mr Yanukovych. You also sent him your best wishes. Unfortunately, he has a strict schedule with a lot of events to attend: […]
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(Interfax – St. Petersburg, July 10, 2013) The Federation Council is concerned that Russia is losing influence in the post-Soviet space because of the lack of funds to finance Russian NCOs (noncommercial organizations) which work there. Igor Morozov, a member of the Committee on International Affairs, told a Federation Council meeting on Wednesday (10 July) that the European Union and […]
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Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 From: “The Heritage Foundation” <mailingFP@heritage.org> Subject: Event Invitation for this Thursday – The New Russian Sphere of Influence: Does Russia’s Eurasian Union Threaten U.S. Interests? The Heritage Foundation INVITATION June 27, 2013 The New Russian Sphere of Influence: Does Russia’s Eurasian Union Threaten U.S. Interests? Featuring 10:00 a.m. Panel 1 Ambassador Temuri Yakobashvilli, former […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 20, 2013) Fictitious import contracts with entities from Customs Union member states Belarus and Kazakhstan accounted for 40 percent of Russia’s net capital outflow last year, business daily Vedomosti reported on Thursday citing Central Bank data. About $10 billion could have been laundered through fake imports schemes via Kazakhstan, the Central Bank said in a […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Heather Maher – June 18, 2013) Countries in Central Europe and Central Asia are increasingly being ruled by autocratic governments with little regard for democracy, according to the 2013 “Nations In Transit” report by democracy watchdog Freedom House. The result has been a worsening of existing corruption, media censorship, and violence against political opposition, the group […]
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(Interfax – June 11, 2013) Russia needs a more flexible immigration policy to make it possible to attract the specialists the country requires, President Vladimir Putin has said. He was speaking during a visit to state-owned international TV channel RT (formerly known as Russia Today) in Moscow on the same day, as reported by the Russian media that day. “On […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, June 10, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has named promoting partnership with CIS countries, enhancing Eurasian integration in the framework of the Customs Union and Single Economic Space, and creating the Eurasian Economic Union by 2015 as most important priorities of Russia’s foreign policy. At a meeting on federal executive bodies’ action plans to achieve Russian […]
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(RIA Novosti – June 10, 2013) The USA will not be able to hinder integration processes in the post-Soviet space, chairman of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee Aleksey Pushkov has said. He was speaking at a news conference in Moscow on 10 June, as reported by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti on the same day. Pushkov said: […]
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(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov – May 30, 2013 – Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, an authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments) Astana recently hosted a Customs Union summit. The integration project is taking shape on the fly, so each summit evokes a great deal of interest. What if […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 28, 2013) Respondents polled in Russia recently said they would prefer Russia to deal with China and countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States rather than with the United States. “Asked which countries should be given priority as partners in cooperation, 28% of those polled named members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Levada Center […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Natalia Bespalova, Special to RBTH – March 12, 2013) Ukrainians would not want to join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan at the expense of Euro-integration, but the Ukrainian president says his country “is not tough or rich enough to neglect such cooperation” Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his […]
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MOSCOW, February 14 (RIA Novosti) Nothing can stop or slow down the reintegration of the post-Soviet space, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. “We’ve heard some recent nervous and outspoken remarks regarding integration in the post-Soviet space. Let’s put them down to the emotional rhetoric of these politicians,” Putin said at a meeting of FSB (Federal Security Service) […]
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(February 12, 2013 – Interfax) The terrorist activity level on the space around CIS member states is the highest in Afghanistan, CIS Anti-Terrorist Center Head Andrei Novikov said at the sixth meeting of center senior officials. “Afghanistan, a country bordering on CIS member countries, has the highest level of terrorist activity,” he said. The decision to pull out NATO forces […]
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In Russia, Eurasia is usually assumed to mean the post-Soviet space. The integration project Moscow has been actively promoting over the past four years is even called the Eurasian Union. However, the interpretation of Eurasia as the territory of the former Russian Empire and the Soviet Union is now outdated.
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ASTANA, January 18 (RIA Novosti) – Former Soviet states’ involvement in Eurasian integration does not herald a return to the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Friday. “We will continue to strive toward our common goal, and I want to stress once again that Eurasian integration, which is proceeding under my personal initiative, has never been, and never […]
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