The newfound uncertainty of life in Russia

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Lara McCoy Roslof, RBTH – March 18, 2014) The ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the exchange of increasingly politicized rhetoric has brought with it a growing sense of unease and concern about the future. RBTH’s editor for the Western Hemisphere talks about how the atmosphere in Russia has changed from an American perspective. […]

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Putin’s Crimea Policies Reflect His Fear of Revolutionary Change in Russia, Pavlovsky Says

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 15, 2014) What Vladimir Putin is doing in Crimea has less to do with the defense of Russia’s foreign policy interests there than with the defense of the Kremlin leader’s own position in the face of what is becoming “the Great Ukrainian-Russian Revolution,” according to Gleb Pavlovsky. In an article posted […]

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Putin’s Approval Rating Rises Amid Crimean Secession Debate – RIA Novosti

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

MOSCOW, March 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating has risen 5 percent in the past week amid the ongoing crisis over the Crimean parliament’s plan to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, according to a survey published Wednesday by a state-run pollster. According to the Public Opinion Foundation, 53 percent of respondents said they would vote […]

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Russia to Select New Human Rights Ombudsman

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian parliament has tentatively decided to select the country’s new human rights ombudsman next week. Russian President Vladimir Putin formally nominated Ella Pamfilova, an outspoken Kremlin critic, for the post last month. The position, established in 1994, has powers to sue state agencies and the parliament on behalf of people whose rights have […]

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Opposition planned Moscow micro-Maidan in May 2012 – activist

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

MOSCOW. March 12 (Interfax) – The convicted Left Front activist, Konstantin Lebedev, who is serving a prison term for organizing the mass disturbances in Moscow in May 6, 2012, told Moscow City Court that he and the other co-accused, Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev – were planning to stage a “micro-Maidan.” “We were prepared for mass disturbances because the micro-Maidan […]

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Why do most Russian women hate feminism?

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Diana Bruk, special to RBTH – March 7, 2014) Russian women don’t see the point of feminism – and maybe they have a point. Diana Bruk is a Russian-American journalist based in New York. It would probably surprise no foreigner who has ever visited Russia that a 2004 Kinsey study described Russian society […]

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“Those Who Unleash a War on Ukraine Will be Damned by the Russian People.” Russia’s Opposition on the Ukraine Crisis.

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – March 6, 2014) According to the state-owned All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion, 73 percent of Russians are against intervention in Ukraine. All the leading opposition forces in Russia have condemned the military invasion and the planned annexation of Crimea. The Institute of Modern Russia publishes excerpts from Russian opposition statements […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Background Briefing by Senior Administration Officials on Executive Order on Ukraine

White House

(The White House – Office of the Press Secretary – For Immediate Release – March 06, 2014) Via Conference Call 8:38 A.M. EST MS. HAYDEN:  Thank you very much.  Good morning, everyone.  Thank you so much for joining.  This conference call is to discuss the visa restrictions and executive order that were released today in relation to Ukraine.  We have […]

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Most Russians believe women should stay at home

Two Babushkas file photo

(Moscow News – moscownews.com – David Burghardt – March 7, 2014) A woman’s place is in the kitchen, according to a recent poll by the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research (VTsIOM) published on Friday. According to the latest survey, 72 percent of Russians believe a woman should choose the home and family over her career. “When there’s a choice […]

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Protest Crackdowns Illegal, Human Rights Ombudsman Says

Vladimir Lukin file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 6, 2014) Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin called crackdowns on unsanctioned opposition protests illegal. According to Russia’s Supreme Court decisions, unauthorized protests were not necessarily illegal, Lukin said, Interfax reported. He added that often the protests pose no disturbance to citizens and that violations should only be pursued when the actions “create a […]

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Pussy Riot Attacked at McDonald’s

File Photo of Russian McDbnald's Crew with U.S. Diplomat

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 6, 2014) Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina have been attacked by five young men at a McDonald’s in Nizhny Novgorod on Thursday. The attackers threw metal objects at the women as they were eating, leaving Alyokhina with “a cut to her forehead,” their lawyer said, Interfax reported. Furthermore, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Vladimir Putin replied to questions from journalists [partial transcript]

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

(Kremlin.ru – March 4, 2014) Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region [Complete English translation will be here http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/6763] The President of Russia met with media representatives to answer a number of their questions, in particular with regard to the situation in Ukraine. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, colleagues, How shall we do this? This is what I’d like to suggest: let’s […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: Johnson’s Russia List contents with links :: 2014-#44 :: Sunday, 2 March 2014

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#44 :: 2 March 2014 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 […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [White House] Statement by the President on Ukraine

File Photo of Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama Seated Before Russian and U.S. Flags

The White House Statement by the President on Ukraine The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release February 28, 2014 Statement by the President on Ukraine James S. Brady Press Briefing Room 5:05 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Over the last several days, the United States has been responding to events as they unfold in […]

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Kremlin Uncertain How to Connect with Rising Generation, Sociologist Says

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 27, 2014) Kremlin strategists now recognize that the themes of stability and modernization will not allow them to connect with the rising generation in Russia as such ideas did in the last election with slightly older people, but they have not yet figured out what themes they will try to use, […]

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Russians Increasingly Nostalgic for Soviet System, Poll Finds

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 27, 2014) An increasing share of Russians say they are nostalgic for the Soviet system with the number indicating that they support for democracy and free markets or the political system they now live under has fallen in recent years, according to the results of a new poll by the Levada […]

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Comment on Johnson’s Russia List #36/ Tennison & Ferguson [re: Post-Soviet Political Culture in Russia]

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

Subject: Comment on Johnson’s Russia List #36/Tennison&Ferguson Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2014 From: Al Weeks <Aweeks11@comcast.net> Two postings on JRL, one by Ms. Tennison, the other by Mr. Ferguson, raise some issues that in my opinion, neither writer coped with realistically. For her part, Sharon Tennison argues that post-1991 Russia has performed what she calls a “miracle” in its recovery […]

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Interfax: Major sporting events boost Russians’ sense of dignity, nation’s openness to world – Putin

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

SOCHI. Feb 24 (Interfax) – Events such as the Sochi Olympics demonstrate to the whole world that Russia is no stranger to hospitality and success, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “Events such as this are certainly of a nationwide nature, uniting people around absolutely positivity, boosting our sense of dignity while at the same time showing our country’s openness to […]

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Kremlin to tighten screws in wake of Kiev unrest

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – February 24, 2014) A Moscow court sentenced seven people on Monday to prison terms ranging from one to four years for their roles in protest riots on the city’s Bolotnaya Ploshchad in May 2012, in a ruling seen as an indicator of whether government pressure would increase on the opposition in the […]

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Russians Overwhelmingly Oppose Moscow Intervention in Ukraine but Also Say There Won’t be a Maidan in Russia

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 24, 2014) More than seven out of ten Russians say that Moscow should not intervene in Ukraine, but at the same time, a slightly larger number say that events like those which have taken place in Ukraine are impossible in the Russian Federation, according to results of a new VTsIOM poll. […]

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Unless Kremlin Learns Lessons of Ukraine, a Russian Maidan is Inevitable, Nemtsov Says

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 23, 2014) Viktor Yanukovich was “100 percent” responsible for the rise of the popular movement that overthrew him, Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov says, and unless the Kremlin learns the lessons from what has taken place in Ukraine, “a Russian Maidan is inevitable” and it will be the fault of no […]

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Ukraine’s Acting President Warns Economy Is in Dire State

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Daryna Krasnolutska, Kateryna Choursina and Ilya Arkhipov – February 23, 2014) Ukrainian lawmakers gave presidential powers to parliament Speaker Oleh Turchynov, who urged political parties to agree on a new government and warned of the “catastrophic” state of the nation’s economy. The U.S., Europe and the U.K. said they would help with financial aid when a […]

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Putin Adopts a New Strategy for Governing in an Era of Scarcity

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 21, 2014) The stagnation of the economy is leaving Vladimir Putin without the resources he earlier had to buy off the population and forced him to try to awake in it “an unselfish love for the authorities by using massive brain washing, according to a professor at the European University in […]

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Critics Fear Post-Sochi Crackdown

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – February 21, 2014) With three days to go until the Winter Olympics in Sochi draw to a close, fears are growing among many Russians that the apparent tolerance of President Vladimir Putin toward critics of his government in the run-up to the games will dissipate after the last foreign participant leaves. The […]

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RIA Novosti: Russians Consider Their Country Free, Developed, Rich – Poll

Map of Russia

MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) – The majority of Russians believe their country is developed, rich and free, according to a survey published by a state-run pollster Wednesday. Fifty-seven percent of respondents told the Public Opinion Foundation that their country is developed, 58 percent described it as rich and 60 percent said they live in a free country. Fifty-one percent […]

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Pro-Russian Separatism Rises In Crimea As Ukraine’s Crisis Unfolds

Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(RFE/RL – rferl.org –  Robert Coalson – SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine – February 18, 2014) From the dingy basement of a decaying apartment block on the outskirts of Simferopol, Crimean parliament deputy Sergei Shuvainikov is leading the fight to defend the ethnic Russians of this strategic Black Sea peninsula. In an office festooned with banners showing a map of Crimea overlaid with […]

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Ecologists Suspect Opposition Leader Navalny of Poaching

Alexei Navalny file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 19, 2014) The All-Russian Nature Conservation Society will ask prosecutors to check whether opposition leader Alexei Navalny is guilty of poaching. The ecologists’ suspicions were raised by a picture published on the Internet that shows Navalny posing beside a dead moose. “If you look at the photograph, it’s clear that the hunting took place […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Lawmaker Has Undeclared Luxury Dubai Apartment – Navalny

Middle East Map

MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s leading opposition activist Alexei Navalny published material Tuesday allegedly showing that a prominent lawmaker and son of nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky owns an undeclared $2.5 million apartment abroad with seven toilets and a balcony Jacuzzi. Igor Lebedev, deputy speaker of the State Duma, bought the property in Dubai in 2009 but failed to […]

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Fearing Persecution, Bolotnoye Suspects Flee Abroad

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – February 19, 2014) When a judge delivers a verdict Friday in the high-profile Bolotnoye case, the defendants’ cage will contain eight people. It might have held dozens more if some of the potential suspects had not fled abroad, fearing unfair prosecution in what many observers call a politically motivated trial aimed at […]

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RIA Novosti: Veteran Director of Liberal Russian Radio Station Ousted

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti) – The long-serving director of Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy was replaced Tuesday by a manager from state-owned media, sparking fears of editorial changes at the liberal news outlet. Yury Fedutinov was removed as director of Ekho Moskvy after more than 20 years in the job and replaced by Yekaterina Pavlova during a shareholder meeting, […]

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Rossiya Segodnya Head Given Presidential Award

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 18, 2014) State television host Dmitry Kiselyov, known for his strong opposition to gay rights in Russia, has been awarded the Order of Service to the Fatherland by President Vladimir Putin. A presidential decree published on the government’s legal documents website said the honor was bestowed on Kiselyov for his contribution to Russia’s “social […]

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RIA Novosti: Poll Reveals Widespread Intolerance for Gays in Russia

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

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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The Kremlin’s Interest in “Local Business”

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

(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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TRANSCRIPT: Meeting with Vladimir Lukin and Ella Pamfilova

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(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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Putin Formally Nominates Pamfilova as New Ombudsman

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

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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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Meeting with the Government [re: economic development]

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Kremlin.ru – February 12, 2014) Vladimir Putin met with a number of Government members to discuss legislation for developing Russia’s financial market and implementation of the Economic Development Ministry’s 2013-2018 action plan. The meeting continues a series of consultations that the President is holding with the Government on carrying out the tasks set out in the Annual Presidential Address to […]

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Putin Takes Break From Olympics to Press Ministers Over Economy

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Moscow Times – c – Anatoly Medetsky – February 13, 2014) Rresident Vladimir Putin on Wednesday held another meeting with Cabinet ministers to discuss the faltering economy, the latest ritual that might further diminish Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s stature. Putin started out by asking Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev to report on finding ways to give momentum to an economy […]

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Ethnic Clashes Replacing Political Protests as Dominant Form of Public Activism in Russia, Pain Says

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 13, 2014) Ethnic clashes especially in the regions appear to have displaced political protests in Moscow as the dominant form of activism in the Russian Federation, a trend certain to have dangerous consequences given that the authorities are far less concerned about the former than the latter, according to Russia’s leading […]

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Moscow Duma Says Dzerzhinsky Will Not Return to Lubyanka

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – D. Garrison Golubock – February 12, 2014)  A statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky or Iron Felix, a Bolshevik revolutionary and founder of the Cheka, the predecessor of the KGB, will not be restored to its erstwhile location on Lubyanskaya Ploshchad, the Moscow Duma’s committee on monuments announced Tuesday. “Restoration of the monument is impractical at the […]

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Russian Opposition Envies Ukrainians’ Willingness to Face Bullets

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – February 12, 2014) When Russian anti-government activists look over the border at the political standoff in Ukraine, they can not help but feel pangs of envy. While the anti-Kremlin protests that began in late 2011 sputtered and faded over the course of the year, with few tangible results, Ukraine’s Euromaidan movement has […]

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NEWSLINK: The Russian National Hobby – to Build Potemkin Village

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

[“The Russian National Hobby-to Build Potemkin Village” – Carnegie Moscow Center – Lilia Shevtsova – February 11, 2014 – http://carnegie.ru/eurasiaoutlook/?fa=54483] Lilia Shevtsova comments on the public relations impact of the Sochi Olympics, and some of the challenges facing Russia: … the opening ceremony was indeed a fairy tale — an artists’ myth of Russia that does not exist. … … […]

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Draft Bill for Postal Privatization Submitted

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 11, 2014) The Communications and Press Ministry has submitted a draft bill to the government that would reorganize Russian Post and pave the way for the flotation of the company’s shares, Interfax reported Tuesday. The move is part of an overall strategy that would not only make Russian Post financially independent by 2018, but […]

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Interfax: Russian president’s spokesman says proud of Sochi Olympic infrastructure

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Interfax – Moscow, February 10, 2014) The scandals and nerve-wrecking events surrounding the Olympics have faded into the background, replaced with pride for the facilities constructed, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitriy Peskov has said. “This is an utterly extraordinary event. I am looking at what is happening and a sense of pride overtakes me. And all the nerve-wrecking things, all the […]

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Interfax: Moscow commission rules not to reinstall monument to Dzerzhinsky on Lubyanskaya Square

File Photo of Partial FSB Headquarters Building Facade

MOSCOW. Feb 11 (Interfax) – The Moscow City Duma’s monumental art commission unanimously decided on Tuesday not to return a monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky, a prominent Soviet statesman and founder of the Soviet security services, to Lubyanskaya Square in central Moscow. “Taking into account the current circumstances in society, I propose refraining from returning the monument. This is more of […]

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It’s Bolotnaya, But Not As We Know It

iPad file photo

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW – February 07, 2014) They’re gearing up to march on Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square. Two years ago, protesters rallied there against electoral fraud in the wake of the disputed December 2011 State Duma elections. In May 2012, they clashed with police on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration. And, on February 8, […]

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Pussy Riot Invades America and Everything in Russia is Awful as Putin’s Olympics Begin: A Historical Perspective

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

Subject: Pussy Riot Invades America and Everything in Russia is Awful as Putin’s Olympics Begin:A Historical Perspective Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2014 From: Sarah Lindemann-Komarova <echosiberia@gmail.com> Pussy Riot Invades America and Everything in Russia is Awful as Putin’s Olympics Begin: A Historical Perspective By Sarah Lindemann-Komarova [Siberian-based civil society development activist] Over the last few weeks the Western media “everything […]

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Interfax: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Nuland, Ukrainian opposition leaders discusses situation in Ukraine

Victoria Nuland file photo

KYIV. Feb 6 (Interfax) – U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Ukrainian opposition leaders Arseniy Yatseniuk of the Batkivschyna faction, Vitaliy Klitschko of the UDAR party and Oleh Tyagnibok of the Freedom party have discussed resolving the social and political crisis in Ukraine. The parties have discussed the situation in Ukraine during a meeting held in Kyiv on […]

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Writers Denounce Repressive Russian Laws in Open Letter

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jennifer Monaghan – February 6, 2014) More than 200 writers from around the world have signed an open letter to the Russian authorities denouncing the introduction of gay-propaganda and blasphemy laws in Russia, which they call an attack on freedom of expression. We “cannot stand quietly by as we watch our fellow writers and journalists […]

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Interfax: West will stop criticizing Russia if it becomes weak – Putin’s spokesman

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(Interfax – Moscow, February 5, 2014) The West will stop criticizing Russia and will start loving it only if it becomes defenceless and weak, the Russian president’s press secretary Dmitriy Peskov has said. “When we disband our army, give out concessions for all our natural resources and sell all our land to Western investors, then they will stop criticizing us. […]

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Interfax: Medvedev orders analyzing relocation of HQs of some state-own companies, government bodies to Far East – deputy PM

Dmitry Medvedev file photo

MOSCOW. Feb 5 (Interfax) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered analyzing the possibility of relocating the main offices of a number of major companies partly or wholly owned by the state and a number of federal government bodies to the Far East, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev told […]

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