MOSCOW, November 8 (RIA Novosti) – Russia believes the West is reviewing its approach toward the Syrian opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Thursday. “I have the impression that over the past couple of weeks the Western stance on the Syrian opposition has been changing noticeably,” he said in an interview with RIA Novosti, […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) – Russian citizens’ positive attitude to the United States has been waning over the past two years with the positive index dropping from 32 to 20 points, VTsIOM pollster told Interfax on Wednesday. Fifty-three percent of respondents are positive about the United States compared to 59% in 2010, while the percentage of people feeling negatively about […]
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British think tank The Henry Jackson Society has issued a report, “The Shuvalov Affair: A Case History of a Putin Aide’s Financial Controversy” by Michael Weiss, observing that: Of all the scandals to rock the Kremlin in recent years, none has been as potentially damaging or as swiftly damage-controlled as the case of Igor Shuvalov, the First Deputy Prime Minister […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – November 8, 2012) [think tank report here http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/HJS-The-Shuvalov-Affair-Report-4.pdf] A London-based think tank is reigniting the row over allegations of corruption against Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov with the publication of a new report Thursday. The document, produced by the Henry Jackson Society and obtained in advance of its release by The Moscow […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – November 8, 2012) Sergei Shoigu officially took over his new defense minister duties Wednesday, receiving the so-called nuclear briefcase, while prosecutors announced new findings in a corruption case at a ministry agency that led to the ouster of his predecessor, Anatoly Serdyukov. Shoigu, best-known for his long tenure as emergency situations minister, […]
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(Interfax – Novo-Ogarevo, 7 November) Grassroots anti-Semitism still exists in Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted. “You have said that there is less anti-Semitism now, but this means that it still exists,” he said on Wednesday (7 November) at his meeting with chief rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar and president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia Aleksandr […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – November 8, 2012) U.S. President Barack Obama’s re-election was widely praised in Moscow on Wednesday, although opposition leaders and analysts cautioned that the much-touted “reset” in relations would hardly continue in its present form. Russian-American relations took a roller-coaster ride during Obama’s first term. The White House’s reset policy peaked with […]
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WASHINGTON, November 8 (By Carl Schreck for RIA Novosti) – US President Barack Obama famously told the Kremlin earlier this year that he’d have more “flexibility” dealing with Russia should he win a second term and be freed from the constraints of reelection concerns. With Obama’s victory in Tuesday’s US presidential election, the next four years will show whether the […]
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MOSCOW, November 8 (Marc Bennetts, RIA Novosti) Russia hopes that US President Barack Obama will demonstrate a greater willingness to compromise on NATO plans for a missile shield in Europe during his second term of office. “We hope that now, after his reelection, President Obama will be more flexible on taking into account the opinions of Russia and other […]
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(Interfax – November 7, 2012) Russian political analysts differ on the future of Russian-American relations after the re-election of Barack Obama but agree that on the issue of missile defence one should not expect a radical breakthrough and it is likely that the deployment of missile defence elements in Europe will be a bargaining chip for Russia and the USA. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – November 8, 2012) “I got a little bit of sleep, but I was up pretty early,” U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul said Wednesday afternoon, shortly after his boss, President Barack Obama, declared election victory. Fatigue at first appeared to blunt his characteristic cheerfulness, but as the conversation turned to what Obama’s second term […]
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(Interfax – November 8, 2012) U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has given its first interview to correspondents of Interfax Olga Golovanova and Kseniya Baygarova after the U.S. presidential elections’ 2012 on vital bilateral issues in U.S.-Russian relations and regional agenda, such as Iran and Afghanistan. Question: Mr. McFaul, you are an author of ‘reset’. Everybody knows a lot of […]
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(Russian defense minister’s sacking suggests political infighting; Anatoly Serdyukov is mired in a corruption scandal, but some experts say that he was driven out by conservatives unhappy with his military reforms – Christian Science Monitor – Fred Weir – November 6, 2012 – http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2012/1106/Russian-defense-minister-s-sacking-suggests-political-infighting-video) The Christian Science Monitor covers Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dismissal of Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov. […]
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What the Papers Say, Nov. 7, 2012 – Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring – November 7, 2012 – http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/what-the-papers-say-nov-7-2012/471093.html The Moscow Times and BBC Monitoring examine highlights from Russian print newspapers: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/what-the-papers-say-nov-7-2012/471093.html
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(Dmitri Travin – opendemocracy.net – November 6, 2012 – Dmitri Travin is Research Director at the European University in St. Petersburg’s Centre of Modernization Studies) The Russian regime may present a united front to the world, but behind the scenes the cracks are beginning to show. In the week when Putin fired a senior government member, Dmitri Travin looks at […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – November 7, 2012) Sergei Shoigu said he was surprised by his appointment to replace Anatoly Serdyukov as defense minister, but his combination of popularity among the public and loyalty to the Kremlin makes him a fitting choice to head one of the country’s most important government sectors. Shoigu, who entered government service […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, 6 November) Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Anatoliy Serdyukov as defence minister on 6 November and appointed Sergey Shoygu, who has been Moscow Region governor since 11 May 2012, as his replacement. (Passage omitted) Political analysts and politicians believe that the Russian Defence Ministry will get a strong leader, however Moscow Region will “lose out” with […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) – More than half of Russians – 58% – appreciated President Vladimir Putin’s decision to dismiss Anatoly Serdyukov as defense minister, and nearly half – 49% – approved of Sergei Shoigu’s appointment to the job, the www.superjob.ru web portal found after polling 1,600 Russians on Tuesday. Putin announced Serdyukov’s dismissal at a meeting with Shogu earlier […]
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(Interfax – November 6, 2012) Russian political experts have disagreed whether President Putin’s decision to sack Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov and appoint Sergey Shoygu, governor of Moscow Region and former emergencies minister, in his place will lead to changes in military reform and major reshuffles in the top brass of the Russian Armed Forces. At the same time, most experts […]
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(RFE/RL – Robert Coalson – November 7, 2012) A second term does not necessarily mean a repeat of the first. By most accounts, the Kremlin was hoping U.S. President Barack Obama would win a second term. His rival, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, declared during the campaign that Russia is the United States’ leading “geopolitical enemy.” By comparison, Putin sees […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 6 (Interfax) – Former Russian finance minister and current head of the Civil Initiatives Committee, Alexei Kudrin, is not upset with Dmitry Medvedev, who sacked him when he was president, and does not regret quitting the government. “I will say that at the moment I do not see the conditions for my return,” Kudrin said in an interview […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova and Roland Oliphant – November 7, 2012) President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday fired Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov in connection with a corruption scandal and appointed Moscow Governor Sergei Shoigu in his place. Putin informed Serdyukov and Shoigu, a longtime ally who only became governor in May after serving 18 years as emergency situations […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – November 7, 2012) On November 6, President Vladimir Putin sacked Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who is accused of stealing $95m. We have been waiting for this. It’s the first time the Kremlin’s revitalized anti-corruption drive has reached into the inner circle. The sacking appears significant and already has the international press asking if […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov and Henry Meyer – November 7, 2012) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s opponents are looking to take advantage of a dip in his approval rating by latching on to rising anti-immigration sentiment. With the share of Russians wanting tighter immigration rules at the highest in at least a decade, Alexey Navalny, the country’s most-popular opposition […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) – The Revolution of 1917 had more pros than cons, respondents told the Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM). The center polled 1,600 adults in 46 regions on October 27-28. Some 27% believe the revolution spurred on social development of Russia (the indicator stood at 34% in 2002), and 21% believe it opened up a new […]
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From: “William Dunkerley” <wd@publishinghelp.com> Subject: Vedomosti Misrepresented Survey Results in Recent Article Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2012 Vedomosti Misrepresented Survey Results in Recent Article By William Dunkerley William Dunkerley is a media business analyst and consultant specializing in Russia and the former Soviet Union. An October 30, 2012 Vedomosti article titled “No Pathologies in Anatomy: Russians disbelieve that protesters meant […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle and Yekaterina Kravtsova – November 6, 2012) Six months have passed since bloody clashes between protesters and riot police at an opposition rally on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration appeared to mark the end of the street protest movement’s halcyon days. Subsequent months saw laws on public speech and assembly tightened […]
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The Moscow Times and BBC Monitoring do a round-up of the latest news from Russian print newspapers at http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/what-the-papers-say-nov-6-2012/471011.html
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MOSCOW, November 6 (Dan Peleschuk, RIA Novosti) Economic progress, a clear political mandate, and good press: these are the things, according to a new report by a leading Russian think tank, that make a Russian region truly stable. It was otherwise largely unnoticed regions, such as Mordovia, that fared best in the rating, despite other ostensibly more likely contenders […]
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(Moscow Times editorial – themoscowtimes.com – November 6, 2012) The extended holiday weekend gave us a chance to think about how the U.S. should borrow a page from Russia and introduce a new holiday of its own also called National Unity Day. As Americans go to the polls Tuesday to elect a president, the din from “blue” supporters of incumbent […]
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MOSCOW, November 6 (RIA Novosti) – Almost one-third of Russians believe the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 jumpstarted the country’s development and opened a new page in its history, according to a poll published on Tuesday. However, the share of respondents with a positive view of the revolution has declined over the past decade, from 34 to 27 percent, the All-Russia […]
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(Interfax – November 6, 2012) Most polled Russians believe that a revolution cannot be allowed to take place in the country nowadays, the Russian news agency Interfax reported on 6 November. According to a poll carried out by the state-funded All-Russian Centre for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM), most respondents are convinced that a revolution cannot be allowed to […]
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(Putin dismisses defense minister after scandal – Reuters – Thomas Grove – November 6, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/06/us-russia-defence-idUSBRE8A50A820121106) Reuters covers Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sacking of defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov after a multi-million dollar corruption scandal. Putin replaced Serdyukov with former emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu, who has enjoyed a strong public approval rating: Putin’s announcement made at a meeting with Shoigu […]
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(Defense chief firing key step in Russia’s military reform experts – Russia Today – November 6, 2012 – http://rt.com/politics/serdyukov-defense-shoigu-minister-061/) Kremlin-backed media source Russia Today reports on the replacement of Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov with former Emergencies Ministry chief Sergey Shoigu: President Vladimir Putin sacked Serdyukov after his ministry was drawn into a major scandal over alleged selling off […]
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(Interfax – November 6, 2012) The dismissal of Russian Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov has been welcomed by senior figures in the Duma and the Federation Council, media sources reported. Serdyukov’s critics pointed to the way the military are being reorganized and to a fraud scandal that has recently erupted at the ministry. They contrasted this to the record of his […]
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(Russia’s view on the US elections: Mitt Romney’s description of Russia as America’s “No 1 geopolitical foe” arrived during a period of increasing anti-American rhetoric in Russian politics – The Guardian (UK) – Miriam Elder and Howard Amos – November 6, 2012 – http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/05/russia-view-us-elections) The Guardian covers the U.S. presidential from the vantage point of U.S.-Russian relations, noting that Russia […]
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(Which US presidential candidate is better able to meet the challenges ahead? – US-Russia.org – Vlad Sobell, Edward Lozansky, Anatoly Karlin, Irina Bubnova, Vlad Ivanenko, and Dale Herspring – November 6, 2012 – http://us-russia.org/519-which-us-presidential-candidate-is-better-able-to-meet-the-challenges-ahead.html) Arguing that “The US presidential election on 6 November is, arguably, the most important such ballot since the Second World War, given both the deep economic […]
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(Resetting the Reset: The United States needs to decide whether to treat Russia as a marginal global actor or an asset in America’s global strategy – Foreign Policy – Dmitri Trenin – November 5, 2012 – Dmitri Trenin is director of the Carnegie Moscow Center – http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/05/resetting_the_reset) Writing in Foreign Policy, Dmitry Trenin of the Carnegie Moscow Center holds that […]
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Itar-Tass reports how Russian would-be election observers, despite avoiding Texas, still intend to try to visit U.S. polling stations for the U.S. election: Russian observers will be literally “knocking on the doors of the polling stations” at the US presidential elections on Tuesday, State Duma deputy and member of the State Duma committee for security and counteraction to corruption Ilya […]
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(Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Eurasia Daily Monitor – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 9, Issue 202 – Pavel K. Baev – November 5, 2012) The choice that the United States will make tomorrow is certain to have a strong impact on US-Russia relations, but President Vladimir Putin cannot figure out what outcome will suit his interests better. Back in 2004, […]
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(Interfax – November 5, 2012) The outcome of the US presidential election will not change Russian-US relations significantly, Russian pundits have said, as reported by the Russian privately-owned news agency Interfax on 5 November. The first vice-president of the Centre for Political Technologies, Aleksey Makarkin, said that Obama’s victory would mean the continuation of the “reset” but problems would still […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, 5 November) Russia will not be able to prevent the adoption of the so called Magnitskiy list either in the USA or in Europe, deputy head of the USA and Canada Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Kremenyuk said. “The Magnitskiy list will certainly be adopted (in the USA – Interfax) and Europe will also […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Duane D. Stanford – November 5, 2012) Beam Inc. (BEAM) wants more vodka-imbibing Russians to drink Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark whiskey. Apparently Vladimir Putin didn’t get the memo. In a campaign to help his people live longer, Russia’s president is pushing the biggest crackdown on alcohol since the cold war. That could complicate Beam’s efforts […]
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(Paul Goble – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 9, Issue 201 – November 2, 2012) The Kremlin has created a new “agitation and propaganda” (agitprop) administration, which will focus on the elderly, whom the regime hopes to influence or at least keep in its corner now, and the young whom it can only hope to affect […]
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(Mikhail Loginov – www.opendemocracy.net – November 2, 2012- Mikhail Loginov is a journalist and novelist based in St. Petersburg. He is the author of the recently published bestselling political thriller “Battle for Kremlin”.) October is Russia’s local election month, and some regions have just elected governors for the first time in seven years, part of an electoral reform designed to […]
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(Kremlin.ru – November 4, 2012) During the reception, Russian state decorations were presented to foreign citizens for their contribution to strengthening cooperation with Russia and developing Russian culture abroad. Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky presented the decorations. Speech at a reception marking National Unity Day PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends. Congratulations on the National Unity Day! This […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 3 (Interfax) – The Right Cause party had decided to amend its political orientation and work hard to perform well in elections in 2013. “We are abandoning the word ‘liberal’. We are becoming a right party in all senses of this word – if you wish, a right party leaning toward national patriotism, and we will be moving […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 3 (Interfax) – Advertising agencies have been refusing to make or publish banners for Russian Communists with pictures of Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin and with Bolshevik slogans for the upcoming 95th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution, a Communist leader complained. “Three banners have become the stumbling block – those with pictures of Lenin, Stalin and the cruiser […]
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(RFE/RL – Tom Balmforth – November 05, 2012) MOSCOW — Suicide bombings in police stations. Muslim clerics gunned down in broad daylight. Shoot-outs between insurgents and security forces. These have become run-of-the-mill headlines in Russia’s troubled North Caucasus region of Daghestan. Last week, unidentified gunmen shot dead an imam and two of his male relatives as they drove to morning […]
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WASHINGTON, November 5 (By Maria Young for RIA Novosti) – If the 2012 US presidential election is close enough in the right states, the winner could be determined in part by a group of voters barely acknowledged on the national political scene: Russian Americans, who number more than three million in the US and overwhelmingly vote Republican. “States where the […]
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