Month: January 2013

Radical Muslims Growing in Number and Influence in Russia, Silantyev Says

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Religion, Terrorism
File Photo of Mosque in Kazan and other Landmarks

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 17 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/01/window-on-eurasia-radical-muslims.html) Last year was a “successful” one for radical Muslims in the Russian Federation and hence “a failure for their opponents,” Roman Silantyev says. As a result, the upcoming twelve months promise to be “still more unfavorable for [Moscow’s] policies in the Islamic direction” both at home and abroad. […]

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Ombudsman’s Plans for Orphans Slammed

Children, Adoptions, Orphans
File Photo of Russian Orphans with Mr. and Mrs. Dmitry Medvedev

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – January 18, 2013) Experts sharply criticized children’s ombudsman Pavel Astakhov’s proposals Thursday to create an orphan agency and inspect orphanages in Moscow, measures that appeared aimed at addressing concern over orphans’ welfare in Russia after the country renounced U.S. adoptions. “An agency with that name, explicitly for orphans, that’s the end of […]

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Navalny says prosecution aims to bar him from elections

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Navalny file photo

MOSCOW. Jan 18 (Interfax) – Opposition campaigner Alexei Navalny said his prosecution in the fraud case connected with the Kirovles logging company is part of the law enforcement services’ plan to obstruct his political activities and prevent him from running in elections. “The goal is to obstruct my political activities and to prevent my running in elections, all of which […]

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Investigators Open New Case Against Putin Foe

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Leonid Razvozzhayev file photo with hand to ear, as if holding cellphone

MOSCOW/IRKUTSK, January 18 (RIA Novosti) ­ Investigators opened a new criminal case against opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev on Friday and denied media reports of his disappearance. Investigators accuse the activist of spreading false information, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told RIA Novosti on Friday, stemming from Razvozzhayev’s continuing claims that he was tortured into confessing his role in organizing mass […]

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‘Final’ Charges Brought against Opposition Figure Navalny

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Navalny file photo

MOSCOW, January 18 (RIA Novosti) – Final charges in a grand embezzlement case have been brought against Russian opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny, the Investigative Committee said on Friday. Navalny has refused to testify, committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said, adding the investigation into the case “is nearing completion.” Navalny has been charged with “organizing embezzlement on a grand scale” and faces […]

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Key laws come into force in 2013

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Constitutional Court file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines/Ogoniok – Evgeny Kozichev, Ogoniok magazine – January 17, 2013 – http://rbth.ru/society/2013/01/17/ key_laws_to_come_into_force_in_2013_21969.html) This year, Russian citizens will enjoy some new rights, but lose some old ones. Ogonyok has compiled a list of the most important legal novelties of 2013. International relations On January 1, 2013, the Dima Yakovlev law (“On measures against persons involved in abuse […]

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Russia Said to Near Decision to Charge Ex-Defense Minister

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Anatoliy Serdyukov file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer and Ilya Arkhipov – January 18, 2013) Russian investigators are said to be near a decision on whether to charge the country’s ex-defense minister amid the biggest anti-graft drive of President Vladimir Putin’s 12 years in power, according to two officials. Anatoly Serdyukov has been implicated by people questioned in an embezzlement inquiry, said […]

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BP Says U.S. to Outpace Russia for Oil Production

Oil, Gas, Energy, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Oil Well file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky -January 18, 2013) The United States could become the world’s biggest crude producer this year, overtaking Russia, according to a BP report. The breakthrough would come on the back of rising U.S. output of biofuels and unconventional oil, the company said in its annual Energy Outlook 2030. Saudi Arabia would slide to the […]

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Russian stock market could remain volatile in 2013 – CBR

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Outdoor Electronic Sign with Russian Exchange Data

MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) – The development of the Russian stock market this year will to a significant degree be determined by the influence of external conditions, and high volatility is likely to continue, according to a review of the financial market in 2012 worked up by the Central Bank of Russia’s research and information department. This year could see […]

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Expect More Anti-Americanism in 2013

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm – January 18, 2013) Michael Bohm is opinion page editor of The Moscow Times. An increase in anti-Americanism stands out as one of the most dominant features of the Kremlin’s policy in 2012. Since the propaganda campaign worked so effectively on many Russians, we can expect even more state-sponsored anti-Americanism in 2013. The […]

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Eurasian Integration No ‘Reincarnation of USSR’ – Nazarbayev

Central Asia, CIS, Customs Union, Eurasian Union, History, Soviet Union
File Photo of Hillary Rodham Clinton with Nazarbayev

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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Domestic Stability to Remain Kazakhstan’s Main Priority in 2013

Central Asia
File Photo of Hillary Rodham Clinton with Nazarbayev

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 8 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Georgiy Voloshin – January 16, 2013) The year 2012 was certainly rich in events for Kazakhstan. In mid-January, the early parliamentary elections brought two more parties to the country’s legislative body, although none of them gained enough seats to break Nur Otan’s monopoly. While the diversity of […]

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Issue of Russia meeting WTO obligations closed – WTO Director General

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade

(Interfax – January 17, 2013) The question of Russia meeting its obligations to the World Trade Organization is closed, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said Thursday at the Gaidar Forum in Moscow. He said Russia has been a member of the trade body for five months already, so the question of the country meeting its obligations is a thing of […]

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Kremlin Won’t Assume Some WTO Commitments

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
WTO Logo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 17, 2013) Russia will not have to assume many of the commitments to liberalize trade that are approved during the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks, the government’s top trade negotiator said Wednesday, Interfax reported. “Russia would like to see [the Doha round] wrap up as quickly as possible if only for pragmatic […]

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Ulyukayev Considers $10Bln Quarterly Flight ‘Acceptable’

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – January 17, 2013) A capital outflow of up to $10 billion every three months would be an acceptable level under current macroeconomic conditions, a leading figure at the Central Bank said. Russia saw $56.8 billion leave the country in 2012, stoking fears that the Kremlin is struggling to control capital flight and […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Meeting on economic issues

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

(Kremlin.ru – January 16, 2013) The Kremlin, Moscow Vladimir Putin held a meeting on economic issues to discuss the financial results for 2012 and measures to develop Russia’s economy. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, colleagues. We will discuss the results for 2012 today and look at additional measures to ensure economic growth. The situation in the global economy […]

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Medvedev Wants Economy to Grow 5% Annually

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – January 17, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday urged the Cabinet to ensure stable economic growth of at least 5 percent a year in the near future, a goal some officials said might require changes to current budget policy. The major goal for the country’s government is “to ensure transition to […]

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Winter in Russia: cold indoors as well as out

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Environment, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
File Photo of Moscow In Snowy Winter Showing St. Basil's At Night in Snowfall, with People on the Ground in the Distance

(www.opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Loginov – January 16, 2013) 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”. Most radiators in urban Russian homes are fed by hot water transported from heating plants miles away. Ageing pipes frequently burst, causing hardship and even fatalities. Could […]

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Russians Doubt Public Smoking Ban – Poll

Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
No Smoking Symbol

MOSCOW, January 17 (RIA Novosti) – Most Russians do not support the government’s move to impose a complete ban on smoking in public places and believe the emphasis should be on helping smokers quit, a pollster said on Thursday. The State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, is to consider the anti-smoking bill in its second reading on January 25. […]

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Political modernization must be carried on – Medvedev

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Dmitry Medvedev file photo

MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) – The political modernization course is unwavering, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at the Gaidar Forum on Wednesday. “We need political modernization and qualitative broadening of political and economic freedoms,” he said. The other tasks are qualitative renovation, comprehensive modernization of various spheres of the country’s life, technological modernization, economic diversification, reduced dependence on fluctuations of […]

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Experts See No Exodus Of Discontented Liberals From Russia

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Population Disaster, Demographics
File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, 16 January) On the basis of official statistics, researchers from the Centre of Political Information have made a conclusion that the “liberal panic” in Russia has not led to a mass outflow of “the discontented” from the country. In addition, having analysed the dynamics of migration from Russia to countries other than former Soviet republics, experts […]

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Shuvalov Firm on Tax Policy

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Igor Shuvalov file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 16, 2013) First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said Wednesday that the government would not raise taxes for business before 2018, provided that events of a “global” scale do not influence the situation. In an interview published in Kommersant on Wednesday, Shuvalov said that the government finalized its midterm tax strategy last year. “Up […]

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Russia Should Abandon Sectoral Industry Aid – Medvedev

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Dmitry Medvedev file photo

MOSCOW, January 16 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russia should abandon its policy of providing state support to specific sectors of the economy and start supporting domestic firms integrating into world production chains, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday. “It is necessary to go beyond the sectoral approach, which has been established and is frequently practiced in our country. The focus […]

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Putin relatively satisfied with Russian economic performance in 2012

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) – Russia’s economic performance was “relatively satisfactory” in 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting dedicated to economic affairs at the Kremlin. “The economic results of the year have not yet been conclusively summed up, but the preliminary figures look relatively satisfactory. According to the Economic Development Ministry’s estimates, GDP growth for January-November of […]

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New ‘Anna Karenina’ Irks Russian Traditionalists

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
Leo Tolstoy file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – January 16, 2013) Loudly and menacingly, the train on the large screen of a darkened cinema raced toward the audience in a foreshadowing that the lead character, just a few years deeper into the plot, would commit suicide by throwing herself on the railroad tracks. The expected response would have been gasps […]

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Year 2012 showed that Russia has learned to deal with problems – Shuvalov

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Igor Shuvalov file photo

(Interfax – January 16, 2013) Year 2012 was calm politically and good economically, despite the difficult State Duma and presidential elections, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said in an interview published in the Wednesday edition of Kommersant. “To me, as a government official, our condition at the end of 2012 is an additional confirmation that the country has learned […]

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The March of Moscow’s Silent Majority?

Children, Adoptions, Orphans, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Russian Orphans with Mr. and Mrs. Dmitry Medvedev

(Voice of America – James Brooke – January 16, 2013) James Brooke is VOA Moscow bureau chief, covering Russia and the former USSR. During my two-week vacation in the United States, American friends again and again looked at me intently, and then asked: How do Russians see the new ban on Americans adopting Russian children? During the last three months […]

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The ‘Nuanced Look’: Russia’s Defense Minister Considers Majors Reform Reversals

Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Sergei Shoigu file photo

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 7 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Robert McDermott – January 15, 2013) Russia’s new defense minister, Army-General Sergei Shoigu, under the guise of pursuing “nuanced changes” to the Armed Forces’ reform managed by his predecessor Anatoly Serdyukov, is reportedly considering systemic revisions to the entire process. These range from revising the reformed military […]

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Russian Church Suspends Priest Who Backed Pussy Riot

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Religion
File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral

MOSCOW, January 16 (RIA Novosti) – A priest who proposed asking members of the Pussy Riot group to “forgive” the Russian Orthodox community has been relieved of his duties, but a church official said he believed the decision was unrelated to the priest’s comments. Father Dmitry Sverdlov was suspended from carrying out church services for at least five years by […]

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Moscow City Court does not find artificial criminalization of Khodorkovsky/Lebedev business

YUKOS, Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Khodorkovsky file photo

(Interfax – January 16, 2013) The Moscow City Court has concluded that the prosecution of former Yukos executives Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev was fair because their activity had elements of a crime. Presumptions of “artificial criminalization in the sentence on regular financial and economic activity of the Yukos oil company and its executives are inconsistent,” says the statement of […]

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Court Dismisses Pussy Riot Member’s Deferral Plea

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

MOSCOW, January 16 (RIA Novosti) ­ A Russian court on Wednesday rejected a plea from a jailed member of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot to have her prison term deferred until her young son reaches adolescence. Maria Alyokhina, 24, mother of five-year-old Filipp, asked for her two-year sentence to be delayed until her son turns 14, as allowed under […]

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Senior Russian politician says Twitter account is fake, he avoids social media

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladislav Surkov with Mike McFaul

(Interfax – January 15, 2013) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov does not do social media and the Twitter account in his name, although “witty and sometimes even funny”, is an impostor, Interfax news agency reported on 15 January. Surkov conceded that the account had fooled many. “My friends increasingly think that @SurkovRussia is actually me,” he told an Interfax […]

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Deputies Argue Over Adoption Ban on First Day of Session

Children, Adoptions, Orphans, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Russian Orphans with Mr. and Mrs. Dmitry Medvedev

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – January 16, 2013) On the State Duma’s first day back to work this year, deputies sparred over whether to abolish a ban on adoptions of Russian children by American families, a measure passed late last year that has drawn fierce criticism. Members of the Just Russia faction submitted a bill that would […]

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Russia’s Legislature Opens Spring Session

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Duma Session file photo

MOSCOW, January 15 (RIA Novosti) ­ The State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, kicked off its spring session Tuesday with promises to consider, within weeks, a raft of bills on everything from the return of independent candidates in legislative elections to bans on smoking and the “propaganda” of homosexuality. The legislative body also gave preliminary approval to a bill […]

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Only president can evaluate efficiency of ministers – Medvedev

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin with Heads Bowed Over Microphone

NOVOZAPOLYARNY, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. Jan 15 (Interfax) – Evaluation of the government efficiency is an exclusive area of the Russian president, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes. “In the opinion of Medvedev, the only person eligible to evaluate the efficiency of certain ministers and the government is the president,” the prime minister’s press secretary Natalia Timakova said. She thus commented on […]

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Brutal Murder Highlights Russia’s Domestic Violence Problem

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
Map of Russia

MOSCOW, January 16 (RIA Novosti) ­ A popular Russian proverb about male-female relationships says, roughly, “if he beats you, it means he loves you.” But, in the wake of a Moscow journalist’s gruesome murder by her husband, advocates of a more enlightened approach to domestic violence said on Tuesday that Russia needs a major attitude change, better laws and data […]

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Russia Says World Is Nearing Currency War as Europe Joins

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com –  Simon Kennedy & Scott Rose – January 16, 2013) The world is on the brink of a fresh “currency war,” Russia warned, as European policy makers joined Japan in bemoaning the economic cost of rising exchange rates. “Japan is weakening the yen and other countries may follow,” Alexei Ulyukayev, first deputy chairman of Russia’s central bank, […]

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Russia might not commit to liberalizing trade at Doha WTO talks – Medvedkov

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
WTO Logo

(Interfax – January 16, 2013) Russia, as a country that only recently joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), might not assume many of the commitments to liberalize trade that are approved during the Doha round of talks, Maxim Medvedkov, head of trade negotiations at the Russian Economic Development Ministry, told Interfax. “Russia would like to see [the Doha round] wrap […]

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Plan for Far East Development Unveiled

Far East, Siberia, APEC
Siberian Natural Scenery, with River, Trees, Hills

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – January 16, 2013) Far East Development Minister Viktor Ishayev on Tuesday publicly reviewed the first draft of a program to pull the regional economy out of a slump. Presented to an assembly of officials, lawmakers and businesspeople at the Moscow office of the Sakha republic, the program immediately revealed a couple of […]

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U.S. can’t fathom Russian ban on child adoptions by Americans – diplomat

Children, Adoptions, Orphans, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian Orphanage file photo

WASHINGTON. Jan 15 (Interfax) – The U.S. administration cannot fathom Russia’s recent ban on the adoption of underage Russians by Americans but does not see it as a serious threat to U.S.-Russian relations in general, according to a senior American diplomat. Jake Sullivan, director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Office, said during an online conference that neither he personally […]

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Only One Russian NGO Registered as Foreign Agent

Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and St. Basil's

MOSCOW, January 16 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said on Wednesday that only one non-governmental organization in Russia has so far registered as a foreign agent under a recently introduced law on NGOs. Russia’s controversial new law, obligating non-governmental organizations financed from abroad and involved in political activity to register as “foreign agents,” came into force last […]

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NEWSLINK: “They’ll Be in America While We’ll Be Left to Deal with the Authorities” [re: Adoptions]

Children, Adoptions, Orphans, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Russian Orphans with Mr. and Mrs. Dmitry Medvedev

[“They’ll Be in America While We’ll Be Left to Deal with the Authorities” – Moskovsky Komsomolets – January 15, 2013 – no public link to English-language version] Moskovsky Komsomolets covers adoptions of Russian orphans by Americans. According to the Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policy Olga Golodets, Russia has nearly 130,000 orphan children in need of a family, with fewer […]

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NEWSLINK: Political reforms failed to change anything in Russian politics; Failed Reforms: Political Reforms: Gubernatorial Elections Resemble Appointments, Competition Among Parties Remains Inadequate

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

[Failed Reforms: Political Reforms: Gubernatorial Elections Resemble Appointments, Competition Among Parties Remains Inadequate – Vedomosti – Maria Zheleznova – January 15, 2013 – no public link to English-language version] Vedomosti covers analysis by Alexei Kudrin’s Civil Initiatives Committee (CIC) that finds that gubernatorial elections resembled appointments, competition among political parties remained inadequate, and turnout continued to decline. Changes in party […]

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Revealing the geopolitical threats of 2013

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas
World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(Russia in Global Affairs/Russia Beyond the Headlines – Fyodor Lukyanov – January 14, 2013) Fyodor Lukyanov is the editor-in-chief of the journal Russia in Global Affairs and chairman of the Presidium Council for Foreign and Defense Policy. First published in Russian in Russia in Global Affairs. The year 1913 figured as a sort of milestone for the Soviet Union and […]

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Primakov alarmed by inter-Islamic strife in Middle East

Middle East, North Africa
Middle East Map

Moscow, January, 15, Interfax – Russia’s ex prime-minister, Mercury Club president and Academy of Science Presidium member Evgeny Primakov said it is wrong to look at the Islamic forces in the Middle East as a single camp. “About two years have passed since the Arab Spring wave of revolutionary protests toppled the authoritarian rulers in the Middle East and North […]

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Lavrov Talks Customs Union With Ukraine

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – January 15, 2013) Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his newly appointed Ukrainian counterpart, Leonid Kozhara, had a series of meetings on Sunday and Monday to underline the importance of fostering strategic ties between the two countries, with Ukraine’s potential accession to the Russia-dominated Customs Union a central topic. Relations have been strained […]

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New Obama National Security Team Realistic on Russia: Analysts

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

WASHINGTON, January 14 (By Carl Schreck for RIA Novosti) – US President Barack Obama’s nomination of veteran Washington lawmakers John Kerry and Chuck Hagel for his next national security team portend a pragmatic approach to US-Russia relations in his second term but few prospects for breakthroughs, analysts said. Obama has tapped Kerry for secretary of state and Hagel for defense […]

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Russia Seeks to Rev Up Shelf Exploration Effort

Arctic, Oil, Gas, Energy
Map of Barents Sea and Polar Environs

NOVY URENGOI, January 15 (RIA Novosti) – Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday called for more intensive exploration of Russia’s oil- and gas-rich continental shelf, stressing that all shelf development projects should be long-term. “The [current] pace of geological surveys on the continental shelf is insufficient,” he said. Medvedev listed a number of reasons for the slow progress, including the […]

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Gaidar Forum returns with stellar line-up

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – January 15, 2013) The fourth annual Gaidar Forum kicks off at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and State Administration on Wednesday, bringing together Russian and international economic leaders to discuss key policy issues around the theme of “Russia and the World: The Challenges of Integration.” The forum grew out of […]

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Russia’s pension impasse — is there a way out?

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Two Elders Walking Outdoors

(www.opendemocracy.net – Andrei Zaostrovtsev – January 11, 2013) Andrei Zaostrovtsev is lecturer at the M-Centre at the European University, St. Petersburg and professor of the Higher School of Economics One way Vladimir Putin has retained his popularity among Russians has been by increasing retirement pensions and other social benefits, and as a result the state pension fund is deep in […]

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