(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 22, 2013) Andrew Somers will step aside after 12 years as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia. Somers has informed the business association’s board that this will be his last year at its helm, AmCham said Friday. “He will move to the private sector and will begin an association in this […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – March 22, 2013) The Cabinet on Thursday backed a plan to invigorate the economy of the Far East, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the government would later this month formally ask the parliament to slash taxes for new business projects in the region. Plans to develop the remote and sparsely populated […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Artyom Danielyan & Olga Tanas – March 22, 1013) Russia’s central bank may change its monetary policy even as its new leadership focuses on continuity, said Elvira Nabiullina, President Vladimir Putin’s nominee to take over as Bank Rossii chairman in June. “Policy continuity should be maintained, because the credibility factor is very important in the banking […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova and Howard Amos – March 22, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday intensified his criticism of a plan by European financial authorities to rescue the Cypriot economy, labeling it as “completely absurd,” in the most colorful response yet by Russian officials to the controversial measures. The proposal to impose a one-time levy […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimews.com – Jonathan Earle – March 22, 2013) There are about 118,000 orphans in Russian state care, and the number of domestic adoptions fell from 2011 to 2012, senior government officials told State Duma deputies on Friday. The updated figures could bring clarity to a national debate about how to reduce the number of children in state […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – March 22, 2013) A man professing to be a former government operative has said that police officials, including the former interior minister, were involved in organizing clashes at an opposition rally last year, allegations that members of the Kremlin human rights council say could be trustworthy. The online television channel Politvestnik posted […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, March 21, 2013) Members of the Presidential Human Rights Council (HRC) have appealed to Prosecutor-General Yuriy Chayka with regard to complaints from NGOs from a number of regions in the country about mass checks by the oversight body. “The last few days have seen an unending flood of reports from the heads of NGOs in Krasnodar, Perm […]
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MOSCOW, March 22 (RIA Novosti) – The unprecedented posthumous trial of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky for tax evasion began on Friday as investigators denied he was arrested for uncovering major corruption by state officials. This is believed to be the first time a dead person has been prosecuted in either Russian or Soviet history. Magnistky, who worked for the British-based […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – March 22, 2013) Russia’s economy is not just slowing; it is stagnating. In the first few months of this year, GDP growth slowed to a crawl and the Kremlin is starting to panic, setting off a lively public debate over how to kick start growth that so far has […]
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(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Mackensie Knorr – February 19, 2013) Meeting Report As Russia’s Soviet-era oil legacy gradually runs down, the Russian oil industry will face new challenges and higher costs. “This will result in a lower flow of revenue to the Russian government at a time when the Russian state budget has become more dependent on oil than […]
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(Kremlin.ru – March 21, 2013) The document defines the role of BRICS members in today’s international system and outlines the prospects for developing the association. The Policy Concept sets forth the fundamental principles and contents of Russia’s foreign policy towards BRICS nations. Russia considers its work within BRICS one of its strategically important foreign policy priorities. The document also outlines […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle and Anatoly Medetsky – March 22, 2013) Newly minted Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to push for increased oil and gas supplies from Russia and reaffirm warm bilateral ties on a three-day visit to Moscow beginning on Friday. The trip, Xi’s first international stop as president, will include meetings with President Vladimir […]
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(Interfax – Kiev, March 21, 2013) Ukrainians have almost concurred (as received) about prospect for Ukraine’s joining the Customs Union (of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia) and signing the association agreement with the EU, a survey conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between 23 February and 11 March showed. According to the survey, 41 per cent of those […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – March 21, 2013) PARIS – Before an audience of mostly French businesspeople in Paris on Tuesday, political and business representatives outlined the benefits and risks of conducting business in Russia at The Economist magazine’s Russia Business Summit. Targeted at Western European investors, the event at times took on the air of a […]
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GORKI (Moscow Region), March 20 (RIA Novosti) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday slammed the European Union and Cyprus for what he described as their dismal management of the island nation’s debt woes. Medvedev told journalists from European media outlets in an interview that the mishandling of the crisis had undermined confidence in financial institutions, in Cyprus and […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – March 20, 2013) As the financial crisis deepens in Cyprus, attention is focusing on Russia’s role in preventing the Mediterranean island nation from going bankrupt and exiting the eurozone. RFE/RL’s Claire Bigg spoke to Natalya Orlova, chief economist at Alfa Bank. RFE/RL: Michael Sarris, the Cypriot finance minister, was in Moscow this week to discuss the […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, March 20, 2013) The chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Aleksey Pushkov, has said that the USA, which suffered a serious political defeat as a result of the war in Iraq initiated by it 10 years ago, was still carrying on a similar policy towards other Middle East countries, in particular Syria. “The Americans’ […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer & Ilya Arkhipov – March 21, 2013) Russia rebuffed Cyprus’s request for a bailout loan as the euro-area nation sought to salvage talks in Moscow by wooing investment in its energy reserves. Russia is unable to provide loans and will instead consider making investments in the Cypriot energy industry, the island nation’s Finance Minister […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Winning – March 21, 2013) Health officials are complaining that Russia is becoming increasingly dependent on the West for medical supplies and top-flight treatment, as a growing number of Russians choose overseas clinics over state medical care. Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova told regional health authorities on Wednesday that instead of traveling either abroad or […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Dmitry Romendik, special to RBTH – March 21, 2013) In recent years, all Russian political satires have gradually shifted to the Internet, though experts say Russian TV audiences want to see more. “Yes, Mr. President,” a new political sitcom on one of Russia’s main television channels, generated immediate interest in the mass media. […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 21, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/03/window-on-eurasia-contraction-of.html) The death of Russian villages is already an old if very sad story, but that country’s economic decline is now leading to the contraction of the population of many small and mid-sized cities, a development that has received little attention but that entails enormous social, economic and […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 21, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the success of democracy in Russia can be evaluated only 100 years from now, according to a transcript of an interview with Western media published Thursday. In an interview with European journalists on Wednesday evening that focused mostly on the financial crisis in Cyprus, the prime minister […]
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(Government.ru – March 21, 2013) Transcript: Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon everyone. I’m at your disposal. Let’s get to work. Question (as translated): The first question is about Cyprus. You and President Putin have criticised the EU decisions. Don’t you think that the EU may be displeased with this and that the recent events may undermine trust between Russia and the […]
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(Interfax – March 21, 2013) Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin said he will continue insisting that the court reverse the conviction of members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot. “No doubt, the case will go higher and will reach the Supreme Court. We have worded our position and it is unchanged,” Lukin told Interfax on Thursday. It was reported […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – March 21, 2013) Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the military should finally rid itself of “non-relevant functions,” during a high-level meeting on Wednesday. Despite the bravado tone of speeches dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the government’s defense industry commission, Shoigu openly disagreed with senior officials during his speech, which followed other […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos and Irina Filatova – March 21, 2013) A desperate effort by Cypriot authorities to win financial aid from the Kremlin failed to yield any results Wednesday, as a deal eluded Cyprus’ finance minister, Michalis Sarris, during a visit to Moscow. Russian companies are being hit by a freeze on Cypriot bank accounts as […]
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MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) – The BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will not form a military alliance and will center its efforts on tackling economic and social issues, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. “I would like to reiterate once again that BRICS is not a bloc directed against third states. This principle was firmly […]
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(RIA Novosti – March 19, 2013) The Russian president’s special envoy for cooperation with African countries, Mikhail Margelov, has said that the US, EU monopoly in the African states was coming to an end as “the new players, that is BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), have stepped in”, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported him as saying on […]
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(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Donald Jensen – March 19, 2013) Despite rumors of his waning influence, Rosneft chief Igor Sechin remains one of the most powerful members of Russia’s ruling establishment. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, discusses Sechin’s latest “string of triumphs.” […]
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MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti) President Vladimir Putin has submitted to the State Duma the candidacy of his economic advisor, Elvira Nabiullina, for the head of Russia’s Central Bank, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Putin first proposed Nabiullina’s candidacy on March 12 at a meeting with incumbent Central Bank chief Sergei Ignatyev, who has served three successive terms and […]
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MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti) Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris is set to continue negotiations on a potential Russian loan with Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov on Wednesday, after initial talks between the two countries’ finance ministries ended without an agreement. The Cypriot minister is in Moscow to discuss the extension of a 2.5-billion-euro loan that Russia […]
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MOSCOW. March 20 (Interfax) – Capital outflow from Russia was approximately $6 billion in February, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach told reporters. “Our estimate so far is about $6 billion,” Klepach said. In other words, outflow slowed in February but outflow for the first two months of the year was still above the official forecast for the whole year. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 20, 2013) Net capital outflow from the Russian economy has already exceeded the official forecast for the whole of 2013, despite slowing down moderately in February, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said Wednesday. According to the ministry’s estimate, capital outflow in February was about $6 billion, whereas in January the Russian economy leaked […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Panov, Combined report, RBTH – March 19, 2013) A month after the meteorite crash near the city of Chelyabinsk created a stir both literally and figuratively Russian scientists have calculated its weight and age and determined its main components and origin. The initial weight of the celestial object that crashed […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova and Ezekiel Pfeifer – March 20, 2013) Investigators said Tuesday that they had closed the case into the 2009 death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, whose name is attached to a U.S. law that has caused tension in U.S.-Russian relations by seeking to punish Russians implicated in human rights violations. An inquiry into Magnitsky’s […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – March 20, 2013) Acting on instructions from the Prosecutor General’s Office, government inspectors in at least nine Russian regions have conducted hundreds of unannounced checks on non-governmental organizations, including well-known human rights, environment and religious groups. The checks are designed to catch organizations that receive foreign funding and are involved in “political […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Dmitri Travin – March 19, 2013) Dmitri Travin is Research Director at the European University in St. Petersburg’s Centre of Modernization Studies Russia’s ruling party, ‘United Russia’, is significantly weaker than previously. Does Putin still need ‘his’ party or is it now more of a millstone round his neck? The economy is stagnant and the electoral system is […]
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MOSCOW. March 20 (Interfax) – Over a quarter of Russians have nothing against the restoration of monarchy in the country but cannot name a person who could become the tsar now, a poll has indicated. In a choice between two forms of government – monarchy and republic – 11% of Russians opt for the former. Moscow and St. Petersburg have […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, March 19, 2013) Russian society should be ready for manifestations of extremism in the internet to be viewed and punished appropriately, as those made outside the net, the head of the State Duma committee for information policy, information technologies and communications, Aleksey Mitrofanov, has said. “I think that the fight against extremism in the internet will gradually […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Svetlana Smetanina, special to RBTH – March 19, 2013) Sociologists paint a mixed picture of the current generation of young Russians. Sociological studies have shown that the current generation of young Russians is critical of the authorities and skeptical of the opposition. In addition, young people are becoming increasingly interested in charity work […]
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MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti) Temperatures in the Arctic will warm up twice as fast as in the rest of the world this century, Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has warned. “In the 21st century, the temperature in the Arctic the average [speed] of global warming will rise 2-2.5 times faster,” the ministry’s center responsible for monitoring meteorological trends, […]
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MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti) The majority of Russian ministers are against a recently approved ban on US nationals adopting Russian children, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said Wednesday. “A lot of people in the Cabinet, the majority, were against the legislation, at least in the form it was passed,” Dvorkovich said at a meeting with students, the Prime […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – March 20, 2013) The sudden prospect that billions of dollars of Russian money might never return to its owners, due to part of the Cyprus bailout plan, evoked a slate of proposals here Tuesday to prevent the damage. VTB, the country’s second-largest lender, which has a subsidiary in Cyprus, laid out a […]
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(Bloomberg News – bloomberg.com – March 20, 2013) China anticipates a breakthrough in energy talks during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow this week, an achievement that may strengthen ties between neighbors wary of U.S. motives on issues from Iran to Asia policy. China wants to sign an agreement on a natural-gas pipeline during Xi’s three-day trip this week, Vice […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Rajeev Sharma – March 20, 2013) NEW DELHI At least four deals will be reached at a BRICS summit that President Vladimir Putin will attend in South Africa next week, including the establishment of a business council and a consortium of think tanks from BRICS countries, a senior Indian official said. Also high on […]
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MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russia needs to determine exactly who its enemies are and develop its Armed Forces accordingly, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Wednesday. “We really need to understand what our strategic threats are, clearly define who our adversary is, what kind of adversary, and configure our Armed Forces and military-technical systems to counter those […]
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(Interfax – March 20, 2013) The international conference on security issues in Europe, the Russian Defense Ministry plans to hold in Moscow on March 23-24, is to bring closer ties of European countries on the issue, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told reporters on Wednesday. “A lot has been done in the recent years to ensure security in Europe […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, March 19, 2013) The US decision not to go ahead with the fourth stage of development of the European missile defence system removes an important point of disagreement between the Russian Federation and the USA in their negotiations on this issue, former Chief of the Main Staff of the Strategic Missile Troops Col-Gen Viktor Yesin believes. “The […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Sergei Markedonov, special to RBTH – March 18, 2013) Sergey Markedonov is a visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. The 60th anniversary of the death of Joseph Stalin (March 5, 1953) has galvanized the debate about his role in both Russian and world history. The desire […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Agnia Grigas – March 18, 2013) Agnia Grigas is a development and political risk consultant to corporations and governments. She works in business and academia. Dr Agnia Grigas is the author of The Politics of Energy and Memory between the Baltic State and Russia (Ashgate Publishing, January 2013) Moscow uses energy as a geopolitical weapon and is thus […]
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