Month: December 2013

RIA Novosti: Human Rights Groups Critical of Kremlin Win State Funding

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

MOSCOW, December 5 (RIA Novosti) ­ State grants worth 200 million rubles ($6 million) allotted by Russian President Vladimir Putin for human rights initiatives have been distributed among 124 projects, including some organizations critical of the Kremlin. In early September, Putin ordered the Civil Dignity movement to hold a grant competition for socially important initiatives amid Russia’s efforts to decrease […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Meeting of the Economic Council

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Valdai Club 2013 Meeting, Adapted from Screenshot of Valdai Club Video at youtube.com

(Kremlin.ru – December 4, 2013) Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the Presidential Economic Council. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon colleagues, Two years ago at the Business Russia congress, we launched the National Business Initiative. We set the goal then of creating a comfortable environment for doing business in the regions and in the country in general. We […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Meeting with Chairman of the Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov and Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin

Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Kremlin.ru – December 4, 2013) Vladimir Putin discussed the declaration of an amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of Russia’s Constitution at a meeting with Presidential Adviser and Chairman of the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov and Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin. Also taking part in the meeting were Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential […]

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Interfax: Georgia has diversified export markets, does not fear new Russian embargo – finance minister

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Georgia
Tblisi, Georgia, File Photo with Building with Tower on Hillside and City Buildings in Valley in Distance

TBILISI. Dec 3 (Interfax) – Georgia has diversified its export markets to an extent that, if Russia once again imposes a ban on Georgian imports, this would not be as strong a blow to local producers as it was in 2006, Georgian Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri believes. “Russia is no longer number one trade partner for Georgia, and our markets […]

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Interfax: Conflicts on former Soviet soil should be settled peacefully – Russian Orthodox Church

CIS, Customs Union, Eurasian Union, Religion
Archpriest Vsevolad Chaplin file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) – Head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations Vsevolod Chaplin has said that peaceful solutions should be found for conflicts in former Soviet states. “People are predetermined to live side-by-side in peace. Enmity, wars and total conflicts, whether they be controllable or uncontrollable, are always bad. We can see this in many events […]

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Interfax: Russia should not interfere in events in Ukraine – United Russia

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) – Russia should have tact and not try to give instructions to Ukraine on how to act in the situation of continuing protests in Ukraine, Andrei Klimov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council committee on international affairs and a member of the United Russia General Council presidium, said. “Further development of the situation depends on the […]

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Interfax: Brussels calls on Kyiv to stop playing with figures – EU diplomat

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
EU Map

BRUSSELS. Dec 4 (Interfax) – Brussels calls on Kyiv to stop playing with figures indicating how much money Ukraine needs to accumulate to proceed toward closer integration with Europe; the parties should instead start a constructive dialogue if they want to reach some tangible results on the way toward signing an association agreement, a high-ranking European diplomatic official said in […]

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RIA Novosti: Ukraine, EU Discuss Integration as Protests Continue

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
EU Map

MOSCOW, December 4 (RIA Novosti) ­ The government of Ukraine said Wednesday that it has agreed on a roadmap for a future association agreement with the EU, which the former Soviet nation decided to delay last month. Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Arbuzov met with the EU envoy to Ukraine Jan Tombinsky to agree on a sequence of negotiations needed before […]

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Interfax: Gref, Vekselberg, Mordashov, Chubais join Economic Ministry’s public council

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and St. Basil's

MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) – Sberbank of Russia (MOEX: SBER) President and CEO German Gref has taken a seat on the public council of the Economic Development Ministry, the ministry he headed in 2000-2007. The makeup of the board is contained in an instruction from Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev. Deputy Economic Development Minister and State Secretary Oleg Fomichev will […]

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Interfax: Most Russians say tensions remain in North Caucasus – poll

Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Terrorism
Map of Chechnya and Environs

MOSCOW. Dec 4 (Interfax) – Russians think that the North Caucasian situation remains tense and do not expect stabilization of the situation soon, Levada Center told Interfax. Only 17% of the respondents claim that the North Caucasus is calm and prosperous, and 63% say there are tensions. Ten percent of 1,603 respondents polled in 130 towns and cities in 45 […]

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Navalny Says His Lawyer Status Has Been Scrubbed

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

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 4, 2013) Opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been stripped of the right to practice law due to his criminal conviction earlier this year, a post on his LiveJournal blog said. “Since I am a criminal and convicted of a premeditated crime the bar association simply didn’t have any other options legally,” Navalny wrote Tuesday. […]

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Toward a Tipping Point? ‘Already’ One Russian in Three Doesn’t Back Putin

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

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 4, 2013) Polls not only reflect public opinion but help structure it as articles in the Moscow media this week about how the Kremlin and other power structures use them to promote their particular interests (novayagazeta.ru/columns/61233.html and km.ru/economics/2013/12/03/gazprom/726708-loyalnye-i-neloyalnye-vlasti-eksperty-komu-verit). That has left Russians and other observers of the Russian scene properly skeptical […]

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RIA Novosti: Polar Bear Population Could Drop Two-Thirds by 2050 – Minister

Arctic, Environment
Polar Bear on Ice, Looking Back at Camera

MOSCOW, December 4 (RIA Novosti) ­ The number of polar bears in the Arctic could drop by two-thirds by 2050 because of poaching, pollution and global warming, Russia’s natural resources and ecology minister said Wednesday. Speaking at the International Forum on the Conservation of Polar Bears, Sergei Donskoi said that active industrial development in the Arctic in recent decades is […]

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For Russians, poverty is worse than death

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ksenia Shvetsova, special to RBTH – December 4, 2013) Why do Russians fear for their wallets so much? Despite a steady increase in living standards in Russia since the 1990s, many Russians report that they list poverty and helpless old age as scarier than death. Russians aren’t afraid of long-term world problems like […]

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RIA Novosti: Putin Supports Mass Amnesty Proposal

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
Russian Jail File Photo Showing Outer Wall, Windows, Barbed Wire

NOVO-OGARYOVO, December 4 (RIA Novosti) ­ President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday expressed his support for granting amnesty to perhaps tens of thousands of Russian prisoners in honor of the 20th anniversary of the country’s constitution. “I agree with your proposals in general,” Putin told the head of the Kremlin’s Human Rights Council, which had suggested the amnesty. “We are going […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Meeting with students from Moscow law schools

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
Russian Constitutional Court file photo

(Kremlin.ru – December 3, 2013) [Full Russian transcript with Q&A here: http://www.kremlin.ru/news/19778] Vladimir Putin met with students from Moscow law schools at the Law Faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University. The meeting is timed to coincide with the Lawyer’s Day marked in Russia on December 3. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon friends, We are here today at the […]

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Business New Europe: Spectre of revolution haunts Ukraine

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Kyiv – December 3, 2013) Ten years on from the Orange Revolution that rolled back a rigged election, Ukraine again appears in the throes of revolution, after mass protests in Kyiv against the government’s failure to sign a deal for closer ties with the EU and ensuing police violence led to […]

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Interfax: Protests in Ukraine to go on, unlikely to result in revolution – Russian experts

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine and Ukrainian Flag

(Interfax – December 2, 2013) Protests in Kiev do not look like an orange revolution, but they may be the implementation of the scenario of part of the Ukrainian leadership, Gleb Pavlovskiy, president of the Effective Policy Foundation, has said, as reported by privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax on 2 December. Commenting on mass protests staged in Kiev and in […]

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Interfax: Ukraine asks EU to empathize with deferment of pact

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
EU Map

KYIV. Dec 2 (Interfax) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has urged the European Union to empathize with Ukraine’s November 21 decision to suspend preparations for an association agreement with the EU. “I now ask you to take an objective view of this situation, not to accuse us of insincerity but to trust us and make a concession to us,” […]

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Lavrov tackles NATO agenda in Brussels

NATO
Sergei Lavrov file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yuri Paniyev, special to RBTH – December 3, 2013) Syria, Afghanistan and NATO’s European missile defense system will top the agenda at the Russia-NATO Council session scheduled to begin on Dec.3. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his counterparts from the NATO member states are expected to exchange opinions on issues concerning Euro-Atlantic […]

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Sberbank CEO Gref Joins Economic Ministry Public Council

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of German Gref Shaking Hands with U.S. Official

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 3, 2013) Sberbank CEO German Gref has joined the Economic Development Ministry’s public council, returning to a ministry that he headed from 2000 to 2007. The council’s membership, ratified by current Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, includes magnates Viktor Vekselberg and Alexei Mordashov as representatives of large-scale private enterprise. The heads of the Russian Union of […]

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Interfax: WTO will remain, but still no progress seen in talks – Russian minister

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

BALI. Dec 3 (Interfax) – The ninth WTO ministerial conference in Bali will not resolve all the problems of the Doha Round, but even if it ends in failure the World Trade Organization “will not disappear – if only because there is no alternative to it,” Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said in an interview with Interfax before the […]

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Interfax: GDP growth forecast for 2013 lowered to 1.4% – Ulyukayev

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

BALI. Dec 3 (Interfax) – Russia’s Economic Development Ministry has lowered its forecast for economic growth this year from 1.8% to 1.4%, for 2014 from 3.0% to 2.5%, and for 2015 from 3.1% to 2.8%, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told the press on the sidelines of the WTO conference in Bali on Tuesday. Ulyukayev said he expects Q4 GDP […]

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Interfax: Russia’s economy still lacking in sustainable development – premier

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

(Interfax – Gorki, December 2, 2013) Stable economic growth still has not been achieved in Russia, Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev has said. “The task of providing for sustainable economic development, where the key factor is the growth of labour productivity and the modernization of existing capacities, the creation of high-efficiency jobs and personnel training that is up to modern standards, […]

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Russians Asking Themselves Why They Can’t Act Like Ukrainians

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 3, 2013) Even as Russian commentators blame Vladimir Putin for creating “a revolutionary situation” in Ukraine (ej.ru/?a=note&id=23865), many more Russians are asking themselves why they and their nation have been unable to organize protests the ways that Ukrainians can. To ask that question is to pose two even more important ones […]

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Navalny Testifies at Bolotnoye Riot Trial

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Riot Police file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 3, 2013) Contrary to investigators’ claims, organizers did not intentionally orchestrate riots at the demonstration on Bolotnaya Ploshchad on May 6 last year, opposition leader Alexei Navalny told a Moscow city court on Monday. “Officials intentionally instigated the crush so as to claim there were riots,” Navalny, who was present at the protest as […]

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RIA Novosti: Two Russian Courts Denounce Kremlin’s Legal Reform Plan

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
Kremlin and St. Basil's file photo

MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti) ­ Two top Russian courts have criticized a proposed reform of the legal system spearheaded by the Kremlin, arguing that some of the provisions are unconstitutional, a newspaper reported Tuesday. The Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court are under an imminent reform set to be merged into a single body, a move that has […]

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Interfax: Most bribe givers, takers in Russia sentenced to fines

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Cropped File Photo of Two Men in Business Suits Shaking Hands and Passing Cash

MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) – The sentencing of corruption suspects to fines has practically doubled in Russia in the past two years, the Supreme Court said. “The number [of suspects] sentenced to fines has grown in the past two years, since the moment the amendments that significantly raised fines for corruptive practices came into force. Some 46.5% of all persons […]

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Interfax: Work on counter-corruption mechanism not completed in Russia – Transparency International

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
File Photo of Man Placing Stack of Large Bills into Inside Pocket of Suitcoat

MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) – The director of the Transparency International office in Russia, Yelena Panfilova, said that Russia’s 127th place on the Berlin-based organization’s 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index was to be expected. The authorities did not sort out the issue of protecting people who report corruption-related crimes, and the work on a mechanism that would allow civil society to […]

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RIA Novosti: Putin Sets Up New Kremlin Anti-Corruption Department

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Hands Opening Envelope Containing Cash

MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the establishment of a new anti-corruption department in the presidential administration, according to a decree published Tuesday. The department will be responsible for monitoring current anti-corruption laws and suggesting legislative changes to counter corruption, the Kremlin said. Putin has appointed Oleg Plokhoi ­ whose surname literally means “bad” […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia Takes 127th Place in Corruption Survey

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
Cropped File Photo of Two Men in Business Suits Shaking Hands and Passing Cash

MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russia ranked 127th out of 177 countries on a 2013 corruption perceptions ranking published Tuesday by anti-graft organization Transparency International, showing little change since last year. Russia received the same score (28 points of a possible 100) as it did in 2012, but moved up from last year’s 133rd place as other countries fell […]

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Interfax: Russians note influence of Putin on processes happening in Russia – poll

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

(Interfax – December 3, 2013) Positive assessments of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s activities outweigh negative ones and Russian citizens note his considerable influence on the processes unfolding in the country and are ready to vote for him, sociologists said. Fifty-two percent of Russians have a favorable impression of Putin’s activities, 29 percent are displeased with his actions and 13 percent […]

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RIA Novosti: Poll Showing Falling Support for Putin Questioned by Pro-Kremlin Pundit

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti) ­ An independent poll released Tuesday showed that one-third of Russians do not support Vladimir Putin’s actions as president, but the findings have been roundly criticized as unreliable by an influential pro-Kremlin political analyst. Steadily improving economic conditions and political stability have ensured Putin broad favor among Russians over the almost 14 years he has […]

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Interfax: Russians still trust president, church the most – poll

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion

MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) – The president and the Orthodox Church are still the most trusted institutions and structures in Russia. Over 60% of the respondents surveyed in an express poll conducted by Romir in November said they “fully trust” or “tend to trust” the rating leaders. The poll surveyed 500 respondents aged from 18 to sixty who live in […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Press statement and answers to journalists’ questions following Russian-Armenian talks (excerpt re Putin on Ukraine)

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Valdai Club 2013 Meeting, Adapted from Screenshot of Valdai Club Video at youtube.com

(Kremlin.ru – December 2, 2013) QUESTION: Good evening, I realise that we are now in the capital of a brotherly republic, in Yerevan, one of my favourite cities, but I would like to ask a question about another capital that I like equally, about Kiev. Just recently there has been alarming news from there, and even calls for revolution. Accordingly, […]

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RIA Novosti: Putin Signs Decree to Implement Sanctions Against North Korea

North Korea, Nuclear Proliferation, WMD Proliferation
North Korea Map and Flag

MOSCOW, December 2 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to implement UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, the government’s legal information website said Monday. All North Korean ships must now consent to an inspection before being allowed to enter a Russian port. Russian state and commercial organizations are also forbidden from helping North Korea […]

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By Dashing Their Hopes, Yanukovich has United Ukrainians, Krylov Says

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 2, 2013) By his actions over the past two weeks, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has done something many in Ukraine thought impossible and many in Russia feared: he has given Ukraine a national idea and united Ukrainians of all nationalities behind it and against himself, according to a Russian nationalist theorist […]

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Ukraine does a U-turn on Europe

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
EU Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gevorg Mirzayan, special to RBTH – December 2, 2013) Yanukovych declines a deal with the EU as economic realities hit home. President Viktor Yanukovych’s last-minute rejection of a planned Association Agreement with the European Union was unexpected and shocking for most of Ukraine’s public, who are imbued with the idea of European integration. […]

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Regions ‘Quietly Sabotaging’ Moscow’s Nationality Policy, Expert Says

Migrants, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 1, 2013) Even as the Russian government takes the first steps to shift responsibility for inter-ethnic peace onto the leaderships of the federal subjects, a Russian expert has warned that “in certain regions,” what is going on with respect to the implementation of nationality policy can only be described as “quiet […]

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Russia’s G20 presidency marked by several “firsts”

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas
File Photo of Russia-Hosted G20 Banners Outdoors Before Yellow and White Facade of Historic-Looking Building

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gleb Fedorov, RBTH – December 2, 2013) Under Russia’s leadership, the G20 achieved major agenda changes. The presidency passed to Australia on Dec. 1. Changing the G20 agenda from an anti-crisis to a strategic development one was a major achievement during the club’s Russian presidency, according to several Russians involved in the talks […]

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Protests and Scandals Strike Moscow Theaters

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – December 2, 2013) If Russian theater is a mirror of Russian society ­ – and most any Russian theater artist will tell you that is true ­ – then Russia is in turmoil. Two of Moscow’s most famous theaters have been rocking and rolling to scandalous events all week long. The Taganka […]

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Putin Visits Still-Unfinished Olympic Stadium

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Sports, Olympics, World Cup
File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – December 2, 2013) President Vladimir Putin visited Sochi’s main Olympic stadium near the Black Sea coast on Friday only to see construction workers and equipment still spread around the venue, which is still unfinished just more than two months before it will host the opening ceremony of the Winter Games. Originally supposed […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia’s Successes, A Likely Trap?

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas
Kremlin and St. Basil's file photo

(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov – December 2, 2013) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal ­ the most authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments. One can only marvel at how quickly things change. Just a short while ago, Russia seemed to be retreating on all diplomatic fronts. An attack on […]

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Interfax: Events in Kyiv are not revolution but plot against premier Azarov – analyst Pavlovsky

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Russian Naval Vessel in Ukrainian Port

MOSCOW. Dec 2 (Interfax) – The protests in Kyiv don’t look like an orange revolution but could constitute the implementation of a scenario of some Ukrainian leadership figures interested in ousting Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and changing the configuration of power in Ukraine, President of the Effective Politics Foundation Gleb Pavlovsky thinks. “On the one hand, most of the participants […]

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RIA Novosti: Ukraine Vows to Speed Up EU Integration, Wants ‘Equal Partnership’

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
EU Map

KIEV, December 1 (RIA Novosti) ­ Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said Sunday his country will continue efforts towards European integration but insisted that Kiev should be accepted as an equal partner. “I will do everything possible to advance the process of Ukraine’s rapprochement with the European Union, but without any serious losses for this country’s economy or deterioration of the […]

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Russia Offers Ukraine Cheaper Gas to Join Moscow-Led Group

Europe, EU, Oil, Gas, Energy, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Blue Flame from Natural Gas

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Irina Reznik & Henry Meyer – December 2, 2013) Russia will offer cheaper natural gas to Ukraine if the government in Kiev opts to join a Moscow-led economic bloc after halting free-trade talks with the European Union, according to First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov. Ukraine’s economic difficulties will be best resolved if it chooses integration […]

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Interfax: Saakashvili leaves Georgia to give people a break from him – wife

Georgia
Mikheil Saakashvili file photo

TBILISI. Dec 2 (Interfax) – Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili temporarily refrains from participating in the politics in Georgia, his wife Sandra Roelofs, who is taking part in a conference on AIDS prevention held in Tbilisi as a good will ambassador of the World Health Organization, told reporters on Sunday. “He [Mikheil Saakashvili] is full of energy and is ready to […]

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Interfax: NATO’s refusal to adapt CFE harms conventional arms control – Grushko

Military, NATO
File Photo of Russian Tanks in Military Parade

BRUSSELS. Dec 2 (Interfax) – The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) cannot be restored the way it used to be; the treaty became totally obsolete, which was declared back in 1996 when a decision on the parameters of its crucial modernization was made, Russian Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko told Interfax in Brussels on Monday. “An […]

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RIA Novosti: Law Ending Gazprom’s Gas Export Monopoly Enters Into Force

Oil, Gas, Energy
Russian Gas Facility file photo

MOSCOW, December 2 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a landmark law breaking state-owned Gazprom’s monopoly on gas exports, according to a document published on a government site Monday. Gazprom will keep its export monopoly on gas carried through pipelines, but the new law will allow Russian producers to export liquefied natural gas, the super-cooled fuel increasingly […]

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Down with the Duma: Russians support rule by presidential decree

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – December 2, 2013) A recent poll revealed the population’s negative attitude towards the lower house, with many said to be in favor of its abolition. According to a poll by the Levada Center, the majority of Russians oppose the work of the current State Duma deputies, with more than […]

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