Author: JRL Russia List

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#224 :: Thursday, 12 December 2013

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's file photo

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#224 :: 12 December 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Reuters: Putin admits Russia’s economic woes home-grown. 2. Interfax: Putin: […]

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Ukraine’s government withdraws riot police from Maidan as protestors dig in for the long haul

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – December 12, 2013) Following the Ukrainian government’s failure to retake Kyiv’s central square Maidan from protestors on the night of December 11, riot police withdrew the next day and demonstrators rebuilt biggest and better barricades using bags of packed snow, corrugated steel and iron bars. There is also clearly some last minute horse trading […]

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RIA Novosti: Russians Support Stronger Ties With Ukraine – Poll

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

MOSCOW, December 11 (RIA Novosti) ­ Most Russians think that Ukraine would be better off if the two countries formed closer ties, according to a new poll published Tuesday. Just 6 percent believe that Ukraine will gain from forming closer links with the West, while 36 percent are convinced that Russia will suffer harm if its neighbor makes such a […]

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Interfax: Ukrainian opposition says it will not join talks with authorities until its demands are met

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square file photo

KYIV. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Ukrainian opposition members are not going to engage in any dialogue with the authorities until their conditions are met, Svoboda (Freedom) opposition party leader Oleh Tyahnybok said. “There can be no negotiations with these authorities until all of our demands are fulfilled and special operations units are withdrawn from Kyiv,” Tyahnybok said at a press […]

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Interfax: Joint Poll Highlights Russians’, Americans’ Stereotypical Views of One Another

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags with Number 200, 1807-2007

MOSCOW. Dec 11 (Interfax) – Americans continue to conceive of Russia in the context of the Cold War and communism, and Russians mostly associate the United States with aggression and the dollar, specialists from the Romir Holding, which held a joint poll with the U.S. Leger Market Research in the fall, told Interfax on Wednesday. A thousand city residents older […]

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Interfax: Agreement on Iran challenges grounds to set up missile shield in Europe – Pushkov

Iran, NATO, Nuclear Proliferation, Nuclear, Missile Defense, WMD Proliferation
Map of Iran with Stylized Radar Sweep and Radiation Symbol Background Image

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – The agreements of the Sextet and Tehran on the Iranian nuclear program call into question if there is any sense of the missile shield in Europe being created by NATO, head of the Russian State Duma committee on foreign affairs Alexei Pushkov said. “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has put the question correctly: the issue of […]

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RIA Novosti: Putin Says Bids to Gain Military Dominance Over Russia Futile

Military, Nuclear, Missile Defense
Russia ICBM on Mobile Launcher

MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti) ­ President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday against foreign powers seeking to secure a military advantage over Russia and said any attempts to destroy the existing global strategic balance would be futile. Speaking in his annual State of the Nation address, Putin dismissed arguments that the proposed European missile shield is defensive only and described it […]

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Celebrating Aitmatov and his examination of collective memory

History, Soviet Union, Human Rights, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
File Photo of Prison in Russia with Wall, Barbed Wire, Guard Tower

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Olga Fedina, special to RBTH – December 12, 2013) The author of the acclaimed novel “The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years,” would have been 85 years old on Dec. 12. When I was finishing school in the late 1980s, in the anarchic and utopian times of perestroika, I remember discussing in […]

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Putin’s Imperial Integration Plans are ‘Insanity,’ Inozemtsev Says

CIS, Customs Union, Eurasian Union, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Vladimir Putin file photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 12, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to re-integrate the former Soviet space not only will fail because integration presupposes “a unity of culture, economics and culture rather than seeking to seize the most territory” but will undermine the possibilities for Russia’s own development, according to Vladislav Inozemtsev. In an article […]

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Interfax: Zorkin: revolutions bring enormous suffering, society must live within constitutional framework

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

ST. PETERSBURG. Dec 12 (Interfax) – International terrorism, extremism and crime may jeopardize the Russian constitutional system, Russian Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin said. “The constitution’s anniversary should inspire all people who are not indifferent to holding a profound discussion of any possible threats to the constitutional system of our country. This is the question of international terrorism, extremism and […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Meeting with representatives of Russia’s human rights community

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

(Kremlin.ru – December 10, 2013) Vladimir Putin met with Russian human rights activists, representatives of several non-governmental and non-profit human rights organisations, as well as the human rights commissioners from Russia’s federal districts. The meeting took place on Human Rights Day, which is celebrated on December 10. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, colleagues, My day today is in […]

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Putin Lays Out Illegal Migration Agenda During Annual Address

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Migrants
Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – December 12, 2013) President Vladimir Putin touched upon the burning topic of illegal migration and Russia’s relations with former Soviet republics during his State of the Nation address on Thursday. Control over illegal migration will be tightened, yet ties with neighboring countries will be strengthened, Putin said. He proposed creating barriers for […]

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RIA Novosti: Putin Cautiously Urges Civil Society Role in Decision-Making

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

MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that civil society should be more actively engaged in decision-making by government and parliament, but that NGOs should not be motivated by politically biased positions. All bills should be submitted to public review before reaching the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, Putin told a gathering of […]

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Interfax: Putin sure new parties will offer competition to “political old-timers”

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

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is certain that new political parties that won local elections recently will offer stiff competition to the political old-timers. “We are interested in seeing well-trained, purposeful, and professional people ready to responsibly perform their duties coming to government bodies through election mechanisms,” Putin said in an annual address to the Federal […]

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Putin: Russia seeks to be a world leader but does not aspire to super-power status

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

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Russia will be a leader but will not lecture other states on how they should live, President Vladimir Putin said. “We will aspire to be a leader by protecting international law and insisting upon respect for national sovereignty, independence and uniqueness of peoples,” Putin said in his address presented to the Federal Assembly on Thursday. […]

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Interfax: Kudrin agrees with Putin that internal reasons to blame for slowdown

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

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin agrees with President Vladimir Putin that the reasons for the economic slowdown in Russia are internal, rather than external in nature. “The president absolutely correctly noted that the reasons for our economic stagnation are internal,” Kudrin wrote on Twitter on Thursday. He also agreed with the view Putin stated […]

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Ukraine’s Klitschko says president “main evil”, must step down

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Viktor Yanukovych file photo

(Interfax – December 11, 2013) The leader of the opposition UDAR party, Vitaliy Klitschko, has said that the cabinet and President Viktor Yanukovych must step down, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reported at 0134 gmt on 11 December. “After all this, I’m convinced that we must demand not only the resignation of government, but of the president, too,” Klitschko was […]

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Euromaidan: Can’t Ukraine and Russia just get along?

CIS, Customs Union, Eurasian Union, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Oil, Gas, Energy, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square file photo

(Moscow News – moscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – December 11, 2013) With thousands still protesting in Kiev’s streets after Ukraine suspended plans to sign a trade association agreement with the European Union, beleaguered Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is still mulling whom to side with for closer economic cooperation – Russia or Europe. Here are six things Russian President Vladimir Putin […]

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Interfax: Russia won’t give away North Pole – Chilingarov

Arctic
Polar Map Showing Permafrost Areas, Adapted From NOAA.gov Graphic

TULA. Dec 12 (Interfax) – Russia will not give the North Pole to countries, which have claimed their rights to it, polar explorer, Federation Council member Artur Chilingarov said. “We will not give the North Pole to anyone. Canada’s claims for the North Pole are nothing but an ambition,” he said at a Tula meeting dedicated to the Constitution Day […]

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Russian military returns to the Arctic

Arctic, Military, Oil, Gas, Energy
File Photo of Polar Bear on Ice and Snow with Water Nearby

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – December 12, 2013) Russia intends to deploy a military force on its northern coast to engage in the fight for control over promising oil and gas reserves in the Arctic Ocean. Russia will send a military force to be set up in the Artic next year in order to […]

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#223 :: Tuesday, 10 December 2013

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's file photo

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#223 :: 10 December 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Moscow Times: Putin Shuts State News Agency RIA Novosti. 2. […]

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Interfax: Naryshkin declares importance of constitution’s stability

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) – State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin has noted the importance of the stability of the Russian constitution and the delicate attitude of Russian society and the authorities towards it. “The stability of the Russian constitution is of special importance for our country,” Naryshkin said at a joint meeting of two houses of the Russian Federal Assembly […]

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Ukraine’s ‘Euromaidan’ Through The Lens Of Russian Television

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RFE/RL – rferl.org –  Claire Bigg – December 9, 2013) Russia’s state-run television channels are not known for their impartiality. Their coverage of the massive pro-European protests that have engulfed Ukraine is no exception, analysts say. Russian state television has been churning out what critics describe as misleading, at times downright odd reports since protests erupted almost two weeks ago […]

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Economic amnesty applied to almost 1,500 people already – commissioner Titov

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Boris Titov file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) – The economic amnesty declared in Russia has been applied to almost 1,500 people already, Russian business commissioner Boris Titov said. “As of today, a total of 1,479 people have been amnestied,” Titov said during a conference in Moscow on Monday. The possibilities of the amnesty are not exhausted yet, Titov said. “We are not completing […]

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Russians call waste dumps, litter worst ecological problem – poll

Environment
Russian Landfill; adapted from image at epa.gov

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) – Household waste is the biggest environmental danger in the eyes of 58% of Russians. Half of the respondents polled by the Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) put the blame on transportation vehicles and 49% criticized industrial waste. Litter and household waste equally bother people in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities with a population […]

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Ulyukayev says wrong to give overly optimistic forecasts

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

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) – The Russian Ministry of Economic Development says it considers it wrong to give unrealistically upbeat forecasts, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told journalists in Moscow on Monday. Ulyukayev was commenting on a statement by presidential aide on economic issues Andrei Belousov that the Economic Development Ministry and Finance Ministry are not looking for additional reserves […]

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Russia will start issuing plastic IDs in 2016, phase out passports in 2017-2018

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

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) – Russia will stop issuing domestic passports in 2017-2018 and replace them with plastic cards, head of the Federal Migration Service (FMS) Konstantin Romodanovsky has said. “We will launch the cards in 2016,” he said during a lecture at Moscow State University on Friday. “We would want to launch wide-scale use of the document as of […]

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Xenophobia, national intolerance grow in Russia – Federal Migration Service chief

Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia
Migrant Workers file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) – Xenophobia and national intolerance are growing in Russia, Russian Federal Migration Service Chief Konstantin Romodanovsky said. “Unfortunately, more cases of intolerance and xenophobia can be observed, which eventually leads to an escalation of inter-ethnic disputes,” Romodanovsky said at a meeting held by Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin in Moscow on Monday. Many foreigners are […]

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Russia Readies to Take Shale Oil Lead

Oil, Gas, Energy
File Photo Rosneft and Russian Flags Next to Rosneft Banner

(Oilprice.com – Daniel J. Graeber – December 7, 2013) President of Russian energy company Rosneft, Igor Sechin, said he was eager to unlock the shale oil potential in the Samara region of western Russia. With forecasts warning the U.S. shale phenomenon won’t last, Russia could be moving its pawns into play. Sechin met Friday with Helge Lund, chief executive officer […]

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Ukraine’s choices

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square file photo

(opendemocracy.net – December 9, 2013 – David Marples) David Marples is Distinguished University Professor in the Department of History and Classics, University of Alberta, Canada. Author of 13 books, he is also President of the North American Association for Belarusian Studies. The current conflict in Ukraine tends to cast the country’s future choices in terms of membership of either the […]

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Tensions spike in Kyiv on fears of government crackdown

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – December 10, 2013) A big day faces Ukraine December 10 as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton holds talks with all sides in an attempt to find “a way out of the political crisis”, while President Viktor Yanukovych will meet his three predecessors – Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko. Tensions spiked in […]

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RIA Novosti: New Battle Looms in US-Russian ‘War of Blacklists’

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Human Rights, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of U.S. Capitol Dome

WASHINGTON, December 9 (By Carl Schreck for RIA Novosti) ­ The United States and Russia face a potential renewed blacklist war as a deadline looms this week for Washington to report on controversial sanctions against alleged Russian rights abusers. The US administration has until Saturday to submit to Congress its inaugural annual report on any additions to the so-called “Magnitsky […]

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In Choosing Kiselyov, Media Critics Say Putin Opts For Personal Propagandist

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Daisy Sindelar – December 10, 2013) A popular clip circulating on the Internet shows just how much a journalist can change in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In 1999, as Putin was coming to power, Dmitry Kiselyov was a promising television broadcaster with strong opinions about the difference between journalism and propaganda. “A journalist cannot be separated from […]

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RIA Novosti Staff to Remain ‘In Demand’ at New Agency

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Moscow Times  – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – December 10, 2013) Dmitry Kiselyov, the ultraconservative television host who was appointed Monday to head a new global news service on the base of RIA Novosti, said Tuesday that parts of the news agency would be preserved and that its staff would remain “in demand.” Kiselyov also said he would meet soon […]

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Putin Shuts State News Agency RIA Novosti

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – December 10, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Monday issued a decree ordering the liquidation of RIA Novosti, the massive state-owned news agency, and mandated the creation of a new global news agency to be headed by an aggressively pro-Kremlin television host. In its own article about the news, RIA Novosti’s English-language service […]

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#222 :: Monday, 9 December 2013

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News
St. Basil's file photo

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#222 :: 9 December 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Bloomberg: Russia Backs Off Ukraine Union After Lenin Statue Falls. […]

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The cost of doing business in Moscow

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – December 6, 2013) Foreign entrepreneurs talk about the pros and cons of working in Moscow. In an effort to find more ways to attract foreign investors to Russia’s capital, Moscow authorities asked several current expat businessmen to give their assessment of the pros and cons of starting a business […]

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Ministry Proposes Easing Corporate Governance Rules

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Empty Boardroom

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 9, 2013) The Economic Development Ministry plans to relax requirements for board approval of various business deals and transactions, Interfax reported Monday. The changes are a part of the ministry’s effort to create an international financial center in the Russian Federation, said an explanatory note that came with a bill amending the existing federal […]

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Suburbs Await Transformation Into Hubs in a New Polycentric Moscow

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – December 9, 2013) Moscow will get a new master plan by 2015 to reflect its forthcoming transformation into a polycentric city, in which peripheral areas become alternative hubs for work and cultural activities, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at the third annual Moscow Urban Forum. Wrapping up on Saturday, the forum brought together […]

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Domestic Division, Not External Aggression, Threatens Russia Now, Tishkov Says

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

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, December 6, 2013) Academician Valery Tishkov, director of the Moscow Institue of Ethnology and Anthropology, argues that divisions within the elites of Russia rather than any challenges from outside constitute the main threat to the country and, if unchecked, could lead to its “degradation and disintegration.” Tishkov, an advisor on ethnic affairs […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia Mulls New Case Against Khodorkovsky – Paper

YUKOS, Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Khodorkovsky file photo

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian law enforcement officials are considering bringing new charges against jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other figures over alleged money laundering, Vedomosti daily reported on Monday. Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev told Russian media last week that “several cases against former Yukos CEO Khodorkovsky and other people are being probed,” fuelling speculation […]

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Interfax: Human Rights’ Council opposed to constitutional amendments, favors broad amnesty

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

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) – The presidential Human Rights’ Council believes that the amnesty expected to be declared on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the constitution should be full-fledged and broad while attempts to change the constitution are impermissible. “We regard with bewilderment and concern the increasingly frequent attempts to change the constitution, in particular, its preamble and […]

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Interfax: Law regarding corruption could be amended – Ivanov

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

BARNAUL. Dec 8 (Interfax) – Amendments related to the confiscation of bribe-takers’ property could be added to the law, Russian presidential administration head Sergei Ivanov said. “I will not anticipate the events but certain amendments could probably be added to the law,” Ivanov said in an interview with the NTV TV channel on Sunday. The confiscation institution in Russia does […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Russian Popular Front conference

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking At All-Russia Popular Front Gathering

(Kremlin.ru – December 5, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in a conference, the Action Forum, organised by the Russian Popular Front. Conference participants discussed key issues concerning the implementation of the main presidential policy lines in healthcare, the economy, housing and utilities, education and culture. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, dear friends. I am glad to be able […]

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NEWSLINK: Putin dissolves state news agency, tightens grip on Russia media

JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
File Photo of Little Russian Girl at Laptop Next to Globe

[Putin dissolves state news agency, tightens grip on Russia media – Reuters – Timothy Heritage – December 9 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/09/us-russia-media-idUSBRE9B80I120131209] Reuters covers Russia President Vladimir Putin’s decision to dissolve RIA Novosti and absorb its operations into new entity called Rossiya Segodnya, with a mission of promoting Russia abroad: President Vladimir Putin tightened his control over Russia’s media on Monday by […]

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Russia sees decline in smokers

Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse
No Smoking Symbol

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ilya Dashkovsky, special to RBTH – December 9, 2013) Higher taxes on tobacco products has forced more Russians to quit smoking. Tobacco users in Russia decreased by more than 5 percent in 2013, and experts expect a new higher excise taxes to reduce further the sale of cigarettes. Every Russian smoker knows the […]

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Russia Beyond the Headlines: Mandela and the Soviet Union: The struggle against apartheid

Africa
Africa Satellite Image Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ajay Kamalakaran, RBTH – December 6, 2013) As the world mourns the death of the great statesman, RBTH looks back at the role Russia and the Soviet Union played in the struggle against apartheid. When Nelson Mandela turned 95 in July, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave one of the most glowing tributes to […]

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FEEDBACK REQUESTED: Thanks for following Johnson’s Russia List! We would like to hear from you …

JRL Tables of Contents
St. Basil's file photo

Thank you very much for following Johnson’s Russia List, with 4,868 followers on twitter and counting … 2,196 persons “liking” the JRL on facebook and counting … thousands subscribing to the core e-mail newsletter … and thousands visiting the JRL web home … Do you have any feedback you care to share about the JRL and any of its facets […]

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Russia Backs Off Ukraine Union After Lenin Statue Falls

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Monument in Ukraine

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Kateryna Choursina, Daryna Krasnolutska & Ilya Arkhipov – December 9, 2013) Russia cast doubt that Ukraine may soon join its customs bloc, a plan that have sparked the ex-Soviet republic’s biggest protests in almost a decade and fueled calls for President Viktor Yanukovych to resign. Riot police and stick-wielding protesters squared off in central Kiev a […]

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RIA Novosti to Be Liquidated in State-Owned Media Overhaul

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

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) ­ The Kremlin announced Monday the dissolution of RIA Novosti, the country’s major state-run news agency, amid a significant reorganization of state-owned media assets. News agency RIA Novosti and the state-owned Voice of Russia radio will be scrapped and absorbed into a new media conglomerate called Rossiya Segodnya, according to a decree signed by President […]

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