Moscow Concerned about Syria, Not Assad – Minister

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow’s position on Syria stems from its concern for the Syrian people, and not the fate of President Bashar al-Assad, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. “Russia’s position is not predetermined by support of personalities; it is dictated by concern about the fate of the Syrian people, our long-standing friend and partner, and […]

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West Vastly Underestimating Size of Illegal Capital Flight from Russia, Moscow Expert Says

File Photo of Man Placing Stack of Large Bills into Inside Pocket of Suitcoat

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 22, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/02/window-on-eurasia-west-vastly.html) A report by the Washington Center for International Policy’s Global Financial Integrity program suggests that illegal capital flight from the Russian Federation over the last 17 years has been “stupifyingly” large, but in fact, a Russian economic analyst says, the report’s figures understate the size and implications […]

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Russian Unemployment Hit Record Low Last Year, Revised Data Show

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Scott Rose & Olga Tanas – February 26, 2012) Russian unemployment fell to a record low of 5 percent in August and September last year, less than the initially reported 5.2 percent, revised data released by the Federal Statistics Service show. Last month’s reading of 6 percent was unchanged, the Moscow-based service said in a report […]

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Russian economy still has challenges to face, Medvedev says

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Interfax – February 25, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that in order to develop the Russian economy it is necessary to increase the share of revenues from high-tech sectors and raise the standard of living in the country. Developing high-tech sectors “There are a number of challenges in the Russian economy to which we have not yet responded. First […]

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Russia’s registration rules: what goes around…

Artist's Rendition of Pile of Papers Shaped Like Human, Wall of File Cabinets, Flying Pieces of Paper

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova – February 25, 2013) Here is a solution on how to deal with Russia’s archaic registration system: don’t tie registration to real estate ownership. If registration is simply meant to let the authorities know where you’re residing, people should be able to fill out a single form on a website or at a […]

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How to brand great Russian literature

Leo Tolstoy file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Stepan Ivanov, combined report, RBTH – February 24, 2013) Dmitry Bak, the new director of the Literature Museum, talked to a number of journalists about how the museum is developing and emphasized how classic Russian literature needs to be understood through the contemporary. To this end, the director suggests branding Russian literature ­ […]

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Arrest and custody, Russian-style

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(www.opendemocracy.net – Grigory Okhotin – February 22, 2031) Grigory Okhotin is a journalist and co-founder of the grassroots police monitoring organisation OVD-Info [‘police-info’]. [Charts here: http://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/grigory-okhotin/arrest-and-custody-russian-style] Police custody, violence, trials and imprisonment have been all to common features on the Russian protest landscape since December 2011. A grassroots monitoring project called OVD-info has kept realtime data on the arrests; co-founder […]

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Presumed Putin Allies Get Most Construction Contracts

Moscow Traffic file photo

(Moscow TImes – themoscowtimes.com – February 25, 2013) Two companies co-owned by people seen as close to President Vladimir Putin were awarded the largest number of major road and bridge construction contracts by City Hall in 2011-12, Vedomosti reported Tuesday. In the period, a total of 150 road and bridge construction contracts worth 182.4 billion rubles ($6 billion) were awarded, […]

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Army reform continues to march forward

Sergei Shoigu file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Viktor Litovkin, special to RBTH – February 22, 2013) The replacement of Anatoly Serdukov by Sergei Shoigu has not meant a retreat from the modernization of the Russian armed forces. On the eve of Feb. 23, Defender of the Fatherland Day, Russian Defense Minister General Sergei Shoigu alerted the Ivanovo Airborne Division, based […]

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Civil servants may have problems selling their foreign assets – Kremlin representative

Cash, Calculator, Pen

MOSCOW. Feb 22 (Interfax) – President Vladimir Putin’s representative in the State Duma Garri Minkh has acknowledged that government executives may have problems selling their assets and foreign company shares in compliance with the president-proposed bill. “The procedure of selling shares is not so easy. Not so easy as selling a glass of sunflower seeds,” Minkh said during the first […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Prensa Latina news agency, Cuba

Map of Cuba and Environs

(Governent.ru – February 23, 2013) Question: We know that Russia’s relations with Latin America are on the ascendant and we are happy that they have reached a peak. Do you consider them to be strategic or are they governed by pragmatic and transient considerations, as well as the competition over the region between the United States and Russia? Dmitry Medvedev: […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Globo

Dmitry Medvedev file photo

(Government.ru – February 22, 2013) Transcript: Correspondent (via interpreter): I know we have little time and will try to be succinct. I’ll start with Syria right away. Do you think Bashar al-Assad will remain in power for a long time to come? We know that Syria has been in this situation for a long time already, and it is still […]

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McFaul Slams ‘Sensational Exploitation’ of Orphan’s Death

File Photo of Barack Obama Sitting at Desk with Mike McFaul Standing Next to Him Facing Him

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – February  25, 2013) U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul has condemned “sensational exploitations” of the recent death of a Russian toddler in the United States and said he is “troubled” by portrayals of the U.S. legal system, government and the American people in the Russian press. “It is time for sensational exploitations of human […]

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Lavrov sees some progress in U.S. on adoptions

Sergei Lavrov file photo

MOSCOW. Feb 25 (Interfax) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes the U.S. administration in the past few weeks has manifested a wish to influence the administrations of the U.S. states to resolve problems of Russian children adopted by U.S. citizens. “They have a wish to do it. We have seen some attempts to influence the administrations of the states. […]

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Russians Gloomier About Russia-US Relations – Poll

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti) – The proportion of Russians who are positive about Russian-US relations has fallen from 53 percent to 39 percent since last fall, according to an opinion poll by the state-run All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Study (VTsIOM). According to the survey, 55 percent of Russian nationals perceive the United States positively, a 2 percent rise. […]

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Kremlin Writes Off Most of Cuba’s $30Bln Debt

Map of Cuba and Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – February 25, 2013) Russia has agreed to cancel most of Cuba’s $30 billion Soviet-era debt ­ the country’s biggest debt cancellation in years, according to an agreement reached during Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to the Caribbean island late last week. Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, who accompanied Medvedev during his […]

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Senior MP Admits Adopted Children’s Deaths Almost Never Probed In Russia

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

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, February 21, 2013) Up to 300 adopted children die in Russia every year but practically no-one has faced criminal prosecution over these deaths, head of the State Duma Committee on Affairs of Family, Women and Children Yelena Mizulina (representing A Just Russia party) said on Thursday (21 February). “According to the figures available to the committee, […]

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JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2013-#38 – 25 February 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#38 :: 25 February 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net JRL homepage: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: http://russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Wall Street Journal: Russia Signs Anti-Smoking Law. 2. Government.ru: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Globo. 3. Governent.ru: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Prensa Latina news agency, Cuba. 4. Washington Post: In […]

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JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2013-#37 – 22 February 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#37 :: 22 February 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net JRL homepage: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: http://russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Scientific American: Siberian Caves Reveal Advancing Permafrost Thaw. Melting of significant portions of Arctic permafrost could accelerate climate change into a catastrophe. 2. Interfax: Medvedev says Russia is not autocracy. 3. Interfax: Chelyabinsk […]

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Wave of Resignations Foreseen in Duma

Russian Duma Building

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – February 22, 2013) The resignation of senior United Russia lawmaker Vladimir Pekhtin following accusations from opposition leader Alexei Navalny that he owned undeclared property in the U.S. triggered speculation that more lawmakers would quit their seats, throwing the ruling party into crisis. Pundits said Thursday that with lawmakers facing an increasing barrage […]

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Corruption Watch round-up; Russian crack-down escalates dramatically

File Photo of Two Persons Shaking Hands and Exchanging Cash

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – February 22, 2013) The Kremlin’s drive to crack down on corruption in the government has escalated dramatically in the last week and moved into a new phase. In addition to several high profile investigations into both government departments and large state-owned companies, senior officials have come out in recent days to indicate that the […]

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Medvedev Says Talk of Russia as Human Rights Violator ‘Frivolous’

Dmitry Medvedev file photo

(Moscow Times – themocowtimes.com – February 22, 2013) In an interview with the Brazilian daily O Globo, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said talk of Russia as a human rights violator was “frivolous” and suggested prison sentences received by Pussy Riot band members could have been less strict. “I do not believe that we are an absolutely perfect, model society and […]

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Russia Faces Same Macro-Economic Problems USSR Did 40 Years Ago, Moscow Economist Says

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 21, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/02/window-on-eurasia-russia-faces-same.html) The Russian economy today despite some very positive numbers over the last year suffers from four macro-economic problems that not only will be difficult to correct but also resemble those the Soviet leadership faced in the 1970s and 1980s, according to the rector of the Presidential Academy […]

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Police interference often disastrous for businesses – Russian Prosecutor General

Empty Boardroom

MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) – Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said he was concerned with groundless interference of police in commercial disputes. “The practice of opening groundless criminal cases, arresting enterprises’ accounts and assets hasn’t been eradicated,” Chaika said during his speech at the all-Russian prosecutors’ conference on protecting rights of businessmen. Chaika said that “the number of operational procedures […]

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McDonald’s could open 150 restaurants in Russia in three years

File Photo of Russian McDbnald's Crew with U.S. Diplomat

MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) – McDonald’s plans to open at least 150 restaurants in Russia in the next three years, the company’s president for Russia and Eastern Europe, Khamat Khasbulatov, told a press conference. The company opened 46 restaurants in 2011 and 37 in 2010. It opened its first diners in the Lipetsk region and cities of Saransk, Izhevsk and […]

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Russian Foreign Ministry opens Facebook account

Russian Foreign Ministry Building Tower file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, February 21, 2013) The Russian Foreign Ministry has opened an official account in the social network Facebook, says a report published on the ministry’s website today. “Topical information about the Russian foreign policy, archive materials about the history of the Russian diplomatic service, helpful information for countrymen and Russians staying abroad will be posted there. We expect […]

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G20 tests Russia’s influence

G20 Logo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Alexey Dolinskiy, special to RBTH – February 21, 2013) In 2013, Russia will host the G-20 summit for the first time ever. Russia’s official presidency started in December 2012, but high-level meetings, culminating in the September 2013 St. Petersburg summit, are just beginning. Leading a global institution of the world’s most powerful countries […]

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IMF More Upbeat Than Medvedev on GDP Growth

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – February 21, 2013) The International Monetary Fund took an optimistic stance at Russia’s prospects Wednesday, saying that its economy could demonstrate a faster pace of growth over the next few years than the annual goal of 5 percent set by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. To attain those growth rates, the government should […]

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Putin’s Nationality Policy Won’t Work as He Intends

Migrant Workers file photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, February 20, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/02/window-on-eurasia-putins-nationality.html) Both the five specific planks of his nationality policy that Vladimir Putin outlined yesterday and problems underlying his entire approach to this issue guarantee that the Russian president will offend both Russians and non-Russians and produce the very outcome he says he is trying to avoid ­ […]

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The interior ministry attempts to professionalize and reform the Russian police; Inadequate Professionalism in the Police Forces Remains a Problem for the Russian State

File Photo of Russian Policeman with Face Turned Towards Van

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 32 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Richard Arnold – February 20, 2013) New recruits to the Russian police will soon undergo mandatory polygraph tests in order to gain admission to the force. The requirement, introduced in June 2012 as part of a comprehensive reform of the police, will now be introduced in practice […]

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Nearly 90% of Russians support ban on foreign bank accounts of officials – poll

Cash, Calculator, Pen

MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) – Support of the Russian public to President Vladimir Putin’s bill banning foreign bank accounts of civil servants is practically unanimous, the Public Opinion Foundation said. It polled 1,500 respondents in 100 towns and cities in 43 regions on February 16-17. Seventy-three percent heard about the bill, and 26% learned about it during the poll. From […]

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Damage from corruption in Russia exceeded 20 billion rubles in 2012 – Chaika

Hands Opening Envelope Containing Cash

MOSCOW. Feb 20 (Interfax) – The fight against corruption intensified in Russia in 2012 and the damage from corruption is estimated at more than 20 billion rubles, Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said. “We have determined over 49,000 (corruption) encroachments, which is almost one-fourth more than was registered in 2011, and the number of people found to have committed corruption […]

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Anti-corruption action in Russia increasingly ineffective – prosecutor general

File Photo of Man Placing Stack of Large Bills into Inside Pocket of Suitcoat

MOSCOW. Feb 20 (Interfax) – Russia’s prosecutor general has accused law enforcement agencies of increasingly ineffective action against bribery. “It is for the second year running that we have been expressing anxiety at a decrease in the number of registered instances of bribery. Instances of offering bribes have not only been going down in number – by 21% – but […]

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Duma Requests Extremism Probe into Church Reform Article

Duma Session file photo

MOSCOW, February 21 (RIA Novosti) – Representatives of the four factions in the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, on Wednesday requested an extremism probe into an article on a Russian Orthodox Church reform by political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky. In the article published by the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily on February 15, Belkovsky says that the Russian Orthodox […]

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Russians support Putin, not happy with State Duma – poll

Russian Duma Building

MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) – Sixty-five percent of Russians approve of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s work, the Levada Center told Interfax on Thursday, following a nationwide survey conducted on February 15-18. Levada Center sociologists said that the approval rating of the Russian president gained three points, as compared to 62% in January. The approval rating of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev […]

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Situation with orphans in Russia is more important than debate on foreign adoptions – Putin

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

NOVO-OGARYOVO. Feb 20 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said the living conditions of orphans in Russia are much more important than the current debate on adoptions. “We are now actively discussing the work with foreign adoptions, which is, of course, an important thing, but not the main thing. What is more important is the way children, who have been […]

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Ulyanovsk Hub Not Getting Much Use by NATO

NATO Meeting file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – February 21, 2013) NATO and Russia pride themselves on cooperation over Afghanistan and the fight against terrorists and pirates, but a planned logistics hub to transport military hardware from Afghanistan is not taking off. Moscow and the Western military alliance will conduct a range of exercises this year, including a joint […]

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It’s too early to speak about cause of Maxim Kuzmin’s death – U.S. consul

United States Map

(Interfax – February 21, 2013) The results of the autopsy performed on Russian child Maxim Kuzmin who died in the U.S. have not been made public yet, Acting U.S. Consul in Russia Bill Bistransky said. Bistransky told Kommersant FM, commenting on the statement made by Russian envoy on human rights, democracy and supremacy of law Konstantin Dolgov saying that the […]

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U.S. Policy on Russia for Obama’s Second Term

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(The Heritage Foundation – www.heritage.org – Ariel Cohen – February 20, 2013) Ariel Cohen, PhD, is Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation. Since Vladimir Putin’s third […]

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JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List 2013-#36 – 21 February 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#36 :: 21 February 2013 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net JRL homepage: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: http://russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Moscow Times: Irina Ratushinskaya, What to Do If Something Explodes in Russia. 2. Izvestia: Rogozin Warns Prime Minister of Asteroid Threat. 3. Interfax: Situation with orphans in Russia is more important than debate […]

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EU-Russia 2013: Stagnating political and economic ties

EU Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Sergey Sumlenny, special to RBTH – February 20, 2013) Russia and the EU are losing the ability to conduct effective political dialogue, say experts. While Russia still appeals to European businesses, it is also under unwelcome pressure to conform to European ideals of democracy and human rights. Meanwhile, Germany could be the key […]

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Russia stuck in Syrian conundrum; Moscow is looking for a force to take responsibility for the settlement in Syria

Syria Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Nikolay Surkov, special to RBTH – February 19, 2013) Nikolay Surkov is an assistant professor at Moscow State Institute of Foreign Affairs While Western actors push for the creation of an interim government in Syria, Russia is pessimistic about chances for improvement in the situation. Moscow sees no state willing to guarantee such […]

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Armenia Looks to Russia for Support

Map of Armenia and Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – February 20, 2013) Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, re-elected in a landslide victory Monday, is expected to keep the promotion of Russian ties a priority during his second five-year term, as his country moves closer to clinching an Association Agreement with the European Union. Flare-ups in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, seized by Armenia […]

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Russian PM Medvedev Arrives in Brazil

Map of Brazil and Environs

BRASILIA, February 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has arrived in Brazil’s capital Brasilia, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Wednesday. During his visit to Brazil on February 20-21, Medvedev is expected hold talks with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and co-chair with Vice-President Michel Temer the sixth meeting of the Russian-Brazilian high-level bilateral cooperation commission. The Russian premier […]

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Obama’s Dilemma: Trying to Breathe New Life into the “Reset”

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Donald N. Jensen – February 19, 2013) With the unraveling of its “reset” with Moscow, the Obama administration is seeking new ways to engage the Russian leadership, relying on the time-tested issue of arms control. According to Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School […]

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Putin opposes restitution of Soviet confiscated property

File Photo of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Aleksandras Budrys – February 20, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country should not return cultural property confiscated by Bolshevik and Soviet authorities after the 1917 revolution to its previous owners. “If we now agree that such property of the Russian state will be transferred to someone, we will open a Pandora’s box. […]

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Adopted Russian Boy’s ‘Suspicious’ Death Raises Many Questions

Pavel Astakhov file photo

WASHINGTON, February 19 (By Maria Young for RIA Novosti) The January death of a young boy adopted from Russia last year by American parents was called “suspicious” on Tuesday by Texas authorities investigating the case, but they stopped short of confirming the graphic evidence of abuse some Russian officials have claimed and said the parents have not been charged with […]

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Latest Orphan Death Sparks Official Furor

Duma Session file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – February 20, 2013) With striking unanimity and furor, senior officials and lawmakers on Tuesday condemned the latest death of an adopted Russian child in the United States, saying the incident vindicates the government’s controversial decision to ban U.S. adoptions. “The death of one more Russian child in the United States has at […]

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Russian senators call for return of all Russian children adopted by U.S. families

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

(Interfax – February 20, 2013) The Federation Council’s meeting on Wednesday began with the issue of the death in the U.S. of Maxim Kuzmin, 3, who was adopted by U.S. citizens. Senators did not hide their outrage with what has occurred, and each of them tried to communicate his position on the matter. Nikolai Kondratenko, former governor of the Krasnodar […]

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Russia may create Arctic oil and gas field reserve

Map of Barents Sea and Polar Environs

MOSCOW. Feb 20 (Interfax) – Russia would form a reserve of oil and gas fields in its Arctic zone under a proposal contained in the Strategy for Development of Russia’s Arctic Zone and Ensuring National Security to 2020 published on the government website on Wednesday. The fund would help guarantee the nation’s energy security and ensure the steady development of […]

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