(RIA Novosti – December 30, 2014) The head of the Russian Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev, has called for the start of a dialogue on forming a European security architecture on new principles, without national egoism, RIA Novosti (part of the state-owned International News Agency Rossiya Segodnya) reported on 30 December. “It is in our common interests to […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) – Russian Federation Council Chair Valentina Matviyenko has reminded the Federation Council members that the president will present an annual address to the Federal Assembly on December 4. “Both parliamentary chambers will hold a joint session at the Grand Kremlin Palace on December 4 to listen to the president’s address to the Federal Assembly,” Matviyenko told […]
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MOSCOW. Aug 26 (Interfax) – No serious breakthroughs are expected with regard to a peace settlement in eastern Ukraine at the possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Minsk because Poroshenko is guided by the U.S. stance, the Russian Federation Council international affairs committee said. “Washington is not represented at this meeting in Minsk […]
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MOSCOW. July 16 (Interfax) – Members of the Russian Federation Council believe that Ukraine would experience grave socioeconomic consequences from the possible severance of diplomatic relations with Russia. Nikolai Ryzhkov, Federation Council member and the head of a public committee for support of the residents of southeastern Ukraine, described remarks by Ukrainian officials suggesting that Ukraine could sever diplomatic ties […]
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MOSCOW. July 8 (Interfax) – Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko has accused the Ukrainian authorities of unleashing an information campaign against Russia and stated the appearance of political prisoners in Ukraine. “Ukrainian residents are being zombied by claims that this is the fight for a just cause, the fight against Russia which has waged a war and some Hollywood videos […]
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[“No more little green men? Putin takes military option in Ukraine off table” – Christian Science Monitor – Fred Weir- June 24, 2014] The Christian Science Monitor covers Russia’s legislative move to formerly rescind an authorization for additional military intervention in Ukraine. Almost four months after Russia’s upper house of parliament granted Vladimir Putin blanket permission to use military force in Ukraine, […]
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[“Russian lawmakers revoke right to send troops into Ukraine” – Reuters – June 25, 2014] Reuters covers a vote by Russia’s Parliament to formerly rescind a past authorization of military intervention in Ukraine. The legislators acted in response to a directive from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The authorization of force could be reinstated in short order if need be. The Russian parliament […]
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MOSCOW, June 25 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev bears full responsibility for the crisis in southeastern Ukraine, and blaming Moscow for it is “knocking on the wrong door,” the speaker of the upper chamber of Russian parliament said Wednesday. Valentina Matvienko told reporters she was aware of recent media reports about the possibility of economic sanctions against Russia if Moscow fails […]
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MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax) – Peacekeepers may be deployed in Ukraine only with the UN Security Council permission, while the Federation Council has exercised its powers regarding the Armed Forces and allowed the Russian president to send troops to that country, Federation Council Defense and Security Committee Chairman Viktor Ozerov said in an interview with Interfax. There will be no […]
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(Interfax – April 18, 2014) Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko is confident that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not have to use the Federation Council’s permission to send troops to Ukraine for protecting the civilian population. “I am positive that will not be necessary. The Geneva meeting mapped out ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis (…) I very much hope […]
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(Interfax – April 9, 2014) Andrey Klimov, deputy head of the international affairs committee of the Federation Council, has said the US State Department statements about unrest in eastern Ukraine being sponsored by Russia are absurd, Russian privately-owned news agency Interfax reported on 8 April. “Such statements are absolutely groundless and absurd. If Americans use these methods in their work […]
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DONETSK, April 7 (RIA Novosti) – The situation in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Region requires individual examination and is not identical to the Crimean scenario, the deputy chairman of Russia’s upper house of parliament told RIA Novosti on Monday. “The situation [in Donetsk Region] requires separate consideration due to its historic and political background,” Federation Council member Ilyas Ukhmanov said in […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, April 1, 2014) Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko believes that there is no national leader among the candidates registered for the presidential election in Ukraine. “I do not see a single national leader who could unite Ukraine and become a president elected nationwide among the candidates for the Ukrainian presidential post. For the time being I do […]
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MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) – Moscow expects the Federation Council’s consent to send Russian army servicemen to Ukraine to have a sobering effect on many forces in that country. “Speaking of the decision the Federation Council made yesterday, we expect this decision to sober up many and to demonstrate the seriousness of intentions of the Russian Federation,” Russian State Secretary […]
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MOSCOW, March 1 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s upper house of parliament on Saturday approved a request from President Vladimir Putin to use armed force in Ukraine. Putin made the request because of what he said was a threat to the lives of Russian citizens and military forces located in naval bases in Crimea. The Federation Council voted unanimously in support […]
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MOSCOW. Feb 24 (Interfax) – The Federation Council believes that the victory in Kyiv and western Ukraine has been won by radicals and militants and the systemic opposition may soon be pushed aside. “As Maidan [people] refuse to leave and to lay down their arms, it seems the winners think they still have tasks to accomplish. The situation is developing […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, February 11, 2014) The head of the Russian Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, Mikhail Margelov, has accused the European Union of employing double standards. Margelov told Interfax that during his work in PACE he and his colleagues from the Russian delegation acquired strong immunity to double standards in assessments of the same events that are used by […]
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(Interfax – January 29, 2014) The Russian Federation Council believes that the ongoing events in Ukraine are aimed at discrediting and overthrowing the legitimate authorities, says a statement on the situation in Ukraine the Federation Council members unanimously passed on Wednesday. “The Federation Council is concerned about the situation in Ukraine and believes that the mass unrest provoked by the […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, January 22, 2013) Members of the Federation Council have agreed with the position of their colleagues from the lower chamber [of parliament, State Duma], which adopted a statement on the events in Ukraine on Wednesday [22 January]. “The Federation Council cannot stand aloof from the events in Ukraine and we express solidarity with the stance of the […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 24 (Interfax) – Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, has advised against comparing former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was pardoned by the Russian president on December 20 and flew to Berlin immediately after his release from prison, with Soviet writer and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn, whom Matviyenko described as a prominent […]
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(Interfax – December 18, 2013) The so-called Magnitsky List is an utterly unfriendly step regarding Russia and Moscow will take proportionate measures if it is expanded, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said. “I think that this law is an unfriendly step regarding us and does not contribute to improving the climate in our bilateral relations with the United States. […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – A senior Russian lawmaker has praised what, according to President Vladimir Putin, is the “conservative” nature of Russia’s foreign policy. “Not to correct or deny but to continue history is the slogan of modern conservatism, a rational ideology that is appropriate for addressing tasks posed by circumstances,” Mikhail Margelov, head of the Federation Council’s International […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 25 (Interfax) – Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko believes it is wrong to make drastic changes to the fundamental provisions of the Russian Constitution. “I don’t see any need to make amendments to the Constitution. There is no need for it and this issue should be approached very carefully,” Matviyenko said during a meeting with young legislators from […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – September 26, 2013) The Federation Council on Wednesday approved a controversial bill to reform the Russian Academy of Sciences, paving the way for it to be signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, as opponents of the bill protested against it outside the upper house of parliament. The bill has prompted numerous […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, September 24, 2013) If the Federation Council approves the government-backed and Duma-approved plan to restructure the Russian Academy of Sciences, a group of Russian scientists say, this will lead to a weakening or even breakdown of horizontal ties across the country and to “the growth of separatist tendencies.” In an open letter […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 23, 2013) The 2014 budget that is being drafted by Russia’s government is the most austere in years, according to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. “It will be a difficult budget, the most difficult in recent years. It aims to ensure the stable development of Russia in a deteriorating global economic environment,” Medvedev said at a meeting […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) The Russian Federation Council has no more senators with foreign accounts and assets, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said. “Members of the Federation Council have complied with the demands of the federal law banning certain categories of citizens to have foreign accounts and assets. The limitations imposed by the law apply to senators as […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 18, 2013) Russian senators said they proposed waiting for a superior court ruling on the case of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, sentenced in Kirov to five years, and that if there was a political component in the trial, then only that Navalny’s violations had been checked in priority. “It is not a fact that superior agencies […]
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(Moscow Times/RIA Novosti – July 16, 2013) Though the spring session of the upper house of parliament is over, it might not signal an end to the steady stream of wealthy senators who have stepped down as the Kremlin put forward new restrictions on officials owning assets abroad. The nine members of the 166-seat Federation Council who have left since […]
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(Interfax – St. Petersburg, July 10, 2013) The Federation Council is concerned that Russia is losing influence in the post-Soviet space because of the lack of funds to finance Russian NCOs (noncommercial organizations) which work there. Igor Morozov, a member of the Committee on International Affairs, told a Federation Council meeting on Wednesday (10 July) that the European Union and […]
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(Interfax – July 9, 2013) The situation in Syria and its impact on the whole Middle East were the main topics of discussion during a meeting of Russian and American experts in Moscow, privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 9 July. Member of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee Igor Morozov told journalists that the experts met at a Russian-American […]
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(Interfax – ST. PETERSBURG. June 26, 2013) An ad hoc commission of the Federation Council commission will investigate whether foreign security services have been really monitoring the private life of citizens in social networks, Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko said. “We have set up a working group, a commission entrusted with holding parliamentary inquiries. It will find out whether human […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 6, 2013) Valery Shnyakin, military expert and deputy head of the Federation Council committee on international affairs, believes the situation with protests in Turkey will gradually stabilize and will not follow the “Arab spring” scenario. “Turkey is a special country in the Arab world. It’s a secular and democratic state and I think Prime Minister Erdogan […]
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MOSCOW, February 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, approved a bill on Wednesday banning smoking in public places. The ban, which takes effect on June 1, was passed by 125 votes. Four senators voted against the bill and six abstained. The State Duma, the parliament’s lower house, passed the bill in its third and […]
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KAZAN. Feb 13 (Interfax) – Over 50,000 corruption-related crimes were committed in Russia last year, and around 7,000 people were convicted for them, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said. “These figures show that despite all implemented measures, corruption is one of the most burning issues, moreover, it has penetrated all spheres of social life in Russia: authorities, housing services and […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Winning – February 12, 2013) Prominent nongovernmental organizations said Monday that a new bill on volunteerism would stifle their work through increased bureaucracy and unnecessary regulation. At a roundtable organized by the Civic Initiatives Committee, a think tank headed by former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, NGOs said it would be senseless to adopt legislation […]
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[Constitutional changes possible but not yet necessary – Putin – Russia Today – Nov. 30, 2012 – http://rt.com/politics/president-state-mps-government-962/] Russia Today covers Russian President Vladimir Putin’s positions on how members of the Federation Council are chosen. Click here for the full article: http://rt.com/politics/president-state-mps-government-962/
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