MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti) Photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin striding manfully through the countryside with his shirt off have over the years drawn much admiration and ridicule, as well as suspicion they were posed public relations stunts aimed at showing the leader in macho mode. But a Kremlin spokesman tried to scotch such speculation in an interview […]
» Read more
(Government.ru – January 22, 2014) Dmitry Medvedev sat for an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. Christiane Amanpour: Let me start by asking you about the Sochi Olympics. This is a moment of great pride for Russia, great anticipation for the world’s athletes. And yet you have a major security threat and major security alert that your government and security forces […]
» Read more
TULA. Jan 21 (Interfax) – The Future Research Fund should not chase rainbows and have scientific and technological illusions in the selection of projects it will support, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. He added that the Fund “should be looking over the horizon.” “It is important to avoid straight repetition of even promising solutions in the selection of projects. As […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 21, 2014) Investigators have summoned opposition leader Boris Nemtsov for questioning over complaints that his report about supposed tax-dodging by 16 pro-Kremlin lawmakers in Yaroslavl had violated their privacy, Nemtsov said. A United Russia deputy from the Yaroslavl regional legislature, Mikhail Krupin, had demanded that investigators charge Nemtsov with “disclosure of confidential information” over […]
» Read more
(opendemocracy.net – Dmitry Travin – January 22, 2014) Dmitry Travin is Research Director at the European University in St. Petersburg’s Centre of Modernization Studies. Global attention is focused on Russia’s hosting of the Winter Olympics, a PR coup for President Putin. But all is not well on the economic front and the scenario the Russian government will probably choose going […]
» Read more
(Interfax – Moscow, January 16, 2014) The need to design a single Russian history textbook has arisen because there are many teaching aids containing “ideological junk”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “The most important thing was that, under the system of certification of, let us say, teaching materials that went to schools, there occurred things that were absolutely unacceptable not […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 21, 2014) The Justice Ministry has denied registration to opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s People’s Alliance political party, citing the existence of another organization with the same name. People’s Alliance members said they were planning to meet with Justice Ministry officials on Tuesday to discuss the government’s repeated rejections of their movement’s registration requests, Itar-Tass […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, January 20 (RIA Novosti) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s electoral rating rose in December, returning to 2000s levels, a new opinion poll by the independent Levada Center showed. Asked whom they would vote for if a presidential election took place next Sunday, 68 percent of respondents said they would vote for Putin, up 10 percent from figures in December […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Vladimir Kozlov, special to RBTH – January 19, 2014) From portraits to fridge magnets to video games, Putin’s image has become a commercial venture. Portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin are staples in the offices of state officials of various ranks across the country. But his images can be also found on various […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 17, 2014) More than half of Russians do not support slogans directed against President Vladimir Putin, a Levada Center poll shows. Twenty-four percent said they always disapprove of slogans like “Putin must go!” and “Russia without Putin!,” and 32 percent said they were more likely not to support them, according to the poll, published […]
» Read more
(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief – January 17, 2014) The Russian State Duma currently appears to be keen on returning the “against all” option on all election ballots, except for presidential elections and this is a good thing. Critics say that reintroducing the option will only benefit the ruling United Russia party, by chipping away […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – January 19, 2014) Ahead of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, the Russian President gave an interview to reporters from BBC, ABC News, CCTV, Rossiya-1, Channel One, and Around the Rings. The interview was recorded in Sochi on January 17. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: It seems to me that you know everything about the coming Olympics and I […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nikolay Surkov, RBTH – January 20, 2014) Russia will welcome all participants and guests of the Sochi Olympics irrespective of their sexuality, President Vladimir Putin has said to domestic and foreign media President Vladimir Putin is promising that Sochi’s Olympic Games will be a success and the world will see what a great […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was too early to speak on whether he would run for his fourth term in 2018, but clinging to power by all means would be unwise. “It’s only 2014 and we will have elections in 2018. What we need to do now is work, and then we will […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, January 16 (RIA Novosti) Sweeping anti-terrorism legislation presented to Russia’s parliament this week is expected to undergo a first reading in February, but a government-linked rights watchdog called Thursday for a comprehensive review to ensure it does not violate any constitutional principles. Bills presented Wednesday to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, include measures to broaden […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – January 17, 2014) President Vladimir Putin on Thursday defended planned standardized history textbooks, lashing out at some current teaching materials that he said criticize the Soviet Union’s role in World War II. The state textbooks, proposed by Putin last year, are expected to replace many alternative editions that exist now and will […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexey Mikheev, special to RBTH – January 16, 2014) Anti-Kremlin protest movements add new trends to Russia’s colloquialisms. In December 2011, a series of antigovernment protests were held in Moscow, giving rise to a protest movement that has since significantly replenished the Russian political vocabulary. The opposition movement chose the white ribbon as […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – January 17, 2014) Russian MPs want to step up counterterrorism measures to include more control over what the Internet. The powers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) will be expanded, electronic payments in the Russian segment of the Internet will come under stricter regulations and, overall, state control […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Oliver Staley, Henry Meyer and Stepan Kravchenko – January 14, 2014) Yulia Nelyubina is an internationally recognized chemist at the Russian Academy of Sciences. An overhaul of the academy pushed through by President Vladimir Putin may leave her homeless and further damage the country’s already bruised science establishment. The changes mean the academy will lose control […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, January 13 (RIA Novosti) Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny rejected an allegation from investigators Monday that he had breached a court order not to leave Moscow. The Investigative Committee threatened Monday to seek tighter restrictions on Navalny, who is facing embezzlement charges, if he again violated an alleged undertaking not to leave Moscow. It claimed that he had […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, January 14 (RIA Novosti) The Russian defense industry will create its own “news factory” to offset the “Russophobic” produce of state-owned television channels, a senior official said. Russian television revels in vulgarity and sensationalism, and its makers show “disdain for everything created by domestic labor and Russia’s great culture,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is responsible […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – January 14, 2014) The State Duma in the coming months will focus on legislation that will provide “stability” for businesses at a time of “extremely challenging” economic circumstances in Russia, Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Tuesday. “Today, almost in every strategic direction of the country’s development there are additional risks. They stem […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 13, 2014) Though he may lack the Twitter following of his tech-obsessed Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin was social media star over the weekend, as a “selfie” photo of the president and a young boy made the rounds on the Internet. [https://twitter.com/koffboy/status/422411344927653888] The picture of an unidentified boy and Putin was published […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, January 12 (RIA Novosti) Russian President Vladimir Putin has been named the third most admired person in the world, behind Microsoft founder Bill Gates and US President Barack Obama, according to a new poll for The Times. The newspaper reported that Putin’s popularity among Russians helped him secure the third place on the list. The poll conducted in […]
» Read more
(Moscow News/RIA Novosti – Oleg Sukhov – January 13, 2014) Russian lawmakers are considering a measure to restore the “against all” option on ballots in elections. The initiative seeks to reinstate the opportunity for voters to oppose all the candidates running in municipal, regional and parliamentary elections. The measure is backed by Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the upper house […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Andrei Shary and Claire Bigg – January 9, 2014) A prominent theologian who claims to have outed a powerful “gay lobby” within the Russian Orthodox Church says he now fears being defrocked over his allegations. The allegations by Deacon Andrei Kurayev, a firebrand missionary who taught at the Orthodox Moscow Theological Academy, are potentially damaging and […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – January 9, 2014) Russia’s regional administrative division is complicated. There are regions, territories, republics, and federal districts. All these are formally equal under the constitution, but in reality there are considerable differences. Experts say this complex state administration system is a legacy of the Russian Empire and the Soviet […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 9, 2014) Support in the city of Moscow for Vladimir Putin’s new conservative message has always seemed “insincere,” according to a Russian commentator. But in ethnic Russian regions, that message has been warmly echoed by the actions of national conservative groups. In an essay on the Svobodnaya pressa portal yesterday, Vladislav […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 8, 2014) Two groups in the Russian opposition which are often lumped together the committed democrats and oligarchs who use democratic phraseology and even tactics to pursue wealth and the division of power — in fact are distinct, have very different goals, and often find themselves in conflict, according to […]
» Read more
(Russia in Global Affairs – eng.globalaffairs.ru – Valery Tishkov – December 27, 2013 Valery Tishkov is Academician-Secretary in the History and Philology Department at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is Director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, and a Member of the Presidential Council on Inter-Ethnic Relations. Resume: Some political scientists believe there is no common nation in […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 7, 2013) From the point of view of both international law and the critical needs of the peoples of the Russian Federation, Vadim Belotserkovsky argues, the new Russian law imposing criminal penalties for the “‘propaganda of separatism’” is the real crime because it undermines “the inalienable right of peoples to self-determination.” […]
» Read more
Moscow, January 7, Interfax – President Vladimir Putin has greeted Orthodox Christians, all Russian citizens celebrating Christmas, the Kremlin press service reported on Tuesday. “This lightsome holiday nourishes the kindest of feelings and intensions and serves to unite millions of people on the basis of common spiritual values and historical traditions of which mutual respect and accord, mercy and care […]
» Read more
[scroll down for video] (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 7, 2014) Police detained two dozen protesters who gathered in central Moscow on Monday to demand the release of opposition activists from prison and to denounce the publicity stunts meant to boost Russia’s image ahead of the Sochi Olympic Games. The protesters gathered on Manezhnaya Square on Russian Christmas Eve, […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 6, 2014) Almost 95 percent of Russian television viewers saw the traditional New Year’s address by President Vladimir Putin, according to preliminary data from media research firm TNS Russia. This year’s address differed starkly from previous years in that it was delivered in two versions, the initial one recorded in the Kremlin and broadcast […]
» Read more
(Pravda.ru – Nadezhda Alekseeva) Europe is moaning under the strong influx of immigrants, and the floodgates were opened by European socialists. A poisonous bite of suicidal tolerance has dulled the natural instinct of self-preservation of the European nations. In recent years, Euro-socialism has been trying to take root on the Russian soil, so far without much success. Does it have […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 1, 2013) President Vladimir Putin’s “conservatism” is a combination of the ideas of the Russian radical right of the early 20th century and Stalin’s notions of “traditional values” which the dictator used to cover repression and fool the west, according to a Moscow commentator. In short, Pavel Protsenko argues in “Yezhednevny […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Robert Coalson – January 1, 2014) At a press conference back in September, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a seemingly throwaway remark that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could avoid outside military intervention by giving up all his chemical weapons. The same day, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin seized the diplomatic initiative by calling on his […]
» Read more
(Interfax – January 1, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin has been named the person of the year again, Putin is first in popularity ratings since 1999, sociologists of the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) told Interfax citing a poll held. The survey was held on December 7-8 in 43 Russian regions in 100 cities, towns and villages and involved 1,500 respondents. […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Dec 30 (Interfax) – The Republican Party of Russia-PARNAS (RPR-PARNAS) may split up in the near future, says a statement made by some members of the RPR political board on Monday. “If we cannot consolidate the three components of the party, the issue of RPR’s restoration in its classical shape as a liberal, democratic, opposition, responsible and professional party […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – December 31, 2013) Vladimir Putin welcomed in the New Year in Khabarovsk together with residents of the Far East who have suffered from devastating flooding. In Khabarovsk, the President delivered his New Year’s Address to the Nation. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Friends, The New Year of 2014 is almost here: in a few moments, we will take […]
» Read more
MAGADAN/KHABAROVSK, December 31 (RIA Novosti) Russian President Vladimir Putin broke with tradition this December 31 and delivered two New Year’s speeches instead of one. In a pre-recorded New Year’s address to Russians shown on television minutes before midnight in Russia’s easternmost Kamchatka region, Putin outlined the priorities for the coming year. “Next year, a lot needs to be done […]
» Read more
(opendemocracy.net/Chatham House – Roderic Lyne – December 25, 2013) Sir Roderic Lyne served as British Ambassador to Russia from January 2000 until August 2004, when he retired from the Diplomatic Service after 34 years. He now works as a consultant, principally advising businesses on Russia and the CIS. He was a member of the Chilcot Enquiry. Experts agree modernisation and […]
» Read more
(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – December 30, 2013) From the sudden release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky to the tragic events in Volgograd, here are 10 top headline grabbers for 2013 according to The Moscow News staff. 1. Khodorkovsky bombshell President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suddenly pardon oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was possibly the most unexpected news of the year. After two […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, December 28 (RIA Novosti) More than a half of Russians said they will remember 2013 as a successful year for them, an independent pollster said on Saturday. A total of 51 percent said the year was successful for them, 24 said it was unsuccessful and 25 percent had no answer. However, 30 percent said that this year was […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm – December 30, 2013) Michael Bohm is opinion page editor of The Moscow Times. Looking back at the main events that shaped Russia over the past 12 months, it is clear that 2013 will go down in history as President Vladimir Putin’s “anti-year.” It was in 2013 that the powers that be not […]
» Read more
(opendemocracy.net – Tanya Lokshina – December 24, 2013) Tanya Lokshina is Russia Program Director at Human Rights Watch The amnesty, presidential pardon and resulting ‘celebrity releases’ might understandably overshadow the rest of 2013, says Tanya Lokshina. But it’s far too early to suggest they underpin a significant improvement in the rights situation in Russia. What will we remember about 2013? […]
» Read more
(Kremlin.ru – December 27, 2013) An official New Year reception was held in the Kremlin Palace on behalf of the President of Russia. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good evening, friends, We have an excellent tradition of meeting in the Kremlin on the eve of the New Year. Such receptions are considered official events; however, I hope you are in […]
» Read more
(Interfax – December 28, 2013) As many as 26 percent of Russians interviewed by the Levada Center sociological service have once again described Russian President Vladimir Putin as the person of the year in a December 2013 poll. Putin has been found the person of the year in all polls conducted by the Levada Center since 1999. Defense Minister Sergei […]
» Read more
(opendemocracy.net – Richard Sakwa – December 27, 2013) Richard Sakwa is professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent, England. Among his books are Putin: Russia’s Choice (Routledge, 2nd edition, 2007) and Russian Politics and Society (Routledge, 4th edition, 2008) Russia today is a hybrid state, combining democratic institutions with authoritarian practices, which coexist in a continual […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, December 29 (RIA Novosti) Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law would make spreading separatist views a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in jail. Under the law submitted to the Russian State Duma by the Communist Party, people will face a fine of up to 300,000 rubles ($9,200) for calling for action aimed against Russia’s […]
» Read more