Tag: Politics

Ex-MP Glushchenko will be charged with Galina Starovoitova’s murder – lawyer

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

ST. PETERSBURG. Nov 7 (Interfax) – Investigators are preparing to charge former Russian parliamentarian Mikhail Glushchenko with masterminding the assassination of State Duma member Galina Starovoitova in 1998, Glushchenko’s lawyer Alexander Afanasyev told Interfax on Thursday. “Both defense lawyers representing Mikhail Ivanovich [Glushchenko] were officially notified that at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow he will be charged under Part 3 of Article […]

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Investigative Committee Seeks to Formalize Criminality of Tax Avoidance

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 6, 2013) The Investigative Committee has developed a bill criminalizing tax optimization transactions, Vedomosti reported Wednesday. The proposed bill is set to amend the Tax Code by introducing definitions for “imaginary” and “fictitious” financial transactions. These terms refer to transactions which business either did not complete, or have completed, but fudged the description and […]

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The writing on the wall?

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(opendemocracy.net – Daniil Kotsyubinsky – November 5, 2013) Daniil Kotsyubinsky is a Russian historian and journalist based in St. Petersburg On Friday, a Russian news agency had its publishing licence revoked, supposedly for publishing two ‘profane’ Youtube clips. For Daniil Kotsyubinsky, however, the episode was but the latest example of a ‘summary execution’ ­ intended as a warning to any […]

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Interfax: Russian March assesses degree of public discontent – policy expert

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

MOSCOW. Nov 5 (Interfax) – The relative serenity of the Russian March was based on the wish of its organizers to avoid “rocking the boat” and instead to assess public sentiment about migration and inter-ethnic relations, policy expert Nikolai Mironov said. “It seems the March organizers did not want to disturb the peace. I think it was a test; they […]

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Interfax: Almost half of Russians approve of national development course – poll

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

MOSCOW. Nov 6 (Interfax) – Almost half of Russians (46%) approve of the course of national development taken by Vladimir Putin after his return to the presidency, Levada Center told Interfax. This course is mostly supported by women (50% vs. 41% of men), young citizens aged from 18 to 24 (55%), people with secondary education (52%) and residents of cities […]

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Ethnic Affairs Ministry Mulled as Anti-Migrant Sentiment Rises

Migrants, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Population Disaster, Demographics, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia
Migrant Workers file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – November 6, 2013) A day after hundreds of detentions at numerous nationalist rallies across the country, media reports circulated Tuesday that the government is considering creating an interethnic relations ministry to keep tensions under control. Immigration has dominated the Russian media landscape since thousands took part in a nationalist riot in the […]

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Russian March: Scattered, divided, leaderless

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia
Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Moscow News – – Anna Arutunyan, Editor and Correspondent at themoscownews.com – November 5, 2013) According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, nationalism is defined as “loyalty and devotion to a nation; a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above others.” National Day of Unity on November 4 has become an annual venue where nationalists across the spectrum can gather together […]

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Interfax: Pussy Riot’s Tolokonnikova still en route to new jail – human rights commissioner

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

(Interfax – November 5, 2013) Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, one of the convicted performers of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot, who is currently being transported to a new penitentiary, is feeling well and eating properly, Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin told Interfax on Tuesday. “Acting at the request of several human rights campaigners, I got in touch with the administration […]

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Dueling Russian Poets Keep Putin in Power

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Oleg Kashin – November 3, 2013) Oleg Kashin is a Russian journalist living in Geneva. In Russia, a poet is more than a poet. The strong feelings revealed in a recent national argument over two bards — Yevgeny Yevtushenko, long emigrated to the U.S., and Joseph Brodsky, who died in 1996 — might even help explain […]

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Russian Nationalism Never Linked with Liberalism, Moscow Scholar Says

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

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, November 4, 2013) Unlike its counterparts in Europe and other parts of the world and despite the hopes of many inside Russia and beyond, Russian nationalism has never a partner of liberalism, the result of its different origins and evolution, according to Vladimir Malakhov, a senior scholar at the Institute of Philosophy […]

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Opposition leader Navalny not to take part in nationalist Russian March

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia
Alexei Navalny file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, November 2, 2013) Opposition activist Aleksey Navalnyy will not take part in the “Russian March” in Moscow on 4 November, he wrote in his LiveJournal (blog). “I still support the ‘Russian March’ as an idea and an event, I am willing to give it information support and or some other support, but in the new situation I […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Medvedev at] 2nd Moscow International Forum, Open Innovations

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Government.ru – October 31, 2013) Dmitry Medvedev’s address to the plenary meeting: Addressing the plenary meeting of the 2nd Moscow International Forum, Open Innovations Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, Mr Katainen (Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen of Finland), Mr Ayrault (Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault of France), the first thing I heard was: What can governments do to support innovation? I think the […]

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Continuity is crucial to Russia’s further development – Kremlin official

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Sergei Ivanov, adapted from defense.gov image

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) – Russia will be able to develop further only if it remains committed to the principles of continuity, historical memory and its traditions, presidential chief-of-staff Sergei Ivanov said. “Russia’s further development is possible only if the principle of continuity is followed. A rift affecting historical memory, traditions and conflicts of epoch and generations, which is the […]

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Russians don’t see People’s Unity Day as state holiday – poll

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

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) – Over a half of Russians (54%) see the Day of People’s Unity marked on November 4 as another day off and only 11% celebrate it as “a state holiday that unites the people of Russia and the country as a whole,” according to the Superjob.ru portal. It polled 1,000 respondents on October 17-18. “I see […]

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Interfax: Putin’s performance approved by 64% of Russians – poll

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

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) – As many as 64% of Russians described Vladimir Putin’s work as president positively in October, and 33% said they trust him, the Levada Center sociological service told Interfax in summing up outcomes of a nationwide poll of 1,603 respondents conducted in 130 populated areas in 45 regions on October 25-28. Dmitry Medvedev’s performance as prime […]

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Russian ex-finance minister Kudrin joins Putin’s economic council

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Kudrin file photo

(Interfax – October 31, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Aleksey Kudrin, a former finance minister and deputy prime minister, to the presidium of the presidential economic council, Russian privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 31 October. A decree confirming the membership of the council’s presidium, which included Kudrin’s name, was signed on 31 August, Interfax said, citing an […]

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Grassroots nationalism is commonplace in Russia – Alekseyev

Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia
Lyudmila Alekseyeva file photo

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) – Lyudmila Alekseyeva, chairman of the Moscow Helsinki group and Russia’s oldest human rights activist, believes Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky has crossed the line of aggressive nationalism. “Let’s put barbed wire around Zhirinovsky, not the Caucasus,” Alekseyeva told a press conference on Thursday. Alekseyeva said grassroots nationalism is commonplace in Russia, but some people […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Government Communications Reliably Protected – Spokesman

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, October 30, 2013) The Russian president’s spokesman Dmitriy Peskov thinks that the existing government telecommunications in the country ensure the protection of the security of conversations between the first persons of the country. “We have government telecommunications which ensure the necessary level of confidentiality and security of conversations. And measures to ensure that security is at […]

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Comments by Sergei Ivanov following meeting of the Council for Countering Corruption

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Sergei Ivanov file photo

(Kremlin.ru – October 30, 2013) The Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office spoke with journalists about the results of auditing declarations by civil servants and staff at state corporations, as well as companies with state participation, conducted in 2013. Sergei Ivanov reminded journalists that anticorruption standards apply to all civil servants and officials, certain categories of municipal offices […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian History Gets State-Approved Outline

Education, Academia, History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) ­ A state commission Wednesday issued a draft outline for a line of unified history textbooks to be published in Russia on the Kremlin’s order. The draft will be filed Thursday with President Vladimir Putin, who ordered its creation last February, said a spokesman for the Russian Historical Society. A state tender will then be […]

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Interfax: Unified history textbook concept endorsed, forwarded to president

Education, Academia, History, Soviet Union
File Photo of U.S. Diplomat Teaching Class to Russian Students

MOSCOW. Oct 30 (Interfax) – A concept of a unified history textbook was endorsed at an expanded meeting of the Russian History Society and forwarded to the president for consideration on Wednesday. “Completing the work on the concept and forwarding it to the president in line with his instructions, we are completing only the first stage of the work, and […]

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The Most Important Question in Russia Today – What’s Your Nationality?

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

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 30, 2013) A writer for the official newspaper of the Russian parliament says that today “the most important question” for residents of the Russian Federation is “what’s your nationality?” a question that is not easy for everyone to answer but one which is asked with such insistence that those of mixed […]

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Communists to propose government resignation after November 7 actions

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) – The Russian Communist Party Central Committee Secretariat has backed the proposal of party leader Gennady Zyuganov to set the date for making demand for the government’s resignation after the public events dedicated to the 96th anniversary of the Russian Revolution of 1917, Party Central Committee Secretary Sergei Obukhov said. “The party Secretariat discussed the issue […]

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Interfax: Medvedev welcomes Russia’s 92nd place in Ease of Doing Business ranking

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
Empty Boardroom

GORKI, Moscow region. Oct 29 (Interfax) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has spoken positively of Russia’s progress in the 2013 Ease of Doing Business survey compiled by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. “Absolutely, this movement upwards in the Doing Business rating is a pleasing result for our economy. I hope that this result has been achieved […]

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Navalny’s Bid to Reform Utilities Sector Headed for Rejection

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Electrical Yard file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – October 30, 2013) Two commissions of the Moscow City Duma on Tuesday recommended against registering opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s bid to submit a bill on utilities prices, which he has sought to make the first-ever grassroots initiative considered by legislative authorities in Russia. Navalny wrote on Twitter that the City Duma would […]

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Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russian opposition abandons street protests

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Moscow Protest file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – October 30, 2013) The protest movement in Russia is dwindling and growing old. The march in support of political convicts, which took place in Moscow on Oct. 27, gathered 5,000­7,000 people ­ a remarkable setback compared to what happened a year ago. Experts note that the protest movement in […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Women In Search of a Cause

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Two Babushkas file photo

DEAUVILLE/MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) The first shoots of gender equality came to Russia with the Soviet Union, when women were given an active role in building up the Communist system. In modern Russia, women have increasingly adopted a new role militating for human rights, outside the protection of the state. This evolving role of women in Russian public life […]

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Russians Must Accept Court Decisions as Law – Medvedev

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Dmitry Medvedev file photo

MOSCOW, October 26 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russians must learn to perceive the decisions of courts and investigators as legitimate for the country to develop forward, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in a televised interview Saturday. Answering a question about a high-profile corruption case that has ensnared several top Defense Ministry officials since late last year, Medvedev said that evaluating the […]

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RIA Novosti: ‘Foreign Agent’ NGO Forced to Stop Work in Russia

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
Kremlin and St. Basil's

KOSTROMA, October 29 (RIA Novosti) ­ A Russian rights organization that promoted public initiatives said Tuesday that it was suspending operations because it is unable to pay a $9,000 fine imposed for failing to register as a “foreign agent.” The NGO, based in the central Kostroma Region, said it was able to raise 100,000 rubles ($3,000) to pay a fine […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia to Consider Letting Ex-Convicts Run for Office

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

MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian lawmakers will consider letting people who have been convicted for serious crimes run in elections, on the condition that voters are told about their criminal records. “As it turns out, people’s rights are affected, even though they’ve already been punished,” state lawmaker Sergei Ivanov of the nationalist LDPR party and author of the […]

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Under Putin, Russia Becoming a Third World Country, Nationalists Say

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

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 28, 2013)  Russian nationalists and others have regularly criticized Vladimir Putin for building an economy and hence a state that relies on the export of raw materials rather than the development of industry and investment in human capital. But now two of them have stepped up this attack and argued that […]

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Amnesty will promote civil accord, dialogue between society, authorities – Russian rights activists

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Jail File Photo Showing Outer Wall, Windows, Barbed Wire

MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – The leaders of Russian human rights organizations believe a broad amnesty timed with the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution will help establish effective dialogue between the authorities and civil society. “Will the authorities find the energy to build relations with civil society again” The best way out of this deadlock would be broad amnesty, […]

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Kremlin advises municipal authorities to cooperate with NGOs

Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Sergei Ivanov file photo

MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Russian presidential chief-of-staff Sergei Ivanov has called on the municipal authorities to cooperate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) instead of shunning them. “You should not be afraid of NGOs. Rather, you ought to work together with them,” Ivanov said at a meeting of city mayors and city managers on Thursday. Practice shows that the municipal authorities […]

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Interfax: Democracy is bigger lie than Communism – prominent Orthodox priest

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

MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Protopope Dimitry Smirnov, the head of the patriarch’s commission on family and protection of mothers and children, believes that democracy is based on lies. “It’s just a lie. Communist is also a lie, but Communism has religious features. Communism seems to take a lot from true religions. The Communists have their own teaching, their own […]

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Kremlin official says part of Russian opposition ‘against the country’

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

(Interfax – Snegiri, Moscow Region – October 24, 2013) The Kremlin receives in a positive key the signal from the parliamentary opposition, which is calling for giving priority to ensuring the security of the state and does not support “orange forces” (reference to Ukrainian orange revolution which is seen as backed by the West), according to the head of the […]

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Interfax: Most of opposition members want the best for Russia – Kremlin official

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

SNEGIRI, Moscow region. Oct 24 (Interfax) – The Kremlin has welcomed the parliamentary opposition’s signal indicating its support for national security as a priority and its refusal to back so-called “orange forces”, director of the president’s homeland security directorate Oleg Morozov said. “We have heard the signal sent by the parliamentary systemic opposition, as it is called today, which really […]

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What awaits Russian science? The country’s scholars and scientists are outraged by reforms of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Adaptions of Image from Livermore.gov of Element 118 Atoms

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrey Vaganov, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, special to RBTH – October 25, 2013) A recently passed law on reforming the Russian Academy of Sciences is aimed at segregating scientific research from academic property management. The government argues the move will free science of an irrelevant burden. Academics, for their part, are convinced […]

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Russians differ on whether Russia has opposition – poll

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

MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Forty percent of the respondents surveyed by the Public Opinion Foundation believe Russia has political opposition, 30% believe it does not, and the others were undecided. The poll was conducted in 43 regions of Russia in mid October. It surveys 1,500 respondents. Only 4% of those who believe Russia has political opposition believe it has […]

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Interfax: Kremlin calls candidates’ groundless removal from elections ‘yesterday’s instrument’

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Image of Map of Russia for Polling Place Webcams

SNEGIRI, Moscow region. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Russian electoral authorities, including the Central Election Commission (CEC), have managed to minimize the number of situations where potential candidates are banned from running in elections for no discernable reason, head of the Russian president’s homeland policy directorate Oleg Morozov said. “I would like to thank our colleagues from the CEC and you […]

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Kremlin denies connection between low voter turnout, bad election date

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

MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Vyacheslav Volodin, first deputy head of the presidential administration said he disagrees with the fact that a single voting day, the second Sunday of September this year, was the cause of low voter turnout. “I disagree that September 8 is a day that does not give a high voter turnout,” Volodin said at a meeting […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Authorities Dismiss Punk Rocker’s Jail Abuse Claim

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian investigators will not open a criminal case into allegations by jailed feminist punk rocker Nadezhda Tolokonnikova that a prison official threatened to kill her, a spokesperson for the Investigative Committee said Thursday. “A decision has been taken not to open a criminal case because no crime was committed,” said Natalya Afanasieva, a spokeswoman […]

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New Way of Teaching History to Be Finalized by Next Month

Education, Academia, History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – October 24, 2013)  Government officials, lawmakers and education officials will finalize changes to the way history is taught in schools by Nov. 1, State Duma Deputy Speaker Lyudmila Shvetsova said Wednesday outside a roundtable discussing new state textbooks. New textbooks teaching children of various age groups a consensus opinion about historical events […]

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Russian cynicism: symptom of a stagnant society

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(opendemocracy.net – Lev Gudkov – October 22, 2013) Lev Gudkov is a Russian sociologist, director of the analytical Levada Center and editor-in-chief of the journal The Russian Public Opinion Herald. He is the author of numerous books and articles on sociology and inter-ethnic relations in Russia. Cynicism, originally a philosophy in ancient Greece, is now the prevailing mood in Putinist […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Mayors’ conference and seminar

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

(Kremlin.ru – October 23, 2013) Vladimir Putin spoke at a training seminar for mayors of Russian cities. The event, which took place under the Presidential Executive Office’s aegis, focused on domestic policy issues and modern effective management principles. Excerpts from the speech at the Mayors’ Conference and Seminar PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, colleagues. Today, we are meeting […]

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Russians Remain Culturally Soviet and That is the Source of Their Problems, Academician Says

Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 23, 2013) The failures of Russia today are connected with the fact that everyone in it ­ including the authorities, the population, the church and those separate from the church ­ remain in a cultural sense “Soviet people” with all “the complexes” that entails, according to Academician Yury Pivovarov Pivovarov, director […]

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Putin Makes Local Governors Responsible for Ethnic Relations

Migrants, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Migrant Workers file photo

UFA, October 22 (RIA Novosti) ­ President Vladimir Putin signed a law Tuesday giving local authorities more responsibility for handling relations between ethnic communities in a sign the government is growing nervous at evidence of a surge in nationalist-tinged discontent. Speaking at the Interethnic Relations Council in the Urals town of Ufa, Putin lashed out at local governments for what […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Medvedev at] The 27th session of the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Russia

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Dmitry Medvedev file photo

(Government.ru – October 21, 2013) The FIAC discussed technical regulation issues, the lifting of administrative obstacles, improving customs legislation for investors, the development of the banking sector and financial markets in Russia, trade and the consumer sector, as well as innovations-based development. Dmitry Medvedev’s introductory remarks Transcript: Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, colleagues. It has become a good […]

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Thanks to Putin’s Policies, Russian Federation Will Share Fate of USSR, Borovoy Says

History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Valdai Club 2013 Meeting, Adapted from Screenshot of Valdai Club Video at youtube.com

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 21, 2013) Because Vladimir Putin has reversed the steps Boris Yeltsin took in the direction of federalization and has been able to restore “the empire in the most petty details,” the Russian Federation “inevitably faces” the same fate that the USSR met with in 1991, according to a Russian analyst. In […]

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Life in Biryulevo after the murder and riots

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Biryulyovo Riots file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – October 22, 2013) Russia may have to review its immigration policy in the wake of mass protests and rioting in Moscow. Last week, the southern Moscow district of Biryulevo was gripped by mass protests; the protesters demanded changes to Russian immigration policy. An RBTH correspondent looks at why the […]

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Explainer: Russia’s Prison Amnesty

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

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Claire Bigg – October 19, 2013) The Russian presidential human rights council has presented Vladimir Putin with its proposal for a sweeping prison amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of the country’s adoption of its post-Soviet constitution. Up to one-quarter of the country’s inmates could walk free under the amnesty. Who initiated the planned amnesty? Russian […]

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