Tag: Putin
The Monster Under The Kremlin
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – May 19, 2016) At first glance, the massive shoot-out at Moscow’s Khovanskoye Cemetery this past weekend seemed pretty retro. What, after all, reminds us more of the 1990s than rival Russian gangs staging a deadly brawl in a turf war over control of the lucrative burial business? What is more reminiscent of the […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of the Commission for Monitoring Targeted Socioeconomic Development Indicators
(Kremlin.ru – May 16, 2016) The meeting discussed the state of progress in implementing the instructions set out in the presidential executive orders of May 2012. The agenda included, in particular, issues pertaining to staffing the healthcare system with qualified personnel, development of supplementary education for children, and raising the quality of public services, including in the housing and utilities […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin] State Council meeting on construction sector and urban planning development
(Kremlin.ru – May 17, 2016) Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the State Council in the Kremlin on developing the construction sector and improving urban planning. The meeting agenda included measures to develop the construction sector, including by implementing investment projects, introducing new technology, harmonising construction legislation and applying public-private partnership mechanisms. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues, […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting on defence industry development
(Kremlin.ru – May 13, 2016) Vladimir Putin held this week’s final meeting with Defence Ministry leadership and defence industry representatives. The meeting covered the current tasks of the defence industry, specifically, mobilisation readiness of defence industry companies. Another issue on the agenda was the deployment of the US missile defence system in Eastern Europe. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK TASS: “Kremlin makes no decision on increasing taxes in Russia after 2018”
NEWSLINK Gordon Hahn: “The Present Stability of Putin’s ‘Sistema'”
NEWSLINK Russia Direct: “To understand Putin’s popularity, visit Russia’s industrial heartland. Book Review: Far from Moscow and St. Petersburg, former NPR correspondent Anne Garrels brings readers closer to the “real Russia” with her new book Putin Country”
RBTH: What problems has the Syrian operation revealed in the Russian army?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Russian campaign in Syria has highlighted a number of problems with the armed forces that need to be addressed. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – NIKOLAI LITOVKIN, RBTH – May 13, 2016) At a meeting with military officials and heads of the military-industrial complex on May 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin […]
» Read morePutinism won’t end with a bang, but a warrant; New charges concerning several leading Russian officials reveal the greatest threat to the Kremlin’s hold on power – elite corruption.
(opendemocracy.net – Mark Galeotti – May 10, 2016) Mark Galeotti is currently Professor of Global Affairs at New York University and a visiting fellow at the ECFR, although from August he will be principal director of the Mayak Intelligence consultancy in Prague and senior researcher at the Czech Institute for International Relations. He blogs on Russian security affairs at In […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Interview with the French Newspaper Le Figaro
(Kremlin.ru – October 26, 2000) Question: Thank you for finding the time to meet with us. Vladimir Putin: Thank you. I think it is important that on the eve of our visit to Paris your readers find out the answers to the wide range of questions you are going to ask me. Question: French readers have long been interested in […]
» Read morePutin: We will break any blockade
(Interfax – May 11, 2016) Russian President Vladimir Putin said the power blockade of Crimea was broken within a short period of time and any other blockade against Russia will be broken in the same way. “The newest technologies were used here, the work, intensive work was done. As a result, the power blockade of Crimea was broken within a […]
» Read morePutin walks fiscal tightrope; deficits seen to 2020
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – ANDRE TARTAR AND OTT UMMELAS – May 7, 2016) If the Russian government’s in-house forecaster is right that muted oil prices are here to stay, budget deficits will stretch to the end of this decade, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Under the Economy Ministry’s projection that oil will average $40 a barrel through 2019, […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “No, Putin did not call Donald Trump ‘a genius'” – Washington Post/Glenn Kessler
“‘I think he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] said some really nice things. He called me a genius. He said Trump’s a genius. Okay. So, you know, that’s nice.’” Click here for Washington Post/Glenn Kessler: “No, Putin did not call Donald Trump ‘a genius’”
» Read moreInterfax: Putin views fair competition during parliamentary election as basis for building confidence in authorities among citizens
ST PETERSBURG. April 29 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has reaffirmed that the State Duma election to be held this autumn must be characterized by a fair and competitive campaign. “You understand perfectly that it is of the utmost importance for this campaign to be spared violations and proceed in an absolutely competitive and fair contest,” Putin said at […]
» Read moreRussians, Their Guns And the State
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – April 29, 2016) U.S. gun enthusiasts live in constant fear of the federal government confiscating their weapons. For Russian gun owners, such a fear may be about to become a reality. On April 14, President Vladimir Putin, announced the formation of a new National Guard, and declared one of its key fuctions […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting with members of Legislators’ Council
(Kremlin.ru – April 29, 2016) Vladimir Putin took part in a meeting of the Federal Assembly’s Council of Legislators timed for the Day of Russian Parliamentarianism and the 110th anniversary of Russia’s first State Duma. The meeting at the Tauride Palace is attended by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and speakers of regional parliaments. President […]
» Read moreEx-minister joins Putin’s economic policy advisors
(Interfax – April 30, 2016) Russia’s former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has been appointed deputy head of President Vladimir Putin’s Economic Council, Interfax news agency reported. The decree to this effect has been published on the Russian presidential website, Interfax noted. Earlier, Kudrin became head of the Centre for Strategic Research think-tank, Interfax added. He told reporters at the time […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Economic Pain Reveals Limits to Putin’s Power” – New York Times
Pikalevo, about three hours east of St. Petersburg, and the rest of Russia are now mired in the country’s longest recession since … Putin came to power at the end of 1999, with the World Bank warning … that the nation’s poverty rate would increase this year to 14.2 percent of the population, “undoing nearly a decade’s worth of gains.” […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK TASS: “Putin congratulates Russians on Orthodox Easter”
Putin’s Decade-Old Dream Realized as Russia to Price Its Own Oil
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Eduard Gismatullin – April 27, 2016) Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the verge of realizing a decade-old dream: Russian oil priced in Russia. The nation’s largest commodity exchange, whose chairman is Putin ally Igor Sechin, is courting international oil traders to join its emerging futures market. The goal is to increase revenue from Urals crude […]
» Read moreCan Putin and Poroshenko agree on sending peacekeepers to the Donbass?
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has said he would be willing to send a police mission to Ukraine’s war-torn Donbass region. Earlier, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had expressed his desire to deploy armed OSCE observers in the area. But are the leaders not speaking of different things even though their statements may sound similar? (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru […]
» Read morePublic support for Putin’s job performance remains at 82%
(Interfax – April 27, 2016) Eighty-two percent of Russians are satisfied with the work of Vladimir Putin as Russian President; 17 percent are not, the Levada Center told Interfax after an April survey. The indicator remains virtually unchanged since the beginning of the year: in January and March, 82 percent were content with Putin’s performance, in February – 81 percent. […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “KPIs For The Public Service Sector: A Fig Leaf Of A Real Change.” – Moscow Times/Oleg Buklemishev
… It has been announced that … Putin would himself be heading a special commission on government reform …. his commission, initially the idea of … Medvedev, will be tasked with developing new work approaches and key performance indicators (KPIs) for the Russian public sector. … in 2004, the authorities also tried to eliminate inefficiencies in the work of state agencies, develop performance benchmarks, and redistribute powers between federal, state and local […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Newsweek: “PUTIN IS EXPLOITING MIGRANT CRISIS, SAYS OBAMA”
Interfax: Putin calls ‘media attacks’ a reaction to the consolidation of Russia
(Interfax – April 25, 2016) Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that media attacks on Russia were the reaction to the country’s strengthening, its capability to protect own interest. “You are right, this is surely the reaction of our opponents (let’s call them this way) to the consolidation of the country. It’s just that such a player, who is independent, sovereign, […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “New Russian Security Force Will Answer to Vladimir Putin. The Russian Guard is being formed ahead of coming parliamentary elections.” – Wall Street Journal
The Kremlin is creating a new internal security force that answers directly to … Putin, ahead of parliamentary elections. … the new force … the Russian Guard, will be headed by Viktor Zolotov, who served as Mr. Putin’s personal bodyguard for 13 years. … Putin directed the creation of the force … through an executive order … under review by […]
» Read morePutin Badly Needs a Domestic Plan
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – April 22, 2016) The Russian government has approved a sober, and sobering, economic forecast for the next three years. The country’s prospects look so joyless that President Vladimir Putin may finally start listening to the mainstream economists who have stuck with him despite his unconcealed preference for a huge public sector tempered with […]
» Read moreRussians Will Stop Supporting Putin Only When They See His Weakness, Yakovenko Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, April 24, 2016) Given the longstanding servility of the Russian people, Vladimir Putin can be deprived of popular support only by showing how weak he in fact is, according to commentator, something that requires the opposition within Russia to unite and the West to reduce to a minimum any contacts with him. […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Time Magazine/Stephen Sestanovich: “TIME 100 LEADERS. Vladimir Putin.”
NEWSLINK Intersection/Tatiana Stanovaya: “Are the Russian authorities ready for revolution? The regime is not ready for mass repressions yet, although the toolkit is already being assembled”
NEWSLINK European Council on Foreign Relations/Nikolay Petrov: “Putin’s downfall: The coming crisis of the Russian regime.The current trajectory of the Russian regime is unstable and without dramatic change it will crumble within the next year, according to a leading Russia specialist”
RBTH: Why are Russians so eager to talk to Putin in person?
A constant feature of Vladimir Putin’s reign as Russian leader, his “Direct Line” TV phone-in may appear to be inconsistent with his image as an inaccessible ruler. But the president’s annual Q&A session is merely a modern-day incarnation of an ancient tradition. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – GEORGY BOVT, SPECIAL TO RBTH – April 19, 2016) The author […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK AP: “Jewish Leader Thanks Putin for Fighting Anti-Semitism”
NEWSLINK Valdai Discussion Club/Anatol Lieven: “OBAMA’S FOREIGN POLICY DOCTRINE. UKRAINE AND RUSSIA. PART 2”
NEWSLINK Vox/Mark Galeotti: “The Putin myth: the Russian leader isn’t nearly as powerful as you think.”
NEWSWATCH: “Will the Putin Regime Crumble? Foreign Affairs’ Brain Trust Weighs In.”- Foreign Affairs
… the May/June 2016 issue of Foreign Affairs … deals with Russia’s future. … we approached dozens of authorities with deep specialized expertise relevant to the question at hand, together with a few leading generalists …. Participants were asked to state whether they agreed or disagreed with a proposition and to rate their confidence level …. : Vladimir Putin will […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Perpetual Geopolitics. Putin Returns to the Historical Pattern.” – Foreign Affairs/Stephen Kotkin
For half a millennium, Russian foreign policy has been characterized by soaring ambitions that have exceeded the country’s capabilities. Beginning with … Ivan the Terrible … Russia managed to expand at an average rate of 50 square miles per day for hundreds of years, eventually covering one-sixth of the earth’s landmass. * * * Throughout, the country has been haunted […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “An Earful for Vladimir Putin in Latest ‘Direct Line’ Call-In Show” – Wall Street Journal/Stephen Sestanovich
The discussion had a darker undercurrent. The system is rigged, many said, and those who have power abuse it. … Putin was asked why more political parties aren’t permitted so that United Russia faces some meaningful competition, and why … Kadyrov, Chechnya’s strongman leader, whom … Putin supports, is allowed to threaten political opponents with assassination. … Putin heard how […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Russia. Down But Not Out. Part I.” – Foreign Affairs/Maria Lipman, Sergei Guriev, Daniel Treisman, Katie Allawala
Over the past decade and a half, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has been an economic dynamo and a basket case, an imperfect democracy and a tightening tyranny, a constructive diplomatic actor and a serial military aggressor—sometimes all at once. The only constant has been surprise, as the zigging and zagging has left outside observers, and even many Russians, scratching their heads. […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Russia: Down But Not Out.” – Foreign Affairs [issue table of contents with links]
Foreign Affairs foreignaffairs.com May/June 2016 issue Putin’s Russia Down But Not Out https://www.foreignaffairs.com/issues/2016/95/3 [There is limited access to free articles] Russia’s Perpetual Geopolitics Putin Returns to the Historical Pattern Stephen Kotkin Russian Politics Under Putin The System Will Outlast the Master Gleb Pavlovsky Russia’s Constrained Economy How the Kremlin Can Spur Growth Sergei Guriev The Revival of the Russian Military […]
» Read morePutin Swears Off Stimulus as Policy Mix Moves Toward ‘Orthodoxy’
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anna Andrianova – April 17, 2016) It was by no means the showstopper of President Vladimir Putin’s annual call-in with Russians, complete as it was with digs at the U.S. and justice dispensed on live television. Two days after Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina urged reforms and warned against the “big illusion” of using inflation […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Answers to journalists’ questions following the Direct Line
(Kremlin.ru – April 14, 2016) Vladimir Putin met with journalists and answered their questions following the Direct Line. Question: Was it not daunting to face so many serious problems and pressing questions? President of Russia Vladimir Putin: No. Question: Why do you say that? Vladimir Putin: This is my work, what my colleagues and I are expected to do. You […]
» Read moreWere the Panama Papers Planted? Who Cares.
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – April 15, 2016) Last week, a respected Russia scholar in the U.S. speculated that the Kremlin might be behind the so-called Panama Papers, the big dump of data about offshore accounts that has implicated several countries’ officials in shady dealings. And on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin of Russia blamed the U.S. for the […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Carnegie Moscow/Tatyana Stanovaya: “Putin, the Caring Candidate”
NEWSLINK Forbes/Mark Adomanis: “Vladimir Putin’s Approval Rating Appears To Have Peaked”
NEWSLINK TASS: “Form of cooperation between Kudrin, government suits both sides – Putin”
Former Finance Minister in Line for Top Position at Putin’s Think Tank
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anastasia Bazenkova – April 13, 2016) Former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has been offered a senior position at Russia’s main think tank on economic policy and may participate in the development of a new economic strategy for the Kremlin. On Tuesday, Kudrin announced he would accept an offer to take a senior position at Russia’s […]
» Read moreWhat I Learned On Russian Television
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – The Daily Vertical: Brian Whitmore – April 15, 2016) I learned a lot more about the poor quality of Russian dairy products yesterday than I would care to know. I also learned that wages aren’t being paid, people can’t afford to buy medicine or pay utilities bills, that schools, kindergartens, and hospitals are being closed, that […]
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