(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – May 8, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday berated the Cabinet for poor execution of his landmark decrees where he sought to make good on his campaign promises. He started out a Kremlin meeting by acknowledging several achievements, but then poured cold water on the ministers for most of his speech. The […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 7, 2013) – Almost half of Russian citizens trust Russian President Vladimir Putin more than any other politician and are ready to vote for him again, polls showed. If Russia had presidential elections next Sunday, 48% of Russians would vote for Putin, while other possible candidates currently get less that 10%, the poll, held by the […]
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(Bloomberg editorial – bloomberg.com – May 7, 2013) President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on corruption is vital to Russia’s future. It’s also certain to fail unless he recognizes the shortcomings of his methods. In 2008, under then-President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia began a genuine and somewhat successful effort to bring its corruption laws into the first world. At the same time, the […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, MAY 6, 2013) The first year of Vladimir Putin’s third presidential term was full of events: unexpected resignations, a flood in Krymsk with an unprecedented number of victims, the first Russian APEC summit and the outstanding achievements of the Russian Olympic team. The head of state also continued a number of traditions, having resumed the practice […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Marc Bennetts – May 2, 2013) Marc Bennetts is a British writer and journalist. He lives in Moscow and is author of “Football Dynamo”, a book on modern Russia and football published in 2008. The fertile territories around Voronezh have long been referred to as Russia’s ‘breadbasket’. They also hold the last major nickel reserves in Europe, and […]
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(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Donald N. Jensen – May 2, 2013) It is often argued that Russia’s democratic future is assured by the progressive and pro-Western attitudes of its youth. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, contends that the reality is more complex. […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Anna Sevortian – May 1, 2013) Anna Sevortian is an independent expert who was formerly the Director of Human Rights Watch Russia. Gogol’s government inspector was a figure of fun. Russia’s new government inspectors are anything but funny. At a meeting with FSB leaders on 14 February, Vladimir Putin put an end to any doubts about his intention […]
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(Moscow Times – moscowtimes.com – May 3, 2013) An international media watchdog has called President Vladimir Putin a “predator” of free press and lumped him together with the likes of new Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Italian Mafia. The France-based Reporters Without Borders released an updated list of 39 “Predators of Freedom of Information” for World Press Freedom Day […]
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(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) (transcript conclusion) Moscow MARIA SITTEL: Friends, I want to draw your attention to the fact that we have been on the air for over four hours. Shall we take it into the home stretch? VLADIMIR PUTIN: Let’s. MARIA SITTEL: Mr President, we would like to propose a quick question and answer session, which has become […]
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(RIA Novosti – London, May 1, 2013) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov does not agree with those who believe that Russia is undergoing a period of stagnation. “I cannot see any stagnation; life in Russian is very boisterous and dynamic, very volatile. We have many problems, we have many troubles. Frankly speaking, I would have been glad: it would […]
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(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) (transcript continued) Moscow MARIA SITTEL: We have a culture-related question from Moscow now. Ms Antonova, director of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, is here. You have the floor. DIRECTOR OF THE PUSHKIN STATE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS IRINA ANTONOVA: Mr President, my question also concerns St Petersburg. The matter is that 65 years […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 30, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to consider by June 15 the expediency of restoring a contemporary Western art museum in Moscow. “To consider the expediency of restoring a new (contemporary) Western art museum in Moscow,” say Putin’s instructions given after the Direct Line with Russians. The government’s report on the subject […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Robert LaFranco & Alex Sazonov – May 1, 2013) Alisher Usmanov, Russia’s richest person, moved control of most of his $20 billion fortune last year to a holding company based in the British Virgin Islands, a collection of more than 60 isles 5,600 miles away from Moscow. The company, USM Holdings, controls the billionaire’s most valuable […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Dmitri Travin – April 30, 2013) Dmitri Travin is Research Director at the European University in St. Petersburg’s Centre of Modernization Studies Vladimir Putin has long paid lip service to the notion that his government should address the problem of corruption. Is his new campaign for real, or will it be more of a shootout between corrupt officials […]
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(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) Moscow After the Direct Line programme, Vladimir Putin met with members of the media to answer their questions. QUESTION: Mr President, 85 questions, 85 answers, 85 people this is quite a lot. And all the questions were important. But there were nearly 2.5 million people who asked questions. Will all these questions be organised […]
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(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) (transcript continued) Moscow KIRILL KLEYMENOV: Thank you, Novoshakhtinsky. Thank you, Primorye. Let’s give the opportunity to ask a question to… MARIA SITTEL: Just one second. On the topic of adoption, I have a question from Marina from Vladivostok. Mr President, is it possible to look into the legislative aspects of letting the adopted children access […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas & Irina Reznik – April 29, 2013) President Vladimir Putin rejected calls for fiscal stimulus, limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s options as he races to meet a deadline for submitting a plan to revitalize Russia’s economy. First Deputy Premier Igor Shuvalov said Putin dismissed proposals to aid flagging growth by boosting federal spending at […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 29, 2013) The Russian government has implemented some 73 percent of presidential decrees issued by Vladimir Putin last May, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday. Putin swapped jobs with Medvedev last May, and tasked the government with 218 assignments, including 67 ones scheduled to be carried out within the next seven years. “One […]
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From: Arch Getty <getty@ucla.edu> Subject: Putin and Russian History Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 Putin and Russian History By J. Arch Getty J. Arch Getty is Professor of History at UCLA. He is the author of several books on Russian history, including Practicing Stalinism: Boyars, Bolsheviks and the Persistence of Tradition, forthcoming from Yale University Press. An occupational hazard of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – April 26, 2013) President Vladimir Putin pledged to stay the course on a range of key issues, from macroeconomic policy to the battle with corruption and the composition of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s Cabinet, during a record-breaking live call-in show broadcast on national television on Thursday. The annual show, which lasted an […]
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(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) Moscow Direct Line with Vladimir Putin was broadcast live on Channel One, Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 TV networks and Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii radio stations. During the programme, the President answered more than 85 questions from Russians on the most pressing social and political issues. The total duration of the programme was 4 hours […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – April 26, 2013) This is part of an occasional series. As part of his effort to promote patriotism among younger generations of Russians, President Vladimir Putin has proposed creating a single set of history textbooks for schoolchildren, arguing that there should be more consistency in what students are taught and that textbooks […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 26, 2013) Anatoly Chubais, who oversaw Russia’s mass privatization drive in the 1990s, said on Friday he had always treated allegations that his US advisers at the time were operatives of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as rumors – until President Vladimir Putin said so out loud yesterday. “I often heard those claims and […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – April 26, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his own record with his longest ever annual Q&A meet the people press conference. In just under five hours the president attempted to answer as many of the more than 3m questions submitted by Russians on topics covering the gamut of issues. Widely ridiculed by western […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – April 24, 2013) In the absence of significant economic achievements, Vladimir Putin is trying to consolidate support on the basis of conservative values. Although President Vladimir Putin is still the most popular politician in Russia, the trend is clear: The first year of his third term saw his confidence […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 25, 2013) Russian political analysts have different opinions regarding the likelihood that the government could be dismissed following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks during a traditional annual Q&A session on Thursday. Igor Bunin told Interfax that Putin had apparently gave some more time to the government and no dismissals of individual government ministers should be expected […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova and Alexander Winning – April 25, 2013) The Moscow Times is running a live blog of President Vladimir Putin’s 11th televised call-in show, the first since he returned to the presidency last year. See below for updates from our reporters following the show, which will be broadcast on three federal TV channels […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 25, 2013) Officers of the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency operated as consultants to Anatoly Chubais, the Russian deputy prime minister who oversaw the privatization of the country’s economy in the early 1990’s, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. “In Chubais’ entourage, it has now turned out, CIA officers worked as consultants,” Putin said […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – April 25, 2013) President Vladimir Putin said his methods don’t have anything in common with those of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, and that the trials of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the members of the Pussy Riot feminist punk group were not politically motivated. Putin made the remarks in response to a […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 25, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin set a new record on Thursday for the duration of his annual televised question and answer session, replying to 85 questions in four hours and 47 minutes. This was Putin’s 12th Q&A session, but the first since being re-elected president in 2012. Putin’s very first Q&A session, held on […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Gasyuk, special to RBTH – April 24, 2013) Alexander Gasyuk is Rossiyskaya Gazeta’s Washington Bureau Chief “Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin,” a new book by the Brookings Institution pundits, analyzes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personality instead of surrounding stereotypes RBTH sat down with Fiona Hill, who serves as the director of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – April 23, 2013) President Vladimir Putin has said he expects a list of proposals for spurring the economy to be ready by the middle of next month. The list must contain the often conflicting proposals that Cabinet ministers, Kremlin staff and economists put forward at a meeting Monday, Putin said. He made […]
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(Interfax – SOCHI, April 22, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin said the long-term consequences of the extraordinary measures taken in Cyprus are not known yet. “We see what methods of resolving debt problems are used on specific countries, I mean Cyprus, where the measures that have been taken essentially undermine confidence in the financial system,” Putin told a meeting on […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 18, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual question and answer session is due to start at noon on April 25, the Kremlin press service said. It will be broadcast live on the Channel 1, Rossiya 1 and Rossiya 24 television stations, as well as the Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio of Russia radio stations, it said. […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 19, 2013) The majority of Russians do not see any difference in quality of work of the governments of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, judging by a Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) poll. Some 71% of the respondents told VTsIOM that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s Cabinet was no better and no worse than Putin’s Cabinet. […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. April 18, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted the delegates of the 10th congress of the Russian Union of Journalists, the Kremlin press service said. “Your forum is important both for journalists and public life in Russia as a whole because journalists have always been not just “chroniclers”, but immediate participants in key events of Russian history. […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 17, 2013 – windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/04/window-on-eurasia-putin-isnt-restoring.html) Several recent actions by the Kremlin restoring Soviet-era symbols have led to speculation that Vladimir Putin is returning Russia to the political-economic model of the USSR, but such speculation distracts attention from what the Russian president is really trying to do: generate support for himself among the […]
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(Interfax – April 17, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin is generally “positive” about Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev’s annual speech to the State Duma on the work of the government on 17 April, presidential press secretary Dmitriy Peskov said on the same day, as reported by Russian privately owned Interfax news agency. Putin “on the whole gave a positive assessment of […]
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(RIA Novosti, Moscow, April 17, 2013) The LifeNews (Internet) publication has admitted that it broke some rules when it published President Vladimir Putin’s remarks made at a closed meeting in Kalmykia. However, it thinks that the decision was right and says that the (possible) exclusion of its journalists from the Kremlin pool will not be a problem for the publication. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova, Anatoly Medetsky – April 18, 2013) The Cabinet came under attack from State Duma deputies Wednesday as Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev addressed the lower house of parliament for the first time since taking office. The annual speech, which prime ministers have given since 2009, came as the country teeters on the brink of […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Halia Pavliva – April 16, 2013) Russia is probably already in a recession and monetary policy should be eased to ignite growth, said Ksenia Yudaeva, President Vladimir Putin’s representative to the Group of 20 nations. “The first two months were really bad, external demand change had an impact on Russia and this is why we’ve seen […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 17, 2013) A website leaked a video on Wednesday showing President Vladimir Putin apparently criticizing senior politicians at a meeting with ministers and governors the previous day, just hours before Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev addressed the Russian parliament. The video of the meeting on housing issues, published by Russia’s Life News website, shows Putin asking […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Agnes Lovasz – April 16, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the government to come up with a plan to revive the flagging economy after a minister warned that a recession is possible as companies cut investment and export demand wanes. Putin told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who will address lawmakers tomorrow, to devise steps to […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Loginov – April 15, 2013) Mikhail Loginov is a journalist and novelist based in St Petersburg. He is the author of the recently published bestselling political thriller “Battle for Kremlin”. Broadcaster Vladimir Posner’s ‘slip of the tongue’, calling Russia’s parliament the Dura (fool) instead of the Duma, added yet another slur to the already emasculated body. A […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 16, 2013) Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama will meet twice in the upcoming months for talks aimed at easing tensions amid differences over human rights and other issues. The two presidents have agreed to hold talks on the sidelines of a Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland in June and to meet […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. April 12, 2013) The rare Siberian cranes that took a migration flight with President Vladimir Putin’s motorized deltaplane in the autumn of 2012, have not reintegrated with the wild over diplomats’ failure to come to terms on their hibernation in Uzbekistan, Vedomosti wrote on Friday citing the Flight of Hope project director, Alexander Sorokin. “Uzbekistan’s border service […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. April 15, 2013) Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov does not see any conditions for the cooperation of the head of state with what is known as the irreconcilable opposition so far. “Largely this depends on the extent to which the irreconcilable opposition will be able to generate a more or less constructive agenda. Unfortunately, so far we […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. April 15, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev have agreed to have a special meeting with the economic block of the government, members of the Kremlin administration and experts to discuss prospects of the Russian economy amid the global negative tendencies on the world market. Medvedev said at a meeting with Putin at […]
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(Interfax – April 15, 2013) Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said that the information about the foreign funding of non-governmental organizations (NGO) in Russia recently disclosed by President Vladimir Putin is reliable. “There is not the slightest reason to doubt the reliability of the said figures,” Peskov said on a Sunday night current events show on Russia 1 channel. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 15, 2013) Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Sunday described Vladimir Putin as a “fierce” defender of Russia’s national interests but also a “master of compromise” while commenting on everything from the opposition movement to escalating tensions with the U.S. Peskov’s comments, made on the state-owned Rossia 1 television channel on Sunday night, come amid […]
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