Putin’s Commitment to ‘Stability above Everything’ Promises Anything But, Moscow Experts Say

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, April 9, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/04/window-on-eurasia-putins-commitment-to.html) A report by the Inter-Regional Association of Young Political Scientists notes that Vladimir Putin has changed his language to reflect is “commitment to stability above everything else,” a conclusion that one Moscow commentator suggests fails to capture just how dangerous Putin’s position is for Russia as a […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin Q&A only] Press statement and answers to journalists’ questions following Russian-Dutch talks

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Kremlin.ru – April 8, 2013 – Amsterdam) QUESTION: If you don’t mind, I will depart somewhat from the issues of the Russian-Dutch relations. Today, as you must know, we have received the sad news of Margaret Thatcher’s death. Can you tell us your opinion of the former Prime Minister’s contribution to building modern Europe and strengthening European security? VLADIMIR PUTIN: […]

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The Kind of Russian Nationalism Putin Needs and the Kind He Doesn’t

Map of Russia

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 9, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/04/window-on-eurasia-kind-of-russian.html) There are many kinds of Russian nationalism on offer today, a Russian Communist Party commentator says, but a major divide now lies between the kinds of Russian nationalism that President Vladimir Putin wants to promote and use and other kinds of Russian nationalism that he views as […]

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EU economy fundamentally strong, Russia has no major worries – Putin

EU Map

(Interfax – HANOVER, April 8, 2013) The European economy remains strong, despite the problems facing selected euro zone countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “We’re sorry such things are happening on Cyprus, but the foundations of the European economy, of the German economy – and Germany is demonstrating very good rates of growth and economic reliability – (are strong). Therefore […]

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Putin vows to do his best to create favorable business climate in Russia

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

(Interfax – AMSTERDAM, April 8, 2013) Russian authorities will continue to make effort to improve investment climate in the country. “We will do our best to create favorable business environment,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Russian and Dutch businessmen in Amsterdam on Monday. “We are doing our best to improve business climate in Russia. Probably, there […]

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NGOs Slam Putin’s $1Bln Foreign-Funding Estimate

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – April 9, 2013) NGO representatives on Monday questioned the validity of President Vladimir Putin’s comment to German television that NGOs in Russia had received about $1 billion from abroad since the “foreign agent” law was adopted in 2012. In the interview broadcast Friday, Putin said there were 654 active NGOs in Russia […]

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Income declarations of Putin, his administration to be released in April – Peskov

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Interfax – MOSCOW. April 9, 2013) Income declarations of Russian President Vladimir Putin and officials of his administration will be released in mid April in line with previous plans. “Formally (in accordance with the president’s decrees from April 2) we don’t have to do it in April. But income declarations have already been submitted to the administration and nothing prevents […]

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Russia Agreed to Restructure Bailout Loan to Cyprus, Putin Says

Cyprus Map

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas – April 8, 2013) Russia agreed to restructure a 2.5 billion-euro ($3.3 billion) loan granted to Cyprus in 2011, bowing to a request by the European Commission, President Vladimir Putin said. “We are making our own contribution” to help the island, Putin told reporters today at a joint briefing in Hanover with German Chancellor […]

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NGO Inspections Aim to Control Foreign Funding – Putin

Vladimir Putin file photo

(RIA Novosti, HANOVER, April 8, 2013) The recent wave of inspections of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Russia is not aimed at restricting their activity but rather at controlling their foreign funding, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “All our actions are not designed to shut down or ban [the operation of NGOs in […]

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Putin’s Russia at a Crossroads Politically and Economically

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 63 – Pavel Felgenhauer – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – April 4, 2013) The Russian government, the expert community in Moscow and the national economic elite are actively discussing the economic future of the nation and possible drastic financial policy changes as the economy slumps into potentially long-term stagflation, which may fundamentally destabilize the […]

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Kudrin meets with Putin, shares views on pressing issues

Alexei Kudrin file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW. April 4, 2013) Alexei Kudrin, chairman of the Civil Initiatives Committee and former finance minister, said that he sometimes meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “There are meetings with the president. But I’m not ready to discuss their contents,” Kudrin told reporters on Thursday. Kudrin said that he shared his position at such meetings. “I express my […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Interview to the German ARD

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Kremlin.ru – April 5, 2013) Ahead of the working visit to Germany, Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the German ARD. The interview was recorded on April 2, 2013 in Novo-Ogaryovo. * * * JÖRG SCHÖNENBORN (retranslated): Good evening, Mr President, Germany and Russia enjoy special relationship and, economically speaking, they are a good match. However, there exist certain difficulties […]

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Russia Will Not Stray From Democracy’s Path – Putin

Vladimir Putin file photo

MOSCOW, April 5 (RIA Novosti) ­ President Vladimir Putin insisted on Friday that the Kremlin was committed to the goal of democratic development, but said Russia needs more time to overcome the legacy of almost 70 years of Soviet rule. “It is obvious that we have made a decisive choice for democracy and we cannot imagine any other path of […]

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Russian Politics: The Paradox of a Weak State

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Kennan Institute – Mattison Brady – March 11, 2013 – www.wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute) Meeting summary “The question I wish to ask here today is, ‘is Vladimir Putin’s system of rule in crisis?’” opened Marie Mendras, Professor at Sciences Po University and Research Fellow with the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, at a March 11, 2013 lecture at the Kennan Institute. […]

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Putin, Obama to Meet in June – Kremlin

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 4, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Barack Obama will hold full-fledged talks on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland in June, a Putin aide said on Thursday. The possibility of “contacts in connection with Obama’s participation in a G20 summit” is also under consideration, presidential aide Yury Ushakov […]

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Governor’s Favorite Declared Mayoral Vote Winner

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – April 2, 2013) Governor Andrei Vorobyov’s preferred candidate was on Monday declared the winner of a small town mayoral election marred by allegations of widespread fraud. Sunday’s election in the Moscow region town of Zhukovsky, 25 kilometers southeast of the capital, was seen as a litmus test of people’s trust in the […]

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Putin Signs Law Allowing Regions to Cancel Governor Polls

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

MOSCOW, April 2 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a law that allows regions to decide whether they want to elect a governor by a direct popular vote or let regional legislatures choose them from nominees approved by the president. The State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament whose members initiated the bill, passed […]

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Putin Orders State Officials to Declare Expenses

File Photo of Man Placing Stack of Large Bills into Inside Pocket of Suitcoat

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 2, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees on Tuesday obliging state officials to declare not only their income, but also their expenses from now on, in a bid to crack down on corruption. State officials will have to submit information concerning their acquisition of real estate, land, cars, valuables and shares, as well as […]

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Interview: How Russia’s ‘Sistema’ Leads To The ‘Modernization Trap’

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – April 1, 2013) In her 2006 book “How Russia Really Works” and its sequel “Can Russia Modernize?” political scientist Alena Ledeneva of University College London looks at the informal governing system that characterizes Vladimir Putin’s Russia. RFE/RL correspondent Robert Coalson spoke with Ledeneva about how this method of governance works and what it means for Russia’s […]

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Putin Inaugurates New Home for His ‘Pet’ Humor Show

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

(RIA Novosti, MOSCOW, April 2, 2013) ­ Russian President Vladimir Putin has attended the inauguration of a building that will host the Club of the Cheerful and Sharp-Witted, or the KVN, humor show in Moscow. The ceremony took place on Monday night at the former Havana cinema building, which has been remodeled with Putin’s backing to accommodate Russia’s most popular […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Putin Address at Conference of All-Russia People’s Front

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Kremlin.ru – March 29, 2013) Rostov-on-Don Vladimir Putin took part in the first conference of the All-Russia People’s Front held under the theme Building Social Justice. The conference participants included heads of federal ministries and agencies, Mr Putin’s election campaign supporters, heads of the Front’s regional offices, and members of the expert community and public organisations. * * * PRESIDENT […]

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Putin Borrows From Soviet Union on Social Justice

File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Desk

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – April 1, 2013) President Vladimir Putin described the Soviet Union as a land of opportunity and called for two Soviet relics, mandatory school uniforms and the “Hero of Labor” award, to be dusted off in the name of social justice, during an informal meeting with supporters in Rostov-on-Don on Friday. The Soviet […]

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Putin’s income declaration to be published in mid-April – spokesman

Vladimir Putin file photo

MOSCOW. March 31 (Interfax) – President Vladimir Putin and the other Kremlin officials declared their incomes before April 1, as required, and their income declarations will be published in mid-April, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has announced. “All income declarations for 2012 have been submitted and they will be processed and published within two weeks,” Peskov said. The Kremlin releases income […]

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Vice Presidential Post Mulled to Ensure Power Transition

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 1, 2013) A group of President Vladimir Putin’s advisors are considering reintroducing the position of vice president ­ a move that might create conditions for a smooth transition of power to Putin’s presumed successor. “There are a lot of downsides to it, since we don’t want to return to the situation with Rutskoi,” said […]

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Russia Needs Standard Approach to Teaching History – Putin

File Photo of U.S. Diplomat Teaching Class to Russian Students

ROSTOV-ON-DON, March 29 (RIA Novosti) ­ President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia needs a unified, standard approach to teaching history. “I fully agree that there should be a canonical version of our history,” Putin said Friday while meeting with his campaigners from the All-Russia People’s Front. He acknowledged that there are different opinions concerning history textbooks in high schools, […]

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Putin discusses fundamental issues of Russia’s development at the first All-Russia People’s Front conference

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Speaking with Flag Behind Him and Microphones in Front

(Interfax – March 29, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Rostov-on-Don to participate in the first conference of the All-Russia People’s Front dedicated to building social justice. The event is the first in a series of the All-Russia People’s Front conferences dedicated to discussing fundamental issues of Russia’s development, which have been discussed in this or that way […]

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Putin Says ‘Gave Up’ Eavesdropping After KGB

File Photo of Partial FSB Headquarters Building Facade

MOSCOW, March 29 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday his time in the KGB had taught him that it was “bad” to listen into other people’s conversations. “It’s bad to eavesdrop,” a smiling Putin told a meeting of his newly revived All-Russian People’s Front. “I learned this from my time in the KGB. [And] I gave […]

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The Fate of the Nashi Movement: Where Will the Kremlin’s Youth Go?

Nashi Demonstration with Red Coats and Russian Flags file photo

(Institute of Modern Russia – www.imrussia.org – Tatiana Stanovaya – March 26, 2013) The evolution of Putin’s regime toward tougher authoritarianism, which began with the “national leader’s” return to the Kremlin, will soon affect its policies toward youth. Under Vladislav Surkov, the erstwhile “éminence grise,” pro-Kremlin movements were supposed to serve as the main “anti-Orange” force on the streets. The […]

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Putin Steps Up Support for People’s Front

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Winning – March 28, 2013) President Vladimir Putin is set to attend a forum organized by the All-Russia People’s Front on Friday in a show of support for the movement he created almost two years ago to garner votes for the increasingly unpopular United Russia party. Putin will take part in the second day […]

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Russia Open for New Investment Projects – Putin

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

DURBAN, March 27 (RIA Novosti) ­ President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday played up Russia’s potential as an investment destination as he tried to reassure investors at a summit of the world’s leading emerging market economies that the country was open for new business projects. “Let me emphasize that Russia and its economy are open for new trade and investment projects. […]

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Berezovsky And Putin — The Real Tandem Of Putinism?

Boris Berezovsky file photo

(RFE/RL – www.rferl.org – Robert Coalson – March 24, 2013) Boris Berezovsky ­ who was found dead of as yet undetermined causes in his London home on March 23 ­ was a key figure among those who brought Vladimir Putin to power in 1999. And although Berezovsky was driven into exile by the end of 2000, over the years he […]

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NEWSLINK: Russian Prosecutor General’s Office to continue its legal actions to bring Berezovsky’s criminally acquired assets back to Russia

Boris Berezovsky file photo

[Russian Prosecutor General’s Office to continue its legal actions to bring Berezovsky’s criminally acquired assets back to Russia – ITAR-TASS – March 25, 2013 – http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/686220.html] ITAR-TASS reports on Russian efforts to seize assets of exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, recently found dead under undetermined circumstances in Britain, where he had been granted political asylum. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office […]

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NEWSLINK: Exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky died in Britain

Boris Berezovsky file photo

[Exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky died in Britain – ITAR-TASS – March 25, 2013 – http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c142/686021.html] ITAR-TASS covers the death of exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky in Britain: Boris Berezovsky, an exiled oligarch and one of the main figures on the Russian political scene of Boris Yeltsin’s epoch, was found dead at his mansion in the town Ascot in the English […]

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Berezovsky dreamt of being buried near Moscow region church where he was baptized – newspaper

Boris Berezovsky file photo

(Interfax – March 25, 2013) Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who has died in London, wanted to be buried near a Moscow region church where he was baptized, Former Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Ivan Rybkin, said. “He told me – there is a cemetery in the Moscow region’s Tarasovka near an ancient brick church, where he was baptized after the […]

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NEWSLINK: No radiation at Berezovsky home, no sign of outside role in death

Boris Berezovsky file photo

[No radiation at Berezovsky home, no sign of outside role in death – Reuters – Olivia Harris – March 25, 2013 – click here for full article] Reuters covers the death in Britain of exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.  The post-mortem still awaits completion, and Berezovsky had been the target of multiple assassination attempts.  But there has been no announcement […]

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Berezovsky, Putin and an Absence of Respect

Boris Berezovsky file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky and Natalya Krainova – March 25, 2013) Boris Berezovsky would probably heap all of his ill fortunes at the feet of Vladimir Putin, the man whom he helped make Russia’s president but then spent the rest of his life trying to topple. Still, the relationship between Putin and Berezovsky, who was found dead […]

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Bright Days for Putin’s Dark Knight

Igor Sechin file photo

(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Donald Jensen – March 19, 2013) Despite rumors of his waning influence, Rosneft chief Igor Sechin remains one of the most powerful members of Russia’s ruling establishment. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, discusses Sechin’s latest “string of triumphs.” […]

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Putin Nominates Economic Aide as Head of Central Bank

Elvira Nabiullina file photo

MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti) ­ President Vladimir Putin has submitted to the State Duma the candidacy of his economic advisor, Elvira Nabiullina, for the head of Russia’s Central Bank, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Putin first proposed Nabiullina’s candidacy on March 12 at a meeting with incumbent Central Bank chief Sergei Ignatyev, who has served three successive terms and […]

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Does Putin Need His Parliament?

Duma Session file photo

(opendemocracy.net – Dmitri Travin – March 19, 2013) Dmitri Travin is Research Director at the European University in St. Petersburg’s Centre of Modernization Studies Russia’s ruling party, ‘United Russia’, is significantly weaker than previously. Does Putin still need ‘his’ party or is it now more of a millstone round his neck? The economy is stagnant and the electoral system is […]

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Vladimir The Weak

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(RFE/RL – rferl.org  Brian Whitmore – March 18, 2013) Vladimir Putin clearly likes to keep an eye on his enemies. Perhaps he should be taking a closer look at his friends. Consider, for example, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov. The KGB veteran and was widely considered the odds-on favorite to be Putin’s successor back in 2007 until he was […]

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Kremlin Probing State Companies Over Corruption

Cropped File Photo of Two Men in Business Suits Shaking Hands and Passing Cash

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 12, 2013) President Vladimir Putin has instructed major state companies to unofficially provide tax and financial authorities with information about their deals monthly in an effort to probe corruption. The Federal Tax Service and Federal Financial Monitoring Service receive the information in order to check whether corporate management is affiliated with any businesses, a […]

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At Putin’s Order, FSB Now Using Social Networks to Target Opposition

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 12, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/03/window-on-eurasia-at-putins-order-fsb.html) At the direction of President Vladimir Putin, the FSB is not only monitoring social networks but using one of their features to create problems for those opponents of the regime who use them by posting statements on their sites and then invoking the appearance of those materials […]

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The Kremlin’s New Deal

Vladimir Putin file photo

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – March 11, 2013) Tsar Peter I once proposed to his prosecutor-general that corrupt officials be either exiled to Siberia or executed. “But then who will be left?” the prosecutor responded, according to the oft-repeated historical anecdote. “We’re all thieves.” President Vladimir Putin repeated this tale during his press conference in December to illustrate […]

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Chagrin and Ambivalence in Putin’s Foreign Policy

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 45 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Pavel K. Baev – March 11, 2013) Entering the second year of his third presidency, President Vladimir Putin has shown uncharacteristically scant interest to foreign policy matters perhaps suspecting that Western “partners” are sponsoring Russia’s opposition movement and that neighboring post-Soviet leaders and even Chinese “friends” are […]

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Hatreds of Deeply Divided Russian Population ‘Saving’ Putin, Commentator Says

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 11, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/03/window-on-eurasia-hatreds-of-deeply.html) The hatreds Russians feel toward others past and present domestic and foreign are an important reason why Vladimir Putin has been able to maintain himself in power even at a time when polls show that an increasing number of the citizens of his country do not actively […]

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NEWSLINK: Sergei Magnitsky: The enemy within: A saga that has been a parable of the self-mutilating way Russia is governed

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

[Sergei Magnitsky:  The enemy within: A saga that has been a parable of the self-mutilating way Russia is governed – The Economist – Editorial – March 9, 2013 – http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21573119-saga-has-been-parable-self-mutilating-way-russia-governed-enemy-within] The Economist issues an editorial on the Magnitsky saga and its aftermath, and what it shows about brutal, deadly elitism in Russia: Martyred human rights activists; fatally brave journalists: Russia, […]

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Putin says fate of Pussy Riot women out of his hands

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

(Interfax – March 7, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied he can influence the fate of members of the female punk band Pussy Riot who are currently serving prison terms. He was talking to journalists on a visit to Vologda on 7 March, as reported by Interfax news agency that day. “That depends not on me, but on the […]

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Putin Allies Climb Up Forbes List

File Photo of Man Placing Stack of Large Bills into Inside Pocket of Suitcoat

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – March 4, 2013) The personal fortunes of businessmen rumored to enjoy close relationships with President Vladimir Putin jumped sharply in a new Forbes ranking Monday as Facebook investor Alisher Usmanov retained the title of Russia’s richest man. The wealth of Gennady Timchenko, owner of oil trader Gunvor and a large stakeholder in […]

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Fifty Shades of Gray: If Your Game Doesn’t Have a Safeword, Someone Could Get Hurt

File Photo of Vladislav Surkov with Mike McFaul

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – March 4, 2013) Anna Arutunyan is the politics editor of The Moscow News In Russia, there were a thousand shades of gray before Vladislav Surkov, the so-called “gray cardinal” behind Vladimir Putin’s first 12 years in power, was replaced in late 2011. Now, one year into Putin’s third term as president, there […]

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