Real Estate – Johnson's Russia List

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The evictors For the past five years, loan sharks have forced more than 500 Muscovites from their homes. Here’s how the industry works.” – Meduza

July 26, 2019 JRL Russia List Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade

“In Moscow and [environs] … ‘black creditors’ – microfinance institutions (MFOs) … deceive [debtors] and seize … homes. Meduza … [found ] almost 500 apartments lost … over the past five years without so much as a court order. … more than simply ‘squeezing’ people from their homes … possibly part of a wider, international money-laundering system. * * * […]

RUSSIALINK: “Russia Disbands the Concept of ‘Dacha'” – Moscow Times

January 3, 2019 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jan. 3, 2019) The New Year has ushered in a slew of new laws in Russia, including one that disappears the very concept of country cottages, known as dachas, where many Russians spend their summers. More than 60 million Russians are estimated to own dachas nationwide. What kind of dacha they own, though, was previously […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Stalin’s Soaring Moscow Towers Sorely Need Body Work” – New York Times/ Neil MacFarquhar

December 31, 2018 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog

“… Most of [Moscow’s] so-called ‘Stalin high-rises’ – both residential and government buildings – desperately need renovating. … stuck in limbo … over who will foot the substantial bill. Since the residential apartments were privatized in the 1990s, the government considers the owners responsible. The residents, particularly … impoverished elderly who inherited apartments from … now deposed Soviet elite, believe […]

RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “[Putin at] Moscow Urban Forum Megacity of the Future: New Space for Living” – KremlinRu

July 19, 2018 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities

Moscow Aerial View Satellite Image File Photo, adapted from image at jpl.nasa.gov

(Kremlin.ru – July 18, 2018 – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/58026) Vladimir Putin spoke at the 8th Moscow Urban Forum Megacity of the Future: New Space for Living, held in Moscow’s Zaryadye Park from July 17 to 22. The Moscow Urban Forum is a major international congress devoted to the development of global spaces and megacities. The platform brings together representatives of Russian and […]

RUSSIALINK: “Almost half of Ukrainians against land, pension reforms, privatization of state-owned firms – poll” – Interfax

July 11, 2018 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

KYIV. July 10 (Interfax) – Almost every second (49%) Ukrainian respondent is opposed to the land reform, or rather the cancellation of the existing moratorium on the sales of rural land, and does not support the privatization of public enterprises (47%) and the pension reform (46%), a poll conducted by GfK Ukraine and Qand Q Research suggests. According to the […]

RUSSIALINK: “Waking the Russian Spirit of Urbanism; Urban renewal could become a new doctrine of patriotism” – Moscow Times/ Sergei Kapkov

October 16, 2017 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

“… They’ve looked around and realized that Russian cities are not nearly as beautiful as they could be, and in addition to amusement park rides and shish kebab stands, they can build skate parks and dance floors. And the harsh Russian climate is no obstacle to developing urban cycling. …”

Moscow’s Makeover Swaps Soviet Grit for Urban Sparkle; Smart city apps, historically accurate trees, a working subway. While Washington obsesses over sanctions and hacks, Russia is rebranding its capital as a model of urban planning.

August 11, 2017 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Valerie Stivers – August 10, 2017) [Text with photos bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-08-10/moscow-s-makeover-swaps-soviet-grit-for-urban-sparkle] Moscow felt medieval when I first arrived almost 20 years ago, in January 1998, seeking adventure. There were few billboards, advertisements, or shop windows filled with merchandise. The women working at my local producti, or small grocery store, wore shawls, had moles and wens, and weighed […]

Moscow’s Facelift as Modernization

July 28, 2017 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – MAXIM TRUDOLYUBOV – July 27, 2017) Maxim Trudolyubov, Senior Fellow with the Kennan Institute and editor-at-large with Vedomosti, has been following Russian economy and politics since the late 1990s. He has served as an opinion page editor for Vedomosti and editor and correspondent for the newspaper Kapital Central Moscow has been a scene of digging […]

Muscovites Hesitant to Protest Housing Demolition Scheme, Poll Finds

July 24, 2017 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 24, 2017) Only one-third of Muscovites who voted against a controversial housing demolition program would participate in protests against the scheme, according to a poll published by independent pollster the Levada Center. The poll, conducted at the request of the RBC news outlet, revealed that 34 percent of those living in apartment blocks who […]

Thousands Protest In Moscow Against Plan To Raze Soviet-Era Housing

May 15, 2017 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities

(RFE/RL – Tom Balmforth – May 14, 2017 – ©2017 RFE/RL, Inc. Article also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-moscow-protests-demolition-krushchev-era-housing/28487244.html) MOSCOW — Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Moscow to protest the proposed demolitions of Soviet-era housing blocks in the Russian capital. The May 14 protest, held on a wide central Moscow street named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, marked […]

TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Meeting with CEO of Sberbank German Gref

February 23, 2017 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

File Photo of German Gref Shaking Hands with U.S. Official

(Kremlin.ru – February 23, 2017) Sberbank CEO and Chairman of the Board German Gref briefed Vladimir Putin on the bank’s 2016 performance results and its current activities, including the prospects for developing mortgage lending, and new financial support mechanisms for the defence industry and agricultural sector businesses. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Gref, concerning the bank’s performance, we know […]