Tag: Russia

Preventing nuclear threats trumps political fray: Russia and U.S. reaffirm nuclear security as priority over politics

Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Radioactivity Symbol

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Reznichenko, special to RBTH – October 30, 2014) Despite strained relations, the United States and Russia are continuing to collaborate on a radioactive waste management program that has been in place for the past 15 years. At the opening of the VI ATOMEX 2014 International Forum of Nuclear Industry Suppliers in Moscow […]

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The spread of Ebola: Fears and reality

Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse
Ebola Virus, adapted from image at nih.gov with credit NAID

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Mikhail Shchelkanov, special to RBTH – October 28, 2014) Mikhail Shchelkanov is the head of the laboratory of Virus Ecology at the Ivanovsky Institute of Virology of the Russian Minstry of Health. This summer, he helped fight Ebola in Guinea. What is the likelihood that these factors could come into play in Europe […]

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Russians Burdened by Less Debt Compared With U.S.

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Stack of Credit Cards, adapted from image at fdic.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – October 30,, 2014) Despite concerns of a consumer lending bubble in Russia, relatively few Russians have any debt at all compared with residents of the U.S. and Europe, according to a survey released Wednesday. Russia’s consumer lending market grew at the blistering rate of 40 percent in 2012 and again in 2013, […]

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Victims of Stalinist repressions remembered at Moscow ceremony

History, Soviet Union, Human Rights
File Photo of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – October 30, 2014) Every year on October 30, Russia marks the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression. The day before, on October 29, a day-long demonstration called ‘The Return of the Names’ is held in Moscow, where people gather on Lubyanka Square to read out the […]

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Putin’s Colossus Will Crumble, Kremlin Foe Navalny Says

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

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer – October 30, 2014) As President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating with Russians returns to a record, the man who would oust him from the Kremlin sits isolated at home under house arrest. Alexey Navalny remains convinced that he can bring about the downfall of Russia’s “authoritarian” ruler. “The regime will devour itself, destroy itself, […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian pundits link Putin’s high ratings to Valdai speech, external pressure

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, October 30, 2014) Experts polled by RIA Novosti have linked President Vladimir Putin’s consistently high approval ratings, as documented by the Public Opinion Foundation [FOM], to socioeconomic instability, external pressure and the president’s powerful speech at the Valdai [Valday] forum [on 24 October]. According to the results of a FOM survey conducted on 25-26 October, among […]

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In Ukraine hope springs eternal

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – CONFERENCE CALL: Ben Aris in Kyiv – October 31, 2014) Two days after a crucial parliamentary election that put the seal on Ukraine’s latest political transformation, SP Advisors, a leading local investment firm, held its first investment conference and invited international investors to Kyiv to debate the Eastern European country’s future. The mood at […]

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Russia, Ukraine and EU sign gas deal

Europe, EU, Oil, Gas, Energy, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Gas Flame file photo

(Business New Europe –  bne.eu – October 31, 2014) Russia, Ukraine and the EU have signed a trilateral gas agreement securing the resumption of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine from November. The deal followed a total of 30 hours in talks continuing into the night of October 30, when the sides announced an agreement. Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak, EU Energy Commissioner […]

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Business New Europe: New Lugansk governor says 80-95% of region pro-Russian

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 31, 2014) The newly appointed governor of Lugansk, former interior minister Hennady Moskal, has said in an interview that 80-95% of the region is pro-Russian. With over half of the region including the eponymous capital held by Russian-backed rebels, Moskal is now administrating the region from the town of Severodonetsk. Moskal, a highly […]

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Russian Elites Still View Putin as Their Defense Against Russian People, Skobov Says

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Vladimir Putin file photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 30, 2014) Members of Russian elites see Vladimir Putin as the only person who can maintain the existing system in which they are beneficiaries and protect them from having to go head to head with the Russian people as a whole, Aleksandr Skobov says. Consequently, they will stick with him even […]

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RIA Novosti: Crashed U.S. Supply Rocket Antares Partly Developed in Ukraine: Design Office

Space
Antares Rocket on Side on Transport Vehicle As U.S. Flag Flies on Pole

MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – The first stage work of the US supply rocket Antares, which exploded seconds after lift-off on Tuesday, was conducted by Ukrainian state design office Yuzhnoye, according to the company’s website. “The Antares LV stage one core structure was developed by Yuzhnoye State Design Office, manufactured by Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant (YMZ) in cooperation with Ukrainian […]

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Russia Climbs 30 Places in World Bank Business Ranking

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
World Bank Building

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sam Skove – October 30, 2014) Despite dire forecasts for its sanctions-struck economy, Russia has leaped up an unprecedented 30 positions in the World Bank’s annual “Doing Business” survey for 2015, the bank said Wednesday. Russia rose to 62nd place out of 189 ranked countries, ahead of China at 90, Brazil at 120 and India […]

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Moscow’s Deputy Mayor Attempts to Allay Panic Over Health Care Reforms

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Patient in Russian Hospital

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – October 30, 2014) When President Vladimir Putin made a law on health care reform one of his first acts after returning to the presidency in May 2012, medical professionals and members of the public alike nodded their heads in approval, all too aware of the flaws and chaos inherent in the existing […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#225 table of contents with links :: Thursday 30 October 2014

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's file photo

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#225 :: Thursday 30 October 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George  Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist  JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php  Ukraine 1. Moscow Times: Fire Sweeps Through Kiev’s Oldest Movie Theater During […]

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Interfax: State pollster denies Russian TV brainwashes viewers about Putin

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(Interfax – October 29, 2014) Russian TV is not a zombie box as it speaks of President Vladimir Putin not only in glowing terms but also carries criticisms of him, the head of the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM), Valeriy Fedorov, has said. He was speaking at a news conference in Moscow on 29 October, as reported by privately-owned […]

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Vast Majority of Russians Think Foreign Media Criticize Putin to Weaken Russia

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – October 30, 2014) The overwhelming majority of Russians view negative foreign media coverage of President Vladimir Putin and of Russia in general as an attempt to destabilize the country, pollster VTsIOM revealed Wednesday. The poll revealed that 87 percent of respondents see such ulterior motives in critical remarks released by foreign media […]

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Russia Could Be Facing 35-Year Cold Weather Spell, Scientist Says

Environment
File Photo of Moscow In Snowy Winter Showing St. Basil's At Night in Snowfall, with People on the Ground in the Distance

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 30, 2014) The early onset of winter experienced this year by residents in Siberia and the Ural Mountains could mark the start of a 35-year cycle of colder weather, a leading Russian scientist said Wednesday. “Changes in climate are cyclical. From 1946 to 1976, there was a cold cycle, which was then replaced by […]

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Russia offers EU a backdoor out of gas war

Europe, EU, Oil, Gas, Energy
Gas Flame file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 30, 2014) Russia’s Gazprom said on October 29 that it will seek to open talks with the new European Commission on expanding its access to the Opal pipeline, which carries gas from Germany to the heart of Central Europe. The move serves as a reminder to member states that, if it wants, the […]

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Fire Sweeps Through Kiev’s Oldest Movie Theater During LGBT Movie

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
Ukraine Map and Flag

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – October 30, 2014) A fire has swept through the oldest movie theater in Ukraine’s capital Kiev during the showing of an LGBT movie, ravaging the building in what witnesses described as a likely arson attack. None of the 100 or so people who attended the screening Wednesday night appeared to have been […]

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Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk parties dispute victory in tight elections

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Verkhovna Rada File Photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 30, 2014) The People’s Front party, founded and led by Ukraine’s prime minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, and President Petro Poroshenko’s eponymous Petro Poroshenko Bloc are disputing which of them won Ukraine’s landmark parliamentary elections held on October 26. At stake is the right to draw up a crucial programme of sweeping reforms on which […]

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Ukrainian GDP Plunges 5.1% Amid Deadly Conflict in Nation’s East

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Daryna Krasnolutska – October 30, 2014) Ukraine’s economy shrank 5.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the most in almost five years, as industrial production and the hryvnia slumped amid the bloody conflict in the country’s east. The drop is less than the 9 percent median estimate of six economists in a Bloomberg […]

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RIA Novosti: East Ukraine Demarcation Line Yet to Be Set: DPR Prime Minister

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

NOVOAZOVSK (Ukraine), October 30 (RIA Novosti) – The self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk (DPR) will stipulate its own conditions on if it were to sign a demarcation line agreement with Kiev, DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko said Thursday. “There will be new conditions [on the signing of the demarcation line agreement], ours. We consider the entire Donetsk region DPR territory,” […]

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Interfax: Separatist leader in Ukraine’s Donetsk says “preparing for war”

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

(Interfax – October 29, 2014) Work on agreeing a new dividing line between militia forces and the Ukrainian army has been suspended on Kiev’s initiative, and now “we are preparing for war”, Oleksandr (Aleksandr) Zakharchenko, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people’s republic (DPR) has said, as reported by privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax on 29 October. “Ukraine has announced […]

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Number of Russians ready to support Putin in presidential polls falls from 66% to 38%

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Outdoor Rally with Microphone in Hand and Heavy Coat

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 30, 2014) 38% of Russian citizens interviewed by the Levada Center in September said they were ready to vote for incumbent President Vladimir Putin if the presidential elections were to be held this coming Sunday, as compared with 66% at the beginning of the year, center sociologists told Interfax. 7% of respondents said […]

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Half of Russians Expect Repeat of Soviet-Era Repression, Poll Says

History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Prison in Russia with Wall, Barbed Wire, Guard Tower

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – October 30, 2014) Nearly half of all Russians believe that a return to Soviet-era repression is possible within their lifetime, a poll by the state-run Public Opinion Foundation revealed Wednesday. The poll, titled “Mass Repression in the Soviet Union,” examined the public’s perceptions and interpretations of Soviet-era repression. Millions were persecuted for […]

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How a 1960s Soviet Engine Appeared on an Exploded U.S. Rocket (with Video)

Space
Explosion After Wallops Rocket Disaster

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – October 30, 2014) [themoscowtimes.com/business/article/how-a-1960s-soviet-engine-appeared-on-an-exploded-u-s-rocket/510311.html] A U.S. commercial rocket powered by a Soviet-built Russian rocket engine exploded seconds after liftoff early Wednesday morning Moscow time, adding fire to debates concerning the U.S. space industry’s heavy use of Russian rocket engines. While unfortunate, the incident does not threaten the International Space Station (ISS), which […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#224 table of contents with links :: Wednesday 29 October 2014

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's file photo

… 10. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Ukraine to introduce sweeping tax reforms.
11. Bloomberg: Safe-Deposit Box Craze Lays Bare Ukraine Woes After Vote.
12. Reuters: Ukraine’s Yatseniuk sees himself staying on as prime minister.
13. www.opendemocracy.net: Natalia Antonova, Post-election, Ukrainians and Russians face an uncertain future. …

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Post-election, Ukrainians and Russians face an uncertain future

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square file photo

(opendemocracy.net – Natalia Antonova – October 28, 2014) Natalia Antonova was born in Kyiv and grew up in North Carolina. She works as a journalist, playwright, and social media director at Russia Beyond the Headlines. Ukraine’s snap parliamentary elections have once again proven that the mainstream of society rejects the far right – not that the Russian government or media […]

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Russians are not bothered by Western sanctions

Russia & the West, Sanctions
Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(opendemocracy.net – Vasil Jaiani – October 27, 2014) Vasil Jaiani is a senior management analyst for the government of the District of Columbia. Sanctions have had a limited effect on the Russian population whose support towards the government’s Ukrainian policy does not seem to be eroding. [Charts here opendemocracy.net/od-russia/vasil-jaiani/russians-are-not-bothered-by-western-sanctions] Russia’s economy is not in meltdown, but it has been suffering […]

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RIA Novosti: EU-Russia Sanctions: No One Wants to Show They are Giving in First

Europe, EU, Sanctions
Truck at Russian Border Crossing

MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – The anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union will not be scaled back or rescinded in the immediate future. They’re likely to be in effect until mid-March of next year, an EU diplomatic source told RIA Novosti. But as Nigel Kushner, the CEO of W Legal, an international law firm that specializes in sanctions, […]

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RIA Novosti: Who and What Is Causing the Decline in Oil Prices, and Where Will It Lead?

Oil, Gas, Energy
Oil Well file photo

MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) – With oil hovering around the $80-85 per barrel mark, down nearly 30 percent from a high of over $115 in mid-June, media and expert analysis about the causes and consequences of the price decline has been extensive. We present another, Russia-informed perspective. Saudi Machinations Against US Shale and the Drive for Market Share Among […]

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How Slumping Oil Prices Hit Russia’s Sanctions-Struck Oil Industry

Oil, Gas, Energy, Sanctions
Oil Well file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – October 29, 2014) Three screws are tightening on Russia’s oil industry. International banks are calling in multibillion-dollar loans and refusing new ones due to sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine. Western oil companies are barred from handing over advanced drilling technology, also due to sanctions. And, unexpectedly, the oil price has slumped from […]

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Business New Europe: Russia calls on EU to show money for Ukraine gas

Europe, EU, Oil, Gas, Energy, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Gas Flame file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 29, 2014) Russia’s ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov called on the EU to show Russia it has the money to pay for Ukrainian gas, before Russia renews gas supplies to Ukraine, which were cut after a dispute over pricing and arrears. The EU is set to disburse nearly $1bn by the end […]

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Safe-Deposit Box Craze Lays Bare Ukraine Woes After Vote

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Daryna Krasnolutska – October 29, 2014) Wary of banks and alarmed by armed conflict around her parents’ town, Daria Demianenko joined Ukraine’s rush to an old-fashioned way of squirreling away cash. More commonly known as a home for fancy jewels and ill-gotten gains, safe-deposit boxes are swallowing a growing chunk of regular savings in Ukraine. For […]

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Ukraine to introduce sweeping tax reforms

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Kyiv – October 29, 2014) When Ukraine’s newly elected parliament meets for the first time, probably in November, the first thing it will do is vote on a set of sweeping tax reforms that could transform the country and spark a long-awaited economic recovery. “Once we get a new government in […]

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Interfax: Future Ukrainian government must adopt plan of country restoration for 2015-2017 by December 15 – draft coalition agreement

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Verkhovna Rada File Photo

KYIV. Oct 29 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian Cabinet of ministers to be formed after the establishment of a parliamentary coalition in the 8th Verkhovna Rada will have to draw up and adopt a plan for the restoration of the country by December 15, 2014, says a draft coalition agreement published on the Petro Poroshenko Bloc’s website on Wednesday morning. “The […]

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RIA Novosti: Kiev Withdraws From Delineation Agreement With East Ukraine: DPR

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

DONETSK, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev has withdrawn from the delineation agreement it signed with Donetsk authorities without any explanation, the deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said Wednesday. “A delineation was agreed between the opposing forces, but Kiev recalled the signature of its representative, Gen. Dumanskiy, from the document without giving any reason,” Andrei […]

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Blowing $24 Billion on Ruble Spurs Free-Float Bet

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sanctions
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Vladimir Kuznetsov – October 29, 2014) The ruble’s persistent weakening in the face of $24 billion of interventions is stoking speculation the Bank of Russia will accelerate its switch to a free float. The currency fell to a record for a sixth day today, losing 0.6 percent to 42.7410 per dollar and bringing this month’s drop […]

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Navalny Wins Court Case Against Federal Media Watchdog

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
Alexei Navalny file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 29, 2014) Opposition activist Alexei Navalny announced his victory Tuesday in a lawsuit challenging the Russian federal media watchdog’s refusal to register his news outlet as an official media outlet. Navalny filed an application with the agency on June 2 to set up the “Alexei Navalny Information Agency,” a news outlet that would focus […]

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Russian Media Behemoth Set To Launch Wave Of Foreign Bureaus

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW – October 29, 2014) Rossiya Segodnya, Russia’s state-run media conglomerate, is reportedly preparing to open local bureaus in 29 world capitals, a move expanding the Kremlin’s global media presence amid what senior Russian officials call an “information war” with the West. The new bureaus are set to facilitate local-language radio programming and […]

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Russia Denies Report Alleging Harassment of U.S. Embassy Staff

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Artist's Rendition of U.S. Embassy, Moscow, with the Russian Foreign Ministry in the Background

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jennifer Monaghan – October 29, 2014) Russia’s Foreign Ministry has issued an angry denial following a report that U.S. Embassy staff are facing increased harassment and psychological pressure while working in Moscow, appealing to the U.S. to stop the “negativity.” In an article published Monday, U.S.-based broadcaster ABC News reported that a number of embassy […]

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The Snipers Massacre on the Maidan in Ukraine

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

The Snipers Massacre on the Maidan in Ukraine By Ivan Katchanovski, Ph.D. School of Political Studies & Department of Communication University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada ikatchan@uottawa.ca Paper presented at the Chair of Ukrainian Studies Seminar at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, October 1, 2014 [With visuals and footnotes here academia.edu/8776021/The_Snipers_Massacre_on_the_Maidan_in_Ukraine] The Snipers Massacre Question The massacre of […]

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: JRL 2014-#223 table of contents with links :: Tuesday 28 October 2014

JRL Tables of Contents, Russian News, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
St. Basil's file photo

… 20. Kyiv Post: Opposition Bloc outperforms forecasts, expected to be fourth largest party.
21. Bloomberg: Putin Narrative of Abandoned Ukraine East Fueled by Vote.
22. RFE/RL: Ten Takeaways From Ukraine’s Vote. …

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Interfax: Russian pollster says citizens increasingly concerned about rising dollar

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Interfax – Moscow, October 27, 2014) Fourty-five per cent of Russian residents are now concerned about an increase in the dollar rate – this indicator has increased significantly compared with last year, when only 26 per cent of respondents worried about this, Levada Centre [independent research organization] sociologists have told Interfax. At the same time, 52 per cent of Russian […]

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Interfax: Moscow Helsinki Group, but not Memorial, gets Russian presidential grant

Human Rights
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Interfax – Moscow, October 27, 2014) Leading human rights organizations Moscow Helsinki Group and the For Human Rights movement were among the recipients of presidential grants as a result of a bid process held by the Civil Dignity organization. “Among well-known organizations, Moscow Helsinki Group received R1.8m [about 34,000 dollars at the current exchange rate] and the For Human Rights […]

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Red Square Exhibit Sheds New Light on Soviet Cult of Lenin

History, Soviet Union
File Photo of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Kevin O’Flynn – October 28, 2014) [Photos here themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/leniniana-returns-to-red-square-to-dispel-myth-of-beloved-leader/510079.html] Everyone knew what was in the redbrick 19th-century building by Red Square in Soviet times. It was the Lenin Museum, the home – together with the nearby mausoleum – of the Lenin cult, to which a visit was a rite of passage for Soviet children, sculpting […]

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Finance Ministry Eyes 10% Cuts to Russia’s State Spending as Economic Outlook Worsens

Budget, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 28, 2014) With sanctions, oil price falls and the ruble devaluation making Russia’s official growth forecasts look increasingly overconfident, the Finance Ministry will draw up contingency measures to shave 10 percent off state spending in 2016 and 2017, business daily Vedomosti reported, citing undisclosed government sources. Such a drastic reduction in spending could save […]

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Fewer Russians Ready to Re-Elect Putin, Poll Shows

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Putin Descending a Staircase file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 28, 2014) President Vladimir Putin’s rating has fallen for the first time this year, with a substantial drop in the number of those who say they are ready to re-elect him, a poll by the Levada Center showed Tuesday. While a poll in August showed 57 percent of respondents would vote for Putin if […]

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Interfax: Poll: Western-style democracy won’t work for Russia

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia

(Interfax – October 28, 2014) Russians are prone to describe the Western democratic model as unviable under the Russian conditions but exhibit an interest in the life and work in Western countries, sociologists told Interfax. Fifty-five percent of 1,630 respondents polled by the Levada Center in 134 populated localities in 46 regions in September said Russia needed a special type […]

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Ten Takeaways From Ukraine’s Vote

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Verkhovna Rada File Photo

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Glenn Kates – October 27, 2014) Ukrainians have voted in a new parliament for the first time since the Euromaidan protests ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian government earlier this year. Here are some takeaways from the October 26 vote: The West-Russia divide is no longer relevant in parliament Since the collapse of the Soviet […]

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