Putin spokesman praises ex-deputy PM Surkov’s legacy, defends ‘pro-state’ cinema

Vladislav Surkov file photo

(Interfax – Sochi, May 22, 2013) Dmitriy Peskov, press secretary to the Russian president, has described reports that the Kremlin was taking film-making under its control as fiction but stressed that films produced with state money should have matching content. “A number of mass media outlets, including the (business) newspaper Vedomosti, have said that all of Surkov’s (Vladislav Surkov, once […]

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The Government one year on: facts and figures

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Government.ru – May 20, 2013) The Government, chaired by Dmitry Medvedev, began working on May 21 a year ago. CONTENTS 1. Examples of the Government’s most important decisions 2. Socioeconomic development: facts and figures 3. Implementation of Presidential Decrees Nos. 596-606 of May 7, 2012 4. Dmitry Medvedev: visits and events as Prime Minister 1. Examples of the Government’s most […]

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Amnesty Report Slams ‘Repressive Legislation’

Russian Jail File Photo Showing Outer Wall, Windows, Barbed Wire

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 23, 2013) Amnesty International said Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin was marked by large-scale attacks on freedom of assembly and of expression, resulting in a large number of politically motivated criminal cases and repressive legislation. “Two new laws and 11 amendments to current legislation were made last year amid broadly weakened dissent,” head […]

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Pundit says Islamism greatest threat to Russia’s national security

Russian Mosque File Photo

(Interfax – Moscow, May 22, 2013) Radical Islam has taken roots in 55 Russian regions, former Interior Minister and president of the Club of Russian Military Commanders Army Gen Anatoliy Kulikov said at a scientific conference “Islamism and Russia’s national security” today. “Radical political Islam, or Islamism, which has declared jihad on our country, is the most real threat to […]

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Medvedev still against government involvement in media

Dmitry Medvedev file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 22, 2013) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is not changing his position regarding the need for the government to keep out of the media, especially in the regions, and he regrets that this has yet to be done. “It’s a shame that we didn’t bring this topic to its conclusion. The government’s presence in the media […]

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Why Did Russia Let the Republics Go? Revisiting the Fall of the USSR

Map of Russia

(Kennan Institute Meeting Report – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Mackensie Knorr – April 29, 2013) “Why did the Russians, despite all that one would expect from them given the histories of the downfalls of empires, decide not to fight and to let the empire fall?” asked Serhii Plokhii, Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University, at a 29 April 2013 […]

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The Future of Investigative Journalism in Russia

File Photo of Russian Print Newspapers, adapted from image at loc.gov

(Kennan Institute Meeting Report – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Mackensie Knorr – April 12, 2013) “We strive to get all the information to put together the full picture.  All questions must be answered, and there shouldn’t be any holes in the story,” said Svetlana Reiter, freelance journalist for Bolshoi Gorod, among other magazines.  At a 12 April conference at the Kennan Institute, […]

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Students Favor State Firms as Employers

Empty Boardroom

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – May 23, 2013) When it comes to Russian college students’ career aspirations, Gazprom’s gas fields might as well be described as the fields of dreams, according to an annual ranking released Thursday by the Universum consulting firm. The state-owned gas giant was rated the most attractive employer by business students, with Sberbank […]

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Attitudes to Russia Worsening, Poll Says

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 23, 2013) People’s attitudes to Russia’s global role continue to deteriorate, particularly in the U.S., according to a poll conducted in 25 countries by the BBC. Respondents in only eight of the countries polled had predominantly positive perceptions of Russia, while in 15 countries people expressed negative views, Gazeta.ru said. Overall, only 30 percent […]

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Missile Defense Obstructs Nuclear Forces Cuts – General

File Photo of Russian Nuclear Missile on Mobile Launcher Near Woods

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 23, 2013) ­ The United States’ insistence on pursuing a missile defense system in Europe is standing in the way of further cuts to Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces, Russia’s top general said on Thursday at an international security conference in Moscow. “Russia will cut its strategic attack force only when it is certain that the […]

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First batches of Georgia’s Borzhomi mineral water arrive in Russia

Map of Georgia

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 22, 2013) Georgia has resumed exports of Borzhomi mineral water to Russia after a long-term pause. “On May 22, two trucks with Georgian mineral water Borzhomi were cleared at the Mamontovo customs office of the Moscow region customs of the Central Customs Department. The vehicles came from Georgia and went to suppliers in Moscow stores after […]

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JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#92 :: 22 May 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#92 :: 22 May 2013 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: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: http://russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. RIA Novosti: Brezhnev Beats Lenin as Russia’s Favorite 20th Century […]

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Syria: Does the path to peace run through Geneva?

Syria Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Ilyashenko, special to RBTH – May 21, 2013) The campaign to resolve the Syrian crisis has entered a new phase. However, if the upcoming international conference, dubbed Geneva-2, focuses entirely on increasing the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, there will be a long way to go before peace is achieved in the […]

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Duma speaker says time for Council of Europe to stop monitoring Russia

File Photo of Council of Europe Headquarters Building with Flags in Front

(Interfax – May 21, 2013) State Duma speaker Sergey Naryshkin has said that at a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in the next autumn he is intending to raise an issue of abandoning the monitoring of Russia by the Council of Europe. Naryshkin said this at a meeting with Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjoern […]

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Kremlin Grapples With Series of PR Disasters

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – May 22, 2013)  Rainbow flags were flown at half mast to mark President Vladimir Putin’s visit last month to Amsterdam, widely known as a city of open minds that take pride in enjoying free love. Thousands of brightly dressed Dutch activists gathered outside the Amstelhof, the site of Putin’s dinner with Queen […]

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Masha Gessen Considers Leaving Russia

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 22, 2013) One of Russia’s most internationally renowned journalists, Masha Gessen, has said that she will probably move to New York to join her son, who is studying in the U.S. Gessen, 46, moved with her family to the U.S. in 1981, returning to Moscow to establish a career as a journalist covering Russia […]

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Nikiforov Says State’s Weight Is Behind IT

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – May 22, 2013) The role of the government is to provide infrastructure and facilitate technological development and innovation, Communications and Press Minister Nikolai Nikiforov told business representatives at the Leaders’ Club forum on Tuesday. Information technology is important for the Russian economy, Nikiforov said. It accounts for 4.6 percent of the nation’s […]

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Most Russians support non-intervention of church in state affairs – poll

Russian Orthodox Believers Holding Candles at Cathedral at Christmas

(Interfax – Moscow, May 21, 2013) Most Russians (57%) think that state should not interfere in church affairs and vice versa, poll conducted by the Levada Center showed. At the same time, 30% respondents said they thought state and church should participate actively in each others’ affairs and 14% failed to answer. When asked who is to punish people insulting […]

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Russian human rights activist, MPs criticize anti-blasphemy bill

Duma Session file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, May 21, 2013) The head of Russia’s oldest human rights organization, the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, has said that the draft bill on the protection of believers’ feelings passed by the State Duma in the second reading (today) violates human rights and contravenes the Constitution, despite softening amendments. “This is yet another repressive bill,” Alekseyeva told […]

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Dvorkovich Upbeat on His, and Russia’s, Future

Arkady Dvorkovich file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – May 22, 2013) In an attempt to squash media reports and assure investors, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said Tuesday that he had no plans to leave government and intended to help guide the country’s economic course at least until the next presidential election in 2018. Dvorkovich, speaking at a news conference […]

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Russian PM Medvedev Says Against Cabinet Reshuffle

File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev with United Russia Logos Behind Him

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 22, 2012) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he was not ready to part with any of the current ministers, but dismissals are possible in connection with the recently introduced law banning officials from keeping their money in foreign banks. “The government is a team. I have proposed their [ministers’] candidacies to the president and […]

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Russian premier gives wide ranging interview to pro-Kremlin tabloid

Dmitry Medvedev file photo

(Interfax – May 21, 2013) Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev has given a wide ranging interview to the pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda to mark the anniversary of the formation of the current government, privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 21 May. The interview is to be published in the newspaper’s 22 May edition. The topics highlighted by Interfax were: – […]

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Poll shows little appetite for protests in Russia

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Interfax – May 21, 2013) The protest mood in Russia is low, Interfax news agency reported on 21 May, citing a poll conducted by independent Russian pollster Levada Centre. According to the poll results published on the Levada Centre website on the same day (http://www.levada.ru/21-05-2013/gotovnost-uchastvovat-v-protestakh), 68 per cent of respondents said mass protests against falling living standards or in support […]

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Brezhnev Beats Lenin as Russia’s Favorite 20th Century Ruler

File Photo of Richard Nixon sitting with Leonid Brezhnev, with Third Person Standing and Leaning between Them

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 22, 2013) ­ Russians view Leonid Brezhnev as the most positive of all Soviet and Russian leaders in the 20th century, but Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin were close behind in an opinion poll released on Wednesday. Brezhnev, who ruled the Soviet Union from 1964-1982, was viewed positively by 56 percent of respondents in the […]

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Shoigu Kicks Serdyukov Reform Into Long Grass

File Photo of Russian Military Conscripts Boarding Train with Gear

(Eurasia Daily Monitor – Eurasia Daily Monitor – Volume 10, Issue 96 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Roger McDermott – May 21, 2013) Six months after his appointment as Russia’s defense minister, Army-General Sergei Shoigu has initiated a number of policy reversals in key areas of his predecessor’s Armed Forces reform. Some of these changes were small measures, however […]

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Russian Church Will Never Accept Gay Marriages, Patriarch Says

Patriarch Kirill file photo

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, May 21, 2013) The Russian Orthodox Church will never recognize same-sex marriages, even though it respects people’s free choice even if it is sinful, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said on Tuesday (21 May) at a meeting with the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjoern Jagland. “If people choose such a way of […]

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Russia won’t break up Gazprom

Russian Gas Facility file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – May 21, 2013) The Russian government has no plans to break up the state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told the state-owned paper Rossiiskaya Gazeta on May 20. Speculation has been mounting that the state will break the inefficient behemoth up in its quest to make Russias biggest tax payer more […]

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Russian pundits dismiss first day of Public TV as ‘dull’, ‘old-fashioned’

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(Interfax – May 20, 2013) The first day of broadcast of the Russian Public TV (OTR), which was launched on 19 May, has received extensive feedback from pundits and journalists. The channel’s vague prospects and the coverage of non-topical issues have become the main points of criticism. “The project envisages the appearance of a discussion platform. But to make it […]

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Russia’s new ‘Public TV’ channel has a Soviet feel

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – May 20, 2013) You may have never watched Soviet television in the 1980s, but if you’re curious and would like to get a flavor, tune in to the newly launched Public TV channel. Across the political spectrum, commentators agree that many of the Russian government’s initiatives over the past […]

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Russia Urges EU to Avoid Ideology-Based Remarks on NGO Law

EU Map

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 21, 2013) The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday urged the European Union to abstain from “ideology-based” remarks on the issue of non-governmental organizations in Russia. The statement, posted on the ministry’s website, was made in the wake of the May 17 meeting between the Foreign Ministry’s Special Representative for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule […]

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Kremlin Faces Barbs From All Sides on Human Rights

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – May 21, 2013) Russia is facing a renewed barrage of international criticism, led by the European Union, over its human rights record in connection with an ongoing clampdown on non-governmental organizations and a State Duma proposal to ban so-called “homosexual propaganda.” The EU on Friday expressed growing concerns about the situation, including […]

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Russians say Internet does more good than harm – poll

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Interfax – May 21, 2013) The Internet audience in Russia has been growing year on year and most of users believe the worldwide web has nothing but advantages, the Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) said after having polled 1,600 respondents in 42 regions of the country on March 30-31. At present 65 percent browse the Internet daily, weekly or […]

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Two Thirds of Russians are Internet Users – Survey

File Photo of Little Russian Girl at Laptop Next to Globe

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 21, 2013) A total of 59 percent of Russians use Internet, up three percentage points since last year, according to the results of a survey published on Monday by an independent pollster, Levada Center. The figure was only five percent when Levada Center first polled Russians on the issue in 2001. The percentage varies greatly […]

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Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu Russia’s most popular politician – survey

Sergei Shoigu file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 20, 2013) Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is the most popular and one of the most influential members of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s government, a survey among prominent figures in the media and politics suggests. First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are the others in the top troika on a 28-name […]

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JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#91 :: 21 May 2013

Map of Russia

[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#91 :: 21 May 2013 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: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support […]

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JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#90 :: 20 May 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#90 :: 20 May 2013 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: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: http://russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, Russia’s Internet Use Is Exploding. 2. ITAR-TASS: […]

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Russian chief prosecutor says corruption threatens national security

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

(Interfax – May 17, 2013) Corruption in Russia is a threat to national security, and cooperation with international organizations must be stepped up to fight it, Russian Prosecutor-General Yuriy Chayka said on 17 May. He was speaking at a meeting with a delegation from the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) in Moscow, as reported by Russian […]

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Deputy Prime Minister responds to criticism toward Russia’s government

Arkady Dvorkovich file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Elena Shipilova, RBTH – May 20, 2013) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich talks to RBTH about the country’s current economic problems, investment climate, energy sector and upcoming St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Arkady Dvorkovich, speaks to Russia Beyond The Headlines about the problems of the Russian economy, access […]

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United Russia Conference Lauds Results of Party’s Work

File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev with United Russia Logos Behind Him

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – May 20, 2013) The ruling United Russia party kicked off a massive two-day forum with members from regional branches in Moscow on Friday, where it lauded its social and infrastructure projects, some three months before September regional and municipal elections. Raising the forum’s profile, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who chairs the party, […]

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Former Finance Minister argues that NGO law restricts civil society in Russia

Alexei Kudrin file photo

(Interfax – May 20, 2013) Former Russian Finance Minister and head of the Fund for Civil Initiatives Alexei Kudrin has said that the law on NGOs as foreign agents does not promote civil society in Russia. “The law on NGOs as foreign agents that the Duma has passed is a clear restriction of civil society,” he said at the Open […]

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Government strong to withstand pressure – Dvorkovich

Arkady Dvorkovich file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 19, 2013) Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has highly appraised the government’s performance in its first year and said interaction between the Cabinet and the Kremlin administration was efficient enough. “I think a large amount of work has been done over the year and results have been achieved in some areas, although not in all,” Dvorkovich […]

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Interfax: Three-fourths of Russians insist government should ban public display of homosexuality – poll

Map of Russia

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 17, 2013) Homophobia is rather common in Russian society and attitudes toward the LGBT community have been changing slowly throughout the past year, sociologists said. The same as a year ago, three-fourths of Russians brand gays and lesbians as morally loose (43%) or mentally deficient persons (35%). Only 12% acknowledge homosexuality’s right to existence, the Levada […]

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Moscow News: No more rainbows: anti-gay sentiment rises in Russia

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Kristen Blyth – May 20, 2013) “Homosexuality is not a perversion. Perversion is hockey on grass and ballet on ice!” reads one picket sign, held aloft by a middle-aged man. “Against all forms of discrimination,” proclaims another, held by a young woman. “My gender is my choice,” says a third. The scene was Moscow Pride. […]

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Medvedev blasts moves that may discourage private enterprise

File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev with United Russia Logos Behind Him

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 18, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has lashed out against legal initiatives that may discourage private enterprise. “It is a completely unacceptable situation that, as a result of some decisions, the total number of those who see entrepreneurial activities as their future occupation should decline,” Medvedev said at a meeting of the leadership of the ruling […]

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Countries to Jointly Fight Tax Evasion

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

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – May 20, 2013) Greater cooperation between tax authorities from 45 countries, including more extensive information sharing to help catch evaders, was the result of an international conference in Moscow that was hosted by the Federal Taxation Service and ended on Friday. “The message to tax evaders and those who facilitate tax evasion […]

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At 20, Russia’s Gazprom Struggles To Stay Dominant

Russian Gas Facility file photo

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW – May 20, 2013) Russia’s biggest company turned 20 this year. But at Gazprom, there appears to be little cause for celebration. The state-controlled natural gas monopoly, which was established as a publicly traded corporation in 1993, recently announced that its net profits fell by 11 percent last year and its valuation […]

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Senior Russian military official highlights positive cooperation with NATO

File Photo of Official at Podium in Front of Large NATO-Russia Council Signage

(Interfax – May 17, 2013) Russia and NATO are boosting their cooperation in a number of areas, however Russia still has concerns about US and NATO European missile defence plans, Russian Deputy Chief of General Staff Col-Gen Aleksandr Postnikov-Streltsov has said. Interfax news agency carried the comments that Postnikov-Streltsov made after a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council (RNC) in Brussels […]

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Libya catastrophe sets precedent for new type of intervention by force – Russian Constitutional Court Head

Russian Constitutional Court file photo

(Interfax – ST. PETERSBURG, May 17, 2013) The state catastrophe in Libya shows that lawful methods of resolving the issue have been substituted for use of force and this creates chaos in most parts of Africa, Russian Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin said. “Researchers and experts acknowledge a very dangerous destruction of the international legal system, more and more frequent […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Medvedev] Report on the Government’s performance in 2012 (continued)

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Government.ru – April 17, 2013) [completion of transcript/earlier part in JRL#73] Dmitry Medvedev’s speech: Regional, municipal governance I have already said that the standard of regional managerial teams is a key ingredient of success. You know as well as I do the regions that every year report considerable growth of GRP while not having oil or gas resources. That deserves […]

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JRL E-Mail Newsletter Table of Contents :: Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#89 :: 17 May 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#89 :: 17 May 2013 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: www.russialist.org JRL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: http://russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. ITAR-TASS: Some 200 mln roubles spent to build helicopter pad […]

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