(Interfax – Moscow, October 29, 2013) Head of the Human Rights Council (HRC) under the Russian president Mikhail Fedotov has expressed the view that there are political prisoners in present-day Russia and they should be amnestied. “There are political prisoners in present-day Russia. The human rights community, include one abroad, has a view on this, and it clearly says that […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – October 29, 2013 – Jake Rudnitsky) One hundred days before the start of the most expensive Winter Olympics, President Vladimir Putin’s $48 billion vision of a newly empowered Russia rests in the hands and shovels of laborers working around the clock. Construction continues on the main stadium, hotels and athlete housing for the Feb. 7-23 Winter […]
» Read more
(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 193 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Roger McDermott – October 29, 2013) As the anniversary approaches in November 2013, marking one year since President Vladimir Putin sacked Anatoly Serdyukov and appointed Sergei Shoigu as Russia’s defense minister, evidence is mounting to indicate that the change may not herald better times for the military. […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) Russian President Vladimir Putin has overseen a snap check of Russia’s nuclear deterrent, aerospace defenses and strategic aviation, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. “The exercise involved launches of ballistic missiles, drills by air defense and missile defense units,” Peskov said, adding that all practice targets had been destroyed. The Russian Defense Ministry […]
» Read more
TBILISI. Oct 29 (Interfax) – Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze has reiterated that her country may agree to restore diplomatic relations with Russia only if Russia renounces its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states and if it lifts its “occupation” of these territories. “If de-occupation occurs”, and if Russia renounces its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 30, 2013) In an intensifying fight between Russia and Ukraine, the gloves came off on October 29 when Gazprom hit Ukraine with just short of a $1bn gas bill in retribution for Kyiv’s decision to turn its back on the Russian-led Customs Union and throw in its lot with the EU with the […]
» Read more
BRUSSELS. Oct 29 (Interfax) – Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told journalists in Brussels on Tuesday that he believes his arrest is among the preconditions for normalization of relations between Moscow and Tbilisi. “As for my personal future, certainly, I have two or three weeks more to finish my presidential term. We have changed everything in this country in ten years. […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 28, 2013) President Vladimir Putin opposes the introduction of a visa regime with the Central Asian countries because he is still “living with the illusions” that the Commonwealth of Independent States of which they are members continues to exist and can serve as the basis for some broader and deeper Russian-led […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) – The situation in Syria provides proof that Russia’s efforts to settle the conflict politically are correct, contrary to their American partners’ claims, said Russia’s ambassador to Syria, Azamat Kulmukhametov. “Our American partners kept saying that we are on the wrong side of history. However, our entire policy and the latest developments in Syria, as well […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – October 29, 2013) State pollster VTsIOM released survey results Monday regarding last month’s Greenpeace protest in the Arctic that indicate more than a third of Russians believe the protest was a foreign plot and more than two-thirds disagree with the group’s message of needing to protect the environment from oil drilling. Armed […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax) – Russian presidential chief of staff Sergei Ivanov discussed Russian-U.S. relations with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at a meeting in Russia. “I can’t say that Russian-U.S. relations are developing very smoothly and consistently, but anyway, the last meeting between our presidents in St. Petersburg showed that, if a constructive approach is taken to […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Viktor Litovkin, special to RBTH – October 29, 2013) At a NATO-Russia Council meeting in Brussels, the Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu offered the international community assistance in destroying Syrian chemical weapons and expressed his hope to resume Russia-NATO dialogue on ABMs in Europe. Last week, Brussels hosted a meeting of the […]
» Read more
NEW YORK. Oct 28 (Interfax) – The head of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Russia, Andrew Somers, has praised the investment climate in Moscow and claimed that the environment for doing business in the city has improved significantly over the last few years. Somers, who was speaking on Monday at a forum in New York entitled “Invest in […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 29, 2013) Russia has shot up the rankings of the World Bank’s annual Doing Business index this year. According to the survey, its now easier to do business in Russia than in China, the previous stand-out leader in the ranking amongst the five Brics nations. “Improving the investment climate is a top policy […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, October 26 (RIA Novosti) Russians must learn to perceive the decisions of courts and investigators as legitimate for the country to develop forward, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in a televised interview Saturday. Answering a question about a high-profile corruption case that has ensnared several top Defense Ministry officials since late last year, Medvedev said that evaluating the […]
» Read more
check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#193 :: 29 October 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: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support […]
» Read more
From: Jeff Yarborough <jeff.yarborough@opensocietyfoundations.org> Subject: Eurasia Director postion Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 The Open Society Foundations are currently searching for a Director to lead our Eurasia Programs. The link to position is here: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/about/jobs/director-eurasia-programs Jeff Yarborough | Russia Project | Open Society Foundations | T: 212-548-0128 |F: 646-557-2473 | jeff.yarborough@opensocietyfoundations.org
» Read more
WASHINGTON, October 25 (By Carl Schreck for RIA Novosti) A US government program for the study of Russia and the former Soviet bloc whose recent defunding has sparked outrage in academic circles counts among its alumni the current US ambassador to Russia as well two former secretaries of state. Michael McFaul, the current US envoy to Russia, conducted post-doctoral […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, October 26 (RIA Novosti) Russia has nothing to fear from the fast-growing China, but could benefit from this cooperation, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in a televised interview Saturday. In an interview with Vesti on Saturday on Russia 1 TV channel, Medvedev said Russia should cooperate with Beijing in high-technology areas, adding that China, the world’s second largest […]
» Read more
NOVO-OGARYOVO. Oct 28 (Interfax) – Sergei Katyrin, the head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has suggested to President Vladimir Putin that the BRICS countries should consolidate their efforts in defending their positions in the World Trade Organization (WTO). “We consider the possibility of working together with BRICS. Separately, we probably do not exceed the leading countries or […]
» Read more
(Interfax – October 29, 2013) Russia should fully use the dispute settlement opportunities provided by the World Trade Organization (WTO), Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. “It is important to correctly use the opportunities provided by WTO membership, to use the allowed mechanisms and procedures to furthest possible extent, including the WTO dispute settlement body,” he said at a conference devoted […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 25 (Interfax) – Russians are quite well-aware of the Noble Prize but only one in five follows news about it, sociologists said. According to the poll held by the Public Opinion Foundation in 43 Russian regions, 44% of 1,500 respondents are aware that the Noble [sic] Prize exists, other 42% heard about it, while 10% learnt about the […]
» Read more
KOSTROMA, October 29 (RIA Novosti) A Russian rights organization that promoted public initiatives said Tuesday that it was suspending operations because it is unable to pay a $9,000 fine imposed for failing to register as a “foreign agent.” The NGO, based in the central Kostroma Region, said it was able to raise 100,000 rubles ($3,000) to pay a fine […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) Russian lawmakers will consider letting people who have been convicted for serious crimes run in elections, on the condition that voters are told about their criminal records. “As it turns out, people’s rights are affected, even though they’ve already been punished,” state lawmaker Sergei Ivanov of the nationalist LDPR party and author of the […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax) – The average cost of a package of ritual services in Russia is now $830, Alexei Suloyev, chairman off the Guild of Ritual Service Organizations of the Moscow Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said. “Russia is at the bottom of the list for this indicator,” Suloyev said at an international conference of funeral business experts held […]
» Read more
(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – October 29, 2013) An increasing number of Russians are tired of year-round daylight savings time, a recent survey shows. According to a poll released on Tuesday by the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research, just 32 percent of Russians approve of not having to set clocks back an hour each fall, down from 73 percent […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Kislyakov, special to RBTH – October 28, 2013) The debate about the permanence of climate change goes on, but the effects of warmer temperatures can already be felt. In an article published in the journal “Nature” in mid-October, British scientists said they had defined a certain “point of non-return” for climate change […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 28, 2013) Russian nationalists and others have regularly criticized Vladimir Putin for building an economy and hence a state that relies on the export of raw materials rather than the development of industry and investment in human capital. But now two of them have stepped up this attack and argued that […]
» Read more
ROSTOV-ON-DON. Oct 28 (Interfax) – Russia is ready for constructive dialogue and compromise on missile defense with the United States and NATO. “We are ready for constructive dialogue with the United States and NATO. We are open to compromise. However, we will not pretend that talk of the (missile defense) system the Americans are creating does not need any changes […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – October 29, 2013) Despite a complete change of leadership in Georgia sealed in Sunday’s presidential election, Russia and its southern neighbor remain on track only to crawl toward a strained reconciliation, due largely to the legacy of the bitter five-day war that the countries fought in 2008. Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s relentless modernizer […]
» Read more
From: Kerry Eickholt <keickholt@globalinterests.org> Subject: Job Announcement: Center on Global Interests Program Director Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 Center on Global Interests Program Director The Center on Global Interests (CGI) is seeking a Program Director to lead the development and implementation of its research programs. Our active programs focus on global governance in the 21st century, U.S.-Russia bilateral relations, and […]
» Read more
From: Jeff Yarborough <jeff.yarborough@opensocietyfoundations.org> Subject: Eurasia Director postion Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 The Open Society Foundations are currently searching for a Director to lead our Eurasia Programs. The link to position is here: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/about/jobs/director-eurasia-programs Jeff Yarborough | Russia Project | Open Society Foundations | T: 212-548-0128 |F: 646-557-2473 | jeff.yarborough@opensocietyfoundations.org
» Read more
From: Paul Richardson <paulr@russianlife.com> Subject: The New Issue of Russian Life Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 RUSSIAN LIFE MAGAZINE NOV/DEC 2013 ISSUE 557, Vol 56, No. 6 http://www.russianlife.com/russianlife/magazine/ Science Wars MARIA ANTONOVA The government wants to reform the Russian Academy of Sciences. Scientists are having none of it. All a-Twitter MARIA ANTONOVA In our Trends section, editor Maria Antonova looks […]
» Read more
check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#193 :: 29 October 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: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – October 25, 2013) Turkey is interested in joining the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and India also wants closer ties with the organization, President Vladimir Putin said at the EurAsian Economic Community summit in Minsk on Thursday. But some political analysts saw the summit in Minsk, which for the first […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Russian presidential chief-of-staff Sergei Ivanov has called on the municipal authorities to cooperate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) instead of shunning them. “You should not be afraid of NGOs. Rather, you ought to work together with them,” Ivanov said at a meeting of city mayors and city managers on Thursday. Practice shows that the municipal authorities […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Protopope Dimitry Smirnov, the head of the patriarch’s commission on family and protection of mothers and children, believes that democracy is based on lies. “It’s just a lie. Communist is also a lie, but Communism has religious features. Communism seems to take a lot from true religions. The Communists have their own teaching, their own […]
» Read more
(Interfax – Snegiri, Moscow Region – October 24, 2013) The Kremlin receives in a positive key the signal from the parliamentary opposition, which is calling for giving priority to ensuring the security of the state and does not support “orange forces” (reference to Ukrainian orange revolution which is seen as backed by the West), according to the head of the […]
» Read more
SNEGIRI, Moscow region. Oct 24 (Interfax) – The Kremlin has welcomed the parliamentary opposition’s signal indicating its support for national security as a priority and its refusal to back so-called “orange forces”, director of the president’s homeland security directorate Oleg Morozov said. “We have heard the signal sent by the parliamentary systemic opposition, as it is called today, which really […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Russian business ombudsman Boris Titov said that the one-time migration amnesty that he has proposed would allow legalization of labor in the migration market and would bring 74 billion rubles to the treasury. “We propose a one-time amnesty for those who already are working in Russia on the condition of concluding a labor agreement and […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrey Vaganov, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, special to RBTH – October 25, 2013) A recently passed law on reforming the Russian Academy of Sciences is aimed at segregating scientific research from academic property management. The government argues the move will free science of an irrelevant burden. Academics, for their part, are convinced […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Forty percent of the respondents surveyed by the Public Opinion Foundation believe Russia has political opposition, 30% believe it does not, and the others were undecided. The poll was conducted in 43 regions of Russia in mid October. It surveys 1,500 respondents. Only 4% of those who believe Russia has political opposition believe it has […]
» Read more
SNEGIRI, Moscow region. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Russian electoral authorities, including the Central Election Commission (CEC), have managed to minimize the number of situations where potential candidates are banned from running in elections for no discernable reason, head of the Russian president’s homeland policy directorate Oleg Morozov said. “I would like to thank our colleagues from the CEC and you […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Vyacheslav Volodin, first deputy head of the presidential administration said he disagrees with the fact that a single voting day, the second Sunday of September this year, was the cause of low voter turnout. “I disagree that September 8 is a day that does not give a high voter turnout,” Volodin said at a meeting […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – October 25, 2013) Gazprom has started to operate the first offshore field that it has developed on its own, in a test of its power to perform the challenging task without foreign partners. Sitting off the Pacific island of Sakhalin, the Kirinskoye field will feed natural gas to Asia, as demand from […]
» Read more
MINSK, October 25 (RIA Novosti) Leaks by former US security contractor Edward Snowden regarding US intelligence-gathering on Russia will have no impact on relations between Moscow and Washington, Russia’s foreign minister said Friday. Sergei Lavrov said issues regarding Snowden were not high on Russia’s international diplomatic agenda. Emerging allegations that US intelligence operative have spied on the phones of […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) – Russia will not close its market for goods from Ukraine if the latter signs an association with the European Union, but Ukrainian products will no longer enjoy benefits, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. There is a free-trade zone in the CIS of which both Russia and Ukraine are participants, he said at a press conference […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Molly Corso in Tbilisi – October 25, 2013) With Georgians headed to the polls on October 27, it appears clear that Giorgi Margvelashvili will be the country’s next president. However, second place is nearly as important in this race, with the other candidates needing to draw support for the bitter political fight that will […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Claire Bigg – October 24, 2013) Few leaders have been as polarizing as Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s outgoing president. To some, he is the hero of the “Rose Revolution,” the man who stamped out corruption and raised the country’s international profile. Others see him as an authoritarian leader who cracked down on dissent, persecuted his rivals, and […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – October 25, 2013) When Vladimir Pereverzin woke up on Oct. 25, 2003, he had no reason to suspect there would be anything unusual about the day. But when he clicked on the television, he saw mind-boggling news: billionaire Yukos owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man and Pereverzin’s former boss, had been […]
» Read more