(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – October 11, 2013) It takes Ilya Bachurin mere seconds to choose his favorite movie. But when asked to choose his favorite Russian movie, to say that it takes him a long time would be an understatement. The general director of Russia’s youngest and most technologically savvy film studio, Glavkino, approaches the matter […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 11, 2013) The amnesty campaign meant to mark the 20th anniversary of Russia’s constitution should apply to the suspects in the Bolotnaya Square clashes case, the Greenpeace activists detained onboard the vessel Arctic Sunrise and former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the For Human Rights organization said in an address published on its website on Thursday. “A […]
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(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Donald N. Jensen – October 10, 2013) In September, Vladimir Putin appointed Colonel General Viktor Zolotov, who used to head the Russian president’s security service, as deputy commander of the Interior Ministry troops, a large paramilitary force of about 170,000 soldiers. This appointment may be a step toward the creation of a new […]
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(RFE/RL – Brian Whitmore – October 10, 2013) The fact that a Moscow court found Mikhail Kosenko guilty of assaulting a police officer despite video evidence to the contrary didn’t exactly come as a surprise. In recent years, Russian courts have convicted Mikhail Khodorkovsky of stealing oil from himself and Aleksei Navalny of embezzling money without making a profit, just […]
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(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – Maria Snegovaya – October 10, 2013) The question of “Who is Mr. Putin” continues to interest Western Russia watchers. Political analyst Maria Snegovaya contrasts two recent books about the Russian leader, “Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin” by Fiona Hill and Clifford G. Gaddy, and “The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – October 11, 2013) The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday to allow people previously convicted of “serious and very serious crimes” to run for public office, in a move that may pave the way for opposition leader Alexei Navalny and former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky to get into politics. The ruling concerns a law […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – October 11, 2013 Experts advise the ruling party of Putin and Medvedev to resolve practical problems. Last week’s United Russia congress demonstrated that the ruling party remains the nation’s leading political force and has no viable rivals. Nevertheless, experts believe United Russia will need to change fast or risk […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Andrei Kolesnikov – October 10, 2013) Moscow based journalist, editor of the op-ed section of Novaya Gazyeta, columnist of the Vedomosti daily and www.gazeta.ru web magazine. Author of three books, including biography of controversial politician Anatoly Chubais Like a crippled Dreamliner, the Russian economy is slowing to a standstill; the bureaucrats are ignoring instructions; even the scientists are […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov & Henry Meyer – October 11, 2013) President Vladimir Putin’s human rights adviser urged prosecutors to drop piracy charges against Greenpeace activists for an Arctic protest, saying it’s as stupid as accusing them of raping the oil platform they scaled. “These charges are laughable because there isn’t the slightest justification for accusing the crew […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – October 11, 2013) At first, Sochi’s Fisht Olympic Stadium was meant to resemble a giant snowflake, a symbol of cold weather to balance out the city’s palm trees and beaches for the Winter Games. Then, the design morphed into two parallel mounds of snow, opened down the middle to present views of […]
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(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov, October 3, 2013) Fyodor Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments. The world is growing accustomed to the new America a country that will always surprise you. The United States’ political system used to be proud of its ability to […]
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(Interfax – October 10, 2013) Russians’ attitude to the USA is gradually getting worse, privately-owned news agency Interfax reported on 10 October, quoting a recent poll conducted by the independent pollster Levada Centre. The full results of the survey was published on the pollster’s website on the same day (http://www.levada.ru/10-10-2013/rossiyane-o-ssha). The poll was conducted on 20-24 September 2013 among 1,601 […]
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(RIA Novosti – KIEV, October 11, 2013) Russia has hit back at Ukraine after the Ukrainian prime minister threatened to stop all natural gas imports from Russia within the next few years unless the current gas contract is reviewed. On Thursday, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told RIA Novosti and Rossiya 24 TV channel that “Ukraine may stop buying […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Stepan Kravchenko & Daryna Krasnolutska – October 11, 2013) Russia is mounting a last-ditch offensive to torpedo Ukraine’s shift toward Europe as President Vladimir Putin seeks to salvage his dream of a common economic space in the former Soviet Union. As Ukraine pursues an accord on European Union integration, Russia has disrupted regional trade and sent […]
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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#182 ::11 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 JRL: russialist.org/funding.php POLITICS 1. Valdai Discussion Club/Vedomosti: Natalya Zubarevich, What’s Next for the Four Russias? […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – October 10, 2013) Russia’s top psychiatric institution held an open house Wednesday in an attempt to popularize its work, amid speculation about a revival of Soviet-style punitive psychiatry following the sentencing of an opposition protester to mandatory mental treatment. The Serbsky Center of Social and Judicial Psychiatry welcomed about a dozen journalists […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 10, 2013) At least seven Supreme Arbitration Court justices have resigned after President Vladimir Putin this week submitted a bill to the State Duma that would merge the legal body into the Supreme Court. The arbitration court on Thursday confirmed that seven judges had resigned, while an unidentified court official told Kommersant that more […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 9, 2013) The Russian State Duma has passed a bill in the first reading expanding grounds for unscheduled inspections of non-governmental organizations (NGO). According to the explanatory materials to the bill, it is expected to expand the list of grounds over which the Justice Ministry can hold unscheduled inspections of NGOs regarding which the information on […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, October 10, 2013) Russia’s Constitutional Court ruled Thursday to overturn a provision barring people convicted of major crimes from running for public office in a move that could open the way for opposition leader and recent Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny to participate in future elections. The court said in its ruling that a judicial […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – October 10, 2013) It’s cold, it’s gray, and – given that it’s only October – it’s going to get worse. The weather this time of year is not just unpleasant – it can affect everything from the economy to how Russians feel about their lives, experts say. After record-breaking rainfall in September […]
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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#182 ::11 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 JRL: […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, October 9, 2013) Russia’s Supreme Arbitration Court is widely viewed as the country’s most impartial court. But it might not be for much longer. The Kremlin this week submitted legislation to the State Duma that would essentially abolish the body, which resolves economic disputes, by merging it with the Supreme Court. The […]
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(RIA Novosti – Konstantin von Eggert – October 9, 2013) For the past decade Russian politics has been all about ‘signals’ from on high. In the absence of mature democratic institutions like parliament, independent courts and (with rare exceptions) truly independent media, what leaders say, especially the president, take on an almost-sacred meaning. When 10 years ago, at the beginning […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 10, 2013) The piracy charges, based on which the crew of the Greenpeace icebreaker Arctic Sunrise was arrested, are ungrounded and should be reconsidered, Mikhail Fedotov, the head of the presidential human rights council, said. “I hope this decision will be reconsidered. In any case, we will turn to the prosecutor general. He has potential for […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Andy Frecka – October 10, 2013) You’re all ready for your trip to Russia. You know how to say “hello” and “thank you” and you’ve even brushed up your knowledge of Russian history. But that won’t be e nough. Statistics show that 107% of all communication is non-verbal. So clearly, you need to give your […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – October 10, 2013) The Russian economy will stagnate if companies do not increase their labor productivity, which currently averages at 40 percent of that of the Fortune 500 Global companies, according to an annual ranking that Expert Rating Agency presented Wednesday. High prices for natural resources and cheap labor are no longer […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH – October 9, 2013) Most Russians do not believe in Russia’s future as a leading hi-tech exporter, a Debate Night this week at Moscow’s Technopolis revealed. The fact that Russia currently accounts for 26 percent of the world’s high-tech exports was no deterrent to this week’s Debate Night at Moscow’s […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 9, 2013) Moscow expects that a meeting between the Russian and U.S. presidents will take place and will become another important stage in the development of bilateral relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “We do not need meetings just for the sake of having meetings. The Russian president has said this very clearly. We conduct intensive […]
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(RIA Novosti – WASHINGTON, October 9, 2013) Decommissioned Russian warheads are fueling “approximately half of the nuclear energy in the United States,” a senior US State Department official said Wednesday. “Over the past 15 years, nuclear fuel from this source has accounted for approximately 10 percent of all electricity produced in the United States,” US Acting Under Secretary of State […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, October 10, 2013) The father of US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden says he believes Russia, where he arrived on Thursday with the aim of meeting with his son, is the only country in which his fugitive son can feel safe. Lon Snowden told reporters on arrival at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport that he doubted his son would […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan, Editor andCcorrespondent at themoscownews.com – October 8, 2013) “I don’t like Putin, but I respect that guy. He is tough. He delivers what he says he’ll deliver. He presents himself as a real He-Man.” That wasn’t a congratulatory note to President Vladimir Putin on his birthday. That was Fox News. More specifically, it […]
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(RIA Novosti – KIEV, October 10, 2013) Ukraine may stop all natural gas imports from Russia within the next few years if the current gas contract is not reviewed, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Thursday. “Under the existing gas prices we have reduced and will continue to reduce [gas imports], and in the future and this is not […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – October 10, 2013) Ilham Aliyev was headed to win Wednesday’s presidential election in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, in what some analysts say is the perfect demonstration of how oil revenues can strengthen a country’s leader both domestically and internationally. During the decade that Aliyev ruled the country after succeeding his […]
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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#181 ::10 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 JRL: […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Gasyuk, Nora FitzGerald, special to RBTH, October 8, 20-13) There is a long journey ahead to audit and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons program, analysts agree, and there are many concerns and inevitable delays in the days and weeks ahead. Yet the international community is closer than it has ever been to eradicating […]
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(Interfax – October 8, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the Syrian leadership’s response to the Russian-US proposal for eliminating the country’s chemical weapons, adding that he hoped this work would continue in the pace and spirit it had started in. He also expressed satisfaction with the position his US counterpart Barack Obama had taken on Syria. Putin was […]
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(RIA Novosti – Denpasar, Indonesia, October 8, 2013) The Russian Federation is interested in recovery of the US economy and hopes that, being caused by a domestic political situation, the issue will be solved as soon as possible, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, noting that this issue was not specifically discussed at the APEC summit. (Passage omitted: the US […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – October 9, 2013) Russian literature is a serious business. The books are heavy, the beards are long and the descriptions of women’s upper lip hair are detailed. Russian authors from the 18th century onwards are read in classrooms from Tokyo to Buenos Aires and have been lauded the world over. Writers of […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Kolesnichenko, special to RBTH – October 7, 2013) The lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the Duma, set a new record before the 2013 summer recess by passing as many as 261 new bills. Some of them have caused quite a stir, including the laws banning the propaganda of homosexuality, making it […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – September 9, 2013) First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov on Tuesday griped about proposed raises in government salaries, describing them as insufficient, adding to the unabated broadsides aimed at the federal budget plan for next year. His comments highlighted the tensions bred by a lower-than-expected increase in government spending. “The salaries that […]
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(RIA Novosti – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief, The Moscow News, October 8, 2013) Ivan the Terrible lived a long time ago and the passage of time does distort historical figures so that the truth is sometimes hard to separate from fiction. Still, it is probably safe to say that Ivan the Terrible was not a fan of pluralism and […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – October 8, 2013) Ten months after the government banned adoptions of Russian children by U.S. citizens, authorities say the number of children adopted domestically will more than double by this year’s end amid increased state allowances. Thanks to a range of government measures, the number of adopted children in the country will […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 9, 2013) It will take “at a minimum two generations” for the various identities in the Russian Federation to come together to form a united civic nation, a process that will be all the more prolonged because except in the major cities, the country does not have a civil society, according […]
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(Pravda.ru – Anton Ponomarev – October 8, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated his 61st birthday on October 7th. Pravda.Ru talked to political scientists asking what actions of the Russian leader in the domestic and foreign policy during his tenure as President they find most successful. Head of Political Science Department of High School of Economics Leonid Polyakov: “I would […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 7, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently become more long-sighted and wiser (65%), more strong-willed (64%) and looks fresher and more energetic (63%), sociologists said citing a poll held. Respondents said that Putin awoke more interest in himself and his actions (57%) than before, the Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) said presenting the survey […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, October 8, 2013) The Russian Federation’s annual spending on the nuclear arms complex is to be increased by more than 50 per cent in the next three years, says the appraisal report by from the State Duma Committee for Defense on the draft federal budget for 2014 and the planning period of 2015 and 2016. It […]
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(Interfax – BALI, October 7, 2013) The absence of U.S. President Barack Obama from the APEC Bali summit is quite understandable, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. He said he would have done the same. “We can see what is going on in U.S. domestic politics and this situation is not easy. I think the decision of the U.S. president not […]
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(Kremlin.ru – Bali, Indonesia – October 8, 2013) PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, I want to note that the APEC summit had good, practical outcomes. Let me recall once again that the Asia-Pacific region is home to more than 40 percent of the world’s population; it generates 56 percent of global GDP and accounts […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 8, 2013) Russian government programs require a quality review, as their funding is not backed by real budget spending, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said at a parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council in Moscow on Tuesday. “Government programs in key sectors – infrastructure, healthcare, education and science were compiled and considered with financing that […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, October 9, 2013) The International Monetary Fund warned in a report published Wednesday that Russia’s economic model has exhausted itself and predicted that future growth will be constrained by negative demographic trends. The IMF’s annual World Economic Outlook said that the Russian economy has managed to grow on the back of rising oil prices and by […]
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