Russians still have largely positive view of USA but trend is negative – poll

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(Interfax – Moscow, September 17, 2013) Nearly half of all Russians (46 per cent) have a generally positive perception of the USA today, yet the share of those with a negative attitude to this country is rising (35 per cent against 30 in February), VTsIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Centre) pollsters told Interfax on Tuesday (17 September). Those with the […]

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Could U.S. Assets Seizure Lead To Expansion Of Magnitsky Blacklist?

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Richard Solash – WASHINGTON, September 18, 2013)  As shady Russian businessmen snapped up luxury apartments in New York, lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was confined to the few square meters of a Moscow jail cell. He would die there under suspicious circumstances in 2009 after revealing a scheme by a circle of high-ranking government officials and associates to […]

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Ivanishvili: Normalization of Georgian-Russian relations will take 5-7 years

Tblisi, Georgia, File Photo with Building with Tower on Hillside and City Buildings in Valley in Distance

(Interfax – TBILISI, September17, 2013) Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili believes his country will take another 5-7 years to normalize relations with Russia. “Our relations with Russia are normalizing gradually,” Ivanishvili said in an interview with the French publication Le Point, fragments of which were published in Georgian media on Tuesday. The fact that Russia recently lifted an embargo on […]

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#169 :: 17 September 2013

Map of Russia

Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#169 : 17 September 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. RIA Novosti: Moscow’s Grasp of the Regions: For Development or […]

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Is Russian as difficult to learn as they say?

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexandra Kulikova, special to RBTH – September 17, 2013) Renowned polyglot, interpreter, psycholinguist and TV host Dmitry Petrov talks about the incentives for learning the Russian language. RBTH: What is the role of psychology in foreign language learning? Dmitry Petrov (D.P.): Learning a new language is about both psychology and mathematics. A range […]

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Vladimir Putin, the Richest Man on Earth

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky, an Editor and Novelist, is a Bloomberg View contributor – September 17, 2013) If you’ve ever wondered about the size of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s private fortune, allow me to offer a clue: He doesn’t need one. From time to time, Western journalists and bloggers speculate about whether Putin is one of the world’s […]

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RIA Novosti: Russian Prosecutors Probe Opposition Figure for ‘Extremism’

Boris Nemtsov file photo

(RIA Novosti – YAROSLAVL, September 17, 2013) ­ Russian opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov is under investigation for publicly inciting “extremist activity,” local prosecutors told RIA Novosti Tuesday. Prosecutors in Yaroslavl did not indicate which statements concerned them, but Boris Nemtsov, who is co-leader of the Parnas opposition party and a local lawmaker, links this to […]

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Capital outflow from Russia not yet slowing, ruble not to weaken substantially – Klepach

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) Capital outflow from Russia is not yet slowing but the ruble will not weaken to any great extent, even if oil prices fall, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach told Interfax. “The ruble will not weaken substantially even if oil prices fall markedly. The Central Bank (in that event) will lose more reserves,” Klepach […]

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Wage Growth Stagnant on High Inflation, Economic Slowdown

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – September 17, 2013) Moscow jobs pay 40 percent more compared to similar positions in regional centers, but wage growth has remained stagnant in the last five years across all regions in the country, according to findings from international consulting firm Hay Group. A five-year overview of Russia’s employment market demonstrated no growth […]

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RIA Novosti: Russians Feeling Increasingly Negative Toward US – Poll

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 17, 2013) ­ Russians have been feeling increasingly negative toward the United States over the past few months, and they now view the Western superpower more pessimistically than at any other point in more than four years, a new state survey showed Tuesday. Thirty-five percent of respondents to the poll, conducted on August 24 and […]

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U.S.-Russia Deal on Syria Gets Off to Wobbly Start

Syria Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – September 17, 2013) Two days after reaching a lauded agreement on resolving the Syria conflict, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have voiced opposing approaches on how the agreement should be implemented. After three days of talks in Geneva, Lavrov and Kerry framed a plan Saturday that […]

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Interfax: Lavrov: U.S. contacted Assad government about safety of chemical stockpiles

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) Before the current international diplomatic crisis over the reported chemical arms attacks in a Damascus suburb on August 21, the United States had contacted the Syrian government to find out how safe its chemical stockpiles were, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “We were working with the Syrians directly to understand the how […]

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Interfax: Analysts: deal with U.S. on Syrian arms ‘diplomatic victory’ for Russia

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) Two Russian political analysts interviewed by Interfax have put Saturday’s U.S.-Russian agreement on Syrian chemical arms, a deal that eliminates the possibility of any immediate military strike against the Syrian government, to the credit of Russian diplomacy. “This agreement sharply raises the odds of the problem of Syria being solved in a diplomatic way. […]

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Interfax: Pushkov worries U.S. may interpret accords on Syria in its own way

Alexei Pushkov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) The Geneva agreements between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are doubtlessly a significant diplomatic success but the question is whether or not they may be given different interpretations, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov said. “An important diplomatic success has been achieved in Geneva. First […]

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RIA Novosti: Moscow Mayor Touts ‘Fair’ Election, Denies Presidential Ambitions

Sergei Sobyanin file photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) ­ Moscow’s pro-Kremlin mayor, who recaptured his post after a closely watched election last weekend, said Monday he would not run for Russia’s presidency in 2018, but suggested that his victory against opposition leader Alexei Navalny has bolstered his legitimacy. Asked about plans to run in the next presidential race, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, […]

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Russia Reopens Military Base to Control Key Part of Arctic – Putin

Polar Map Showing Permafrost Areas, Adapted From NOAA.gov Graphic

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) ­ Russia will reopen a military base in the New Siberian Islands, an Arctic archipelago north of Yakutia, to secure control of the strategic region, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday. “Our forces left the area in 1993, and in the meantime it has become a very important point in the Arctic Ocean, […]

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Valdai Club opens 10th session

File Photo of Valdai Club Gathering at Long Tables in Large Hall Valdai Club Gathering at Long Tables in Large Hall

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Paul Duvernet, special to RBTH – September 17, 2013) Intellectuals, politicians and journalists gathered in central Russia for four days of discussion about the country’s future. The 10th annual meeting of the Valdai Club opened Sept. 16 with a collective inquiry into the competition between identities at the international and regional levels. The […]

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Moscow’s Grasp of the Regions: For Development or Power? Experts Argue

Map of Russia

(Howard Amos, RIA Novosti – VALDAI, September 16, 2013) ­ Russian officials, opposition leaders and pundits wrestled on Monday with the disjuncture between the country’s capital and its far-flung provinces at an international conference, where two erstwhile political rivals from the mineral-rich Urals region surprised observers by publicly settling their differences. The newly elected mayor of Yekaterinburg and outspoken Kremlin […]

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RIA Novosti launches history of post-soviet media project

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 17, 2013) ­ Earlier this Tuesday, the RIA Novosti Agency launched a project called A Quarter Century of Independent Media in Russia, a focus on the history of post-Soviet media from 1989 to this day. The core of the project is based on events related to the founding or closing of high-profile mass media outlets, […]

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U.S. to Surpass Russia in Liquid Fuel Production – Report

Oil Well file photo

(RIA Novosti – WASHINGTON, September 13, 2013) The United States will overtake Russia in liquid fuel production this quarter, strengthening a US return to prominence as a global fuel powerhouse after years of decline, US media reported this week, citing an energy industry report. Russia currently produces more liquid oil and gas, pumping out 10.81 million barrels per day (bpd) […]

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Navalny may head party, have problems with opening party offices in regions – expert

Alexei Navalny file photo

(Interfax – September 16, 2013) Opposition activist Alexei Navalny will most likely continue his political career not in the 2014 Moscow City Duma elections but by opening of party offices in regions where problems are likely to occur, General Director of the International Institute for Political Expertise (IIPE) Yevgeny Minchenko said. “A lot depends on whether or not the People’s […]

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Moscow’s New Role: Global Problem Solver?

Eurasia Map

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Charles Recknagel – September 13, 2013) The world is used to seeing Washington and its western allies take the lead in trying to solve world crises. But suddenly, Moscow has seized the initiative. On September 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin capped a week of energetic diplomacy by winning China’s support for Moscow’s initiative to preempt potential […]

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Cartels wind their way through Russia’s economy

Empty Boardroom

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Tatyana Lisina, special to RBTH – September 12, 2013) Cartels have appeared in nearly every sector of the Russian economy. The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia has detected or suspects price-fixing agreements in sectors ranging from the fishing, alcohol and meat industries, to medical care, transportation and notary services. Over the last 15 […]

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Kremlin spokesman: Putin did not want to offend anyone by op-ed in New York Times

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Interfax – BISHKEK, September 13, 2013) The Russian presidential spokesman is perplexed by comments from White House officials about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s op-ed in The New York Times. “We heard a statement by a White House press secretary this morning by Moscow time. I would like to note in this regard that, when Putin was writing this article and […]

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Anti-corruption platform wins votes

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

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH – September 16, 2013) The fight against graft has emerged as a rallying cry for Russia’s nascent opposition, yielding victories in local elections. The Kremlin agrees with its critics about the problem. Analysts hope the business climate stands to benefit. Dmitry Bykov, the charismatic Russian TV host-turned-opposition leader, stepped to […]

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Making Moscow a city for runners, one step at a time

Gorky Park file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Vladimir Kozlov, special to RBTH – September 14, 2013) While the Russian capital has a way to go to improve the quality of life for athletes, running is increasing in popularity thanks to the efforts of local race organizers and the city government, which has cleaned up major parks. [DJ: In the early […]

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Senator McCain invited to speak live on Rossiya 1 television

John McCain file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 15, 2013) Russian Journalist Vladimir Solovyov has invited U.S. Republican Senator John McCain to speak live in his evening program on Rossiya 1 television. “On behalf of the radio and television holding VGTRK, I invite Senator John McCain to speak live in the Sunday Evening program,” Solovyov wrote in his Twitter blog. Solovyov said later on […]

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10th Annual Valdai Club Meeting Opens

File Photo of Valdai Club Gathering at Long Tables in Large Hall Valdai Club Gathering at Long Tables in Large Hall

(RIA Novosti – September 16, 2013) Today, beginning at 9:15 a.m. Moscow time (5:15 a.m. GMT), RIA Novosti is broadcasting live from the opening of the 10th annual meeting of the Valdai Club, a discussion forum where high-level Russian officials have been meeting with foreign political scientists since 2004. A recording of the event will be posted after the broadcast […]

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Systemic parties losing support, elites shift to new parties – Civic Initiatives Committee report

Map of Russia

(Interfax – September 16, 2013) Parliamentary parties are losing the support of regional and local elites some of whom are shifting towards new political forces, the Civil Initiatives Committee think tank suggested. “There is an outflow of regional and local elites and voters from practically every “systemic” party [which has seats at the State Duma]. Candidates are moving from one […]

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RIA Novosti: 44% of Russians Call Ruling Party ‘Crooks and Thieves’ ­- Poll

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) ­ Almost half of all Russians, 44 percent, agree with opposition leader Alexei Navalny that the ruling United Russia party is made up of “crooks and thieves,” a recent opinion poll showed Monday, a significant increase from two years ago. Navalny, an anti-corruption activist who finished second in Moscow’s recent mayoral election, coined […]

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Russia Fails to Attract Equity Flows Despite Global Rally

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 16, 2013) As fears about the Syrian conflict recede, equity fund flows have increased to most emerging markets, excluding Russia, Emerging Portfolio Fund Research, or EPFR, said in a report. According to EPFR, investors channeled $2.6 billion to emerging markets last week, a weekly maximum since February, but pulled $235 million out of Russia, […]

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Landmark U.S.-Russia Deal on Syria a ‘Diplomatic Victory’

File Photo of John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov at Separte Podiums, Kerry with a Visible Earpiece; Adapted from Photo at state.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – September 16, 2013) Russian officials have praised their diplomatic victory in “knocking the military trump card out of U.S. hands” in Geneva on Saturday by securing a landmark deal to prevent U.S. military action in Syria. The U.S.-Russia deal was the result of nearly three days of talks in Geneva between U.S. […]

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Kremlin denies paying PR firm to embellish Russia’s international image

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 14, 2013) The Russian president’s office has denied allegations that it has paid public relations firm Ketchum $23 million from the state treasury for embellishing Russia’s image abroad. “Ketchum doesn’t get any money from the presidential administration. We continue to cooperate with them but there is no direct state spending on this cooperation,” President Vladimir Putin’s […]

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Russia not planning to forcibly drag anyone to Customs Union – diplomat

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Interfax – BRUSSELS, September 13, 2013) Russia is not planning to put pressure on any state or drag it forcibly into any association because of its relations with the EU’s Eastern Partnership, Russian envoy to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Interfax on Friday. “Our partners, primarily European parliamentarians, are unfortunately deeply misled on this. It is not about Russia’s […]

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SCO Against Syria Strike, Iran Sanctions

Eurasia Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – September 16, 2013) While the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) largely focused their attention on Syria and Iran at a summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, joint infrastructure projects and the energy sector were also in the spotlight. The leaders of the SCO, which includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, […]

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Kremlin Calm As China’s Clout Rises In Russia’s Backyard

China Map

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, September 12, 2013) The Kremlin did not bat an eyelid as Chinese President Xi Jinping jetted from one Central Asian capital to the next tying up billion-dollar energy deals in Moscow’s backyard. Privately, it might have been glowering. For years after gaining independence, the countries of former Soviet Central Asia remained locked […]

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Official: Geneva accords make possible U.S. strike against Syria even more odious

Syria Map

(Interfax – September 16, 2013) Possible U.S. military intervention in the Syrian conflict will look even more odious in the context of the agreement to subject Syrian chemical weapons to international monitoring, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov wrote on Twitter. “Kerry is reassuring Netanyahu: the U.S. keeps its finger on the trigger! But a strike against Syria […]

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Over 13,000 people convicted for economic crimes are now in prison in Russia – business ombudsman

Boris Titov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 12, 2013) Business ombudsman Boris Titov believes the issue of criminal prosecution of businessmen is blown out of proportion, although law enforcement agencies are frequently biased against businessmen. “Statements made in the press sometimes blow the issue out of proportion. Statistically, it’s not 300,000 people who have been prosecuted. A little more than 13,000 people, including […]

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Putin to Meet Opposition at Valdai Discussion Club, Report Says

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 13, 2013) President Vladimir Putin will meet prominent opposition politicians at the 10th annual Valdai International Discussion Club, where Russian and foreign experts will discuss diversity, political and otherwise, in modern Russia, a news report said Friday. The forum is being held in the Novgorod region from Sept. 16-19 and will conclude with a […]

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Sobyanin Inaugurated Despite Appeal

Sergei Sobyanin file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – September 13, 2013) President Vladimir Putin hailed Moscow’s mayoral elections as fair and transparent at Sergei Sobyanin’s inauguration ceremony Thursday evening, attributing any “opposition votes” to frustration with bureaucrats abusing power. “I’m sure that nobody would’ve voted against Sobyanin. Why would they vote against him? He’s done nothing but good, especially over […]

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Russians Have No Respect for Pussy Riot, Poll Says

File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 13, 2013) Russians have no respect for Pussy Riot, a poll from Levada Center indicates. Out of a sample of 1,601 people surveyed in 130 urban centers, not a single respondent said that they respected the band. In August 2012, band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhina were sentenced to two years […]

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Putin Relishes Role as Syria Peacemaker

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – September 13, 2013) Vladimir Putin, peacemaker. Such a title would have seemed almost unimaginable even a few weeks ago for a man who rose to power in part by waging a bloody war in Chechnya, where he vowed to “rub [the rebels] out in the outhouse.” But with his foreign minister pushing […]

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Russians More Skeptical Over Prosecution of Opposition – Poll

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Being Grabbed by Police at Protest

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 13, 2013) ­ Public awareness in Russia of two criminal investigations and trials of leading opposition figures is on the rise, and the public is increasingly seeing these issues as politically motivated, a new poll has found. The survey published by the independent pollster Levada Center yesterday asked respondents about their knowledge of anti-corruption activist […]

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Sechin Accused of Corporate Misconduct by TNK-BP Shareholders

Igor Sechin file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 13, 2013) Rosneft president and Kremlin insider Igor Sechin is facing accusations of corporate misconduct that could be reviewed by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, or RSPP, within a week, a news report said Friday. Gennady Osorgin, a minority shareholder in the Rosneft-owned TNK-BP Holding, sent a complaint regarding Sechin to RSPP’s […]

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Obama Falls Right Into Putin’s Trap

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm, Opinion Page Editor – September 13, 2013) President Vladimir Putin loves to set traps for U.S. President Barack Obama. The only thing Putin loves even more is when Obama falls smack into one. Trap No. 1. Putin set his latest trap Monday with a seemingly attractive proposal to have international monitors identify and […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Putin Speech at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of State

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Kremlin.ru – Bishkek, September 13, 2013) PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member countries, heads of state of observer countries, high representatives and summit guests, The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has been working for more than a decade now and has achieved some big results. It has established its place as an influential international […]

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What the Sochi Olympics mean to Russia

File Photo of Sochi Olympics Banner Near Highway in Warm Weather with Vehicle and Cyclicsts Nearby

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – James Ellingworth, special to RBTH – September 12, 2013) The Sochi Olympics are a “prestige project” and a symbol of “Russia’s rise” ­ those are the alliterative buzz-phrases you’ll find in articles everywhere. But what does this Olympic prestige mean for Russians? The most obvious cultural link is to the 1980 Moscow Olympics, […]

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Putin: Russia needs growth budget in 2014-2016, despite economic challenges

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Interfax – NOVO-OGARYOVO, September 11, 2013) Russia needs to have a growth budget in 2014-2016 despite the difficulties in the global economy, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on drafting the budget for the next three years. “We need to soberly assess the situation and bring revenue and spending into line with the economic growth forecast that is shaping […]

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Putin sees elements of stabilization world economy, not expecting crisis

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(Interfax – NOVO-OGAREVO, September 11, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin said he saw elements of stabilization in the world economy and that he was not expecting a crisis. This is the first time the budget is being drafted by the programming principle, Putin said at a meeting on budget projections for the period 2014-2016. “The second specific aspect is that […]

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Gender gap still wide in Russian politics

Valentina Matviyenko file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yaroslava Kiryukhina, RBTH – September 11, 2013) Women are poorly represented in politics in Russia, although a handful of women politicans have reached key positions. Russia is known for being a patriarchal country, but despite considerable barriers, some women leaders have managed to reach high levels in the political hierarchy. Women make up […]

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