(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 22, 2013) Traders that have been looking for the shortest route from Asia to Europe since the days of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot may have finally found it, though the way may be colder than expected and the cargo will probably consist of less silk and spices. Yong Sheng, a 19,000 ton Chinese […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrei Kislyakov, special to RBTH – August 22, 2013) Russian researchers have been developing systems to gather data on the most dangerous threats to the Earth and to destroy them, if need be. Yet a specific strategy for neutralizing space threats has yet to be developed. The latest news from space is […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 22, 2013) US President Barack Obama’s official visit to Russia has been postponed, not cancelled, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday. “The visit has been postponed, not cancelled,” Alexander Lukashevich said. “The invitation that Mr. Obama has is still in force, and we hope that he will use it at some point in […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – August 22, 2013) Russia could annul a free trade regime with Ukraine and scrap joint projects in a number of industries if Kiev signs an association agreement with the European Union, Kremlin advisor Sergei Glazyev was quoted as saying Wednesday. By signing the agreement which is slated for November Ukraine […]
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(Voice of America – James Brooke, VOA Moscow bureau chief, covering Russia and the former USSR – August 15, 2013) When I first visited Georgia, on a reporting trip, in September 1991, I arrived in Tbilisi armed with four years of college Russian and gung ho to use it! To my dismay, the independence-minded residents of the Georgian Soviet […]
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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#154 :: 22 August 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 […]
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(RIA Novosti – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief, The Moscow News – August 19, 2013) The news of violence coming out of Egypt is horrifying, and it must be said, unfortunately, that we haven’t seen the end of the horror. So why are Russians continuing to flock to the country for vacation this month? The short answer is economics. Vacation packages […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 21, 2013) Five of Russia’s extradition requests sent to the United States in the past few years have been left unanswered, a deputy Russian prosecutor general has said in an interview. “Since 2008, the United States has refused 16 times to extradite people to us citing the absence of a relevant treaty,” Deputy Russian Prosecutor […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – August 21, 2013) Growth in targeted investment is the key message of the 2013 American Express/CFO Global Business and Spending Monitor, scheduled for release in Russia this week. While businesses worldwide are still exercising caution, the report’s findings cite growing optimism among companies toward investment, with specialization in markets and value delivery […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 20, 2013) The Kremlin has held back a proposed program to give financial support to the most talented Russian students undertaking postgraduate degrees in top foreign universities, because there is no guarantee that the economy will benefit from the outlay, a news report said Tuesday. The program was aimed at raising the standard of […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, August 20, 2013) The opinion poll data published by Moscow mayoral candidate (from the opposition RPR-Parnas party) Aleksey Navalnyy, which indicate that a second round is possible in the mayoral election on 8 September, do not reflect the real balance of forces and are dictated by the wish to influence voters, VTsIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Centre) […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – August 21, 2013) Sitting in a tiny room that serves as a temporary office for elections watchdog Golos, Grigory Melkonyants, a senior member of the now defunct organization, is full of enthusiasm. Despite the roller-coaster ride the organization has been through in recent months caused by sanctions placed on it by the […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Darya Novak, special to RBTH – August 20, 2013) Moscow, Saint Petersburg and The Golden Ring are the only option presented to you by your travel agency you must be thinking there has to be more to Russia than this? Well, you would be right! Russia Beyond The Headlines is launching the ultimate […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 21, 2013) Modern Russian residents have largely changed compared to Soviet people, independent pollster Levada Center has said, citing a recent poll. Asked whether the residents of today’s Russia are different from people who lived in the Soviet Union, 74 percent of respondents said they are completely or in many respects different. Fourteen percent said […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – August 21, 2013) With Moscow about to vote for a new mayor this September, opposition blogger and candidate for the job Alexei Navalny is doing what he does best: exposing the sweet little earners that come from being well connected. In this case it is Anna Sobyanina, the daughter of Moscow’s incumbent mayor, Sergei […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 20, 2013) A serious change has occurred in the Russian mentality and political system since the breakdown of the Soviet Union, Levada Center sociologists told Interfax. Seventy-four percent of 1,600 respondents polled in 130 towns and cities in 45 regions in July said fellow citizens had changed a lot or entirely in the past two decades […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 20, 2013) Pussy Riot punk band member Yekaterina Samutsevich, convicted to two years of a suspended sentence, has filed a lawsuit against her former lawyers Violetta Volkova, Nikolai Polozov and Mark Feigin. Samutsevich said she demanded to award her non-pecuniary damages for insulting statements regarding her. “The lawsuit has been filed against three lawyers: against Feigin, […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – August 20, 2013) Russia’s economy, long one of the drivers of growth in the developing world, might already be in recession. Worse, the country’s leaders are offering no indication that they’re prepared to combat it. Identifying recessions can be difficult in Russia. The typical definition is two quarters of declining gross domestic product, […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – August 21, 2013) As officials scowl at the cargo that goes out through foreign harbors, the government is making headway on a plan to build a $7 billion port on the Black Sea. The Port of Taman will open in 2019 to handle dry cargoes, such as grain and coal, Transportation Minister […]
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(Moscow, August 19, 2013) Egypt is facing the threat of a civil war breaking out and only the Egyptian Army could prevent this from happening, experts think. The disintegration of the country is also likely, experts interviewed by RIA Novosti suggested. (Passage omitted: events of past week) Commenting on the current situation, a doctor of philosophy and a specialist on […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas – August 19, 2013) Russian consumer spending accelerated in July as unemployment unexpectedly fell and inflation eased to the slowest pace in eight months, boosting household purchasing power. Retail sales accelerated for a second month, growing 4.3 percent from a year earlier after a 3.5 percent increase in June, the Federal Statistics Service in […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – August 20, 2013) Groups of workers squatting on their haunches surrounded by piles of sand and broken tarmac is a common picture for downtown Moscow these days. But Muscovites can keep calm: this is not another 2 billion ruble effort by acting Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to replace asphalt with tiles on pavements […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) Journalist Sergei Dorenko said he is glad to be back on Ekho Moskvy radio, but currently has no plans to stay there for a long time and is still hoping to open his own radio station. “No plans were discussed today, but I saw that (Ekho Moskvy editor-in-chief) Alexei Venediktov has put me on […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, August 18, 2013) The decision of Moscow mayoral candidate Aleksey Navalnyy to not take part in debates on the Moskva Doveriye TV channel and the Moskva FM radio station can be described as a certain mistake, however he can use the time he saves to maximize contacts with voters on subjects that suit him, political analysts […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) Moscow mayor candidate Alexei Navalny said that he had spent 47 million rubles on the election campaign and that he asked his supporters to keep transferring money. “Over five weeks passed since the fundraising campaign began. You have given us over 49 million rubles during this time. Over 8,000 people donated to our election […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) The campaign staff of opposition activist, Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny has denied fund raising violations insinuated by the Interior Ministry. “Apparently, everything we have done is absolutely legal. They can do nothing but post a press release with scary words every Monday,” Navalny campaign staff head Leonid Volkov told Interfax on Monday. “The […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, August 19, 2013) Moscow mayoral candidate Sergey Sobyanin has provided the full set of documents for registration in the election of Moscow city chief and was registered in total accordance with the law, a spokesperson for the Moscow city electoral commission told RIA Novosti on Monday (19 August). Moscow mayoral nominee from the RPR-Parnas party Aleksey […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Patrick Sewell, special to RBTH – August 19, 2013) Flare-ups of nationalist conflict in July exposed the government as being either unable, or unwilling, to oppose a dangerous nationalist interpretation of Russian statehood with one based on civic identity. On July 8, 600 citizens in the southern town of Pugachev, angered by the […]
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(Interfax – PYATIGORSK, August 19, 2013) People, who are constantly working in the information technology sphere, bloggers included, should be involved in developments in the sphere of information security, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. “We must be ready to protect ourselves in case of any attack against our country or our interests. In my point of view, it is […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Lyudmila Nazdracheva, special to RBTH – August 19, 2013) Bloggers have become a fixture on Russia’s political scene. Almost every governor, mayor or party official has a blog these days, though few have more than a thousand followers. RBTH takes a look at successful virtual political diaries and the real people behind them. […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) The Russian Federation Council has no more senators with foreign accounts and assets, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said. “Members of the Federation Council have complied with the demands of the federal law banning certain categories of citizens to have foreign accounts and assets. The limitations imposed by the law apply to senators as […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) At least 39 State Duma deputies were supposed to make decisions regarding their foreign assets and real estate abroad before August 19. A law, which came into effect on May 19, 2013, compelled deputies to abandon either their assets or their parliament seats. Deputies and public servants are permitted to have real estate abroad […]
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(Interfax – PYATIGORSK, August 19, 2013, 2013) All Russian regions should ultimately switch to direct elections, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. A young man asked Medvedev at the Mashuk-2013 North Caucasus youth forum on Monday whether regional elections should be direct like national elections, or if regional leaders should be appointed depending on the a region’s specific situation. “Elections should […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said a putsch similar to the one that occurred in Russia in August 1991 may repeat itself in Russia if Russia does not change its development direction. “I have talked to many Middle Eastern leaders and they said go on like this if you want, the Yeltsin tragedy will […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Maria Stambler – August 20, 2013) When Westerners think of Russia, bears, snow, matryoshki and, of course, vodka are among the first things that come to mind. The pervasiveness and social acceptance of vodka have attracted the government’s attention in recent years due to worrying levels of alcoholism. According to a 2011 report by the […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova – August 19, 2013) It’s a fact of life that most Russians put up with and most expats are shocked by virtually every patient in intensive care is completely cut off from the world: no visitors, no cellphones, and hardly any exceptions. The rules are so strict that even parents of small […]
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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#152 :: 20 August 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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) The defense lawyers for former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky said he doubts that the idea of the presidential human rights council to declare a new amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, which could apply to the former Yukos managers, will be implemented. “The idea of this amnesty is constantly present […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) Russians have paid attention to the ruble’s depreciation, which began in late June, but cannot explain its causes, sociologists said. Thirty-nine percent of the respondents polled in 130 towns and cities in 42 regions in July said they had noticed the ruble’s slide. The change was especially obvious to residents of cities with a […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 17, 2013) Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was not interrogated by special services after his arrival to Russia, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said on Friday. In an interview with Fairfax Media, the founder of the anti-secrecy organization has confirmed that WikiLeaks personnel have continuously accompanied Snowden since he left Hong Kong for Moscow on […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – August 19, 2013) President Vladimir Putin’s calls for domestic companies to repatriate their funds back home from offshore jurisdictions have fallen on deaf ears, with almost half of the $67 billion investment by Russian residents abroad in the first quarter of this year settling in the British Virgin Islands, according to figures […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas & Agnes Lovasz – August 19, 2013) Elena Dibova was ready to pledge her 15 million-ruble ($456,000) apartment to get financing for her metal-safe business. As her bank dragged its feet, she hit the roadblock companies across Russia face as the economy sinks. Corporate-lending growth has plunged as the weaker economy prompts banks to […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 19, 2013) Military investigators have decided not to open criminal a case that could have seen former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov charged with abusing his position to misappropriate government funds, a news report said Monday The allegations have only deepened the haze of suspicion surrounding Serdyukov, who was fired by President Vladimir Putin in […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Anastasia Valeeva – August 16, 2013) Anastasia Valeeva is a Moscow-based journalist working at Public Television of Russia and doing her MA at the University of Siegen, Germany. The upcoming Moscow mayoral election is much in the news because one of the candidates, Alexei Navalny, is appealing against a prison sentence. Anastasia Valeeva gives a snapshot of some […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, August 19, 2013) Aleksey Navalny, despite his reputation for “politically incorrect” Russian nationalist statements, has now turned to Moscow’s non-Russian diasporas for a very simple reason: they form a minimum of 1.5 million of the city’s residents and cannot be ignored by anyone who hopes to win election there. Last week, the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 19, 2013) Opposition blogger Alexei Navalny has announced that he will not participate in the next rounds of mayoral debates, both televised and on the radio. The Navalny campaign criticized the decision by television channel Moskva-Doverie to air the debate at 8 a.m., Interfax reported. Last week Navalny, the RPR-Parnas candidate, participated in three […]
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(Interfax – August 19, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with members of the presidential human rights council on September 3, the newspaper Vedomosti reported, citing sources with knowledge on the matter, on Monday. Putin was earlier scheduled to meet with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in Moscow on September 3. Mikhail Fedotov, chairman of the human rights council […]
» Read more(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, August 19, 2013) “In place of a state as an institution,” the Russian Federation has “a gigantic and uncontrolled private structure which is successfully diverting profits to its own use,” according to Yevgeny Gontmakher, who argues that “the most immediate task of [Russian] society is to restore a state in Russia.” In […]
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(Interfax -MOSCOW, Aug 17, 2013) Most Russians – 59% – say politics makes them feel “depressed,” and a lot of them – 51% – admit that they do not quite understand all political intrigues, as is evident from a nationwide poll of 1,600 respondents the Levada Center public opinion survey service conducted in 130 communities of 45 Russian regions at […]
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[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#151 :: 19 August 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 […]
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