Russian Railways – Johnson's Russia List

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin wants new connection between Arctic coast and Indian Ocean; The construction of a railway line to Sabetta is what is needed, the president argues” – The Barents Observer/ Atle Staalesen

October 8, 2019 JRL Russia List Arctic, Central Asia, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Transportation

“… ‘The idea is to connect the ports on the Northern Sea Route with the ports of the Pacific and Indian Oceans by means of transport arterials through Eastern Siberia, the heartlands of Eurasia,’ … [Putin said to Valdai] conference participants. … [such as] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, King of Jordan Abdullah II, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Filipinian leader […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Russian town that might save the world; Torzhok is experiencing a resurgence because of one woman’s activism” – Christian Science Monitor/ Mark Sappenfield

January 11, 2019 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

“… Before Ms. Sokolova intervened, why had Torzhok been forgotten? The simplest answer is that it had grown mentally stale. … Sokolova’s ideas for new festivals and civic renewal projects were not rocket science. Yet they have begun to push Torzhok into an entirely new orbit, symbolized by restored train service from Moscow and St. Petersburg. …” Click here for: […]

Russian Ports and Railways Start to Feel Strain of Giant Harvest

August 30, 2017 JRL Russia List Agriculture, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Transportation, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anatoly Medetsky – August 30, 2017) Russia’s massive grains harvest is starting to put a strain on the country’s ability to ship out and store crops. Grains output is set to surpass a Soviet-era record and exports in the season that began in July may be the biggest since the USSR collapsed a quarter of a […]

NEWSWATCH: “Russia to spend $2.5 bln on Trans-Siberian, Baikal-Amur railroads. Investment is first stage in expanding railroad capacity to increase exports from Far East Russia.” – Asia Times

August 29, 2017 JRL Russia List Budget, Central Asia, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities, Transportation

“Russian [sic] has approved US$2.5 billion to expand and modernize the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur railways as part of a larger rail project to boost economic growth and exports from the country’s Far East region that borders the Pacific Ocean. … Putin has given the green light for the government to allocate money from the National Welfare Fund for this stage of […]

TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Meeting with Government members

March 15, 2017 JRL Russia List Children, Adoptions, Orphans, Disasters, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Population Disaster, Demographics, Transportation

(Kremlin.ru – March 14, 2017) Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Government members in the Kremlin. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues, We will begin with s number of current issues. The epidemic level seems to be on the decline, but the situation is still serious. Even Mr Medvedev could not stay out of harm’s way, and caught […]

Stealing a Peek at Russian Economic Uptick Before It Happens

August 19, 2016 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Andrey Biryukov – August 11, 2016) Prone to false starts since a crisis peaked last year, Russia’s economy is riding momentum that has it on the cusp of exiting the longest recession in two decades. As business sentiment perks up, leading indicators from demand for electricity to rail cargoes and container transport show the pulse of […]

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Leave a comment Business, Crisis, Economy, Electricity, Investment, Recession, Russia, Russian News, Russian Railways, Slider, Transport

TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting with Government members

March 17, 2016 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Education, Academia, Far East, Siberia, APEC

(Kremlin.ru – March 16, 2016) Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Government members to discuss measures to develop the Far East, including improvements to the electric power pricing policy, as well as other current issues on the socioeconomic agenda. In particular, the President heard reports from Russian Railways President Oleg Belozerov and Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov about work to improve […]

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Leave a comment Asia, Education, Far East, Government, Politics, Putin, Railroads, Russian Railways, Siberia, Transcripts

Putin Said Ready to Revamp Inner Circle as Ally Yakunin Goes

August 19, 2015 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Irina Reznik, Ilya Arkhipov, Olga Tanas – August 18, 2015) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ready to start replacing long-serving allies in his inner circle after the sudden departure of OAO Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin as head of the country’s largest employer. Putin intends to bring in trusted younger people to shake up his team ahead […]

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Leave a comment Business, Economy, Government, Kremlin, Politics, Putin, Railroads, Russia, Russian News, Russian Railways, Slider, Yakunin

Putin May Be Tiring of His Cronies

August 19, 2015 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – August 18, 2015) Vladimir Yakunin seemed eternal: Nothing he could do appeared to undermine his standing in the system President Vladimir Putin has built to run Russia. Yet now he is leaving the top job at the national railroad monopoly, after 10 years of mismanaging it. Putin may be realizing that tough economic […]

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Leave a comment Business, Economy, Government, Politics, Putin, Railroads, Russia, Russian News, Russian Railways, Slider, Vladimir Yakunin

Head of Russia’s Mighty Rail Monopoly Looks Set to Step Down

August 18, 2015 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – August 18, 2015) Vladimir Yakunin, one of Russia’s most powerful executives and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, was nominated as a senator for the upper chamber of the Russian parliament Monday, a position that would oblige him to step down as head of the state rail monopoly Russian Railways (RZD). […]

A Newbie’s Guide to Taking the Moscow Metro

August 7, 2015 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Transportation

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Andreea Rujan – August 6, 2015) For tourists and residents alike, the metro is the simplest, cheapest and fastest way to get around the Russian capital. However, there are some basic things new arrivals should know before hopping on the subway in order to master the art of metro-riding like a true Muscovite. 1. Be […]

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Leave a comment Life in Russia, Metro, Moscow, Russia, Russian News, Russian Railways, Subway, Transportation

NEWSLINK Politico: The whispering train. The last link between Kiev and Moscow.

April 21, 2015 JRL Russia List Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“Suddenly, we are the enemy,” Irina whispers to me from the bottom bunk as our Moscow-bound train pulls into Russian border control at around 3am. A year after war broke out in the Donbass, the Kiev-Moscow train is one of the few remaining passenger rail lines linking Russia and Ukraine. http://www.politico.eu/article/the-whispering-train/

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Leave a comment Newslinks, Railroads, Russia, Russian News, Russian Railways, Slider, Ukraine, Ukrainian News

Two of Russia’s Greatest Misfortunes – Roads and Fools – Once Again Come Together

March 25, 2015 JRL Russia List Far East, Siberia, APEC, Roads, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Map of North Polar Region with Real or Hypothetical Rail Lines Across Eurasia, Bering Strait, North America

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, March 24, 2015) Even though the Russian government currently repairs less than one percent of its horrific roads in many regions, Moscow has announced plans to build a superhighway and rail line extending across the Russian north to the Bering Straits and a tunnel to Alaska, a project in which enormous sums will […]

The Train Won’t Stop Here Anymore – the Sad Fate of Russian Regions

January 2, 2015 JRL Russia List Regions, Cities, Municipalities, Transportation

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 1, 2015) Russian Railways announced yesterday that it will end some 220 local train routes this month, effectively cutting off the residents of many rural areas from access to medical and other services available only in oblast capitals. But the corporation insisted that Moscow is not to blame: local governments have […]

Putin Relative Accuses Russian Railways of Corruption

April 3, 2014 JRL Russia List Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Transportation

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – April 3, 2014) One of President Vladimir Putin’s relatives, Roman Putin, has spoken out against alleged corruption at Russian Railways, a state company headed by one of the president’s closest allies. The criticism by Roman Putin, who has been accused by some of capitalizing on the president’s reputation by founding the Putin […]

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Leave a comment Corruption, Government, Politics, Putin, Roman Putin, Russia, Russian News, Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin

Navalny Proposes Sanctions List to the West

March 20, 2014 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – March 20, 2014) Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, currently under house arrest in connection with a criminal case against him, has written an op-ed for the New York Times in which he calls for sanctions on officials and businessmen connected to President Vladimir Putin. Saying that previous U.S. and EU sanctions in response […]