KRASNAYA POLYANA, Sochi. Oct 22 (Interfax) – Moscow is not inclined at the moment to make optimistic forecasts regarding the developments in settling the conflict in Ukraine, as the Minsk agreements have yet to be fulfilled, and Kyiv needs to arrange contacts with Donetsk and Luhansk representatives, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov says. “I would be cautious about making […]
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(Interfax – October 20, 2015) A memorandum on flight safety in Syria, which was signed between Russia and the United States on Oct. 20, regulates all aircraft and drone flights in the Syrian airspace and aims to ensure flight safety, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov has said. “We consider it a positive step that the Russian Defense Ministry and […]
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A recent meeting between a Russian presidential envoy and a Syrian opposition leader in Cairo has sparked much rumor and speculation. RBTH has polled Russian observers for their views on the reasons behind the meeting with opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Nadezhda Ustinova, Yekaterina Sinelschikova, RBTH – October 20, 2015) Speculation of […]
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Syrian president thanks Russian leader for assistance in fight against ‘terrorists’. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Igor Rozin, RBTH – October 21, 2015) Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad made an unexpected visit to Russia on Oct. 20 to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov revealed on Oct. 21. “The negotiations were rather long and […]
» Read more[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#206 Thursday – 22 October 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Jason Corcoran in Moscow – October 21, 2015) Dedicated-Russia funds have become a rare species in the years following the 2008-2009 economic crisis. The country’s subsequent low growth, its current recession along with tumbling commodity prices and political isolation over Ukraine have almost led to their extinction. But what has become of these fund […]
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(Interfax – October 20, 2015) Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn is planning to prolong the electricity import contract with Russia that expires on 31 December 2015, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on 20 October. “We are planning to prolong the contract. Everything depends on further talks and contract conditions,” he said. Ukraine will need Russian electricity to meet peak demand […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson – October 21, 2015) Russian air strikes in Syria are costing Moscow up to $4 million per day, data collated for The Moscow Times by a defense think tank showed. The figures by IHS Jane’s show that bombing raids, supply runs, infrastructure and ground personnel – along with a salvo of cruise missiles […]
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(Interfax – October 20, 2015) Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets has said that the Russian government is not yet planning to raise the pension age. “We are not planning this over the period of time we use for planning. No, we are not,” Golodets told journalists on Tuesday [20 October] when asked when the government was planning to resume discussions […]
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Three weeks after Russia began bombing runs in Syria, American and Russian officials continue their disagreement about the goals of the campaign. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ilya Krol, Yekaterina Sinelschikova, RBTH – October 21, 2015) On Sept. 30, Russia’s air force began bombing targets in Syria. Since that day, Russian planes have made hundreds of sorties dropping […]
» Read more[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#205 Wednesday – 21 October 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – October 19, 2015) Large investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the Russian market, according to a report by Global Counsel, which shows that some are reducing their exposure. Although some groups are holding their options open, and some are even seizing counter-cyclical opportunities, unless the business environment improves more groups […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson – October 20, 2015) Unpredictable lawmaking is undermining Russia’s ability to attract foreign investors, the Foreign Investment Advisory Council (FIAC) – a group of the biggest foreign companies working in Russia – told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday. A report by financial services group and FIAC member EY (Ernst & Young) into […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 20, 2015) “Poshlost’” a virtually untranslatable Russian word connoting self-satisfied vulgarity has become the defining characteristic of Russia under Vladimir Putin, according to commentator Aleksey Shiropayev, something that unites and infects all those living under his regime. Indeed, Putin’s country should now be called “Poshlandia.” Despite what some think, the Russian […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – October 20, 2015) A month after news broke about the American Center sponsored by the U.S. Embassy being shut down in Moscow’s Library of Foreign Literature, the embassy announced its resurrection – this time inside the embassy. “The American Center will continue its work at new premises in the U.S. Embassy in […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Editors of OpenDemocracy Russia – October 19, 2015) oDR introduces a new series devoted to reporting and comment on Islamic life in the post-Soviet space. The Ummah, the worldwide community of Muslims, comprises millions of members across the post-Soviet space. The inhabitants of five republics in Central Asia-Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan-have enthusiastically embraced their ancestral faith […]
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GENEVA. Oct 19 (Interfax) – Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin has said it would be useful for Kyiv to familiarize itself with Switzerland’s experience as a federal republic. “It seems to me that the experience of state-building in Switzerland would be useful for our Ukrainian colleagues as well. At least they could learn not to be afraid of this […]
» Read more[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#204 Tuesday – 20 October 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
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Stratfor covers the Russo-Ukrainian War and prospects for a political and diplomatic solution. While arguing that there are some signs of lessening conflict, a broader settlement does not seem imminent. After a year of slow-burning conflict in eastern Ukraine, the relationship between Kiev and Moscow seems to finally be improving. Fighting on the ground has dissipated, there have been positive […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – October 19, 2015) A Ukrainian television channel has published a statement by its former producer, claiming officials from President Petro Poroshenko’s administration banned the channel from broadcasting footage of a handshake the Ukrainian leader exchanged with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a recent meeting. The handshake took place at the start […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ott Ummelas, Anna Andrianova – October 18, 2015) There may be a silver lining for the Bank of Russia in another batch of grim consumer data. While Governor Elvira Nabiullina has set a course for monetary easing to match slowing inflation, policy makers last month paused their easing cycle for the first time in 2015. The […]
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A temporary ban has been imposed on the sole large association of Russian nationalists, with the prosecutor’s office demanding that it be recognized as extremist. RBTH asks activists and observers what is happening with the nationalist movement in Russia, and why it is now calling itself the government’s “new enemy.” (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yekaterina Sinelschikova, RBTH […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anastasia Bazenkova – October 19, 2015) Foreign investment in Russian commercial property has hit a seven-year high as the weak ruble has made the market more attractive for international companies, the RBC newspaper reported Friday, citing a recent market study. Foreign capital accounted for 42 percent of investment in the commercial real estate market in […]
» Read more[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#203 Monday – 19 October 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – October 16, 2015) Disarray among the Islamic State terrorist organization has prompted a decrease in the number of sorties being flown by Russian jets in Syria, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. Russian planes flew 33 missions during the last 24 hours, according to the Defense Ministry, a sharp drop from the high […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Chris Miller in Moscow – October 15, 2015) Though Vladimir Yakunin was sacked from his post as head of state-owned Russian Railways back in August, the shock is still reverberating through Russia’s biggest and most powerful companies. A long-time friend of President Vladimir Putin, Yakunin was thought to be one of the most influential […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – October 15, 2015) I wrote my first article in August 1990 for a newsletter that transformed in 1992 into The Moscow Times. I publish my last article as theater critic of The Moscow Times today. Between those dates I wrote about 1,600 reviews, interviews, features, op-ed pieces, columns and personal observations for […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobson – October 16, 2015) Standard & Poor’s has cut its growth forecast for Russia, predicting that lower and more volatile oil prices will make it harder for the country to emerge from recession. The ratings agency said Thursday that the Russian economy would contract by 3.6 percent this year and grow by only […]
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(Voice of America – Victor Vasiliev – October 15, 2015) Russians continue to characterize their country’s relations with the United States negatively. The latest survey by Russia’s biggest remaining independent polling organization, the Levada Center, found that a majority of the population believes U.S.-Russia relations are either “tense” (45%) or “hostile” (29%). The poll was conducted in early October 2015 […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – October 15, 2015) The signs of the times are everywhere. Estonia is erecting a 2.5-meter-high metal mesh fence reinforced with barbed wire along much of its border with Russia — and backing it up with high-tech drones, sensors, radars, and cameras. Neighboring Latvia has also announced plans to build fences along its eastern […]
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MOSCOW. Oct 16 (Interfax) – A possible decision to extend the implementation of the Minsk peace agreements for Ukraine into 2016 will not require any specific judicial procedure, a Russian diplomatic source told Interfax. “The Package of Measures is not an international treaty. Rather, it is a political agreement. And prolonging [the implementation of] its provisions into next year is […]
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(Interfax – October 14, 2015) Simferpol, 14 October: The need to notify the Russian Federal Migration Service [FMS] about second citizenship, which comes into effect for the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol from 1 January 2016, is not aimed at forcing regional residents to renounce the Ukrainian citizenship, the republic’s head Sergey Aksenov [Serhiy Aksyonov] has said. “We know anyway […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – October 15, 2015) Private creditors have voted in favour of Ukraine’s $18bn debt restructuring deal, while Russia – which holds a $3bn bond due in December – refused to vote, Kyiv’s Finance Ministry said in a statement published on October 15. “The ministry is pleased to announce that all sovereign and […]
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While developments in Syria will not have a great effect on the world’s oil market, if Russia remains involved for long it may stand to lose serious economic support from the Gulf monarchies and could see Ankara driving a hard bargain on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Sergei Alexashenko, […]
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MOSCOW. Oct 15 (Interfax) – Moscow is trying to get in touch with representatives of the Free Syrian Army and is ready for communication with them, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said. “If we find it, they are welcome to come here,” he told a press conference on Russian-Turkish relations organized by the Russian Council for International Affairs […]
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Is tighter government regulation of instant messaging apps using encryption really needed? Where is the line between user friendliness and national security threat? Internet expert Anton Merkurov reflects upon the matters for RBTH. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Anton Merkurov is an internet expert and representative of Open Garden, the developer behind FireChat – October 15, 2015) While […]
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Russian hi-tech startups are growing rapidly in number, but to implement their inventions a revolution in the big business sector is also needed. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Victoria Zavyalova, RBTH – October 14, 2015) Russia is pursuing its innovation dream. Over the past eight years, 12 new science parks housing 775 startups were established in the country. […]
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(Interfax – October 15, 2015) Russians have had to adjust their consumer behavior to the ongoing economic crisis. Some 62 percent of them have switched to buying cheaper food and goods (against 58 percent in January), the Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) said. The number of people who have been buying fewer goods and spending less on their entertainment […]
» Read more[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2015-#202 Friday – 16 October 2015 A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or the George Washington University. JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL […]
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