Turbulence over Syria’s skies

Syria Map

The skies over Syria became more crowded last week after the UK voted to join air strikes against ISIS forces. But can countries with very different attitudes to the conflict agree on common aims? (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – FYODOR LUKYANOV, SPECIAL TO RBTH – December 10, 2015) The author is chairman of the Presidium of the Council […]

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Russia asks UK for assistance in establishing contacts with FSA

Syria Map

MOSCOW. Oct 9 (Interfax) – Russian Ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko has asked for assistance in establishing contacts with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to coordinate efforts in the fight against the group Islamic State (ISIL, which is banned in Russia). “Dr Yakovenko also said that the Russian side would appreciate British assistance in establishing contacts with the “Free […]

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Ex-U.K. Ambassador a Lonely Friend of Russia

File Photo of British Parliament Building, Big Ben, Thames, adapted from image at loc.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – October 6, 2015) As the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Russia from 2004 to 2008, Anthony Brenton was one of the first Western diplomats to be systematically hounded by pro-Kremlin youth groups. But he said Russian officials told him not to take it personally – and he hasn’t. With relations between Russia and […]

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Kremlin spokesman suggests prankster should apologize to Elton John

File Photo of British Parliament Building, Big Ben, Thames, adapted from image at loc.gov

(Interfax – September 16, 2015) The well-known Russian impersonator who claimed he tricked Elton John into thinking that President Vladimir Putin had phoned him to discuss LGBT rights should apologize to the singer, Putin’s spokesman said on 16 September, in remarks reported by privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax. Asked whether Vladimir Krasnov, better known as Vovan, should apologize to the […]

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London promises to increase training program for Ukrainian troops

File Photo of British Parliament Building, Big Ben, Thames, adapted from image at loc.gov

KYIV. Aug 11 (Interfax) – The United Kingdom will double its contribution to efforts to train Ukraine’s military, UK Secretary of Defense Michael Fallon has said. Speaking at a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kyiv, Fallon described today’s situation in the east of Ukraine as extremely complicated. A lot of people have been killed and there are […]

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Interfax: Russia’s ambassador to London explains why Russia-NATO conflict over Ukraine is impossible

Russian Mobile ICBM Parade File Photo

(Interfax – July 29, 2015) Russia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko rules out the possibility of a military conflict between Russia and NATO over the Ukraine crisis. An open letter of Russia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexander Yakovenko was posted on July 29 on the website of the Russian Embassy. “There are, indeed, attempts to frighten the […]

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Rifkind Tells Story of Gorbachev’s First Meeting With Margaret Thatcher

File Photo of British Parliament Building, Big Ben, Thames, adapted from image at loc.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Des Brown – April 21, 2015) Just over 30 years ago, Mikhail Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The next day, The Times of London ran an editorial entitled “Mr Gorbachov’s Hour” – the British media had yet to learn to spell his name – saying that he could […]

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NEWSLINK Wall Street Journal: Putin’s Disinformation Matrix

Satellite Dishes

Russia Today, the Kremlin’s English-language TV organ, launched a U.K. edition earlier this month. Headquartered near Westminster, the channel will beam RT’s signature blend of propaganda and tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorizing into millions of British homes. Welcome to Vladimir Putin’s disinformation matrix. RT is merely one part of the Kremlin’s aggressive media effort, as a new Institute of Modern Russia report […]

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Russian money infects London

File Photo of British Parliament Building, Big Ben, Thames, adapted from image at loc.gov

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – March 31, 2015) Walk down Oxford Street into Knightsbridge and the signs “we speak Russian” are pasted inside the windows of many high-end shops. Bishops Avenue in north London has become one of the world’s most expensive addresses and is home to several oligarchs in exile. The lingua franca […]

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NEWSWATCH CNBC: Falkland Islands’ fears for Russia-backed invasion

South America and Falkland Islands

[“Falkland Islands’ fears for Russia-backed invasion” – CNBC – Catherine Boyle -March 25, 2015] CNBC covers British military reinforcements of Falkland Islands defenses on the heels of remarks by the Russian Ambassador to the UK comparing the comparing the Falklands to Crimea. The U.K. has sent extra military support to one of its overseas colonies at the bottom of the world, the Falkland Islands, […]

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NEWSWATCH: How to spot a Russian bomber

TU-95 Bear Bomber File Photo

[“How to spot a Russian bomber” – BBC – February 20, 2015] The BBC covers recent incursions by Russian bombers into UK’s area of interest, including information on how to recognize Russian bombers. Two Russian bombers have been escorted from near UK territory – the latest in a series of similar incidents. How easy is it to spot a Russian […]

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NEWSWATCH: Danger to UK safety: Vladimir Putin’s Russian bombers ‘put British passenger jets at risk’

TU-95 Bear Bomber File Photo

[“Danger to UK safety: Vladimir Putin’s Russian bombers ‘put British passenger jets at risk’; Russian bombers in British airspace risk a catastrophic collision with a passenger airliner, a former Armed Forces chief warned yesterday.” – The Daily Express (UK) – Tom Morgan – February 23, 2015] The Daily Express covers recent incidents of Royal Air Force jets being scrambled to […]

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Business New Europe: Russian coal keeps UK household lights on as winter grips

Russian Coal Mine file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.ru – Nick Kochan in London – February 5, 2015) As winter grips the UK, a group of Russian coal companies with leaders closely linked to President Vladimir Putin are enabling British power companies to keep the country’s lights on – a precarious position as the sanctions rhetoric rises once again. Three Russian firms, SUEK, KRU […]

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The Hague Declaration

File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(The White House – Office of the Press Secretary – For Immediate Release – March 24, 2014) 1. We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission met in The Hague to reaffirm our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and […]

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Separatist Games for U.K. and Russia

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Des Brown – February 10, 2014) The Economist’s Feb. 1 issue led with President Putin and the Winter Olympics as its cover story, saying that “the message of the Games is simple: Russia is back.” Western commentators never fail to mention that the Winter Olympics are a showcase for Putin’s modern Russia, while highlighting Sochi’s […]

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Human right activist supports British ban on Russians on Magnitsky List

File Photo of British Parliament Building Including Saint Stephen's Tower Containing Big Ben

(Interfax – July 9, 2013) Russian veteran human rights defender, Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) head Lyudmila Alexeyeva has supported the British ban on 60 Russians on the Magnitsky List from entering the UK. “Certainly, I would like people involved in the Magnitsky case to be punished here, in Russia. That would have displayed our wish to become a democracy, put […]

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Will spy scandal hamper U.S.-Russia collaboration on Sochi Olympics security?

File Photo of Partial FSB Headquarters Building Facade

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Mark Galeotti, special to RBTH – May 27, 2013) New York University’s Professor of Global Affairs Mark Galeotti reflects on the long-term consequences of the recent spy scandal and whether it will affect U.S.-Russia cooperation on security during the 2014 Olympics. The Moscow spy case, with its cheap wigs, compasses and cash, initially […]

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Berezovsky buried in England

Boris Berezovsky file photo

(Interfax – LONDON/MOSCOW, May 8, 2013) Russian business tycoon Boris Berezovsky was buried Brookwood cemetery, Surrey, in Great Britain, a source close to the businessman told Interfax on Wednesday. “The burial service was conducted in the family circle, while the burial ceremony itself was attended by 50 to 70 people – the family and friends of the late oligarch,” the […]

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Berezovsky, Putin and an Absence of Respect

Boris Berezovsky file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky and Natalya Krainova – March 25, 2013) Boris Berezovsky would probably heap all of his ill fortunes at the feet of Vladimir Putin, the man whom he helped make Russia’s president but then spent the rest of his life trying to topple. Still, the relationship between Putin and Berezovsky, who was found dead […]

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Ex-FSB Officer Shuns Litvinenko Inquest

file photo

MOSCOW, March 12 (RIA Novosti) ­ A former officer of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) suspected by the British authorities of poisoning Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko said on Tuesday that he will pull out of the inquest into the killing, blaming political pressure from London. Andrei Lugovoi, who met with Litvinenko days before his death in 2006, called a press […]

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ACADEMIC PROGRAMS: New Russia Policy & Society MSc and PhD Programmes at King’s College London, King’s Russia Institute

File Photo of British Parliament Building Including Saint Stephen's Tower Containing Big Ben

From: “Samuel Greene” <samuel.greene@kcl.ac.uk> Subject: New Russia policy & society programmes in London Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 The King’s Russia Institute at King’s College London is now accepting applications for our MSc in Russian Politics & Society and our PhD in Russian & Eurasian Studies. Offering a unique, multi-disciplinary and globally integrated approach to the study of Russia’s most […]

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Moscow Times Files False Report on Litvinenko Hearing

file photo

From: “William Dunkerley” <wd@publishinghelp.com> Subject: Moscow Times Files False Report on Litvinenko Hearing Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2012 “Russia Implicated in Litvinenko Death,” The Moscow Times, December 14, 2012 (JRL #221) appears to tell what happened at a London hearing on the suspicious death of Alexander Litvinenko. Unfortunately it paints a false picture. The story claims the hearing was told […]

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