‘Quality Issues’ Led to Work-and-Travel Visa Crunch

Artist's Rendition of U.S. Embassy, Moscow, with the Russian Foreign Ministry in the Background

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – April 11, 2013) Concerns about participants’ safety, health and well-being are behind record visa refusal rates for Russian university students applying to work and travel in the United States this summer, a senior State Department official told an audience at the American Center in Moscow on Wednesday. Tara Sonenshine, the State Department’s […]

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Obama Opens Window for Russians to Contest Magnitsky Sanctions

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

(RIA Novosti – Carl Schreck – WASHINGTON, April 8, 2013) ­ Russian officials who are slapped with Magnitsky Act sanctions this week may have seen their dim prospects for recourse in US courts brighten thanks to US President Barack Obama. In what the White House called a “routine delegation” of responsibilities, Obama on Friday formally tasked the US Treasury and […]

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Government Eases Visa Rules For Major Investors

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 9, 2013) The government has allowed the Economic Development Ministry to obtain visas for the employees of big foreign companies that invest in the Russian economy from the country’s diplomatic missions and consulates abroad, a news report said Monday. The rules also apply to firms involved in the implementation of the Skolkovo project and […]

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U.S. Embassy Slams Door on Student Workers

Artist's Rendition of U.S. Embassy, Moscow, with the Russian Foreign Ministry in the Background

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – April 5, 2013) Without warning or explanation, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has rejected an unprecedented percentage of Russian university students applying for visas to take part in the State Department’s popular Summer Work and Travel program this year, dashing hopes and placing the program’s future in doubt. About 80-90 percent of […]

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Despite Visa Hassles, Russia Promotes Itself as Tourist Destination

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Manik Mehta – March 27, 2013) BERLIN ­ In an attempt to refurbish its image as a tourist destination, Russia went on a charm offensive to court international travelers at the recent Berlin International Tourism Bourse, the world’s largest tourism show. Conceding that visa rules were a big problem, a large contingent of Russian tour […]

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Business Travel in Russia Fraught With Bureaucratic Pitfalls

Map of Russia

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – March 27, 2013) While most Russians wade through a bureaucratic quagmire to get a visa for the European Union or the United States, once they arrive they enjoy almost complete freedom of movement. For those who choose to come to Russia to live and work, however, the bureaucratic challenges really begin to […]

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Visas main obstacle to broader Russia-EU ties – Medvedev

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

MOSCOW. March 22 (Interfax) – If visas are not scrapped, strategic partnership between Russia and the European Union will not be possible, said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. “We must understand that visas will have to be scrapped in any case if we are to build a strategic partnership,” Medvedev said at a press conference on Friday after talks between […]

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Russia may grant non-visa entry to ‘non-dangerous’ foreigners

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Aleksandras Budrys – March 19, 2013) Russia’s Culture Ministry has presented to the government a bill on 10-day visa-free entry for “non-dangerous” foreigners to participate in cultural, sporting and business events, Minister Vladimir Medinsky said on Tuesday. “We have developed a number of draft laws in this regard,” Medinsky told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at […]

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Russia welcomes progress in visa talks with EU – Russia’s EU Ambassador

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Interfax – March 18, 2013) Russia is upbeat about progress achieved in the talks on relaxing visa procedures with the European Union, Russia’s EU Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov told Interfax on Brussels. “I don’t think we should fall into euphoria. I would say the problem has been unblocked, which means that an opportunity has emerged for making further progress. But this […]

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Tussle Brews In Washington Over Russia Sanctions List

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Richard Solash – March 13, 2013) WASHINGTON — A tussle is brewing in Washington over who will be included on a U.S. list of sanctioned Russian officials to be published next month. Officials with the State Department are reportedly advocating steps that would shorten the politically sensitive “Magnitsky list,” while members of Congress and NGOs who […]

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EU Visa Deal Looks Likely, but Catches Remain

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – March 12, 2013) A much-touted agreement with the European Union making travel easier for businesspeople, students, NGO workers and other professionals might go into force finally, as Brussels has changed its stance on Moscow’s demand to include a visa waiver for government officials. But there are some catches, as both sides […]

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NEWSLINK: Sergei Magnitsky: The enemy within: A saga that has been a parable of the self-mutilating way Russia is governed

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

[Sergei Magnitsky:  The enemy within: A saga that has been a parable of the self-mutilating way Russia is governed – The Economist – Editorial – March 9, 2013 – http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21573119-saga-has-been-parable-self-mutilating-way-russia-governed-enemy-within] The Economist issues an editorial on the Magnitsky saga and its aftermath, and what it shows about brutal, deadly elitism in Russia: Martyred human rights activists; fatally brave journalists: Russia, […]

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Envoy Denies Blanket Ban on US Entry for Russian Lawmakers

Ambassador Michael McFaul file photo

MOSCOW, March 8 (RIA Novosti) ­ US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul denied late Thursday that hundreds of Russian legislators may be blacklisted for US entry for supporting a ban on adoptions of Russian children by Americans. “This is not our policy at the moment,” McFaul said in a Russian-language interview on Ekho Moskvy radio. A US petition drive proposed […]

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Lavrov Lambastes EU Over Visa Fairness

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – February 26, 2013) Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday accused the European Union of employing a double standard when it agreed to allow nondiplomatic Ukrainian officials to enter member states without a visa. “A Ukrainian bureaucrat is no different from a Russian one,” he told students at Moscow’s Diplomatic Academy. Russian and […]

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Russian refugees: strangers in a strange land: A suicide highlights the reality of obtaining asylum

EU Map

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – January 28, 2013) When Ali applied for asylum in Austria, he thought that any kind of life would be better than facing rampant power abuses in Russia’s restive republic of Chechnya. Instead, he found himself fending off questions about whether he was a terrorist. And the scrutiny continued after his asylum was […]

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Russia Expands ‘Blacklist’ Targeting Americans – Lavrov

Russian Foreign Ministry Building Tower file photo

MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russia confirmed on Tuesday it is extending its “Dima Yakovlev” blacklist to include more US citizens deemed to be human rights violators, who will be banned from entering the country in the latest tit-for-tat retaliation for the US Magnitsky Act. “The Foreign Ministry is carrying out the law known as the Dima Yakovlev Law, […]

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More Stars Expected to Bid for Russian Citizenship

Gérard Depardieu file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – January 15, 2013) When President Vladimir Putin gave Russian citizenship to French actor Gerard Depardieu, the story became the biggest Internet hit and a subject of political controversy over the long New Year’s vacation. It was the first time in modern Russian history that someone who was not a former spy but […]

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Back to the Soviet era? A tougher law on registration has alarmed rights activists

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – January 15, 2013) President Vladimir Putin has introduced a bill into the State Duma calling for tougher penalties for Russians and foreigners who violate registration rules, in a bid to “civilize” internal migration. The bill, introduced into the lower house of Parliament last Wednesday, echoed an earlier proposal by Russian lawmakers to […]

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Gerard Depardieu Glad To Get Russian Citizenship – TV

Gérard Depardieu file photo

MOSCOW, January 4 (RIA Novosti) – Legendary French actor Gerard Depardieu said he is glad to be granted Russian citizenship, adding that he loves Russia and promising to study the Russian language. “Yes, I have applied for a passport and I am glad my request has been granted,” Depardieu said in a letter to Russian journalists posted on the website […]

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Magnitsky Act is not targeted against Russia – Ambassador McFaul

Ambassador Michael McFaul file photo

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON. Dec 17 (Interfax) – The Magnitsky Act endorsed by the Congress and signed by U.S. President Barack Obama is not targeted against Russia, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul posted in his blog. He said the act did not stipulate any extraterritorial measures. The act concerns the U.S. sovereignty and ability to bar persons involved in violations of human […]

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Duma Deputies Strike Back Over Magnitsky Act

Russian Duma Building

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – Dec. 11, 2012) In a widely expected response to the passage of the U.S. Magnitsky Act, State Duma deputies on Monday introduced a bill that would make Americans suspected of mistreating Russians personae non gratae. The bill bans Americans from traveling or investing in Russia if they are deemed to have “illegally” […]

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EU Under Pressure to Draft Magnitsky List

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – Dec. 10, 2012) Buoyed by the U.S. Senate’s endorsement of the Magnitsky Act, Russian opposition leaders and some European lawmakers are calling on the European Union to adopt similar legislation that punishes presumed human rights offenders. Mikhail Kasyanov, Vladimir Ryzhkov and Boris Nemtsov, the chairmen of the “Republican Party of Russia […]

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Magnitsky List won’t have serious effect on Russia-U.S. relations – Primakov

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

MOSCOW. Dec 10 (Interfax) – Former Russian Prime Minister, Academician Yevgeny Primakov thinks that the Magnitsky Act will not have a serious effect on Russia-U.S. relations. “We can make a similar list, but I do not think things will go further and have a serious effect on our relations with the United States,” he said on Friday while answering questions […]

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Magnitsky Bill Likely to Reopen Old Wounds

U.S. Capitol at Twilight With Washington Monument, National Mall, Washington, D.C., Environs and Sunset in Background

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – Dec. 10, 2012) Historical mistrust and relatively weak trade links could amplify the Magnitsky Act’s damage to U.S.-Russian relations, although Washington will likely use caution in applying sanctions to Russians suspected of human rights violations, analysts said. “In the absence of a solid background of trust and partnership, even relatively insignificant episodes […]

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39% of Russians Approve of Magnitsky Act – Poll

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti) ­ More than twice the number of Russians approve of recent US legislation imposing sanctions on Russian officials deemed to have violated human rights than disapprove, according to a nationwide poll released this week by the respected Levada Center. The center found that 39 percent of Russians fully or mostly agree with the Sergei Magnitsky […]

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Russian senators call Magnitsky Act unfriendly

Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

(Interfax – Dec. 7, 2012) The passage of the Magnitsky Act by the U.S. Senate came as no surprise, Alexander Torshin, first deputy speaker of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, told Interfax. “The passage of this act by the Senate was to be expected. Moreover, it is beyond any doubt that this bill will be signed […]

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Moscow has blacklist of unwelcome U.S. citizens – Pushkov

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

MOSCOW. Dec 7 (Interfax) – The Russian Foreign Ministry has drafted a blacklist of U.S. citizens Moscow suspects of violations of human rights, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov said in an interview with the Russian News Service radio on Friday. “In fact, the Foreign Ministry has a classified list, same as the U.S. Department of State. It […]

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Medvedev vows both symmetrical and asymmetrical response to Magnitsky Act

U.S. Capitol at Twilight With Washington Monument, National Mall, Washington, D.C., Environs and Sunset in Background

MOSCOW. Nov 29 (Interfax) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev thinks that the support of the Magnitsky Act by European countries is pointless and vows that Russia will respond to such a decision by the U.S. Congress. “If we speak about this act, it will invoke both symmetrical and asymmetrical reactions on our behalf. We passed all of these in […]

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Russia Threatens EU With ‘Retaliation’ if No Visa Deal by 2014

EU Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – November 28, 2012) The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday threatened the European Union with “retaliation” if visa-free travel is not introduced in time for the Sochi Olympics in February 2014. Anvar Azimov, the ministry’s point man on visa negotiations with the EU, said Tuesday that Moscow wants to see a breakthrough by […]

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Lavrov Pushes Hard on Start of Visa-Free Regime with Europe

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Irina Filatova – Moscow  Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 9, 2012) The European Union might be dragging out the possible cancellation of the visa regime with Russia, since the main reason this goal can’t be reached could be of a political nature, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. “We have a feeling that … the reasons on the side of […]

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