(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Roland Oliphant – November 27, 2012) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was showered by a wave of ridicule and negative public sentiment on Monday following a weekend tirade against bad driving. The backlash kicked off on Saturday when Medvedev used the latest entry on his video blog to call for a crackdown on the country’s notoriously […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – November 26, 2012 – Anna Arutunyan is the politics editor of The Moscow News) I’m going to tell you a story about three pretty girls who defied the patriarchy no, wait, scratch that. This is a story of deceit, betrayal and revolution. No, scratch that, too. Here’s a tale of greed, […]
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NEW YORK, November 27 (RIA Novosti) – Members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were nominated by influential magazine Time for the 2012 Person of the Year. The punk band is among 40 candidates, who influenced news this year for better or worse. The list also includes US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Syrian leader […]
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(Freed scientist finds little change or hope in Russia – Reuters – Gabriela Baczynska – November 25, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/25/us-russia-scientist-idUSBRE8AO02V20121125) Reuters interviews Russian physicist Valentin Danilov after his release from a Siberian penal colony, where he was previously jailed on allegations of espionage. Danilov sees little change in Russia’s political or ethical climate, blaming Russian voters at least in part: […]
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[Medvedev wants to sharply toughen responsibility for violation of traffic rules – RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW – ITAR-TASS – November 26, 2012 – http://www.itar-tass.com/c142/581401.html] ITAR-TASS covers Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s apparently controversial proposal to change the penalties for drunk driving in various locales: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has proposed to introduce differentiated penalties for drunk driving: for Moscow and […]
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(premier.gov.ru – November 26, 2012) Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon. Question: Good afternoon. Mr Prime Minister, you plan to visit France soon, next week. We know that you had good relations with Nicolas Sarkozy. How would you assess your cooperation with the new President of France, Francois Hollande? Do you expect any changes? Dmitry Medvedev: I believe that our relations with […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 22 (Interfax) – The Oboronservice case and the consequent dismissal of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov are the most high-profile corruption scandals Russia has had lately, sociologists told Interfax on Thursday. Seventy-two percent of Russians know about it, they said. Thirty-three percent of the respondents paid attention to corruptive practices at the Russian Regional Development Ministry and theft of […]
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MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s insistence that NGOs of a “political” nature funded from abroad register as “foreign agents” has been tied down in paperwork – or, rather, the lack of it. The NGOS affected by the controversial law were required by law to register their new legal status with the Justice Ministry by November 21, but the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – November 23, 2012) The Investigative Committee won’t open a criminal case into claims by detained opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev that he was kidnapped and tortured by security services. Instead, investigators launched an inquiry into the activist’s allegedly illegal entry into Ukraine, from where he mysteriously vanished last month. The decision was […]
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(Voice of America – James Brooke – November 21, 2012 – James Brooke is VOA Moscow bureau chief, covering Russia and the former USSR) MOSCOW Next week, the United States Senate is to take up the Magnitsky Act, a bill that would ban visas for, and freeze the bank accounts of, about 60 Russian officials believed to have been […]
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MOSCOW, November 21 (Dan Peleschuk, RIA Novosti) The Moscow headquarters of two influential human rights groups were vandalized on Wednesday, the first day a controversial new law on non-governmental organizations (NGO) took effect. The entrances to the offices of Memorial and For Human Rights, two prominent civil rights groups headed by veteran activists, were spray-painted with the words “Foreign […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – November 21, 2012) Yekaterina Samutsevich, the Pussy Riot rocker released from jail last month, is thinking about requesting that three of the band’s former lawyers be stripped of their licenses, her new lawyer told Kommersant. Sergei Badamshin said in an interview published Tuesday that the past lawyers Violeta Volkova, Mark Feigin […]
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WASHINGTON, November 21 (By Carl Schreck for RIA Novosti) – With the Magnitsky Act moving through the US Congress, American lawmakers are making clear their intent to punish Russian officials deemed by Washington to be responsible for human rights abuses. Less clear is who will end up on this blacklistand how. The Magnitsky bill passed Friday by the US House […]
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(Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 9, Issue 213 – Roger McDermott – November 20, 2012) A near catatonic trance descended upon the Russian media in the aftermath of President Vladimir Putin sacking his controversial Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on November 6, with a preoccupation on issues of corruption and speculation on the fallen minister’s private life. […]
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MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin warned on Tuesday of a new clean-out of corruption and crooked officials in the country’s arms industry, following a series of high-profile scandals in the sector. “A clean-out is inevitable,” the deputy prime minister, who is in charge of the defense industry, told Kommersant. “The pitcher goes often […]
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GORKI, November 19 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday lashed out at his government over its failure to fulfill 58 decisions issued by the country’s Constitutional Court and adopt over 200 government ordinances. He said that was “unacceptable” and “outrageous.” As for the 200 ordinances that the government was supposed to have issued by now, they […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax) – Moscow forestalled the adoption of the so-called Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act in the U.S. by enacting the law on NGOs acting as foreign agents, which is quite painful for Washington, but it should be prepared to see a number of European Union countries considering bills analogous to the one just passed by […]
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(Russia warns U.S. over human rights bill – Reuters – Thomas Grove – November 16, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/16/us-usa-russia-idUSBRE8AF0RA20121116) Reuters covers Russian attempts to pressure the u.S. Congress over human rights legislation before it, being addresses in connection with trade legislation: Russia increased pressure on the U.S. Congress on Friday not to pass legislation that would punish Russian officials for human […]
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CORRUPTION. There are those who believe that one of the main reasons for Putin’s re-appearance in the President’s chair was that only he has the political muscle to really move on Russia’s widespread problem of corruption, especially corruption at the top. I have always said that we won’t know that the anti-corruption drive is serious until it takes down someone in an office near Putin’s or Medvedev’s. Do we start to see this? The OboronServis case is getting bigger. The case concerns skulduggery with the extensive number of military properties …
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – November 16, 2012) When President Vladimir Putin was asked in an interview last month about anti-corruption lawyer Alexei Navalny, he indicated that he thought opposition leaders had achieved little of substance. “I’m not repudiating anyone, and I don’t want to cheapen the merits of any of the possible leaders of the opposition,” […]
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(Three cheers for the Magnitsky Act and American values- AEIdeas – www.aei.org – Leon Aron – November 15, 2012 – Leon Aron is Resident Scholar and Director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute – http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/11/three-cheers-for-the-magnitsky-act-and-american-values/) Leon Aron of the American Enterprise Institute addresses the Magnitsky Act legislation currently before Congress: In the next few days, the House and […]
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Ekaterina Loushnikova – www.opendemocracy.net – November 9, 2012 – Ekaterina Loushnikova is radio and print journalist based in the city of Kirov Many of the Soviet Gulag camps are now deserted, but Vyatlag is still in operation, though now most of the prisoners are there for criminal rather than political offences. But as Ekaterina Loushnikova has found, memories of the […]
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(Interfax – November 14, 2012) Russia’s chief auditor has described as “critical” the scale of embezzlement of fund allocated for state procurement, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 14 November. “Every year, R1,000bn is embezzled from the funds allocated for state procurement,” Chairman of the Russian Audit Chamber Sergey Stepashin was quoted as saying. The sum is equal to […]
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WASHINGTON November 14 (By Suleiman Wali for RIA Novosti) – A controversial new law that expands the definition of treason in Russia is being decried by critics in the United States as the Kremlin’s continuing effort to return the country to a “darker criminal code.” “Over the past six months, a series of laws have been passed in Russia that […]
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MOSCOW, November 14 (RIA Novosti) Russia’s telecoms watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has struck 21 entries off its “blacklist” in three days, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday. The 21 links and IP-addresses included popular internet resources, whose blacklisting triggered public debate. “This includes the Lurkmore.to resource, links to individual pages in the social networking site Vkontakte and also the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nikolaus von Twickel – November 14, 2012) As the number of websites banned or blocked under the new Internet law continues to grow, the country’s media watchdog backpedaled Tuesday by acknowledging that censoring content was technically and legally difficult, and it promised to remove popular sites from the blacklist. The Mass Media Inspection Service said […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 13 (Interfax) – The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office referred a letter to the Interior Ministry after investigating police abuses jointly with regional prosecutors, claiming that police violate the law on administrative offences all across Russia. “Police violate citizens’ rights and the Code of Administrative Offences all across Russia. Police have even started criminal cases against deceased citizens in […]
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MOSCOW, November 14 (Marc Bennetts, RIA Novosti) A controversial law on state treason that critics fear could be used to stamp out political dissent came into force in Russia on Wednesday, two days after President Vladimir Putin told human rights workers he was ready to “review” it. The law, initiated by the Federal Security Service (FSB), and signed by […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – November 14, 2012) Valentin Danilov, a Siberian physicist jailed on charges of espionage and treason amid a spying frenzy that swept the country in President Vladimir Putin’s first term, was granted parole Tuesday and could be freed next week. Human rights campaigners praised the ruling, saying Danilov should never have been imprisoned […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Alina Lobzina – November 14, 2012) Controversial journalist Arkady Mamontov, best known for authoring programs accusing Kremlin-critics of being the servants of Western powers, has prepared his latest round of revelations, this time over the recent embezzlement scandal in the Defense Ministry. The state-owned federal Rossia 1 TV station aired his investigation under the title […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Alina Lobzina – November 14, 2012) An official linked with the case of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in custody awaiting trial, has reportedly come to the attention of investigators in connection with the recent Defense Ministry’s embezzlement scandal. Investigators re-opened a case over illegal VAT recovery, dating back to 2010, when Olga Stepanova headed […]
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(Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 9, Issue 207 – Pavel K. Baev – November 12, 2012) The Russian political class had hardly any time last week to contemplate the consequences of US President Barack Obama’s re-election for a second term or to follow the tense atmosphere at the 18th Communist Party Congress in Beijingit was the […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 12 (Interfax) – Famous TV anchor Vladimir Pozner has said that his show will continue airing on Channel 1 and that he has not had to apologize to anyone for his comments about the Russian law enforcement system. “Let me get things clear. I did not apologize, I was not fired, reports of my departure are absolute nonsense, […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, 8 November) According to human rights activists, torture is still practiced in Russia and people complain of ill-treatment received at detention centres, police, army and mental hospitals. “Human rights organizations have registered incidents of torture and ill-treatment in the prison system. They have also seen an increase in complaints in recent years. Tortures in remand centres are […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 12 (Interfax) – Nothing changed with renaming of Russian militia into police, said 64% of 1,600 respondents polled by the Superjob.ru portal in late October. The opinion was expressed by 71% in a similar poll in 2011. Ten percent believe there is a certain deterioration (8% last year), and 5% claim changes for the better (3% in 2011). […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 10 (Interfax) – The reform of the Russian police system cannot be considered finished, and further efforts are needed to improve it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev on Saturday. “The reform of which it has been said so much and which is being carried out perhaps cannot be considered finished. […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – November 12, 2012) When Anatoly Serdyukov, reportedly clad in a bathrobe and slippers, opened the door to a police unit raiding his former employee’s apartment, it was the tipping point for Russia’s beleaguered defense minister. But it wasn’t the only reason by far why the catastrophically unpopular defense minister was sacked last […]
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(Russian defence: Reform and be sacked: The firing of Russia’s defence minister may be a setback for military reform – The Economist – November 10, 2012 – http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21566006-firing-russias-defence-minister-may-be-setback-military-reform-reform-and-be-sacked) The Economist covers the sacking of former Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov: “Anatoly Serdyukov, Russia’s defence minister from 2007 until November 6th when President Vladimir Putin fired him, was never much of […]
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(Russia’s Putin fires top general after graft scandal – Reuters – Timothy Heritage – November 9, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/09/us-putin-defence-idUSBRE8A80RC20121109) Reuters covers Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reshuffling of his top military staff, following the replacement of former defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov with Sergei Shoigu: Russian President Vladimir Putin replaced the chief of his military staff on Friday in a reshuffle that […]
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(Interfax – November 8, 2012) Moscow, 8 November: Opposition figure and blogger Aleksey Navalnyy has announced the launch of a new project, called RosZhKKh, for fighting corruption and shortcomings in the work of utilities and municipal services companies. “It is common knowledge that ZhKKh (Russian abbreviation for utilities and municipal services) in Russia is a black hole that sucks in […]
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(Russian defense chief crossed Putin’s political “family” – Reuters – Thomas Grove and Timothy Heritage – November 8, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/08/us-russia-defence-scandal-idUSBRE8A70TG20121108) Reuters covers the sacking of Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who allegedly not only offended anti-corruption laws, but also outraged a family close to Putin when he allegedly might have cheated on his wife, who came from that family: […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – November 8, 2012) [think tank report here http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/HJS-The-Shuvalov-Affair-Report-4.pdf] A London-based think tank is reigniting the row over allegations of corruption against Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov with the publication of a new report Thursday. The document, produced by the Henry Jackson Society and obtained in advance of its release by The Moscow […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – November 8, 2012) Sergei Shoigu officially took over his new defense minister duties Wednesday, receiving the so-called nuclear briefcase, while prosecutors announced new findings in a corruption case at a ministry agency that led to the ouster of his predecessor, Anatoly Serdyukov. Shoigu, best-known for his long tenure as emergency situations minister, […]
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MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) – More than half of Russians – 58% – appreciated President Vladimir Putin’s decision to dismiss Anatoly Serdyukov as defense minister, and nearly half – 49% – approved of Sergei Shoigu’s appointment to the job, the www.superjob.ru web portal found after polling 1,600 Russians on Tuesday. Putin announced Serdyukov’s dismissal at a meeting with Shogu earlier […]
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(Interfax – November 6, 2012) Russian political experts have disagreed whether President Putin’s decision to sack Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov and appoint Sergey Shoygu, governor of Moscow Region and former emergencies minister, in his place will lead to changes in military reform and major reshuffles in the top brass of the Russian Armed Forces. At the same time, most experts […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova and Roland Oliphant – November 7, 2012) President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday fired Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov in connection with a corruption scandal and appointed Moscow Governor Sergei Shoigu in his place. Putin informed Serdyukov and Shoigu, a longtime ally who only became governor in May after serving 18 years as emergency situations […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – November 7, 2012) On November 6, President Vladimir Putin sacked Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who is accused of stealing $95m. We have been waiting for this. It’s the first time the Kremlin’s revitalized anti-corruption drive has reached into the inner circle. The sacking appears significant and already has the international press asking if […]
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From: “William Dunkerley” <wd@publishinghelp.com> Subject: Vedomosti Misrepresented Survey Results in Recent Article Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2012 Vedomosti Misrepresented Survey Results in Recent Article By William Dunkerley William Dunkerley is a media business analyst and consultant specializing in Russia and the former Soviet Union. An October 30, 2012 Vedomosti article titled “No Pathologies in Anatomy: Russians disbelieve that protesters meant […]
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(Putin dismisses defense minister after scandal – Reuters – Thomas Grove – November 6, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/06/us-russia-defence-idUSBRE8A50A820121106) Reuters covers Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sacking of defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov after a multi-million dollar corruption scandal. Putin replaced Serdyukov with former emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu, who has enjoyed a strong public approval rating: Putin’s announcement made at a meeting with Shoigu […]
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(Defense chief firing key step in Russia’s military reform experts – Russia Today – November 6, 2012 – http://rt.com/politics/serdyukov-defense-shoigu-minister-061/) Kremlin-backed media source Russia Today reports on the replacement of Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov with former Emergencies Ministry chief Sergey Shoigu: President Vladimir Putin sacked Serdyukov after his ministry was drawn into a major scandal over alleged selling off […]
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