Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
(Interfax – April 29, 2013) More than ten members of the Russian Public Chamber have signed a statement in support of yet another NGO being checked in Russia in which they slammed the ongoing mass checks of non-profit organizations in the country in general, saying they lead to significant infringement of civil liberties, Russian news agency Interfax reported on 29 […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 30, 2013) Prosecutors in Russia’s republic of Tatarstan have ordered the Agora human rights group, which has provided legal assistance to people detained at anti-Kremlin protests, to register as a “foreign agent,” a demand it has dismissed as “unlawful.” Under a controversial law approved by President Vladimir Putin last year, NGOs funded from abroad and […]
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(Interfax – April 30, 2013) The inspections of non-governmental organizations (NGO) are not large-scale and the results will be summarized in late May, Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin wrote in a letter to Chairman of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov. “The inspection does not pursue limiting NGO activities, it is preventive and aimed at forcing organizations […]
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(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) Moscow After the Direct Line programme, Vladimir Putin met with members of the media to answer their questions. QUESTION: Mr President, 85 questions, 85 answers, 85 people this is quite a lot. And all the questions were important. But there were nearly 2.5 million people who asked questions. Will all these questions be organised […]
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(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) (transcript continued) Moscow KIRILL KLEYMENOV: Thank you, Novoshakhtinsky. Thank you, Primorye. Let’s give the opportunity to ask a question to… MARIA SITTEL: Just one second. On the topic of adoption, I have a question from Marina from Vladivostok. Mr President, is it possible to look into the legislative aspects of letting the adopted children access […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 28, 2013) Russian opposition leader Aleksey Navalny says that Russia does not need federalism and should become a unitary state in which cities rather than the current federal subjects would be the fundamental political link between individual Russian citizens and the Russian state. In an interview published in the May issue […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 27, 2013) Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika sees as unacceptable civil society’s pressure on the justice system. “Everyone should mind their own business. When a civil society institution reviews a court ruling, in my opinion, this is just unacceptable,” Chaika said taking questions from Federation Council members on Saturday. “There is nothing unusual in the fact […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas & Irina Reznik – April 29, 2013) President Vladimir Putin rejected calls for fiscal stimulus, limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s options as he races to meet a deadline for submitting a plan to revitalize Russia’s economy. First Deputy Premier Igor Shuvalov said Putin dismissed proposals to aid flagging growth by boosting federal spending at […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 29, 2013) The Russian government has implemented some 73 percent of presidential decrees issued by Vladimir Putin last May, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday. Putin swapped jobs with Medvedev last May, and tasked the government with 218 assignments, including 67 ones scheduled to be carried out within the next seven years. “One […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 29, 2013) Despite an uptick in protest sentiment, most Russians will stay away from street rallies during the May Day holidays, according to a new poll. At least 70 percent of respondents said they were not planning to participate in annual street rallies either for or against the authorities on May 1, the independent […]
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From: Arch Getty <getty@ucla.edu> Subject: Putin and Russian History Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 Putin and Russian History By J. Arch Getty J. Arch Getty is Professor of History at UCLA. He is the author of several books on Russian history, including Practicing Stalinism: Boyars, Bolsheviks and the Persistence of Tradition, forthcoming from Yale University Press. An occupational hazard of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – April 26, 2013) President Vladimir Putin pledged to stay the course on a range of key issues, from macroeconomic policy to the battle with corruption and the composition of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s Cabinet, during a record-breaking live call-in show broadcast on national television on Thursday. The annual show, which lasted an […]
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(Kremlin.ru – April 25, 2013) Moscow Direct Line with Vladimir Putin was broadcast live on Channel One, Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 TV networks and Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii radio stations. During the programme, the President answered more than 85 questions from Russians on the most pressing social and political issues. The total duration of the programme was 4 hours […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 25, 2013) Russians are critical about the government’s performance but do not expect its dismissal in the near future, the Levada Center public survey service told Interfax based on results of an April poll of 1,600 respondents. Nearly a quarter of Russians – 24% – believe the government led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is efficient, […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 26, 2013) Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin said that the tragedy in the psychiatric clinic in Ramensky village in the Moscow region’s Dmitrov district was a consequence of a number of issues in the sphere. “I share deep grief of all relatives and loved ones of the victims. Of course, possible criminal liability for what […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – April 26, 2013) This is part of an occasional series. As part of his effort to promote patriotism among younger generations of Russians, President Vladimir Putin has proposed creating a single set of history textbooks for schoolchildren, arguing that there should be more consistency in what students are taught and that textbooks […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 26, 2013) Anatoly Chubais, who oversaw Russia’s mass privatization drive in the 1990s, said on Friday he had always treated allegations that his US advisers at the time were operatives of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as rumors – until President Vladimir Putin said so out loud yesterday. “I often heard those claims and […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 25, 2013) Russians firstly have negative associations regarding a State Duma deputy and many consider deputies to be dishonest, self-seeking and away from people, the poll of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) showed. The main associations Russians have with a State Duma deputy are: “a corrupt official” (20%), “greed for gain” (9%) and negative […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – April 26, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his own record with his longest ever annual Q&A meet the people press conference. In just under five hours the president attempted to answer as many of the more than 3m questions submitted by Russians on topics covering the gamut of issues. Widely ridiculed by western […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 24, 2013) Representatives of human rights organizations have said that the number of non-governmental organizations (NGO) inspected by state agencies is excessive. “Hundreds of NGOs were inspected by the tax service, the Ministry of Justice, fire, sanitary agencies and other bodies. Some agencies gave ridiculous demands, for instance, to confirm that all employees of the organization […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Dan Peleschuk, special to RBTH – April 25, 2013) As United Russia’s reputation continues to suffer and Vladimir Putin voices increasing support for his People’s Front, what’s in store for the ruling party? Once an all-powerful vanguard party that helped President Vladimir Putin consolidate support and increase his influence over Russian politics, United […]
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(Buiness New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – April 25, 2013) There is no competition in Russia. The revenues are fake. You have to control the whole sector to make money.” This comment was made by Oleg Tinkoff on one of the panels at Sberbanks recent investment conference, “The Russia Forum”, yet this highly successful Russian serial […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – April 24, 2013) In the absence of significant economic achievements, Vladimir Putin is trying to consolidate support on the basis of conservative values. Although President Vladimir Putin is still the most popular politician in Russia, the trend is clear: The first year of his third term saw his confidence […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 25, 2013) Russian political analysts have different opinions regarding the likelihood that the government could be dismissed following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks during a traditional annual Q&A session on Thursday. Igor Bunin told Interfax that Putin had apparently gave some more time to the government and no dismissals of individual government ministers should be expected […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova and Alexander Winning – April 25, 2013) The Moscow Times is running a live blog of President Vladimir Putin’s 11th televised call-in show, the first since he returned to the presidency last year. See below for updates from our reporters following the show, which will be broadcast on three federal TV channels […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 25, 2013) Officers of the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency operated as consultants to Anatoly Chubais, the Russian deputy prime minister who oversaw the privatization of the country’s economy in the early 1990’s, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. “In Chubais’ entourage, it has now turned out, CIA officers worked as consultants,” Putin said […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – April 25, 2013) President Vladimir Putin said his methods don’t have anything in common with those of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, and that the trials of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the members of the Pussy Riot feminist punk group were not politically motivated. Putin made the remarks in response to a […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 25, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin set a new record on Thursday for the duration of his annual televised question and answer session, replying to 85 questions in four hours and 47 minutes. This was Putin’s 12th Q&A session, but the first since being re-elected president in 2012. Putin’s very first Q&A session, held on […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Evgeny Basmanov, special to RBTH – April 24, 2013) Why the country’s tax system is more trustworthy than those in most European countries. At the end of last year, celebrated actor Gerard Depardieu, unhappy with the high rate of tax in his native France, decided to move to Russia and change his citizenship. […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Gasyuk, special to RBTH – April 24, 2013) Alexander Gasyuk is Rossiyskaya Gazeta’s Washington Bureau Chief “Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin,” a new book by the Brookings Institution pundits, analyzes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personality instead of surrounding stereotypes RBTH sat down with Fiona Hill, who serves as the director of […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, April 23, 2013) Aleksey Navalnyy, one of the leaders of the Russian non-establishment opposition, is known to this or that degree to 53 per cent of Russians and 51 per cent perceive him negatively, VTsIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Centre) pollsters have told Interfax news agency presenting the results of their study. According to the VTsIOM, Navalnyy […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 23, 2013) Former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has said that he did not discuss any job offers with President Vladimir Putin on April 22. Kudrin attended a Putin-chaired session on economic issues in Sochi on Monday as an expert. “As I left the hall, I had a chance to meet with Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) on […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – April 23, 2013) KIROV, Russia — A court in Russia’s Kirov Oblast has rejected a request from anticorruption blogger Aleksei Navalny for a further delay in his trial. Navalny had asked for more time for his lawyers to examine the 28 volumes of documents associated with his case. Navalny is accused of being involved in the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Winning – April 23, 2013) The Constitutional Court has ruled that Russian voters should be allowed to appeal election results directly, overruling earlier judgments that permitted only political parties and candidates to dispute official vote counts in the courts. The court’s ruling, published on its official website on Monday, follows complaints by human rights […]
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(Interfax – April 22, 2013) The format of Russian TV presenter and opposition activist Kseniya Sobchak’s weekly political talk show “Gosdep-3”, aired on Internet and satellite Dozhd TV channel, will be changed, Interfax news agency reported on 22 April, quoting Dozhd managing director Natalya Sindeyeva. “The programme is by no means being closed. We are suspending it in order to […]
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(opendemocracy.net – April 23, 2013 – Zygmunt Dzieciolowski, Alexei Levinson, and Mikhail Sokolov) Mikhail Sokolov is an ex Radio Liberty journalist and a historian. Alexei Levinson is sociologist and senior researcher at the Levada Center, Russia’s leading polling organisation, Moscow. Zygmunt Dzieciolowski is a Polish journalist who has covered Russia and other post Soviet republics for European media since 1989. […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – April 22, 2013) A large study by Olga Kryshtanovskaya, Russias leading specialist on elites, into the attitudes of young people in 26 Russian cities found that Russias youth have a largely positive view of the president. The full report, available online at gefter.ru/archive/8369 and already the subject of discussions in Gazeta.ru (gazeta.ru/politics/2013/04/19_a_5261565.shtml) and PublicPost.ru […]
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(Interfax – ST. PETERSBURG, April 22, 2013) The Russian Constitutional Court has confirmed the right of voters to protest election returns in court and declared the practice of banning direct applications to courts unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court announced a corresponding resolution on Monday after checking several provisions of Civil Proceedings Code and federal laws on guarantees of electoral rights and […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 22, 2013) A spokesman for the Kremlin said in an interview aired on Monday that state officials should not own real estate abroad, as it could leave them open to “pressure.” “Officials should not possess real estate in foreign countries,” Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, said in an interview with the state-run […]
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(Interfax – April 19, 2013) Internet users have tracked down an account in the social network VKontakte which allegedly belongs to a Boston bombing suspect. Links to the page which Boston Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnayev ran in the network, have emerged on other social networks. There is a notice on Tsarnayev’s page saying that its host last visited it at […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – April 19, 2013) The mother and widow of whistle-blowing Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky were in Washington on April 17, just days after the White House issued a blacklist of more than a dozen Russian officials implicated in Magnitsky’s prosecution and death in jail in 2009. RFE/RL’s Richard Solash spoke to Magnitsky’s mother, Natalia, at a reception […]
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(Interfax – April 18, 2013) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov said on 18 April that “certain forces” are trying to undermine the country’s budding innovation centre, Skolkovo, which is being investigated for embezzlement, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported. Surkov, who is a member of the Skolkovo Foundation’s board of trustees, was speaking following a raid by Federal Security […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 18, 2013) The Russian government does not have to undertake immediate action to stimulate economic growth, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said. There is “dissatisfaction with the pace of economic growth,” he said, but the Russian economy is not in recession. “This is no place for emotions. Of course there can be stimulation of one […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – April 19, 2013) A prominent Kremlin critic in the largely rubber-stamp parliament, Ponomaryov suggested that ulterior motives lay behind Friday’s news. Investigators have accused a top manager at the government’s flagship Skolkovo Foundation of making $750,000 in improper payments to a State Duma deputy with close links to the street protest movement, […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 19, 2013) Overzealousness in the fight against corruption could drain the civil service of many valuable cadres, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said. Speaking at the Russia 2013 business forum on Thursday, Shuvalov said that corruption is present around the world, but in Russia it has been blown out of proportion, Vedomosti reported. […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 18, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual question and answer session is due to start at noon on April 25, the Kremlin press service said. It will be broadcast live on the Channel 1, Rossiya 1 and Rossiya 24 television stations, as well as the Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio of Russia radio stations, it said. […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 19, 2013) Russians quizzed in an opinion poll released on Friday handed their government, headed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the unflattering equivalent to a “C” grade for overall performance. The government scored 3.2 out of five in the poll, where a five would equal an “A” grade in Western parlance. In other findings […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 19, 2013) The majority of Russians do not see any difference in quality of work of the governments of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, judging by a Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) poll. Some 71% of the respondents told VTsIOM that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s Cabinet was no better and no worse than Putin’s Cabinet. […]
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(Government.ru – April 17, 2013) Good afternoon, Mr Naryshkin (Sergei Naryshkin, State Duma Speaker). Good afternoon, State Duma deputies, colleagues. Today for the fifth time the Government is presenting a report on the results of its performance over the past year. This tradition has become a logical step in the development of the modern political system, improving its openness and […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, April 17, 2013) Heads of leading Russian NGOs disagree with accusations levelled by the authorities at the human rights association Golos facing a heavy fine. “We think it is absurd to say that the organization that led the fight for fair elections in Russia is acting in the interests of foreign states and is a foreign agent,” […]
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