Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH – September 16, 2013) The fight against graft has emerged as a rallying cry for Russia’s nascent opposition, yielding victories in local elections. The Kremlin agrees with its critics about the problem. Analysts hope the business climate stands to benefit. Dmitry Bykov, the charismatic Russian TV host-turned-opposition leader, stepped to […]
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(RIA Novosti – September 16, 2013) Today, beginning at 9:15 a.m. Moscow time (5:15 a.m. GMT), RIA Novosti is broadcasting live from the opening of the 10th annual meeting of the Valdai Club, a discussion forum where high-level Russian officials have been meeting with foreign political scientists since 2004. A recording of the event will be posted after the broadcast […]
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(Interfax – September 16, 2013) Parliamentary parties are losing the support of regional and local elites some of whom are shifting towards new political forces, the Civil Initiatives Committee think tank suggested. “There is an outflow of regional and local elites and voters from practically every “systemic” party [which has seats at the State Duma]. Candidates are moving from one […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) Almost half of all Russians, 44 percent, agree with opposition leader Alexei Navalny that the ruling United Russia party is made up of “crooks and thieves,” a recent opinion poll showed Monday, a significant increase from two years ago. Navalny, an anti-corruption activist who finished second in Moscow’s recent mayoral election, coined […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 13, 2013) President Vladimir Putin will meet prominent opposition politicians at the 10th annual Valdai International Discussion Club, where Russian and foreign experts will discuss diversity, political and otherwise, in modern Russia, a news report said Friday. The forum is being held in the Novgorod region from Sept. 16-19 and will conclude with a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – September 13, 2013) President Vladimir Putin hailed Moscow’s mayoral elections as fair and transparent at Sergei Sobyanin’s inauguration ceremony Thursday evening, attributing any “opposition votes” to frustration with bureaucrats abusing power. “I’m sure that nobody would’ve voted against Sobyanin. Why would they vote against him? He’s done nothing but good, especially over […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 13, 2013) Russians have no respect for Pussy Riot, a poll from Levada Center indicates. Out of a sample of 1,601 people surveyed in 130 urban centers, not a single respondent said that they respected the band. In August 2012, band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhina were sentenced to two years […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 13, 2013) Public awareness in Russia of two criminal investigations and trials of leading opposition figures is on the rise, and the public is increasingly seeing these issues as politically motivated, a new poll has found. The survey published by the independent pollster Levada Center yesterday asked respondents about their knowledge of anti-corruption activist […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yaroslava Kiryukhina, RBTH – September 11, 2013) Women are poorly represented in politics in Russia, although a handful of women politicans have reached key positions. Russia is known for being a patriarchal country, but despite considerable barriers, some women leaders have managed to reach high levels in the political hierarchy. Women make up […]
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(Moscow Times – temhoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – September 12, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Thursday appointed business lobbyist Alexander Galushka as Far East Development Minister, completing the staff changes meant to spur investment in a region sitting next to major Asian powerhouses. A co-chairman of business association Delovaya Rossia, Galushka will work in tandem with Deputy Prime Minister Yury […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – September 11, 2013) When Aleksei Navalny addressed thousands of supporters on Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square, he surprised many when he urged the crowd to go home peacefully after the rally ended. Earlier on September 9, the anticorruption blogger-turned-opposition leader appeared to implicitly be threatening mass unrest when he said he would call his supporters […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Mark Teeter, special to RBTH – Mark H. Teeter teaches English and Russian-American relations in Moscow. He blogs daily for ‘Moscow TV Tonite’ on Facebook – September 11, 2013) Were you surprised by the results of the Moscow mayor election? The answer for Muscovites may depend on what media they consume. The unexpectedly […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – September 11, 2013) Audit Chamber chief Sergei Stepashin, who is being replaced by presidential aide Tatyana Golikova, said goodbye to his colleagues at the chamber’s headquarters in downtown Moscow on Tuesday, to a round of applause and the patriotic marching tune “Farewell of Slavyanka.” Stepashin, who earlier headed the Interior Ministry and […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 12, 2013) The United States will not boycott the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Russia in light of the recently adopted Russian legislation banning the promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships toward minors, the US ambassador said Wednesday. US athletes should not fall victim to politics, Ambassador Michael McFaul told the Dozhd TV channel as Russia […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG, September 12, 2013) Everyone assumes that the Kremlin cheats when it comes to elections. Did the Kremlin steal the Moscow City election for mayor on September 8 from opposition blogger Alexei Navalny? Ballot stuffing has been par for the course. It is widely accepted that the authorities added about 12% to the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – September 12, 2013) Opposition leader and former mayoral hopeful Alexei Navalny announced Wednesday that he would submit 951 separate complaints of voting violations to the Moscow City Elections Commission on Thursday. “There’s about 50,000 pages here, we’ll have to bring it in a truck,” Navalny wrote in a post on his LiveJournal […]
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(RIA Novosti – September 11, 2013) Russian political analysts have offered suggestions to secure acting Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin’s victory at the 9 September election, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported on 11 September. Political scientist Vladimir Slatinov said that Sobyanin achieved an “insecure” victory and would need to compensate for “this shortcoming in legitimacy”. “Sobyanin has achieved an […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 11, 2013) Opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman, who won Sunday’s mayoral vote in Yekaterinburg, was scheduled to be questioned by investigators Tuesday as a witness in a criminal case against a former employee of his City Without Drugs foundation. Roizman, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, was one of the few opposition members to win […]
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(Kremlin.ru – Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region, September 10, 2013) Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting with heads of Russian regions voted in during regional elections held on the single election day. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Dear colleagues, good afternoon, Voting has closed and you have won your elections; naturally I must congratulate you on your victory and wish you success. I […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – September 11, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday hailed the recent regional elections as “more transparent than ever” as Moscow’s elections commission announced acting Mayor Sergei Sobyanin as the official winner of the city’s mayoral vote and set his inauguration ceremony for Thursday. Describing the elections as “legitimate, transparent and regulated,” Putin […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yaroslava Kiryukhina, RBTH – September 10, 2013) In response to Russia’s recently adopted “anti-gay law,” people in cities all over the world are boycotting Russian vodka and talking of severing sister-city ties. Despite this criticism, which comes mainly from Western audiences, Russian lawmakers insist that the new legislation was created only to protect […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris – September 11, 2013) How much does the rest of the world hate Russia? Answer: a lot. This excerpt below is part of an internal memo by a major US bank, which will remain nameless, to clients on the results of the Moscow mayoral elections at the weekend. What is supposed to […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, September 11, 2013) Their identity increasingly defined not by what they are or want to be but by what they fear and view as alien, Russians as a nation are fraying at the edges with some like the Siberians identifying in terms of a region, others like the Cossacks in terms of […]
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(RIA Novosti – NOVO-OGARYOVO – Moscow Region, September 10, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called on newly elected heads of Russian regions to get in contact with their former opponents and use their proposals. “I am urging you to build relationships not only with your support groups but with all your opponents as well, bearing in mind […]
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(RIA Novosti – Howard Amos – MOSCOW, September 11, 2013) Besides drunks, who do Russians not want most as neighbors or work colleagues? The answer: homosexuals, according to new research examining national identity released by a state-run pollster, the Russia Public Opinion Research Center, on Tuesday. According to the survey, 51 percent of Russians would not like “under any […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Tatyana Lisina, special to RBTH – September 9, 2013) A mega regulator of the entire financial market began work in Russia on Sept. 1. According to experts, this will have a positive impact on the economy as a whole and increase Russia’s investment attractiveness. On Sept. 1, the Central Bank of the Russian […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Pavel Vasiliadi, Analyst at the UFS Investment Company, special to RBTH – September 10, 2013) Economist Pavel Vasiliadi describes how Russia has more options than most of its G20 peers in choosing to either save or spend its way out of the crisis. In the debate on international financial architecture, Russia, having picked […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, September 10, 2013) Even as Russians debate whether Aleksey Navalny won by losing, it is already clear that three groups lost the Russian revolution: the KPRF which suffered its worst defeat ever, the Russian people whose political alienation led to an extraordinarily low turnout, and the Kremlin itself which demonstrated its incapacity […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – September 10, 2013) In the face of persistently high inflation and capital outflows, the Russian government has decided to freeze energy tariffs, which will give the economy a short-term boost, but will also stymie the long-term development of the economy. Times are tough in Russia after economic growth dropped […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – September 10, 2013) Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, elected outspoken opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman as its mayor on Sunday, in a move that dealt a blow to pro-Kremlin forces but gave little actual power to the winner, pundits said. Roizman’s success likely stems from voters’ disappointment with regional authorities and Roizman’s reputation as […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. September 9, 2013) Andrei Vorobyov won the gubernatorial election in the Moscow region with 78.94% of the vote, Moscow regional elections commission chairman Irek Vildanov told Interfax. “A. Vorobyov won the election of the Moscow region’s governor upon processing of 100% of voting result reports. He gained 78.94% of the vote,” Vildanov said. Konstantin Cheremisov (the Communist […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 9, 2013) Election performance of opposition candidate Alexei Navalny was phenomenal, Civil Platform party leader Mikhail Prokhorov said, adding that he could have defeated Acting Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin already in the first round. “The preliminary result of Alexei (Navalny) makes me think that they (the authorities) must have realized there would have not been any […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 9, 2013) Moscow held its first mayoral election in nearly 10 years on Sunday, and voter turnout amounted to less than 30 percent, according to exit polls. The contenders included acting Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Communist Ivan Melnikov, Liberal Democrat Mikhail Degtyarev, Yabloko party chairman Sergei Mitrokhin, and A Just Russia’s […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, September 9, 2013) For Aleksei Shagal, it all began when he read one of Aleksei Navalny’s blog posts. The 27-year-old freelance journalist was deeply inspired by Navalny, an anticorruption blogger with a nationalist streak, and was propelled for the first time in his life into political activism. Shagal joined the throngs who […]
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(Interfax – September 10, 2013) No incidents occurred during the Monday rally staged by supporters of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who ranked second in the Moscow mayoral elections, on Bolotnaya Square. “This election has finally molded politics in Russia,” Navalny said at the rally. He called his election result a victory. “I know that a third of Moscow voters cast […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – September 10, 2013) Kremlin-backed candidate Sergei Sobyanin got a victory at Moscow’s mayoral election Sunday, but opposition star Alexei Navalny walked away with a symbolic victory by getting more than he or the government bargained for, analysts said. According to official results, Navalny garnered 633,000 votes in a city with 7.25 million […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – September 10, 2013) The pro-Kremlin Moscow mayor-elect Sergei Sobyanin may have won a firm victory in Sunday’s polls, but unexpectedly high results for his rival, opposition activist Alexei Navalny, suggest authorities got more than they bargained for when they called for snap elections. Instead of a mayor legitimized by the first competitive […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 10, 2013) The Moscow city elections commission endorsed official results of the mayoral election on Tuesday. Acting Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin was proclaimed the winner. He gained 51.37% of the vote while the voter turnout stood at 32.07%. RPR-PARNAS candidate Alexei Navalny ranked second with 27.24% of the vote. Ivan Melnikov (the Communist Party) was third […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 9, 2013) Human rights activists call the organization of the Sunday mayoral elections in Moscow exemplary but quoting their own sources say that a runoff could be held to determine the mayor. “There were no crude breaches of law, but there were subtle irregularities which we still have to study,” cochairman of Golos movement council Grigory […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 9, 2013) Presidential aide and former health minister Tatyana Golikova was nominated by President Vladimir Putin Monday to head Russia’s Audit Chamber, the Kremlin said. Golikova was selected by Putin from a pool of three candidates for the position put forward by a State Duma commission that also included Sergei Stepashin, the Chamber’s head […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – September 9, 2013) On the eve of elections, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev gave the government three days to prepare a feasibility study on how a possible freeze on natural monopolies’ prices next year might affect economic growth and business in general. The Cabinet on Friday was ordered to evaluate by Monday the […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 8, 2013) Human rights defenders did not find any serious violations that might influence the outcomes of the Moscow mayoral elections as of the moment polling stations closed down. “No such violations were recorded as of the moment polling stations closed down. But another important procedure, the count of votes, is still ahead,” Golos co-leader Grigory […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 9, 2013) Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov expressed regret Monday that he had not run for Moscow’s mayor, saying that he would have posed a more serious challenge to the incumbent, Sergei Sobyanin, than opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Prokhorov, leader of the pro-business Civic Platform party, said he had not been able to make a bid […]
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(Interfax – September 9, 2013) Moscow mayoral election procedureRussian Prime Minister, leader of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev thinks that the single election day, September 8, showed a real political competition in Russia. “The elections were not easy. They showed the increased activity of non-parliamentary parties, including the recently registered ones. In general, there were 110,000 candidates from 54 […]
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Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 From” “Timothy Post” <email@timothypost.com> Subject: Kremlin_ru_eng Live Twitter Feed I just created a live Twitter feed of all the news items published by the Kremlin Wire Service. If any of the JRL readers would like to subscribe to this feed (lots of folks have Twitter feeds come to their cell phones) they can check it […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan, Editor and Correspondent at themoscownews.com – September 6, 2013) With the international gay community up in arms over Russia’s so-called anti-gay laws – which don’t outlaw gays but only the promotion of their lifestyles – there’s a new bit of legislation that goes out of its way to crack down on homosexuality. Andrei […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 8, 2013) Opposition activist Alexei Navalny scored high in the Moscow mayoral elections and he has a political future, Center for Political Technologies First Vice-President Alexei Makarkin said. Acting Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is leading in the election with 56% of the vote, and Navalny goes second with 29%, according to the Center for Political Technologies’ […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – September 9, 2013) What to make of opposition blogger Alexei Navalny’s unexpectedly strong result in the Moscow mayor elections on Sunday, September 8? With over 98% of the votes counted Navalny received 27.37% against the incumbent Sergei Sobyanin’s 51.15%, the election committee said on Monday, September 9. Navalny’s tally is a lot more than […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – September 4, 2013) Faced with state interference and a too-heavy focus on military production, Russia’s aircraft manufacturing industry stands at a crossroads, when competitiveness can either be regained after its Soviet heyday or lost. This is the conclusion of a report by the analytical firm Strategy Partners Group, released ahead of last week’s MAKS airshow […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, September 5, 2013) A US military strike on Syria may prompt a whole range of countries to acquire nuclear weapons for the sake of their own security, Aleksey Pushkov, head of the Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee, has said. “They (the Americans) think that a strike will show the determination of the USA to firmly respond […]
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