RA Letter to the Guardian

By James Kimer | Published: September 22, 2007

Today the Guardian has published a letter from Robert Amsterdam in response to Jonathan Steele’s opinion article “Putin’s legacy is a Russia that doesn’t have to curry favour with the west,” published Tuesday, Sept. 18. Guardian: The solution to Jonathan Steele’s “puzzle” as to why the Russian government feels the need for excessive political control […]

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Robert Amsterdam Interview in Libero Mercato

By James Kimer | Published: September 21, 2007

On Sept. 13, 2007, the Italian business paper Libero Mercato published a profile interview with Robert Amsterdam. Below is a rush translation – a full original PDF copy can be downloaded here in Italian. THE LIBERO MERCATO INTERVIEW: ROBERT AMSTERDAM Kazakhstan and the Khodorkovsky Theory: “The Freeze on Eni is a message from Putin” According […]

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RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Sept. 21, 2007

By Citizen M | Published:

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov seen at the investment forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia, Friday, Sept. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Vladimir Rodionov, Presidential Press Service). Despite promises not to adjust the power structure in his favour, Vladimir Putin sees his influence surviving after […]

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Would Russia Elect a Putin-Appointed Horse?

By James Kimer | Published:

Roman Emperor Caligula once paraded his favorite racing horse through Senate to make his deputies bow to the animal, and is rumored to have considered nominating the horse for a seat. An amusing story has been making its way around the blogosphere in recent weeks about the re-emergence on a vast scale of mysterious pro-government […]

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A Potemkin Division of Gazprom

By Robert Amsterdam | Published:

Does the new EU package of energy policies really have any teeth? The Wall Street Journal doesn’t think so, and argues that the open loophole to escape unbundling by appointing Independent System Operators (ISO) to manage gas and electricity transmission and distribution assets can easily be exploited by the current energy monopolies. As for Gazprom’s […]

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Fighting Corruption in Russia

By Robert Amsterdam | Published:

Russia’s new premier Viktor Zubkov gave quite the performance during his first address to the Duma this week, striking a notably disciplinarian tone (some papers called it a “Soviet streak“) so as to leave little doubt of his new clout. He publicly excoriated one official and banished him to Sakhalin until earthquake relief efforts were […]

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Restoring the Romanovs

By James Kimer | Published:

The FT makes their case for energy regulation, arguing that Gazprom needs to prove it can play by the rules in Europe to be treated as a normal commercial partner. Financial Times: Blocking Gazprom Twice this week, European Union institutions have infuriated important trading partners. On Monday, the Court of First Instance drew the wrath […]

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Derek Brower: Commission Issues New Gazprom Challenge

By Citizen M | Published: September 20, 2007

Brussels is getting bold. But will it work? By Derek Brower, journalist THE EUROPEAN Commission’s third package on energy liberalisation, released in Brussels yesterday, made an implicit threat to Gazprom’s ambitions to expand across the continent, calling for foreign companies that want to buy majority control of gas and power assets in the EU to […]

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Estonia Wins a Peculiar Contest?

By James Kimer | Published:

We had no idea that this competition existed, but according to one expert, Estonia has beat out the heated competition from Latvia and Poland to become Russia’s #1 most inconvenient neighbour. Regnum: “I can say, a kind of an international contest in deteriorating the relations with Russia was announced between Latvia, Estonia and Poland,” Mezhevich […]

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RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Sept. 20, 2007

By Citizen M | Published:

Russia’s new Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov chairs his first government meeting in Moscow September 20, 2007. (Photo: REUTERS/RIA-Novosti/Kremlin) In a signal that Russia intends to be taken seriously as a democratic entity, business leaders are predicting that tomorrow’s RSPP meeting with Vladimir Putin will be less politically oriented than those held by former President Boris […]

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