The Polittechnologist: Putin and his Relatives

By Citizen M | Published: September 13, 2007

Putin and his Relatives By the Polittechnologist The new appointment of a prime minister, seeming so strange to many, actually fits perfectly into the logic of the recent actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Vlad loves himself very much and aspires to live up to his name (“Vladimir” comes from the Ancient Russian “Vladei mirom” […]

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Russian Protestors Set Themselves on Fire

By Robert Amsterdam | Published:

From Stratfor: Russia: Protesters Light Themselves On Fire September 13, 2007 14 06 GMT Two Russian activists from the Yabloko opposition party set themselves on fire Sept. 13 in protest of what they call “Operation Successor,” the Russian practice of allowing the president to appoint his successor, as President Vladimir Putin seems likely to do. […]

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RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Sept. 13, 2007

By Citizen M | Published:

Russian President Vladimir Putin feeds a calf while touring a milk farm in the village of Zorinskiye Dvory in the western Belgorod region of Russia on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007. (Photo: AP) Reactions to Vladimir Putin’s surprising new choice of Prime Minister have been mixed. Viktor Zubkov, described by some as “colorless,” is simultaneously seen […]

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Bulldogs Under the Carpet

By Robert Amsterdam | Published: September 12, 2007

From Yulia Latynina in the Moscow Times, we are reminded of the bulldogs fighting under the carpet in the Kremlin – be it over billions stolen from Yukos, or the fresh kill of Russneft: Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court, for example, froze the assets of oil company Russneft on Aug. 9. Why? Two people were trying […]

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Fradkov’s Resignation Speech

By Robert Amsterdam | Published:

With Mikhail Fradkov’s carefully prepared resignation speech, we are reminded that Russia is desperate to at least “go through the motions” of appearing like a functional democracy. It is astonishing that we are being asked to believe that this is a normal, voluntary, and legitimate resignation speech, rather than a docile employee following orders from […]

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RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Sept. 12, 2007

By Citizen M | Published:

A new ordnance, claimed by the Russian military the world’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb, explodes in a giant fireball during a test in this undated television image shown by Russian Channel One television, Moscow, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007. (Photo: AP) A special report at The Economist is forecasting at least 7% growth for Russia’s ‘rosy […]

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The Return of Rent-a-Chancellor

By Robert Amsterdam | Published: September 11, 2007

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is back on the scene following a quiet summer, doing what he does best – working hard as the Kremlin’s most expensive public relations rep (the price tag for these services was of course a chair on the Nord Stream board). Germany’s former leader Gerhard Schroeder speaks during a presentation […]

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Dennis Ross: Are We Powerless to Stop Russia?

By James Kimer | Published:

Dennis Ross, author and fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has the following column running in the New Republic. Back in the USSR by Dennis Ross – The New Republic When surveying the challenges we face internationally, it is easy to put Russia on the back burner. Consider what the next president […]

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RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Sept. 11, 2007

By Citizen M | Published:

US Ambassador to Russia William J. Burns, center, holds a candle during a liturgy at St. Catherine Church of Russian Orthodox Church Abroad to mark the sixth anniversary of Sept. 11 in downtown Moscow on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007. (AP Photo/ Mikhail Metzel ) Vladimir Putin has completed his visit to the United Arab Emirates. […]

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Russia’s New Iron Curtain

By James Kimer | Published:

With the latest reports that entry to Russia has been denied to yet another politically inconvenient individual (this time an American lawyer who was helping organize dock workers at the Kaliningrad port), it seems that the Kremlin is slowly erecting a modern version of the Iron Curtain in preparation for the elections. Elizabeth Vladeck, a […]

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