On Television Brainwashing

By James Kimer | Published: May 20, 2008

It’s one thing to talk about censorship and a lacking freedom of the press – it’s altogether another item to talk about aggressively using media for the dissemination of propaganda. In today’s Washington Post, Masha Lipman has an interesting discussion about how the forms and methods of state media use have changed under the Putin […]

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Court Refuses Yukos Extradition to Russia, Citing Politically Motivated Persecution

By James Kimer | Published:

Breaking news from the FT: Russia loses extradition bid By Catherine Belton A Cyprus court has refused to extradite a former senior Yukos executive to Russia, saying that the case is politically-motivated. Judge Alecos Panayiotou refused Russia’s request to extradite Vladislav Kartashov, a former manager at the Russian energy group, because “there is a real […]

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Energy Blast – May 20, 2008

By Citizen M | Published:

“OPEC ought to do what it can in the short run to hasten a price decline and guard against a drop in oil use.” Gazprom has announced that it will raise tariffs on the supply of gas to Armenia, step by step. “Unconventional oil is the future, both for the world’s fuel supplies and for […]

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Today in Russian Business – May 20, 2008

By Citizen M | Published:

A railway linking Russia and Iran via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan will open in December 2011. Metalloinvest, the iron ore and steel company owned by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, plans to float up to 25% of its shares in an initial public offering later this year. VTB Group plans to sell $2 billion of bonds that will […]

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RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – May 20, 2008

By Citizen M | Published:

TODAY: Medvedev to assume personal responsibility in battle against corruption; Global Peace Index ranks Russia low on its list; Cyprus court refuses to extradite former Yukos executive; libel bill will not be passed; Georgia could support Russia’s WTO bid. Dmitry Medvedev is to head a council to battle corruption, winning praise in the Russian press […]

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Russia’s New Political Epoch

By James Kimer | Published: May 19, 2008

From EDM: These changes have meant “the breakup” of the siloviki, Ekspert magazine wrote in its latest issue. “The appointment of Igor Sechin as deputy prime minister for industry and energy … guarantees that he will retain the influence on the raw materials business that he has already acquired,” the weekly wrote. “But at the […]

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Interfax Censors Khodorkovsky Interview

By Robert Amsterdam | Published:

Russia’s Interfax news agency has, rather remarkably, picked up yesterday’s sensational interview with Mikhail Khodorkovsky in the Sunday Times. But with a twist. While the emphasis of the Sunday Times article is clearly on Khodorkovsky’s naming of Igor Sechin as the instigator of his arrest and the destruction of Yukos, the far more innocuous «Interfax» […]

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Russia’s Tedious Political Theatrics

By Robert Amsterdam | Published:

Kommersant reported on Friday that Vladimir Putin has proposed to reorganize the structure of the Russian government (Kommersant, “Putin to Reogranize Govt”, 16 May, 2008). He wants to replace full cabinet meetings with a new body, to be called the “Presidium of the Government”. “It’s evident to all of us”, he explained, “that the government’s […]

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Grigory Pasko: Looking a gift horse in the mouth, Part 4

By Grigory Pasko | Published:

[See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series.] Nord Stream, Scandinavian Style Beware of Greeks bearing gifts Part 4 Grigory Pasko, journalist The administration building of the residence of the governor of the island of Gotland is found on the outskirts of Visby, right next to a military base. It has been […]

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Kozlovsky: Putin’s Gulag Stability

By James Kimer | Published:

The Oborona youth movement leader Oleg Kozlovsky has a column running in the Washington Post today, explaining the conditions of his recent arrest, and arguing that “the only real possibility for changing the political regime in Russia today is through grass-roots pressure.” Kozlovsky has written several exclusive articles for this blog, and has been interviewed […]

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