Year: 2008

July 7, 2008

BP’s Failure with TNK-BP

Upon reading Mikhail Fridman’s plaintive comment piece in the Financial Times today, I have to say that I find myself in support of his position – not necessarily the handling of the affair nor the use the state’s bureaucratic in...
July 7, 2008

Memories of a Cold War Correspondent

VOA has an interesting book review of “Of Spies and Spokesmen: My Life As a Cold War Correspondent” by Nicholas Daniloff, a journalist who at one point was imprisoned by the KGB. Nicholas Daniloff says that, although both sides know mo...
July 7, 2008

Gordon Brown to Talk Murder with Medvedev

“Oil and food prices are going through the roof, and the world isn’t getting any cooler, so it’s appropriate that these topics dominate the talk among the leaders of the world’s main economies meeting in Japan right now. Bu...
July 7, 2008

Kazakhstan Looks to Circumvent Russia with Oil Pipeline

The Soviet Union may be dissolved, and the establishment of sovereign statehood firmly in place for several energy exporting Central Asian territories, but the pipeline architecture continues to represent the regional imperialism of Cold War Russi...
July 7, 2008

Business as Usual in the First Bush-Medvedev Meeting

Remember back when George W. Bush “looked into Putin’s eyes” and found a democratic soul for the world to trust? It appears that empty compliments and a lack of progress in relations with Russia will be the bookends of the Bush e...
July 7, 2008

Acts of Enlightened Clemency

From Richard Lourie in the Moscow Times: Some countries have better reputations than they deserve. The Netherlands, for example, emerged from World War II with a nobler image than they warranted. In Poland, however, just the opposite held true. Ru...
July 7, 2008

Energy Blast – July 7, 2008

AAR, the Russian partner in the TNK-BP oil venture, is being sued for $362 million by BP in the High Court of London. BP is suing over a back tax claim. AAR responded by accusing the firm of “bullying tactics”, and meanwhile is set to begin legal ...
July 7, 2008

Today in Russian Business – July 7, 2008

Mobile phone operator Vimpelcom paid $561.8 million to boost its stake in Kazakhstan’s carrier Kar-Tel to 75%. Metalloinvest, the iron ore and steel company controlled by Alisher Usmanov, has picked Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Deutsche ...
July 7, 2008

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – July 7, 2008

TODAY: State Duma to quadruple funding for United Russia; Medvedev playing “good cop” at G8; UK says Russia spy activities are distracting from fighting terrorism; Medvedev warns Georgia over breakaway regions. The State Duma has unanimously passe...
July 6, 2008

Current and Former Political Prisoners Unite in Russia

Eduard Limonov, an opposition leader of the outlawed NatsBols party and most recently known for his involvement in the forced shutdown of the eXile, has declared Sept. 14 as “Prisoner Day,” and is demanding that the authorities release...