Year: 2008

May 15, 2008

Today in Russian Business – May 15, 2008

A new report by a Moscow brokerage reveals that the global credit crunch will knock about $12 billion off the amount likely to be raised through Russian initial public offerings this year. Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves increase...
May 15, 2008

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – May 15, 2008

TODAY: New Cabinet aims to undercut siloviki power, meets for the first time today; photo exhibition celebrates Putin’s Presidential rule; Human Rights Commissioner deems protest ban “unlawful”; cooperation with Europe on moon visits; emphasis on ...
May 14, 2008

Gunvor and Energy Corruption

In just five years, a shadowy Geneva-based firm by the name of Gunvor has become the third largest oil trader in the world, projecting revenues of $70 billion this year. The Financial Times has a very interesting piece which takes a look at how su...
May 14, 2008

Video: The Russian Mob

In this news clip, Armen Keteyian of CBS News investigates the activities of the Russian mafia in the United States, everywhere from Atlantic City to Newark to Brighton Beach…
May 14, 2008

German Human Rights

From an editorial in the IHT: Now Steinmeier has one-upped himself, refusing to meet with the Dalai Lama when he comes to Germany on Friday, while Merkel is out of the country. The Foreign Ministry said Steinmeier was too busy. He did find time to...
May 14, 2008

Keeping Your Head Down

From Theo Caldwell of the National Post: It must be terrifically tempting, in such a society, to keep one’s head down to stay out of trouble. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn observed in his seminal chronicle of the Soviet Terror, The Gulag Archipelago: ...
May 14, 2008

Sechin to Oversee Shipbuilding

Later today Bob will weigh in with his views on the latest cabinet appointments, but those hoping for a full siloviki purge, they’ll have to keep holding their breath. Igor Sechin, chairman of Rosneft and a powerful figure in the Kremlin, wi...
May 14, 2008

Energy Blast – May 14, 2008

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has announced that his deputy, Igor Sechin, will manage a multibillion-dollar project to give Russia a modern fleet of ships for its “flourishing” energy sector. High oil prices are putting a strain on US ...
May 14, 2008

Today in Russian Business – May 14, 2008

A new survey of business graduates suggests that the reputations of key emerging markets, including Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia, “discourage the best talent from working there.” State arms exporter Rosoboronexport is preparing a $4 billion arm...
May 14, 2008

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – May 14, 2008

TODAY: Judge admits pressure from the Kremlin; US military attachés made “uninvited visit” to aviation factory; Abkhazia leader wants Russian military base for “protection”; Moscow Mayor barred from entering Ukraine; Joseph Stalin, a national hero...