Year: 2008

April 20, 2008

The Limits of Germany’s Special Relationship with Russia

We shouldn’t overestimate or take too seriously the frequent references made by German officials to Russia’s public interests, argues Dr. Andreas Umland in an interesting comment piece on rising hostility to Germany in the Ukraine. Ber...
April 19, 2008

Medvedev: The Media and Russia’s Accidentalism

There’s been quite a lot of discussion in the blogosphere in recent weeks responding to an article by Michael Idov in the New Republic. It is an impressive piece of writing that makes some interesting points as well as unavoidably glossing o...
April 18, 2008

Berlusconi and Putin Display Mastery of Banter

I sort of feel sorry for the press corps covering the Berlusconi-Putin Spaghetti summit in Sardinia – it must be difficult to constantly think up new questions that will not receive any substantive answers. That’s not to say that there...
April 18, 2008

Chasing Down Reciprocity in EU-Russia Energy Relations

Reciprocity is quite a loaded word in the energy debate, but essentially the concept calls for equitable, comparable, and fair terms of access into the energy markets of two partners – namely, if Gazprom can purchase distribution and sales a...
April 18, 2008

The Deal Flow from Russia

Remember back in the heady days of Russian IPOs – when companies like Rosneft and Sberbank, among dozens of others, led the charge in new stock listings on the London Stock Exchange? Alas, the past couple quarters have not been so robust due...
April 18, 2008

McCain on Georgia

Presidential hopeful John McCain recently gave Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili a call to discuss the accusations that Moscow is attempting to annex parts of Georgia. Below is his statement on the issue. “I spoke today by phone ...
April 18, 2008

Energy Blast – April 18, 2008

Investors believe oil prices could hit $125 a barrel over the coming weeks amid fears of supply shortages and a continued fall in the value of the dollar. Rising prices have triggered “a buyout scramble in the sector”. Gazprom and UES have ended a...
April 18, 2008

Today in Russian Business – April 18, 2008

The Finance Ministry offered up to 300 billion rubles in government funds to Russian banks, but total borrowing at the final auction reached just 23.6 billion. The Economic Development and Trade Ministry has raised its inflation forecast for 2008 ...
April 18, 2008

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – April 18, 2008

TODAY: Presidential election results rigged? Russia’s Communist Party investigating validity of Putin’s United Russia plan. Putin in Sardinia with Berlusconi, writes off $4.5 billion Libya debt. Georgia responds angrily to Russia’s support of brea...
April 17, 2008

Piontkovsky: The Coming Thaw in U.S.-Russia Relations

There’s an interesting interview with Andrei Piontkovsky over at CFR.org in which the commentator argues that Russia is nearing the end of its “confrontational cycle with the West” – however, it’s not because Medvedev...