Video: Zbigniew Brzezinski on Georgia
Year: 2008
Russia’s “Fishy” Constitutional Changes
Vladimir Frolov of Russia Profile is not one known to be very critical of Russian government policies, but even among the most restrained and measured observers of the Kremlin there appears to be a gathering consensus over the lack of grounding fo...
An Impetus to End Rent-Seeking
An editorial in today’s Moscow Times explores the reasons why Russia’s economy has failed to diversify, despite many consecutive years of impressive growth. The answer – rent-seeking by the state, which may finally become l...
Alexei Frenkel Appeals Murder Conviction
Lawyers for Alexei Frenkel, the former banker who was recently convicted by a Russian court for ordering the murder of central banker Andrei Kozlov, have announced they are lodging an appeal, citing the violations of his rights throughout the proc...
The Politician Who Killed the Journalist
We never would have thought that the trial of Anna Politkovskaya’s killers (only the co-conspirators and not the trigger man) would have been anything close to interesting, but rather just the latest chapter in Basmanny Justice, in which the...
Energy Blast – Nov 25, 2008
‘If you ask me if there is another partner for Repsol I would prefer than LUKOIL, I would definitely find one,‘ says Spain’s Interior Minister. A Ukrainian delegation is in Moscow to discuss energy relations as Gazprom thre...
Today in Russian Business – Nov 25, 2008
The federal budget has given the Deposit Insurance Agency $7.2 billion to protect troubled banks. Advantages of devaluing the ruble: make Russian exports more attractive. Disadvantages: deplete the foreign reserve fund. As banks ...
RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Nov 25, 2008
TODAY: Russia accuses foreigners of fighting for Georgia; Poland denounces Russia after motorcade shooting; Medvedev arrives in Brazil, sealing various Latin American deals; UK surveillance suspect Russian teapot. Politkovskaya trial to rest...
The Return of the Druzhiny
A ubiquitous feature of Soviet life was the institution of people’s druzhiny – ostensibly voluntary citizens’ neighborhood law-and-order patrols, instantly recognizable by the red armbands worn by the druzhinniki. Well, they̵...
What Transparency Could do for Russia
Gregor Macdonald has an excellent blog post highlighting an interesting proposal for Russia in these times of economic crisis: Oil Glastnost. One gets the sense Russia wants to conceal its enormous dependence on oil and mineral exports, and the ho...