Month: February 2009

February 5, 2009

Bakiyev in the (former) USSR

Pat Frost at Great Power Politics blogs on the Russia-influenced closure of the Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan.  According to the AP, the Russians deny any connection between the aid deal and the air base, but “many experts saw Kyrgyzstan...
February 5, 2009

The Annual Pipeline Politics Outburst

Just got this one from Neil Barnett in the Spectator: How, then, can Europe meet its growing energy needs without inhaling more deeply from Siberia’s vast gas reservoirs? Perhaps surprisingly, the EU has a practical role to play. First, in o...
February 5, 2009

Today in Russian Business – Feb 5th, 2009

Russia has just become the first of the G8 nations to have its credit rating downgraded by Fitch since the start of the financial crisis, and many predict that its economy will grind to a halt this year.  The Independent suggests some reasons...
February 5, 2009

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Feb 5th, 2009

TODAY: Kyrgyzstan to vote on US base closure next week, but government says it has already made its decision; CSTO Summit leads to creation of rapid reaction force for economic and military support to former Soviet states; Russia welcomes new US t...
February 4, 2009

Why Venezuela?

Some readers have noticed that I have started a new bilingual blog, Venezuela Report, which I am hoping to develop into an informative platform for discussion and debate about this Latin American country. Other readers are asking exactly what I th...
February 4, 2009

Inflation Targeting the Ruble

Whenever we have a discussion about the Russian Central Bank’s defense of the ruble, it’s hard not to talk about the political backlash that could come along with the inflation, something we have already begun to see with the public di...
February 4, 2009

Playing Realpolitik Solitaire

That seems to be the message from Moscow today, with the announcement of a vaguely-worded joint missile missile defense alliance with Belarus, consisting of five air force units and 10 air-defense missile units, which officials say will be focused...
February 4, 2009

Gref Bucks State Orders?

Given the deeply confusing irony thrown out there in the wake of Davos, when former U.S. President Bill Clinton made sarcastic remarks over Vladimir Putin’s warnings on state intervention and his defense of free enterprise, what are we to ma...
February 4, 2009

Energy Blast – Feb 4th, 2009

According to Chakib Khelil, the Algerian oil minister, OPEC could impose another production cut at a meeting on March 15 if present output cuts don’t result in higher oil prices.  Khelil said that OPEC could not develop new oilfields un...
February 4, 2009

Today in Russian Business – Feb 4th, 2009

A 1.2 trillion roubles ($33 billion) cash injection into the country’s major banks, currently under discussion in the Kremlin, could leave it with stakes in some of them of up to 30%.  Prime Minister Vladimir Putin adopted his didactic ...