Month: July 2010

July 16, 2010

More Powers for FSB Worry Rights Activists

Medvedev essentially told Merkel not to meddle in Russia’s domestic affairs when asked to comment on a new draft law that would give the country’s Federal Security Service, a successor to the KGB, more powers. But it might be difficult...
July 16, 2010

Anna Chapman for President!

Stranger things have happened.  The alleged assassin of Alexander Litvinenko, Andrei Lugovoi won himself a seat in the Duma with widespread popularity.  Vitali Kaloyev, a bereaved father who murdered a Swiss air traffic controller, also ...
July 16, 2010

Energy Blast – July 16, 2010

President Medvedev has upped the pressure on Iran, urging Tehran to clarify the ‘military components’ of its nuclear program, despite this week’s collaborative energy ‘road map’ plans.  Among its many recent deal...
July 16, 2010

Today in Russian Business – July 16, 2010

Skolkovo overseer and business mogul Viktor Vekselberg has apparently decided to postpone the IPO of his gold firm, Kamchatka Gold, until at least 2011.  According to ITAR-TASS, Siemens Company will create a research center on energy effectiv...
July 16, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – July 16, 2010

TODAY: Merkel raises rights issue at meeting with Medvedev; reminders from EU and US on Estemirova killing; Other Russia party faces pressure just days after inception. Clemency for criminals behind scenes of spy swap; Bashkortostan President offi...
July 16, 2010

When Business is Politics

Russia’s friendly overture toward Iran Wednesday, promising cooperation in the oil and gas industries, is just the latest example of the former Soviet superpower’s subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) efforts to increase its political ...
July 15, 2010

Chemezov Says Russia Might Still Sell S-300s to Iran

Doublespeak and sudden policy reversals are nothing new for the Russian diumvirate of Putin and Medvedev – it’s long been an operational philosophy (or the accidental result of a fragmented and clan-divided foreign policy).  It is...
July 15, 2010

Cold War Throwback

Writing in The New York Times today, op-ed contributor David Harris argues for doing away with the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, a US federal law from 1974 whose aim was to push the Soviet Union to let Russians, especially religious minorities, to emig...
July 15, 2010

Russia Responds to Reset Policy

Writing in the Moscow Times, Konstantin Sonin argues that Barack Obama’s reset policy is winning over the trust of Russian citizens. At least it’s working for some people. It was no great surprise that Obama took that position. His cho...
July 15, 2010

Energy Blast – July 15, 2010

Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko has reportedly said that BP has good prospects in Russia, and he views it unlikely that the beleaguered company will leave.  The minister also told reporters that Rosatom may begin to work with Siemens in atomic...