Month: August 2010

August 5, 2010

Energy Blast – Aug 5, 2010

‘If oil prices remain at $70 to $80 per barrel, Russia is likely to relive key features of the Brezhnev era of the 1970s and 1980s — with a stagnating economy and 70 percent to 80 percent approval ratings for its political leaders.R...
August 5, 2010

Today in Russian Business – Aug 5, 2010

According to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, foreign direct investment into the Russian economy has already hit $21 billion for 2010.  Wheat prices have hit their highest levels in almost two years thanks to the current drought, with Russia th...
August 5, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Aug 5, 2010

TODAY: Smog from wildfires chokes Muscovites; Medvedev fires officials and demands new fire safety measures; Putin offers to help blogger in exchange for his address; Khimki campaigner Yevgenia Chirikova detained; journalist Magomed Yevloyev’...
August 4, 2010

Video: Putin Accosted by Angry Victims of Wildfires

This video below presents a remarkable scene of Vladimir Putin being confronted outside a government building in Nizhny Novgorod (Hat tip, La Russophobe).  Dozens of local residents who had lost their homes in the fires had little patience fo...
August 4, 2010

Umarov Denies Retiring

It seems that Doku Umarov has changed his mind about retiring. According to media reports earlier this week, the Chechen rebel leader announced in a recent video that he was stepping down from his command position. He now says in a new video that ...
August 4, 2010

Stalling on START

Writing in Foreign Policy, Josh Rogin examines the repercussions of delaying the Senate Relations Committee vote on the New START: Committee chairman John Kerry, D-MA, told committee members at Tuesday’s business meeting that even though the...
August 4, 2010

Clans and the Real Triumvirate

I didn’t have time yesterday to publish this link, but better late than never.  Sublime Oblivion has put up a translation of an introduction to a book by Vladimir Pribylovsky entitled “Phantom Tandem, Real Triumvirate and the Krem...
August 4, 2010

Video: Medvedev Reaches Out on Wildfire Emergency

This video was released two days ago by President Dmitry Medvedev.  The situation is very grave, the president’s message is sincere, and the appeal for help is straight forward.  It is dramatically different from past videos releas...
August 4, 2010

Energy Blast – Aug 4, 2010

Rosatom insists that Sarov, a nuclear center in Nizhny Novgorod, the region currently engulfed by fire, is not at risk from the flames, but the report also notes that 3,000 people are working to keep the fire away from the center, suggesting that ...