Month: August 2010

August 19, 2010

Energy Blast – Aug 19, 2010

Gazprom Neft has increased its revenue by over 50% this quarter, ahead of a possible tender for the Trebs and Titov oil fields.  Greenpeace is drawing attention to South Africa’s potential for maximizing its renewable resources, calling...
August 19, 2010

Today in Russian Business – Aug 19, 2010

President Dmitry Medvedev says that Russia wants to cooperate on Afghan economic matters by ‘reviving Soviet-era public works‘, such as hydroelectric stations and bridges.  Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that Russia is negoti...
August 19, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Aug 19, 2010

TODAY: Medvedev hosts Afghan, Pakistani and Tajik leaders and pledges support for Afghan peace efforts; Armenia extends Russia’s lease on its military base there over concerns about conflict with Azerbaijan; Lavrov defends sale of missiles t...
August 19, 2010

A Reset Top Ten List

Writing in Foreign Policy, James F. Collins and Matthew Rojansky give ten reasons why the US would benefit from improved relations with Russia: A year and a half after Barack Obama hit the “reset” button with Russia, the reconciliation...
August 19, 2010

KGB Playground

Newsweek has an interesting article today about the KGB’s long tradition of working (and playing) in Abkhazia and how this legacy has been passed on to the FSB and carried over to the present day. Here’s an excerpt: The Russian special...
August 18, 2010

Moscow Mayor Back on Holiday

Rudely interrupted from his vacation when wildfire smoke made Moscow air a health hazard, Mayor Yury Luzhkov is back on holiday again. Political opponents and some Muscovites criticized Luzhkov for responding too late to the emergency situation. P...
August 18, 2010

Prohibition, Russian-Style

Moscow is getting tough on drinkers: no vodka sales in shops in the capital between 10 pm and 10 am. Affluent drinkers need not fear, though. Spirits will still be avaliable at bars and restaurants. The ban, which will be implemented in September,...
August 18, 2010

Energy Blast – Aug 18, 2010

Having amassed ‘a record cash pile‘, Rosneft is profiting on its mammoth $11.4 billion loan from China, because Russia’s interest rates are currently higher than the rate of interest that the company is paying on the debt.  ...
August 18, 2010

Today in Russian Business – Aug 18, 2010

President Dmitry Medvedev held a special meeting in Sochi earlier this week to address the problem of customs officials, after a recent report showed entrepreneurs naming customs oversights as the main obstacle to innovation in big business.  ...
August 18, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Aug 18, 2010

TODAY: Several thousand Muscovites died in heatwave, doctor estimates; Putin’s World Cup bid includes visa waiver; government sued over Kremlin property rights; blasts in North Caucasus; Baikal, Sayano-Shushenskaya, privatization; Romania...