Archive

July 26, 2007

Gazprom Shocked to Be Treated Like Microsoft?

In a great new policy paper from Katinka Barysch at the Centre for European Reform, it is argued that 1) “The EU can no longer claim to be building a strategic partnership with Russia that is based on common values,” 2) “The EU’s...
July 26, 2007

Kasparov on Russia’s Mafia State

(WSJ) From Garry Kasparov in today’s Wall Street Journal: But if you really wish to understand the Putin regime in depth, I can recommend some reading. No Karl Marx or Adam Smith. Nothing by Montesquieu or Machiavelli, although the author yo...
July 25, 2007

A Striking Contrast

Some quotes from President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin: “It’s their brains, not our constitution, which need to be changed. What they are offering to us is a clear remnant of colonial thinking.” (July 24, 2007 speech...
July 25, 2007

Running for the Hills

There are many perks to being a Duma member – easy kickbacks, low expectations, and almost no obligations apart from rubber stamping anything the Kremlin puts on your desk. However, the most appealing benefit by far is that much coveted immu...
July 25, 2007

Mourning the Victims of Stalin

Today in Moscow a multitudinous rally was held by relatives of the victims of Josef Stalin’s purges. According to Sergei Volkov, of the Russian Association of Victims of Political Repression, not a single top official attended the proceeding...
July 25, 2007

Four Ways for Europe to Stand Up to Russia

Today columnist Matthew Lynn of Reuters convincingly makes the case that the EU’s long-standing policy of promoting its shared values with Russia is failing to be effective whatsoever, and that new approaches and perspectives on engagement s...
July 24, 2007

The Dark Heart of the Kremlin

Below is an exclusive translation from the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. The Dark Heart of the Kremlin Russia and Britain are in conflict over the poisoning of former agent Alexander Litvinenko. This is the escalation of...
July 24, 2007

Oleg Kozlovsky: Romantics Learn to Use Their Fists

[Editorial note: Oleg Kozlovsky, one of the organizers of the Oborona civic youth movement in Russia, has kindly accepted an invitation from RA blogger Grigory Pasko to publish an article on this space to explain the history of his organization an...
July 24, 2007

Applebaum: Putinism is Not a Foreign Policy Problem

From Anne Applebaum in the Washington Post: It’s a good reminder of something we often forget: Not every prime minister has to be a genius, and not every economic target has to be met for life to improve in a developing or transitional count...
July 24, 2007

Tom Nicholls: A Fine Balance

Resource Nationalism Contains the Seeds of its own Demise By Tom Nicholls The International Energy Agency has good news for Russia and other oil and gas producers. A combination of accelerating non-OECD energy demand over the next few years and mo...