Archive

September 11, 2009

Today in Russian Business – September 11, 2009

Opel has been bought by the Magna International/Sberbank consortium, with GM holding on to a minority stake.  According to Reuters, General Motors is likely to establish limits on the assembly of some Opel models in Russia.  Vladimir Put...
September 11, 2009

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – September 11, 2009

TODAY: Medvedev enumerates grave problems Russia faces; Chavez recognizes South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russia and Venezuela draw closer.  Lavrov feels negotiations with Iran workable; opposition in Moscow feels squeezed out.  EU commissio...
September 10, 2009

Video: Dealing with Racism in Russia

These news clip from Reuters is few days old, but still very interesting – especially with the recent emergence of Joaquim Crima and Filipp Kondratyev (who appears to be more stage managed by United Russia to handle the Crima sensation).&nbs...
September 10, 2009

Obama Has His Own New and Old Europe

The New York Times is carrying a story on a new poll from Transatlantic Trends, which shows a split in support for Barack Obama between West and East Europe (some people are missing his predecessor’s more aggressive stance toward Russia). Du...
September 10, 2009

Competing Conspiracy Theories

So when Scott Anderson wrote his investigative article for GQ on the alleged government frame up and subsequent cover up of the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings, we were taken back to all the gritty details from Alexander Litvinenko’s book, Mi...
September 10, 2009

Energy Blast – September 10, 2009

RFE/RL examines the viability of Hugo Chavez’ gas OPEC idea – which, it suggests, will face obstacles in the form of pipeline infrastructure and the manifold differences between the oil and gas markets.  According to Bloomberg, th...
September 10, 2009

Today in Russian Business – September 10, 2009

Although some parties may be pleading its case, a Nomura analyst says that Russia will not need to fall back on a second ruble devaluation, Bloomberg reports.  Central Bank Chairman Sergey Ignatiev has suggested that policy makers may decreas...
September 10, 2009

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – September 10, 2009

TODAY: Chavez in town for oil and arms; transatlantic trend report reveals East/West Europe divisions on Obama policy in Russia; journalist critical of dam rescue operation beaten; Gulag Archipelago to hit reading list; Georgia says boycott Sochi ...
September 9, 2009

Rudloff the Rude Boy

Last night I read these comments made by the Western banker Hans-Jörg Rudloff, the Chairman of Barclay’s Capital and a board member of Rosneft.  Most of the day, at least when I wasn’t fixing my crashing computer, I was digging ar...
September 9, 2009

The Gulag Syllabus

Right, so here goes a weird one.  Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s book The Gulag Archipelago will be made required reading for school children: According to the state-run news agency RIA Novosti, the Education Ministry on Wednesday ordered tha...