Archive

July 17, 2009

Ivan Safronov and the Bulava Missile

With the Estemirova murder, many journalists are digging through the (regrettably) robust archives of other dead Russian journalists.  One that has always struck me as tragically under-mentioned is the case of Ivan Safronov – he wasn...
July 17, 2009

The Dogs of Chechnya

There’s a growing volume good material available on Natalia Estemirova’s life.  This article in Foreign Policy by Anna Nemtsova is one of them. Later that night in her kitchen, we were looking through pictures on a laptop of Mikha...
July 17, 2009

Energy Blast – July 17, 2009

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has said that ‘existing arrangements to deal with gas emergencies are insufficient’.  The European Commission has said that EU countries have to construct a new gas infrastructure to be able ...
July 17, 2009

Today in Russian Business – July 17, 2009

Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov believes that Russia could join the WTO by next year if it receives the backing the US has publicly offered.  Following their talks on bilateral trade, Russia and Germany look set to sign a credit agreement...
July 17, 2009

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – July 17, 2009

TODAY: Medvedev dismisses Kadyrov involvement in Estemirova killing; EU criticizes Medvedev trip to South Ossetia; former eastern European leaders urge Obama to respect their interests; Merkel and Medvedev discuss energy, trade.  German Chanc...
July 16, 2009

Show Trial Art

Here’s a peculiar story from the Moscow Times: Sergei Kuznetsov Content Group, one of the biggest Russian web studios, has opened a contest called “Drawing the Court” that invites anyone to submit drawings of Khodorkovsky’s...
July 16, 2009

Russia Has Rebooted to Default with Murder

This is from my latest contribution to the Huffington Post: No one can cast personal blame for a murder when the culprit is an entire system of grand corruption. For years now, self-enriching state officials have gorged themselves on public instit...
July 16, 2009

Audio: David Remnick on Natalia Estemirova

David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker and a frequent journalist and author on Russia, has published a new piece about the murder of journalist Natalia Estemirova.  At the end of the article, Remnick posted an audio recording of his on-stage...
July 16, 2009

The Cherkizovsky Market Closing

For some weeks now we have been hearing about the mysterious closure of the Cherkizovsky market in Moscow, as well as the abundant swirling rumors behind the business dispute.  The cast of characters is as colorful as can be.  There is t...