Archive

January 26, 2009

Condemning the Russia-Venezuelan Murders

It looks like we’re not the only ones paying attention to the parallel trends of violence and insecurity in both Russia and Venezuela.  Today UNESCO chief Koïchiro Matsuura condemned both the murder of Stanislav Markelov and Orel Zambra...
January 26, 2009

Opposition Musings

The Other Russia coalition is running a comment piece by Olga Malysh on the death of Stanislav Markelov, looking at some of the theories currently being discussed among Russian journalists and human rights activists as to why he was killed.  ...
January 26, 2009

Hmmm…

In the run-up to April’s G20 meeting, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has proposed an alternative to the Financial Stability Forum, which, he points out, excludes the BRIC economies.  Writing in Voprosy Ekonomiki over the weekend...
January 26, 2009

Energy Blast – Jan 26th, 2009

Diplomatic sources reportedly believe that Iran’s stockpile of yellow cake uranium, without which it cannot support a sustained nuclear program, could be exhausted within months, triggering an international race to prevent it from importing ...
January 26, 2009

Today in Russian Business – Jan 26th, 2009

Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin is calling for a new global financial watchdog to deal with the financial crisis.  The number of unemployed Russians rose by 1 million to 6 million in December.  Car imports through Vladivostok have fallen ...
January 26, 2009

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Jan 26th, 2009

TODAY: Putin blames Ukraine again; Rogozin to meet NATO ambassadors today; Russia ready to cooperate on Afghanistan supply routes, get involved in Darfur; Orthodox Church voting for new head; Stanislav Markelov: rights activists condemn Medvedev&#...
January 26, 2009

Mourning Markelov: The Fault, Dear Brutus, is Not in Our Stars

As last week came to its prolonged close, punctuated by the singularly disheartening farewell to slain human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, one can’t help but be struck by the feeling that Russia had hit a new low point, and the even grea...
January 25, 2009

Obstacles to Brainwashing

This is from a comment piece by Dmitri Sidorov in Forbes on the murders of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasi Baburova: The double murder of Markelov and Baburina comes as yet another dreadful confirmation that to be a human rights advocate, or an in...
January 24, 2009

A Mass for Venezuela’s Political Prisoners

Yesterday El Nuevo Herald published an article about an evening mass held in Key Biscayne, Florida by the Venezuelan expatriate to draw attention to the plight of political prisoners in the country.  Below is a flyer from the event followed b...
January 24, 2009

Russia’s Ambitions in Latin America

The following is from an interview with Charles A. Kupchan of the Council on Foreign Relations, republished in the New York Times.  Kupchan suggests that despite low oil prices, political unrest may lead the Kremlin to further adventures in L...