Russia

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

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...
August 17, 2010

More Suicides as a Result of Fires

As if smoke inhalation and related respiratory diseases weren’t enough, Moscow doctors are saying they expect an increased suicide rate as a result of the wildfires. City officials, who were criticised for not doing enough when the smoke lev...
August 17, 2010

Romania Retaliates

Romania is not happy about Russia’s treatment of a Romanian diplomat who has been accused of spying by the FSB. Gabriel Grecu was arrested yesterday and told to leave Russia. Today Romania has decided to retaliate by declaring a Russian dipl...
August 17, 2010

Expired START Means No Inspections

An article in the Washington Post today focuses one aspect of the expired START treaty that has been often overlooked in the media: For the first time in 15 years, the US is not able to carry out inspections of Russia’s nuclear missiles, fol...
August 17, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Aug 17, 2010

TODAY: Pavlovsk Twitter campaign leads Medvedev to call for inquiry; Kaliningrad governor to be ousted; regular protest site to be shut down for construction; fires give way to gales as thousands lose power; power vertical starts with Kursk? Shave...
August 16, 2010

‘There Should Be Only One President’

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov wants to do away with the title of president in Chechnya, saying that “in a single state there should be only one president, and in [federal] subjects the top figures can call themselves the head of the repub...
August 16, 2010

Sarcastic Apology Rap

Here’s a the latest music video from Noize MC, aka Ivan Alexeyev, the Russian rapper who was arrested earlier this month and jailed for 10 days for insulting the police during one of his performances. Once again, Alexeyev targets Russia̵...
August 16, 2010

A Lack of Accountability

As wildfires around Moscow dwindle down, many continue asking why the wildfire catastrophe in Russia was allowed to escalate to such a high level. In a Moscow Times opinion piece, Yevgenia Albats argues that part of the problem is that local gover...
August 16, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Aug 16, 2010

TODAY: Fewer Moscow fires but other regions still suffering, pollution spreads to Nizhny Novgorod, extreme weather hits Leningrad; Ponomaryov hospitalized after arrest; Kremlin-appointed Luzhkov; Kadyrov calls for regional heads to have common tit...