Russia

April 9, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – April 9, 2010

TODAY: New Kyrgyz government considers Russia its ‘key strategic partner’, Russia expects new leader to close US airbase; Medvedev and Obama sign nuclear treaty amid criticism of proposed reduction methods; post-Communist art in London...
April 8, 2010

Kyrgyzstan Rains on the Obama-Medvedev Parade in Prague

Today should in theory be a positive day in U.S.-Russia relations with the signing of the START replacement treaty in Prague, slashing 30% of each country’s nuclear arsenal establishing verification procedures.  That certainly seems to ...
April 8, 2010

Video: Bloody Bishkek

RFE/RL’s Bruce Pannier is interviewed by Al-Jazeera about the revolution slash coup in Kyrgyzstan which toppled authoritarian leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
April 7, 2010

Newsweek Interviews Viktor Ivanov

I had no idea that he was the type of guy to return calls from reporters, but here Anna Nemtsova at Newsweek has an interesting Q&A with one of the Kremlin’s top three most powerful siloviki, Viktor Ivanov.  The NATO-bashing was exp...
April 7, 2010

Putin’s Future as United Russia Leader?

Brian Whitmore has a pretty interesting post over at Power Vertical discussing a recent argument from Gleb Pavlovsky that Vladimir Putin may eventually find the most comfortable position to pull the strings would be as chairman of the United Russi...
April 7, 2010

A Surplus of Anger and Grief in the Caucasus

The hearts-and-minds approach really hasn’t caught on yet with the Kremlin’s handling of the North Caucasus.  The New York Times takes a look: That does not mean that citizens in the Caucasus generally embrace radical Islam, nor t...
April 7, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – April 7, 2010

TODAY: Medvedev winning good press on response to terorrism; interview draws attention to high mortality rates and poor conditions in prisons; Obama homes arms treaty with Russia will improve relations; Latynina sides with Chichvarkin over mother&...
April 6, 2010

Obama’s Return to Prague

My latest dispatch on the Huffington Post discusses the trip of U.S. President Barack Obama to Prague, Czech Republic this week to sign a treaty with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to replace the expired START-1 pact.  The treaty is ...