Russia

December 22, 2008

The Information Vacuum

From an editorial in the Rocky Mountain News: “We are hurtling back into a Soviet abyss, into an information vacuum that spells death from our own ignorance,” Politkovskaya wrote in The Guardian two years before her death. “All w...
December 22, 2008

Russia’s Depleting Foreign Reserves

FT columnist Gideon Rachman blogs about the crisis protests over this weekend, and takes a look at the remarkable speed with which Russia’s once abundant foreign reserve fund is emptying: More broadly, the Russian government is facing a seri...
December 22, 2008

ECHR Orders Russia to Release Yukos Prisoner

UPDATE: Reuters is on the story now.  The following news release was arrived in our email box from the defense team of Vasily Alexanyan. European Court of Human Rights orders Russia to release AIDS prisoner The European Court of Human Rights ...
December 22, 2008

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Dec 22nd, 2008

TODAY: Car tariff demonstrations see protesters beaten and arrested – video; Russia delivers air-defense system to Iran; Belarus could get $3 billion loan if willing to pay the price; presidential term vote unanimous; the Merchant of Death o...
December 21, 2008

Chavez Uses Russia to Play “International Poker”

The following is an exclusive translation from today’s edition of El Nacional, a leading daily newspaper in Venezuela – an interview with an expert on Russia-Venezuela relations. EL NACIONAL – Domingo 21 de Diciembre de 2008Mundo...
December 21, 2008

Protesters Beaten, Discontent Spreads

Although this has not yet turned into a full fledged manifestation of the “greek virus” of widespread social discontent, over the weekend Russia has been assailed with protest actions in multiple cities in response to the state’s...
December 20, 2008

A Warning from Putin

Although it’s not exactly clear who he is talking to, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is sending an aggressive warning for the holiday season: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Russia’s foes on Friday against trying to destabilize a c...
December 20, 2008

Pressure Mounts on Alexander Lebedev

Remember back when Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev criticized the government and founded an opposition party?  Seems like that may now cost him his stake in Aeroflot, as the state banks selectively withhold a bailout.  The Financia...
December 19, 2008

The Unreal Realists

Realism has a lot of advantages over other schools of thought on international relations.  If, for example, you find yourself in an ardent debate over Russia, you can easily dismiss the competing approaches as being “unrealistic” ...
December 19, 2008

The Disappointment of Failed Provocation

This one is from an article in the Times of London on Russia sending warships to Cuba for the first time since the days of the Soviet Union.  Also see yesterday’s post on the visit of the Nicaraguan president to Moscow. By sending its w...