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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
March 12, 2010
President Dmitry Medvedev is halfway through his first presidential term this week. So, how is he fairing and where is he leading the nation? Overall, he is doing much better than many predicted, but is still falling short of the “great expectations” his presidency has created. What does Medvedev’s balance sheet look like halfway through his first term? Is he turning into a successful reformist president, or is he shaping up as another modernizing failure in Russia’s history? Will he emerge from Vladimir Putin’s shadow?
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Comment by Shaun Walker, Special to Russia Profile
March 12, 2010
Russians seem to take the Eurovision Song Contest, scheduled to take place in Oslo in late May of this year, extremely seriously indeed. Eurovision is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union, where each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs. Russians saw Dima Bilan’s 2008 victory in the contest as a triumph of the nation as a whole, but this year it’s not your run-of-the-mill pop star that has been chosen for the job– and it’s all thanks to the Internet.
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By Tom Balmforth, Russia Profile
March 11, 2010
This morning Ukraine’s new parliamentary coalition approved Mykola Azarov as prime minister in a tentative sign that Ukraine’s politics are finally calming down after tense, drawn-out presidential elections. After his rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, was ousted from the premiership last week, President Viktor Yanukovich managed to form a coalition to avoid holding unpredictable snap parliamentary elections whilst also voting in a loyal premier. But Yanukovich’s coalition building this past week went right to the wire, and some allege it is in breach of constitutional law.
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By Tai Adelaja, Russia Profile
March 11, 2010
Treading what industry players call “a familiar path,” the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) this week introduced a draft bill that seeks to impose a ban on the development of networks of gas stations by big monopolies in the regional markets and municipalities, and to put a cap of 35 percent on what a vertically-integrated oil company can control. But even before FAS had the chance to put the new law on the table, industry executives were already calling the agency’s new proposals another “red herring.”
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By Svetlana Kononova, Special to Russia Profile
March 10, 2010
Recent data from the Federal State Statistics Service shows that in 2009, foreign investment in Russia dropped by 21 percent to $82 billion. Also, since last year, direct foreign investment has fallen by 41 percent to $16 billion, the federal service reports. As a result of the global financial downturn, which dealt a heavy blow to Russia’s economy, foreign investors withdrew billions of dollars from the country. But will they ever come back?
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By Tom Balmforth, Russia Profile
March 9, 2010
Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus could adopt a single currency in the next phase of development in their Customs Union, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Friday. Was this a sign of the union’s deepening economic ties, or the false veneer of alliance? Economists say the rationale for the Customs Union is sound, but the politics has been a different story. Both Kazakhstan and Belarus have reason to resist a single currency. Is there substance to Shuvalov’s comment? Or is he just trying to divert media attention from the stormy Belarus-Russia relationship.
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By Tai Adelaja, Russia Profile
March 9, 2010
The past 18 months have been testy times for young Russians looking to purchase a home they could call their own. But come April, the difficult times may be over, as the government starts paying more serious attention to the idea of using Russian taxpayer money to get at the root of the nation’s mortgage problem: the higher-than-average interest rates that scare off potential borrowers. But does this actually mean that the average Russian citizen will be able to afford a mortgage?
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
March 5, 2010
Ukraine has just had a successful presidential election, choosing Viktor Yanukovich, the leader of the Party of the Regions, as its fourth president. He has promised to embrace relations with Europe while simultaneously renewing ties with Russia, but it is not clear how he will achieve this goal. What will be Ukraine’s foreign policy under president Yanukovich? How will he negotiate the intricate gas-transit relationship with Russia’s Gazprom? How far will Yanukovich move toward Russia? Will he seriously pursue economic integration projects with Russia, like joining the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space? Will he continue on a path toward Ukraine’s membership in the EU?
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Comment by Alexander Arkhangelsky, Special to RIA Novosti
March 5, 2010
It is impossible to defend the two antiheroes of our lost Vancouver Olympics from righteous indignation – Minister Vitaly Mutko and (especially) the President of the Olympic Committee Leonid Tyagachev. Although for the sake of objectivity it should be noted that Mutko assumed ministerial duties a short while ago and he simply didn’t have the time to do anything especially good or especially bad for sports. While his predecessor, Vyacheslav Fetisov, was doomed to endlessly quarrel with Tygachev instead of focusing on his work. This doesn’t mean that Mutko shouldn’t be held responsible for the defeat – formally. But let’s not confuse the target with its background.
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Russian police officer, soldier face trial on Islamic gang charges
A military court in Russia's Far East has set a date for the trial of a former police officer and solider accused of involvement in a radical Islamic gang, a court spokesperson told RIA Novosti on Friday. The gang is suspected of a series of murders and armed attacks. "The first hearing will take place on March 25," the spokesperson for the Pacific fleet court said, adding that the proceedings would be open to the media and the public.
The two suspects were detained after a security services operation in Vladivostok in March 2009 connected to attacks on Chinese businessmen. Three suspects were killed when police opened fire at the apartment the gang was holed up in after they began launching grenades at a neighboring residential building. Ex-officer Eduard Zasseta and former serviceman Dzhavatkhan Salimanov were detained.
An investigator said weapons, ammunition and explosives, along with radical Islamic literature, was found in the apartment after the raid. A number of gang members of are still at large, police say.
Source: RIA Novosti
New & Updated from Resources Section
Magomedsalam Magomedov
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Federal Budget Falls Into Deficit in February
The federal budget swung to a deficit in February after the government boosted spending, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. The government's two-month deficit was 194.6 billion rubles ($6.6 billion), or 3.2 percent of gross domestic product, after a revised surplus of 87.1 billion rubles, or 3.1 percent of GDP, in January, the Finance Ministry said on its web site, citing preliminary figures.
Revenue reached 1.3 trillion rubles at the end of February, or 18.8 percent of the government’s target for 2010, while spending was 1.5 trillion rubles, or 15.2 percent of planned expenditure. Spending last month jumped almost 31 percent compared with January, which began with a 10-day holiday period. Spending, typically low at the start of the year, is set to accelerate through December when the shortfall will probably be 6.8 percent to 7 percent of GDP, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Feb. 25. The gap may narrow to 4 percent next year and 3 percent in 2012 as the price of oil averages about $70 a barrel, Kudrin said.
“We must have a quality 2011 budget, which will work to solve the goals of long-term development and guarantee the unconditional fulfillment of the government’s social responsibilities,” Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told a government meeting March 9, an official transcript shows.
More...
Source: The Moscow Times
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Hollywood’s Best Villain
By Mumin Shakirov
Contemporary Hollywood is not too fond of “outsiders,” but this doesn’t stop those who have ambition and an iron will. The fall of the Iron Curtain opened the way for a new generation of Russian performers. More..
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