 RFE/RL Russia Report 8/21/2009 4:23:43 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about domestic and foreign-policy developments in Russia.For more stories on Russia, please visit and bookmark our Russia page . |
 Popular Russian Actor Farada Dies In Moscow Russian actor Semyon Farada, who rose to fame during the Soviet era, has died at the age of 76 in Moscow, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Group's Claim Of Russian Power Plant Attack Dismissed Russian officials have dismissed apparent claims by the militant group Riyad-us Salihiin that it was behind this week's deadly explosion at a hydroelectric station in Siberia. But analysts say the group is developing the ability to strike deep inside Russia. More  On Molotov-Ribbentrop, Different Wikipedias Tell Different Stories It is the Internet age’s reference of first resort -- the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. More  Redrawing The Map Of Europe On the night of August 23-24, 1939, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop met in the Kremlin with Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and his foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov. By dawn, Hitler's Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a nonaggression pact -- and a secret protocol establishing "spheres of influence" in Central Europe. More  When Russia's Intelligence Services Play At Politics Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has again rushed to find evidence confirming the correctness of the opinion of the country’s top leadership, reporting not what is true, but what the leadership wants to hear. But no one – not the spymasters, nor the political leaders of the country – really understands what these political games might result in. More  Russian Journalist Charged Over Dam Coverage A journalist in the Russian republic of Khakassia is being charged with libel after his reports on the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station were deemed "inaccurate" by local officials, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  One Dead In Clash Between Ethnic Russians, Dargins One person has been killed in an ethnic clash involving hundreds of people in Stavropol Krai in southern Russia, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Medvedev Outlines Strategy To Contain North Caucasus Violence Russian President Dmitry Medvedev convened a session of the Security Council in Stavropol on August 19 to evaluate the security situation in the North Caucasus in light of the suicide bombing in Nazran two days earlier that claimed 25 lives. More  Early Ramadan Raises Health Concerns For the first time in decades, Muslims will be observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in what will be the peak of summer in the northern hemisphere. The timing has prompted concerns over how believers can deal with sunrise-to-sunset food and water abstention during the year's hottest days, while maintaining their health. More  Russia's Top Mufti Set To Receive Cross From Medvedev Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's decision to award Mufti Ravil Gainutdin with the country's highest honor, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, has caused something of a dilemma in Russia's Muslim community. More  Ghosts Of Russia's 'Kursk' Haunt Dam Accident Stories of trapped survivors knocking to alert rescue workers that they are alive. A detached government ill-equipped to deal with sudden disaster. A race-against-the-clock rescue effort as hope fades. In many ways, this week's disaster at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is reminiscent of the August 2000 sinking of the submarine "Kursk." More  Daghestan's Leaders Seek To Allay Public Panic In the four weeks since Daghestan Security Council Chairman Ali Magomedov was named to head the republic's Interior Ministry, 16 police officers have been killed in 10 separate militant attacks in five towns or regions. More  Is Russia Losing the North Caucasus? A wave of bloody attacks in Russia's North Caucasus region is fueling speculation that Moscow is losing control over its volatile southern region. Experts blame the Kremlin for failing to tackle endemic poverty and corruption. But some say the violence is evidence of an effective military crackdown against a handful of extremists, pushing them to commit desperate acts. More  Questions Remain Over Ship's Russian Rescue Russian investigators are looking into the circumstances of the apparent hijacking of a Maltese-registered ship "Arctic Sea" with 15 Russian sailors aboard, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  The Day The Iron Curtain Began To Rip It's just an ordinary-looking farm paddock near the Hungarian city of Sopron. But it's the spot where the Iron Curtain, which had divided Europe so cruelly for more than four decades, began to rip. Commemorations are taking place today to mark the 20th anniversary of the "Pan-European Picnic." More  Missing In Russian Dam Disaster Might Still Be Alive About 10 workers of Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station missing since an accident on August 17 might be trapped alive in a compartment underwater, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Surge In North Caucasus Violence Reflects Diversification Of Resistance Tactics The attacks on police in Daghestan on August 13, and Ingushetia on August 17 serve to highlight the extent to which resistance jamaats in different North Caucasus republics adapt and modify their tactics in light of local conditions and constraints, and their own growing numerical strength. More  No End Of Frozen Conflict In Moldova's Transdniester When Russia recognized two Georgian separatist regions last year, people in another post-Soviet territory locked in frozen conflict took hope: Moldova's pro-Moscow breakaway region of Transdniester. Now some believe an opposition victory in Moldova may help revive stalled negotiations over the tiny region's future. More  Transition Team The Kremlin image maker Gleb Pavlovsky chooses his words very carefully. He doesn't make accidental statements to the media. He doesn't commit gaffes. Everything he says in public is calculated to serve the political needs of the moment. And he is saying right now, very clearly and very publicly, that Vladimir Putin needs to step aside and let Dmitry Medvedev come into his own More  Mikhalkov Directs Himself Back In Charge Russia's resurgent film industry grossed nearly $550 million in 2008. But many filmmakers say the business is being put in a chokehold by a few influential figures -- most notably actor/director Nikita Mikhalkov, a close Kremlin ally who this year fought his way back to the top of the powerful Cinematographers' Union. More  Russia's U-Turn Toward Zakayev Russian rulers, courtiers, and bureaucrats have been anything but uncreative, inflexible and lacking in ideas. Even today, a Russian politician can perform U-turns and somersaults that would turn any acrobat green with envy. Witness the Kremlin's overtures to Akhmed Zakayev. More  Hidden Agendas Did U.S. President Barack Obama have a hidden agenda during his visit to Moscow in July? Some Russian media thinks so. More  Georgian Blogger Blames Russians For Cyberattack Giorgi Jakhaia made headlines when a cyberattack on his blog crippled services to millions of Twitter, Facebook, and LiveJournal users worldwide. A week later, Jakhaia -- known as "Cyxymu" -- is speaking out, blaming Russian hackers for the attack, which came on the one-year anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war. More  Are Chechen Factions Headed Toward Unity? Officials from both the pro-independence Chechen government in exile and the Moscow-backed Chechen administration have announced plans to hold a World Congress of Chechens later this year. Will that gathering contribute to the hoped-for consolidation of the Chechen people? Or is it just intended primarily to enhance the image of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov? More  Russian Military's 'Unparalleled' Transformation In the aftermath of the Russia-Georgia war of August 2008, Russia's political and military elites embarked on a highly ambitious program to reform and modernize the armed forces by 2020. That program envisages abandoning the mass-mobilization principle in favor of forming mobile, permanent-readiness forces, capable of reacting to the order to deploy within "one hour." But many aspects of the reform agenda are so radical, far-reaching, and multifaceted that Western and Russian commentators have failed to identify the key elements. More  Likely New U.S. Diplomat For Eurasia 'Gets Things Done' The United States will soon have a new deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. The man who is vacating the post after four years, Matthew Bryza, has announced he will be replaced by Tina Kaidanow, a longtime diplomat with more than 10 years of experience in the Balkans, who most recently served as the first U.S. ambassador to Kosovo. More  Russia's Message To Ukraine Echoes Across Region Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has sent shock waves through Ukraine’s political elite by issuing an open letter to his counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko. Medvedev accuses Kyiv of undermining a 1997 bilateral agreement on friendship. Medvedev said he hopes the "new political leadership" that emerges after January's presidential vote will take steps to improve relations. More  Guarantor Of Stability Or Recipe For Disaster? Russia's recently announced plan to set up a new military base in Central Asia has incited considerable debate, as proponents and detractors debate whether such a facility will boost or bedevil security efforts in the region. More  The Power Horizontal Vladimir Putin's rise to power in Russia a decade ago coincided with the emergence of Live Journal and the rise of the Russian Internet. Will the online 'horizontal' threaten the power of Putin's power vertical? More  Medvedev's Next Move? If Medvedev can put a close ally like Aleksandr Konovalov in the Prosecutor-General's post it would go a long way toward dispelling the conventional wisdom that he is merely a symbolic president. It would also undermine the influence of Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and his siloviki clan of security service veterans. More  A New Space Race? According to an August 11 Reuters article excerpted below, Russia plans to respond to new U.S. air and space defense technology with its own new technology. More  Life In Kadyrov's Grozny Permeated By Fear Chechens praise Ramzan Kadyrov for overseeing the republic's dramatic reconstruction after two wars. At least in public. Off the record, many call Kadyrov an autocratic thug who's imposed order through fear. RFE/RL correspondent Gregory Feifer traveled to Grozny for a behind-the-scenes look at life in the capital. More  The Death Of St. Petersburg? Russia can draw on a wealth of native and international expertise that could lead the way forward. But for the moment, the odds are stacked against the conservation lobby. More  Two More Rights Activists Murdered In Chechnya Zarema Sadulayeva, the head of a charity for Chechen war victims, was found shot dead today along with her husband, Alik Dzhabrailov. More |
