 RFE/RL Russia Report 9/17/2009 3:37:04 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 . |
 New Plans For Missile Defense President Barack Obama says a new policy is aimed at "smarter, stronger, swifter" defense of the U.S. and its allies in Europe. He emphasized that Iran remains the focus of the missile shield, not Russia, and told NATO allies that the adjusted system in Europe would make them safer. More  Kremlin Guide To America's Top Dissidents Russian President Dmitry Medvedev plans to use a visit this month to the United States to turn the tables on Barack Obama, saying he'll "speak to dissidents [to] let them tell me what problems the United States has." We'd like to suggest a few American dissidents who might fit the Kremlin's bill as payback approaches. More  The Kremlin Wants A War in Iran The Kremlin's decision not to support the UN Security Council proposal to impose new sanctions pushed Washington, Israel, the Persian Gulf, and Europe closer to consensus on a military solution to Iran's nuclear crisis. More  Tatarstan Mulling Changes To Language Law Tatarstan's parliament is considering amendments to the law on its state languages after the Russian Supreme Court ordered the Tatar government to harmonize those laws with federal Russian legislation, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports. More  The Four Nations That Challenge U.S. Interests Every four years, the U.S. intelligence community compiles a national intelligence strategy that focuses on foreign challenges to America's interests. This year, four countries are at the top of the list: Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China. More Moscow police detained four activists of the opposition Levy Front (Left Front) movement, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Moscow Signs Pacts With Abkhazia, South Ossetia With tensions again on the rise between Moscow and Tbilisi, Russia has inked defense pacts with breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia, allowing it to maintain military bases in the rebel regions for the next half-century. Following attempts by Georgia to blockade Abkhazia, Moscow also threatened to seize Georgian ships in the Black Sea. More  What Not To Wear At Gazprom A document purporting to be a detailed dress code for female employees of Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly, has become a viral hit in Russia. More  CPJ Releases Major Report On Unsolved Killings Of Journalists In Russia "It is a sad irony: While the world celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia itself is relapsing to some of its Soviet ways. In fact, for journalists, Russia is a more dangerous place now than it was during the Cold War..." So begins a special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists called "Anatomy of Injustice: The Unsolved Killings of Journalists in Russia." More  Life Under The Tsar At the start of the 20th century, photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky won the support of Tsar Nicholas II to conduct an ambitious photographic survey of the Russian Empire. Between 1907 and 1915, Prokudin-Gorsky traveled widely in a railroad car equipped with a darkroom, recording aspects of Russia’s diverse culture. More A court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg has sentenced a member of the opposition Other Russia movement to one year in prison, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  North Ossetian Court Sentences Georgian On Spy Charges The Supreme Court in the Russian republic of North Ossetia has sentenced a man for being a Georgian spy, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  The Games Of Autumn For weeks President Dmitry Medvedev appeared to be ascendant and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin seemed invisible. And then suddenly Putin grabbed the initiative back with one answer to one question at a meeting with Western journalists and Russia experts last week. More Putin Hints at Return Vladimir Putin's indication that he may seek to regain the presidency in 2012 has opened the pre-election political season in Russia -- at least that's what some are saying. But while the prime minister's announcement may have opened the season for speculation about the election, the decision surely rests with Putin. More  Creaking Infrastructure Evident From Siberia To Streets Of Moscow Nearly two decades after the Soviet collapse, economic crisis is the latest factor in the erosion of funding and state supervision to maintain Russia's creaking infrastructure. And the problem extends well beyond the dam disaster that killed scores of people last month. More  On Moscow Streets, A Range Of Views On Chavez Visit Chavez, whose anti-American sentiments make him a convenient partner for Moscow, enjoys frequent visits to Russia. On his latest trip, he pledged to make Venezuela what appears to be the third country -- after Russia and Nicaragua -- to recognize the Georgian territories. More  Russia Backs Iran Over Sanctions Russia has indicated it will torpedo a Western push for sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The announcement comes amid speculation that former Russian military officers tried to sell Iran air-defense missiles, and raises fresh doubts about Moscow's role in the international effort to resolve the crisis over Iran. More  On Chavez's Recognition Of South Ossetia, Abkhazia To better understand Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's announcement that he recognizes the independence of Georgia's breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, RFE/RL contributor Michael Hirshman interviewed Venezuelan international relations specialist Elsa Cardozo, a professor at the Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas. Cardozo is also a columnist for the Venezuelan daily "El Nacional." More  Dmitry Medvedev’s Laughable Call For Reform Medvedev wants to "cooperate"? Then he can start by firing Putin, by dissolving the Duma, and then we'll see. He can't, you say? Then what is he pretending for? So that maybe someday something will happen? More  Thatcher Opposed German Reunification, Documents Show Did former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher secretly not want Germany’s reunification on the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall? That’s the conclusion from a report today in "The Times" newspaper of London. The report is based on copies of Kremlin records smuggled out of Moscow in the early 1990s by a young Russian researcher. More  Why Wasn't Iran Invited To Caspian Summit? An interesting event is taking place in Kazakhstan's Caspian port city of Aktau starting September. The Caspian littoral states are holding a first-ever "informal" summit. But one of the countries -- Iran -- has not been invited. Also, there seems to be an unusual sense of urgency on the part of some of the leaders who will be in Aktau. At the same time, however, Kazakhstan officials have suggested there is no set agenda. So what's about to happen in Aktau? More  Venezuelan Idea Unlikely To Interest Russia, Turkmenistan Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is coming to Russia looking for public support for the idea of forming a "gas OPEC," an idea that Russia, with the largest natural gas reserves in the world, has already been considering. Russian officials will certainly be interested in listening to Chavez's proposals, but are well aware that forming such a group may be more difficult than forming one based on oil exports. More  European Split On Russia Threatens U.S. Policy U.S. President Barack Obama wants to change the nature of Washington's relations with Moscow. But analysts say that won't be possible without strong support from European countries that are among Russia's biggest trade partners. Getting it will be no easy task. In the last of a three-part series on U.S.-Russia relations, RFE/RL reports on obstacles facing a unified European policy toward Russia. More  U.S.-Russia 'Reset' May Run Aground In Former Soviet Bloc U.S. President Barack Obama has made improving ties with Russia one of his foreign-policy priorities. But there are serious concerns in Eastern and Central Europe that Washington will sacrifice support for its allies who were once part of the Soviet bloc. More  How Obama's Russia Policy Is Playing On The Ground Barack Obama took office promising to try to mend U.S. ties with Russia, part of his strategy to overhaul foreign policy. His pledge has caused concern in Eastern Europe that Washington would weaken its support in favor of better relations with Moscow, while also raising doubts the policy will get the support it needs in Western Europe, where opinion on Russia is divided. More |
