RFE/RL Russia Report
1/11/2011 8:21:33 PM
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about domestic and foreign-policy developments in Russia.
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Nemtsov Appeals To Euro Rights Court
Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov has appealed his New Year's Eve arrest in Moscow with the European Court of Human Rights in France. More 
Tandemology 2.0
Whether they like it or not, Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin are stuck with each other. And I strongly suspect they are both pretty much OK with that arrangement, even if their respective teams are obviously not. More 
North Caucasus Insurgency Admits Killing Circassian Ethnographer
In a five-minute video clip posted late on January 8 on Islamdin, the website of the Kabardino-Balkaria-Karachai wing of the North Caucasus insurgency, Emir Zakaria affirms that it was his fighters who killed respected Kabardian ethnographer Aslan Tsipinov late last month. More 
Sentinel Project Uses Satellite Images To Monitor, Perhaps Deter, Humanitarian Abuses
The eyes of the world are on the African country of Sudan, as fears of potential violence surround a major referendum on the country’s future on January 9. But eyes in the sky will also be monitoring the situation, looking to track people’s movements and potentially deter attacks. More 
Reading Clouds: Medvedev And Obama Tweets
Russian blogger Russian Sphinx created word clouds for the Russian and American presidents' Twitter accounts. More 
Daghestan's President Suffers Further Rebuff
The Daghestan wing of the North Caucasus Islamic insurgency's rejection of calls by President Magomedsalam Magomedov to lay down its arms calls into question the relevance of the government commission recently created to "help" repentant fighters readapt to civilian life and of the appeal to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev adopted last month at a Congress of Peoples of Daghestan to declare an amnesty for fighters who surrender. More 
Two's A Crowd
Russian police are arresting people staging one-person demos allowed under law to dispute the imprisonment of opposition leaders, often when members of pro-Kremlin youth groups brazenly run up next to them with copycat signs. More 
Overexposed!
Former spy turned Moscow It Girl Anna Chapman had a busy holiday season, launching a full-bore publicity assault showing off both her titian allure and a diversified portfolio of talents. She joined the leadership of pro-Kremlin Molodaya Gvardia youth movement, became the celebrity face of a Moscow bank, and finally broke months of silence when she engaged in her first public interview on the Russian television talk show "Let Them Speak." More 
'G-Zero' Seen As Greatest Global Risk
G-Zero -- a world without a clearly defined superpower -- tops the geopolitical risk scale for 2011. According to a report by Eurasia Group, this new political reality will intensify all other top risks for 2011, including the potential for an uncontained economic crisis in Europe, an unwillingness by China to respond to growing international pressure, and provocations from North Korea. More 
Democracies Confront Their Own Growing Censorship Tendencies
The murders of journalists in Russia, the jailing of bloggers in China, and the crackdown on the Iranian media are reminders that freedom of expression is under attack. More 
Kyrgyzstan Could Name Mountain Peak After Putin
There was no word whether Putin -- who has cultivated a masculine image through photo ops on horseback, in submersibles, tracking tigers, bare-chestedly toting a rifle, flying aircraft, and martial-arts training, among other things -- has any plans to try and tackle the Kyrgyz summit. More |
