RFE/RL RUSSIA REPORT
18.12.2012
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about domestic and foreign-policy developments in Russia.Don't forget to try our latest Weekly News Quiz For more stories on Russia, please visit and bookmark our Russia page . |
 The Return Of The King The Kremlin is clearly playing up Vladimir Putin's December 20 press conference. Why? More  Tajik Migrants: Both Parents Leaving For Work Puts A Strain On Those Left Behind An estimated 1 million Tajiks live and work outside of their own country. In the past, the majority of these migrants were men. But now, increasing numbers of women are pulling up stakes and traveling abroad to make money. That shift has placed a growing burden on family members back home -- siblings and grandparents who are forced to step in as caregivers for thousands of children left behind as their parents leave to seek work. More  Freeze Frames  Bitterly cold temperatures and blizzards are making life painful across Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Health authorities in Kyiv say at least 37 people have died in Ukraine from causes attributed to cold weather. In Russia's Far East, temperatures have plummeted to minus 50 degrees Celsius. (17 PHOTOS) More  Moscow Is World's Worst When It Comes To Taxis, Friendliness, And Shopping Moscow placed dead last in four key categories of TripAdvisor.com's latest Cities Survey, a review of 40 of the world's top cities based on 75,000 responses solicited from savvy global travelers and knowledgeable locals by Brainbox Research. More  EU Urged To Express Free Speech 'Alarm' To Moscow Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the European Union should use an upcoming summit to press Russia to “stop trying to choke off free speech and assembly and any sign of dissent.” More  Unsanctioned Antigovernment Protest Held In Moscow There was a heavy police presence in central Moscow on December 15 as antigovernment protesters held an unsanctioned rally outside the main headquarters of the Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB. Several protesters, including leading opposition leaders, were detained and could face serious penalities under a draconian law on demonstrations passed earlier this year. More  Two circus elephants -- Jenny and Magda -- were being transported across Siberia when their trailer caught fire on the road. The elephants escaped unharmed, but were then exposed to temperatures of minus 41 degrees Celsius. When it became clear that walking them around in circles was failing to help them withstand the cold, quick-thinking circus workers ran to a local shop to buy a couple cases of vodka, which they mixed with buckets of warm water. The elephants happily lapped up the concoction on the side of the road, and emerged the next day from sleeping in a local school's gym with nothing worse than a bit of frostbite. (Reuters video) More Moscow police have detained dozens of protesters and several opposition leaders to disperse an unsanctioned rally in a square outside the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB). More  Obama Signs Magnitsky Bill U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law legislation that grants permanent normal trade relations to Russia and Moldova while also paving the way for sanctions against Russian officials implicated in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. More Two circus elephants were being transported across Siberia when their trailer caught fire on the road. The elephants escaped unharmed, but were then exposed to temperatures of minus 41 degrees Celsius. More  Podcast: The State Of The President Vladimir Putin's state-of-the-nation speech was widely anticipated -- but it turned out to be a dud. Why? More Magnitsky Response Passes Duma Reading Russia's lower house of parliament has passed a response to the U.S. Magnitsky Bill in the draft legislation's first reading. More  Politkovskaya Murder Accomplice Sentenced Russian judges have sentenced a former police officer to 11 years in prison for his involvement in the 2006 murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.More  Russia Denies Change On Syria Russia has denied that one of its top diplomats said President Bashar al-Assad is losing control of Syria. More  UN Welcomes Caspian Sea Commitments The United Nations has welcomed as "an important step" the renewed commitment of the five states bordering the Caspian Seat to protects its marine environment. More  Medvedev's Gaffe And The Elite's Jitters A gaffe by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev -- caught by a live microphone -- sparked a minor scandal and illustrated the widening discord in the ruling elite. More  Lady Gaga Champions Gay 'Equality' In Moscow Lady Gaga took her tour to Russia's capital for a performance that was predictably ribald and indomitable despite what she said were threats of arrest if she broke local laws against "homosexual propaganda." More President Vladimir Putin has warned in an annual address to parliament against foreign meddling in Russia's internal affairs. More  License To Steal -- A Bug Or A Feature? Corruption isn't a bug in Vladimir Putin's power vertical, it's a feature. And changing the rules will have unpredictable consequences. More |
