Latest Articles about Russia
Russia Further Curtails Media and Religious Freedom
President Dmitry Medvedev has been vocally promoting legal reform and the idea of press freedom in Russia. This week at an All-Russian Congress of Judges in Moscow, Medvedev once again spoke about the need to strengthen the Russian legal system, make it more transparent to... MORE
The Meeting That Never Took Place
On December 1 a session of the Supreme Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus was scheduled to take place in Moscow. According to propaganda from the two sides, it was to be a significant occasion that, in contrast to the recent past,... MORE
Russia’s Invasion of Georgia Overshadows OSCE’s Year-End Conference
Like many other organizations struggling for relevance or plain survival, the OSCE looks to summitry as a panacea. Unable to deal with Russia’s invasion of Georgia and other Kremlin challenges, the OSCE can instead call a summit for 2009 to accommodate the Kremlin. This might... MORE
Lukoil Embarking on a Vast Expansion Program Despite Financial Crisis
Apparently undaunted by the financial and credit crisis, Russia’s Lukoil company has embarked on a vast program of expansion into European Union territory. Where Russian state-controlled companies may encounter resistance, Lukoil presents itself as privately owned. This distinction has, however, become almost meaningless in practical... MORE
Georgia Dispute Casts Shadow over NATO
On November 25 Georgia’s former ambassador to Russia, Erosi Kitsmarishvili, questioned by a parliamentary panel probing the circumstances of the war with Russia, quoted Saakashvili’s entourage as saying, “the U.S. leadership had given the green light to Georgia’s military operation in South Ossetia.” The following... MORE
Berlusconi, Centrex, Hexagon 1 and 2 and Gazprom
Sergio Berlusconi, the billionaire Italian Prime Minister, arrived in Moscow on November 6 to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and sign an Italian-Russian deal that will involve Russia in constructing third and fourth generation nuclear reactors in Italy. The head of Russia’s Rosatom (the... MORE
Mismanagement of Russian Economy Could Lead to Social Unrest
The standard Kremlin spiel on Russia’s economic crisis is that it is all America’s fault. President Dmitri Medvedev said in his Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on November 5: “…the U.S. economy…pulled financial markets all around the globe [down] with it... MORE
Medvedev’s Refusal To Attend Famine Commemorations Worsens Already Poor Relations
Ukraine’s relations with Russia have deteriorated to their lowest level in two decades, with Zerkalo Nedeli (November 22) stating that the Russian authorities and society have never been as negatively disposed toward Ukraine as now, even during the Orange Revolution. The deterioration has taken place... MORE
Addressing Naval Imbalance in the Black Sea After the Russian-Georgian War
During the last decade a network of maritime security arrangements developed in the Black Sea, with all riparian countries participating. These arrangements center on the BLACKSEAFOR activities, the Black Sea Harmony operation, and a few other joint projects on maritime security. Focused on handling post-modern... MORE
A Rogue Fleet in the Black Sea
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet operated with total impunity—political and legal, as well as military—against Georgia during the August war. Breaching the neutrality of Ukraine, where it is mainly based, and tearing apart international maritime law, the Russian fleet’s actions exploited the vacuum of Western power... MORE