U.S. Dethroning Russia as Gas King | The Moscow Times

Posted by Matt in January 12th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Energy, Cubic Meters, Economic Crisis, Energy Ministry, European Union, Foreign Markets, Gas Output, gazprom, Influx, King Business, Lost World, Moscow Russia, Moscow Times, Natural Gas, Producer Gas, Russia Business, Russia Moscow, Shale Gas, United States

Russia has all but lost its title as the world’s biggest producer of natural gas to the United States, and Moscow appears unlikely to reclaim the No. 1 spot until Gazprom manages to capture new foreign markets.
Gas output dropped 12 percent to 582 billion cubic meters last year as demand in the key market, the [...]

Europe’s Troublesome Neighbors | The Moscow Times

Posted by Matt in January 12th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Europe, Eastern Border, Eastern Europe, Faces, Moscow Times, Prime Minister, Public Health Problems, Russia, Sphere Of Influence, Troublesome Neighbors, Vladimir Putin

But the shifts that have taken place left Russia much diminished in terms of its sphere of influence and military might. To be sure, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s Russia is nationalistic, awkward and disposed to dangerous troublemaking. The country faces acute social and public health problems and has 1.3 billion Chinese on its eastern border. [...]

Don’t Hold Your Breath for a Modern Russia | The Moscow Times

Posted by Matt in December 8th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, democracy, Innovations, Intention, kremlin, Long Time, Moscow Times, Political Modernization, Power Structure, Russia Moscow, Russian People, Russians, Time Don

In the end, Putin confirmed that everything in Russia will remain the same for a very long time. “Don’t hold your breath” should be the catchall answer to Russians expecting any kind of economic and political modernization or reform under Putin’s rule. Putin will return to the Kremlin in 2012 with the clear intention of [...]

A Modernization Lesson: Russia Is Not China | The Moscow Times

Posted by Matt in November 24th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Adherence, beijing, Citizens, Communist China, Communist Party Of China, Comrades, democracy, Democratic Rights, Economic Model, Ideologues, kremlin, Modernization, Moscow Times, Political Legitimacy, Propagandists, Rhetoric, Rights And Freedoms, Russia Moscow, Sorts, United

In October, United Russia held a two-day seminar with their comrades from the Communist Party of China — a master class of sorts to allow Moscow to glean information and know-how from Beijing’s authoritarian political and economic model. Even while Moscow continues its rhetoric about its adherence to democracy and a European course, Russia’s leaders [...]

Russia: Very Little to Celebrate | The Moscow Times

Posted by Matt in November 8th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Allies, Authoritarian Regime, Biggest Loser, Cold-War, Daily Newspaper, International Reputation, LOST, Moscow Newspaper, Moscow Times, Public Opinion, Russia Economy, Russia Moscow, Social Sphere, Successes, Superpower Status, Twenty Years, West Country, West Russia

In contrast to the successes in the East and West, Russia — the country that did so much to inspire all these changes — has ended up the biggest loser in the post-Cold War era. Twenty years later, the country has experienced a triple defeat. First, Russia has failed to modernize its economy or social [...]

In the Arctic Oil & Gas Lottery, Russia Looks Like a Big Winner

Posted by Matt in May 30th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Climate, Conflict, New Cold War, Russia, U.S., Arctic, Arctic Circle, Arctic Ocean, Arctic Oil, Associated Press, Cold-War, Exploration Prospects, global warming, guardian, kremlin, Lottery, Moscow Times, Natural Gas Reserves, Oil And Gas, Oil Gas, Oil Reserves, Paul Berkman, Rest Of The World, Russia, Russian Website, Sea Ice, Seabed, Technological Advances, Undiscovered Natural Gas, Undiscovered Oil

As global warming gradually melts away the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, the oil and gas deposits buried in that inaccessible region are becoming a lot less theoretical to the five northern nations with claims to those riches. “For better or worse, limited exploration prospects in the rest of the world combined with technological [...]

Depopulation Threatens Russia 10 Ways, Moscow Demographer Says

Posted by Matt in April 19th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Demographics, Russia, Cloning, Consequences, Demographer, Depopulation, Elderly, Gender Imbalances, Generational Conflict, Inter, Measures, Mental Illness, Minorities, Moscow Times, Parents, Population, Proportion, Russia, Russia Moscow, Russian Tradition, Russians, Self Consciousness, Social Behavior, Territorial Integrity, Trend

The ten most important consequences of this depopulation:
1. A change in the ethnic make-up of Russia. More minorities and fewer Russians.
2. A loss of Russian tradition and the Russian “self-consciousness.”
3. Threatens territorial integrity and the well-being of the population.
4. An increasing shortage of workers and decreasing standard of living.
5. An increased proportion of elderly. Inter-generational [...]

Russia focuses on upgrading its nuclear arsenals

Posted by Matt in February 25th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Nuclear, Russia, Air Components, Deputy Prime Minister, Deterrent Forces, House Of Parliament, India, Lawmakers, Military Industrial Complex, Moscow Times, News Articles, Nuclear Arsenals, Nuclear Deterrent, Parliament, Priority, Reuters, Ria Novosti Russia, Russia, Russian Nuclear Forces, Russian Parliament, Sergei Ivanov, Strategic Nuclear Forces, Voice Of America

Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said that upgrading ground, sea and air components of the nation’s strategic forces is costly but necessary.
“It’s expensive, it’s very expensive, but there is no other way,” Ivanov told lawmakers in the lower house of parliament. “We will develop and modernize our strategic deterrent forces.”
Read More…

Russia to Develop Strategic Nuclear [...]

Russia’s Incredible Shrinking Economy

Posted by Matt in December 13th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Economy, Financial, Russia, Bloomberg, Economic Growth, Economic News, Economist, Economists, Economy, Financial Crisis, Gdp, Gdp Growth, Global Financial Crisis, Lars, Market Expectations, Moscow Times, Rasmussen, Reuters, Russia, State Statistics, Statistics Service

On 9 December, Russia’s State Statistics Service revealed the GDP growth figures for the third quarter. And – lo and behold – they are “surprisingly bad”, “below market expectations”, etc. (Read the reports in The Moscow Times, Bloomberg and Reuters).
You might think that by now economists would no longer be surprised by the stream [...]

Greece assists Israel as war with Iran looms

Posted by Matt in July 14th, 2008 | 1 comment

Published in Iran, Israel, 300 Spartans, Air Radar, Air Tactics, Batteries, Battle Of Thermopylae, Battle Of Thermopylae In 480 Bc, Greece, Greek Air, Ground Radar, Hartford Courant, Initial Reports, Iran Nuclear, Iranian Air, Israeli Air Force, Jerusalem Post, jets, Jewish State, Moscow Times, New York Times, Nuclear Threat, Persian Army, Play With Fire, Potemkin, Radar Systems, Russian System, S 300, S Media, Spartan, Tiny Land

Greece has the same Russian S-300 ground-to-air radar systems as Iran. A June 2008 exercise with Israel may be preparation for strike.
While the Israeli-Greek air tactics were amply reported in the world’s media after initial reports in the New York Times, the pivotal information from Greece’s S-300 batteries has remained below the radar. By swarming [...]