Is Putin in trouble?

Posted by Matt in March 15th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Russia, Agenda, Anti Government, Prime Minister, putin, Regional Elections, Russia, Russian Election, Sole Purpose, United, Vladimir Putin

Is Vladimir Putin, Russia’s all-powerful prime minister, in trouble?
Anti-government protests, a rare thing indeed, have begun to draw thousands of people across the country. And on Sunday, United Russia, the party created with the sole purpose of promoting Putin’s agenda, fared far worse than it hoped in regional elections, losing a key mayoral seat and [...]

Ukraine Sliding Backwards

Posted by Matt in January 15th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Geopolitical, American Spectator, Former Soviet Union, kremlin, Leverage, Maneuver, Medvedev, Military-Threat, moscow, NATO, Neighbor, Orbit, putin, Regime, Russia, Russian Federation, Ukraine

Word has long made the rounds in Moscow that the Kremlin would consider expansion of NATO that includes Ukraine to be an outright military threat to the Russian Federation.
This threat of a threat plays well with the current effort by the Medvedev/Putin regime to nudge Ukraine back into Russia’s orbit. In more direct [...]

Russia: They Killed My Lawyer | Foreign Policy

Posted by Matt in December 26th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Favorites, Russia, Bravery, Circumstances, Corruption, Detention Center, Foreign Policy, Gulags, Heroism, Lawyer, moscow, putin, Russia Today, Stalinism, Tragedy

This is a fascinating story about an attorney who stumbled onto state sponsored corruption, fought it and was ultimately killed by it.
A story of Putin’s Russia.
Sergei Magnitsky was our attorney, and friend, who died under excruciating circumstances in a Moscow pre-trial detention center on Nov. 16, 2009. His story is one of extraordinary bravery and [...]

The other 2012: or how Russia’s Putin may return as president

Posted by Matt in December 4th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, putin, Russia, Two Answers

Little had been said by Putin about 2012, but today he gave two answers to such questions. When asked if he would
The other 2012: or how Russia’s Putin may return as president

For Russia’s Communists, Ousting Putin Is a Priority – NYTimes.com

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

Published in Russia, Anniversary, Communists, Factories, Farmers, moscow, Nytimes, Priority, putin, Russia, Slogan

Along with the perennial calls for “land for farmers” and “factories for workers,” Communists who marched in Moscow on the Saturday anniversary of the 1917 revolution offered a slogan of more recent vintage: “Russia without Putin.”
For Russia’s Communists, Ousting Putin Is a Priority – NYTimes.com

Russia’s Economic Crisis and U.S.-Russia Relations: Troubled Times Ahead

Posted by Matt in November 2nd, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Defense Spending, Dissatisfaction, Economic Crisis, kremlin, Poverty Line, Protests, Public Displays, putin, Reported Event, Riot Police, Russia Relations, Russian Leadership, Safety Net, Social Safety, Social Tensions, Social Unrest, Swat Teams, Troubled Times, Vladivostok, Willingness

Rising Unemployment and Growing Social Unrest
The crisis has also exacerbated social tensions in Russia. So far, no serious threat to the regime has materialized, despite a wave of spontaneous strikes and the use of SWAT teams to put down a demonstration in Vladivostok. Notably, the Russian leadership showed the limits to its tolerance of public [...]

Russia Ramps Up Oil Exports as OPEC Cuts Back – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in September 10th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Oil, Collapse, Crude Oil, Energy Ministry, Estimates, First Quarter, International Energy Agency, Market Share, Ministry Data, Oil Exports, opec, Opec Cuts, Opec Production, Prime Minister, putin, Ramps, Refined Products, Saudi-Arabia, Second Quarter, Soviet Union, Vladimir

Russia is surpassing Saudi Arabia in oil exports for the first time since the Soviet Union’s collapse as Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin exploits OPEC production cuts to gain market share.
Exports of crude oil and refined products from Russia rose to 7.4 million barrels a day in the second quarter, from 7.25 million in the [...]

Kremlin’s Crisis

Posted by Matt in May 21st, 2009 | no comment

Published in Economy, Russia, Act, Allies, denial, Dmitri Medvedev, Economic Policy, Economy, Illusion, kremlin, Policy Adjustments, putin, Russia, Russian Response

Will a shrinking economy force Russia to pursue reform?
This, however, would soon prove to be an illusion. At first, Putin and his allies in the Kremlin continued to act invincible, either in denial or opportunistic about the threat the crisis posed. But as the crisis deepened, more liberal figures close to President Dmitri Medvedev were [...]

Kremlin Sees Threats In Economy, Energy

Posted by Matt in May 13th, 2009 | 1 comment

Published in Russia, Ally, Banking Sector, Cold War Foes, Economic Stability, Economy, Energy Resources, Fears, Foreign Policy, Global Security, kremlin, moscow, National Security, National Security Strategy, National Strategy, NATO, Natural Resources, New Paper, New Security, Nuclear Weapons, putin, Russia, Security Document, Security Threats, Top Security

It also identifies the banking sector and natural resources as vital for national security because of their role in economic stability.
It states that international policy will in the long run be focused on energy resources, including in the Arctic.
…
The new paper says little about the use of nuclear weapons, while the national strategy approved by [...]

Collapse of Kremlin’s Dual-Monopoly

Posted by Matt in March 2nd, 2009 | no comment

Published in Economy, Financial, Russia, Collapse, Failure, Financial Crisis, Global Financial Crisis, Happy Union, kremlin, Monopoly, Oil And Gas, Oil And Gas Prices, putin, Rebound, Russian Policymakers, Russians, S System, Wisdom

Now that happy union between the Kremlin and ordinary Russians is ending. Few Russian policymakers, much less the Russian public, expected oil and gas prices to collapse as they have. We do not know what will happen next. If prices rebound, Putin and his people will glorify themselves for their wisdom. But if prices remain [...]