Rand Paul Talks Tea Party on Russia Today
Meanwhile, some commentators have suggested that President Dmitry Medvedev create his own "Tea Party."
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 May 29, 2010 Rand Paul Talks Tea Party on Russia Today
Meanwhile, some commentators have suggested that President Dmitry Medvedev create his own "Tea Party." May 27, 2010 Terrorist Attack in the Caucuses by... Anti-Muslim Extremists
As some around the globe attempt to retaliate against Muslim extremists via cartoons of Mohamed on Facebook, in Russian city of Stavropol anti-Islamic Russian nationalists radio-detonated a self-made bomb. The target of the May 26 attack was the Center for Sports and Culture, where a Chechen band "Vainah" was supposed to perform. Seven people died, and dozens were injured in the attack. The victims were common people dining at a nearby café. The region is heavily populated by Christians and Muslims, ethnic Russians, Chechens, and other Caucasian nations ("Caucasian" in Russian means a person from the Caucasus, rather than a white person, and, in fact, word "Caucasian" often replaces the word "black" in everyday language). Local authorities and Russian federal government are concerned about potential ethnic-based clashes. No matter how upsetting Islamic jihad is to all of us, blowing up innocent people is definitely not a rational response. Russia Blog extends condolences to the affected families. May 23, 2010 What Does Russia's New Foreign Policy Doctrine Mean?
I'd disagree with the widespread notion that Russia's new foreign policy doctrine (or rather proposals for changes in the current foreign policy in the document under discussion) is oriented toward the West. After reading carefully that Foreign Ministry document, I'd say that it is oriented toward West, East, South, North, and any other direction that has a potential for promoting Russia's interests. The prefix "pro-" in the above interpretation of the proposals is clearly out of place. In realpolitik, any "pro-" subsumes that there is a balancing "anti-" somewhere, overtly or covertly. Not in this document. If anything, it is simply pro-Russian and definitely not anti-- any nation or group of nations. The only rational interpretation of the thinking underlying this document is that Russia should strive to develop closer political, economic, social and even perhaps military ties with the Euro-Atlantic community or, to put it a bit bolder, civilization - but not at the expense of the other parts of the world. Continue reading "What Does Russia's New Foreign Policy Doctrine Mean?" » May 20, 2010 Hungry Khodorkovsky
BusinessWeek reports that imprisoned Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky ended his hunger strike... after one day. He initially declared the hunger strike to draw attention to what he claimed were improper court rulings. He said Russia's courts were ignoring a legal change initiated by President Dmitry Medvedev that allows people charged with white-collar crimes to be released on bail. On Wednesday, Khodorkovsky issued a statement saying his appeal "has achieved its purpose" and he was ending the strike after Medvedev's spokeswoman said the president had been informed. Khodorkovsky is serving an eight-year sentence for tax evasion and is on trial on charges of embezzling more than $25 billion worth of oil from subsidiaries of Yukos, his former company. Mr. J. Clifford Baxter, former vice chairman of Enron Corporation, committed a suicide. Other Enron executives went to prison. Maybe, Mr. Khodorkovsky is not that special; after all, $25 billion is a lot of money. Fortunately, there is plenty of food in Russian prisons to feed a hungry oligarch. The prisons seem to be not as horrifying as The Wall Street Journal portraits them (sometimes referring to them as "gulags"). If someone does not know the definition of "gulag" - one can be found here; "hunger strike" - here. In the last few weeks, Mr. Khodorkovsky was able to give an interview to CNN, get noticed by the BusinessWeek, write a letter to the president, get hungry, and have a hearty meal. Not bad for a hunger strike at a gulag! May 19, 2010 Why Moscow's Streets are so Broad
A visitor to Moscow might wonder how streets that are wider than almost any in newer cities in the US happen to be get that way, especially since they are bounded often by buildings that are a hundred or more years old. The answer is that before World War II they moved the buildings. (Tip of the hat to Matt Scholz.) How is that possible; I mean politically? Well, it probably helps if you start with a dictatorship...! May 17, 2010 News: Euro, Football, Bonds, & Nukes
Euro Falls Toward Lowest Since 2006 (Bloomberg) Russia Calls for Action from Fifa on Bribery Claims (Telegraph) Advocaat Confirmed as New Coach of Russia (ESPN) Emerging-Market Debt Extends Losses (WSJ) Senate Takes Up New START Treaty (LA Times) May 14, 2010 News: Adoptions, Neighbors, Enviros & Energy
Russia Says Adoption Deal to Be Ready by Mid-June (AP) U.S. Abandoning Russia's Neighbors (Washington Post) Russians Debate Fate Of Lake: Jobs Or Environment? (NPR) Proposed Russia, Ukraine Nuclear Energy Merger (Bloomberg) The Russians Are Coming (Huffinton Post) FSB Finds Way around Russia's Ban on Capital Punishment When Dealing with Terrorism
This one is going to make Americans jealous. Members of a gang who sent two "black widow" suicide bombers into the Moscow Metro have been killed by secret agents, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said yesterday, reports UK's Times. One of those killed by the FSB had escorted the women suicide bombers to Moscow from the North Caucasus region of Russia and another had led the women to the underground network on the day of the attacks, Mr. Bortnikov, the FSB chief said. Three people believed to have organized the terror attack were killed after refusing to surrender he told President Medvedev. "To our great regret, we did not manage to seize them alive. They offered bitter armed resistance and were destroyed," he added. President Medvedev said that "there was nothing to be sorry about." "I wonder how many pieces they were sliced & diced into..." asked us one of our readers. Regardless of the amount of slicing and dicing, the way Russia's FSB avoided dealing with legalities of a lifetime sentence versus a death penalty was truly remarkable. European laws and human rights organizations pressed Russian government to issue moratorium on capital punishment in 1996. On November 19, 2009, the Constitutional Court of Russia extended the national moratorium "until the ratification of 6th Protocol to the European Convention of Human Rights," of which Russia is already a signatory, effectively banning capital punishment during peacetime. We sincerely hope that terrorists continue their "bitter armed resistance" when detained by FSB, FBI, or CIA agents. May 6, 2010 Russian Special Forces Attack Pirates, Free Sailors; Russians Ready to Declare War against Somalia
A Russian warship hunted down an oil tanker hijacked by Somali pirates and special forces rappelled on board Thursday, surprising the outlaws, who surrendered after a 22-minute gunbattle. Twenty-three Russian sailors were freed, reports MSNBC. The dramatic Indian Ocean rescue came a day after pirates seized the tanker, which was heading toward China carrying $50 million worth of crude. One pirate was killed and 10 others were arrested, officials said. The Russian destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov had rushed to the scene following Wednesday's seizure of the Liberian-flagged tanker, Moscow University. Special forces troops rappelled down to the tanker from a helicopter, Rear Adm. Jan Thornqvist, the EU Naval Force commander, told an Associated Press reporter. "The operation's success was due to the surprise factor, said a Russian military officer aboard the warship. "The pirates were taken by surprise. They did not expect such resolute measures from us," Capt. Ildar Akhmerov told RIA Novosti news agency. The pirates were to be taken to Moscow to face criminal charges. Russia Blog does not envy the pirates fate in Russian prisons, assuming they survive the "relocation." President Medvedev hinted that hard times are awaiting them. "Perhaps we should get back to the idea of establishing an international court and other legal tools" to prosecute pirates, he said. "Until then, we'll have to do what our forefathers did when they met the pirates." |
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