Archive for October, 2009
Posted on October 31, 2009 - by Venik
Mother of jailed Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky calls for UK help
David Miliband urged to put pressure on Moscow over case during his first visit to Russia The mother of Mikhail Khodorkovsky – the billionaire oligarch locked up for defying Vladimir Putin – has appealed to the foreign secretary, David Miliband, to raise her son’s case during his high-profile visit to Russia tomorrow Monday. In an [...]
Posted on October 31, 2009 - by Venik
A weak response to Russian aggression | Giorgi Kandelaki
Europe’s failure to recognise Russia’s overly assertive foreign policy does its members, and Georgia, a gross disservice When Russian Bolshevik forces invaded the independent Republic of Georgia in 1921, our first democratically elected leader Noe Zhordania wrote in the Times that “If Europe bears in silence the crying injustice committed against Georgia by the government [...]
Posted on October 30, 2009 - by Venik
The Berlin wall had to fall, but today’s world is no fairer | Mikhail Gorbachev
Twenty years after that shameful symbol of division was torn down, ultra-liberal capitalism needs its own perestroika Twenty years have passed since the fall of the Berlin wall, one of the shameful symbols of the cold war and the dangerous division of the world into opposing blocks and spheres of influence. Today we can revisit the events of those times [...]
Posted on October 30, 2009 - by Venik
Can Joe Biden revive Poland’s love affair with the US? | Kris Kotarski
Can Joe Biden breathe life into Poland’s waning love affair with the United States? When confronted with a troubled relationship, Joe Biden may not be the first person one turns to to set things right. Yet that is what Barack Obama did last week dispatching his vice-president to Warsaw, Prague and Bucharest to comfort and [...]
Posted on October 30, 2009 - by Venik
Oracle’s takeover of Sun clouded with uncertainty
The EU says that Oracle isn’t cooperating in its probe of its take over of Sun Microsystems, and a mysterious filing in Russia has rattled investors’ confidence in the deal. Oracle hasn’t done enough to calm the concerns of EU regulators over its take over of Sun Microsystems, and now a filing in Russia has [...]
Posted on October 29, 2009 - by Venik
Is Obama being played? | Robert Kagan
The ‘era of engagement’ is about to be tested. Iran and Russia could thrash the president in poker Watching the Obama administration launch its “new era of engagement” over the last 10 months, most seasoned observers have pondered two questions: first, if engagement fails, will the Obama team ever acknowledge that it has failed? And [...]
Posted on October 28, 2009 - by Venik
Poll | Who would win an armwrestling contest between Putin and Schwarzenegger?
A bust of wrestling enthusiast prime minister Vladimir Putin is being made for the Russian Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation as a gift to the well-muscled, sculpture-collecting governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Of the two legendary strongmen, who would you put your money on to win an armwrestling contest? Original article Share on bebo Blog this! [...]
Posted on October 28, 2009 - by Venik
The Russo-Polish History Coverage and Some Related Matters
Prime ministers Vladimir Putin (Russia) and Donald Tusk (Poland) Several recent occurrences, in conjunction with each other, have been contributing factors to the increased commentary about the history between Russia and Poland. The recent instances include: this past August’s OSCE resolution on (among other things) the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement, along with last month’s 70th anniversary of [...]
Posted on October 27, 2009 - by Venik
The unknown Booker prize
If you thought it was over-exposed, think again The Booker prize shortlist was announced this month, but you probably won’t have read about it. According to one of the judges, the novels in contention all have a historical theme. There was a surprise omission of an award-winning longlisted writer. The reason for the resounding silence [...]
Posted on October 26, 2009 - by Venik
Is Iran pushing Russia closer to the West?
Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, and the rising threat of Islamic fundamentalism, not only present a clear and extreme danger, but also provide the perfect logical base for closer U.S.-Russian cooperation. Of course, it is always easier to say what should have been done afterward, but shouldn’t we at least learn some [...]
Posted on October 26, 2009 - by Venik
Pro-Kremlin youth group to sue European newspapers
The Independent is among newspapers facing legal action from youth group Nashi over claims it threatened journalist Its stunts have included hounding Britain’s former ambassador to Moscow, comparing Estonia’s president to a pig, and encouraging young patriotic Russian girls to wear knickers with Vladimir Putin’s name on them. But now Nashi – the Kremlin’s fanatical [...]
Posted on October 25, 2009 - by Venik
Opposition activist shot dead in Ingushetia
Maksharip Aushev becomes latest campaigner to die in North Caucasus region following killing of Natalya Estemirova A prominent opposition activist in the southern province of Ingushetia was shot and killed todayby unidentified gunmen in at least the third such killing in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus region in just over three months. Maksharip Aushev died when [...]
Posted on October 24, 2009 - by Venik
New exhibition in Berlin brings forgotten Soviet art back to reality
Italian collectors rescue socialist realism paintings discarded when perestroika brought freedom to Russia Derided, lampooned and long since consigned to the dustbin of aesthetic history, the art of Soviet Socialist Realism has not enjoyed a happy afterlife following the collapse of communism. From Moscow to Murmansk, many works extolling the collective will and honest labour [...]
Posted on October 21, 2009 - by Venik
Yet Another Crack in Pipeline Dominance
Western fears that Russia may use its dominance in gas production and distribution to influence political decisions in Europe are dealt another blow with word that the Azeris and Turks are making considerable progress on an alternative route. The Russian “threat” thereby diminishes. Original article Share on bebo Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this [...]
