Posts Tagged ‘Moscow’
Posted on June 28, 2008 - by Venik
The Makings of a Successful Foreign Policy
I just finished reading Jim Hoagland’s “Enough Rope for Russia” in the Washington Post. From time to time the mouthpiece of Republican neocons publishes nonsense about Russia and this piece by Hoagland is a particularly entertaining example. Hoagland mentions Russia’s intention to form a cartel of natural gas-exporting nations, similar to the OPEC. He also [...]
Posted on June 14, 2008 - by Venik
Bush-Sarkozy News Conference
On the stage they looked like two brothers – American Bush and the French Bush. Bush looked tired and annoyed: same old questions from the journalists and the same old answers from Bush’s policy advisers that he memorized and could regurgitate almost without mistakes. Sarkozy, on the other hand, was clearly feeling napoleonic that day. [...]
Posted on March 29, 2008 - by Venik
Russia and the US heading toward a confrontation
It seems that Russia and the US are moving toward some major headbutting in April. First, there’s the issue of Kosovo and the announcement by the US that it intends to provide weapons to the breakaway province. Russia opposes the move, saying that this would be a violation of the UN SC Resolution 1244 (which [...]
Posted on February 29, 2008 - by Venik
Western Journalists in Russia: Dazed and Confused
I just finished reading AP’s “Putin is leaving presidency, but Putinism is now Russia’s political orthodoxy” (Associated Press, 2008-Feb-29). It is truly amazing how little Western journalists know about Russia’s politics, economy and history. It is equally surprising how perverted the concept of democracy has become in its American interpretation. Apparently, when a government leader [...]
Posted on February 23, 2008 - by Venik
Russia’s Threat of Military Intervention in Kosovo
As I predicted (see Russia’s Kosovo Options post on Feb. 15), Russia’s response to Kosovo’s declaration of independence is spilling outside the usual diplomatic channels. The latest BBC headline reads “Russia could use force in Kosovo”. Russia’s ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin told journalists that “Russia does not exclude the possibility of a military intervention [...]
Posted on February 20, 2008 - by Venik
Freedom of Information in Russia
I find it annoying when I hear some BBC reporter talk about “government-controlled” media in Russia (as if BBC wasn’t government controlled). Just as media in any other country, Russian media is regulated – not controlled – by the government. Quality of work of Russian journalists is another matter altogether, but this problem has nothing [...]
Posted on February 15, 2008 - by Venik
Kosovo Quagmire, Round Two
Western media is in a rush to point out that Russia’s support of Serbia on the issue of Kosovo is a result of cultural ties between the two countries, as well as Russia’s desire to regain its influence in international politics. Russia’s failure to protect Serbia from aggression by NATO in 1999 was a humiliating [...]
Posted on December 12, 2007 - by Venik
The battle of the experts
Go to Google News and pick a few random articles about the latest events in Russia. Quickly look through each article and write down names of various Russian political analysts and experts quoted in the article. Also write down the names of the organizations these experts represent. You will end up with an interesting list [...]
