This month was marked by two headlines in Russian aviation — the flight of the Olympic torch into space, and the crashing of a passenger flight, a Boeing 737, that killed all 50 people on board. As the editorial below suggests, written by the always-controversial Yuliya Latynina, Russia has the most dangerous air travel out […]
Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin attracted international attention when he appeared to publicly rebuke his Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. For all the attention the incident received, the reason for the dispute between Medvedev and Putin has been largely ignored by the media. The Interpreter’s Andrew Bowen examines the new tax fraud laws, backed by Putin, […]
Perhaps 50 to 100 thousand protesters took to the streets this weekend in Kiev, Ukraine, demanding that their President, Viktor Yanukovych, sign the agreement with the European Union. As we’ve been reporting, however, Yanukovych backed down last week, largely because of the economic backlash from Russia’s trade war. The protests recall the 2004 Orange Revolution, […]
Russia has arguably won its trade war with Ukraine, at least for now. After months of punitive measures because of Kiev’s desire to choose joining the European Union over the neo=Soviet Customs Union, last week the Ukraine suspended its move to join the EU. The move has been highly unpopular in the Ukraine, and protesters have taken […]
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, an independent newspaper, publishes this analysis by the FBK Institute of Strategic Analysis, a pro-business financial analysis company. They argue that Russia’s deepening economic crisis has forced the government to debate moving to a progressive tax, which could hurt Russian business interests. It’s an interesting read, though there may be problems with the […]
Photographer Denis Sinyakov, who covered the Greenpeace action at the Prirazlomnaya on assignment from Lenta.ru, was the second person out of 30 arrested in the Arctic Sunrise case to be freed on bail. On November 21, he was released from Kresty Prison pre-trial detention in St. Petersburg and told The New Times how the foreigners […]
Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin has perhaps always been rivals, but it’s clear that Putin is the alpha politician in their relationship. Last week, this dynamic came into the spotlight once again when Medvedev criticized a piece of legislation proposed by Putin. The President responded by essentially telling Medvedev that if he didn’t like it […]
The Ukrainian government suspended preparations for signing the Association Agreement today after a vote in parliament failed to achieve a sufficient majority to pass legislation that would allow the jailed former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko to receive medical treatment abroad. The EU considered Tymoshenko’s release essential for progress with the agreement, which was hoped to […]
The Russian government may be moving to ban a coloring book in advance of the Sochi Olympics. We believe that the book in question talks about how same-sex couples are discriminated against in Russia, and are even beaten. It is interesting that the pro-Kremlin Izvestia makes no specific mention of the book in question, however, […]
Seldom does the death of a single person create shockwaves across the entire planet. However, when an ordinary Russian, a lowly accountant, was imprisoned and eventually died in a Russian prison, his name became a symbol for the struggle for human rights, and the reasons for a significant rift in the international community. The Sergei […]
