Russia has instituted a new system for granting residency to foreigners. Basing it off a point system that favors the young and educated, this new system will further complicate the lives of the millions of illegal immigrants seeking to work and live inside the country. For further examples of the efforts made to limit the […]
Oboronsevis, a firm with ties to the former Defense Minister, has illegally been granted contracts for arms recycling and disposal – contracts, it seems, that it has either subcontracted (for profit) or not completed. The Oboronservis case was opened in the fall of 2012. According to the investigation, real estate and land owned by the […]
Vladimir Pastukhov writes an essay for Novaya Gazeta, a liberal newspaper, on how Putin is not the driver of creeping totalitarianism, but Russia is pushing Putin down that path. It is worth noting that four Novaya Gazeta journalists have been assassinated in eight years. – Ed. Standing on the edge of the Russian abyss, they […]
Russia economy is stagnating, but the Russian government is using various statistical tricks to make things look better than they are. In this editorial in Gazeta, written by Alexei Mikhailov, he explains that one of the few pro-active steps Putin is taking, using National Wealth Fund to invest in large projects, has questionable merit. It’s […]
The State Duma decided to amend the entry procedures for foreigners coming to Russia to require them to buy medical insurance. As explained by Alexey Zhuravlev, the State Duma deputy from the “United Russia” party, who initiated the measure, this is necessary in order to stop the illegal “medical tourism,” when citizens of the Commonwealth […]
After significant uncertainty as to whether there would be political debates between the candidates for Moscow’s mayor, or whether the previous mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, would even participate, the rules for the debates have been published. It should be noted that the article describes Sobyanin as the current mayor. Sobyanin, nearing the end of the term, […]
Luke Rodeheffer is an MA candidate in International History and a research assistant at Koç University in Istanbul, as well as a freelance analyst on Eurasian geopolitical affairs. He tweets on Eurasian geopolitics at twitter.com/lukerodeheffer. Supporters of the Customs Union, which was introduced in 2012 to establish an economic compact between and among Russia, Ukraine, and […]
The Oboronservis case was opened in the fall of 2012. According to the investigation, real estate and land owned by the Ministry of Defense was sold off at reduced prices through a holding company (“Expert”) created to hide the officers’ economic activity. Oboronservis has been tied to several newsworthy scandals involving corruption and the military which led to the […]
Earlier this month, EU finance ministers gave their approval for Latvia to become the eighteenth member of the Euro in January 2014. It seems counterintuitive that the country of two million people would want to enter the perpetually distressed and recession-stricken economic zone. But for Latvia it has a variety of benefits, not the least […]
Russian Railways is under considerable scrutiny of late. Its President, Vladimir Yakunin, has been accused of fraud by opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In a recent ruling, Russian Railways managers will have to report their income and expenditures to the government, which meets some demands of the opposition, but perhaps only in appearance. Russian Railways is also […]
