Meeting U.S. Envoy, Putin Appears to Soften His Tone - NYT | Putin Tells New Envoy U.S. Must Not Interfere | Putin gives envoy cool welcome after declaring US 'wants to subjugate' Russia | U.S. Official: Washington Should Consider Lethal Aid To Kyiv | Obama Nominee Says US Should Consider Lethal Aid to Ukraine | Top Official Says U.S. Should Reconsider Providing Ukraine With Lethal Aid | Президент Литвы назвала Россию террористическим государствомMail.Ru
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Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, US ambassador to Russia John Tefft and Russia’s president Vladimir Putin at a ceremony of presenting credentials by foreign ambassadors, at the St. Alexander Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace on 19 November 2014 in Moscow, Russia. Photograph: TASS/Barcroft Media
Putin gives envoy cool welcome after declaring US 'wants to subjugate' Russia
M.N. comments: Very clear and diplomatic gesture, methinks. (01:53 on video)
Выступление на церемонии вручения верительных грамот послами иностранных государств - 19 ноября 2014 года Москва, Кремль
MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Wednesday that Moscow and Washington could find avenues of practical cooperation if the partnership were based on “mutual respect and pragmatism.”
It may have seemed a frosty reception for John F. Tefft, the new American ambassador to Russia, who presented his credentials at a ceremony in the gilded St. Alexander Hall in the Kremlin, but given Mr. Putin’s more bellicose statements of late, the president’s remarks seemed almost diplomatic.
“We are ready for practical cooperation with our American partners in all different areas, based on the principles of respect for each other’s interests, equality and nonintervention in domestic affairs,” Mr. Putin said, as he addressed Mr. Tefft and 14 other diplomats who presented their credentials during the ceremony.
“We take the view that Russia and the United States bear special responsibility for maintaining international security and stability and combating global threats and challenges,” he said.
Mr. Tefft, a career diplomat who has served as ambassador to Ukraine, Georgia and Lithuania, has kept a low profile since arriving in Moscow in September, as relations between the United States and Russia have descended to their worst state since the Cold War.
Mr. Putin has blamed the West for setting off the conflict in Ukraine and told political supporters on Monday that the United States sought to “subjugate” Russia.
On Tuesday, at an exhibition of armored personnel carriers, Mr. Putin observed that “you can do a lot more with weapons and politeness than just politeness,” a reference to the “polite” Russian soldiers who appeared in Crimea in early March.
The United States and the European Union have leveled punishing sanctions against Russia in response to its annexation of Crimea and subsequent sponsorship of separatists in a proxy war in southeastern Ukraine. At last week’s meeting of the Group of 20, Mr. Obama claimed the sanctions were working, and foreign leaders vied to get in a good barb against Mr. Putin.
“I guess I’ll shake your hand,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada told Mr. Putin at the summit meeting. “But you need to get out of Ukraine.”
Mr. Tefft’s mission is straightforward, said Matthew Rojansky, a Russia expert at the Wilson Center: Maintain an open line between Moscow and Washington.
“He is sent to do the classic, core job of an ambassador, to be a truly trusted channel of communications between the political leadership, as opposed to being sent as a statement of some kind,” Mr. Rojansky said in a telephone interview.
Mr. Tefft’s predecessor, Michael McFaul, left Moscow in February after a stormy two-year term in which he aimed to engage with ordinary Russians through public events and social media, but he was hounded by the state news media and accused of being sent to foment revolution.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr. Tefft said it was “a privilege” to attend Wednesday’s ceremony, during which he shared a few words with Mr. Putin and posed quickly for a photo.
“We have serious differences over Russia’s policy in Ukraine,” Mr. Tefft said, adding that he hoped to improve “people-to-people ties.”
“I will do my best to engage Russians from all parts of society,” he said. “I will explain what the United States stands for and promote respect for the dignity of every citizen, democratic values, good governance, and rule of law.”
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Upon receiving the new American ambassador to Russia, President Vladimir V. Putin said Moscow and Washington could find avenues of cooperation despite recent tensions.
Yahoo CEO Says Firefox Deal Will Boost Search Market Shareby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Yahoo Inc. has struck a deal with Firefox maker Mozilla Corp. to replace Google Inc. as the default search engine on the Firefox Web browser in the United States, a move that Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer said would help boost its flagging search market share. The five-year deal between the two companies will start in December, Yahoo said. Mayer would not disclose the financial terms, other than to say that the partnership is a revenue-sharing agreement and includes certain ``guarantees.'' The partnership, which integrates Yahoo search into Firefox's browser for desktop PCs and mobile devices such as smartphones, will produce a "share gain" for Yahoo, Mayer said Wednesday in an interview with Reuters. The Mozilla deal means that users of the Firefox browser in the U.S. will automatically be routed to search results on Yahoo's website when they type a query into the small box that appears at the top of the browser. "It's one of the largest independently directed search share opportunities available in the market,'' Mayer said, declining to estimate how much of a boost Yahoo expected to receive from the deal. Yahoo's share of the U.S. search market on desktop PCs is currently about 10 percent, according to industry research firm comScore, compared with Microsoft's roughly 20 percent and Google's 67 percent. Google previously served as the default search option for users of the Firefox Web browser on an international basis. With Google's three-year deal ending, Mozilla has struck deals with several search engines in different regions, including Baidu Inc. in China and Yandex NV in Russia. Yahoo said it has revamped the look of its search engine, making more use of rich graphics and photos, for the Firefox partnership. The Web search results will continue to be powered by Microsoft, in keeping with the 10-year partnership that Yahoo and Microsoft began in 2010. Firefox had 10.4 percent of the U.S. browser market on desktop PCs, mobile smartphones and tablets last month, according to tech data firm StatCounter. Google's Chrome browser was the leader with 33.5 percent. Yahoo shares were up 1 percent at $51.10 in extended trading Wednesday.
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Is Russia cozying up to China?
CNN (blog) Everyone was talking about the moment at last week's APEC Summit in Beijing when RussianPresident Vladimir Putin draped a shawl over the shoulders of China's First Lady. Many claimed he was flirting. Who knows if he was, but there's no question that ... and more » |
U.S. Official: Washington Should Consider Lethal Aid To Kyiv by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
A senior aide to U.S. President Barack Obama has said
that the United States should reconsider its policy of not providing lethal aid to Ukraine, which is grappling with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.
that the United States should reconsider its policy of not providing lethal aid to Ukraine, which is grappling with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.
Obama Nominee Says US Should Consider Lethal Aid to Ukraine by webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
U.S. President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the number two post at the State Department says the White House should consider providing Ukraine with lethal, defensive military equipment. Testifying Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tony Blinken said that arming Ukraine's military could force Russia to rethink its role in the conflict gripping eastern Ukraine. Both houses of Congress have voiced support for such aid, but the Obama administration has so far stopped short of providing lethal equipment. The Kyiv government and a host of Western nations have accused Moscow of providing direct aid, including armor and other military hardware, to separatists. NATO also has accused Moscow - which annexed Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in March - of sending more tanks and troops into eastern Ukraine in the past two weeks. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied direct involvement, and says Russian soldiers fighting alongside rebels in eastern Ukraine are doing so as volunteers and on their own time. Earlier Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the Kyiv government to hold direct negotiations with separatists. However, Ukrainian officials quickly rejected the idea. Lavrov also referred to the Kyiv leadership as "the party of war," and said Western moves to exclude rebels from peace talks will prove "absolutely counterproductive and provocative." He also said efforts to paint Russia as a party to the conflict will ultimately fail. In Kyiv, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk again said his government will not hold talks with whom he called "Russian terrorists." Separately Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said rebels and the Kyiv government were, in his words, "unfortunately still a long way from a sustainable de-escalation of the conflict, and even further from a political solution." Steinmeier spoke in Berlin after face-to-face talks Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. According to figures from the United Nations, the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which started in April, has to date claimed more than 4,100 lives and left nearly 10,000 wounded.
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Australia’s PM calls Ukraine president following G20 conference to set up meeting and Poroshenko accepts invitation
The prime minister, Tony Abbott, has invited the Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, to visit Australia to discuss security.
Abbott spoke to Poroshenko on Wednesday night following last weekend’s G20 leaders conference.
Continue reading...
President Barack Obama is to make a major announcement about immigration late Thursday. He plans to sign executive orders that do not require congressional approval, granting millions of undocumented immigrants a reprieve from deportation. VOA's Carolyn Presutti reports from the White House.
 FT.com (blog) |
China and Russia push back against the US
FT.com (blog) Russia, in the midst of the crisis in Ukraine, is eager to show that it has alternatives to the West and a powerful new ally in China. China also has a strong motivation to push back against America. The Chinese greatly resent America's much-ballyhooed ... China and Russia in naval co-operation vowFinancial Times China, Russia Seek Expanded Defense CooperationThe Diplomat Russia And China To Conduct Joint Naval Exercises In The Mediterranean And ...International Business Times ITAR-TASS -The Moscow Times -International Business Times UK all 53 news articles » |
 Press TV |
US plane flying over Russian airspace, taking photos of military equipment
Press TV A US observation plane has been flying over Russian skies during the past several days, Stars and Stripes reported on Wednesday. The US says the mission was done under the Open Skies Treaty that allows a limited number of observation flights. Russia ... US flying over Russia to take photos under Open Skies treatyStars and Stripes all 4 news articles » |
Russia’s Justice Ministry has withdrawn claims against two advocacy groups but is continuing its case against the St. Petersburg branch of the Soldiers’ Mothers Committee.
U.S. President Barack Obama's choice to fill the number two spot at the State Department, Anthony Blinken, spoke favorably on Wednesday about the possibility of providing weapons to Ukraine.
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 Комсомольская Правда в Украине |
Ответные меры. Как живет Донбасс в преддверии экономической изоляции
BFM.Ru В ДНР заявили что будут создавать свой нацбанк, а недавно представили свой налоговый кодекс. Между тем большинство предприятий Донбасса продолжает работать. Местные жители в очереди на получение пенсий в Донецке, 19 ноября 2014. Фото: Михаил Почуев/ТАСС. Российские банки смогут работать в НовороссииИзвестия ДНР: Украинские военные за среду девять раз нарушили перемирие, есть жертвыВзгляд В ДНР начались подсчеты населенияДни.Ру Joinfo.ua Все похожие статьи: 286 » |
 BBC News |
Russia's cultural rift over Ukraine
BBC News Russian singers and other celebrities are increasingly being banned from the big stage for disagreeing with the Kremlin's policy in Ukraine. Artists who support Moscow's position have been using the stage - and their status - to help pump patriotic ... and more » |
France 'blocks' Russian sailors from boarding a warship
The Independent Russia has warned that France will be subject to huge compensation fees if it does not give up control of the vessel, named the Vladivostok, before the end of November. It was supposed to be handed over on 14 November, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass ... and more » |
Ten months after Russia invaded the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and seized it from Ukraine, the financial fallout is still being felt.
The ruble opened stronger against both the dollar and the euro on Thursday.
США могут предоставить Украине военную помощь
Газета.Ru Заместитель советника президента США по национальной безопасности Тони Блинкен заявил, что США могут предоставить Украине военную помощь. Об этом сообщает Reuters. На слушаниях в конгрессе он уточнил, что администрация Барака Обамы рассматривает варианты ... и другие » |
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 Российская Газета |
Полиция ДНР арестовала наводчика украинской артиллерии
Российская Газета Сотрудники полка ППС Донецкого горуправления МВД задержали члена батальона "Донбасс". При допросе выяснилось, что он был разведчиком и корректировщиком артиллерийского огня, докладывавшим украинской стороне о дислокации ополченцев, местах нахождения блок-постов, ... Полиция ДНР задержала наводчика из батальона «Донбасс»Аргументы и факты В ДНР заявили о задержании наводчика из батальона «Донбасс»Взгляд Полиция ДНР заявила о задержании наводчика из батальона "Донбасс"Mail.Ru ИТАР-ТАСС -Федеральное агентство новостей No.1 Все похожие статьи: 18 » |
Putin Tells New Envoy U.S. Must Not Interfere by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
President Vladimir Putin has told the new U.S. ambassador to Moscow that the United States should not interfere in Russia's affairs.
The British Embassy in Kiev has published a diagram of a Russian armored vehicle in a sneer on Twitter that is "to help the Kremlin spot its tanks" in eastern Ukraine.
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Правозащитники из Крымской полевой миссии пытаются выяснить обстоятельства облавы на симферопольском...
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From: Радио Свобода
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 TIME |
Russia's Lackluster Economy Means Putin Simply Can't Afford a New Cold War
TIME Vladimir Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to toast with ambassadors in the Alexander Hall after a ceremony of presentation of credentials by foreign ambassadors in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. A wounded economyThe Economist Russia says US arms supplies to Ukraine would destabilize situationYahoo News Russia's relations with Hungary warm as ties with West chillReuters |
The New York Review of Books (blog)
-Aljazeera.com- The Guardian
all 2,908 news articles »
Report: Western Firms Help Central Asian States Spy On Citizens by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
A report by a privacy watchdog group says U.S. and Israeli companies have supplied Central Asian states with sophisticated surveillance technology that gives them extensive power to monitor the communications of government opponents and other citizens.
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 Российская Газета |
Киев расписался в неспособности построить "Стену" на границе с Россией
Российская Газета Очередной мегапроект Петра Порошенко терпит фиаско. На этот раз Киев признал, что на "Стену", которой Украина хочет отгородиться от России, денег нет, а уже построенные участки дырявые и малоэффективные. То есть правительство Украины просто закопало в землю ... СМИ: Киеву не хватает денег на строительство "Стены"РИА Новости Киеву не хватает денег на строительство «Стены»Комсомольская правда Украинская "стена" на границе с Россией будет "весьма примитивной конструкции" из-за нехватки денегМосковский комсомолец ТВ Центр - Официальный сайт телеканала -Российский Диалог Все похожие статьи: 52 » |
 Взгляд |
В ДНР регламентировали работу судов с правом смертных приговоров
Lenta.ru В самопровозглашенной Донецкой республике установили порядок работы военно-полевых судов, имеющих право выносить смертные приговоры. Об этом сообщает пресс-центр ДНР. Такие структуры, по данным источника, создаются в зонах военных действий и районах, ... Сепаратисты Донбасса вводят военно-полевые судыBBC Russian Минобороны ДНР ввело в районах боевых действий военно-полевые судыВзгляд Ополченцы Донбасса вводят военно-полевой судУтро.Ru Газета.Ru -Ура-Информ -Комитет избирателей Донбасса Все похожие статьи: 63 » |
Two Dead, Belarus Ambassador Hurt In Russia Car Crashby noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL's Belarus Service)
Two women were killed when the Belarusian ambassador to Russia's car collided with their vehicle in western Russia on November 19.
IRNA: Iran to Hold Market Share Talks With Saudi at OPECby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Iran's oil minister said he will talk with top oil exporter Saudi Arabia about market share when OPEC meets next week in Vienna, as Tehran plans for the possible end of sanctions and unfettered crude exports. Zanganeh said Iran's oil exports would increase by two fold within two months of lifting the sanctions, although analysts say it may take longer. Iran exports around 1.3 barrels of oil per day. “The countries in the south of the Persian Gulf are interested in keeping their market share and a decrease in market share will be difficult,” Iran Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was cited as saying by the official news agency IRNA on Thursday. “Under no circumstance, will we reduce our global market share, even by one barrel.” The Vienna OPEC meeting on Nov. 27 is shaping up to be one of the most important in years. Some in the producing group have called to cut supplies to support oil prices, which have fallen by over 25 percent since July. Iran is in talks with six major powers on curbing its nuclear program in exchange for an end to Western sanctions. But a comprehensive deal by a Nov. 24 deadline appears unlikely, a U.S. official has said. In the past two weeks, Zanganeh has visited Gulf Arab states Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in a bid to win support for action to stabilize oil markets. He also held talks in Tehran with Venezuela. Both OPEC members need a higher oil price to balance their budget than Gulf Arab oil producers. On Sunday, Zanganeh accused some countries of making up excuses to justify their refusal to stabilize prices by cutting output, a possible reference to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has reaffirmed the kingdom's longstanding policy of seeking stable global markets and dismissed talk of a “price war.” Mohammad Al Sabban, a former senior advisor to Naimi, said he expects OPEC will keep its output ceiling of 30 million bpd unchanged. “Saudi Arabia has re-instated repeatedly, that OPEC, as a whole should swing and not only them. The Saudis are ready to do their part in defending the market,” he told Reuters. “Therefore, given the short time to coordinate not only within OPEC but also with non-OPEC, a rollover is going to be the best compromise.”
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It’s no wonder that the Norwegians above the Arctic Circle are nervous about the prospect of a new Cold War.
Residents of Western New York Brace for More Snowby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Forecasters say up to one more meter of snow is expected to fall Thursday in Buffalo, New York, two days after the city was literally buried by a massive winter storm. The new snow will add to the 1.5 meters of snow that left residents trapped in their homes and motorists stranded in their vehicles along a long stretch of the New York State Thruway. Forecasters say the eventual snowfall totals will be as much as the city usually gets during an entire winter. Seven people have now been confirmed dead in connection with the storm, including a man found dead in his car buried under the snow. Four other people died of heart-related causes. Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency in 10 counties in the western New York region. Cuomo told reporters Wednesday this could be a record-breaking snowfall "when all is said and done." Meteorologists blame the blizzard on a phenomenon known as "lake effect snow," which occurs when warm moist air rising from Lake Erie collides with cold winds blowing across the water. Such storms can also be unpredictable -- while some parts of Buffalo are completely buried in snow, areas just a few kilometers away have only five centimeters.
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Police in Ferguson Briefly Clash with Protestersby webdesk@voanews.com (Ayesha Tanzeem)
Police in Ferguson, Missouri clashed briefly with protesters outside their headquarters Wednesday night. At least four protesters were arrested. The incident comes as the St. Louis suburb remains tense ahead of a grand jury decision about whether a white police officer will be charged in the fatal shooting of a black teenager. Somewhere between 50 and 80 people had gathered outside the Ferguson police department Wednesday night to demand that Darren Wilson, a white police officer, be indicted for shooting and killing Michael Brown last August. Decision in a few days A grand jury decision on the matter is expected in a few days. Even though protesters in relatively smaller numbers, sometimes as few as only one or two, have been demonstrating outside the police headquarters nonstop since the shooting, the situation has not escalated this far for over a month. Police in riot gear moved in quickly Wednesday night, grabbed a couple of protesters, and moved back without breaking their formation - a move that was repeated several times. Protesters had briefly blocked traffic and police had warned them with a bullhorn to clear the street before moving to arrest them. The Ferguson police department refused to comment. Rasheen Aldridge Jr., director of Young Activists United and the youngest member of the newly appointed Ferguson Commission, called the police tactics "unnecessary" and said the riot gear worn by police "doesn't make sense." The situation in the area is tense. Many local shops have boarded up their fronts. Schools have announced plans for early closures or shutdown when the grand jury decision is announced. Authorities fear violence Some nearby municipalities have asked residents to stock up and plan as if a storm or natural disaster were coming. Authorities fear that if Wilson is not indicted, the protests could turn violent. The governor of Missouri has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to plan for any contingency. Protesters insist authorities are creating mass hysteria when they should be calling for calm. "If you look, you see peaceful protesters. What is the reason for the state of emergency? But if you look over here, police are in SWAT gear, I mean in riot gear, for no reason,” Aldridge said. The protesters do admit, however, that "outside agitators" may try to turn peaceful protests violent. Protests in the aftermath of Brown's death turned violent.
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Window on Eurasia: West has Means Short of War to Stop Putin in Ukraine, Eidman Says by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, November 20 – Sectoral sanctions are not enough to stop Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, and no one in the West wants to fight a war against Russia. But because of the nature of the Russian elite, including Putin, the West has a means of stopping Putin in his tracks, a means it has not yet deployed, according to Igor Eidman.
The Russian analyst, who now lives in Germany, says that “the entire Russian political elite consists of criminals in terms not only of Russian law but even more that of Western countries.” Thus, he says, “the West could declare them criminals and seize [their] holdings” and those of their families and advertise the names.”
“For representatives of the Russian elite, this would be a real catastrophe,” Eidman continues, something that they would see as permanently damaging; and they would unite against Putin and his policies in Ukraine, forcing him to change course or if necessary carryikng him out of the Kremlin “feet first” (gordonua.com/publications/52013.html).
Taking this step, however, will not be easy for many in the West although for everyone it should be preferable, the analyst says. Seizing Russian holdings abroad, he points out, will lead to a decline in property values in places like London, and it would violate “the piety” Western countries show to “stolen private property if the thieves are aliens.”
But any who oppose this idea need to recognize that “if a war begins, then all this will be seized. Why wait for war if it is possible to take this step already now? Peace after all is more important,” Eidman argues.
And the world needs to recognize that Putin will continue his aggression until he comes up against forces he can’t overcome. His “new national idea” is nothing but “the very old idea of ordinary fascism.” His Russia “is still not Nazi Germany,” but it is very much like “early fascist Italy” or Spain under Franco, a regime based on nationalist ideology, aggression and xenophobia.
Given the West’s reluctance to stand up to him in the past, Putin has grown “ever more self-confident and now he has decided that his time has come.” He is thus prepared to confront the West with real violence, given that the West has “a pathological fear of cataclysms” and does not want anything to interfere with its peaceful life.
Indeed, if “God forbid,” Putin “seizes Kyiv, the West would react with nothing more than a new round of sanctions,” fearful that otherwise it would have to go to war. But as Eidman points out, there are other means to bring pressure on Putin. And some, such as the isolation of him at the G-20 meeting, have already been employed.
But the West cannot wait to see what Putin will do next, Eidman says. Putin today “feels himself a superman for whom everything is permitted. He does not respect his Western partners because he considers them weaklings to the extent that they follow the rules,” something he as a Chekist does not consider necessary.
Eidman cites the words of Lenin about Stalin: “he has concentrated in his hands unlimited power.’ That is what Putin has done. None of his entourage is able to propose anything … [And] Putinis proud that what is happening is his personal initiative.” What he may do next is “impossible to predict” given that he is someone “with nuclear weapons in his hands.”
In thinking about him, however, “one must keep in mind that the foreign policy of Russia is based on those same criminal methods as its domestic policy: lies, force, intimidation and provocation. Putin is a criminalized Chekist who has fully accepted the traditions of the criminal world.” And he and his entourage act like criminals when they deal with anyone else.
But because they only care about their own personal well-being and because so many of them have put the results of their theft abroad, the West has a very real chance to influence some of them by declaring them criminals and seizing their property and thus making it clear that if they stay with the chief criminal, they will lose everything.
In the course of his interview, Eidman makes a number of other observations. Two are particularly important. On the one hand, he points out, the situation in southeastern Ukraine is very different from that in Georgia because in the former case, Moscow manufactured the conflicts on its own rather than exploiting conflicts that had long existed.
And on the other, he argues that the pro-Moscow militants in the Donbas are effectively “Russian jihadists,” that Putin is prepared to use them and then dispose of them, and that they are not very popular among Russians as a whole, although they do have a constituency in Moscow among former Chekists and others “raised on anti-Western demagogy.”
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 Forbes Ukraine |
Петр Порошенко: Киев сделает все возможное для соблюдения минских соглашений
Коммерсантъ Президент Украины Петр Порошенко заявил, что Украина сделает все для соблюдения минских соглашений по урегулированию конфликта в Донбассе. «Киев сделает все возможное, чтобы минские соглашения по урегулированию конфликта на юго-востоке Украины соблюдались ... Порошенко: Киев сделает все для соблюдения минских соглашений на юго-востоке УкраиныИТАР-ТАСС Порошенко: Война в Донбассе не мешает Украине продвигаться по европейскому путиКомсомольская правда Порошенко: Киев сделает все возможное для соблюдения Минских соглашений по УкраинеМосковский комсомолец Взгляд -УКРАИНСКАЯ ПРАВДА Все похожие статьи: 35 » |
Radio station Ekho Moskvy has scored a victory in its struggle to preserve editorial independence after its state-run corporate owner has revoked an order to fire one of the station's journalists.
Prospects for peace in eastern Ukraine are "bleak," a senior official from the OSCE security watchdog said Thursday.
Window on Eurasia: Urals Club Extremely Influential in Moscow Circles by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, November 20 – Given the low level of formal institutionalization of Russian social and political life, those who seek to understand it regularly discuss it in terms of bands or clans, typically analytic constructs in which the individuals involved are linked together by personal ties based on economic interests, past service in particular organizations and the like.
But there is a category of organizations between such analytic abstractions and formal political organizations that is a significant part of Russian life and deserves more attention than it normally does. This involves so-called “zemlyachestvas” or organizations made up of people from a particular region.
The national-cultural organizations of non-Russians in places outside of their traditional homelands are well-known if only in a few cases extremely influential. (The Kazan Tatar group in Moscow is a notable exception.) But those consisting of people from predominantly ethnic Russian regions are less often the subject of study, even though they are more significant.
One of the most important of these groups is the Urals Zemlyachestvo Society of Moscow, a group that includes some of the most important movers and shakers in the Russian capital and that is now receiving more attention than usual because it is in the process of electing a new leader (znak.com/svrdl/articles/19-11-19-35/103235.html).
(The new head is likely to be Vladimir Strashko, the vice president of the Trade-Industrial Chamber, who earlier worked as deputy interior minister of the USSR.)
The Urals Zemlyachestvo was formed in 1992 by former party and government officials from Svedlovsk oblast by the former permanent representative of that region to Moscow, Vladimir Melentyev, who headed it for many years and whose death earlier this year has made the election of a successor necessary.
The club has approximately 1500 dues-paying members and about 200 who regularly take part in its meetings, which include monthly sessions and an annual general assembly. According to its members, “the Moscow Sverdlovians actively help one another and use the organization as a communications hub for contacts” political, economic and personal.
Dues are 1000 rubles (22 US dollars) a year for those who are working, and 100 rubles (2.2 US dollars) for retirees. According to its officers, the club’s members represent the top of the estimated 300,000 Sverdlovsk oblast residents in the Russian capital and are active in helping not only each other but their “compatriots” more generally.
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The Islamic State (IS) group's media wing, Al-Hayat, has released a new video calling on French Muslims to join Islamic State and go to Syria to fight, or if that's not possible to carry out terrorist attacks in France.
 Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ |
Президент Литвы назвала Россию террористической страной
Газета.Ru В интервью литовской радиостанции LRT президент Литвы Даля Грибаускайте заявила, что если не остановить Россию на Украине, то агрессия может распространиться по всей Европе, назвав при этом Россию террористическим государством. «Сегодня Украина борется за мир во ... Президент Литвы обвинила Россию в терроризмеПравда.Ру Президент Литвы назвала Россию террористическим государствомMail.Ru Президент Литвы Грибаускайте назвала РФ террористическим государствомУНИАН Открытая Страна -Накануне.RU Все похожие статьи: 47 » |
Staunton, November 20 – Sectoral sanctions are not enough to stop Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, and no one in the West wants to fight a war against Russia. But because of the nature of the Russian elite, including Putin, the West has a means of stopping Putin in his tracks, a means it has not yet deployed, according to Igor Eidman.
The Russian analyst, who now lives in Germany, says that “the entire Russian political elite consists of criminals in terms not only of Russian law but even more that of Western countries.” Thus, he says, “the West could declare them criminals and seize [their] holdings” and those of their families and advertise the names.”
“For representatives of the Russian elite, this would be a real catastrophe,” Eidman continues, something that they would see as permanently damaging; and they would unite against Putin and his policies in Ukraine, forcing him to change course or if necessary carrying him out of the Kremlin “feet first.”
Taking this step, however, will not be easy for many in the West although for everyone it should be preferable, the analyst says. Seizing Russian holdings abroad, he points out, will lead to a decline in property values in places like London, and it would violate “the piety” Western countries show to “stolen private property if the thieves are aliens.”
But any who oppose this idea need to recognize that “if a war begins, then all this will be seized. Why wait for war if it is possible to take this step already now? Peace after all is more important,” Eidman argues.
And the world needs to recognize that Putin will continue his aggression until he comes up against forces he can’t overcome. His “new national idea” is nothing but “the very old idea of ordinary fascism.” His Russia “is still not Nazi Germany,” but it is very much like “early fascist Italy” or Spain under Franco, a regime based on nationalist ideology, aggression and xenophobia.
Given the West’s reluctance to stand up to him in the past, Putin has grown “ever more self-confident and now he has decided that his time has come.” He is thus prepared to confront the West with real violence, given that the West has “a pathological fear of cataclysms” and does not want anything to interfere with its peaceful life.
Indeed, if “God forbid,” Putin “seizes Kyiv, the West would react with nothing more than a new round of sanctions,” fearful that otherwise it would have to go to war. But as Eidman points out, there are other means to bring pressure on Putin. And some, such as the isolation of him at the G-20 meeting, have already been employed.
But the West cannot wait to see what Putin will do next, Eidman says. Putin today “feels himself a superman for whom everything is permitted. He does not respect his Western partners because he considers them weaklings to the extent that they follow the rules,” something he as a Chekist does not consider necessary.
Eidman cites the words of Lenin about Stalin: “he has concentrated in his hands unlimited power.’ That is what Putin has done. None of his entourage is able to propose anything … [And] Putin is proud that what is happening is his personal initiative.” What he may do next is “impossible to predict” given that he is someone “with nuclear weapons in his hands.”
In thinking about him, however, “one must keep in mind that the foreign policy of Russia is based on those same criminal methods as its domestic policy: lies, force, intimidation and provocation. Putin is a criminalized Chekist who has fully accepted the traditions of the criminal world.” And he and his entourage act like criminals when they deal with anyone else.
But because they only care about their own personal well-being and because so many of them have put the results of their theft abroad, the West has a very real chance to influence some of them by declaring them criminals and seizing their property and thus making it clear that if they stay with the chief criminal, they will lose everything.
In the course of his interview, Eidman makes a number of other observations. Two are particularly important. On the one hand, he points out, the situation in southeastern Ukraine is very different from that in Georgia because in the former case, Moscow manufactured the conflicts on its own rather than exploiting conflicts that had long existed.
And on the other, he argues that the pro-Moscow militants in the Donbass are effectively “Russian jihadists,” that Putin is prepared to use them and then dispose of them, and that they are not very popular among Russians as a whole, although they do have a constituency in Moscow among former Chekists and others “raised on anti-Western demagogy.”
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Russia can do little to shore up slumping oil prices as its wells will freeze if they stop pumping oil, and the country has no capacity to store the output it would otherwise export, analysts say.
Video Shows French ISIS Fighters Calling for Attacks in Franceby By DAN BILEFSKY and MAÏA de la BAUME
The seven-minute clip, released by Al Hayat Media Center, an Islamic State affiliate, appears to be part of an intensifying effort to recruit young Europeans.
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Russia: Flagship McDonald's reopens despite protests
BBC News Russia's oldest McDonald's has reopened after a three-month closure which was ordered by the authorities. The shutdown was ostensibly for health violations, but it has been seen by some as retaliation for Western sanctions against Russia, The Moscow ... Russia's first ever McDonald's reopens on Moscow's Pushkin SquareITAR-TASS all 54 news articles » |
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Why Does Turkey's President Think Muslims Discovered America? by noreply@rferl.org (Coilin O'Connor)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is no stranger to controversy but even many seasoned Turkey watchers were taken aback when he boldly claimed that "Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus."
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