Moscow Times: Bringing Ice Cubes To The North Pole
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posted by eagle on February, 2009 as ANALYSIS / OPINION
Bringing Ice Cubes to the North Pole
Monday, February 23, 2009
Updated at 19 February 2009 23:32 Moscow Time.
By Yulia Latynina
Two weeks ago, the Ingush branch of the Federal Security Service reported that three suicide bombers had entered the republic with the intention of committing a "large-scale terrorist attack." Any report by the FSB should be taken with a grain of salt. But in this case, the republic's new president, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, who was nominated by Dmitry Medvedev in October to replace President Murad Zyazikov, took the unprecedented step of ordering that the rebels' photos and names be made public.
When Ingushetia is already swarming with armed militants, why would anyone bring suicide bombers in from ...
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Window On Eurasia: Global Warming Hitting Russia Harder Than Any Other Country, Experts Warn
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posted by eagle on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
Paul Goble
Vienna, February 19 – The Russian Federation will be more profoundly and negatively affected by global warming over the next 40 years than will any other country, a projection that Russian experts and officials say make it critical that Moscow take the lead both domestically and internationally to combat this trend.
A major reason for their overall conclusion is Russia’s geographical location. More than a third of that country is in the far north, where the melting of the permafrost below much of the surface will turn that region into an enormous bog and make difficult or extremely expensive for Moscow to exploit the oil and gas reserves there.
In some parts of this enormous region, that is already happening, with some roads there now completely impassable, pipelines and power lines regularly disrupted, and ability of companies to work there seriously compromised and of the government ... >> full
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Window On Eurasia: Economic Crisis Makes Russia’s Regions Increasingly Restive
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posted by eagle on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
Paul Goble
Vienna, February 19 – Yesterday’s decision by the Sakha legislature not to drop provisions in that Far Eastern republic’s constitution affirming its sovereignty is only the latest of a string of actions which highlight the growing restiveness of republic leaders and their increasing willingness to stake out positions at odds with those of Moscow.
Among the others this week are suggestions that some regions and republics will pull out of various national programs because the central Russian government is not providing the funds it had promised for their implementation and a call by Kaliningrad’s influential governor for Moscow to give the federal subjects greater authority so they can combat the economic crisis.
The product of the current economic crisis and the sense in some regions that Moscow is divided, this renewed restiveness is leading some commentators to ask how the Russian Federation should be organized if it is to ... >> full
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Window On Eurasia: Is Moscow Trying To Create A Single ‘Power Vertical’ In Russian Islam?
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posted by eagle on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
Paul Goble
Vienna, February 19 – The Russian justice ministry has found the Union of Muftis of Russia (SMR) in violation of both of a series of Russian laws governing public and religious organizations and the union’s own statutes and given it three months to correct the situation or potentially face the risk of being closed down by court order.
And while both the ministry and SMR spokesmen are treating this as the result of the kind of regular checking Russian legislation requires and the latter are saying there is “no reason for panic,” this action, its timing and the publicity it has been given by Russian news agencies suggest that far more is involved.
Indeed, it is entirely possible that the government, possibly at the urging of other Muslim leaders or the Moscow Patriarchate, may be seeking to create a situation in which Muslim organizations in ... >> full
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JRL: Lukin Remains Russian Rights Ombudsman For Another 5 Years
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posted by eagle on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
Lukin remains Russian rights ombudsman for another 5 years
MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti) - The lower house of parliament voted on Wednesday to retain Vladimir Lukin as Russia's official human rights ombudsman for another five years.
Lukin, 71, was proposed for another term by President Dmitry Medvedev in January.
A Russian liberal political activist, Lukin was a founder of the democratic party Yabloko, served as a State Duma vice speaker and was Russian ambassador to the United States.
Top rights ombudsmen examine complaints on individuals' freedom and rights abuses, take measures to rectify the violations, offer recommendations on the compliance of national legislation with international law, as well as prepare annual reports on his department's activities for the president, parliament, government, the prosecutor general and top courts.
The office was established in Russia in 1997.
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