The Other Russia: Putin’s Failing Social Contract
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posted by eagle on February, 2009 as ANALYSIS / OPINION
February 17th, 2009
The worldwide economic crisis is having a tremendous effect on the Russian economy and the Russian people. As the downturn develops, the weakness of the state built by Vladimir Putin has begun to emerge. In the latest issue of Foreign Policy magazine, Arkady Ostrovsky explores the fragile social contract Putin built with the Russian public. The dangerous nationalism nurtured under Putin, coupled with troubling social policies, has created an instability that threatens to spiral out of control. With a state becoming unable to meet its obligations to its citizens, the situation, both for Russia and the world, may turn ugly.
From Foreign Policy:
Russia’s ambitions were backed by rising oil prices and swelling coffers. Money kept flowing in no matter what the Kremlin said or did. Local businesses and international corporations were scared into total ... >> full
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IHT: Lawyer Says Russia Not Trying Real Politkovskaya killers
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posted by eagle on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
Lawyer says Russia not trying real Politkovskaya killers
Reuters
Monday, February 16, 2009
By Shamil Baigin
Three men on trial for helping murder Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya were just pawns and the real killers are at large, a lawyer for Politkovskaya's family told the trial on Monday.
The murder of Politkovskaya, an investigative reporter who reported on human rights abuses, provoked an outcry in the West and raised concerns about the dangers to reporters and rights campaigners in Russia.
Two Chechen brothers, Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov, are charged with helping guide the killer to Politkovskaya and former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov is accused of providing technical help. All three say they are innocent.
Rustam Makhmudov, suspected of shooting Politkovskaya outsider her apartment in 2006, is on the run. Prosecutors have never identified who ordered the killing.
"The whole thing has been organised at a high level, not at the level of the defendants," lawyer Karina Moskalenko told the ... >> full
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posted by JFNC Message Boards - ANALYSIS / OPINION. on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
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JRL: In The Heart Of New York, Russia's 'Soft Power' Arm Gaining Momentum
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posted by eagle on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
RFE/RL February 15, 2009 In The Heart Of New York, Russia's 'Soft Power' Arm Gaining Momentum
By Nikola Krastev Copyright (c) 2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. http://www.rferl.org/content/In_The_Heart_Of_New_York_
Russias_Soft_Power_Arm_Gaining_Momentum/1493429.html
NEW YORK -- Tucked into a piece of prime real estate in midtown Manhattan, the Institute for Democracy and Cooperation currently boasts just four employees -- two Russian analysts, a secretary, and Andranik Migranyan, the Armenian-born political scientist who serves as director of the institute's New York branch.
It appears to be a bare-bones operation. Much of the furniture and office equipment are secondhand, left behind by the previous tenants. Migranyan, who occupies a sleek corner office with a sweeping view of the city, is dressed casually in a brown leather jacket and sweater. During the course of a two-hour interview, the premises remain preternaturally silent, with no evident signs of activity or bustle.
But Migranyan, a former adviser to Boris ... >> full
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JRL: In The Heart Of New York, Russia's 'Soft Power' Arm Gaining Momentum
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posted by eagle on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
RFE/RL February 15, 2009 In The Heart Of New York, Russia's 'Soft Power' Arm Gaining Momentum
By Nikola Krastev Copyright (c) 2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. http://www.rferl.org/content/In_The_Heart_Of_New_York_
Russias_Soft_Power_Arm_Gaining_Momentum/1493429.html
NEW YORK -- Tucked into a piece of prime real estate in midtown Manhattan, the Institute for Democracy and Cooperation currently boasts just four employees -- two Russian analysts, a secretary, and Andranik Migranyan, the Armenian-born political scientist who serves as director of the institute's New York branch.
It appears to be a bare-bones operation. Much of the furniture and office equipment are secondhand, left behind by the previous tenants. Migranyan, who occupies a sleek corner office with a sweeping view of the city, is dressed casually in a brown leather jacket and sweater. During the course of a two-hour interview, the premises remain preternaturally silent, with no evident signs of activity or bustle.
But Migranyan, a former adviser to Boris ... >> full
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