APRIL 2013

Friday, April 12, 2013

Russia Plans Massive Expansion of Nord Stream Pipelines

Russian President Vladimir Putin with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (Source: Reuters)

On April 8 in Amsterdam, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte witnessed the signing of an agreement of intent to expand the Gazprom-controlled Nord Stream pipeline system into the Netherlands and potentially onward to the United Kingdom. The CEOs of Gazprom and of Nederlandse Gasunie, Aleksei Miller and Paul van Gelder, respectively, signed the document, following Putin and Miller’s recently announced initiative to expand Nord Stream.

This intention forms part of a vast program of building new export pipelines (Nord Stream Three and Four, "Yamal Two,” South Stream—see EDM, April 5), which in combination with existing capacities would far exceed Russia’s foreseeable gas export possibilities to Europe, or any foreseeable European demand for Russian gas. It can only begin to make some sense if Russia totally stops using Ukraine’s ...

Amid Paranoia, Moscow Increasingly Cracks Down on Human Rights Groups

(Source: RIA Novosti)

Since last March, Russian and international human rights organizations—including such prominent ones as Memorial, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Transparency International and others—have been harassed by Russian law enforcement and tax authorities, had their premises searched all over Russia, and had documents and computer disks taken. In all, some 225 human rights organizations have been searched (Interfax, April 10). Before a visit to Germany and the Netherlands this week, President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with the state-financed ARD newscaster, took up this matter head on, declaring that human rights organizations are not harassed, but "must follow the law” and "register as foreign agents.” Putin announced that a massive "network” of 654 "foreign-funded noncommercial organizations” is actively "involved in political activities in Russia, and in the last four months they received some $1 billion from abroad.” Putin accused the media, including ARD, ...

The Party of President Saakashvili Is Determined to Demonstrate Its Power

Old Georgian parliament building (Source: electionswatch.org)

On April 19, the United National Movement is set to stage a rally in the central part of Tbilisi (http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/2833_april_4_2013/2833_edit.html). City officials have issued permission to hold the rally by the former parliament building on Rustaveli Boulevard. This spot around the building, which was built by German prisoners of war in the wake of WWII in the capital of Georgia, witnessed the inception of all vital events in Georgia’s recent history. In November 1988, a rally was held in front of the stairs of the parliament building in demand of the country’s independence (http://sobchak.org/rus/books/Izlom/6.html). On the same spot, Soviet troops dispersed a peaceful demonstration with wanton cruelty on April 9, 1989, killing. 21 people, most of them women. Rustaveli Boulevard witnessed the bloodbath of the civil war of 1991–1993 (http://www.country-studies.com/georgia/the-struggle-for-control.html). Moreover, in November 2003, tens of thousands of ...

Monday, April 8, 2013