Orange light on an oligarch
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posted by zaina19 on July, 2007 as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/19/2007 12:46 AM 19 July 2007 Orange light on an oligarch Anne Penketh The death of a former KGB officer in London is part of a titanic struggle at work in Russia Death of a Dissident By Alex Goldfarb & Marina Litvinenko Simon & Schuster, 15.99, 384pp WHAT is the connection between a Russian tycoon, a Chechen rebel and a former KGB officer poisoned in London? Alex Goldfarb is well placed to know, as a friend and employee of Boris Berezovsky, who went on trial in his absence in Moscow this week. Berezovsky is the billionaire at the centre of the London exiles' group united in their hatred of Vladimir Putin and their opposition to his ruthless submission of the republic of Chechnya. Goldfarb's book, written with the widow of the murdered former agent, Alexander Litvinenko, sheds light on the poisoning by untangling the web that brought them all together. Marina Litvinenko has only a walk-on part. The real value of Death of a Dissident is ... >> full
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Britain Should Go Public With The Evidence in the Litvinenko Poisoning
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/20/2007 12:47 AM A Radioactive Case Britain Should Go Public With The Evidence in the Litvinenko Poisoning By David R. Cameron Friday, July 20, 2007; A19 It wasn't surprising that Moscow rejected the British government's request to extradite Andrei Lugovoy, the Russian businessman and former KGB officer charged with murdering Alexander Litvinenko in London in November. After all, Article 61 of the Russian constitution prohibits the extradition of any citizen, and the Russian government said months ago that it wouldn't extradite Lugovoy or anyone else accused in the case. But British actions to date do not match the seriousness of this matter. With good reason, the British government rejected Russia's suggestion that it turn over its evidence to Russian prosecutors. Instead, Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced Monday the expulsion of four Russian diplomats and restrictions on visas to Russian officials. Russia reciprocated yesterday, expelling four British diplomats and announcing it would stop issuing visas to British officials or seeking British visas for Russian diplomats. In a ... >> full
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The Big Question: What lies behind the crisis in relations between London and Moscow?
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/20/2007 1:19 AM The Big Question: What lies behind the crisis in relations between London and Moscow? By Mary Dejevsky Published: 20 July 2007 Why are we asking this now? The Russians yesterday announced the expulsion of four British diplomats from Moscow, suspended negotiations on simplifying visa arrangements and halted bilateral co-operation on combating terrorism. The measures were a classic tit-for-tat response to the announcement by the British foreign secretary on Monday that four Russian diplomats were to be expelled and co-operation in other areas halted. How bad are relations? On the British side, probably the worst they have been since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. On the Russian side, relations reached rock-bottom in 2003, when Britain granted political asylum to Boris Berezovsky, the Russian oligarch who fled to London after falling out with President Putin. They have fluctuated from mediocre to bad ever since. Still, the current chill has to be seen in perspective. Business between Britain and Russia is thriving, and ... >> full
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Blair 'was deluded about relations with Moscow'
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/20/2007 1:27 AM Blair 'was deluded about relations with Moscow' By Colin Brown Published: 20 July 2007 Tony Blair has been criticised for being deluded over his close relationship with Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, by a former senior British diplomat, Sir Christopher Meyer. Sir Christopher, a diplomat in the Moscow embassy before being made British ambassador to the United States, said the former prime minister had failed to secure British interests in his dealings Russia. "Blair had a delusion - which was ridiculous - about what he could achieve, so did Bush for that matter," said Sir Christopher. "Blair was early to spot that Putin was the rising man, and he took some risks. He had a meeting with him before he became President of Russia. But in having done that, having created the relationship, the question is what do you do with it? What do you do to serve Britain's interests? There I think T Blair was stumped and never asked for anything ... >> full
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The fate that befalls critics who dare to stand up to Putin
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
rom: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/20/2007 1:32 AM The fate that befalls critics who dare to stand up to Putin By Anne Penketh Published: 20 July 2007 A mayor from a far-flung city in northern Russia has become the latest politician to find out the hard way what it means to run for the Russian presidency in an unscripted bid to replace Vladimir Putin. Alexander Donskoi, the mayor of Arkhangelsk, was arrested and dragged from his home in his underwear by masked men who broke down the door of his apartment. He was carried out, dressed only in a white sweatshirt and his underpants, with local media on hand to record his humiliation. He appeared in court yesterday, held inside a cage, to face corruption charges. The local prosecutor said Mr Donskoi, 37, was being charged with using four million roubles (£77,000) from city coffers to pay for bodyguards to protect his family. He faces up to seven years in jail if prosecutors press charges of abuse of office. Mr Donskoi, ... >> full
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