Thaw in Russian-Polish relations
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posted by zaina19 on December, 2007 as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/7/2007 11:08 PM Friday, 7 December 2007 Thaw in Russian-Polish relations Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski Mr Sikorski spoke of a 'friendly ambiance' Russia and Poland have opened a "new chapter" in relations, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has said after meeting his Russian counterpart. The two ministers agreed to a series of talks on issues that have divided the countries in recent years. Rows over Polish support for US plans for a missile defence shield and a Russian ban on Polish food imports had ratcheted tensions up. The two men met at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels. "I think we are on the right track," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "We agreed to unblock our dialogue on various levels," Mr Sikorski told reporters. 'Businesslike' Russian has invited the new Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, to visit Moscow early next year, as part of a range of closer bilateral contacts. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Mr Lavrov said relations were on the right track A Russian deputy foreign minister will ... >> full
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Fear and hilarity on campaign trail
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/8/2007 1:15 AM Letter from Moscow Fear and hilarity on campaign trail By Christopher Marcisz Article Last Updated: 12/07/2007 12:11:52 PM EST Saturday, December 08 MOSCOW Up close, it looked like what I'd recognize as an election when Russians went to the polls last weekend. Our neighborhood polling station was at the high school, there were many volunteers, some portable voting booths, a pair of sealed boxes in the middle of the room. This being Russia, it was 16 degrees outside, there were cops everywhere, and the ballot for the day, used from St. Petersburg to Vladivostock, featured just one question with 11 options. This is how parliamentary "sovereign democracy" works. To no one's surprise, option 10, United Russia, with the sole name of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin on its ballot line, was chosen by about 64.1 percent of the 63 percent of voters that turned out. If there is any sure cure to cynicism with the American political process, it is watching an election cycle in Russia up ... >> full
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/8/2007 7:10 AM Ayatollah Putin Publication time: 7 December 2007, 18:00 The meaning of Sunday's Russian parliamentary elections is not to be found in the results. There was never any doubt that Vladimir Putin's party would take an overwhelming majority. United Russia, with the president at the top of its list, enjoyed every imaginable advantage, legal and illegal. Opposition groups, including my own Other Russia coalition, were denied access to the ballot by meticulous new election laws designed for that purpose. The alternatives for voters were mostly Putin supporters or parties that had made deals not to oppose Putin if they were allowed to stay in parliament or on the ballot. In the first category, count Fair Russia, whose first move after the election was to propose an extension of Putin's presidency. In the second category are the Communists, who received (or "were allowed") 11.6 percent of the vote (actually around 20 percent, according to an independent count), for 57 of 450 Duma seats. ... >> full
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/9/2007 6:00 AM Return of the Repressed By Eric Walberg Dec 8, 2007, 12:50 Recent elections were either a triumph of the will or a confirmation that Russia has found itself. If Time magazine had a "country of the year", it would surely be Russia, despite its colourful competition, Iran and Venezuela. All three have dominated headlines, tripping up the United States in its 21st century drive for world hegemony. Venezuela held a referendum 2 December which failed by a whisker, while Russia held parliamentary elections the same day confirming its transformation from a weak kleptocracy, servile to US wishes, into a vigorous and confident opponent of the US. The triumph of President Vladimir Putin's United Russia -- winning over 60 per cent to the Communists' 12, the Liberal Democratic Party's nine and Just Russia's eight per cent -- paves the way for the consolidation of what has been described by Ivan Krastev as "sovereign democracy", a combination of directed democracy and ... >> full
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Election condemned from within and without PDF
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posted by zaina19 on as ANALYSIS / OPINION
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 12/10/2007 4:12 AM Election condemned from within and without PDF Written by Sean Sampson Monday, 10 December 2007 Many ways for Putin to keep power To no one’s surprise at all President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party scored an overwhelming victory in the Duma elections on 2 December. Whilst the fact of victory was not in doubt, exactly what role Putin will fulfil when his term as President ends early next year remains unclear. United Russia scored 64.1% of the vote, giving it a large enough majority in the Duma for it to rewrite the Constitution by itself. Just three other parties cleared the seven per cent threshold for seats in the Duma. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation was the next largest party with 11.6% of the vote. The other two parties which won seats were the Liberal Democratic Party (8.8%) and A Just Russia (8.4%), both of which are pro-Kremlin. Unfairness condemned Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in ... >> full
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