CNN Money: How The KGB (And Friends) Took Over Russia's Economy
|
posted by eagle on September, 2008 as Imperialism
How the KGB (and friends) took over Russia's economy
Vladimir Putin put his pals in charge to bring order out of chaos. But will their heavy hand be the ruin of Russia's boom?
By Bill Powell, senior writer Last Updated: September 10, 2008: 8:42 AM EDT
(Fortune Magazine) -- Long before the small group of men gained control of a $1.3 trillion economy, they could be found gathered at a lakeshore deep in the forest, trying to relax amid the upheaval of the new Russia. Lake Komsomolskoye, named after the youth wing of the Communist Party, lies about 60 miles north of St. Petersburg, just one of 700 lakes on the isthmus connecting Russia and Finland. There the group, many of whom helped run Russia's second-largest city, would retreat for weekends among the tall, lakeside cedars in a private compound of dachas, or country houses. Vladimir Putin, then head of ... >> full
comments (0)
Nick Walsh-Chechnya dispatch/Guardian: Whose Side Are You On?
|
posted by FerrasB on as Imperialism
Whose side are you on? Militant rebels are growing in strength as the brutality of Chechnya's pro-Moscow government angers and divides the people, writes Nick Paton Walsh Friday September 16, 2005 Just after 1pm on June 4, masked troops surrounded the Chechen village of Borozdinovskaya, rounded up the men, and herded them into the school. They pulled their shirts over their heads, and forced them to lie down in the sports hall. Ali Magomed, 78, said: "They hit me on the head with an AK-47, and made me lie on the floor. They made us lie with our hands on our heads for nine hours. There were 300 of them, all speaking Chechen." One of the masked men then walked around the gym, lifting each man's head so he could see their faces. Nine months after the Beslan school siege, pro-Russian Chechen soldiers staged a raid on this tiny village on the border with Dagestan, ... >> full
comments (0)
Agency Caucasus: Belarus 'Likely' To Recognize...
|
posted by FerrasB on as Imperialism
Byelorussian President Aleksandr Lukashenko Minsk/Agency Caucasus - Belarus might recognize the independence of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the near future, Byelorussian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said. "The time will come for us to discuss, just as Russia did, whether we should recognize South Ossetia or not. We have the parliamentary elections ahead of us. After new members of the parliament are sworn in, they will ask us for our opinion as to what to do about South Ossetia and Abkhazia. And we will not remain silent, of course," said Lukashenko. "The question of whether or not to recognize the independence of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia is not a matter of whether only Russia wants to recognize them or not," Lukashenko said and added that he has maintained warm relations with President Sergei Bagapsh of Abkhazia for a long time. While the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, was formed, Belarus ... >> full
comments (0)
BBC NEWS: Russia: Potential Flashpoints
|
posted by FerrasB on as Imperialism
Monday, 8 September 2008 Russia: Potential flashpoints By Steven Eke BBC Russian affairs analyst The Russia-Georgia conflict has focused attention on other potential flashpoints that have their origin in the Soviet era, which ended in the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In origin and cause, the disputes are all very different. But the recognition of Kosovo's independence by many western nations earlier this year has had - or will now have - a major impact on them. If Moscow has decided, contrary to its previous policy, that the right of national self-determination is to take precedence over maintaining the post-Cold War world's borders, Serbia and Georgia might not be the only two countries to see their borders forcibly redrawn. Often overlooked abroad, the Soviet collapse left many millions of ethnic Russians living as ethnic minorities in foreign states. By conferring upon them Russian citizenship, simply by handing out Russian passports, Moscow has in recent years ... >> full
comments (0)
Agency Caucasus: Russia Starts Diplomacy With Abkhazia And South Ossetia
|
posted by FerrasB on as Imperialism
Moscow/Agency Caucasus - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a joint meeting in Moscow on Tuesday with the foreign ministers of both South Ossetia, Murat Jioyev, and of Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba.
The three foreign ministers reached a joint agreement of friendship, cooperation and mutual aid, intended as a collaborative battle against crime and drug trafficking. The three countries will jointly act to defend their frontiers from enemy attacks. They will also help each other to make customs affairs easier.
Russian troops would be deployed in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia according to a deal signed between Russia and the two other republics, Russia's Defense Minister Anatoli Serdyukov said in a statement. The Russian administration will station some of its troops in the South Ossetian areas of Java and Tskhinval. Other Russian troops will be situated in parts of Abkhazia where Russian peacekeeping forces used to be deployed formerly.
ÖZ/
comments (0)
|
