Recently in Russia Category

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is meeting today with French President, Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss European Union (EU) trade negotiations. In the past, G8 leaders only dealt with Russia at the presidential level. This seems to acknowledge that Putin remains the focus of power in Russia, not President Dmitry Medvedev.

Under Russia's Constitution, the President is responsible for setting foreign and domestic policy, while the Prime Minister is in charge of implementing presidential policies. Putin seems to have shifted the balance of power, taking the lead in setting the country's policy agenda. Putin appointees continue to dominate senior government positions, including the presidential staff. Only two of Medvedev's close allies hold senior positions - Konstantin Chuichenko is an aide and Alexander Konovalov is Justice Minister.

Putin has increased his policy-making authority by consulting with an inner circle of ministers instead of holding weekly Cabinet sessions. This group, called the presidium, includes the ministers of defense and interior and foreign affairs. Under the Constitution, these ministers are supposed to report directly to the President.

Since taking office, Medvedev's role has mostly been reiterating existing policy. It seems clear that Putin is still in control of the country. As President, Medvedev may not be acting as Putin's "puppet," but he has yet to exert any influence on Russian policy either. To be fair, Medvedev has only been in power for three weeks and is still getting acclimated to his new office. It will be interesting to see how Medvedev works with the government in the coming months. Will he begin setting policy on his own, or will he simply allow his mentor to continue with the status quo?

Today, Dmitry Medvedev officially became the President of Russia. Medvedev took the oath of office in the Kremlin’s Andreyevsky Hall and vowed to promote freedom and the rule of law. Medvedev also promised to combat corruption and enhance civil and economic liberties.

Following the inauguration, Medvedev accepted the government’s resignation and nominated Vladimir Putin for the office of Prime Minister. The nomination is expected to be approved by Parliament tomorrow.

Here is a 6 minute section of Medvedev’s acceptance speech:


As his last presidential act, Vladimir Putin also spoke at the ceremony, saying that he kept his promise to safeguard  Russia’s interests, and called for support for the new President and the continuation of his policies.

“It is extremely important that we continue the course that has been taken and has justified itself, while prioritizing the interests of citizens ... Over the past eight years we have accomplished a breakthrough that enables us today to map out tasks and plans, not for the next month, but for 20-30 years ahead. We have set ambitious goals and I am absolutely confident that we can achieve them.”

Here is a 5 minute portion of Putin’s speech:

Former Russian Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov was released from prison today, two months after being sentenced to five and a half years in jail for abuse of office and defrauding the Russian Government of $31 million in US aid money. Some of this aid money was intended for upgrades to Russian RBMK nuclear reactors, the same style as those at Chernobyl.

At the request of US prosecutors, Adamov was arrested in Switzerland in 2005. When authorities attempted to have Adamov extradited to the US, Russia filed their own extradition request, claiming that Adamov would be tortured to reveal nuclear secrets if sent to the US. After six months of deliberations, the Swiss courts sent Adamov to Moscow.

Adamov, who served as Russia's Atomic Energy Minister from 1998 - 2001, was found guilty in February and sentenced to serve his sentence in a Russian penal colony. Two of Adamov's partners, Vyacheslav Pismenny (former head of the Troitsky Institute of Innovation and Thermonuclear Research) and Revmir Frayshut (former director of Russian uranium enrichment giant Tekhsnabeksport) were also found guilty, but given four year suspended sentences due to their advanced age and poor health.

Adamov's attorney immediately filed an appeal, requesting his client receive the same circumstances as his co-defendents. After considering the motion, Moscow's Zamoskovorestky District Court, the same court involved in the original trial, granted Adamov a four-year suspended sentence with probation.

Believe it or not, Adamov defended himself by saying he kept the US government aid in several personal accounts to save it from falling victim to Russia's turbulent economy. Granted, there were a lot of shady things going on in Russia at that time (besides this scheme), but I can't believe this guy was a government minister and actually believed that excuse would allow him to be found innocent. Once again, you just can't make this stuff up!

In the eyes of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine is not an independent nation.

Apparently, during a private meeting with US President George W. Bush at the recent NATO summit in Bucharest, Putin said, “Don’t you understand, George - Ukraine is not even a nation! What is Ukraine? Part of her territory is Eastern Europe, and part, a considerable part, was given by us!”

The summit agenda included the consideration of Ukraine and Georgia's applications to be included in the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP), the initial stage required to joining the alliance. The applications were blocked, at least temporarily, by Germany and France.

Putin, who feels that NATO's expansion toward Russia is a threat to his country, made it clear that if Ukraine and Georgia are included in the MAP, Russia will acknowledge the independence of Georgian regions Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia. These two autonomous Georgian republics both passed referendums in 2006 declaring their independence, but their sovereignty has yet to be recognized by any country. Putin's recognition of these republics as independent nations would create a buffer zone between NATO forces and the current Russian border with Georgia.

The real surprise was Putin's bold assertion that if Ukraine and Georgia were included in the MAP, Russia may initiate a process to incorporate the Russian-speaking regions of eastern Ukraine and Crimea into its own territory, possibly by force. Yes, that's right ... Russia would claim a large amount of Ukraine as their own! This is hilarious - inclusion in the MAP does not even guarantee NATO membership.

After hearing this statement, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko responded by saying, "If this was really said, it indicates the utmost irritation with the fact that Ukraine began to defend its own national interests, defend its independence, and build its own strategy.” Huh? Believe it or not, Tymoshenko also noted this response was her own personal view, and not an official statement. First of all, the statement was nothing earth-shattering. Actually, it was a whole lot of nothing and a pointedly weak response. Second, I hate to break it to her, but as a high-ranking government official, anything she says in public will be considered an official statement.

So, to recap, the outgoing President of Russia has decided that his country will deny sovereignty to a fellow former Soviet republic and neighbor, possibly by force, if NATO formally considers Ukraine's application for membership, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Tymoshenko makes a weak public response, but declares it to not be official. You just can't make this stuff up - it truly writes itself!

Russian gas giant Gazprom cut supplies of natural gas to Ukraine on Monday, despite Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s assurances that would not happen. An initial cut of 25% was followed by a second 10% reduction later in the day.

Gazprom followed through on its threat to cut off Ukrainian gas supplies after Naftogaz Ukrainy failed to pay $600 million for 1.9 billion cubic meters of gas already received this year. Naftogaz has also rejected proposals from the Russian gas giant to re-negotiate the gas trade between the two countries.

Tymoshenko wants to restructure the control of the Ukrainian gas market and remove the middlemen from the gas trade with Russia. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko urged Tymoshenko to avoid a “gas war” with Russia and reach a deal with Gazprom this week.

If this situation sounds familiar, Gazprom completely cut gas supplies to Ukraine at the beginning of 2006 due to a similar dispute. An unintentional side effect of the 2006 cut off was a major reduction in gas supplies to other European countries. According to Gazprom, European supplies are not under serious threat this time.

The partial gas cutoff came hours after Gazprom chairman Dmitry Medvedev won Russia’s Presidential election.

It could not have been easier for Dmitry Medvedev in Sunday's 2008 Russian Presidential election. With virtually no campaigning, Medevdev picked up approximately 70% of the vote. Even his refusal to debate the other three candidates did not seem to sway the voters.

The current results, with 99.45% of votes counted are:

• Dmitry Medvedev - 70.23%
• Gennady Zyuganov - 17.75%
• Vladimir Zhirinovsky - 9.36%
• Andrei Bogdanov - 1.29%

Zyuganov and Zhirinovsky are expected to challenge the results in court. Good luck guys - the Central Election Commission already declared the election as valid, and don't think for a minute that the courts would go against Putin's wishes.

From the above photo, one has to wonder about the President-elect's clothing fashion - definitely not typical for a future head of state.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is 100% against Ukrainian membership in NATO. Putin is not only concerned with Ukraine's joining NATO, but the possibility of hosting NATO or U.S. military installations on Ukrainian soil. In a join press conference with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Putin warned, “It is horrible to say and terrifying to think that Russia could target its missile systems at Ukraine, in response to deployment of such installations on Ukrainian territory. Imagine this for a moment. This is what worries us.”

What does Putin have against NATO? According to an interview published in Time Magazine, Putin noted that NATO is a leftover of the Cold War past. He questions the organization's ability to fight terrorism, and feels joining such a military-political bloc would essentially restrict Russia's sovereignty.

Acknowledging that Russia has no right to interfere with Ukraine's decisions, Putin has cautioned Yushchenko's government against accepting "limitations on its sovereignty." Putin also stated, "But if Ukraine wants its sovereignty restricted, that is its own business."

Yushchenko responded the following day, citing Ukraine's Constitution, which bans the stationing of foreign military foces on Ukrainian territory, with the temporary exception of the Russian fleet stationed in Sevastopol until 2017. Further, Yushchenko indicated that Ukraine would never take any steps that would create threats to Russia.

It should surprise no one that Putin feels this way. He is extremely protective of his country, and will not allow anyone or anything to become a threat.

Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin announced that First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is his preferred successor as Russian President.

Besides being a Deputy Prime Minister, Medvedev, 42, is also chairman of state gas giant Gazprom’s board of directors. Medvedev is one of Putin’s most loyal lieutenants with no political power base of his own.

Putin, finishing his second term in office, will leave following March’s upcoming presidential election. This announcement fuels speculation that Putin will be setting policy and running the country from behind the scenes.

Medvedev has now publicly requested that Putin be his Prime Minister. In typical style, Putin has not committed either way. Some people believe Putin has truly not decided, while others believe that every move he makes is calculated, and that he will accept the position.

The results are in from the December 2, 2007 Russian Parliamentary election and there are no surprises. United Russia easily won, gaining an additional 16 seats in the Duma as compared to the last election. 63% of eligible voters turned out to vote for one of the 11 competing political parties.

The structure of the new, incoming Duma is (party with number of seats):

• United Russia - 315
• Communist Party of the Russian Federation - 57
• Liberal Democratic Party of Russia - 40
• A Just Russia Party (pro-Kremlin) - 38

I guess it's time to get ready for Prime Minister Putin.

Earlier today, President Vladimir Putin dissolved Russia's government. Before you start thinking that Putin usurped power, all he did was accept the resignation of his Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. By Russian law, when the Prime Minister leaves office, it automatically causes the dissolution of the government.

In a surprise move, Putin nominated little-known Viktor Zubkov as Fradkov's replacement. Zubkov used to work with Putin in the city administration of St. Petersburg in the 1990s. It will be interesting to see if Putin uses this activity as a way to setup a potential presidential comeback in 2012.