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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
July 3, 2009
Three days from now, on July 6, U.S. President Barack Obama will make his first visit to Moscow. This will be the first major encounter between the U.S. and Russian leaders since the change of administration in Washington. It is also the first substantive meeting since both sides declared their intention to “hit the reset button” in the United States-Russia relationship. Will Obama make history in Moscow? What kind of message is Obama expected to deliver? What are the expectations for Medvedev’s response to Obama’s new engagement with Russia?
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By Yelena Biberman, Special to Russia Profile
July 3, 2009
Russia’s latest gesture toward Ukraine shows that Moscow still has no diplomats to spare for its NATO-aspiring neighbor. However, it has plenty of former ministers to go around. The appointment of Mikhail Zurabov as Russia’s new ambassador to Ukraine elicited widespread confusion and contempt both in Russia and Ukraine. Even the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not hide its dissatisfaction, calling Zurabov “a strange choice” that fails to clarify Moscow’s policy toward Kiev.
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Comment by Alexander Arkhangelsky, Special to RIA Novosit
July 2, 2009
The whole world is saying farewell to Michael Jackson. The whole world is weeping, remembering, and listening. It is ridiculous to compare this to the kidnapping of the president of Honduras, or to the upcoming Italian summit—nether of these events evoke such a strong response. Even the economic crisis is now of secondary importance, and the gossip about the upcoming war with North Korea has ceased. The center stage has been taken over by Michael Jackson. Was he overdosing on medicine? Did his lifestyle lead to his death, or did he just die? This is something important to think about.
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By Roland Oliphant, Russia Profile
July 2, 2009
The Shangri La Casino, like thousands across Russia, closed its doors for the last time at six o’clock on Tuesday evening – plenty of time to clear the decks and move out before the countrywide ban on gambling establishments came into force that midnight. It is not clear what will happen to the casino’s property at its prime location on Pushkin Square in central Moscow, or whether the departing owners will take their hideous thirty-foot tall neon palm tree with them. But although the law exiling Russia’s gaming industry to four remote zones has been roundly criticized as ill-thought out, the operators themselves have not been taken by surprise.
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Comment by Alyona Dushka, Special to Russia Profile
July 1, 2009
The 31st Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) has come to a close. According to tradition, the final awards ceremony was held at the Pushkinsky movie theater. The unexpectedly “Russian,” or, better yet, “Russo-Georgian” coda was reminiscent of similar events held during the Soviet times, when all people were “bothers” and everything Russian was “the best.” But was this nostalgia in action, or just our new reality at play?
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By Irina Aervitz, Special to Russia Profile
July 1, 2009
The U.S. sales of the new JJ Abrams’ “Star Trek” movie exceeded all expectations. In the opening weekend alone, the movie made $75 million from ticket sales. Movie lovers and critics gave the film some of the highest ratings. Critics attribute the film’s success to the highly-praised performances of its young cast, including that of Anton Yelchin, who plays Pavel Chekov. But outside the movie theater, the new “Star Trek” might signify a new page in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia and the way that both countries perceive each other.
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By Albina Kovalyova, Russia Profile
June 30, 2009
This week, Russia has struck deals with two major foreign companies to develop the oil industry in the country. An agreement with Royal Dutch Shell, signed on June 27, will let the company develop production and transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Earlier last week the independent Russian oil producer Novatek and French Total agreed to embark on a joint-development project in northwestern Siberia. With the price of oil half what it was last year, Russia seems to need the foreign investment, expertise and equipment to develop the energy industry’s infrastructure. But will Russia overcome the fear of foreign companies wanting to exploit its resources?
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By Roland Oliphant, Russia Profile
June 30, 2009
Following the first meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in over a year, relations seem to be stabilizing. The sides appear to have agreed to disagree over Georgia, and spoke reassuringly about returning to a “spirit of cooperation.” But at the moment, this seems to mean little more than allowing NATO aircraft to overfly Russia on their way to Afghanistan.
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By Elena Rubinova, Special to Russia Profile
June 29, 2009
The world's greatest showcase of contemporary art, the Venice Biennale, has been held once every two years for the past 114 years. Despite all the changes in the world over the past century, the event remains rather influential. Everyone who comes here (curators, art-collectors, critics and numerous art-lovers from all over the world) has a chance to see some of the best (and a bit of the worst) that contemporary art has to offer. This year, the Russian presence at the exhibition could both be felt and seen.
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Police thwarts attempt on Chechen president life
Police and security forces have prevented assassination of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, the North Caucasus republic's interior minister told RIA Novosti on Thursday. "Resident of the Shali district Said-Selim Abdulkadyrov and his female accomplice arrived in Grozny to stage a terrorist attack against Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov," Lt. Gen. Ruslan Alkhanov said. Kadyrov personally supervised the preparation of a special operation to track and arrest the suspected assassins. Acting on an informant's tip received several days ago, police surrounded the terrorists in a private house in the village of Staraya Sunzha near Grozny.
Abdulkadyrov was killed in an exchange of fire, while the woman was wounded and detained, Alkhanov said, adding that a police officer was wounded in arresting the woman. Two Kalashnikov assault rifles, grenades and ammunition were seized at the scene.According to police, the killed militant was on the federal wanted list and was the right-hand man of an Arab mercenary and terrorist Mukhanad.
Russia's North Caucasus republics have been swept by a wave of violence recently two months after the government formally ended its decade-long counterterrorism operation in Chechnya, which witnessed two brutal separatist wars in the 1990s and early 2000s. Kadyrov told RIA Novosti last week that the struggle to tackle militant attacks in Chechnya and neighboring Ingushetia was going according to plan, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had asked him to intensify and end the fight.
Source: RIA Novosti
New & Updated from Resources Section
Viktor Chernomyrdin
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AvtoVAZ Won't Last Without State Help
AvtoVAZ on Thursday announced a loss of 24.7 billion rubles ($791 million) in 2008 and said it may not be able to survive without further state support. Without continued government support in debt refinancing and investment, there is “significant doubt” that the company can stay viable, the company said in its 2008 financial report, echoing predictions that industry players have been making for months.
Current debt amounts to about 53 billion rubles, 90 percent of which is short-term debt due in less than a year, said Andrei Baginsky, vice president of finance. Sales for the year stood at 192.1 billion rubles, up 4 percent from 187.5 billion rubles in 2007. But costs for the firm have skyrocketed, with administrative expenses shooting up by 23 percent and research spending climbing 65 percent.
AvtoVAZ blamed the market slump, increases in prices for components and transportation, and salary cuts for the bleak results. Because of the growing cost of production, the profit margin was “around zero” by the end of the year, said Oleg Lobanov, recently appointed senior vice president of finance. If the company can maintain a 30 percent market share, it expects losses of 10 billion rubles in 2009, Lobanov said. “These kind of losses are the highest in the company’s history,” said Sergei Tselikov, director of Avtostat, an agency in Tolyatti that tracks the auto industry.
Source: The Moscow Times
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An Education Money Can Buy
By Sergei Balashov
Due to a worsening social atmosphere in Russia’s public schools, ever more parents are turning to private education in search of the “right crowd,” but creating a positive learning environment and hiring professional staff is a rather difficult task for an entrepreneur. More...
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