|
|
|
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
April 16, 2010
As Kyrgyz democratic opposition forces took control of Kyrgyzstan’s government and the nation’s major cities after days of violent mass protests against the corrupt and repressive rule of President Kurmanbek Bakiev, it became clear that the opposition had strong support coming its way from an unlikely source – Moscow. Indeed, Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was the first world leader to speak with the head of the interim government in Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbayeva, and quickly offered Russian financial aid to the new Kyrgyz authorities. Is Russia behind the regime change in Kyrgyzstan? Has Russia moved into the “democracy promotion business” in its backyard in Central Asia? What are the likely consequences of the events in Kyrgyzstan for Russian policy in the near abroad?
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
April 9, 2010
The suicide bombings of Moscow’s metro last week sparked an impassioned public debate about how best to deal with domestic terrorism. While some politicians and commentators called for draconian counter measures, including mass-finger printing and the return of the death penalty, other sections of the press fretted that the government might use the attacks to justify a crack-down on civil liberties. President Dmitry Medvedev himself mixed talk of “destroying” terrorists with an emphasis on the need for economic and social modernization of the North Caucasus. What is the right response to terrorism? Are fears of a political crackdown in Russia misplaced? Will Medvedev continue on the path of modernization, including modernizing the security services? Or will he succumb to the temptation of a political crackdown to bolster his electoral position with a “tough guy” image?
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
April 2, 2010
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev are now scheduled to sign a new nuclear arms reductions treaty on April 8 in Prague. This will be the first major arms control agreement in a generation between the two former Cold War adversaries to reduce long-range nuclear weapons. The new agreement would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired in December. What will be the true significance of the new nuclear arms reductions agreement? Will it become a “key that opens many other locks” in U.S.-Russian relations? Will it transform the current paradigm of mutual nuclear deterrence?
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
March 26, 2010
President Dmitry Medvedev said last week that Russia's version of the Silicon Valley would be built in the Moscow region town of Skolkovo. The decision bypasses existing techno parks to build a brand new technology town from scratch, in the hope of attracting young, creative scientists who will produce technologies as groundbreaking as the Internet and cell phones. But Russia already has several such “innovation centers, and they have yet to prove successful. How viable is the entire approach of a government sponsored technology town? Is it possible to replicate the Silicon Valley in Russia at all?
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
March 19, 2010
Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev is said to have given his blessing to forming a new political party that would specifically promote his modernization agenda and seek to mobilize public support for Medvedev’s reformist policies in the run-up to the Parliamentary elections of 2011 and the presidential elections of 2012. How should Medvedev go about setting up his own party? What kind of a party does he need to build? What should its political platform be? In general, what kind of a political party could Medvedev call home, and how could he bring it to life?
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
March 12, 2010
President Dmitry Medvedev is halfway through his first presidential term this week. So, how is he fairing and where is he leading the nation? Overall, he is doing much better than many predicted, but is still falling short of the “great expectations” his presidency has created. What does Medvedev’s balance sheet look like halfway through his first term? Is he turning into a successful reformist president, or is he shaping up as another modernizing failure in Russia’s history? Will he emerge from Vladimir Putin’s shadow?
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
March 5, 2010
Ukraine has just had a successful presidential election, choosing Viktor Yanukovich, the leader of the Party of the Regions, as its fourth president. He has promised to embrace relations with Europe while simultaneously renewing ties with Russia, but it is not clear how he will achieve this goal. What will be Ukraine’s foreign policy under president Yanukovich? How will he negotiate the intricate gas-transit relationship with Russia’s Gazprom? How far will Yanukovich move toward Russia? Will he seriously pursue economic integration projects with Russia, like joining the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space? Will he continue on a path toward Ukraine’s membership in the EU?
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
February 27, 2010
President Dmitry Medvedev has made sweeping police reform into a crucial element of his political agenda, seeking to transform and rebuild one of the most corrupt and ineffective of Russia’s public institutions. Medvedev has waged a fully-fledged war on corruption in Russia’s Interior Ministry over the past year. Why is Medvedev making this area into a crucial political priority? Are the steps he has outlined and already implemented sufficient to bring about the desired transformation of the Russian police force?
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
February 19, 2010
Last week, President Dmitry Medvedev called on the leaders of big business to contribute to the modernization of the economy. Medvedev asked Russia’s business leaders to come up with a list of specific innovation projects involving cutting-edge technologies that would open new markets for Russian-made high-tech products. The list of such projects will be reviewed by the Kremlin’s Commission on Modernization in May, in order to determine which projects will receive state funding or a special tax regime. Will this approach to innovation succeed in Russia, where others did not? Can the state actually force private companies to innovate? What kind of incentives does the state have to encourage private investment in innovation?
|
|
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
February 12, 2010
The Institute for Contemporary Development, a Russian think tank that claims to speak for President Dmitry Medvedev (he chairs the Institute’s Board of Directors, while his loyal aide Arkady Dvorkovich sits on the Board), released a report last week that paints a picture of Russia’s political future under a successful modernization program launched by Medvedev. The report’s suggestions draw obvious parallels with the policies of the 1990s. In fact, the authors claim the Russia needs “to go back to Boris Yeltsin’s Constitution” to ensure political competition as a prerequisite for economic modernization. But is this premise correct? What is the connection between a complete overhaul of the existing political system in Russia and Russia’s economic progress? Is there a link between political freedom and innovation?
|
|
|
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ... | 27
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
