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By Tom Balmforth, Russia Profile
September 1, 2010
Russian anti-government protests took place in London for the first time on Tuesday, when dozens of Russian emigres gathered outside the Russian embassy in Western London and chanted for freedom. Back in their homeland, over a hundred Russians were detained in the various country-wide “Strategy 31” rallies. As parliamentary and presidential election campaigns loom next year, the protests in foreign cities are key to winning support from Western leaders, protesters say. It is hard to imagine them having an impact, but four EU lawmakers from the human rights commission did attend the Moscow rally for the first time yesterday.
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By Tai Adelaja, Russia Profile
September 1, 2010
After years of micromanaging state-owned companies the Russian government appears set to loosen its grip, as lower-than-expected world commodity prices continue to stretch the gaping hole in the budget. The Economic Development and Finance Ministries have both predicted that the budget deficit could hit 5.4 percent of GDP this year, forcing the government to consider privatizing part of its portfolio of bank shares and other company assets to help plug the hole. In its new privatization drive, the government may be willing to go further than analysts expect by including some strategic companies in the bargain.
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By Tai Adelaja, Russia Profile
August 31, 2010
In the quicksand world of Russian business, the high-profile spat between billionaires Vladimir Potanin and Oleg Deripaska – two of Russia’s best known oligarchs – is threatening to invite a state takeover of Norilsk Nickel, at a time when the Kremlin is struggling to reduce the state’s excessive role in the economy.
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By Roland Oliphant, Russia Profile
August 30, 2010
The defenders of the Khimki Forest seemed to have won their battle last Thursday, when the ruling United Russia Party and President Dmitry Medvedev executed a choreographed about-face on the construction of the Moscow to St. Petersburg highway through the forest. This followed a weekend protest in central Moscow that drew 3,000 people as well as apparent endorsement from U2 front man and universal do-gooder Bono, who invited DDT singer and outspoken forest defender Yuri Shevchuk to sing at the band’s first Russian gig.
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By Svetlana Kononova, Special to Russia Profile
August 30, 2010
A recent poll conducted by the independent Levada Center found that 73 percent of Russians do not plan to have children in the next two to three years, and 11 percent said that they do not want children at all. At the same time, 20 percent of respondents support the idea of imposing a tax on childlessness. But experts are skeptical of the idea – extra taxes or other financial restrictions won’t change people’s reproductive behavior, they say.
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Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
August 27, 2010
Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev continues his high-profile political campaign to fundamentally reform the Russian police force. In early August the president unveiled his much-anticipated bill to reform the Interior Ministry and proposed to replace its Soviet-era name "militsia" with the tsarist-era "police." Will the new legislation bring about a transformation in the Russian police force, more substantial than a name change?
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By Tai Adelaja, Russia Profile
August 26, 2010
Can a foreign investor ever navigate Russia’s labyrinthine business landscape without being caught up in a cobweb of bureaucracy? Well, the Kremlin thinks it has the answer. In a move that is both bold and bullish, the Russian government has granted new powers to the Investment Policy Department of the Ministry of Economic Development to tackle various problems facing business investors, an acknowledgement that doing business in this country can sometimes be nerve-racking if not impossible.
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By Tom Balmforth, Russia Profile
August 26, 2010
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has ordered that “everything possible” be done to find Vasil Klementiev, an investigative journalist critical of local police who went missing two weeks ago. The Ukrainian leader is seeking to calm critics who say media freedoms have been curtailed under his rule. Some influential Ukrainian officials have their own reasons to expand their media empires, which means that Yanukovich may well be telling the truth when he denies having ordered any clampdown on Ukraine’s mass media. Nonetheless, analysts say Yanukovich stands to benefit from a trend for slanted reporting as local elections approach in October, and the Supreme Rada prepares itself to vote on amendments to election legislation on Monday.
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By Roland Oliphant, Russia Profile
August 25, 2010
The decision by a Thai court to allow the extradition to the United States of suspected arms dealer Victor Bout has raised a storm of protest in Moscow, which has called the decision “unjust” and “political.” That in turn has raised speculation in the Western press that the former Red army translator and air freight tycoon knows things the Russians don’t want made public. But whatever Victor Bout has done, and whoever he was doing it for, he was far from alone.
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Jailing of Pregnant Mother of 4 Sparks Protest
A mother of four who is pregnant with a fifth child has become a cause celebre after a court jailed her for three years even though it could have waived the sentence under a legal provision allowing leniency for mothers with young children.
Former Yukos lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina, a mother of three who failed to receive leniency when jailed on politically tinged charges in 2006, is spearheading a campaign to secure the release of the mother, Yulia Kruglova, a regional director for a Dutch-owned insurance company who was jailed in July on embezzlement charges.
The campaign has won the support of children's ombudsman Pavel Astakhov and the Public Chamber. Even prosecutors have filed an appeal.
Source: The Moscow Times
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Manufacturing Rises at Fastest Rate in 2 Years
Manufacturing expanded last month at the fastest pace since April 2008 as increasing domestic demand helped producers overcome record heat and the worst drought in half a century, HSBC Holdings said Wednesday.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed for an eighth month in August, reaching 52.9 from 52.7 in July, HSBC said in a report, citing data compiled by Markit Economics. The survey-based index indicates a contraction when it is below 50 and growth with a figure above 50.
Russia’s worst drought in at least 50 years will cost the economy as much as 0.8 percentage point of growth this year, though gross domestic product will still expand 4 percent, according to Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach.
“After adjusting for seasonal factors, the rate of growth eased to a three-month low, partly reflecting the effect of the recent heat wave,” HSBC said. “Overall, the manufacturing sector keeps shifting from export-led growth to domestic demand-driven growth.”
Source: The Moscow Times
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Wanted: a Dictator
By Dmitry Babich
The Russian autocrat is perhaps the most “marketed” type of the Russian soul, a sort of a negative trademark applied to Russia both by its honest critics and malevolent detractors. The belief that Russia has been ruled, is ruled and will be ruled by autocrats on all levels is widespread and, like many popular stereotypes, is rather a simplification. More..
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