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Comment by Andrei Zolotov, Jr., Russia Profile
December 7, 2009
On this national day of mourning we grieve for those who died in the horrible fire at a nightclub in the city of Perm on Friday night, where the death toll has reached 113 people and growing. Dozens of people remain in critical condition in hospitals around the country after fireworks triggered a fire that quickly engulfed the club decorated with dry bamboo. Many people died of burns, smoke intoxication and being crushed in the stampede while trying to get through the club’s single narrow exit.
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By Tom Balmforth, Russia Profile
December 3, 2009
According to one analyst, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was like “Father Christmas dishing out presents” during his question-and-answer session on December 3, making a raft of promises and pledges to anxious callers. Reviving Russia’s single-industry cities and combating terrorism were the main topics at the four-hour phone-in session, as Putin tried to calm a nation shaken by the economic crisis and the Nevsky Express bombing last week. Several recent polls suggest the prime minister’s popularity has taken a tumble. So what did Putin set out to achieve in the call-in? And was it anything more than a long-winded exercise in self-promotion?
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Comment by Alexander Arkhangelsky, Special to RIA Novosti
December 3, 2009
The voluntary-compulsory dismissal of two judges from Russia’s Constitutional Court, who were harshly accused of violating judicial ethics, was overshadowed by other important news events—the tragicomedy in Geneva and the real tragedy on the railroad, as well as public announcements by members of the police, more reminiscent of a selective counsel. If “violating judicial ethics” referred to the customary judicial corruption, it would have had more resonance and attracted more attention in the mass media.
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By Roland Oliphant, Russia Profile
November 30, 2009
The attack on the Neva Express has traumatized the nation. Coverage of the incident has dominated the news for the past three days. President Dmitry Medvedev has issued his own statement of condolences to the families of the injured and killed. Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, on Sunday hosted a memorial service in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in which he condemned the terrorists for breaking “not only the law of man, but the law of God.” But amid the mourning, professionals are looking hard at who carried out the attack – and why.
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By Tom Balmforth, Russia Profile
November 27, 2009
Russia’s ruling party United Russia suffered a rare political defeat on November 18, when its proposed hikes on road tax were voted down and radically amended by the Federation Council, the upper house of Parliament, amidst widespread public outcry and even disapproval from the Kremlin. The amended version was sent back to the State Duma and then obediently adopted by United Russia on November 20. But not only is this turnaround an embarrassment for the party of power, it also fuels suspicion that it is just following orders. Was someone pulling the strings behind the scenes at United Russia? And was there a hint of another rift in the power tandem of President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin?
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Comment by Alexander Arkhangelsky, Special to RIA Novosti
November 26, 2009
Andrei Makarov’s announcement has caused a commotion. Back in the day he was a reactionary lawyer who brilliantly defended members of the State Committee on the State of Emergency, and then became a progressive politician of Boris Yeltsin’s stature. He is now an honorable member of the United Russia party. Mister Makarov said that there is no way to reform Russia’s Interior Ministry – it can only be disbanded and created anew. He even proposed a scheme for this dismissal: to put everyone on a contract and then hire only half back into staff. The best half. Which will then align itself into a neat single file of honest cops.
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By Roland Oliphant, Russia Profile
November 23, 2009
Anti-Fascists marched in central Moscow on Sunday in memory of Ivan Khutorskoy, a leader of the informal Antifa movement who was murdered last Monday. Khutorskoy’s death came just weeks after the arrest of two alleged neo-Nazis for the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Natalia Baburova last January. Just how dangerous have Russia’s fascists become, and what happens next?
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By Svetlana Kononova, Special to Russia Profile
November 23, 2009
А proposal President Dmitry Medvedev made during his second State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly – to reduce the number of time zones in Russia – has become one of the most controversial topics under debate in Russian society. Government officials argue that making just five out of Russia’s 11 time zones will make travel and communication easier across the country, while inhabitants of Siberia and the Far East are far from excited by the prospect of going to work in the dark.
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By Roland Oliphant, Russia Profile
November 19, 2009
The Russian Constitutional Court has ruled to extend the moratorium on the death penalty until it is formally abolished by ratification of article six of the European Convention of Human Rights. This “final and un-appealable” decision effectively puts an end to capital punishment in Russia for good. But there is still strong public support for capital punishment, and the State Duma is doing all it can to avoid ratifying the European treaty.
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By Tom Balmforth, Russia Profile
November 19, 2009
Sponsors of President Dmitry Medvedev’s anti-corruption campaign have little to celebrate a year after its launch, since on November 17 Transparency International (TI) reported next to no improvement in Russia’s endemic corruption problem. TI’s Corruption Perception Index for 2009 ranked Russia in 146th place out of 180, placing the BRIC country on a par with Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone. Bribery in Russia currently costs the state an estimated $300 billion a year, almost a fifth of Russia’s 2008 gross domestic product, the corruption watchdog said on Tuesday.
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