Russia+Briefing

March 21, 2011
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January 30, 2011
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November 2, 2010

Later this month, Russia may be asked to send helicopters or deploy troops to Afghanistan in order to assist with the war effort. Russian helicopters have been requested by NATO, as they are better suited to the current type of combat in Afghanistan than NATO choppers are. Because of past conflict in the country, which many Russians attribute to a Western plan against Russia during the cold war, some Russian officials are fearful of reentering Afghanistan. It is undecided among Russian journalists and army officials whether or not the current war in Afghanistan is actually a Western plot to weaken Russian armies or install a circle of military bases around China, both of which are apparently prominent goals of the United States. http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/29-10-2010/115577-russia_afghanistan-0/

Russia has recently offered to help build a nuclear power plant in Indonesia, which would be the first form of nuclear power in the country. Since Indonesia is an archipelago, future nuclear plants may be constructed to float in order to take up less land space. Construction of a similar floating power station has already begun in Russia. Though Indonesia has yet to agree to this construction, Russian officials are hopeful that this could be the first step in gaining a Russian foothold in the Nuclear power sector in major Asian countries. []

Increased domestic strife in the North Caucasus is supposedly the result of Western subversion, partciularly those of the US. Apparently, intelligence agencies under Obama have changed are forgoing the idea that America's enemies lie in the Middle East and focusing subversive efforts on Russia. These efforts are intended to decrease Russia's strength while at the same time diverting anti-American Arabs to find new enemies in the Russians []

A less biased article states that militant citizens in the North Caucasus are continuing to kill more Russian officials, and are becoming more sophisticated in their techniques. The conflict within this area is attributed to strife caused by the region's 40% unemployment rate. []

So far, Russia's new high speed trains have been immensely profitable, with a profit margin of 30%. Because of this, the head of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, has expressed interest in buying 8 more of the trains. Though the trains are highly profitable, their immense cost means that even the current high-speed train system will not pay for itself for another 16 years. []

A new Moscow mayor has succeeded Luzhkov, the mayor ousted my Medvedev a few weeks ago. Sobyanin, the new mayor, is not a Moscow local, and many feel that he may make drastic architectural changes to the city. This theory is supported by Sobyanin's past political actions, which included large amounts of real estate redistribution. []

 Years long debate between Russian businessman, the German courts, and the Russian Government. At the time of his initial investment he entered into business along with the government (legal at the time). Sedelmayer uses his troubles with the Russian Government as a springboard to discourage investing in Russia and highlight the corruption of the present regime. A popular topic in Germany, this case has certainly damaged Russia's foreign image and, as Sedelmayer wished exposed, the corruption of the regime. []

October 3, 2010

[]- Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich announced recently that he plans to improve relations with Russia. He hopes to achieve this through cooperation in the construction of aircrafts and in the fuel and energy sector.

[]- Russia, which was one of the few countries to refrain from criticism of BP during the Gulf spill, will be acquiring a large part of the stocks the company is selling to avoid debt. The Russian Oil and Gas Producer's Union believes that this will allow Russia to play a larger role in international economics.

[]- Last Tuesday, Moscow mayor Yuri Luhzkov was fired by Medvedev, who stated that he had lost confidence in the mayor. Though Luhzkov claims he will not challenge the decision, there is still controversy as to whether or not he will take it up in court. Luhzkov's removal from office was a part of series of crackdowns on alleged corruption taking place in Moscow.

[]- Common elections are set to take place on October 10th throughout Russia. These elections will take place at varying levels, and will result in the election of 53,259 new deputies and depratment heads. In six regions of Russia, elections will be held for regional parliaments. The number of candidates totals over 109,000, setting a record for number of candidates in Russian history.

[]- The drought that swept Russia this summer is predicted to harm the GDP and quicken inflation until next spring. Other experts claim the economy will feel the effects of the drought until next fall.

[]- Russia has officially begun the process of joining the World Trade Organization. The formal procedures necessary to join should begin within the next four months, and should be completed within the next year. This marks further Russian integration into global affairs.