100 posts
Energy Security Without Panic
Russia-EU Energy Dialogue Moving Back to Economy. READ MORE...
Article on Russia and the ECHR
The newest issue (volume 2-2, 2010) of the online journal Göttingen Journal of International Law has been put online. It includes an article entitled 'The Russian Federation, Protocol No. 14 (and 14 bis), and the battle for the soul of the ECHR', by...
Moscow Seeks Political Allies in Moldova Ahead of Referendum and Elections
The crash of Moldova’s experiment with a parliamentary system of government, predictable though it was, could not have occurred at a worse time for the country. When this experiment had first collapsed in 2000, Moldova still had a margin for...
Who Will Stop Russian Energy March to Europe?
Dependence of the states of Eastern and Middle Europe from Russian gas and oil is practically absolute. This calls a concern that energy dependence can transform into a political one. READ MORE...
The road to nowhere
President Medvedev suspends a controversial road-building project...
Pipeline Interdependence
Russia has been making enormous efforts recently aiming to reduce its dependence on energy transit across Belarus and Ukraine. It is assumed that the aim will be achieved after commissioning of the gas mains known as the "Nord Stream" and t...
The significance of the Arctic in Russia’s foreign policy: why Arctic policy issues are of topical interest to the Baltic States
Recently the Arctic Region has appeared increasingly often among Russia’s foreign policy objectives in the Russian foreign policy discourse. Competition for the Arctic Region among the 5 bordering states – USA, Canada, Denmark, Norway and...
Russian investigative journalist Ilya Barabanov wins Peter Mackler Award
Russian investigative journalist Ilya Barabanov was named winner of the Peter Mackler Award, a prize to reward media workers «in countries where freedom of the press is either not guarantied or not recognized» noticed AFP. The award ceremony...
A Good DVD worth seeing: Spinning Boris
“Spinning Boris” is a (highly) fictionalised account of the adventures of three US political consultants who helped Boris Yeltsin win the impossible election of 1996. Starring Jeff Goldblum, Anthony la Paglia and Liev Schreiber, it’...
Do We Need an EU Disaster Response Force?
UPDATE (16.08.2010): French President Nicolas Sarkozy has officially proposed to the European Commission to “build a real EU reaction force … that draws on the resources of the member states”. The French junior minister for EU affairs, Pier...
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s PR – ethics and limits
Anger increased in Russia’s media Wednesday covering the official response to the worst wildfires in the country’s history, with questions asked even about the PR tactics of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. “Image creators” sa...
Poland’s Heated Row Over Cross Reaches Boiling Point
Four months after the plane crash that killed Poland's Lech Kaczynski and others, crowds still gather in Warsaw. But the spirit of unity has been replaced with deep divisions over the role of Catholicism in the formally secular country.
European and Russian relations: illusions and reality
During nearly twenty years of existence of the post-soviet Russia, Europe‘s attitude toward the country has changed significantly. Initially, Europe tried to recover after the geopolitical shock caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union, later...
Dym and dozhd: useful vocabulary for a smog summer in Moscow
Two words have been used more than any others in Moscow this summer. The smoke that has been periodically engulfing Moscow from over 500 wildfires burning across Central Russia for the past few weeks, and the long-awaited rain. Today, the city resemb...
Gazprom’s Anti-Nabucco Campaign Misses German Targets
Gazprom’s proposal for German RWE to join Gazprom’s South Stream project, has fallen flat at both the corporate and the political levels in Germany. The proposal clearly aimed to disrupt the European Union-backed Nabucco project, where...
Lukoil CEO: Russian oil business prospers in EU
For Russian oil companies, the business climate in Europe is good, but a lot of fallacious information about the country still needs to be countered, Vagit Alekperov, founder and president of Lukoil, Russia's largest oil company, told n interview.&nb...
Moscow Using New Customs Union to Extend Influence in Central Asia
Having already been pummeled by rising fuel prices and political instability in recent months, the creation of a Customs Union among Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia threatens to deal yet another economic blow to Kyrgyzstan, and is exerting pressure on...
Top 10 Events Shaping Russia’s Foreign Policy
The political season from fall 2009 to summer 2010 was rich in landmark events. I have listed my top 10 events that shaped Russia’s foreign policy during that time and will have a strong impact on further developments. READ MORE...
On the web: the UK Strategic Defence and Security Review, Russia-China-US relations, and India’s international outlook…
- Writing in The World Today, General Tim Cross and Brigadier Nigel Hall examine the prospects of the UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, suggesting that any reforms it ushers in “must give operational reality to the new concept of co...
Kyrgyz deal a Silk Road turning point
Central Asia arrived at a turning point last weekend far removed from the history of Genghis Khan riding out to conquer the world, as it sought peacekeepers from Europe. Russia, which has provided security to the region for the past century and more...
US-Russian Relations: Wooing the West
The Russian leader has re-enacted the famous American goodwill tour of his predecessor a half century ago, but faces the same Cold War scheming. Will his attempts to befriend Europe have more success? READ MORE...
Russia Plans Far Eastern Energy Drive
Russian officials have reiterated pledges to pursue pro-active Far Eastern energy policies, backed by sizable investments. Moscow would invest up to $100 billion to develop new natural gas deposits in the next five years, Deputy Prime Minister, Ig...
Who is winning Eastern Europe's great game?
By Katinka BaryschThe US is withdrawing from the former Soviet space; the European Union struggles to be taken seriously there. Does that leave Russia free to strengthen its influence in the countries around its borders? Not necessarily, for the situ...
The ripples of the spy row
The Russian-American spy row calms, excitingly...
GMF Video: The Russian Spy Scandal and the Future of U.S.-Russian Relations
GMF Fellow David J. Kramer analyzes the recent events surrounding the Russian spy scandal, including the recent spy swap, and what questions still need to be answered by both administrations.
Are Tbilisi and Baku good friends?
Relations between republics of South Caucasus play an important geopolitical role for Russia given that this near-border region is ethnically close to citizens of Russia's south and is highly integrated into Russia's economy. On one hand, establishme...
"Reset" Won't Fix It!
Last April 7, the world was too busy to notice Russian fingerprints on the coup that toppled Kyrgyzstani President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Within weeks, ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks were at each other’s throats. Moscow, it seems, is good at br...
European way for Russia - A delusion or natural choice?
ELDR President Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck MEP speaks on the European way for Russia - a delusion or natural choice?
Why Russia's Medvedev is blasting ally Kyrgyzstan
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev unexpectedly criticized a government reform vote in Kyrgyzstan that passed Sunday with 91 percent support. READ MORE...
Moldova Orders Russia To Withdraw Troops From Transdniester
Moldova has ordered Russia to withdraw all its troops from the separatist Transdniester region, where they've been stationed for two decades. READ MORE...
FBI arrested 10 (alleged) Russian secret agents
How complicated are the reset ways of relations between Russian Federation and United States ! President Medvedev’s recent visit to the White House seemed to say that things are really on track. Only that… Sunday, 28 June 2010, Fede...
Down but not out
A Stalin statue is torn down, belatedly, in his native Georgia. But the dictator is honoured at a memorial in America...
A Western choice
If the Kremlin cuts Alyaksandr Lukashenka adrift, the West has to decide whether to rescue him...
St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2010 – Viewpoints
Analysts agree that the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg seems to have become a kind of Davos in Russian version. It was an impressive demonstration of international interest in the Russian economy. But, it was also, in the words of one...
'Gas War' Between Gazprom And Belarus
The European Commission has called an emergency meeting. READ MORE...
President Medvedev's Interview to "Wall Street Journal"
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubts about the future of Europe’s common currency and said the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could threaten the survival of BP PLC. READ MORE...
Russia's 'new' stance remains anti-West
Ahead of Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Washington this week, a "leaked" Russian foreign policy document is causing some Russia watchers to wonder whether the Russian president is shifting his country toward a more positive, pro-Western stan...
Poland Wants to Refuse of Russian Gas Partially
Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk intends to change a gas agreement with Russia, if it turns out that the part of needs could be covered by the gas produced from shale. This was stated by Prime Minister during the interview for Radiо Zet. Acco...
Igor Sechin – The power of Putin’s shadow at SPIEF 2010
Retired but highly effective (remember that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has entrusted relaunch strategic relations with Latin America, and the results were fruitful, even if not kept headlines), Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said in its interve...
St. Petersburg – Russia, International Economic Forum (2)
Under the special patronage of the President of the Russian Federation, the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum brings together over 2,500 political and business leaders from around the world, joined by leading voices from academia, ci...
Poland to EU: Get serious about Russia
A broadside from Poland's foreign minister about EU-Russia relations...
For U.S. and Russia, Kyrgyz Crisis Poses Strategic Risk
The worsening ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan is hundreds of miles from U.S. and Russian bases in the central Asia country, but it poses thorny strategic dilemmas for both. READ MORE...
A Russian Made Disaster in Kyrgyzstan
The violence unleashed in Kyrgyzstan is being spun as ethnic rioting. The reality is a good deal more complex, and the blame can be laid directly at Russia's door. Russia's coup against the Bakiyev government which took power in the Tulip Revoluti...
A Russian Made Disaster in Kyrgyzstan
The violence unleashed in Kyrgyzstan is being spun as ethnic rioting. The reality is a good deal more complex, and the blame can be laid directly at Russia's door. Russia's coup against the Bakiyev government which took power in the Tulip Revoluti...
Joint EU-Russian crisis management in Europe? Interesting idea…
BUCHAREST — On June 5, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed a brief but significant memorandum on a joint EU-Russia Committee on Security and Foreign Policy (ERPSC) in the German town of Meseberg. The doc...
Russia - EU rapprochement
The recent EU-Russia summit in Rostov-on-Don demonstrated a definite strengthening in EU-Russian ties. Thus the relationship would seem to be more than recovering from the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. During the summit previously contentious issues wer...
Interview: German ties with Russia on the upswing as Medvedev visits
Deutsche Welle spoke with Alexander Rahr, a Russia expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations, about the state of Russo-German relations. READ MORE...
Russia may exclude Israel from Blue Stream-2 gas pipeline project
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Israel may be excluded from the Blue Stream-2 gas pipeline project as it has uncovered its own gas deposits. READ MORE...
Struggle for Central Asian energy riches
A year ago, the Kremlin issued a stark warning: that growing competition for control of global energy resources could spark wars on Russia's borders, including those in Central Asia. READ MORE...
Global Insights: Proposed NATO Reforms Worry Moscow
Last week, the group of experts assisting with the drafting of NATO's new Strategic Concept released their final report, entitled "NATO 2020: Assured Security, Dynamic Engagement." In anticipation of the planned Strategic Concept, which...
Morning Brief (1-6)
Israel’s assault on flotilla. Stratfor’s George Friedman comments: Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon charged that the mission was simply an attempt to provoke the Israelis. That was certainly the case. The mission was designed...
Russia is going to spend approximately 145 billion roubles for the ecology of the Baltic Sea until the year of 2020
During the period until 2020 Russia is going to spend approximately 145 billion roubles for the preservation and restoration of the ecology in the Baltic Sea, reported on 20 May, Thursday, Jurij Trutniov, the RF Minister of Nature. READ MORE...
The “Reefs” of Russian-Ukrainian Rapprochement
Russia and Ukraine are on their way to a system dialogue. President Viktor Yanukovich has already sounded the suggestion to finalize the provisions of the Great Treaty of 1997. Will the states develop a new format of interaction? READ MORE...
What are the terms of reference of Russia?
Sometimes EU document titles make me smile. Like this one. PS: The comments are free to guess what the terms of reference of Russia are.
Can the EU help Russia modernise?
by Katinka BaryschThe EU and Russia are planning to launch a ‘partnership for modernisation’ at their next summit in Rostov on May 31st. The initiative – launched by Commission President Barroso at the last summit six months ago – is meant to...
The Specter of Finlandization
BRUSSELS — A specter is starting to haunt wider Europe — those countries located between the EU and NATO on one hand and Russia on the other. That specter is “Finlandization.” The return of this Cold War phrase reveal...
EU Russia - Plus ça change
Let's not be naive about Russia's modernization programme...
Sergei Ivanov Seeks Deals in Washington
The Russian authorities are seeking a major détente with the West. A draft of a revised foreign policy doctrine was leaked and extracts published by Russky Newsweek in Moscow this month. The document was prepared by the foreign ministry and...
Spooked by spooks
Ukraine's SBU treads heavily over academic freedom--or so a visit to the country's leading independent university, the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, would suggest...
Russia opens a new pipeline of diplomacy
Russian diplomacy has been on a roll in recent months, the revival of ties with Ukraine being the most dramatic manifestation. But a string of successes, major and minor, sung and unsung, has been notched up below that high point - in Poland, Azerbai...
Mikhail Krutikhin: Streams in Dreams
It doesn’t look as a coincidence. On the eve of Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Ankara a group of Turkish experts left for Baku to prepare a comprehensive agreement on supplying Azerbaijani gas to the planned Nabucco pipeline. READ MOR...
The shadow of Russian-Turkish Strategic Partnership Lies on South Caucasus
The first accomplished official visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Turkey draw attention first of all due to the demonstration to all the world of growing scales of economic cooperation and deepening political dialogue, allowing to talk...
Moscow Conducts a Direct Dialogue with Kirgiz Government
The line of activity of the Russian Federation towards Kirgizia, led after the change of power in Kirgizia, proves that Moscow conducts a lame game. Instead of a complex approach, grounded on skilled use of the political environment recently establis...
EU says not competing with Russia in eastern neighbourhood
The European Commission assured Moscow that the EU's policy's towards its eastern neighbours is not a form of competition, with Brussels keeping the door open for "project-based" co-operation with Russia. READ MORE...
Turkey, Russia sign nuclear power plant, visa removal deals
Turkey, Russia signed a $20 billion deal on Wednesday to build a nuclear power plant with four reactors in Turkey. READ MORE...
Russia Moves to Strengthen Ties with Uzbekistan
As the Kremlin intensified its efforts to develop relations with Uzbekistan, the leadership of the most populous nation in Central Asia appears to remain non-committal. Following talks in Moscow, Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, and his Uzbek c...
A Parade with Many Messages
BUCHAREST — On May 9, the streets of Moscow will witness a rare and memorable spectacle. In a parade marking the 65th anniversary of Victory Day—the end of World War II, when Germany surrendered to Soviet commanders—10,500 servicemen will m...
Long piece on power and history
Report No. 30: Putin, Power and History: Does the Past Still Matter?Posted Date: 3 May 2010Following last month’s joint Polish-Russian memorials to commemorate the Katyń massacre, and the outpouring of Russian sympathy since the plane crash that k...
Aleksandr Dugin – „Russia strongly reject any presence of USA Navy in the Blacksea”
Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin is a known politologist and one of the most popular ideologists of Russian expansionism and nationalism, with close ties to the Kremlin and Russian army staff. He is leader of The Eurasia Party and creator of the modern Russ...
Moscow, Oslo, Copenhagen: Nordic problems
On April 26, President Dmitry Medvedev depart Moscow for his "Nordic tour", which will take him to Norway on April 26 and 27 and to Denmark on April 27 and 28. READ MORE...
New Format of the EU-Russia Dialogue
Security Issues in the Context of Russian-European Relations. READ MORE...
Why not ask China and Russia to top up Greece’s rescue package?
Nothing captures Germany’s anger and frustration with Greece better than the story - if you can call it that - in Tuesday’s Bild, the mass-circulation German tabloid. “Goodbye, euro. Bild gives the drachma back to the bankrupt Gre...
Russia is gaining ground on the relationship with Poland
Only 20 of the 98 delegates who originally announced their participation in the funeral of Poland were present at the ceremony Sunday. Among the leaders who arrived to Krakow were the Russian presidents – Dmitry Medvedev, Czech Republic –...
Russia’s Role in Kyrgyzstan Change
Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, was the first foreign political official to recognize the legitimacy of Kyrgyzstan’s provisional government. In stark contrast to the US State Department’s awkward statements about Washington’...
Russia in Europe and the West
Russia's ratification of European Court of Human Rights reform and debates about its strategic security relationship with NATO suggest that there could be a new turn in Moscow's relations with Europe and the transatlantic community, writes Michael Em...
quick piece on Prague dinner
America and eastern EuropeGuess who's coming to dinner?Apr 8th 2010From Economist.comBarack Obama tries to fix damaged relations with eastern European alliesTHE Obama administration’s closest European allies are oddly tricky to please. An invitatio...
Russia and America: the new beginning
Sometimes official occasions cannot disguise feelings. When President Obama and President Medvedev were offered the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to sign they bent over the documents in silence. Then the American leader made an aside and his Ru...
Katyn and Putin
Europe.view nr 178We regret the inconvenienceApr 8th 2010 From Economist.comRussia attempts to resolve disputes with its neighbours over Soviet-era crimesAS THIS column noted recently, the era of “therapeutic historiography” is drawing to a close...
U.S. – Russia sign New START nuclear arms reduction treaty
According Washington Post, “President US, Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a sweeping new arms reduction pact on Thursday that pledges to reduce the stockpile of deployed, strategic nuclear weapons in both countries and...
Is Russia finally ditching its revisionist history on Katyn?
In this era of commerce and trade, it often happens that countries that might once have gone to war play out their antagonisms through other means. The immigration debate plays this role in Mexican American relations. For a time, the trade dispute ov...
