EU-DIGEST

Russia - Putin Labels Markets 'Unfair' - by Courtney Weaver

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described the effect foreign markets have on domestic share prices as "unfair" during a government meeting Monday, saying the values of the securities do not accurately reflect those of the companies themselves. Putin also spoke out against insider trading and again blamed the West for the country's economic difficulties, adding that those trading on domestic exchanges would be compensated for financial losses, Interfax reported. "Decisions concerning which securities to buy or sell on Russian markets are, for the most part, made abroad," Putin said, the news agency reported. "Moreover, the criteria by which these decisions are made have very little connection to the actual state of our economy or Russian companies." At the same time, he was careful to point out that the country did not want to exclude foreign investors. "No one is preparing to limit the activities of foreign capital in the Russian stock market — we welcome foreign investors," Putin said. "But at the same time, the task lies in properly building a large class of domestic investors as a powerful and capable financial institution of its own."The lack of domestic investors is clearly a problem and shares in Russian companies trade at levels below what might be expected given their fundamentals, said James Beadle, director of Pilgrim Asset Management. "On the face of it, Putin is completely correct — I think a lot of the market's reaction has had nothing to do with the Russian economy," Beadle said. "But Russia's situation has been, as we know, worse than most emerging markets.

Vladimir Milovidov, head of the Federal Financial Markets Service said, "I don't see any clear obstacles to the creation of such a system of compensation based on the idea of the Deposit Insurance Agency," Milovidov said, although he added that the question would require further consultation with various ministries and departments."

Labels: Economy, Putin, Russia

For the complete report from the Associated Press click on this link

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin used a meeting of his powerful political party to take center stage Thursday, casting himself as an indispensable leader even as the global financial meltdown threatens the achievements of his boom-time presidency. At the first congress of his United Russia party since May, when Dmitry Medvedev succeeded him as Russia's president, Putin eclipsed his protege with a rousing speech to party faithful in a massive atrium off Red Square. He acknowledged that Russia could not escape the effects of the international economic turmoil, but said it was well insulated by the riches accrued during his eight-year presidency. He also expressed confidence Russia would do more than just weather the storm.

Labels: Putin, Russia

Russia should join EU, Berlusconi says

Russia should be allowed to join the European Union in the coming years, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday. "I consider Russia to be a Western nation. So my project is that the Russian Federation should become a member of the EU in the coming years," Berlusconi told Italian reporters on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.Asked whether the time had come for the EU to normalize its relations with Moscow, Berlusconi said: "I would go beyond that." Berlusconi has frequently touted his close friendship with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Putin's two daughters have been spotted in the past spending their summer holidays at Berlusconi's villa in Sardinia.

Labels: Berlusconi, Economy, EU, Putin, Russia

Russia - Putin: Ukraine gave military aid to Georgia in war with Russia - by Arthur Bright

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin charged Ukraine with supplying arms and manpower to Georgia during its recent war with Russia, and said if Ukraine's involvement was proven, it would be a "crime." Russian news and information agency RIA Novosti reports that Mr. Putin made the accusation Thursday during a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to sign a new contract on Russian natural gas exports to Ukraine.Sevastopol has been home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet since 1783. In 1997, Ukraine agreed to lease the port to the fleet until 2017, when the agreement would be up for renewal. Angered by Russia's actions in Georgia, Ukrainian leaders no longer want to renew the fleet's lease after 2017.But one of Russia's concerns about Ukraine looks to be allayed, at least for the time being. Although Yushchenko has campaigned for Ukraine's membership in NATO, The Wall Street Journal reports German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Thursday that Germany would not support giving a membership "road map" to Ukraine or to Georgia this year.

Mrs. Merkel's rejection of a NATO track for Georgia and Ukraine, at a news conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in St. Petersburg, would effectively act as a veto. The Western military alliance operates by consensus.

Labels: Putin, Russia, Ukraine

Russia's Putin is divorced and plans to marry ex-gymnast

A Russian tabloid broke taboo by reporting Russia's president Vladimir Putin had divorced his wife Lyudimilla and plans to wed 24-year-old former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva. The Kremlin Tuesday refused to comment on the article which was posted on the daily's Moskovsky Korrespondent website on Friday. The article cited a source close to event planning firm Art-management in Putin's native St. Petersburg, saying the company was competing for the right to host the wedding. Compared to most other world leaders, very little is known about the personal life of the 55-year-old ex-KGB agent, who succeeded Boris Yeltsin eight years ago practically unknown in the west. Russian's First Lady, Lyudimilla, is rarely in the limelight and the couple's two daughters, Masha and Katya, live under pseudonyms and are closely guarded. But the newspaper reported that Putin had divorced two months ago. It speculated that he was planning a June wedding, timed after he steps down as president in May.

Labels: Alina Kabayeva, Putin, Russia

Putin beats Bush on points in the battle of the legacies - by Bronwen Maddox

Putin beats Bush on points in the battle of the legacies - by Bronwen Maddox

President Putin was the first winner from the Nato summit in Bucharest, and he wasn't even there. The Nato-Russia Council begins only today, but Putin, who has played the Western alliance with obsessive skill in his last months as President, ensured that relations with Russia dominated the earlier gathering. For him and George W. Bush, Bucharest was a battle of the legacies, and on points Putin won. The summit failed to give a date for Ukraine and Georgia to join, which Bush had forthrightly declared it should, but which Germany and France blocked, partly to avoid antagonising Russia. Gordon Brown yesterday said that “no one outside a Nato meeting could influence it”, but Russia's threats and courtship seem to have done just that.

Labels: Bush, EU, Nato, Politics, Putin

Vladimir Putin to spy on his dog from space - by Will Steward

Vladimir Putin's dog, Connie, is to be fitted with a "satnav" collar so that the Russian president can monitor its every movement. Mr Putin reportedly asked about the possibility of tracking his dog ahead of the launch of a Proton-K rocket, a key component in the country's satellite navigation system. The dog has a habit of escaping from Mr Putin in search of adventures in the woods around the president's official dacha outside Moscow. The Russians hope their system, can compete with the US GPS network, and Europe's Galileo system.

Labels: Communication, Putin, Russia, Satellite Navigation

Is Putin Europe's friend or foe - or something in between? - by Giles Merrit

Relations between Europe and Russia have been deteriorating for several years, but once manageable economic issues, including energy, are now being aggravated by much more volatile political differences. The risk is a climate of undisguised hostility, with potentially greater costs than during the nadir of the Cold War. The most obvious and imminent flashpoint is Kosovo. The likelihood is that early next year most of the European Union's member nations will recognize the Albanian-majority enclave on Serbia's southern edge as an independent state. This is certain to enflame not just Serbia, but also the Kremlin. Then there are rising tensions over plans by the United States to base a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as the growing likelihood that further NATO enlargement will include Georgia, the increasingly prosperous neighbor with which Russia has fractious relations. Russia continues to fan secessionist flames there by encouraging the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Labels: EU, Putin, Russia

Putin moves to cement grip on power - by Jane Armstrong

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday he would agree to serve as prime minister, putting to rest any doubts he will exit the political stage upon his scheduled retirement in three months. The announcement came just a week after his hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, urged Mr. Putin to stay on in Russian political life because his people still need him.Since the fall of communism in 1991, the Russian presidency has been a powerful post, responsible for the military and foreign policy. The president can also appoint and fire a prime minister. It is predicted Mr. Putin will move quickly to increase the prime minister's powers, but it is also noted the emergence of "two centres of gravity" could cause a political crisis. "The political elites and the ruling class will be at a loss as to what centre of gravity to support, which boat to choose, which movie to see. This opens a totally unknown chapter," she said. "It also can bring disaster and paralysis."

Labels: Elections, Putin, Russia

Is Russia Democratic? - (Maybe even more so than the US)- by Justin Raimondo

The Russian system is far more democratic than, say, the American system, where a party that gets 7 percent – or even 10 or 20 percent – is by no means guaranteed a single seat in Congress. That is, if they even manage to get on the ballot. Parties other than the state-sanctioned and state-subsidized Democrats and Republicans face almost impossible hurdles to achieve ballot status – and, even if they do, these "third" parties operate at a tremendous disadvantage not only legally, but in terms of being taken seriously by the "mainstream" media. Is this any better than in Russia? One could make a convincing case that it is far worse. What would we have thought if Putin had sent observers to, say, Florida, where the drama of the "hanging chads" and the intricacies of the Electoral College denied the White House to the candidate who got the most votes? It's outrageous – especially when we're giving full military, political, and diplomatic support to real dictators like Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, who is now in the process of setting up a hereditary "presidency" and has taken to locking up bloggers for violating political and cultural "norms." And what about Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who is beating the crap out of his opponents in the streets of Islamabad, arresting the Supreme Court, and installing himself as "president" of Pakistan in a procedure that is a cruel mockery of democracy? The difference is that dictator like Musharraf, Mubarak, King Abdullah and some other dictators meet the "pro-American" test, which consists of kowtowing to Washington when it comes to the conduct of foreign affairs, and particularly when it comes to providing full access to American economic and military interests.

Labels: Democracy, EU, Putin, Russia, USA

Putin’s Party Wins in Russia, but Leadership Is Still Clouded - by Clifford J.Levy

"President Vladimir V. Putin’s party secured a landslide in parliamentary elections on Sunday after a campaign in which the Kremlin persistently hobbled the opposition. Yet while the results represent a triumph for Mr. Putin, they also usher in a new era of political instability for Russia.Early results and exit polls demonstrated United Russia’s overwhelming advantages, which had been widely predicted. According to results published late Sunday by Interfax, the Russian news agency, with 30.6 percent of the votes tallied, United Russia received 63.6 percent of the vote, following far behind by the Communist Party, which garnered 11.3 percent.

Stanislav Belkovsky, a prominent political analyst here, said people misunderstood Russian history and tradition. They are in awe of Mr. Putin’s high popularity ratings and fail to understand that once he leaves office, his aura will fade and authority will instinctively transfer to the new president, Mr. Belkovsky said. What is more, many of Russia’s problems, including inflation and corruption, are likely to worsen next year, and the new president will most likely try to shift blame for them to Mr. Putin, damaging his standing, Mr. Belkovsky said.

Labels: Elections, Putin, Russia

Putin and Chavez: Saviours Of Nations But At What Cost - by David Pratt

To some they are saviours of their respective countries. To others they are vilified as dictators in the making, hell-bent on consolidating their authoritarian grip on power, whatever it takes. Today is a crucial day for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and Russian president Vladimir Putin. This weekend, both men find themselves in elections the outcome of which many believe will reveal the true political direction in which the two leaders hope to steer their nations. Putin leads his United Russia party into today's parliamentary poll knowing that an anticipated landslide victory will cement his grip on power even after he steps down from the presidency at the end of his second term next year.

Chavez, on the other hand, is facing a much closer contest in his attempt to urge voters to back constitutional reforms he says are needed to further Venezuela's socialist revolution. Not all Venezuelans are convinced: on Friday, more than 100,000 people took to the streets to oppose Chavez's 69 proposed changes to the nation's 1999 constitution.

Labels: Chavez, Elections, Putin, Russia, Venezuela

President Vladimir Putin signed a law Friday suspending Russia's participation in the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, intensifying pressure on NATO to make further concessions, said European diplomats. Putin's action, two days before national elections, moved Russia a step closer to carrying out its threat to stop abiding by the accord on Dec. 12. U.S. and Russian arms control experts said they would step up negotiatons over the coming days.

"There will be more meetings," said Mikhail Uliyanov, head of Russia's military security and arms control delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which negotiated the original treaty. "We are committed to the arms control regime, but the old treaty is out of date," he added.

Labels: Elections, Putin, Russia

"Putin who is immensely popular in Russia can count on overwhelming victory in elections"- by Geert Groot Koerkamp

President Vladimir Putin addressed thousands of supporters of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party less than two weeks before the Russian parliamentary elections of 2 December. The party is expected to win a landslide victory. His supporters see the elections as a referendum on President Putin, whose second and final term ends in March. They hope that he continues to rule the country. This should not prove difficult, since a Putin ally is expected to win the presidency.

The opinion polls promise good news for Mr Putin. The polls show that the only party besides United Russia which will get enough votes to pass the seven percent threshold is the Communist Party. Semyon Trofimov, a member of the new pro-Putin movement, says that many Russians believe Mr Putin will guarantee stability. “As an average citizen and father of two sons I want to see my children grow up without war, any sort of calamities or racial hatred. I believe that at the moment the only person who can achieve this is Vladimir Putin.”

Note EU-Digest: The EU has all to gain from standing behind Mr. Putin who is solidly supported at home by the Russian people. He has gained respect by bringing stability to a country during extremely difficult times, as it transformed from a totalitarian communist state to a pro-free enterprise democracy. Russia today is a democracy in its own right and respects religious freedom. The Internet is not censored (like in China); there is a free press; Russia has signed the Kyoto treaty; and is one of the most important trading partners of the EU. Europe will not benefit from mingling in Russia's internal political affairs, but instead should help them in further developing their government institutions, support technology transfer and increase trade. Europe certainly does not need to get involved in another cold war with Russia. .

Labels: Democracy, Elections, EU, Putin, Russia

One Cold War Was Enough: Russia Needs Our Help, Not Our Condemnation

Trying to understand Russia through the prism of the British and American news media these days can be a real headache. On one hand, if you’ve read the business pages of The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times lately, you would learn that Russia is now one of the world’s leading emerging markets, and the Russian economy has grown at an average annual rate of 7% since 2000. On the other hand, if you turn to the headlines or the editorial pages, you will read that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been busy crushing democracy and reviving the Soviet Union.

While Americans are constantly having their eyes opened to the possibilities for growth and economic freedom in the People’s Republic of China, a far more free and open society in Russia is judged more harshly in the Western news media. Why is this? Is it because the shelves at Wal-Marts across America are not stocked with goods from Russia? Or is it simply because, as some cynical Russians imply, there is one American and European expectation for people who “look like us”, and another for others (Asians, Africans, and Arabs) who don’t? Or could it be that American perceptions of Russia are still formed by a combination of stereotypes left over from the Cold War and more recent images of Russia in the Nineties as the Wild East -- an exotic backwater whose main exports were supposedly mail order brides and ruthless mafias?

Stop obsessing about the Kremlin and start concentrating on promoting more trade, entrepreneurship, and genuine philanthropy between our two countries at the grassroots and corporate levels. If the US can do this with China, a country that does not respect religious freedom and which actively censors the Internet, why can’t the US do it with Russia, whose government does not do either of these things?

Labels: Democracy, Elections, Putin, Russia

Russia - Opposition suppressed: Putin Rival Kasparov Beaten And Arrested

Kremlin opponents clashed with riot police after a rally where the former chess champion was forced to the ground and beaten. In court two of the riot police swore that the had direct orders to arrest Kasparov. The Moscow court Convicted Kasparov and sentenced him to five days in jail. He was charged for organizing an unsanctioned procession "of at least 1,500 people directed against President Vladimir Putin," and chanting anti-government slogans.

Kasparov has said that he plans to run for the presidency next March, many of the opposition parties in his coalition, including his United Civic Front, have not been allowed to register in the coming election.

Labels: Democracy, Elections, Putin, Russia

Putin’s Russia Stakes Its Ground - by Michael Moran

For U.S. and European policymakers who had consigned Kremlinology to the history shelf of research libraries, the past two years have brought cause for regret. Since December 2005, when Russian muscle flexing in a dispute with Ukraine showed the European Union how vulnerable (BBC) its energy supplies had become, President Vladimir Putin has made no bones about the fact that he deeply resents the status quo he inherited from Boris Yeltsin when he took power on the eve of the millennium. In 2005, he told (AP) Russians in a nationally televised speech that “the demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [twentieth] century."

Labels: EU, Putin, Russia, US

WWIII – Bring It On !- by Gordon Prather

Last week, Iran hosted a "summit" of leaders of the Caspian Sea littoral states – Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iran. Russian President Putin met with Iranian President Ahmadinejad, and afterwards declared that "Iran is an important regional and global power." Putin also said that he had seen no evidence that Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapons program and announced that Russia would go ahead and complete the Iranian nuclear power plant at Bushehr. The summit, itself, resulted in a number of "milestone" agreements, including one prohibiting other countries – such as the United States – from using territory or facilities of one or more Caspian Sea littoral states for attacks on another "in any circumstances," and another "disallowing" the passage on the Caspian Sea of any ship not flying the national flag of a littoral state.

Bush's promptly convened an unusually lengthy press conference, in which to get off zingers like this one. "We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

So, if Bush is to be believed, he's recently told Putin that he is willing to start World War III, not because Iran allegedly has nukes with which to allegedly attack Israel, or not because Iran has the capability of making the material to make nukes with which to allegedly attack Israel, or not even because Iran allegedly wants to make nukes with which to allegedly attack Israel. Now all it takes to start WWIII is some Iranians knowing how to make a nuke.

Labels: Bush, Iran, Putin

Putin tells U.S. not to strike Iran - by Oleg Shchedrov and Parisa Hafezi

President Vladimir Putin made clear to Washington on Tuesday that Russia would not accept military action against Iran and he invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Moscow for talks. Earlier, in comments aimed at the United States, Putin said during his talks in Iran: "We should not even think of using force in this region." "We need to agree that using the territory of one Caspian Sea (state) in the event of aggression against another is impossible," he told the presidents of Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan at a summit of Caspian Sea states.

Labels: EU, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Putin, Russia, US

Plot To Assassinate Putin In Tehran Uncovered

Russian President Vladimir Putin has learnt of a plot by several groups of terrorists to assassinate him during a visit to Iran this week, Interfax news agency reported, citing a credible source in Russia's special services. The news agency said suicide terrorists had been trained to carry out the assassination. Putin is to travel to Teheran on Monday night from Germany after meetings with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Labels: Iran, Putin

Putin hints at scenario to retain power - by Sergei L. Loiko and David Holley

Russian President Vladimir V. Putin indicated Monday that he might retain political influence when he steps down next year as required under the constitution by instead serving as prime minister. Putin also agreed Monday to head the pro-Putin United Russia party's list of candidates in December parliamentary elections, lending his considerable popularity to the already dominant party's efforts to win a commanding majority.

Labels: Putin, Russia

RUSSIA: Putin's young 'brownshirts' - by Cathy Young

Nashi was launched in the spring of 2005, largely in reaction to the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine in 2004, where young adults played a key role in the massive street protests, sit-ins, and strikes that helped pro-Western presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko prevail in an election dispute. With Nashi and several smaller pro-Kremlin youth groups, the Putin regime is hoping not only to co-opt political activism among the younger generation but to use it as a club against its enemies.

And make no mistake: While ostensibly independent, Nashi is a Kremlin creation. Officially, its lavish funding comes from pro-government business owners; it is widely reported that the group also receives direct subsidies from the Kremlin. Nashi activists land coveted jobs and internships in government agencies as well as state-owned oil and gas corporations. Putin's top advisers have met frequently with the group's leaders.

Nashi claims to be over 100,000 strong; according to some reports, it has a core of 10,000 activists ages 17 to 25, with another 200,000 or so who regularly attend its events. At the core of Nashi's credo is personal loyalty to Putin, admired as the strongman who saved Russia from weakness and decline -- and venomous hate toward the opposition and its leaders, such as chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov.

Note EU-Digest: The US (Boston Globe) should not get too critical of Mr. Putin - the US after all also have their "young Republicans" and "young Democrats", who also are very motivated in their support for "their heroes" in each party. They too are getting rewarded with "special favors" by their constituency. Lets give Mr. Putin at least the credit he deserves for holding the Russian Federation together and creating a very pro-business society.

Labels: Nashi, Putin, Russia

Support for the United States and President Bush's foreign policies remains low, according to a poll in 47 nations and territories released Wednesday. But skepticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin and wariness of China's rising power are growing. Two would-be challengers to the global order, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, aren't very popular, either. Even Osama bin Laden's favorable ratings are down, particularly among Muslims.The poll of 45,200 people by the Pew Global Attitudes Project paints humankind as increasingly worried about the environment.

In 37 of the countries surveyed, overwhelming majorities had little or no trust in Bush "to do the right thing in foreign affairs." Suspicion of U.S. efforts to promote democracy abroad is nearly universal. Even in Eastern Europe, post-Cold War affection for the U.S. is dissipating.

Labels: George Bush, Putin, USA

Labels: Europe, Putin

George Bush's estate at Walker Point, in Kennebunkport, Maine

For the complete report from the Buffalonews/LA Times click on this link

Bush and Putin to talk in Maine July 1 - 2 - by Maura Reynolds

In an effort to warm the deepening chill in U.S.-Russian relations, President Bush will host Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in July at his family’s vacation compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. The two men say they have a friendly relationship, even as serious strains have developed between the two countries over NATO’s plans to install missile defense systems in former Soviet bloc countries, over the status of Kosovo, and other issues. U.S. officials said Wednesday the aim of the Kennebunkport visit, set for July 1-2, is to ease tensions, starting at the top. The presence of the president’s father, the first President George Bush, during the visit was also seen as a way to personalize the encounter and evoke a more optimistic period in U.S.-Russian relations.

Labels: Bush, Missile Crises, Putin, Russia, US