Vladimir Putin

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Newly Assertive Medvedev Takes Swipe at Putin

Russian president, once seen as a puppet, castigates his mentor

(Newser) - Dmitry Medvedev publicly rebuked the government of Vladimir Putin yesterday for its handling of the country's severe economic crisis, in yet another sign that the Russian president is becoming increasingly independent. At a factory outside Moscow, Medvedev said the rescue was moving "more slowly than the current situation demands....

Cold War Ends: Russia, Ukraine Settle Gas Dispute

Both sides agree to international inspectors monitoring exports

(Newser) - Russia and Ukraine have settled their feisty gas dispute, allowing fuel supplies to start flowing to shivering European nations “within hours,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Both sides agreed to international teams monitoring the pipeline system in Ukraine, which Russia accuses of stealing EU gas for its own...

EU Faces Crisis as Russia Cuts Off Gas

Spat with Ukraine leaves half of continent short of fuel

(Newser) - European nations from Austria to Greece lost most or all of their gas supplies today, as a showdown between Russia and Ukraine imperiled the entire continent. Last night Gazprom, the Russian state gas company, cut its supply by 60% to punish Ukraine for allegedly stealing fuel that should flow through...

The Pride of Russia, Tanking Gazprom Seeks Bailout

A symbol of Moscow's resurgence a year ago, the natural gas giant is foundering

(Newser) - Just a year ago, Russian natural gas titan Gazprom was burning through global competition on its way to becoming the world's largest corporation. Now the state-owned darling of investors worldwide is deep in debt and flirting with a government bailout. A symbol of Russia’s resurgence as a global economic...

Hey NATO, Lay Off Russia: Qadaffi
 Hey NATO, 
 Lay Off Russia: Qadaffi 
OPINION
Dec 23, 2008 4:30 PM CST

Hey NATO, Lay Off Russia: Qadaffi

West should stop meddling with nuclear giant: Qaddafi

(Newser) - Barack Obama would be wise to harken back to the no-meddling Monroe Doctrine and stop the West’s “addiction to interfering in the affairs of other countries,” Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi writes in the Washington Times. He blames NATO expansion to Russia’s border for moving the nuclear...

Putin Pounces on Private Companies
Putin Pounces on Private Companies
Dec 8, 2008 8:42 AM CST

Putin Pounces on Private Companies

Kremlin uses financial crisis to further its aims of 'renationalizing'

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin has insisted for years that Russia made a colossal mistake by privatizing the nation's giant reserves of oil, gas, and other natural resources after the fall of the Soviet Union. The president-turned-prime minister has made muscular efforts to renationalize those industries—most notoriously the Yukos oil company, whose...

Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead
Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead
OBITUARY
Dec 5, 2008 12:24 PM CST

Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead

Patriarch Alexiy unified denomination, was suspected of KGB ties

(Newser) - The iconic leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who healed an 80-year rift in the church and restored its prominence in Russian society, died today, the Times of London reports. No official cause of death was given for Patriarch Alexiy, but the Kremlin’s first post-Soviet Orthodox leader had been...

Putin Sees Warmer Relations With US

(Newser) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the "positive signals" coming from Barack Obama's camp could lead to warmer relations between the two countries, Reuters reports. “If these are not just words, if they get transformed into a practical policy, then of course our reaction will be adequate and...

Feisty Medvedev Gives Obama Russian Headache

Bush avoided dealing with Russia; Obama likely to engage

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s main foreign policy challenge was supposed to be the Middle East, but Russia is giving its southern neighbors some competition, writes Ben Smith in Politico. Almost alone among foreign leaders in greeting the Obama victory with hostility, Dmitry Medvedev immediately threatened to move missiles westward if the...

Putin Promises to Help Sliding Russian Economy

With many paychecks weeks behind, crisis reminds nation of '90s collapse

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin proposed steps yesterday to stabilize the Russian economy as layoffs and deferred wages cause rising insecurity about the nation’s finances, the Wall Street Journal reports. Russian firms now owe $145 million in delayed wages to 300,000 people, and those figures may actually be higher—a fifth...

Russia Paves Way for Return of Putin
Russia Paves Way for Return of Putin
Nov 21, 2008 12:04 PM CST

Russia Paves Way for Return of Putin

Parliament extends term of president; early elections could follow

(Newser) - Russia's lower house of parliament approved a change to the constitution that extends the term of the president from four to six years, CNN reports. The move is widely seen as a bureaucratic maneuver that will lead to the return of Vladimir Putin as president. The upper house of parliament...

Russian Pardon Effort Tests Medvedev

Thousands sign online petition to free woman jailed by mentor Putin

(Newser) - A grassroots effort to pardon a convicted lawyer could allow Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to bolster the liberal image he's worked to create, but to issue the reprieve he must stand up to Vladimir Putin. Svetlana Bakhmina was arrested during one of Putin’s crackdowns on corruption at state oil...

Putin Wanted to Hang Georgian President 'by the Balls'

Sarkozy's team leaks transcript pre-summit

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin would’ve had the Russian army destroy the Georgian government and hang President Mikhail Saakashvili “by the balls” if Nicolas Sarkozy hadn’t intervened, the Times of London reports. In a transcript of August’s cease-fire negotiations leaked by the French president’s office, Putin says he...

Medvedev, Putin Move to Tighten Grip on Russia
Medvedev, Putin Move to Tighten Grip on Russia
ANALYSIS
Nov 6, 2008 7:20 AM CST

Medvedev, Putin Move to Tighten Grip on Russia

Extending president's term would lock in power for a generation

(Newser) - Dmitry Medvedev's proposal yesterday to extend the Russian president's term from 4 years to 6 looks like another step in Russia's "alarming and rapid drift towards authoritarianism," the Guardian reports. The move came as a Russian newspaper, citing sources in the Kremlin, claimed that Medvedev could resign as...

Russia Will Move Missiles Near Poland

Installation would 'neutralize' US shield in Central Europe

(Newser) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev delivered an aggressive speech against the US today, threatening to deploy short-range missiles and perhaps its navy to “neutralize” US plans for an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. Moscow perceives the American defense system—which Washington says is intended to deter “...

As Oligarchs Lose Billions, Kremlin Steps In

Russia bails out first businessman, but more trouble looms

(Newser) - The Kremlin is allowing an individual businessman to tap into a $50 billion rescue fund, reports the Wall Street Journal, signaling a shake-up of the relationship between the Russian government and the country's oligarchs. Mikhail Fridman, whose creditors declared him in default on a $2 billion loan from Deutsche Bank,...

Russian Activist Lawyer Poisoned by Mercury

Ill, she misses hearing on journo's murder

(Newser) - French police are probing the mercury poisoning of Russia's leading human rights lawyer, the New York Times reports. Toxic pellets were found in the car of Karinna Moskalenko in Strasbourg. She had been due to attend the Moscow trial of men accused of involvement in the murder of her late...

Credit Chill Spreads to Russia
 Credit Chill Spreads to Russia 
Oct 8, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

Credit Chill Spreads to Russia

Georgian war spooked foreign investment, destabilized economy

(Newser) - The credit crisis has officially reached Russia, revealing just how fragile the Russian economy is, BusinessWeek reports. Stocks fell so much this week that the government today suspended both exchanges to stem further loss. But the country's reliance on foreign cash—disappearing as investors flee—is bound to affect more...

Chavez Building Reactor With Russian Support

Only for 'peaceful purposes,' Chavez insists

(Newser) - In his latest challenge to Washington, Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez has announced that his nation is developing a nuclear reactor—with Russian support, Reuters reports. "We are interested in development of nuclear energy, of course for peaceful purposes—for medical purposes, for  electricity," Chavez said yesterday at a...

Resurgent Russia Vows to Beef Up Military

'Colossus' created with $1B Venezuela military loan, oil deal

(Newser) - Russia signed a $1 billion military loan deal with Venezuela yesterday while pledging to upgrade its own military, the New York Times reports. The country plans to ratchet its defense budget back up to Cold War levels next year and intends to have new warships built by 2020. President Dmitry...

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