NEWS / RUSSIAN POLITICS IN REVIEW, JULY-AUG       Site map

31.08.2009 Russian Politics in Review July-Aug, 2009 The following resource is meant to quickly introduce the reader to political issues in Russia with a focus on politics impacts life in Russia and to what extent the political field can be cause diverse or reflective of the population. This news review is part of SRAS's monthly "obzor" publications. For more reviews, see the newsletter for this corresponding month. To receive the free monthly newsletter and obzori by email, simply sign up.   Medvedev The President Knows Better Judging by his reaction to the recent murders of public figures in Russia, Medvedev's proclaimed belief in the rule of law is hardly genuine. Medvedev criticizes lack of safety for police officers Russia's president said on Wednesday that law enforcement chiefs at all levels would be taken to task if they fail to ensure the safety of police officers. Terrorists must be dealt with "unceremoniously" Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for terrorists to be dealt with 'unceremoniously.' 'The crimes that have been committed lately against the Ingush leadership, individual law enforcement officials, regular citizens, and human rights activists must handled swiftly. Opening Remarks at Meeting with Leaders and Members of United Russia Political Party Opening Remarks at Meeting with Leaders and Members of United Russia Political Party Today we are meeting for a different reason than normally. First of all, I am glad that young United Russia deputies are at this meeting. Medvedev warns party it may not dominate forever President Dmitry Medvedev told Russia's dominant party to prepare for challenges to its rule, suggesting the Kremlin was ready to ease its grip on the regions to try to defuse social tension.   Opposition Moscow Police Detains Dozens Of Opposition Activists Police in Moscow have detained dozens of opposition activists.  The activists intended to hold an unsanctioned public gathering in the Russian capital's center on July 31. Opposition candidates will get the right to lose elections Local election commissions will not throw obstacles in the way of opposition candidates running in regional elections, the Russian media report. Communists Raided Law enforcement agencies seized computers during a raid on the offices of the Communists of Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast.   Putin Russia leaders enjoy night out President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have shared a typically male night out in the latest display of machismo from Russia's leaders.  The pair, both holidaying in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, cheered on Russia in a friendly football clash with Argentina. Vladimir Putin met with representatives of the Abkhazian opposition Moscow has vetoed a Western-backed resolution to extend the UN mission to Georgia. Russia voted against the measure at a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York.   Regions Life in Kazan: defying the crisis The economic crisis has reached Tatarstan, and in a land like Russia where the rich are free to act solely in their own interests, the effects are harsh. Still, regional identity remains cohesive, so in many ways life goes on as always. Remote Russian region builds on billionaire's legacy While Russia's population declines, there's a baby boom happening on its outer edge. Dozens Thought Dead at Russia Plant At least 12 people were confirmed dead after the bursting of a water conduit that leads to the turbines at the  Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric plantin the Khakassia region of Siberia. One factory's woes plunge Siberian town into despair The cellulose factory in Baikalsk once employed 2,200 people and was the lifeblood for the town on the shore of Russia's Lake Baikal and a symbol of Soviet-era industrialisation. 'Volgograd Obama' bids to be Russia's first black elected official A 37-year-old man from Guinea-Bissau is bidding to become Russia's first black elected official Balkars Again Protest Perceived Discrimination Some 1,500 Balkans congregated on July 25 at the monument near Nalchik to the victims of Soviet-era political reprisals to discuss the impact and repercussions of the "counterterror operation" conducted in the Elbruz district in the extreme west of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic. Rural Russia dying of poverty, neglect and alcoholism The government administrator was bursting with optimism: More children are being born, many rubles will be invested in infrastructure, and his region is weathering the global economic storm. No road, no food: remote village strives for life Residents of a small Russian village are struggling for life. Local authorities have stopped sending food supplies to a remote settlement that has no shops and only five ageing residents.        North Caucasus Moscow's Failure to Modernize Seen Leading to Republic's Independence Moscow's failure to modernize Chechnya and its lack of resources and will to continue that effort have opened the way for the re-traditionalization of Chechen society and given the disconnects between that society and Russia, for Grozny's current de facto and ultimately de jure independence. The aftermath of the Beslan school massacre Graduation day is a somber and painful time in Beslan. While across Russia school children celebrate one of life's major milestones by bringing flowers to school for their teachers, in this small community, entire classrooms head for a separate section of the town's cemetery. Medvedev Signals Support For Acting Ingushetian President Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met at his dacha near Sochi with Rashid Gaysanov, who as Ingushetian prime minister automatically assumed the duties of acting president following the suicide bomb attack that left President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov seriously injured. Moscow Faces New and More Intractable War in the North Caucasus Russia now faces a "new war" across the North Caucasus, according to the influential director of the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies, a conflict which is less about separatism and Islamist extremist than about "the settling of scores" among various groups in the population and the mistakes of the institutions there charged with maintaining order. Chechen Official Says Met Prominent Separatist Zakayev A senior Chechen official said on Friday he had held talks in Oslo with prominent separatist figure Akhmed Zakayev in an attempt to win his support for the restive Russian province's pro-Kremlin leadership. Eight rebels killed' in Dagestan At least eight suspected militants have been killed by Russian security forces in the troubled southern republic of Dagestan. Chechen Leadership In Exile Calls For Moratorium On Attacks On Police Members of the Chechen Republic Ichkeria (ChRI) government and parliament in exile met in Berlin to discuss the formal announcement in Oslo the previous day that ChRI Prime Minister Akhmed Zakayev and Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, speaker of the pro-Moscow Chechen Republic parliament, have embarked on consultations aimed at stabilizing the situation. Chechen official, exile agree to hold world congress of Chechens in 2009 Chechen speaker Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov and separatist emissary Akhmed Zakayev have agreed to hold a world congress of the Chechen people, aimed at developing decisions to settle the situation in the republic which are legitimate for Chechen society. Medvedev Outlines Strategy To Contain North Caucasus Violence Russian President Dmitry Medvedev convened a session of the Security Council in Stavropol on August 19 to evaluate the security situation in the North Caucasus in light of the suicide bombing in Nazran two days earlier that claimed 25 lives. Putin visits Chechnya in show of support Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin showed support for Chechnya's controversial leader by praising his assassinated father - the first Kremlin-backed Chechen president - and laying flowers at his grave. Chechnya leader rejects blame in activist's murder Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Chechnya, denied on Friday he was behind the murder this week of a leading Russian human rights activist, Natalya Estemirova. Russia rules out UN expert probe into Chechen activist's murder Russia said on Wednesday that United Nations experts could not carry out their own investigation into the murder of Chechen rights activist Natalya Estemirova. Russian republic's minister shot to death The construction minister in Russia's violence-plagued Ingushetia was shot to death in his office, the latest in a series of high-profile attacks on top officials in the restive republic. Chechen activist, husband found dead in car trunk The bullet-riddled bodies of a Chechen activist and her husband were found in the trunk of their car Tuesday, the latest in a string of high-profile killings in Chechnya under its Kremlin-backed leader. Suicide bomb kills 20, injures over 100 in Russia A suicide bomber rammed a truck into a police station in the Russian region of Ingushetia on Monday, killing at least 20 police in the worst attack to ravage the poor North Caucasus republic in years. Clash Between Ethnic Russians, Dargins Leaves One Dead The fight took place on the night of August 19 in the village of Pelagiada and resulted in the death of an ethnic Dargin.   Youth On the Muddy Banks of Seliger This year the annual youth camp at Lake Seliger was organized by the state, and thrown open to non-Nashi participants. It did not live up to the lurid expectations of its critics, and at its best was everything it was meant to be. Vladimir Putin talked with participants in the Seliger-2009 National Youth Forum "I couldn't really do it fully on my way here, but what I did get to hear is testament to the fact that young people are thinking about the country's problems, they are thinking about how to solve them, and they are putting forward their proposals." Russian president holds videoconference with youth education forum Let me say first how pleased I am that you have chosen such a beautiful place for your encounter. This year we have a sophisticated new way of communicating with each other. I have been to Seliger and liked it a lot. Russia's Generation Z: Never question authority Raised in a generation that never fought for prosperity, they've been handed more than any before them. But the price is clear: never question authority. After the chaotic 1990s, when the state was shaken to the core and communism collapsed along with lives and livelihoods, it's a price they're willing to pay. Opening Remarks at Session of State Council On Youth Policies in the Russian Federation As we agreed, this session of the State Council will be devoted to policies regarding Russia's youth. I am not going to repeat the usual platitudes about how important this is to our future, especially given that young people, the individuals aged 14 to 30 in statistics terms, make some 27 percent of our nation's population.   Study Politics in Russia The Library: Politics in Russia SRAS Resources for Teachers   Find out more! SRAS Travel Services More Study Abroad Programs Internships in Russia Heath and Safety in Russia The SRAS Newsletter Journal for Students More Free Resources!  Questions or comments? Contact the editor. « back to News archive print this page email this page