Vladimir Putin

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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...

Russian Warships Head to Venezuela for 'Training'

Chavez says coordinated exercise is 'warning' to US

(Newser) - Russian warships left this morning for coordinated training exercises with the Venezuelan navy, the AFP reports. The group, consisting of a nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser, anti-submarine ship, and supporting craft, were seen firing artillery on the open ocean in tests. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said the deployment was a “warning”...

Putin on Georgia: We Had No Choice

Russian PM warns against Europe 'arms race'

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin stridently defended Russia’s invasion of Georgia yesterday, saying to do otherwise would be like his country “getting a bloody nose and hanging its head down,” the Independent reports. “They attacked South Ossetia with missiles, tanks, heavy artillery, and ground troops. What were we supposed...

Russia Claims US Citizen Provoked War

Cites teacher's found passport as proof of meddling in Georgia

(Newser) - To support its claims that US intelligence agents played a role in the Georgian conflict, the Kremlin has produced a US passport belonging to an Army veteran from Texas, the Wall Street Journal reports. They say the passport was found in an outpost used by Georgian special forces. The alleged...

EU Holds Emergency Summit on Georgia

No sanctions or radical changes expected

(Newser) - European Union leaders gather in Brussels in an emergency session today to review their stance on Russia’s invasion of Georgia. It's the first emergency EU meeting since the run-up to the Iraq war in 2003. With conflicting positions from the UK, France and Germany, analysts say the summit will...

Putin: US Sparked Georgia War
 Putin: US Sparked Georgia War
Aug 29, 2008 4:26 AM CDT

Putin: US Sparked Georgia War

Part of plot to win votes for McCain, he claims

(Newser) - Invoking the era of Cold War conspiracies, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the US of sparking conflict in Georgia to give John McCain a campaign boost. “They need a small victorious war,” the told CNN. He insisted the US encouraged Georgia to attack their two breakaway...

West to Put Screws to Russia
 West to Put Screws to Russia
Aug 27, 2008 2:25 AM CDT

West to Put Screws to Russia

New fury at Russia's formal recognition of breakaway states

(Newser) - The West is preparing to crank up diplomatic pressure on Russia after its challenging move formally recognizing breakaway Ossetia and Abkhazia in the wake of its invasion of Georgia. The US, Europe and NATO have condemned the action, but Russia remains defiant. "We are not afraid of anything, including...

Germany Is Crux of Russia Talks
 Germany Is Crux of Russia Talks
Analysis
Aug 25, 2008 10:05 AM CDT

Germany Is Crux of Russia Talks

Merkel could be valuable go-between

(Newser) - A fretful Eastern Europe is hoping Germany can play a key diplomatic role in its stare-down with Russia, the New York Times reports. Until recently, relations between Moscow and Berlin were too cozy for the Caucasus’ tastes, but East German-born Angela Merkel has distanced herself from Russia just enough to...

Modern Bullies Aren't World's Real Threat
Modern Bullies Aren't
World's Real Threat
OPINION
Aug 23, 2008 4:47 PM CDT

Modern Bullies Aren't World's Real Threat

Putin, Jintao no Stalin, Mao; today's rulers can't ignore democracy

(Newser) - The world's strong-arm autocrats are surging to the fore, ignoring human rights, denying election results, and barging into neighboring nations. But Hu Jintao, Robert Mugabe and Vladimir Putin are not Mao, Hitler, or Stalin, Francis Fukuyama writes in the Washington Post. That “sort of ideological tyrant no longer bestrides...

Nuke Advantage Emboldened Putin's Russia
Nuke Advantage Emboldened Putin's Russia
OPINION
Aug 21, 2008 9:25 AM CDT

Nuke Advantage Emboldened Putin's Russia

US disarmament partly to blame for Georgia war, says Schoenfeld

(Newser) - Diplomats and pundits have debated what led Russia to attack Georgia so forcefully, pointing to everything from newfound economic strength to a sense of national humiliation. But Gabriel Schoenfeld, editor at neoconservative magazine Commentary, has another explanation: it's Russia's growing nuclear advantage, especially with short-range arms, that has "helped...

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