Weekly Roundup

A quick snapshot of the posts of the past week, in case you missed it:

1) Russian Journalists Fight Censorship - What do the firings at Russian News Service mean for Russian radio broadcasting?

2) Business Update: Airplanes and Metals (Aeroflot-Alitalia; Norilsk Nickel-LionOre) Russian business acquisition attempts abroad

3) The Change in Command is Russia's Biggest Problem: A summary of economic and political problems facing Russia amid the 2008 elections based on the views of Russian economist Nikita Krichevskiy (taken from Russian daily MK)

4) Russian Foreign Policy - A Mirror of the US, and a Bad One Too: Where has Russian foreign policy gone wrong, and what approach is best in the years to come?

5) As if We Could Have Forgotten - From London with Polonium: Looking for the best outcome in the Lugovoi extradition, of something like this exists

6) Russia Diversifies its Distribution Network - Beltransgaz: 13 years of negotiations with the "freindly" Belarus has finally given results; is Russia's grip on Europe tighter now?

7) Business Update: Norilsk Nickel - LionOre: Norilsk makes an affirmative statement in its pursuit of the Canadian commodity conglomerate; will this be the largest acquisition by a Russian company abroad?

8) Britain Goes Without Russia in Energy Needs: Should Russia Worry?

Today's honor for video of the week goes to Kalinov Most, for Rodnaya (Родная), a personal favorite



Recommended reading: From today's Times a good roundup of Russia today in less than 1500 words Putin’s hard line makes him enemies abroad – but many friends at home

Also, in case there were any doubts, there will not be a civil war in Ukraine; the first man to use force there is a dead man, Yuschenko and Yanukovich know this. Any comaprisons to 1993 in Russia are far-fetched except for the fact of opposition between the executive and legislative branches.