This blog is on break again. It is August and no news is really coming out anyway. Plus, the never-ending moving process lives on. Hopefully, August 20th will get the blog going again. For now the traditional Music Video - Mongol Shuudan - Moskva. Great song. Enjoy
A quick snapshot at this week's posts:
1) Russia cements its power as an economic powerhouse : summary of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and some of the prospects for Western businesses in Russia
2) Surprise, surprise, Mr. Blair - Gazprom goes for Britain : What is behind Gazprom's renewed bid to get a foothold in the British energy market?
3) Scissors are cutting up the Russian oil & gas industry : The outlook on the Russian oil & gas sector pressured by taxes and heavy regulation is grim
4) Operation Barbarossa - Doomed from the start : a brief look into history at how bad the Nazi plan was to invade the Soviet Union
5) Some eau de cologne with your vobla? - Alcoholism in Russia : While the government is fighting to increase the birth rate, the death rate is nullifying the effort
Finally the honor for video of the week goes to the great Chaif, one of the original rock bands of the late 80-s, who are popular and well today. Their song "Oy-yo" is difficult to translate yet is great for a drinking rout in the kitchen with friends (for further information see article (5) above)
This week has seen a multitude of headline-making events out of Russia and out of the G8 summit. It is still too early though to talk objectively about Russia's proposal to cooperate with the US ABM system in Azerbaijan. Many contradicting opinions from credible experts in the West and in Russia have come out that do not really give a clear answer to the motivations and the viability of the plan. Perhaps next week will be a little less muddy. As for this week's review:
1) Disney's Successes in Russia and the Venture Capital Boom : How the US entertainment giant has found another great new market and how Russia's attempts to fuel a VC boom are working out.
2) Vladimir Putin's press-conference making headlines : "After Mahatma Gandhi dies, there is just no one left to talk to"
3) Russia-US relations: more room to maneuver than it seems : With the Russian president making it clear that his influence on Russian policy-making will remain strong after 2008, how badly can the West risk breaking relations with Russia?
4) Norilsk Nickel is left as winner in bid for LionOre : Russia's biggest corporate foreign acquisition looks to be steps from completion
5) Putin gives up salary for Jewish museum - Stavropol riots against the Chechens : ethnic problems in Russia
6) Vladimir and George talk about the missile shield : the "phony" Cold War draws to a close : What does the Putin's proposal mean : preliminary analysis
7) Putin gives harsh opinion on Kosovo : "No one can show us a single difference!" - Russia threatens to use the precedent on the post-Soviet territory
The honor for the weekend video today goes to the great Nautilus Pompilius, and their "Progulki po vode" (Strolls on the water), another very old classic.
Here is a snapshot of the week's blog posts as well as the usual video of the week:
1) Polish meat arrested in Germany - Is Russia finally right? As the Russian expression goes "What we fought for is what we stumbled on"
2) You build Shields - We will build Rockets Is Russia restoring the balance of power of distorting it? At close look at the reasons behind Russia's firm military and diplomatic actions
3) Portuguese prime-minister goes for a run in Red Square - How Russia's main attraction has changed over the years
4) US ABM shield - a part of something bigger - a close look at the analysis of Russian military observers on the US global anti ballistic missile shield
5) "He writes about Putin, and it's interesting!" : Andrei Kolesnikov's Real-Life Putin - part of the Russian Media : Blog Carnival hosted by Krusenstern
Finally the honor for video of the week goes to "Leningrad"; the only word to describe them is perhaps "crazy" or "deranged", their concerts have been banned in Moscow due to explicit lyrics; yet this video is one of their calmer songs, more suitable for a soothing Monday morning.
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.
One of the older, and thus better songs of the St. Petersburg Rock Bands - DDT. "Veter" (Wind)... Listen, Watch, Enjoy.
- V. Nabokov - "Pnin"
