On-line Intelligence Bulletin of the European Press Agency
By Nina Bachkatov and Andrew Wilson
He has been often accused of dragging Russia into a Brezhnev style stagnation. But, at 67, Vladimir Putin shows he can also strike quickly. On 15 January, during his annual address to Parliament, the Russian president took everyone by surprise when he announced sweeping changes to the Constitution intended to revolution the power system in Russia. Continue reading “Vladimir Putin’s constitutional charge”
By Nina Bachkatov and Andrew Wilson
Concern over climate changes entered recently into the Russian political vocabulary, but in early January the government announced it had adopted a two years plan due to “reduce the vulnerability” of the life and health Russian population and the economic development economy, but also to “seize opportunities deriving from those changes”. This dual approach reflects the peculiar attitude of Russia towards the challenge of climate change, and its peculiar relation with “nature”. Continue reading “Russia and global warming: a dual approach”
By Nina Bachkatov and Andrew Wilson
Russia often invites brutal comments, and Vladimir Putin even more. The numerous articles written to mark the 20 years of his presidency offer a collection of declarations and predictions made at the time that their authors would prefer to forget. The best of all being the question that an American journalist, Trudy Rubin, obviously proud of his audace, asked to a panel of Russian officials and businesspeople “Who is Mr. Putin?”. That was a few weeks since Putin appeared “from nowhere” – translation “from where Westerners did not see him coming”, contrary to Russians for whom he has been prime ministers for almost 5 months. Continue reading “Twenty years in the Kremlin”