|
|
 |
By Dmitry Babich, Russia Profile
December 31, 2008
Yet again, Russia and Ukraine are entering the New Year in a state of bitter conflict over the question of Russia’s gas supplies to Ukraine. Unfortunately, this is just the most immediate of a host of problems in bilateral relations which make the forecast for the next year rather gloomy. These problems include not only the intention of a part of the Ukrainian elite to push the country towards membership of NATO, bitterly opposed by Russia, but also the rivalry between the two systems of post-Soviet government embodied by the two countries.
|
 |
By Dmitry Babich, Russia Profile
December 31, 2008
Among many groups of Russia’s population that have reasons to worry at the start of the new year, the military make up one of the most “threatened” groups. The army reform, aimed at creating a “leaner, meaner” modern force, may have a high social cost. The unprecedented cuts to the officer corps are not backed up by clear plans for their relocation and employment.
|
 |
By Dmitry Babich, Russia Profile
December 30, 2008
Out of many dangers facing the Russian economy in the coming year, a sharp decrease in the amount of taxes collected may be one of the gravest, since the majority of the country’s population is dependent on payments from the state budget. Experts believe the government will have to relinquish its cherished record of balanced budgets.
|
 |
By Anthony Johnston , Russia Profile
December 30, 2008
Russia Profile’s most recent central theme examined how questions of historic memory affect not only how peoples see themselves, but their relations with other nations. Nowhere is this truer than in Eastern Europe, where differing memories of even very recent history can make or break a politician’s career and cause diplomatic crises between neighbors. The row between Russia and Estonia over the Bronze Soldier War memorial in Tallinn is just the most prominent of a number of such controversies. A recent conference of experts in Cambridge, UK, sought to examine this issue further.
|
 |
Comment by Alexander Arkhangelsky, Special to RIA Novosti
December 29, 2008
At this time of year, at the time between Christmas and New Year, or between New Year and Christmas, the peculiar historical differences between Russia and the West – the use of different ecclesiastical calendars – becomes unusually salient. Alexander Arkhangelsky reflects on the significance the different calendars – and different traditions – have for this eternal holiday.
|
 |
By Sergei Balashov, Russia Profile
December 29, 2008
The global economic crisis has fully settled in Russia, which now cannot help but recognize that the economy is in trouble. It also finds a curious way of crawling into almost every issue on the country’s agenda. Ecology is no exception. As government and businesses seek to cut costs, it is becoming more and more difficult to make caring for the environment a top consideration. Environmentalists say the crisis will have a wide-ranging impact, from compromising environmental protection against industrial waste to a decline of the quality of clothing and food.
|
 |
Introduced by Vladimir Frolov, Russia Profile
December 26, 2008
2008 started well for Russia. It began with a seamless transfer of power, a new young president talking of liberalization and the rule of law, and an economic boom backed by record oil prices. Russia was an “island of stability” against the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis, and the Government announced the most ambitious infrastructure programs seen in decades. But things have changed. A war in Georgia in August changed relations with the West, oil prices and the stock market have both tumbled, and the economy has been battered by the global economic crisis. Our experts look at what this tumultuous year meant for Russia – and where it is going in 2009.
|
 |
By Sergei Balashov, Russia Profile
December 26, 2008
Russia has announced lavish spending on upgrading its military, primarily the strategic nuclear forces complemented by large additions of other equipment for the conventional forces. That, however, will not be used as leverage in negotiations with the United States, but rather a tool to combat the economic crisis and further local armed conflicts which, experts say, are a very clear possibility
|
 |
By Sergei Balashov, Russia Profile
December 25, 2008
The World Bank’s latest report offered a detailed look into the nature of the Russian economic crisis, yet provided few concrete answers as to when we should expect a recovery. Those predictions that have been made are facing more and more challenges as the situation and the moods in the market head south.
|
|
|
|
| |
Gazprom says Ukraine refused to pump extra 15 mln cu m to Europe
Ukraine's Naftogaz refused a request by Gazprom to pump an additional 15 million cubic meters of Russian gas to European consumers, the Russian energy giant's press service said on Monday.
"Naftogaz of Ukraine yesterday refused to accept from Gazprom an additional 15 million cubic meters of gas per day through the Kobrin facility as requested by foreign customers," the press service said.
Gazprom cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on Thursday after last-ditch talks with Kiev on a new deal for 2009 and debt repayments failed late on New Year's Eve. Some European countries, including Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania, have reported drops in Russian gas supplied through Ukraine's pipeline network.
Official spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said that Gazprom had pumped 295 million cubic meters of gas into the Ukrainian pipeline system on Sunday but European consumers had only received 270 million cubic meters.
He said another 25 million cubic meters had been withheld from European consumers because Naftogaz had not transferred the required volume from its underground storage facilities for gas trader RosUkrEnergo to export.
Naftogaz said on Monday that a Kiev court had ruled that contracts with Gazprom on the transit of gas via Ukraine to Europe were null and void.
In response to a claim by Ukraine's energy ministry, the Kiev economic court ruled on Monday that Naftogaz could not pump Russian gas westwards at a price of $1.6 for 1,000 cubic meters per 100 kilometers.
"It means that the contracts to which Gazprom are refering are void," Naftogaz spokesman Valentin Zemlyansky told RIA Novosti.
He referred to an October 4, 2001, agreement between the Russian and Ukrainian governments that he said remained in force. "If we talk about a price of $450 for 1,000 cubic meters then the rate for the transit of gas should be $9.84 per 1,000 cubic meters per 100 kilometers," Zemlyansky said.
Gazprom CEO said on Sunday that Ukraine should pay $450 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas in 2009. Naftogaz has rejected the figure stating that it is prepared to pay $200-235. In 2008 Ukraine paid $179.5 per 1,000 cu m.
Both Gazprom and Ukraine's state-run Naftogaz have said that they will file lawsuits with the Stockholm Arbitration Court, which deals with international commercial legal disputes. The court on Monday said it could not comment on whether it was considering lawsuits from either party in the gas dispute.
Source: RIA Novosti
New & Updated from Resources Section
Yunus-bek YEVKUROV
|
| |
|
Clare Nuttall in Almaty, December 26, 2008
Ben Aris in London, December 24, 2008
bne, December 22, 2008
Ben Aris in London, December 17, 2008
Ben Aris in Berlin, December 15, 2008
|
| |
|
RFE/RL, January 5, 2009
Jérôme Guillet, January 5, 2009
Eugene Ivanov, January 5, 2009
RIA Novosti, January 5, 2009
|
| |
COMMENTS
A Positive Essence
Comment by Alexei Pankin
The world is truly a paradoxical place. When my grandfather came to work in Moscow in the late 1920s, the street that is now called Maroseyka was also called Maroseyka. The name stems from the fact that historically, people from Malorussia (the Ukraine) settled on this street. More...
Dreaming Up a New Life
Comment by Elena Rykovtseva
There are people who don’t care one bit about streets getting renamed. I, for example, spent my whole childhood in the northern city of Vorkuta, founded in the middle of the tundra in 1937. More...
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
