Russian Women Dating Interviews » Politics

Russian Officials Chastise Czechs Over US Missile Shield

Sara — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 04:28:48 +0000

The Czech Republic has been asked by Russian officials to hold off on a decision to host part of a United States missile defense shield system. Yuri Baluyevsky, the Russian military chief of staff, told Czech officials that it would be better to wait on a decision until after the next US presidential elections, saying, “It will be a big mistake by the Czech government to put this radar site on Czech territory.”

Russia sees the system as a security threat while the Americans maintain it will help control the increasing threat of terrorist attacks. It is also the latest in the move towards embracing NATO by many former Warsaw Pact countries. It is easy to see how the increased military presence by the West makes Russia officials nervous. The Russians insist that the Czech move is more about politics than military might and find it very disappointing that they continue to agree to the construction of the radar systems in the Czech Republic.

Czech officials say they have not made an official decision yet, but had no other statements on the matter. The comments were made on the 39th anniversary of the “Prague Spring” invasion.

Russian Officials Chastise Czechs Over US Missile Shield

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Georgia Accuses Russia of Air Raid

admin — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:58:33 +0000

Georgia has accused Russia of firing a rocket near the breakaway region of South Ossetia on Tuesday. The rocket was fired by a Su-24 bomber manufactured by Russia which Georgian officials claim violated their airspace from the Russian side. The rocket was a Kh-58 tactical anti-radiation missile that had been produced by Raduga, a Russian company.

The missile landed near a village on the edge of the South Ossetian conflict zone where there are conflicts between Georgia and pro-Russian rebels. It was 15.75 feet long with a diameter of .38 meters and weighed 1410 pounds and had 140 kilos of TNT explosives in it. The rocket did not explode and there were no injuries. Moscow has claimed that Georgia staged the attack in order to disrupt the peace talks currently going on with South Ossetian rebels.

Witnesses said they saw two planes approach, and then one dived and dropped something. There have been television broadcasts showing a small crater near the village of Tsitelubani where there were also pieces of a rocket scattered around with Russian Cyrillic lettering on it.

Georgia was part of the former Soviet Union until 1991 and has tried to maintain independence since then. Russia recognizes the Georgian borders but has maintained contact with rebels in the area. Russian-dominated forces are helping keep the peace in the region.

Georgia Accuses Russia of Air Raid

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Russia Claims North Pole

admin — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 20:22:27 +0000

Russia’s explorers who were responsible for placing the Russian flag below the North Pole received a hero’s welcome in Moscow today while the rest of the world denied the territorial claims made by Russia.

Russia has released the photographs of the historic moment when the tricolor flag was planted on the Arctic shelf almost 2 and 1/2 miles deep in the Arctic Ocean. Russia is laying claim to the vast resources located in that area. The rest of the world is not buying it however, saying that the placement of the flag has no legal standing. Along with Canada and the United States, Denmark and Norway are challenging Russia’s claim to the valuable region which is suspected to hold a quarter of the world’s remaining oil reserves.

The claim for the territory was already denied in 2001 for lack of scientific evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge was an extension of Russia’s continental shelf. The Russian submarines that planted the flag were in the area trying to collect evidence to back up their claims.

According to the UN Law of the Sea treaty, a country may claim resources of the seabed up to 200 miles beyond the end of its continental shelf which means Russia, Canada, the US, Norway and Denmark each have a share.

Russia Claims North Pole

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Russia and Britain Spar Over Spy Murder Case

admin — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 04:13:06 +0000

Russia has decided to expel four British diplomats along with suspending counterterrorism efforts with London. The action comes after British officials announced they would be expelling four Russian diplomats because of the refusal of Moscow to extradite a Russian businessman, Andrei Lugovoy, who has been accused of murdering the former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko in London last year. In addition, the British have also placed visa restrictions on Russian officials.

While the future of the relationship between Russia and the British is unclear at this time due to the actions of both countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that he feels that the conflict will lessen over time because of the importance of the continuing development of Russia/UK relations.

Moscow claims that the response was necessary and that London was behaving in a provocative and unfriendly way. Moscow is responding to the visa restrictions by placing the same on British visa requests.

The Russian constitution does not allow the extradition of Russian citizens to other countries. Britain has ignored that fact for weeks and is now suggesting that Russia should amend its constitution to allow for the extradition of Lugovoy. Russia has responded by stating that if there is enough evidence then Lugovoy could be tried for murder in Russia, but Britain has refused to hand over the evidence it says it has.

Russia and Britain Spar Over Spy Murder Case

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Russia Rejects United Nations Kosovo Draft Resolution

admin — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 04:53:12 +0000

Russia has declined to accept a draft resolution put forth by the United States and Europe on Kosovo that would remove the United Nations peacekeeping force and replace it with a European based one. The West is unsure now on how to move forward towards the eventual independence of Kosovo. They could call for a vote that would be vetoed by Moscow or they could decide to move ahead to make the country independent by means outside the jurisdiction of the Security Council.

Moscow is opposed to the independence of the region of which the majority of the population is Albanian. The UN has been running the area since 1999 after chasing off the Serbian troops that had been attacking and killing Albanians. Russia is an ally of Serbia and does not want to lose influence in the region.

UN officials are concerned that Kosovo will take action on its own to declare independence even at the risk of losing European assistance. The resolution calls for four months of negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina without triggering Kosovo independence at the end of the 120 days but putting a European force in to maintain control in the region without offering Kosovo any memberships in international organizations.

Russia Rejects United Nations Kosovo Draft Resolution

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Orphaned Russian Girls and Boys Will Find Homes Quicker

admin — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 04:51:48 +0000

Russia has finally granted licenses to seven United States based adoption agencies in the past two weeks. This will make it much easier to place Russian girls and boys in loving American homes that will hopefully provide them with a safe and healthy life. There are close to 70, 000 Russian children living in orphanages according to the National Council for Adoption.

There had been up to 44 American agencies in the country helping facilitate adoptions – enough to make Russia the number three country for Americans that are seeking to adapt foreign children behind China and Guatemala in the year 2006. Last year only 3,706 Russian girls and boys came to the United States down from a high of 5,865 in 2004. The main reason for the slowdown was that as American agencies licenses started to expire, Russia began to tighten standards for renewal.

Many adoptions had been placed on hold and unfortunately, many children lost an opportunity to be adopted by American parents because of the situation. It can take up to a year for an American family to adopt a Russian child and the cost can range up to $30,000.

Russian government officials had no comment on the situation.

Orphaned Russian Girls and Boys Will Find Homes Quicker

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Russians Upset Over Ukraine and Georgia Plan to Join NATO

admin — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:10:01 +0000

Russia is flexing its political muscle by issuing a warning to the Ukraine and Georgia about entering the NATO alliance. A Russian official says such action would not strengthen trust in Europe and would negatively affect its ties with NATO. Russia does not see the expansion of NATO as being beneficial towards the securities issues of both states.

The United States has responded by denying that Russia has any influence over the admission of Georgia and Ukraine into the organization. Georgia has stated that it wants to join NATO, but understands it has to continue to make reforms which will take time. Ukraine has not decided if it wants to join the alliance yet, but knows NATO has an open door should it decide to join. US officials have stated that both countries need to do what is right for them, not want Russia wants. Russia does not have any veto rights in NATO.

Russia has long been opposed to both countries becoming members of the alliance as it feels the membership goals represent a move towards the West. Both countries have some large roadblocks to overcome to gain membership though, including separatist conflicts in Georgia and pubic opposition in the Ukraine.

Russians Upset Over Ukraine and Georgia Plan to Join NATO

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Two Nuclear Powers Agree to Promote and Develop Nuclear Energy Worldwide

admin — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 04:32:54 +0000

Russia and the United States have agreed to work together to promote nuclear energy by making nuclear power available to other countries while reducing their stockpiles of nuclear weapons to the lowest levels possible.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President George W. Bush view nuclear power as being essential to helping the world meet its demands for energy use and vow to do what they can to provide assistance to developing countries gain access to nuclear energy technologies that do not involve nuclear byproducts that can be used in the production of weapons.

The leaders both initialed a formal bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement and came up with 10 ways they would pursue their goals of making nuclear power possible for other countries. One such plan includes “facilitating the supply of a range of modern, safe and more proliferation resistant nuclear power reactors and research reactors appropriate to meet the varying energy needs of developing and developed countries.”

Both countries will assist financing for new nuclear programs and help states develop their own training programs, safety standards and regulations to get their energy programs up and running. Russia would provide the fuel and help with the development of nuclear waste management.

Two Nuclear Powers Agree to Promote and Develop Nuclear Energy Worldwide

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Moscow Officials Urge Russian Women and Men to Speak Russian

admin — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 04:19:27 +0000

The Russian language is emerging again just as Russia itself is gaining confidence in its economy and political system. Ministers in Moscow have announced plans to develop a strong international foundation that will compare with those in Germany and France – similar to the Goethe Institute and the Alliance Francaise.

There had been a decline n the use of Russian after the fall of the Soviet Union, but Russian is still one of the six official languages of the United Nations and many people in the former Soviet states still speak it.

The government has put together a web page in both English and Russian to promote the language. The page also provides valuable information on international festivals and other events as well and publications and plans to build more libraries.

There is also a “Learn Russian” campaign going on which features foreigners, United States astronauts and ambassadors promoting the Russian language and encouraging others to learn it. The Japanese dancer, Morihiro Iwata described how he had to learn Russian because the Bolshoi Theater rehearsals are run in Russian. The language is not easy to learn so convincing foreigners to give it a try is not an easy task. The Kremlin has taken some steps, like banning the word “Dollar” from official communications and stressing the use of Russian currency terms, like ruble.

Moscow Officials Urge Russian Women and Men to Speak Russian

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Russian Women and Men Celebrate Russia Day by Honoring Russian Achievements

admin — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 02:13:28 +0000

President Vladimir Putin honored both moral values and military power Tuesday during the Russia Day festivities. Russians as diverse as Alexander Solzhenitsyn to the men that designed nuclear-armed submarines were recognized at the State Prize ceremony in the Kremlin Tuesday.

Russia Day was originally a holiday created to celebrate the country’s emergence from the Soviet Union and has since developed into a celebration of Russia itself. President Putin used the opportunity to talk about Russian achievements and ask for unity in the country as his reign of leadership comes to an end.

Solzhenitsyn received recognition for his documentation of the Soviet prison camp system in the way of a State Prize for his humanitarian activity. His wife, Natalya, accepted the award for him, but Putin also paid a visit to the Nobel Prize winning writer at his home in Troitse-Lykovo to thank him personally for his work for the good of the country.

Putin also praised Russia and it’s military development with 5 of the 12 State Prizes going to honor work done to strengthen the military. Five developers of the Iskander-M cruise missile system were given anonymous awards since their identities are considered to be a state secret.

Russian Women and Men Celebrate Russia Day by Honoring Russian Achievements

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Putin is Critical of WTO, Wants Own Economic System

admin — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 04:12:05 +0000

In St. Petersburg today, Russian President Vladimir Putin but out a call for development of alternatives to the World Trade Organization. He would like to see a greater role for regional currencies and opportunities for developing economies.

He was speaking at an economic forum where he said that the current international economic organizations were out of touch with the realities of the world economic situation while they try to protect the interests of the developed countries of the world.

Putin expressed specific displeasure at the failure of the Doha round of global trade talks because of the arguing between rich and poor countries on regards to farm trade. He supports the creation of several world financial centers that would have their own currency systems and therefore having more influence in currency values fluctuations than they do with the current system.

Russia is the only major economy that is not a member of the WTO and needs to come to an agreement with its neighbor Georgia. There are also talks going on between the European Union and Russia in regards to Russia’s WTO membership. While the EU backs Russia in it’s quest to gain WTO membership, it also has issues with limitations to foreign investment in the Russian energy sector.

Putin is Critical of WTO, Wants Own Economic System

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Ukraine Avoids Tense Political Showdown by Agreeing on Early Elections

admin — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 04:32:55 +0000

In the Ukraine, lawmakers have passed a set of bills that will enable the country to have early parliamentary elections which could be a critical step in terms of solving the political crisis in that country that some think may turn violent.

In a deal brokered between President Viktor Yushchenko and his political rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, elections are going to be held September 30th. Political tensions have been high between the two men, especially after Yushchenko issued an order April 2 to dissolve parliament while accusing Yanukovych’s majority coalition over trying to undermine his power and authority. Yanukovych has called the order unconstitutional.

Things became even more heated a week ago after the president fired the prosecutor-general, Svyatoslav Piskun. Piskun is a member of Yanukovych’s party so this led the Interior Ministry, headed up by another ally of Yanukovych to send police to prevent Piskun from being evicted from his office.

After that, Yushchenko took command of the Interior Ministry’s troops and sent armed squads into the capital. Fortunately the situation has relaxed with the agreement that has been reached on the early elections.

The two men ran against each other in the 2004 presidential elections in which Yushchenko ended up winning in a court ordered repeat of voting due to fraud in the first vote.

Ukraine Avoids Tense Political Showdown by Agreeing on Early Elections

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Duma Looks to Limit Smoking Opportunities for Russian Women and Men

admin — Thu, 31 May 2007 04:13:54 +0000

There has been tentative approval in the Russian State Duma to restrict smoking to specific areas in public places like waiting lounges, airports and restaurants. Fines would range from $190 for individuals and up the $3,900 for companies and establishments that fail to enforce the rules. There are no fines proposed for individual smokers.

The proposed rules would limit smoking in restaurants, ships, trains, waiting lounges and municipal government offices while smoking on airplanes would be banned completely. Designated smoking areas in restaurants would need to be ½ the space of the establishment. In other places that area would be ¼ the space.

The Russian tobacco market is the biggest in Europe. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 64 percent of Russian men and 21 percent of Russian women are smokers in Russia. The country is also behind Europe in terms of anti-smoking policies. An estimated 375,000 Russian women and men die each year from smoking-related illnesses.

Currently in Russia you are only allowed to smoke in special areas in workplaces, universities, federal government buildings, hospitals and theaters. There are not any penalties for violations and most of the time the rules are not enforced. Ironically enough, many of the Duma deputies violate the rules and spoke in their offices in the Duma.

Duma Looks to Limit Smoking Opportunities for Russian Women and Men

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Interesting Video Twist in the Case of the Murdered Spy

admin — Fri, 25 May 2007 07:21:39 +0000

In April of 1998 a video was made by three Federal Security agents claiming that they had been given orders to kidnap, kill and frame some prominent Russians. They said they were making the tape to insure that if something happened to them the truth would be known.

One of those agents was Alexander Litvinenko who is now dead – murdered by radiation poisoning. The police in Great Britain have recently arrested another former agent, Andrei Lugovoi for the killing. He denies it, saying the arrest is politically motivated.

In the video recording, the agents discuss the violence and immoral behavior that had taken over the Federal Security Bureau and how disgusted they were by it. Six months later Litvinenko was at a news conference where the same accusations were repeated including the claim that he was ordered to kill Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky.

In the newly released tape, Litvinenko says that he was told to plant a weapon on or beat up Mikhail Trepashkin who ended up being jailed for disclosing state secrets. He was arrested in 2003 after police found a weapon in his car and has been in prison ever since.

Litvinenko who was dressed casually with a full head of thick hair in the interview admits to being worried about appearing on TV but had decided the time had come to tell the truth about what was going on.

Interesting Video Twist in the Case of the Murdered Spy

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Communist Victory in Volgograd Mayoral Election

admin — Tue, 22 May 2007 04:47:30 +0000

This past weekend in the Volgograd mayor’s election the Communist candidate, Roman Grebennikov won in a decisive victory over the United Russia candidate, Vasily Galushkin. That makes Grebennikov the first Communist mayor of a major city for the first time in a long time, as well as being the youngest mayor of a regional capital city.

Preliminary results showed on Monday morning that the Communist party received 32.47 percent of the vote to United Russia’s 20.35 percent. Approximately 38 percent of the 762,000 registered Volgograd voters made it out for the election Sunday.

Grebennikov said his first goal was to work with the United Russia party. He plans to look at the mayoral position as an administrative one in which he would first look long and hard at the city’s property records to begin his management of Volgograd.

The Communist party is enjoying the victory and show of public support while United Russia has held the position that all the candidates in the election have agendas that are the same as their party and have pledged to work with everyone who wants to tackle the problems of the city and its million inhabitants.

Communist Victory in Volgograd Mayoral Election

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80 Year Split Between Russian Orthodox Churches On the Mend

admin — Sun, 20 May 2007 01:29:19 +0000

In Moscow, Russian Orthodox leaders have signed an agreement to start to patch up an 80-year split between the Russian Orthodox Church and the offshoot formed after the 1917 Revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. The split occurred because the Russian church refused to defy the Communist government.

The ceremony, which was nationally televised, was watched by President Vladimir Putin along with a large number of worshippers in the Christ the Savior Cathedral. The church, located on the Moscow River not far from the Kremlin, has become a vibrant symbol of the religious revival that has occurred in Russian since the fall of the Soviets. The original was destroyed in 1931 by Stalin and replaced by a swimming pool and was rebuilt in the 1990’s.

The two clerics from each faction, both elderly and bearded wearing sparkling headgear, kissed each other on the cheeks. Worshipers snapped pictures of the historic event of their cell phones and crossed themselves while tears streamed down the cheeks of some as the smell of incense was in the air.

The pact makes the church outside Russia a self-governed part of a common Russian Orthodox Church, but both churches will have their own leaders and bishop councils. Clergy will have the authority to lead services in both churches and parishioners can take communion in both churches.

80 Year Split Between Russian Orthodox Churches On the Mend

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Economy is Going Up, but Historic Buildings are Going Down

admin — Thu, 17 May 2007 04:00:11 +0000

Part of the down side of the economic boom that is fueling major development in the Russian capital is the loss of many historic building in Moscow. Not only are the buildings historic, but they also are architecturally significant.

Some striking examples of what some critics are calling the Disneyfication of Moscow include the loss of the Hotel Moskva building which is known as the building on the Stolichnaya vodka label and the razing of the Voyentorg military department store which has long been considered to be the finest of Moscow’s Art Nouveau structures. Both buildings are to be replaced with replicas of the original building facade.

City officials have claimed that the original buildings had fallen apart beyond repair because of the neglect of the Soviet era and that the reconstructions would be a preservation of the architectural heritage of the city.

In a report titled “Moscow Heritage at the Crisis Point,” some buildings were listed as being under threat like the Detsky Mir children’s store, located across Lubyanka Square from the former KGB headquarters, and the Tsaritsino Palace complex located in southern Moscow.

Not all buildings going up in the city are as a result of a landmark being torn down – the planned Moscow City development which will include Europe’s tallest building will be built on unused land.

Economy is Going Up, but Historic Buildings are Going Down

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Recent Russia/U.S. Tensions May Effect Adoption of Russian Girls and Boys

admin — Sun, 13 May 2007 03:47:10 +0000

The recent rise in tension between the United States and Russia is causing potential delays for American couples looking to adapt Russian babies. There are currently no U.S. adoption agencies open in Russia and officials in Moscow aren’t talking about how long it may be for the accreditation process to complete.

The Russians began tightening their procedures because on an increasing number of deaths among adapted Russian girls and boys living in America. Some Americans are concerned that the process to move forward with their adoptions could be caught up in the political arena.

Part of the problem is that adoption is a sensitive issue for Russians right now, given the demographic crisis the country is going through. That combined with the fact that relations between the two countries over ballistic missile issues, has American couples concerned about the future of adopting their child from Russia.

About 15,000 Russian children are adopted every year in Russia. Approximately half of those Russian girls and boys go out of the country and of hose, 3,706 were adopted by Americans in 2006. This is down from a high of 5,836 in 2002.

Recent Russia/U.S. Tensions May Effect Adoption of Russian Girls and Boys

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Russia and NATO Still Arguing Over Missile Shields

admin — Fri, 11 May 2007 04:55:13 +0000

NATO and Russia are still at odds over missile defense and arms control issues in Europe. In a meeting in Belgium, the top generals from both Russia and NATO were unable to agree on terms for a treaty that would control conventional arms in Europe.

Russia is opposed to the United States plans to install anti-missile defenses in Europe. The Russians claim that assertations that Iran poses a threat to the safety of Europe are greatly exaggerated.

The US wants to install 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station located in the Czech Republic and claims the systems would not pose a threat to Russia and is just being used a scare tactic for propaganda. Russia on the other hand is concerned that there is no guarantee that there will be no further increase in deployment.

A spokesperson for Russia claims that NATO is to fault for the crisis that has followed Putin’s statement that Russia is no longer going to apply the revised Conventional Forces in Europe treaty. NATO is refusing to ratify the treaty due to Russian refusal to pull troops out of Moldova and Georgia.

On the positive side, both NATO and Russia are cooperating on a number of military projects such as joint exercises and counterterrorism.

Russia and NATO Still Arguing Over Missile Shields

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Tension Between Russia and Estonia Heating Up

admin — Thu, 03 May 2007 04:02:27 +0000

Recent tensions between Russia and Estonia have brought protesters to the streets in Moscow on Wednesday after they disrupted a news conference by the Estonian ambassador. They blocked trucks for a brief time that were crossing the border near St. Petersburg and also harassed diplomats at the embassy.Russia has now scheduled repairs on its railways that are entering Estonia which will cause oil shipments to be disrupted, further escalating the situation. Estonian officials have accused Russian hackers of shutting down their government web sites. The Estonian president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves has asked for civility after protests in both countries because of the removal of a Soviet-era monument from the Estonian capital last week.

Marina Kaljurand, Estonia’s ambassador to Russia, had to have her bodyguards use pepper spray to drive protesters away from her at a news conference. The protesters were from a pro-Kremlin youth group called Nashi.

Russians have been protesting the removal of the Bronze Soldier from a square near Tallinn’s Old Town. The monument was erected in 1947 and is viewed by most Estonians as a symbol of the Soviet rule of their country from 1940 to 1991. They would like it moved to a less prominent spot, but Russians see the removal as an insult to Soviet soldiers that defended the country against Nazi Germany in World War II.

Tension Between Russia and Estonia Heating Up