Today, an important Russian business leader is giving a speech that we have obtained an advanced copy of and that we are happy to provide to our readers. Transcript is accessible at the following link:

2009Nov06.Igor.Yurgens.Elliott-Lecture.pdf

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is apparently 'astonished' to hear that Poland's Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, asked NATO and the US to deploy troops in Europe to provide 'some strategic reassurance', on a recent visit to Washington.  Since the scrapping of the US Bush-designed missile defense scheme which would have seen troops deployed in Poland and Czech Republic, the former has apparently been feeling vulnerable . . . Kim Zigfeld points out on Pyjamas Media that Russia's recent war 'games', which simulated a full scale pipeline-sabotaging missile-battering attack of Poland, taking place in the same month that seventy years earlier Russia did actually invade, is hardly likely to reassure the Poles of the ...

Details are beginning to emerge about the the two suspects held on suspicion of gunning down fearless human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya Gazeta intern Anastasia Baburova on January 19th this year.  It appears that one of the pair, both of whom are suspected of being members of an untranationalist organization, has confessed to the crime.  Whilst we are often lamenting the lack of justice in relation to the astounding number of slayings of journalists and activists which remain unsolved (indeed in some cases, unremarked upon by the Kremlin), many rights advocates are wary of jumping to the conclusion that what we are seeing today represents a breakthrough in transparency and justice-seeking. ...

Apparently U.N. inspectors have found 'nothing to be worried about' upon their first examination of the formerly clandestine uranium enrichment site in Qom in Iran.  'The [Obama] administration must consider whether it makes sense to grant the regime two more months of grace' says an op-ed in the Washington Post.  'Prospects for a breakthrough with Iran have narrowed dramatically since a high-level meeting in Geneva on Oct. 1', the paper adds, quoting a senior European diplomat.  Good news for Nord Stream - after considerable environmental concerns, it has received approval from both Finland and Sweden.  The construction of the Russia-Germany pipeline could spell the demise of Ukraine as a transit country, suggests the Wall Street Journal.   Lukoil has lost out on initial rights to develop Iraq's much-coveted West Qurna field, with an an Exxon ...

'We will have to take into account this style of dealing with partners in the future, though this scornful approach toward partners mainly affects the Europeans, not us':  Putin reacts to the aborted GM deal.   Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin was in London yesterday to discuss the envisaged issue of $17.8 billion in sovereign eurobonds - the selling of which is a core part of the government's deficit-reducing strategy.  A bond issue would 'be likely to draw keen interest from investors because Russia,[...] is in far better shape financially than a decade ago' says the New York Times.   Kudrin is planning changes to the budget which would see funds originally designed to recapitalize banks redirected to flagging industrial giants (such as Avtovaz) and the jobless, as the economic situation has been less harsh than expected.  In ...

TODAY: Markelov murder suspect reportedly confesses; vengeance a possible motive?  Activist abducted in Moscow.  Spy chief issues warning on Georgia; Lavrov surprised at Poland soliciting US help.  Medvedev reserves army use for emergencies. Luzhkov lays into Abramovich; new vodka pricing; toy story. The Moscow Times reports that revenge may be the motive behind the shooting of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov.  Apparently the alleged gunman Nikita Tikhonov may have been a suspect in the stabbing of anti-fascist activist Alexander Ryukhin in 2006, whose mother Markelov was a lawyer for.  The other suspect, Eugenia Khasis, 24, appears to have no prior convictions.  Apparently the killer has confessed - the Other Russia reporting it to be ...

Ariel Cohen and Richard Ericson have a new paper discussing Russia's economic crisis and its relations with the United States. I would encourage reading this paper in full as it hits on all the major factors relevant to Russia's economic situation though I will warn up front that a fair number of you will take exception to their interpretation of some of those factors. In addition there a couple of points that the authors have either overlooked or simply assumed readers would already be aware of that I think are worth spelling out briefly first.

The first has to do with the recommendations the authors make for US policy. I have no major disagreements with the recommendations themselves, but would argue that executing most of them depend on Putin being out of the picture, among other things.

Another point regards the China

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Walter Laqueur of the Center for Strategic and International Studies has a very thought-provoking new paper out entitled "Russia's Muslim Strategy". It's quite a bit to digest, as there are obviously a number of subplots to consider in this assessment, but I cannot recommend it highly enough for anyone interested in having a better understanding of the complications and even contradictions of one of the most overlooked drivers of Russian foreign policy over the years. Rather than reinterpret his observations, I think it is more prudent to let his own words do the talking:

One of the main challenges facing Russia is its relationship with Islam, both on the internal front and in foreign policy. It would certainly be too much to say that the Russian leadership and public opinion

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This story broke last week but I'm only getting to it now as I wanted to find a full transcript of the text, which I haven't had the time to do until now. The full transcript is here. There is far too much to suitably quote or comment on here, but the following excerpts should give you a taste.

13. Notwithstanding the position of the State party that no crimes were committed by the Russian military forces or other military groups against the civilian population on the territory of South Ossetia (para. 264, CCPR/C/RUS/Q/6/Add.1), and that the State party does not take responsibility for possible crimes by armed groups (para. 266, Ibid.), the Committee remains concerned about the allegations of large-scale, indiscriminate abuses and killings of civilians in South Ossetia during

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Does the slashing of the GM deal mean Putin is getting a taste of his own medicine?  This is from Streetwise Professor :The decision of GM's board to maintain control of Opel touched off howls of protest from Germany-and Vladimir Putin.  Putin was outraged that GM would act in such a high-handed way.  A deal is a deal, after all-if it works in Russia's favor.  Putin made heavy hints that Russia would explore legal options.Cry. Me. A. River.Actually, the irony here is too rich for words.  Let's remember the narrative that justified the rough treatment of Shell a few years ago.  When Russia was on its knees, the story goes, opportunistic oil companies exploited ...