Russia's EU ambassador says his country aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 25% through to 2020. Ukraine's President, Viktor Yushchenko, has written an open letter to Dmitry Medvedev, asking him to change the terms of agreement on gas supplies.  The move 'appeared designed to embarrass his political rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko', says Reuters, alhough things will likely be tense enough ahead of Tymoshenko's meeting with Vladimir Putin today, as she has already announced that the transit price of Russian natural gas through Ukrainian territory will be doubled as of January next year.  Tymoshenko says the meeting's agenda does not include gas issues.  RusAl is pulling out of the construction side of the Boguchanskaya hydroelectric plant, its joint project with RusHydro, although says it will not withdraw funding. The venture has already been the focus of disputes ...

First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has announced that Russia has again raised its target for revenue from various state asset sales next year to 100 billion rubles ($3.5 billion), more than 10 times the original target. 'The state will keep a so-called golden share in companies it considers important.'  But the move will link in neatly with Dmitry Medvedev's state-of-the-nation call to reorganize state corporations.  It sounds as though Medvedev is looking to Singapore for ideas about technical innovation, remarking during his weekend visit that 'the system of economic and technical education in your country is of great interest for us.'  The media have been responding to Medvedev's suggestion that Russia reduce its time zones to improve business relations. 'If you were to conflate the time zones totally, then obviously you would have some people who ...

TODAY: Medvedev's state of the nation address warns opposition against using democracy to rock the boat; talks up modernization. Media unconvinced President can match word with deed. Topol-M problem for START replacement talks;  Litvinenko suspect Lugovoi willing to speak to London prosecutors?; is Russia really cracking down on nationalists; Putin world's third most powerful according to ForbesIn President Medvedev's second state-of-the-nation address, highlights of which can be found here, he warned opposition politicians not to use democracy as a way to 'destabilize the state and split society'. The fact that the speech emphasized long-term goals, related to cutting time zones, technology and industrial modernization, heralds a call for re-election argues one analyst, quoted in the Moscow ...

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I was listening to our president and recalled Jerzy Lec:

"I am so full of optimism that I can't take any more of it."

What didn't Dmitry Medvedev promise us! "Intolerance toward corruption...improvement of housing conditions...nurturing of the personality already in school...normalisation of the situation in monocities..." And also about agriculture, modernisation of the economy, flights to other planets; reducing taxes; raising the quality of school education...

Of the new - a possible abolition of the switches from summer to winter and a reduction in the quantity of time zones. And - applause, applause, applause...in the spirit of the times of Brezhnev.

...

Ever come across something so brilliant you wish you had thought of it yourself? Well that's what Seth Hettena has just put together, via sourcing from Vedomosti: an aggregation of the preferred timepieces worn by high-level Russian officialdom as a possible proxy for corruption. There are several questions raised from this little survey, not the least of which is: to those of you contending that Igor Sechin is the real master string-puller, I ask you, have you considered Moscow's Deputy Mayor Vladimir Resin? More importantly, could any of these men hold it together under the mind-bending microscope of Vesper Lynd?

A partial list of who prefers which wristwatch:

Vladimir Putin: Blancpain, Leman Aqualung Grande Date, $10,500

Dmitry Medvedev: Breguet, Classique Moon

...

RFE/RL follows the movements of former police major and new You Tube star Aleksei Dymovsky, whose campaign against corruption in the police forces has caused a storm of controversy.  According to an article by Brian Whitmore, Dymovsky avowed at a press conference in Moscow that he has 150 hours of incriminating material on tape, which it seems he wishes to submit directly to video addressee Vladimir Putin.  The article also raises some question marks about whether the apparently media-savvy major, who has called his whistle-blowing 'suicidal', has a political puppet master behind him.  Indeed Whitmore highlights how the ex-major's criticisms could be fueling an internal political battle: Dymovsky's allegations come at a time of intense ...

Here's a quick extract from President Medvedev's interview with Der Spiegel, (the whole of which can be read here) where he discusses Putin's eyebrow-raising comments about how power is allotted in Russia:SPIEGEL: Putin's recent comment about the next presidential election greatly astonished many in the West. When asked which of you will stand for election, he said that the two of you would "sit down and reach an agreement" regarding what happens in 2012. Former President Gorbachev was shocked. He said that if an agreement was to be reached with anyone, it would have to be with the electorate. But the people apparently don't play a role any more.Medvedev: I would recommend that Mr. Gorbachev ...

A Dissenter's march in Russia wouldn't be a Dissenter's march if it didn't end in large-scale detentions.  Saturday night's march was no different, with up to 50 protesters allegedly held.  Thanks to la Russophobe, for highlighting this link to activist Oleg Kozlovsky's English weblog, in which he recounts the details of his own arrest:   In order to find a pretext to arrest participants of the action, members of Rossiya Molodaya (Young Russia), a Kremlin-aligned youth group (a part of the so-called Putinyouth), were used as provocateurs. They began lighting flares, chanting slogans and throwing leaflets (mocking the opposition) in the middle of the crowd. The police were ready: they arrested the Putinyouth and many regular ...

TODAY: Opposition activist torture claims; Miliband leaves with no breakthrough regarding diplomatic concerns; meets with rights activists; Putin and Medvedev popularity waning?; President in need of own power structure to realize reforms; Stalin resurrection an identity issue; Gorbachev on Russophobia; alcohol; jokes; artThe Other Russia reports that Konstantin Makarov, a member of the outlawed National Bolshevik Party, and organizer of an opposition rally planned for the 31st October in Voronezh, was detained and beaten by two policeman, one of whom was S. Yemkov of the notorious Interior Ministry's Center for Extremism Prevention.  According to Makarov, his torturers told him that he would face similar treatment after each rally held by the National Bolsheviks.  Foreign Minister Sergei ...

Iran is 'unwilling to accept' a deal that would see most of its enriched uranium shipped abroad. 'Tehran is obviously probing to see whether President Obama can play hardball or whether he can be played.'  Russia will share the 'prize' that is the giant Yamal gas resource, but only because Gazprom can't handle the challenge on its own, argues Rossiyskaya Gazeta.  Ecuador's President Rafael Correa made his first visit to Russia this week to court support for a planned overhaul of his country's energy industry.  Signing a series of agreements on arms and energy (particularly hydropower), President Dmitry Medvedev heralded 'the beginning of cooperation'.  Will state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom take the place of Germany's RWE in the Belene nuclear power plant?  Speaking at the Solar Power International Conference, being held in California this week, Robert Kennedy ...