It would be hard for anyone to disagree with what the Russian president said today:

"As regards the fight against corruption, it is clear that we are at the very start of this path. Nobody is feeling dizzy with success. There is actually no success so far," Medvedev was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

"We were striving to set up a legislative framework for these actions for the first time in 20 years."

However, inevitably the question comes back to the growing gap between well meaning rhetoric and political realities.  As we can see from Jason Corcoran at the Guardian, there is no shortage of journalists willing to drink the kool-aid.  Let's hope he is right that promises from this government to eradicate legal nihilism are "no longer utterly hollow." ...

strongGuardian Unlimited /strongbr /br /strongJason Corcoran:/strong emRather than reversing Putin's policies, Medvedev has only hinted at reform. Time will tell if he can step out of the shadows/embr /br /Dmitry Medvedev was destined to be a lame duck leader when he was elected Russia's third president a year ago. His inauguration ushered in a ruling tandem with his mentor and predecessor Vladimir Putin seemingly shifting a gear to become prime minister. Putin, however, has so far done all of the steering while Medvedev has been along for the ride.br /br /Russians have not been duped, judging by the latest opinion poll by the respected Levada Centre, which indicate only 12% believe Medvedev wields real power. Another 34% believe it lies with Putin, while 50% believe it is shared between them.br /br /Buoyed by rising commodity prices, Putin's eight-year reign restored Russia's shattered economy, raised living standards for many and re-established ...

Letter from Moscow Moscow’s mild-mannered Swedish investors are mad as hell and are not going to take it any more. Prosperity Capital and East Capital are two of the largest and longest-serving fund managers operating in Russia. The two firms have historically adopted a softly-softly approach to engaging with errant Russian corporates, but those tactics have recently proved as useful as lighting a match in a Siberian snowstorm. Prosperity, whose founders have been investing in Russia since 1992, is warning of another Yukos blow-up occurring because of a major dispute it has with Russia’s wealthiest oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov over the regional power-generating company TGK-4. Prosperity, along with other minority shareholders, took a hit when Prokhorov’s investment holding company Onexim reneged in September on a deal worth close to $1bn to buy back minorities. Prosperity has since been appointed as ...

span style="font-weight:bold;"The Guardian - Comment is free/spanbr /br /br /span style="font-style:italic;"The Russian PM should embrace his Abba-loving side – in a global downturn, his country needs all the kitsch it can handlebr /Comments (67)/spanbr /br /span style="font-weight:bold;"By Jason Corcoran /spanbr /br /Claims that Vladimir Putin is a secret Dancing Queen are causing a sensation in Moscow.br /br /The prime minister's press office has denied that the judo-loving, tiger-hunting all-action hero is a closet Abba fan, following a private concert given by the tribute band Björn Again. Putin's personal spokesman Dmitry Peskov also took the unusual step of writing to the Times to reiterate the point.br /br /But the Kremlin has been far too hasty in trying to suppress this story. Russians would warmly embrace their leader's softer musical side in a crucial year, as the capital prepares to host the ultimate celebration of kitsch for the very first time.br /br ...

span style=”font-weight:bold;”Wall Street Journal /spanbr /br /By Jason Corcoran of Financial News br /br /Vice has historically been a virtue in turbulent investment times, but the current recession might stretch the patience even of the Devil.br /br /In previous downturns, tobacco, gambling and alcohol could almost always be relied on to beat the index. Analysis released in November by Merrill Lynch shows that, during the six recessions since 1970, alcohol, tobacco and casino stocks have, on average, returned 11%, compared with a 1.5% loss for the SP 500.br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6qAwhh1rW8U/SZMlNqb_3LI/AAAAAAAAB5I/uOm-9G72FAs/s1600-h/OB-DC788_vice02_D_20090211120224.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 174px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6qAwhh1rW8U/SZMlNqb_3LI/AAAAAAAAB5I/uOm-9G72FAs/s400/OB-DC788_vice02_D_20090211120224.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301622103005453490″ //abr /However, this recession appears to be different with booze, cigarettes and gaming wobbling as never before.br /br /Socially responsible funds and ethical investments, on the other side of the spectrum, seem to be holding their own.br /br /Penny Shepherd, chief executive of …

One of the best-known Russian strategists is quitting the country after the backer of his Moscow-based hedge fund, Red Star Asset Management, pulled its mandate amid plummeting markets. James Fenkner, founder and managing director of Red Star, is moving to Santa Barbara, California after working in Russia for 14 years. Fenkner took the decision after Erste Bank, an Austrian retail bank with a network across central and eastern Europe, withdrew its support for Red Star. Erste did not respond to calls seeking comment. Fenkner said his relocation was mainly for family reasons. He said: "We believe that great fortunes will again be made in Russian shares, but one doesn't need necessarily to live 24/7 in Moscow to participate...Like most investors, I want to fly in for a few weeks a year with a better global perspective." Fenkner set up Red Star in ...

span style="font-weight:bold;"Financial News Online/spanbr /br /Jason Corcoran in Moscowbr /br /February 3 2009br /br /Rory Cullinan, former deputy chairman of private equity at Renaissance Partners, has rejoined Royal Bank of Scotland a month after leaving the Russian buyout group.br /br /Cullinan spent 16 months at Renaissance after joining from buyout firm Permira in August 2008. Prior to that he led RBS' equity finance division and sat on the board for corporate banking and financial markets from 2001 to 2005.br /br /An RBS spokesman said Cullinan had joined the wholesale global banking and markets division and would work on projects where his expertise will add value.br /br /During his prior tenure at RBS, Cullinan was responsible for a portfolio of more than 100 companies. He also presided over a deal that saw RBS buy a controlling stake in Southern Water at a cost of £273m (€302m), becoming a director of Southern ...

span style="font-weight:bold;"Financial Newsbr //spanbr /February 2 2009br /br /Jason Corcoran in Moscowbr /br /Renaissance Capital has parted company with two executives, Richard Olphert and Rory Cullinan, in a second round of job cuts at the Russian emerging markets investment bank, according to people with knowledge of the situation.br /br /The Moscow-headquartered bank, run by New Zealander Stephen Jennings, has been cutting costs and retreating to its core Russian market following the sale of a 50% stake in the business last year to billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.br /br /A Renaissance spokesman declined to comment on the departure of Olphert, chairman of Renaissance’s private equity arm and a leading shareholder. The bank confirmed Cullinan, hired as deputy chairman of Renaissance Partners from private equity firm Permira Partners in August 2007, had left before the start of this year and the private equity team had been pared back to eight from a staff of ...

span style=”font-weight:bold;”Dow Jones International News/spanbr /br /By Jason Corcoran in Moscowbr /br /U.K. investment house Fleming, Family Partners is launching a fund management business in Russia following its acquisition of DWS Investments in Moscow from Deutsche Bank.br /br /FFP, which has had operations in Russia since 1992, confirmed it had bought the DWS management company, its legal structure and four unit funds from Deutsche.br /br /Denis Sukhanov, chairman of FFP in Russia, said the new business targeting private clients and institutions would launch next month or in March. He said: “We think it’s a great time to launch considering how equity valuations have bombed in recent months. Asset management is a core business for Flemings in London and Zurich but we have never had it in Russia till now.”br /br /The sale of DWS to FFP by Deutsche marks a turnabout for the German company, which had intended to …

strongBusiness New Europe /strongbr /br /Jason Corcoran in Moscow br /br /January 23, 2009br /br /Merrill Lynch has ousted JP Morgan Chase to take the crown as leading adviser to Russian merger and acquisitions in 2008. br /br /US bank JP Morgan narrowly beat its Wall Street rival in 2007 due to its involvement in announced deals worth $40.8bn, compared with Merrill’s $39.2bn. However, last year Merrill nudged ahead through advising on 14 deals worth $24bn compared with JP Morgan’s 12 transactions worth $19.6bn, according to statistics prepared for bne by data provider Thomson Reuters. br /br /During the year, Merrill’s most notable deals included advising steelmaker Severstal on its $775m acquisition of US steel products manufacturer Esmark, as well as Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer, on its taking a 25% holding in domestic rival Norilsk Nickel. br /br /Overall, fees generated from MA were well down last year, …