There's a very interesting article on euobserver.com about Russia's attempts to re-brand itself as a benign global power in the eyes of Brussels.  The piece reports that news agency Ria-Novosti has apparently engaged the services of low-profile PR consultancy RJI Companies to assist it in softening Russia's image in Europe, in order to justify it having a large say in global affairs.  Apparently a sub-section of this campaign revolves around Stalin rehabilitation and a Soviet makeover:Russian news agency Ria Novosti is rolling out a new public relations campaign in the political capital of the European Union which, according to sources in the PR industry, aims to justify Russia's great power ambitions and improve the image of Joseph Stalin....

Kafkaesque. The former Russian oil tycoon, who stood up to Putin, is back before his judges. Here is the story. [The following is a translation of an article published in the French publication Le Point.]

Le Point, October 15, 2009

Accused Khodorkovsky, Stand Up!

From our special envoy Marc Nexon

He stands up, opens his spiral notebook and pulls out 3 sheets of paper he has scribbled with his fine handwriting. He pats the microphone installed in his glass cage. "Can you hear me?" he asks, addressing the judge. Then he starts with a clear voice: "I know that in his eyes I embody absolute evil, but I would like to ask quietly a few questions to the witness of the prosecution..."

...

TODAY: Medvedev pushes for cooperation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.  Lavrov says no justification for Ukrainian expulsions; mortars rumble in South Ossetia as anniversary tensions brew; Russia puts the no in NATO.  Journalist denied entry to Lithuania. No smokes for soldiers.In his meeting with leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan President Medvedev spoke of their 'common space', 'which should be filled with all sorts of projects' emphasizing energy, trade and transport.  Will today's CSTO summit be hindered by differences?  In the capital of South Ossetia two loud explosions have been reported, serving an an early reminder of the imminent anniversary of last year's 5 day war.  South Ossetia apparently intends to demand the ...

• Mattel (NYSE:MAT) reported second quarter earnings of 6 cents a share, ahead of estimates of breakeven results, despite a 19% revenue fall to $898.2 million

• UBS (NYSE:UBS) initiated coverage of Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) with a "buy" rating, citing the anticipated cyclical recovery in the industry as well as the firm's structural changes

• A news agency reported Brazilian mining firm Vale is eyeing Mosiac (NYSE:MOS) as a possible acquisition target

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) cut its rating on Motorola (NYSE:MOT) shares to "neutral" from "buy," citing the recent appreciation stock's price

• Ryder (NYSE:R) increased its quarterly dividend 8.7% to 25 cents

• According to Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) CEO Lewis, "Difficult challenges lie ahead from continued weakness in the global economy, rising unemployment and deteriorating credit quality that will affect our performance for the rest of the year and into 2010." The firm's second quarter, however, bettered estimates of 28 cents a

...

Here's a write-up of Russia's beautifully liberal concept of emissions reductions.  From The Guardian:Russia plans to release 30 percent more greenhouse gases by 2020 under an emissions target scheme announced on Friday by President Dmitry Medvedev. "Based on the current situation by 2020 we could cut emissions by about 10-15 percent," Medvedev told Russian state television, according to a copy of his comments supplied by the Kremlin. Arkady Dvorkovich, the Kremlin's chief economic adviser, later clarified to Interfax news agency that the reduction would be from 1990 levels, before the Soviet Union fell and Russia's heavy industry collapsed.

Is actually the name of an econblog off of which Alpha.Sources get a substantial amount of backlinks. However, it is also a fitting emblem on a day when the hitherto biggest automaker in the world (GM) finally, one is tempted to say, files for bankruptcy. Of course, it will not sink into the eternal wastebin of companies gone bust, but rather emerge as a "new" GM, significantly slimmer and with significantly more state capital (and ownership). 60% is the current number flying around concerning the stake of the US federal government whereas Canada will control 12% according to Bloomberg in exchange for a 9.5 billion loan.

General Motors Corp., the world’s largest automaker for 77 years, will file for bankruptcy today, and emerge with majority ownership by taxpayers and liabilities reduced by more than 50 percent, the U.S. government said. The “new

...

Gold prices softened on Monday but remained within sight of a two-month high above $960 touched in the previous session, retaining their sheen in the face of a weaker dollar.

Crude oil’s rise to a six-month high has also benefited gold, which is often bought both as an alternative to the dollar and as an inflation hedge.

Gold markets showed little initial reaction to a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that quoted a ruling party official as saying North Korea conducted a nuclear test on Monday……

……Gold was at $954.85 per ounce at 0601 GMT (2:01 p.m. EDT), down 0.1 percent from New York’s notional close of $955.85.

On Friday, bullion touched a high of $961.30 an ounce, its highest since March 20.

“Gold has most certainly been driven by recent weakness in the dollar and that looks set to continue for

…

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." ...

Don't dispute any details of the official version of the Great Patriotic War in Russia - or else.  The idea had never occurred to me personally, but I have noticed that the quickening tempo of ultra-nationalism in many countries often serves of a warning bell of some unknown, unfortunate events on the horizon.From TIME magazine:

"I believe the Duma should enact a law that would criminalize the denial of the Soviet victory in World War II," said Sergei Shoigu, head of the powerful Ministry of Emergency Situations and co-chairman of the supreme council of Putin's United Russia party, during a speech to veterans in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) in February, according to reports by Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Shoigu's call for the new law came after Russian television channel NTV broadcast a documentary about the Battles of Rzhev, a series of offensives launched by ...

For as often as we hear the pained and repetitive declarations from Gazprom officials about Russia being a normal, regular, and reliable supplier of energy, once in a while we still get threats like this one from energy czar Igor Sechin:Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said on Thursday transit risks remain for Russian gas deliveries to Europe, Interfax news agency reported."From our point of view, risks remain. We have not yet reached guaranteed stability and we are prepared to clarify our position on this issue," Interfax quoted Sechin, who oversees Russia's energy sector, as saying.Sechin was speaking at a conference alongside EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, who is no stranger to the use of energy supplies as a political weapon, Gazprom's monopoly, and was a major proponent of the new unbundling regulations. ...