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....

It's been less than a week since valiant Russian human rights groups Memorial won Europe's llustrious human rights award, the Sakharov Prize, but it seems that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is determined to pull the plug on any celebrations. Kadyrov won a civil libel suit against the organization's Chairman Oleg Orlov earlier this month, regarding the activist's public affirmation that the Chechen leader was responsible for the murder of fellow Memorial representative Natalya Estemirova in July.  Kadyrov has now opened a criminal libel suit against Orlov, which carries a prison sentence of up to three or four years. This from the AP: The case stems from Orlov's statement in July that Chechen President ...

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..."

...

Russia and China have asserted a desire to increase cooperation in the energy industry, at the fifth round of Russian-Chinese energy talks in Beijing, attended by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and China's deputy premier Wang Qishan.  When Vladimir Putin visits Beijing this week, he is apparently likely to seal a deal for transit of Russian gas to China which would make the energy-hungry power Gazprom's biggest customer.  According to the Moscow Times, the deal is 'fairly general' and does not mention loans.  Gazprom has not as of yet agreed on the price of natural gas, says Ria-Novosti.  Factbox on Russia-China energy relations here.  Gazprom is apparently on the verge of opening a Brazilian office that will manage its expanding Latin American operations.  ITAR-TASS reports that Iraq is ready to commence talks with Lukoil regarding ...

According to Bloomberg, Russia intends to pay off the last of its Soviet-era $1.2 billion debt this year to ease the fears of potential investors.  Ria-Novosti reports that the World Bank has suggested that Russia's GDP will reach pre-crisis levels in the third quarter of 2012.  In September manufacturing grew for the first time in 14 months.  Rusal head Oleg Deripaska has said that oversupply has put the aluminum market under 'huge stress' and he will be 'very cautious' on investing outside of Russia.  Russia's Central Bank will continue intervening in the foreign currency market because of the country's vulnerability to oil price fluctuations.  Alfa Bank head Pyotr Aven, who has apparently developed a reputation for gloom-mongering, is uncharacteristically optimistic that there will be no second wave of crisis.  The European Bank for Reconstruction and ...

Bloomberg reports that oil has been trading around $66 a barrel, as spare capacity has staved off fears of supply disruption due to political disputes between Iran and the US.  Apparently German firm RWE has not renounced its plans to participate in the building of the Belene nuclear power plant in Bulgaria.  If Belene announces a tender, Russia will attempt to purchase a stake in the plant, which is being built by a Russian company, says Ria-Novosti.  Prime Minster Putin has ordered First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov to draw up a plan for the government, for businesses and for government agencies to introduce cutting edge energy-saving technologies.  Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller has reportedly said that countries that are not as of yet involved in the South Stream project, such as Turkey and Romania, are starting to ...

TODAY: US to modify or jettison missile defense plans? NATO chief to meet with Russian envoy; Lukaschenko sends out mixed messages.  South Ossetia denies book burning; think tank leader says Putin could be heading for Brehznev-style decades in power; Medvedev finds inspiration on blogosphere.The Wall Street Journal reports that the White House may abandon the Bush-era missile defense plans which have caused consternation in Russia.  AP sources quoted on the Washington Post suggest a compromise measure, tempered to Russian concerns.  RFE/RL has an entertaining list of the 'dissidents' President Medvedev might like to meet on his upcoming US trip.  NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Russian envoy to the alliance Dmitry Rogozin will hold an ...

Right, so here goes a weird one.  Alexander Solzhenitsyn's book The Gulag Archipelago will be made required reading for school children:According to the state-run news agency RIA Novosti, the Education Ministry on Wednesday ordered that passages from the book become required reading in order to deepen students' understanding of Russia's history. A ministry spokesman did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.This seems quite odd in light of the other more politically controversial history textbooks being put into Russian schools, or potentially conflicting with the return of thought police at the history commission.  Then again, Solzhenitsyn was a dedicated Putin supporter in his fading years, so as long as passages are reflected which don't cause students to think about contemporary cases - say, the show trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky - I guess everything should continue as normal. ...

Writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, Joshua Foust, who also blogs on Central Asia at Registan.net, takes a look at the lobbying, PR, and information war going on between Russia and Georgia, and finds that Tbilisi is more or less winning the effort to shape the narrative in the English-language media.  Foust's point isn't so much whether or not it was Russia or Georgia at fault for the war, or who the bad guy is, but rather that we had better steel ourselves with a good dose of cynicism in the face of so much effort and money being thrown behind all the media influence trafficking by both parties.

Georgia has also intensified its campaign in the English-language Web--sites like GeorgiaUpdate.gov.ge exist to advance the Georgian government's point of view to a Western audience. The Georgian government has also

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TODAY: New NATO chief asserts Russia needs to acknowledge sovereignty; nuclear chief fired; Uzbekistan wary of Kremlin's Kyrgyzstan plans.  Moscow-appointed judge in Yukos case to step down. Anniversary of Solzhenitsyn's death. The new head of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has said that the alliance will attempt to pursue a 'strategic partnership' with Russia, whilst 'insisting on Russian compliance with her international obligations including respect of the sovereignty and integrity of her neighbors'.  The Commander of the strategic nuclear missile forces, Nikolai Solovtsov, has been fired after the repeated failures of the Baluva missile.  He will be replaced by General Andrei Shvaichenko.  Russia has renewed its backing for UN sanctions against North Korea, initiated to deter it ...