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Bait
and switch in Russia? As a loyal
and longtime friend, there are suspicions Dmitry
Medvedev, who becomes president of Russia on
Wednesday, will be a puppet while the outgoing
Vladimir Putin continues to pull the strings,
perhaps even standing aside early to allow Putin
to return to the presidency. (May 7, '08)

Medvedev sworn in
(AFP)
Energized
Iran builds more bridges In
terms of
whom it conducts its energy business with, Iran keeps
all its options open, and it will not allow itself
to be pushed out of the European market as exports
are the bridge that will facilitate its all-round
integration with the Western world. Tehran's
hectic diplomatic activity in this regard has
put the "Iran Six" countries dealing with its nuclear
dossier on the defensive: none of them wants
confrontation with Iran. - M K Bhadrakumar
(May 5,
'08)
Legal
bills leave Tajikistan in the
cold As poverty-stricken
Tajikistan emerges from a bitter winter and its
hospitals look forward to more regular power
supplies, its government is running up a US$100
million bill to a London legal firm. The money may
be keeping the lawyers happy, but judges hearing
their arguments are less than satisfied. - John
Helmer (Apr 29,
'08)
China caught in potash
crunch China
has found that its market muscle counts for little
when it comes to buying the fertilizer essential
to maintain its output of rice and other crops.
New contract terms more than doubled the price it
pays for shipments from Russia, and competition
with other consumers is set to intensify.
Suppliers, meanwhile, are seeing their share
prices soar. - John Helmer
(Apr 21,
'08)
Iran homes in on the Caspian
With United States and United Nations sanctions escalating the pressures on
Iran, particularly in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, Tehran is seeking an
outlet for trade and investment in the Caspian region, luring potential
partners with lucrative production-sharing agreements. If only the littoral
states could agree among themselves. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Apr 16, '08)
BOOK REVIEW
Beyond the statue's cold frown
Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore
The early years of Joseph Stalin make for an exotic tale. Widowed at 22,
Stalin's heart turned to socialism and he soon grew into a gangster chief, a
four-time political exile and a talented poet. In evocative prose, Montefiore
casts new light on a man whose name is a byword for ruthless and dictatorial
government and at the same time adds depth and context to a dominant 20th
century leader. - Fraser Newham (Apr 11, '08)
The Taliban's shadow hangs over NATO
Following the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit and the meet between
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President George W Bush, the Russians
say they were "defeated": the US's missile defense shield in Europe and NATO's
expansion will go ahead. This is a smokescreen. By Moscow agreeing to the
transit of food and non-military cargo and "some types of non-lethal military
equipment" across Russia to Afghanistan, Russia now has a role in NATO's
operations in Afghanistan. - M K
Bhadrakumar (Apr 7,
'08)
Russia's WTO hopes on
borderline
Russia is nearing the conclusion of a 15-year effort to join the World Trade
Organization - perhaps. As talks near their final stages, concerns ranging from
timber tariffs to security issues threaten to drag things out even further, in
spite of the benefits membership would bring to all parties. - Kaveh L
Afrasiabi and Natalia Gold
(Apr 7, '08)
Russia
challenges US in the Islamic world
For the second year in a row, Russia this month attended the annual summit of
the Organization of Islamic Conference as an observer. This signals Moscow's
active extension of its involvement in the Middle East by directly challenging
the US's traditional dominance of the region. The "peace dividend" of this
growing friendship with the Islamic world also translates into hard dollars -
from mega projects in Egypt and Saudi Arabia - under the US's nose - to renewed
oil interests in Iraq. - M K Bhadrakumar (Mar 28,
'08)
IMF blows whistle on Tajik
corruption
The International Monetary Fund this month revealed that the National Bank of
Tajikistan and the Finance Ministry have been fiddling the country's accounts
and concealing the disappearance of millions of dollars of international loan
funds. Yet the Asian Development Bank continued to approve loans even as the
IMF said the country had breached its financial obligations. - John Helmer
(Mar 25, '08)
SEX
IN DEPTH
My short time with Tito
It all started innocently enough: a simple research outing to uncover the
underworld of Western sex workers in Asia. But then, at the unsubtle urging of
an over-bulked Baltic bouncer named Tito, the venture became a tour of the sex
trade "circuit". What came out was the naked truth about organized crime,
immigration, sex and the story behind some of Asia's most notorious ports of
call girls.
William Sparrow writes a weekly column looking at issues relating to sex
in Asia. (Mar 20, '08)
Medvedev holds key to WTO
Dmitry Medvedev's ascension to power in Russia heralds a new opportunity for
resolution of differences that bar the way to the country joining the World
Trade Organization. Yet even if membership remains elusive, internal debate on
the issues involved have proved an innovative experience in democratic
discussion on an important issue of national economic policy. - Kaveh L
Afrasiabi and Natalia Gold (Mar 20,
'08)
Guns? Not me says
Viktor Bout
Viktor Bout, the 41-year-old Russian businessman being held on "terrorism
charges" in Bangkok for conspiring to sell "millions of dollars worth of
weapons" to Colombian guerillas, is innocent, his lawyer vehemently claims. His
reputation for selling guns, guns, guns is being disarmed by his legal team,
which says any attempts to extradite Bout to Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere are
based only on "blah blah blah". - Richard S Ehrlich (Mar
18, '08)
Russia throws a wrench in
NATO's works
President Vladimir Putin has made the North Atlantic Treaty Organization an
offer it will find extremely difficult to resist - making Russia a participant
in the alliance's Afghan mission. The pressure is now on the United States to
embrace the idea of Russia becoming a transit route for supplies going to
Afghanistan. The trouble is, Washington knows Moscow will incrementally want a
bigger role for itself and its allies in Afghanistan, and those allies include
China. - M K Bhadrakumar (Mar 14, '08)
THE ROVING EYE
Relax and float south stream
The decision by three Central Asian energy exporters to charge Gazprom a higher
rate for gas it then channels to Europe looks like a severe blow to the Russian
company. But US and European hopes that they might secure some independence
from Russia at the other end of the supply chain increasingly look like wishful
thinking. - Pepe Escobar(Mar 13, '08)
China puts its trust in Putinism
More than any other capital in the world, Beijing has closely observed the
changing of the guard in the Kremlin. And the Chinese know that with or without
President Vladimir Putin, it is only natural for Russia to continue its current
policies. There's therefore still work to be done on the Sino-Russian
relationship. - Yu Bin (Mar 12, '08)
Russia lays new tracks in
Korean ties
The new administrations coming
into the Kremlin in Moscow and Seoul's
presidential Blue House, together with a new
generation of leaders in Pyongyang, can radically
change the political climate in the region and
help resolve the peninsula's nuclear problem. -
Leonid Petrov
(Mar 4, '08)
Medvedev ready
for his Russian moment
Judging
by his record, the presumptive next president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, can
be expected to pursue a concerted liberalization of politics as the next
logical stage in the country's evolution. He aims to make business in Russia
the most profitable in the world. And in foreign policy, the likely leitmotif
is that security will be enhanced when countries share risk - that is, the West
and Russia should cooperate.
- Nicolai N Petro
(Feb 29, '08)
BOOK REVIEW
From local fight to global
struggle
Russia's Islamic Threat by Gordon M Hahn
Although the Chechen war started as a nationalistic exploit, with the desire to
liberate Chechens from Russia and build an independent state, it has
transformed itself into a jihadi movement with global appeal.
- Dmitry Shlapentokh (Feb 29, '08)
Chess takes the world on board
Russians still dominate competitive chess, but not like they did in the Soviet
era when Joseph Stalin decreed national excellence. Today the reigning world
champ is from India, the world's top junior is Egyptian and some of the most
promising prodigies are from China, where the Soviets' decidedly political
approach to the game has been adopted. (Feb 27, '08)
Look who's digging for gold in
Myanmar
A Russian signatory to an agreement to prospect for gold in northeast Myanmar,
witnessed by the Russian ambassador to the country, has a name disconcertingly
similar to that of a fraudster in a story written by a former gulag prisoner.
Coincidence perhaps, but it's about as much as there is to work on in this
mysterious business. - John Helmer (Feb 27, '08)
THE ROVING EYE
Russia gas
pact energizes Iran
A deal that will expand Gazprom's
interest in Iran's South Pars gas field and involve daughter company
Gazpromneft in an oil project in the country underlines Tehran's expanding role
in the region's energy sector and the immunity of Russian gas companies from
sanctions emanating from the United States. - Pepe Escobar (Feb
26, '08)
Black, white
knights eye Kazakh banks
Kazakhstan's banks, vaults once stacked with oil and mining money, now owe
international lenders US$12 billion and counting. Their plight is attracting
takeover proposals by foreign rivals, and warnings that the government might
grab some stakes. History suggests that the latter could be a good, and maybe
revolutionary, idea. - Charles van der Leeuw
(Feb 13, '08)
Japan covets Russian gas, hot
air
Japan, keen to be a leader in creating a successor to the Kyoto Protocol and
struggling to meet its goals under the existing deal, wants to buy greenhouse
gas credits from Russia as a way towards hitting the targets. Natural gas from
its northern neighbor will also come in handy. - Hisane Masaki
(Feb 13, '08)
Kazakhstan unveils new energy
directions
Kazakhstan, which has halted negotiations with foreign investors interested in
extracting its natural resources pending a new tax code, wants to become more
assertive as a key player in the Central Asian energy sector. To succeed, it
will have to contend with variables beyond its control. - Robert M Cutler
(Feb 12, '08)
Mittal mines a Russian mystery
India's Lakshmi Mittal, who humbled Russia's Alexei Mordashov in a battle to
buy Europe's largest steelmaker, Arcelor, has handed his old foe something in
the region of US$700 million for coal-mining assets in Russia. There is no
clear reason why. - John Helmer (Feb 1, '08)
Russian
turbulence for Indian airbase
An Indian military outpost in Tajikistan was expected to irritate Islamabad and
Beijing, not Moscow. Russia's pressure, which has led to the project being
stalled, is a wake-up call for India's big-power dreams and a reminder to Delhi
that it can't expect a strategic beachhead in Central Asia if it continues to
pursue close ties with the Americans. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Jan 31, '08)
Envoy's belly dancer
bares all
At
age 26, Nadira Alieva has already seemingly lived several lifetimes - most of
them sordid. The Uzbek daughter of a drug and alcohol-addicted actor, a rape
victim and former Tashkent pole dancer, she was "rescued" by a British
ambassador who left his wife and diplomatic career for her. She's currently
telling her story in a solo performance in London, and she has her eyes on
Hollywood. (Jan 24, '08)
Cover off Tajikistan's missing
millions
UK court proceedings this year are expected to expose dealings involving
Tajikistan aluminum company Talco and missing money worth up to US$500
million a year. The heaings may also raise questions on why World Bank and
other officials support financing for the man who dominates Talco's business
dealings, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon. - John Helmer
(Jan 10, '08)
COMMENT
The three Rs: Rivalry, Russia and
'Ran
The declining United
States-Russia relationship (and that of Europe and
Russia) does not occur in a strategic vacuum. If
the US wants to calm Iran's nuclear ambitions, it
is going to need to brush up on its diplomatic
basics. This means that Moscow has to be convinced
its long-term interests are best served by
full-fledged cooperation with the West. -
Robert D Blackwill (Jan 10, '08)
SPENGLER
Putin for
president ...
of the United States
Forget Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. There's still time to amend the
constitution, naturalize him as a citizen and elect the only sensible choice
for the next US president - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. He has restored
Russia's battered economy and global stature and he used a divide-and-conquer
strategy to subdue Chechnya. His ruthless means are worthy of Cardinal
Richelieu and the US could do a lot worse. (Jan 7,
'08)
Russia, Iran tighten the
energy noose
It has been a triumphant year for Moscow in its energy rivalry with the US,
trumping at every turn Washington's efforts to promote Western interests from
the Caspian to Central Asia. At the heart of the struggle in 2008 will be Iran,
Europe's only serious option for diversifying its energy imports. But already,
Moscow is drawing Tehran more tightly into its embrace. A successful union
would give the couple control of roughly 20% of world's oil reserves and close
to half of the world's gas reserves. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Dec 21, '07)
Russia's east
warms to China
A cultural shift is taking place in easternmost Russia, and it's not what
Moscow fears. It's not the massive influx of unwanted Chinese long predicted in
the press, but a more subtle and unexpected "Sino-ization" of ethnic Russians
who are increasingly turning towards China as a land of tolerance and
opportunity. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Dec 14,
'07)
Putin's choice: Charm
could be unlucky
Vladimir
Putin's endorsement of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as the official
Kremlin candidate for the upcoming presidential elections will charm
Western powers (Medvedev, formerly the head of Gazprom, is reportedly a Black
Sabbath fan) and Beijing. But he's virtually an unknown as far Russia's old
ally India is concerned, and the charm could wear thin soon. - M K
Bhadrakumar (Dec 13, '07)
SPEAKING FREELY
The birth of Russia's new energy
class
A new class of people has emerged under President Vladimir Putin based on the
shared interest in and ownership of the state's energy resources. This group,
comprising the security services, politicians and the business elite, will
obtain a decisive advantage by promoting the measures necessary to defend their
common interests. - Justin Dargin (Dec 5, '07)
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