Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Ten Years Later, Deadly Shooting In Armenian Parliament Still Echoes

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:18:50 +0000

On October 27, 1999, a group of armed men stormed the Armenian parliament and opened fire, killing eight people, including Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian and speaker Karen Demirchian. The gunmen later surrendered and were subsequently sentenced to life in prison. But lawmakers and other officials in Armenia say the event had a permanently chilling effect on the Armenian parliament and permanently changed the emerging institutions in post-Soviet Armenia.

What If The CIS Holds A Summit, And No One Comes?

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:38:48 +0000

The latest gathering of leaders from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is set to begin in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau. But the mood ahead of the summit is tense. Four out of five Central Asian leaders have declined to attend. Georgia, which formally withdrew from the post-Soviet grouping this summer, will be conspicuously absent. And Moldova's pro-Western prime minister has dismissed the CIS as "not viable," saying Chisinau's future lies with the West.

Molotov-Ribbentrop: The Night Stalin And Hitler Redrew The Map Of Europe

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:58:54 +0000

On the night of August 23-24, 1939, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop met in the Kremlin with Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and his foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov. By dawn, Hitler's Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a nonaggression pact -- and a secret protocol establishing "spheres of influence" in Eastern Europe.

Russia's Message To Ukraine Echoes Across Former Soviet Union

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:49:38 +0000

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent shock waves through Ukraine's political elite by issuing a highly critical open letter to his counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko. The Ukrainian president's office has fired back at the "aggressive tone" from Moscow.

Moldovan Opposition Pulls Together, But Is That Enough?

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:22:24 +0000

The four opposition parties that together hold a slim majority in Moldova's new parliament have agreed to form a new, Western-oriented coalition. But without reaching a deal with the Communists -- or tempting a few Communist deputies to vote with them -- the opposition does not have the supermajority required to elect a new president. Unless such a deal can be made, Moldova faces months of a caretaker government, followed by more legislative elections early next year.

A Year After Russia-Georgia War -- A New Reality, But Old Relations

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:52:04 +0000

A year ago the rumbling of Russian tanks in the Caucasus sent shock waves around the world. Moscow argued that the crisis demonstrated the collapse of post-Cold War security structures. NATO, the EU, and the U.S. struggled to respond to the rapidly changing situation on the ground. But 12 months later, specialists say, surprisingly little has changed.

Medvedev Marks A Year In The Kremlin, But Does He Rule?

Thu, 07 May 2009 10:17:12 +0000

At a glittering Kremlin ceremony one year ago, Dmitry Medvedev took the oath of office as Russia’s third president. But many eyes remained on his powerful predecessor, and soon to be prime minister, Vladimir Putin as the country entered a period of so-called tandem rule. The last year -- with the economic crisis, the conflict with Georgia, energy spats with Europe, and more -- has been a trying one for Russia and its two-headed leadership, and the future of the relationship remains uncertain.

'Resetting' Russia's Relations With West Gets Off To Rough Start

Tue, 05 May 2009 15:39:39 +0000

Just as the Russia-NATO Council resumed meetings last week, NATO announced it would expel two Russian diplomats -- including the son of Russia's envoy to the EU. Now the alliance begins a three-week training exercise in Georgia that Russia's president has denounced as a "blatant provocation." And in the latest development, Moscow has announced it is cancelling its participation in a scheduled Russia-NATO Council meeting in protest over the Georgia exercises.

Russia Steps Up Cooperation With Breakaway Georgian Regions

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:10:01 +0000

Russia's president and the de facto leaders of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have signed in Moscow agreements on cooperation in protecting the regions' border with Georgia. The regions declared independence following the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, and Moscow recognized them shortly after. Georgia regards them as occupied Georgian territory.

Ruling Party Fighting For First-Round Win In Sochi Poll

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:17:57 +0000

Critics charge that the mayoral campaign in the city that will host the 2014 Winter Olympics has been highly stage-managed to the benefit of one man. Opposition candidates have been harassed and shut out by local media, seemingly to ensure a victory for the ruling Unified Russia party's man in Sochi, Anatoly Pakhomov.

A Confident Putin Reports To Russian Duma On Crisis Measures

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:27:48 +0000

For the first time in his 11 months as prime minister, Vladimir Putin appeared before the Russian State Duma to explain his government's anticrisis program and to answer deputies' questions. In a nonconfrontational encounter with a legislature dominated by the party he heads, Putin expressed confidence Russia will emerge from the current economic crisis with a stronger, more diversified economy.

New Russian Film Pushes Kremlin's Line On Georgia War

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:08:38 +0000

Since the start of the five-day war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, Moscow and Tbilisi have traded accusations about who unleashed the violence. This week, Russian television viewers can observe another chapter in the dispute: a new action movie that offers a fictionalized version of how the war started, and places the blame squarely on the shoulders of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Nemtsov's Sochi Bid An Olympian Feat

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:36:00 +0000

Although the Kremlin has long viewed direct mayoral elections as a weak link in the strict power vertical built up under Vladimir Putin, it has moved slowly to eliminate them. Perhaps because, until now, the only cities that had the potential to play a role in national politics were Moscow and St. Petersburg.

In Russia, Pulling A Veil Over Stalin's Crimes

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:04:20 +0000

An important Western study of life in Stalin's Soviet Union loses its Russian publisher. Polish filmmaker Andrej Wajda's "Katyn," which tells the story of the 1940 massacre of 20,000 Polish officers by Stalin's secret police, is not being distributed in Russia. Are these just natural signs of hard economic times and declining interest in intellectual topics? Or are they part of the Kremlin's effort to promote the dictator as an effective manager who saved the country from destruction?

Unified Russia Congress Promises Stability Despite Financial Crisis

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:59:45 +0000

The fact that the Kremlin is working at least as feverishly on sweeping political reforms as it is on coping with the financial crisis creates the impression that the ruling elite in Russia is grappling with two crises simultaneously. As Putin asserted, one thing is clear: "As the party with a parliamentary majority, Unified Russia bears the full burden of responsibility for what is happening in the country."

South Ossetia Sinks Into The Spin Zone

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:14:00 +0000

In the modern world, wars are won and lost as much in the minds of global public opinion as on the battlefield. Even as the fighting between Russia and Georgia has raged in South Ossetia and other parts of Georgia, a fierce -- if uneven -- media battle has also unfolded. Each side is eager to establish its narrative of the situation and unfolding events.

Bush's 'Sprint To The Finish' Could Offer Surprises

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:54:25 +0000

Ever since the 2006 legislative elections in the United States, the Bush administration has been declaring the president's intention to "sprint to the finish" of his term. Moreover, U.S. presidents usually begin to think seriously about their historical legacies during their final months in office, and Bush is clearly no exception.

Moscow Seeks To Fragment Post-Soviet Unity On Rights

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:58:43 +0000

Russia in the era of President Vladimir Putin has increasingly presented a challenge to the "unity" and "community of values" of Western democracies not only in terms of its actions, but on the plane of ideas as well.

Russia's Mouse That Roared

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:11:05 +0000

The managed political scene in Russia is so moribund these days one can even hear a mouse roar. And that is what has happened in recent weeks, as the once-vaunted Communist Party has bared its little teeth." Its faction in Russia's Duma is the only one that is not directly choreographed from the Kremlin.