Victor Yasmann

Also by Victor Yasmann

• October 30, 2008

  Thoughts On Russia's Crisis

  Russia's leadership and the pro-Kremlin media never seem to tire of asserting that Russia will suffer less during the current global financial crisis than other countries. However, there are increasing signs that the main problems for Russia lie ahead and that the efforts of the country's leaders to present Russia as an island of calm and stability have failed.

• October 14, 2008

  Massive Loan A Strategic Win For Russia

  Reports that Russia is considering offering a four-year, 4 billion-euro loan to Iceland hardly made ripples in the ocean of news coming out about the expanding global financial crisis.

• October 02, 2008

  Russia Again Demonstrates Its Past Is Unpredictable

  Soviet dictator Josef Stalin once said that it doesn't matter who votes, but who counts the votes. This axiom of the "father of nations" would seem perfectly applicable to the "Name of Russia" project, which was created in order to determine the most outstanding personalities of Russian history.

• September 15, 2008

  In Corruption Fight, Kremlin Declares 'Total War' Against Its Shadow

  The war in the Caucasus and its foreign-policy consequences have put into doubt many of the ambitious plans laid out in the early days of President Dmitry Medvedev's term of office. Prominent among these plans was his high-profile program to combat corruption.

• August 26, 2008

  Diplomatic War Between Russia And West Looms

  Russia's current goals in its dealings with the West, particularly the European Union, are the legitimization of its actions, the acknowledgement of the status quo (that is, the "independence" of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as Russian protectorates), and -- if possible -- the emergence of a split within the West over these issues.

• August 20, 2008

  Why Did Moscow Go Into Georgia?

  Russia's new strategy in Georgia seems to be taking shape. Russian forces will remain in the separatist enclaves in the form of quasi-peacekeepers until Russia resolves the political questions of their status vis-a-vis the Russian Federation.

• August 06, 2008

  Law And Property, Kremlin-Style

  The plight of BP in Russia seems to fit in with the overall silovik strategy of restoring state control over the energy sector that was begun in the early days of Putin's presidency. Under that strategy, Gazprom, Rosneft, and other state megacorporations are pushing Western firms out of key projects in the oil-and-gas sector.

• July 24, 2008

  Commentary: Russians Rapt By U.S. Race

  The dynamism and drama of the U.S. campaign -- with open and sometimes contentious debates among candidates on national television -- present a sharp contrast to Russia's controlled and predictable elections.

• July 15, 2008

  Has Moscow Picked Wrong Moment To Pressure Czechs?

  Just three days after the signing of an agreement between Prague and Washington on the basing of an antimissile radar station in the Czech Republic, Russia sharply reduced the flow of oil to that country. It's possible the Kremlin hopes that increases in energy costs driven by Moscow's hardball tactics will convince the Czechs of the desirability of maintaining good relations with Russia.

• November 09, 2007

  The Soft-Power Foundations Of Putin's Russia

  November 9, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- President Vladimir Putin's decision last month to head the Unified Russia party's list of candidates for the December legislative elections and his statements that he will -- in one form or another -- retain political power past the end of his current term as president have set the course for Russia's immediate future. For the medium term at least, the silovik network that has formed over the last eight years will retain its control of the country's political and economic levers.

• October 01, 2007

  Russia: Zubkov Could Well Be Putin's Man

  (RFE/RL) October 1, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that he will run for a seat in the State Duma as the top candidate for the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party. In comments made to a Unified Russia conference, he also said that suggestions that he could serve as Russia's prime minister in a future government were realistic. The statements were the strongest indication yet of Putin's plans after he steps down as president at the end of his second term in 2008.

• September 25, 2007

  Russia: From Silovik Power To A Corporate State

  (RFE/RL) September 25, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- The domination of the siloviki -- people who emerged from the KGB or its successor organizations -- in Russian political and economic life is an accomplished fact. Over the seven years of President Vladimir Putin's administration, a core group of some 6,000 siloviki has moved into key controlling positions throughout government and business. But the question remains: for what purpose have these products of the country's totalitarian past taken over and what can we expect to see in Russia's domestic and foreign policies?

• September 17, 2007

  Siloviki Take The Reins In Post-Oligarchy Era

  Russia's "siloviki" -- the network of former and current state-security officers -- maintain an unprecedented level of control over political and economic life, and are likely to consolidate that power in the upcoming elections.

• September 13, 2007

  What's Behind Putin's Cabinet Shakeup?

  Viktor Zubkov's accession could be an effort by President Putin to give his anointed successor -- yet to be revealed -- a government headed by a loyalist.

• July 27, 2007

  Race To The North Pole

  An expedition has set off in hopes of bolstering Russia's claim on 1.2 million square kilometers of Arctic territory -- and vast hydrocarbon reserves.

• July 13, 2007

  Russia: Moscow Content To Block Kosovo Resolution

  (RFE/RL) July 13, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Once again the Western powers have attempted to find the right formula for compromise on Kosovo, and once again Russia has rejected it.

• June 20, 2007

  Glimpsing The Future Through Rose-Colored Glasses

  The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum heard predictions of a rosy outlook for Russia's economy.

• June 08, 2007

  Russia: Is Putin's Azerbaijan Radar Proposal Serious?

  The radar station in Qabala (RFE/RL) June 9, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal on June 7 at the G8 summit in Germany to use the Qabala (Gabala) radar station in Azerbaijan as an element in the U.S. planned missile shield is a well-crafted diplomatic step.

• May 17, 2007

  Analysis | Europe aversion underscores Kremlin position

  May 17, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Russian policymakers look back and view the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement that then-President Boris Yeltsin signed with the EU in 1994 as a moment of weakness.

• May 04, 2007

  Monument Dispute Gets Dirty

  With website attacks, violent protests, and intimidation of diplomats, the dispute over a war memorial in Tallinn has turned ugly.

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