Free Republic

Speech at Meeting with the Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives of the Russian Federation June 27, 2006 Foreign Ministry, Moscow PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, dear friends and colleagues, Recent years have seen great changes, sometimes fundamental changes, take place in the world. These changes are to a certain extent linked to the rise of new, economically powerful players on the world stage. It needs to be said that Russia, too, has considerably strengthened its domestic potential and its international position. Pursuing an active foreign policy is becoming an increasingly important component of national development for any country. Effective use can...

RADICAL UKRAINIAN NATIONALISM AND THE WAR IN CHECHNYA By Andrew McGregor On March 18 Russia’s Prosecutor General announced the launch of a criminal case involving the participation of a number of Ukraine’s leading radical nationalists as mercenaries in the war in Chechnya. All those charged, including leading ultra-nationalists Dimitro Korchinski and the late Anatoli Lupinos, were members of the Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian People’s Self Defense Organization (UNA-UNSO). The UNA-UNSO members are alleged to have fought alongside Chechen forces during combat actions in 2000-2001. The Russian Security Service (FSB) is running an ongoing investigation in Chechnya (Itar-Tass, March 18; Interfax, March...

Cardinal apologizes for priests' actions Tribune wire services Published June 23, 2006 WARSAW, Poland -- The former personal secretary of Pope John Paul II apologized for actions of Roman Catholic priests who allegedly collaborated with Poland's dreaded communist-era secret security agency, and he urged Poles not to lose faith in the church.

Xenophobic violence is escalating in both Russia and Ukraine, according to Nikolai Butkevich, research and advocacy director of the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union. Speaking at RFE/RL's Washington office on June 15, Butkevich detailed the increased presence of neo-Nazi groups within Russia and the failure of local political and law enforcement officials to stem the tide. Meanwhile, he said a similar phenomenon is occurring in Ukraine but is getting very little media attention. WASHINGTON, June 19, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Butkevich has been following the issue of neo-Nazi violence, anti-Semitism, and racial incidents in the former...

ESTONIA Analysts point to Russia's currently weak position on the international stage and its attempts to restore its damaged image at any cost. "The history of the Russian people, their religion and national individuality were the biggest targets of Soviet repressions. The current national awakening is still in the bud and is going through an identity crisis... The Orthodox faith, the main basis of the Russian culture, is awakening. But there are some causes for concern. The Orthodox faith, especially when controlled by the state, does not contribute to the weak Russian democracy. Russia seems to have two ruling ideologies...

Another tragic incident in the Russian Army became known on Wednesday. A 19-year old conscript from the Krasnodar Region was beaten and thrown from a train during a trip from Kuban to Khabarovsk. Valentina Saleeva, from the Krasnodar Region Soldiers Mothers Committee told "Interfax" that uring the soldier was violently beaten and then thrown to the rails outside of the city of Shilka in Chitinskaya Oblast. He was found by railroad workers and taken to the regional hospital. She reported that the conscript is suffered serious internal injuries, head lacerations, and several broken ribs.

Ukraine will sign a treaty with Syria. The Ukrainian First Vice PM, Stanislav Stashevskyj has not ruled out the possibility that Ukraine will sign a free trade treaty with Syria. He announced this today in Damascus during the opening ceremony of the 4th Plenary Sessioon of the Joint Ukraine-Syria Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation. "We have to look at the possibility of concluding an agreement on free trade," announced Stashevskij. He remarked that Ukraine is extremely interested in increasing the import of olive oil, cotton, fruits and textiles from the Syrian Arabic Republic. The first vice-premier of Ukraine...

The University School of Public Health has shown that the inhabitants of Eastern Europe and the former USSR have started to suffer obesity since the growth of their economy. Obesity is growing at a faster rate in Eastern Europe than it is in Western Europe. Only six percent of Norwegians have abnormal weights. The largest sufferes of obesity in Eastern Europe are Hungary, weighing in at 19 percent, and Russia and Lithuaina at 18 percent. The authors of research defined what factors have rendered the most influence on the "fattening" the population - types of economy, qualities of the governments,...

A general at the Omsk Tank Institute beat a cadet unconscious. The Ministry of Defense has another account of this incident. Yet another loud scandal inflames the army. A general assigned to the Omsk Tank Engineering Institute beat a cadet. The incident occurred after the end of the duty day. The cadet was beaten so badly that his ear will require lengthy treatment. Information about the alleged attack is being checked by the Military Office of the Public Prosecutor. This form of hazing (officers on enlisted) is extremely rare, according to the “Mosco Komsomolets.” The incident occured on May, 28th....

You can "hire" a "warrior" outside the Ministry of Defense building Gay prostitution is blossoming in the Russian military. Soldiers are being forced to become prostitutes for "grandfathers" (note: draftees who have served a year or more) and officers. Some of the soldiers do so because of hunger and poverty. According to the newspaper "Sobesednik," it is possible to "rent" a soldier for cheap in the center of Moscow In the past it was mature women who preferred "sex in the foot-cloths." Now the main clients of the servicemen are gays. They are aroused not only by the soldiers, but...

SEATTLE - As thousands of Fort Lewis Army troops prepare to head back to Iraq, one of their officers is making a stand. A lieutenant says he is going to refuse to go, saying it's an unjust war. Anti-war groups are rallying to his defense. Lt. Ehren Watada of the Stryker Brigade writes, "I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to watch families torn apart, while the President tells us to ‘stay the course.’ I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression.

"Does Russia Need the West?" William J. Burns, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Moscow, May 30, 2006 Thank you for inviting me to speak at this very timely conference. This is a moment of considerable frustration and doubt about the relationship between Russia and the United States. You can hear it and feel it every day in both our capitals. From the American side, there are concerns about over-centralization of power here and about Russian behavior toward some of its neighbors. From the Russian side, there are concerns that Americans do not understand how difficult the last 15 years have been...

29.05.2006, 14.24 Ekaterinburg, 29 May. Sixteen countries have confirmed their attendance in the 5th International Armaments Show in Nizhnyj Tagil. More than 200 foreigners are expected to attend. Some of the countries attending include the Czech Republic, POLAND, China, Switzerland, Venezuela, Sweden, Iran, Bulgaria, and Mozambique. The show will be held from 11 to 15 July, 2006.

ST. PETERSBURG, May 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia rigorously complies with all its commitments on nuclear non-proliferation, the country's defense minister said Friday. "Rumors that Russia is covertly providing [nuclear] assistance to Iran is nothing but propaganda," Sergei Ivanov, who is also deputy prime minister, said following talks in Russia's second city with his German counterpart, Franz Josef Jung. Ivanov said the construction of a nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran, with Russian help had nothing to do with non-proliferation regulations. "Supplies of fuel to the plant are possible if only [the spent fuel] is then returned to Russia," he...

MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will spend almost 5 trillion rubles ($185 bln at current prices) on a state armaments program over the next nine years, the defense minister said Monday. Sergei Ivanov, who is also a deputy prime minister, told a government meeting with President Vladimir Putin that a ministry committee would consider the program, which will run 2007-2015, at a meeting on June 2. Ivanov said a draft of the program - which covers modernization and development of Russia's military capability - had been coordinated with security agencies, the Finance Ministry and the Economic Development and...

MINSK, Belarus - A monument to Soviet secret police founder Felix Dzerzhinsky was unveiled Friday in the Belarusian capital Minsk, provoking protests from human rights defenders and opposition politicians. Dzerzhinsky, reviled by critics of the Soviet era, helped establish the first Soviet secret service, called the Cheka, in 1917 under Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. The Cheka, a forerunner of the KGB, was responsible for mass arrests and executions.

By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Writer Sun May 28, 7:26 AM ET KRAKOW, Poland - Poland's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, was punched and sprayed with what appeared to be pepper spray by an unidentified man in downtown Warsaw, but escaped without injuries from what police said may have been an anti-Semitic attack.

A “Purge” has been conducted on the FSB, MVD Prosecutor’s Office, Customs and the Federation Council. On Friday the Prime Minister was directed by the Russian president to order the forced retirements and firing of high ranking members of the FSB, MVD Prosecutor’s and Custom’s office and the Federal Customs Service. Federation Council members were also told to step down. These “retirements” were conducted in accordance with the government’s anti-corruption campaign. A government source told “Interfax” that this action was not a witch hunt, but was conducted in order to counteract the criminal elements that have taken hold in the...

Ask the AmbassadorLast Week Q & A (03.20-26.06) Honorable Ambassador, could you tell me, what kind of tendency exists in immigration from Russia to the U.S.? Is it decreasing or growing? And what are the reasons for this? Aleksei Loginov (Nizhegorodskiy) Ambassador Burns: Dear Aleksei, In recent years the level of Russian immigration to the United States has increased to the point that Russia is, in fact, no longer eligible for the Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery program, which is designed for countries with low levels of immigration to the U.S. Last year, 12,109 Russians received permission to immigrate to...

March 14, 2006 -- Three independent Belarusian newspapers have suspended publication after a printing house in Russia said it could no longer print them. The newspapers -- "Narodnaya volya," "BDG Delovaya gazeta," and "Tovarishch" -- have been using a printing house in the Russian city of Smolensk after state printing houses in Belarus refused to print them.