Who's unhappy with Victory parades in Moscow?

Every year before May 9, Victory Day, a parade rehearsal is held in Moscow. Each year, a few weeks before the holiday, rehearsals are held in the center of the city. The rehearsals are held in the evening with an advance warning for those traveling to the downtown. Every year (or rather, last four or five years) traditional representatives of the so-called "creative class" have been whining and moaning about it. They complain that they are terribly inconvenienced by these rehearsals because they as taxpayers do not want their money wasted on useless parades. They do not want to sit in traffic jams and consider proposed alternative to use public transit unacceptable. Before this year's parade, some commentators have crossed all limits. For example, the deputy editor of Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper Eider Muzhdabaev wrote on Facebook that on Thursday, April 25, the capital of Russia was in a dead traffic jam deliberately and cynically imposed on the city residents. He continued that media called it a rehearsal for the Victory Parade, but instead it should be called a deliberate killing of innocent people no better than the Holocaust, albeit on a smaller scale. This was followed by a discussion of the emergency vehicles unable to reach dying patients. In conclusion, Muzhdabaev called it fascism, "Ritual killings for Victory Day." An actor Vladimir Bagramov wrote that "Patriots" should burn along with their parades. Radio station "Echo of Moscow" published these comments on the main page of its website in an attempt to attract attention. Such insane commentary occurs only before May 9. Before the New Year, for example, traffic jams in the Russian cities are often much worse. Of course, the editor of "MK" provided no data on the number of deaths caused by the parade rehearsal. A correspondent of Pravda.Ru was told by a representative of the Department of Health in Moscow that "Fortunately, no one died" because of traffic jams caused by the rehearsals. "Even if there is military equipment on the road and an emergency vehicle needs to transport a patient in a serious condition, it will be given way. If a person is sick and an emergency cannot get through because of traffic jams, another team is sent to the patient," said the representative of the Moscow Health Department. What do Russian public figures and politicians think about it? Below are opinions of Alla Gerber, Ludmila Alexeeva and Boris Nemtsov. Ludmila Alexeeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group: "I also think that the parades are a fun activity for our federal authorities who appear to have not been playing war enough as children. No normal country celebrates a holiday with a parade, at best it is a march of workers, people and citizens. We have a parade, you see ... It is imperative that equipment moves and soldiers march. This is a torture for those who participate in parades, they are tormented by completely unnecessary rehearsals, and citizens are tortured with traffic jams. When the anniversary of the beating of citizens was scheduled for May 6th (the opposition rally on Bolotnaya Square - Ed.), then traffic jams were cited, and we were told that a rally was allowed, but not a march. Here for many days soldiers and citizens, Muscovites, can be tortured for days so the leadership could amuse themselves for a couple of hours, bragging about their power and might. It's disgusting, stupid. This is a sign of an authoritarian regime and a country striving for militarization." Alla Gerber All, president of the "Holocaust" movement: "I think they don't think about anything and can't think in principle. Comparing Moscow traffic with the Holocaust is a crime. The Holocaust is a unique, scary phenomenon related only to the destruction of Jews during the Second World War and nothing else. Comparing it with the Holocaust is a simple mockery of the Holocaust, and all of us. I think we should still think before speaking. Another thing, of course, is the parade rehearsal and a chaos that emerges in the city where one cannot move, people get lost, those driving are in a deadlock, and the entire life of the city changes, and it is very hard. It is not life threatening - it's nonsense, but it's hard, people find it uncomfortable. As for the Victory Day parade, I think that for many people it is an important day of remembrance of those who went to war, who did not come from the war, who won the war, those who survived the war. In the end, we are all alive because there was a victory. We would not have been alive if it were not for this victory. This is a grateful remembrance for all who gave us life, in fact we were born from this victory, we are its children, everyone who is now walking on this earth. I am not against the Parade, I cannot say that I am necessarily pro parade, I'm just not a big fan of loud equipment, but it is purely my feelings. For example, I went to see the parade with my granddaughter two years in a row, and it was very interesting, she perceived it as a holiday. All the people, the spectators who come to the parade were in a very good mood, there was a feeling of unity, solidarity and unification. This, incidentally, is a very nice atmosphere, rare in our country. Because in my opinion it is one day, the only date that we all share, regardless of our beliefs, attitudes, moods, etc. Because it's true, it's honest. People unite around this truth. I think referring to this as the Holocaust is just a crime and a surprising lack of understanding what is the Holocaust and unawareness of the tragedy of the Holocaust itself. Transferring the word to the inconvenience of residents caused by the parade rehearsal, inconvenient, uncomfortable life at this point is just amazing to me. This is not just a fantasy, it is a gross error, and a journalist cannot afford to do this." Boris Nemtsov, an opposition activist: "I believe that there are sacred days we cannot forget, no matter how many veterans are still alive. I think it's probably the only date that unites us all, which we are all proud of. This is the first point. "The second point, I think that the rehearsals can be carried out beyond the Red Square. I believe that the training of the people who organize these parades is such that they can make the layout of the Red Square outside of Moscow. This would not complicate people's life, and it's time to do it so the roads are not covered with tanks, and the people do not get angry. "I do not understand why there is still no appropriate test site, although there are plenty of military units around Moscow where a life-size mock-up of the Red Square can be built. "Yesterday there were several reasons for the perfect storm on the roads. The first one is a "direct line" with Putin. I just saw this outrage with packed Arbat and the entire city center paralyzed as the "Great Helmsman" was driven after fooling people for four hours. The second one is a movement of military equipment. I think we'll deal with the first issue when we send him to retire, since he is in the retirement age. And the second one can be solved now. Indeed, we have the level of organization in the society where it is not necessary to drive machinery through Moscow. "Therefore, I believe that parades should be conducted, it is our duty to explain it to our children. But the archaic history of 40 years ago, when tanks had to reach the center of Moscow, in my opinion is outdated. "But there is an advance warning about the rehearsals and they have been conducted for a few years." "I repeat, I believe that these rehearsals should be conducted elsewhere. This idiocy that they are not able to even hold a rehearsal elsewhere is certainly pathetic."

Russia to create its own offshore zone

Since the time of the financial disaster in Cyprus, Russia has been cherishing the idea of creating its own offshore. It was previously suggested the special tax area should be created on the territory of Russia's Far East. A new idea has appeared now - to create an offshore zone on the base of the International Investment Bank (IIB). Many analysts were left perplexed with such a suggestion. The International Investment Bank was created in 1970 to deepen and develop the cooperation between socialist states. Now it is offered to arrange an internal Russian offshore zone on the base of this bank, Finmarket reports with reference to an anonymous source in the Finance Ministry. The details of the project, which was announced by first vice Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, remain unknown. Meanwhile, it is the details that raise certain curiosity. Should the above information be true, Igor Shuvalov offers something that does not exist anywhere in the world. Offshores are not created on the base of certain banks. The Russian one, if ever materialized, will be the first one. A number of publications say that such an idea could appear after Shuvalov's meeting with IIB's head Nikolai Kosov. He gave perfect recommendations to his bank and called it the only full-fledged international and many-sided institute of development in Moscow. He also said that the IIB was the only possible platform for the International Financial Center that is currently being built in the Russian capital. Indeed, some say that the IIB has the qualities that can make the bank become a full-fledged offshore. The bank does not fall under the control of its member-countries - Russia, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The bank is also relieved of tax payments, protected from court and administrative interference and uses a diplomatic status, Interfax reports. "There is nothing like that in the world, when an offshore ozone is created on the base of a bank. It is very hard to imagine that technically, so most likely, it will not materialize. In addition, to organize an offshore zone in Russia, one needs to attract people to it first. Those who have their business arranged in other offshore zones, will not be interested in making any changes. Taking all of that to another offshore zone will take a lot of energy and money. It can also be dangerous to the funds that will be transferred. I do not think that Russia is capable of attracting investors to its offshore zones even if they are created. There is a country risk, there is a system in which everything is well established and signed, in which everything is known very well to all," Darya Pichugina, an analyst with Investcafe said. In addition, one should bear in mind the fact that the idea about the creation of the offshore zone appeared after the events in Cyprus. There was a great deal of Russian deposits in the country. For them, the creation of a Russian offshore zone is pointless. Cyprus has limited operations on bank accounts, and it is impossible to transfer assets to a Russian offshore zone, even if this zone is created. "Most likely, such an offshore zone will not be popular. Country risks in the country are high, and even if foreign investors are interested in the Russian offshore, they will have a special attitude to it. In Russia, risks are higher than in other offshore zones, where everything is clear, they are even higher than in Cyprus. Foreign investors can hardly be interested in transferring their funds to Russia on account of these risks. Creating an offshore zone in Russia needs people and their money, first and foremost. Offshore zones need residents," Darya Pichugina said.

China and Russia catch up with USA in rearms race

World spending on defense for the first time in 15 years fell by $1.75 trillion in 2012, which marked a 0.5-percent reduction in comparison with 2011, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The share of the U.S. has fallen below the level of 40 percent for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia and China entered the top three of the countries that increased their military spending. The research of the institute is based on public expenditure on the maintenance of armed forces, namely, military exercises, salary or remuneration for troops, as well as other employee benefits, operating costs, procurement of weapons and equipment, military construction, research and development works, administrative costs, etc. The total military spending of the world in 2012 in comparable prices made up 1.753 trillion dollars, which was 2.5 per cent of global GDP. The Institute has also published the list of 15 countries with largest military budgets. The first place still belongs to the United States with its 682 billion dollars, accounting for 4.4 percent of GDP. The second place is taken by China with $166 billion (2 percent of GDP), and the third place - by the Russian Federation with $90.7 billion (4.4 per cent). The statistics on the U.S. is official. Then comes the United Kingdom - $60.8 (2.5) and Japan - $59.3 (1.0). The top five accounts for 60 percent of world military spending - 1.06 trillion dollars. Fifteen heavyweights close the list (in billions of dollars): France (58.9), Saudi Arabia (56.7), India (46.1), Germany (45.8), Italy (34.0), Brazil (33.1), South Korea (31.7), Australia (26.2), Canada (22.5) and Turkey (18.2). Fifteen countries provide 82 percent of global military spending (1.43 trillion dollars). The United States continues to take the lead in military spending in absolute terms. The country spends more on defense than the following ten countries combined. Although in 2012, the U.S. military budget has decreased by 6 percent, the new index marked a 69 percent increase vs. the indexes of 2001 - the year that became the beginning of the "global war on terrorism," SIPRI experts wrote. Unlike the U.S., China and Russia have increased their military spending by 7.8 and 16 percent respectively during the accounting period. However, as for GDP percentage-wise, their share in comparison with 2003 remained unchanged, whereas it increased in the U.S. (from 3.7 to 4, 4 per cent). Therefore, an arms race on the part of Russia and China does not make sense. On the other hand, a slowdown or even a fall in the rate of military spending in the U.S. is connected with economic stagnation, budget savings and the reduction of the mission in Afghanistan. The same applies to U.S. partners in NATO. SIPRI experts predict a further decline of the U.S. share in global military spending after NATO troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan. In terms of GDP share, Saudi Arabia enjoys the highest figure - 8.9 percent. The U.S. and Russia follow with 4,4 percent. All other countries have a much smaller share. Let us make a stop at this top three. Their share in world expenditure is as follows: United States - 32 percent, China - 9.5, Russia - 5, 2. Russia and China face similar challenges: technical re-equipment of the army and the navy, so their military budgets will grow objectively. In Russia, the increase will be by 53 percent by 2014. Prior to 2020, under the state rearmament program, Russia has a goal to increase the share of new-generation hardware to 70 percent. Twenty trillion rubles (689 billion dollars) have been assigned for the purpose. China's defense industry by 2025 will become the largest in the world, according to the forecast from the National Intelligence Council of the United States from 2008. This is a long-term perspective - a part of the "Chinese Dream", to protect sovereign interests and put an end to strategic interests of the Western dominance in Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, Beijing has ongoing territorial disputes with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines in the South China Sea.China has ambitious plans to improve strategic forces, including the nuclear submarine fleet; the country also plans to create a strategic bomber. In the next ten years, China should develop fifth-generation fighter jets and aircraft carriers, including through cooperation with Russia. China's military budget, according to IHS Global Insight, will double from 2011 to 2015, exceeding the combined defense spending of all other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. China has a long way to go to catch up with the USA, of course. However, the correlation between them has decreased from 7 to 1 in 2003, and then from 4 to 1 in 2012, SIPRI's Sam Perlo-Freeman, one of the authors of the report, told the Associated Press. But he stressed out that the quality gap was still incredibly high. For example, the U.S. has 11 aircraft carriers, while China - only one. "It takes time to make quantitative indicators develop into qualitative changes," said Perlo-Freeman. There is no need for the U.S. and NATO to rearm. Their armed forces have long been working for specific military conflicts. The Soviet threat faded into the past, there is no threat from Russia, the Chinese threat is looming on the horizon. The U.S. has scheduled the further reduction of the military budget for 2013 by 87 billion, then before 2017 - by 259 billion dollars, and in the next ten years - by 487 billion. The emphasis is to be made on more compact, yet state-of-the-art military hardware. However, the Congress does not like such an approach of the military. During a recent meeting of the Committee on Defence, Minister Chuck Hagel was told that his mission was not to "cut out the heart of the Pentagon." Aside for the above-mentioned reasons, the reduction in military spending in the United States is based on the fact that the world has been cutting the procurement of advanced U.S. weapons, such as Joint Strike Fighter by Lockheed Martin, said Simeon Wezeman, a senior researcher at the SIPRI. This is the case of Canada, Italy and the Netherlands. Many countries rethink their budgets in favor of less expensive models, and their budgets are tight, the analyst said. Twenty of thirty-seven European countries have reduced their military spending, except for Germany and Ukraine that increased military spending by 24 percent (1.1 percent of GDP). As for other global trends, one may point out an increase in military spending in the Middle East, with an average of 8.4 percent (Oman - 51 percent, Saudi Arabia - 12, Qatar -10. In Asia, due to the growth of China's military power, neighboring countries prefer to rearm too. Vietnam's growth, for example, in 2003-2012 amounted to 130 percent (Indonesia - 73 percent). North Africa spent 7.8 per cent more funds in 2012 than in the previous year, due to the fight against terrorism in the Sahel. Algeria takes the lead here (5.2 percent). SIPRI noted that there was no evaluation data available on Iran and Syria. As for Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the institute used the evaluative data from 2011. Latin America increased spending by 4.2 percent. The countries that demonstrated the most representative results are Paraguay (43 percent) and Venezuela (42 percent). The fight against drug cartels in Mexico led to the increase in military spending by 9.7 percent in comparison with the previous year. Australia and Oceania increased the spending by 3.3 percent. "We see the things that could be the start of a shift in the balance of global military spending from wealthy Western countries towards developing regions," said Perlo-Freeman.

Helicopter loaded with nearly 2 tons of explosives disappears in Irkutsk region

Rescuers are looking for the Mi-8 helicopter that went off radars in the Irkutsk region. The chopper had ten passengers and nearly two tons of explosives aboard, officials with Russia's EMERCOM said. According to officials, the Mi-8 helicopter of Angara airline was monitoring the flood situation, disappeared from the radio broadcast at 12:54 Moscow time and did not establish a radio contact at scheduled time. It has been reported that rescuers found the wreckage of the helicopter not far from the village of Preobrazhenka. Nothing has been said about the passengers yet. Reportedly, acting chairman of the EMERCOM department for the Irkutsk region, Colonel Stanislav Omelyanchik, was also on board the helicopter. In addition, the chopper was carrying 1.9 tons of explosives that were supposed to be used to blow up ice jams on the Lower Tunguska River.

Russian Air Force receives first Su-34 bomber

Russia's Sukhoi design bureau has delivered the first Su-34 bomber to the Russian Air Force. The delivery took place within the scope of the 2013 state defense order. On Monday, May 6th, the plane took off and flew to the place of its deployment. In the near future, the Russian Air Force will receive a few more of this aircraft. "Large government contracts for the supply of Su-34 that were signed with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in 2008 and 2010, created the conditions for stable and long-term activities of the factory and identified the prospects for its long-term development," officials with the company said. The aircraft produced in 2012 show excellent performance.

Russian space industry recovers from hibernation

In the past year, the Russian space program and related industries seem to have gotten out of the state of economic hibernation. It appears that the industry's stagnation is over, and distant and near prospects have been identified in a recent large-scale meeting near the new cosmodrome in the Far East. The world is entering the stage of post-industrial informational development. Primitive market "buy-sell" relationships will be replaced by the demand for high-tech products and services, among which the space industry products will be one of the most sought after. Today, the market amounts to $300-400 billion, and by 2030 it could reach $1.5 trillion. Space development can be much more profitable than increasing the exports of energy resources. Obviously, these considerations were taken into account by the Russian leadership that allocated 181 billion rubles to fund space programs in Russia. This is three times more than in 2008. This allowed getting ahead of the leading space powers by nearly five times in terms of average annual growth in federal funding. Approximately one trillion six hundred million rubles will be allocated for space activities from 2013 to 2020. Where would this money go? First, the orbital parameters should be restored to the size of those supported by the leading space powers, including the United States and China. This will be done at existing Plesetsk and Baikonur cosmodromes, where infrastructure for launching rockets of middle class "Soyuz-2", "Proton-M", "Zenith" and "Rockot" will be developed. The next task is to create and launch a space rocket complex of heavy class "Angara" and rebuild new facilities at cosmodrome Vostochny. We are talking about a radical modernization and renovation of the space technology and the means of delivery. Where would the new missiles fly? First of all, to the near-earth orbit. They will deliver a multi-laboratory module and autonomous free-flying modules to the International Space Station. In parallel, robotic tools for the study of the moon will be developed, and the moon landing runway complex and inter-orbital tug for manned spacecraft will be created. As emphasized by the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, this will be done to deploy and begin to operate a permanent scientific base on the Moon, and further implement a manned mission to Mars. For these purposes, heavy rockets with carrying capacity of over 50 tons are required. A mission to Mars will require a launch vehicle capable of moving approximately 180 tons in a vacuum, which is equivalent to three fully loaded railroad cars. The program of deep space studies, nearly forgotten in the last 15 years, will be revived. Today, there are two spacecraft "Spektr-R" that allow observing the core of galaxies at a distance of 5 to 7 billion light-years. Next year another such machine will be launched into space that will further expand the range of visibility, allowing studies of the so-called black holes. Another sensation is a breakthrough project to develop transport and energy module based on the nuclear power unit. A nuclear spacecraft was started by Soviet designers and engineers, and their designs are still seven to ten years ahead of similar ones produced by Western scientists. According to the head of Roscosmos Vladimir Popovkin, a nuclear missile will provide a very different capacity and travel speed, which would have revolutionary implications in space science. Of course, the specific terrestrial tasks of the space industry will not be forgotten. Satellite group "Glonass" is in great demand by transporters, industrialists, and signalers. "Glonass" is inferior to its Western competitors in terms of accuracy, which necessitated the task to raise this indicator to one - three centimeters. The success of the national system will capture a significant segment of the operator services market, estimated at $200 billion. Another direction is creating bandwidth in the Arctic zone, including the Northern Sea Route and the transpolar route for aircraft. The period of anarchy in the management of the space industry has come to end. The anarchy was caused by the fact that powerful governmental scientific and production associations that solved world-class problem split into dozens of obscure firms with big names, striving for economic independence. A decision was made to preserve and enhance the role of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) as a federal executive authority. The rocket and space industry will be consolidated into a few large specialized scientific and industrial holdings with one hundred percent government participation. These structures will be controlled by Roscosmos. In fact, the Soviet space control scheme is being reconstituted with two competing basic space holdings in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk. Will the Russian space program reach the high level of development it enjoyed during the Soviet times? According to the stated objectives, it is feasible. There is another important factor: a program has been established that is worthy of a great power and scale and innovation potential. The space construction that involves hundreds of thousands of citizens in a large scale project may significantly improve the public perception of the world, give a sense of optimism and prospects to the country oppressed by the ideology of consumerism and social Darwinism.

Putin to meet John Kerry in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin will have a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, May 7, when Kerry pays a visit to Russia, president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. On April 29, in a telephone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama, Putin expressed his willingness to have a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State, when he arrives on a visit to Russia. During John Kerry's visit to Moscow, which will is to take place on May 7-8, a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also scheduled. The officials will discuss the situations in Syria and Iran, the upcoming summit of the Group of Eight and the situation around the missile defense system in Europe.

Boris Berezovsky's funeral delayed indefinitely

The funeral of Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky has been delayed indefinitely, news agencies report with reference to businessman's relatives. The burial ceremony of the disgraced Russian oligarch, was to be held on Monday, May 6, at a cemetery in the county of Surrey in the UK. Earlier, sources close to the late businessman said that the date and the place of Berezovsky's burial were not disclosed. The ceremony to bid farewell to Boris Berezovsky will most likely take place without the participation of the media.

Man whips his daughter to death over pain-killing medication

A court in the republic of Yakutia opened a criminal case against the man, who brutally beat his daughter. The case was filed under article "intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm, dangerous to human life, committed against a minor". It was established that in early April, the 35-year-old man, being in a state of alcoholic intoxication, decided that his 5-year-old daughter took a pill of analgin (a pain-killing medication) without asking her father. For "educational purposes," the father took a cord from an electric device and whipped the girl into unconsciousness. The same day, the victim was taken to hospital in critical condition. Doctors were fighting for the lives of the child for two weeks, but to no avail. Having lived through two clinical deaths, on April 21st of this year, the girl died without regaining consciousness. The criminal case was reclassified under "intentional infliction of serious bodily injury that resulted in victim's death." However, the indictment was delayed: having learned about the death of his daughter, the accused decided to commit suicide by slitting his throat. Doctors saved the man.

Crackdown on Russia's civil society after Putin's return to the Presidency

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International who watched NATO kill 50,000 blacks, women and children in Libya are agitating because the laws passed by the Russian Duma interfere in the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), seeks to cast government critics as clandestine enemies, thereby threatening the viability of Russia's civil society. The new laws "clearly seek to limit, or even end, independent advocacy and other NGO work by placing new, draconian limits on association with foreigners and foreign funding". The new law regulating NGOs, requires, among other things, organizations that receive foreign funding and supposedly engage in political activities to register as foreign agents. To make a comparison (we are so Western-centric), if North Korea and Iran sponsored an NGO in the vicinity of the Deutscher Bundestag for the purpose of "political activities" then this would not be a problem? Would they be allowed "freedom"? Perhaps NATO have a better Human Rights track record than these countries then? In my opinion the comparison is not unfair. Iran has not killed more than a million children as NATO did in Iraq. I find it amusing that curtailing the activities of politically motivated, Washington funded organisations in Russia threatens the viability of civil society (individuals). That's not an honest statement now is it? Nor is describing Washington funded NGOs as "independent". It looks to me that http://www.usaid.gov/ is in fact a government organisation not an NGO. It just happens to be the government which has interfered the most in foreign countries, usually to steal their resources. Don't forget that Putin jailed Khodorkovsky, one of the many Oligarchs who had raped Russia's resources after Glasnost, nationalised his oil and gas fields and paid off the debts of the Russian Federation in 5 years. Just before his arrest Khodorkovsky wired all his money to Jacob Rothschild who runs the corrupt City of London, without proper financial regulation, so that 60% of the UK GDP is fraud. Is that who you worked for Mikhail? Even the US is (was?) so much better regulated, that Fanny Mae and all those scandals had to pass through the City of London. What was the result? Is this the world we want? Putin started seriously cleaning up that aspect of the Russian mess, but we are still at the mercy of the financial terrorism of the one percent and the Rentier Class. Germany recently was behind a move to steal bank deposits of Cypriot citizens. A business associate told me that his friend in the UK recently got a mortgage at 3%. This is what caused the debt problem in the first place. House prices continue to rise well above what a family can afford and the accrued debt continues to increase. I believe that the UK recently was given a warning regarding the debt levels. Back to "Laws of Attrition - Crackdown on Russia's Civil Society after Putin's Return to the Presidency". "The United Nations Committee Against Torture, for example, said the law could be interpreted as prohibiting the sharing of information on the human rights situation in the Russian Federation with the UN". Well close down Guantanamo jail then, if you ever do anything but talk. The article continues: "Russia's Constitutional Court ruled that several of the law's provisions were unconstitutional, and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe found that the amendments represent "a step backward for the protection of freedom of assembly" and urged Russia to repeal or revise key provisions." The Russian Constitutional Court would like to see lower fines against individuals contravening the new protest laws. What about the Council of Europe? The best known bodies of the Council of Europe are the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights, and the European Pharmacopoeia Commission, which sets the quality standards for pharmaceutical products in Europe. Funny then that according to the Daily Mail, Britain is set to pull out of the "discredited European Convention on Human Rights that has allowed dangerous criminals and hate preachers to remain in the UK". Same problem as in Russia perhaps? When an advisory body passes a judgement, find out more about them. When you visit an "NGO" website check out the directors and patrons. USAID was one that I remember Putin had issue with. http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/organization/leadership-listing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Shah So we see for example that the administrator had worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. What sort of things are they into? In 2011 alone, the Bill and Melinda Gates' polio vaccine campaign in India caused 47,500 cases of paralysis and death. Bill Gates pushes Big Pharma who are involved in endless scandals in third world countries. It appears that the Council of Europe regulates Big Pharma or more like it, gives them a carte blanche to implement faulty breast implants. Their role in Europe must be similar to ex Wall Street head of the Department of Justice Eric Holder in the US slapping bankers on the wrist for money laundering. So the NGOs are in bed with multinational corporations and banks everywhere, leaving a trail of sickness, bankruptcy, unemployment and death. They are also in bed with the NATO aligned councils wagging the finger at Vladimir Putin. My analysis is that the Russian Duma truly has the Viability of Russia's Civil Society at heart, and has the wisdom and courage to deal with these vampires.

Ukraine Disappointed To Be On Piracy Watch List But Vows Further IPR Reform

KIEV, Ukraine -- The Ukrainian government has expressed its "disappointment" at the decision by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to place it on a piracy watch list at a time when seizures of pirated digital media in the country have gone up five-fold. Ukraine is now a Priority Foreign Country (PFC), according to the USTR's "301 List", a decision Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister, Konstantyn Gryshchenko, said "ignores the efforts of the Ukrainian government" in improving the legal framework and enforcing intellectual property rights (IPR). But despite his disappointment he said his country will continue efforts to improve its standing in the area of IPR. "Just this past month we have closed two internet portals used to distribute unlicensed content and we are introducing into the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) two separate bills that will, among other things, increase penalties for copyright infringement," he said. "Of course we will work with the United States and other nations in this area but I have to say today's disappointing decision is not conducive to such cooperation." Gryshchenko said his government has also empowered the country's Prosecutor General to oversee observance of intellectual property rights in government ministries and departments. There is also UAH100 million (USD12.35 million) set aside to ensure all state-owned computers operate legal software. The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, has vowed to personally supervise Ukraine's war on piracy, not because of the listing by the USTR, but as part of a long-term strategy to nurture and grow innovative technology industries. The government believes a key factor in improving Ukraine's standing in this area is public awareness, with young people, in particular, set to be the target of a campaign to develop greater respect for IPR and to reduce tolerance of digital piracy. Meantime Gryshchenko said that in light of the efforts his nation is already making, he will ask the USTR to take Ukraine off the "301 List" six months from now.

Press Freedom: 'We Live In Two Realities' In Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine -- May 3 is World Press Freedom Day. Well-known Ukrainian journalist Mustafa Nayem talks with DW about the difficult working conditions for the press in his country. Mustafa Nayem: There are two different realities in Ukraine: in one of them, journalists exercise their right to write about and critically discuss pressing issues. That's the Internet reality - people can write and speak openly there. But unfortunately, that medium reaches few peope. Many people, especially older people - who play a decisive role in elections, do not use the Internet as a source of information. They experience a different reality: that of television and the major media, in which journalists do not have the possibility of illuminating all sorts of topics and do not have the liberty they would like. State powers take advantage of that. Those who are loyal to state authorities or who are part of that system control the television media, which have a major impact on people. Who finances the media in Ukraine? Are there monopolies? There are a lot of different media in Ukraine where one can't really be sure who ultimately owns them. So it's quite difficult to say where these media get their money. Many of the media companies are financed by off-shore businesses or by people we have never seen. The Ukrainian market is more or less divided up among three groups: there's the television broadcaster "Inter," which belongs to billionaire Dmytro Firtash, who is also a sponsor of the governing Party of Regions. Then there's Victor Pintchuk's group "StarLightMedia." Pintchuk is one of the wealthiest business oligarchs in the country. Finally, there's the television station "1+1," which belongs to business oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who is likewise affiliated with the Party of Regions. These three groups reach most viewers and have the greatest range. One cannot call it a monopoly, because we are talking about three different people here. But we do know that they gained access to broadcasting frequencies in a very non-transparent process, while other media did not get any access. Can Ukrainian journalists report on police, military or other state authorities who breach the law - without risk? Yes, we can discuss that, and we do. There are some journalists who have become specialists on the subject, and they encounter problems. For instance, a journalist of the citizen association called "Street Control" was beaten up by strangers. He had written on the organization's Web site about how traffic police had themselves infringed on the law. There are recurring cases of these kinds of threats and even violence against journalists. Critical journalists likewise have to reckon with the possibility of losing their jobs. One must also point out that when we journalists do report on breaches of the law by authorities, then there are rarely consequences for the police or others. Can you name a current example of an "inconvenient" Ukrainian journalist who has faced repression due to his or her work? I would say that there a great deal of journalists who have had to give up their work in the past two years. For instance, Serhiy Andrushko, who was a correspondent for a news program of TV broadcaster "STB" until 2012. He reported critically about many of the problems in the country. But after many of his reports simply weren't aired, he quit his job. Then there's television journalist Natalia Sokolenko, who also quit working for "STB" because there was a limit to the compromises she was willing to make over controversial reports. These are journalists who had formerly received awards for their work in the country. But they quit because they were deemed unprofessional and were no longer given work. Just how much is freedom of expression a legally protected right in Ukraine? Freedom of speech is laid down as one of the first amendments in the Ukrainian constitution. Strictly speaking, the constitution stands above all the other laws in the country. But when you take a look at what's happening in Ukraine today and see how people actually treat this right, then you see that freedom of speech is much different than the way it's established in the Constitution. Those are two different realities. Are there rights for protecting the identities of sources and informants in Ukraine? Yes, the "Information Act" regulates that. And we take advantage of this right as well. Only a corresponding court order could force us to divulge the names of our sources. To my knowledge, there has been no legal precedent of someone being forced to expose their sources. But State authorities do abuse current data privacy laws - it's often the case that they refuse to give us information which is supposed to be accessible to the public. And the most absurd situations can occur: there was the case, for instance, of a document that contained the personal signature of the President. But issuance of the document was refused precisely with the argument that that personal signature was on it. Are there laws that make it a punishable offense to research or publish certain topics? Which topics are they and what is the punishment? I'm not aware of such a law. State secrets are the only matters which are not permitted to be made public. Mustafa Nayem is a Ukrainian blogger and journalist. He works as an investigative reporter for the well-known Ukrainian Internet newspaper "Ukrainska Pravda," founded by journalist Georgiy Gongadze, who was kidnapped and murdered in the year 2000. In his blog, Nayyem discusses developments in domestic affairs and policy in Ukraine with his readers. He also hosts a political talk show on TV channel "TVi." He specifically focuses on corruption, censorship and xenophobia in his work.

Ukrainian Minister: Ukraine To Receive European Gas Using Another New Reverse Route – Via Slovakia

KIEV, Ukraine -- From May 15, 2013 Ukraine will receive European gas via one more reverse route via Slovakia, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Eduard Stavytsky has said. “I asked support from European Commissioner [Gunther Oettinger] to open a new reserve corridor via the territory of Slovakia." "On May 15 the test mode will be launched and test data exchange on the new reverse route from Ukraine to Ukraine and from Ukraine to EU will be conducted,” the minister said on Thursday in Brussels at a press conference held during the two-day international high level roundtable on the Ukrainian gas market. He added that Ukraine is waiting for the realization of the first phase of modernization of the Ukrainian gas transport system (GTS). “The sum is $550 million, including $240 million of national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy’s funds and $310 million of funds of international financial institutions,” Stavytsky said. The minister also said that Ukraine is waiting for new projects – signing of new agreements. “The first one we signed in January with Shell and now no more than in two months another two contracts with Chevron and a pool of companies headed by ExxonMobil will be signed. The actions are aimed at provision of the domestic market with gas,” the Ukrainian minister said.

Ukraine, EU Discuss Energy Hub To Dilute Moscow's Gas Power

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Ukraine is working to become an energy hub, producing its own gas, developing storage and importing from both the European Union and Russia, Ukraine's visiting energy minister said. The European Union is pressing for agreements to be sealed with Ukraine by the end of this year as both parties seek to dilute Russia's dominance as a gas supplier. But Kiev is torn between EU cooperation and Russia's promise to cut its gas bills in return for control of its pipelines. At the end of April, Ukraine's government asked parliament to lift a ban on the privatisation of state energy firm Naftogaz, which includes pipelines that pump Russian gas to Europe. That could allow Kiev to sell or lease them to Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom. Ukraine's Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky and EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger raised the possibility of a three-way relationship at talks in Brussels on Friday. "Ukraine is really trying to consider its geopolitical situation and to establish a gas hub, so we will be able to do spot purchases in central Europe," Stavytsky told reporters. Guenther Oettinger said he believed EU firms were willing to buy into Ukraine infrastructure. He did not name potential investors, but energy firms were at the closed-door talks, including ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. None was immediately available to comment. Stavytsky said $550 million was needed to modernise Ukraine's infrastructure, of which Naftogaz could provide $240 million, while the rest would come from loans. Since late last year, technology allowing pipeline flows to be reversed has allowed Ukraine to import some gas from EU nations, including Hungary and from Germany via Poland. In addition, Slovakia is seeking to develop reverse flow technology, with a test expected this month, Oettinger said. As the European Commission seeks to expand its internal energy market, it has also been working to develop Ukraine's extensive gas storage, which could ease any supply shortages. Ukraine already has storage of 31 billion cubic metres (bcm) and Stavytsky said it was seeking to increase it to 50 bcm, compared with 95 bcm for the European Union as a whole. In the past, gas flows to the European Union have been disrupted because of Ukraine's quarrels with Russia over how much it has to pay for its supplies. The European Union depends on Russia for about a quarter of its gas, more than 60 percent of which passes through Ukraine. All parties are seeking to broaden their options and Russia has built pipelines to bypass Ukraine. It wants Ukraine to join its Customs Union, while Ukraine and the European Union are debating a free trade and political association deal. Theoretically, it is to be signed later this year, but the European Union said it is conditional on improved human rights and addressing "politically motivated convictions," a reference to the jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, President Viktor Yanukovich's arch rival.

Ukraine Struggles Under Excess Supply

KIEV, Ukraine -- Hotel development in Ukraine was booted forward thanks to the Union of European Football Associations 2012 championship, but now the excess supply is threatening to tackle hotel operating performance. Developers were eager to build leading up to the tournament, but now that the footballers and their fans have come and gone, occupancy has suffered, said David Jenkins, head of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. “It was clear this … boom in hotel development could not be sustained after the championship’s demand, and we now have a situation in Kiev where supply outweighs demand,” he wrote in an email. “The Kiev hotel market has not been able to benefit from the relaxed visa regime and there has not been a boost in tourism.” He said in 2012, despite the UEFA event, occupancy in Kiev dropped to 44% from 54% a year earlier. Average daily rate increased by 3% to $266. “It is still an expensive market for hotels, and rates are expected to drop further, and we will begin to see clear segmentation between upscale and midscale hotels,” he said. “We expect to see a continued decline in occupancy rate through 2013.” The 160-room Cosmopolite Hotel Kiev is one of those new hotels that opened during the UEFA rush. David F. Page, GM of the 17-month-old hotel, said he believes the country’s hotel performance will be “flat at best” in 2013, taking out the extra football-related demand from 2012. Page said before the football championships, Kiev had approximately 2,000 4- to 5-star hotel rooms. He said 1,500 rooms were added during 2012 “with no additional demand.” “Occupancy is the challenge as the pie (demand) is the same but the slices are ever thinner,” he said in an email. Development-wise, Page said “everything is at a standstill.” Long-term outlook Despite the dour outlook, sources generally were optimistic about the future of Ukraine’s hotel industry. The percentage of revenue coming from tourists visiting the Crimean peninsula is growing, which is important because that region accounts for more than 50% of annual hotel revenue, said Kristina Malkhazova, deputy GM of the Best Western Sevastopol Hotel. She said that percentage has been climbing steadily. There are other reasons to visit Ukraine besides tourism, she added. “In my opinion, Ukraine has everything to become a medical tourism center in Europe. The low cost of treatment along with the highly qualified specialists is a major attraction for medical tourists seeking treatment in Ukraine. So in three to five years, Ukraine will be a well-deserved travel destination with a range of quality hotels.” Page is also optimistic about the long-term outlook. “Long-term outlook is (definitely) positive,” he said. He said the arrival of global brands was a much-needed occurrence for the country because it helped lift the overall quality of the country’s hotel stock. Previously, the old Soviet-style hotels catered only to the lower end of the market. Malkhazova echoed that sentiment. “Every smart hotelier understands that the well-known brand’s name for the hotel helps to increase revenue by attracting foreign guests who actually understand what benefits they will get in a chain hotel,” she said. Still, Ukraine’s hotel future might be dependent on political factors, Page and Malkhazova said. “The investment environment here is not positive currently as the world is waiting to see which way Ukraine decides to look (Russia or the European Union),” he said. “It is doubtful that there will be any realistic decision (on) that until 2015 when presidential elections come around.” Malkhazova said the Ukrainian Tax System and a new smoking ban have both had a negative effect on revenue. “Fortunately, different tourism and hotel associations are trying to maintain an open dialogue with the State concerning different business aspects,” she said. “The hoteliers think the State should actively attract investments into developing new tourist objects and restore sightseeing attractions.”

Klitschko KOs Pianeta, Defends Titles

MOSCOW, Russia -- Wladimir Klitschko has retained his four heavyweight titles by winning a voluntary defense bout against Italian challenger Francesco Pianeta with a sixth-round knockout The bout took place in the German city of Mannheim on Saturday night. Klitschko’s record improved to 60-3 with all but eight of those wins by knockout, while Pianeta suffered his first defeat in 29 fights. The Ukrainian ‘super’ champion, known as Dr. Steelhammer, now has to fight WBA ‘regular’ champion, Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin, in order to leave just a single WBA belt-holder. Povetkin has a voluntary title defense bout against Poland’s Andrzej Wawrzyk on May 17 at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, which has seating for 6,178. The Russian boxer is most likely to win the fight against his outclassed challenger, experts believe. Povetkin has won all of his 25 professional fights, with 17 knockout wins. According to WBA rules, the Klitschko-Povetkin bout must take place by the end of August.

Hidden Messages In Presidents' Orthodox Easter Greetings

Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other predominately Christian Orthodox countries celebrated Easter this past weekend. Over the past twenty years, faith and religion have experienced resurgence in the post-soviet territory despite the decades of atheism enforced by communists. With the Church’s role expanding, besides religious practices for the faithful, it’s become another means of influencing the masses. For politicians, religious holidays are a chance to send messages to their nations within holiday greetings. “The Church significantly contributes to solving current social issues,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his greetings to Russians celebrating Easter Sunday. He attended the service at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral on Saturday and didn’t miss a chance to stress his loyalty to the Russian Orthodox Church: “It is important to point to the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in maintaining civil peace and accord in Russia and developing inter-confessional and inter-ethnic dialogue.” The government’s cozy ties with the Church have been demonstrated to the entire world by the Pussy Riot case, in which the punk-rock band was tried as criminals for singing an anti-Putin prayer in a cathedral. Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych decided to spend the Easter weekend in Crimea, the southern part of Ukraine, famous for being a vacation destination. He didn’t leave his citizens without greetings. “Christ is Risen, dear compatriots!” he said in a statement issued by his press service. Yanukovych thanked Ukrainians for honest work and praised mothers for tendering children. “Gratitude to God for helping us celebrate one more Easter,” the president’s statement addressed the country of 45.7 million, whose economy and financial health is on the brink of crisis with, reportedly, no funds in the state budget. Many Ukrainians are not aware of the severity because Yanukovych’s government promotes the idea that the president created stability and has made overall improvements during his presidential term. This time the president, however, has a point: without much hope for positive changes, Ukrainians simply need to thank God for helping them to live through another Easter celebration. Europe’s last dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, issued an uncreative statement that could be mistaken for a speech by some General Secretary of the Communist Party in the USSR, with the word Easter replaced by “The Great Bolshevik Revolution Day”: “Easter unites people; it inspires them to creative labor and new achievements for the benefit of the Fatherland,” he said. At the same time, President Obama, in a statement issued by the White House, greeted the faithful saying that this joyful holiday is also a reminder of the sacrifice Christ made “so that we might have eternal life” and reminded us of his decision to choose love in the face of hate. Obama stated that this year had a special importance “as members of the Orthodox community have been confronted with persecution and violence, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.” With the war in the Middle East, Obama has his own audience to address on Orthodox Easter — just like Putin, Yanukovych and Lukashenko. For decades the Soviet government, in its effort to deracinate religion (“Religion is the opium of the people”, said Karl Marx), has destroyed many churches and prosecuted believers. Since the 90s, religion and holiday traditions have made their way back into households. Today, thousands of people line up for Easter processions and make pilgrimages to old monasteries and churches that either survived Soviet times or have been restored. While it’s interesting to see how each president finds his own way to address their nations on the most important day on the Christian Orthodox calendar, for people in Russia and Ukraine the Easter weekend is a time to make cakes, decorate eggs and celebrate with family and friends. This year Orthodox Easter coincides with May Day – a holiday that is still widely celebrated in Eastern Europe. It is also very close to Victory Day, May 9th, the day that marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War. This line-up of holidays at the beginning of May gives people almost ten days off of work (a perk that might inspire envy in many industrious people in the US). Happy holidays to all Eastern European comrades!