Latest Articles about Middle East
ECONOMIC REFORM ICON AND OPPOSITION LEADER DEBATE THE 1990s
On June 30, Anatoly Chubais stepped down as board chairman of the state electricity monopoly RAO UES, which was liquidated the following day as part of a reform of Russia’s power industry. Chubais said that he plans to retire; and if he sticks to that... MORE
MEDVEDEV’S FOREIGN POLICY TAKES INDEFINITE SHAPE
President Dmitry Medvedev, after completely ignoring foreign policy issues on the election trail, has performed a high-intensity campaign of visits, speeches and meetings since late May, wrapping up this season last week with the adoption of a new Foreign Policy Concept. Sycophants are trumpeting the... MORE
PAVEL VOSHCHANOV: DISSATISFACTION ON THE RISE IN PROVINCIAL RUSSIA
It is often said in Russia that dissatisfaction with the country’s existing political system is greater among those living in the cities than those living in the countryside. Yet according to one observer who recently traveled through central Russia, dissatisfaction with the status quo is... MORE
SAUDI-RUSSIAN MILITARY COOPERATION
A simple, one-sentence Russian language news item published by Russia's Interfax on July 14 seemingly signals yet another tectonic shift in the Middle East's volatile mixture of oil, religion and weaponry. The item read, "An agreement about military-technical collaboration (VTS) between Russia and Saudi Arabia... MORE
RUSSIA IS STRONGER AND MORE AGGRESSIVE
This week President Dmitry Medvedev addressed a meeting of senior Foreign Ministry officials and ambassadors summoned worldwide to unveil a revised foreign policy concept. President Vladimir Putin signed the previous concept into law in June 2000. Medvedev's new concept is definitely more aggressive and anti-Western.... MORE
MEDVEDEV PRESENTS A GRAND DESIGN FOR FOREIGN POLICY
There were hardly any leaks about the preparation of a new Foreign Policy Concept in the Kremlin and certainly no debates on the drafts, so President Dmitry Medvedev achieved a complete surprise unveiling this key document at the special meeting with Russian ambassadors this week... MORE
GAZPROM HIT BY GAS SHORTFALL
A gap has opened between Gazprom's stagnant production and its growing commitments to internal and external consumers of that gas. The gap looms even wider between Gazprom's projected output in the years ahead and its multiplying offers to external customers for the same years, in... MORE
Investigation of Turkey’s “Deep State” Ergenekon Plot Spreads to Military
The arrests of two retired Turkish general officers on July 6 are the latest detentions in an ongoing investigation into Turkish government allegations of a conspiracy to overthrow the government. Most alarming among the allegations against the conspirators is that, in addition to seeking to... MORE
Saudi Salafism a Stronger Force in Islamist Militancy than Recanting Clerics
In the past month, the media have reported an attack on India’s embassy in Kabul, killing 41; an attack on the Red Mosque in Islamabad, killing 10; an attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, killing six; a raid by the Taliban and its allies... MORE
DMITRY MEDVEDEV’S ECONOMIC POLICY: A STUDY IN CONTRADICTIONS
President Dmitry Medvedev has stepped up the fight against corruption and for judicial reform, at least verbally, underscoring the need to clean up Russia’s justice system and announcing that a national anti-corruption plan will soon be signed into law. Yet recent decisions by Medvedev seemingly... MORE