Repayment for Repression, 10/26

Last Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights ruled to fine Russia for the prevention of gay rights demonstrations over the past decades. The charges were brought up by activist Nikolai Alexeyev (pictured at left), who calls the resultant punishment a “blow to Russian homophobia on all accounts.”

Despite being kidnapped and threatened not to press charges earlier this month, activist Alexeyev successfully carried out his case. The court ruled that the Russian government had discriminated against gay rights activists by limiting their given right (guaranteed under the Russian Constitution) to assemble. The government’s defense – that allowing such parades would incite violence – was deemed insufficient; especially since recorded anti-gay rights comments from Russian government officials are numerous. The total cost of legal fees and damages end up just above $40,000, which Russia as a member of the Council of Europe (and therefore subject to the Court, which convenes in France), must pay.

Moscow’s history of homophobia would be considered extreme by most. The former mayor, Luzhkov, reportedly vowed never to allow gay rights parades and deemed homosexuals “satanic.” Though Medvedev as president has promised more democratic laws and rights, there has so far been little movement in that direction and it remains unclear whether Moscow’s new government – under Sobyanin, known for little other than a certain dedication to Putin – will be more open to the demonstrations. In the meantime, the gay rights community has experienced internal tension as Alexeyev (riding a wave of triumph too far, perhaps) has announced plans to sue a fellow activist over slander.

From the Moscow Times:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/gays-win-landmark-rights-ruling/420789.html

From the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11598590

A New Day in the Neighborhood? 10/18

In the past week, Russian president Dmitri Medvedv has busied himself extensively with international affairs. In addition to lobbying the E.U. for more concrete collaboration, he spent several days with leaders of both France and Germany on retreat in Deauxville and promised to attend the meeting of NATO discussing a proposed missile shield.

As Russia struggles to revamp its relations with Europe, it has become clear that the EU does not have a unified foreign relations policy strong enough to deal with the emerging Federation. Several issues important to Russia, such as economic agreements and visa-free passage for its citizens to Western European nations, are making no progress with the EU as a whole (though Sarkozy of France recently commented that he expected the visa issue to be resolved by 2025). In light of this, Russia returned to the small-group approach.

For this was not the first time that Russia, France, and Germany in particular have met. The last time was a meeting of mutual disapproval in regard to the American invasion of Iraq. This time, diplomats assure Washington, there was no need for the U.S. to be concerned. Main topics of discussion included security and commercial partnerships - German companies in particular seem eager to encourage modernization in Russia, and Moscow is glad of the help. The three leaders - Medvedev, Sarkozy, and Merkel - emerged from their two-day conference united and optimistic about future relations.

In addition, Medvedev has accepted an invitation to be part of NATO missile shield discussions - though without committing to the idea of blind cooperation. In this as with the EU, Russia insists on a clarified process for including Russian input on decisions made - in other words, Moscow wants in on what's going on in the west.

Three-way analysis from the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11577553

From the New York Times, about Russia and the E.U.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/world/europe/18iht-germany.html?ref=russia

From the Moscow Times:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/france-says-visa-free-deal-possible-before-2025/420634.html

United Russia Reinforces its Reign, 10/15

In the regional elections last Sunday, four of Russia's biggest political parties were in competition for dominancy. The results are decisive, and not too surprising: the party that came out in front was United Russia (in other words, Putin's party, formed when he became President) with, in some areas, a majority of 98%.

Elections were held in 77 regions for various posts, including parliamentary seats and, in two cities, mayor. The average voter turnout of just over 49% was an increase from last election - just as United Russia's winning percentage of 56% was an increase of 4%. With the nearest competitor, A Just Russia, coming in with around 10%, this is a very comfortable margin for Putin's party. (Made even more comfortable by the fact that A Just Russia, which is publicized as United Russia's main opposition, is headed by a close friend of Putin's.) The other two parties, the Liberal Democrats and the Communists, ended up with only a handful of positions each.

Though there were no walkouts this year (there have been in the past) the elections were denounced by both the Liberal Democrats and the Communists as one of the dirtiest elections in recent memory. United Russia is accused of getting rid of opposing candidates as well as bribery, blackmail, and fraud in some areas - because of which the Communist leader has announced plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Many officials pessimistically see this as an indication of how the 2012 presidential elections will be run.



From ITAR-TASS:
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15576400&PageNum=2

From The Moscow Times:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/united-russia-claims-landslide-win/419679.html

Russia: The Promise of Oil, 10/7

In the last week, Russia made international news in the deals it is brokering over oil – both with foreign companies (i.e. BP) and foreign countries (i.e. China).
The agreement with China presents a complete turnaround of policy from the recent times, which saw China and Russia as implacable adversaries. The countries seem to have set such feelings aside, however, in favor of a new pipeline from Russia to China which, Russia boasts, could fulfill much of China’s oil need over the next 20 years. The agreement was recently signed during President Medvedev’s two-day visit to Beijing.
In a matching turnaround, the Russian oil giant TNK-BP and BP have recently begun a joint venture where just a couple of years ago, the head of BP had to go into hiding because of an escalating oil rights dispute between his company and the Russian government. This new deal is a gesture of great good-will: previously, only very limited access to Russian oil has been allowed to Western companies. The idea is to expand the reach of Russian oil companies, in particular by selling them some of BP's assets (most recently, an oil field in Algeria) while giving BP rights to a major Siberian oilfield. There is also some eyeing of the Arctic shelf going on, as companies enter into agreements for exploration and exploitation of what might be found under the Arctic sea.
In the meantime, Russia, the United States, Canada and Norway have recently entered into political negotiations concerning territorial rights to the North Pole. As more ice melts, more real estate is revealed – leading to new passageways, and new oil fields.

From the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/business/energy-environment/29bp.html?_r=1&ref=russia

From ITAR-TASS:

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15532269&PageNum=3

"Indecisive" President Makes a Move, 9/30

Yuri Luzhkov, long-time mayor of Moscow, critiqued President Medvedev for being indecisive and insinuated that Putin would be better to return to the presidency. Several days later, Medvedev did something unprecedented: he fired one of the most politically powerful officials in Russia.

With the presidential election approaching, there has been much speculation about which man - Medvedev or Putin - will emerge as the strong candidate for United Russia, the ruling party. (Neither have been very committal about it, though Putin has been noted lately for his publicity stunts.) This speculation is what encouraged Luzhkov to make remarks seemingly intended to drive a wedge between the two men, by faulting the current president but not the former. At first, however, it seemed there might not be any retribution for the attack.

And then, last Tuesday, the President took action. Luzhkov was fired and a deputy mayor appointed. At first, the mayor seemed inclined to fight the decision; but he has since resigned himself to creating an opposition movement within the ruling party, claiming that true democracy is not being practiced. In addition to being fired (which some suggest occurred because he was too expensive to buy off) Luzhkov's name has been dragged through the mud by government-run media programs making suggestions about why his wife, a building contractor, became the wealthiest woman in Russia while he was in office (something no one complained about beforehand).

The abrupt change in city government has also prompted much reflection about the life of Moscow in general. It is acknowledged that under Luzhkov, Moscow rose from a suffering post-Soviet slump in 1992 to a modern metropolis bursting with new cars and tall buildings. At the same time, however, many Russian citizens agree that it was time for him to go - even though most feel he didn't go for the right reason. The consensus seems to be that the mayor’s removal should have been a move to fight entrenched government, rather than perpetuate it. The president maintains that he had "lost trust" in the mayor, and that the action was a justified one. Putin, who has remained relatively neutral and conciliatory throughout the affair, tastefully took Medvedev's side. Highly discussed and controversial as the move was, it is certainly irrevocable at this point; all that remains for Luzhkov to do is stir up debate from a citizen's position - if the vestiges of his political power allow.

BBC, on the firing of the mayor:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11424183

The New York Times, Russian voices:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/world/europe/29voices.html?_r=1&ref=russia

he Moscow Times on Luzhkov's continued presence:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/luzhkov-plans-movement-not-party/418424.html