Time for Debt thinking’s over Coffee on a wonderful Thursday in Russia… It is a thinking time while sipping that wonderful cup of coffee or chicory in my case… CNBC on 20 Sept 2011 had a report about “The World’s Biggest Debtor Nations!” This was not so very long ago and I found this interesting and [...]
Archives: December 2011
December 16, 2011
December 16, 2011
Official Report on Russian population Decline and Status from Census – Released…
Official Report on Russian population Decline and Status from Census – Released… Russia’s population stands at 142,857,000 people, aged 39 in an average, according to the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily, which published on Friday an official report of the 2010 population census… Thus, Russia has dropped one step down in the world population ratings. According to [...]
December 16, 2011
Vladimir Putin expected to face questions over protests on live TV show
Vladimir Putin is expected to break his silence on Russia‘s protest movement on Thursday, when he hosts an annual televised call-in show that has become one of the hallmarks of his rule. The programme, which usually lasts for hours and is a forum for Putin to promote his cult of personality, comes as the prime [...]
December 16, 2011
Vladimir Putin question and answer session in Russia
11.28am: A real question! Why did people start criticising you, Vasily Petrov wants to know? Hilariously the line is immediately cut. There are several embarrassing beep beeps. The FSB, Russia’s security service, is apparently taking no chances. Can we get the caller back please, Putin asks. Vasily Petrov is back on the line. He says [...]
December 16, 2011
Vladimir Putin Q & A and reaction
12.27pm: We are continuing our coverage of Putin’s question and answer session with the Russian public. There were technical problems with the earlier blog but you can read the previous entries here. Putin is asked about the unprecedented booing and whistling that greeted him when he turned up recently at a boxing fight in Moscow’s [...]
December 16, 2011
Vladimir Putin at his annual question-and-answer session
Vladimir Putin holds his annual QA session with Russian voters, following steet protests over his rule and alleged election fraud. The Russian prime minister rebutted claims that fraud helped his ruling United Russia party win a parliamentary election, saying the result reflected the views of the population
December 16, 2011
Vladimir Putin calls Russia’s protesters ‘paid agents of the west’
The Russian PM holds his annual QA session with Russian voters, following street protests over his rule and alleged election fraud Link to this video Vladimir Putin dismissed the thousands of protesters who have massed against his rule as agents of the west in his first response to the growing discontent during a marathon phone-in [...]
December 16, 2011
Dozens of beluga whales trapped among Bering Sea ice floes
Russian agencies are scrambling to save 100 beluga whales – an endangered species – trapped among large chunks of polar ice floating in the frigid Bering Sea. Russia‘s nature protection watchdog believes the whales might perish. Authorities say the ice is 10cm-15cm thick and is preventing the whales from reaching the open sea where they [...]
December 16, 2011
Vladimir Putin’s deputies responding to protests turn focus on to ringleaders
Vladimir Putin brushed off complaints of election fixing during his annual televised live chat with the nation on Thursday , but behind the scenes his lieutenants are anxiously plotting how to quell rising discontent. Putin claimed during the phone-athon that he was “cheered” by the sight of tens of thousands of Russians flooding on to [...]
December 16, 2011
Vladimir Putin mocks Moscow’s ‘condom-wearing’ protesters
Vladimir Putin painted a colourful picture of Russia‘s protesters on Thursday, describing them as agents of the west, attending useless demonstrations with condoms pinned to their chests as they sought the downfall of the motherland. In his first comments on the unrest which broke out in Russia following the disputed parliamentary election, the prime minister [...]
December 16, 2011
Vladimir Putin: does he use Botox?
Don’t let the smooth forehead, rosy cheeks and wrinkle-free eye area fool you – rumours of Vladimir Putin‘s use of Botox have long swirled around Russia. As Putin launched an annual televised question and answer programme, those rumours went global. Top trending on Twitter during the marathon event wasn’t #putin or it was #botox (in [...]
December 16, 2011
Russian newspaper founder shot dead in North Caucasus
The founder of a newspaper that investigated government corruption has been shot dead outside the newspaper’s office in Russia‘s North Caucasus region, police say. A gunman shot Gadzhimurat Kamalov as he was leaving the offices of the newspaper Chernovik in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan province, shortly before midnight on Thursday, the regional interior ministry [...]
December 16, 2011
Kosovo-bound Russian aid convoy finally gets green light
A Russian convoy carrying humanitarian supplies has finally been cleared to enter Kosovo and is preparing to set off for Mitrovica, a city with a large Serb majority in northern Kosovo. The convoy is scheduled to start moving at 6am GMT on Friday. It had earlier been reported that the convoy was being delayed at [...]
December 16, 2011
Tipping point for US-Pakistan relations?
With Pakistan keeping the supply routes to Afghanistan shut the US is facing growing pressure to resolve its disputes with its troubled ally. Journalist Gareth Porter believes Pakistan may soon start opposing the US and should prepare to live on its own. Porter told RT that relations between the US and Pakistan are at a [...]