ABC’s decision to nationally screen an interview with Shamil Basayev on Nightline last week (see here for details) has caused a furore in Russia, prompting the Russian Foreign Ministry to call the US embassy’s top official (the US is currently between Ambassadors) for a few stern words, and for the Defence… Read the rest
US military bases – the economic impact
July 14, 2005 By
Intel Dump has a post about US basing strategy which, as part of its argument repeats a claim that the US base in Manas, Kyrgyzstan, contributes so heavily to the local economy that it is worth around 5% of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP – a number that seems suspiciously high to me.
The original article –
Russian solider tried to assassinate President Bush
June 27, 2005 By
Remember how someone threw a hand grenade at George Bush during his recent visit to Georgia? Well, now the Georgian authorities look to have found the culprit and, according to Mosnews, he might be Russian. The police currently have two theories, Mosnews reports, and:
According to the second theory, the
New US Ambassador
June 23, 2005 By
William Burns is set to become the new US Ambassador to Russia, according to Interfax.
There have been reports that William Burns would be the next Ambassador to Russia since early this year, but I wonder if the Interfax report means that his appointment is close to confirmation?
A career diplomat, Burns… Read the rest
Report on Meeting with President Bush and Civil Society Organizations
May 16, 2005 By
On May 9th, US President George W Bush met with representatives of Russian civil society in Moscow. One of those representatives was Elena Malitskaya, Preisdent of the Siberian Civic Initiatives Support Center. Here she presents her first hand report of that meeting, which differs in some respects to accounts given in the US press.… Read the rest
Kursk torpedoed by US Sub?
May 10, 2005 By
The Russian government badly mishandled the fallout following the sinking of the Kursk submarine and, as a consequence, conspiracy theories are flourishing.
The latest claims come from Maurice Stradling, a British defence expert who, despite previously saying that the Kursk sank due to an on-board accident, now believes it was the Americans what… Read the rest
Some more thoughts on the Bush-Putin summit
February 28, 2005 By
Although very few people in the world really know what Presidents George W Bush and Vladimir Putin talked about in their summit, leaks are beginning to trickle out.
I found this one from Time Magazine particularly amusing, largely because of the number of bloggers who should know better (Chrenkoff, Myopic… Read the rest
Bush's speech – what are the blogs saying?
February 22, 2005 By
Bush’s ‘peacemaking’ tour of Europe began with a speech in which he called for Europe (well, the EU) and America to work together to spread freedom and peace throughout the world. Several states came in for direct criticism, including Russia. Below I’ve excerpted the relevant section of his speech, and followed it… Read the rest
