A New Return Policy for Russian Children

Ever wanted to send your kid back to where they came from? Well a US single mom from Tennessee actually sent her 7-year-old son back to Moscow with a note saying she no longer wanted him.

The Foreign Minisiter, Sergei Lavrov, said that this is the "last straw" in a montage of bad adoptions and has threatened to suspend adoption privileges for American families. This last straw is resulting in creating international agreement on adoptions. There were plans before this weeks incident for a team from the State Department to visit and address adoption issues.

About 1,600 Russian children were adopted last year by US families and all further adoptions must wait until an accord has been reached.

Want a surprising tid-bit? At least 15 Russian children have been killed by their US parents since the mid-1900s, but up to 15 children adopted by Russian parents die every year. It doesn't matter who the fingers are being pointed at, one thing is apparent: reform is needed in rules that affect adopted children.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/adoption-flap-not-expected-to-last-long/403850.html

Metro Terrorism Leads to A New Unit to Combat Terrorism

On Wednesday President Dimitri Medvedev called for a new unit to be created to combat terrorism. The new permanent unit will be created by April 16th. The group will be responsible for combating terrorist attacks. What happened so suddenly that caused Medvedev to order the creation of a unit to combat terrorism? A series of terriorist attacks in Russia that are attributed to Cachen or Caucusus "Emirates".

The latest attack on March 29th, 2010 killed 40 people and injured 121 others. Two women, natives of Dagestan, are suspected of being responsible for the attack. It is suspected that one of the woman's brother was the mastermind behind the operation. The father of these siblings is currently in jail after a sentence of nine months for possession of a grenade.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/new-caucasus-unit-will-fight-terrorism/403503.html

Want a Dangerous Job? Try Human Rights Activist in Russia.

President Dmitry Medvedev had promised to make the job of a human rights worker in Russia safer, yeah right. This occupation has become increasingly dangerous, making it necessary to have Western protection for these people.

The government seems to have taken the approach that money solves all problems. Lyudmila Alexeyeva, chair of Moscow Helsinki Group, told a European Union conference in Moscow that Russia has taken the approach of paying compensation to victims and rarly takes action to prevent future situations. Currently the most protection that these people receive is from parts of the media.

Ella Pamfilova, the presidential human rights commissioner, told the conference that a lack of functioning democratic institutions and widespread corruption are two factors that have hindered any progress in increasing the safety of these workers and journalists.

To look at a list of journalists killed in Russia check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/human-rights-activists-seek-western-protection/402427.html

The Silicon Valley in Russia

Above: The Moscow School of Management Skolkovo.

The President Dimitri Medvedev announced on Thursday that Russia's Silicon Valley will be located in Skolkovo, which is located in a region of Moscow. Skolkovo hosts the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo; one of the top business schools in Russia. This area is considered a prestigious area and was formerly home to the billionaire, Roman Abramovich.

President Medvedev commented, "I made the decision — we will build this center where we have already laid the groundwork for doing it quickly. Speed matters, so we will build it in Skolkovo."

The building of this project will begin as early as this year and will have five of the "presidential" priorities for modernization: energy, IT, telecommunications, biotechnology, and nuclear technology.

Critics of this project say that building this high-tech center from scratch is a waste of resources. Especially when past technology centers have all the necessary infrastructure and are underused or not utilized at all.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/skolkovo-designated-silicon-valley-location/402114.html

Medvedev Visits France with Hopes to Srenghten Political Ties

The president of Russia, Dmitri A. Medvedev, arrived in Paris on Monday with warships, natural gas, and a special relationship with Europe on his mind. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, greeted him warmly on the start of what will be a three-day visit, intended to enhance the prestige of both men, profit their companies and remind French voters that Mr. Sarkozy’s foreign policy is not beholden to Washington.
Despite open American criticism from the Obama administration and from Congress, as well as from European Union allies in the Baltics, Mr. Sarkozy announced that France had entered “exclusive negotiations” to sell four Mistral-class amphibious assault ships to Russia.
The Russian naval commander has said that with the Mistral, which can carry helicopters or tanks, Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia would have been much faster. The arms sale would be the largest by a North Atlantic Treaty Organization country to Russia.
But in a joint news conference with Mr. Medvedev on Monday evening, Mr. Sarkozy said that Russia was “a partner,” no longer an enemy, and that it was “time to turn the page” on the cold war.
Mr. Medvedev called the deal “a symbol of trust between our two countries” and pressed for “Russia and France to be partners on European security.”

Will Russia's new "partner" prove to be a postive force in the years to come, or will the alliance suffer from resentments from the Cold War. Thoughts?

Jury Trials and Terrorists

A 2008 amendment keeps terrorists from being able to receive a jury trial, which is believed by human rights activists and lawyers to be the fairest form of trial. The 2008 amendment banned people suspected of terrorism and espionage to be tried by a jury. On Tuesday the Constitutional Court started a hearing case that reviews this amendment.

"The plaintiffs claim that the right to a jury trial is fixed by the Constitution, which guarantees equality of rights and freedoms," the Constitutional Court said in a statement. “They believe that the ban on jury trials for terrorism charges violates the Constitution.”

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/ban-on-jury-trials-to-be-considered-by-courts/400801.html

Vancouver XXI: Chill Descends Over Russia

While there are medal opportunities left, Russians won only three medals in the first five days; by the same point in the 2006 Winter Olympics, they had had won nine.
The gloom seemed to thicken on Friday as Russians woke up to the news that their superstar figure skater, Yevgeny Plushenko, took only the silver.
Even worse, Russia's powerhouse men's hockey team faltered against Slovakia, falling to the former Soviet satellite, 2-1, in a shootout.
Favored Russians have floundered in the biathlon, and the women’s hockey team was trounced twice by a collective score of 18 to 1.
After Australian aboriginal groups accused a Russian ice dancing pair of mocking aborigines, Valentin Piseev, president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, suggested that they were the target of an international plot to force them to alter their performance.
“I think that this is a well-executed strategy directed against our athletes,” Mr. Piseev told Russian television from Vancouver.
In Russia, international athletic competitions — particularly the Winter Olympics, in this frozen country — are considered one of the last prominent international arenas to showcase the country’s strength. The anxiety has been heightened because Russia will host the next Winter Games at the Black Sea resort of Sochi in 2014.
The governing United Russia party, led by Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, released a statement on Thursday suggesting that there could be repercussions for athletic officials if Russian athletes continued to fall short in Vancouver.
“Anything under fourth place for our team will certainly be a failure, including for those who oversee athletics in our country,” said Boris Gryzlov, a United Russia leader who is speaker of Parliament.
Russia was ranked 11th in the medal count as of Wednesday morning.

Calling Russians to Join the Army!!

Would you like to join the Russian Army? Well if you are Russian then your answer is most likely some form of "no". In a recent poll done by a state-run VTsIOM 75% of respondents say they do not want to join the Russian Army. Is this a lack of patriotism? Not really. The reason behind this high "no" response is that people fear the hazing that they receive once they join. Half the people (at 51%) said that they feared joining because of the likelihood of being killed, so that still leaves a large percentage of people who don't mind being killed for their country, but do mind the severe hazing that is practiced.


http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/more-russians-dont-want-to-join-army/400252.html

Tweet and Greet

A meeting consisting of representatives of technological entrepreneurs eBay and Twitter are meeting with their Russian rivals and government, civic, and corporate leaders to discuss strategies for "using social media for the public good." It is even reported that the celebrity Ashton Kutcher will be joining the group of 13 U.S. delegates to Moscow.

Some of the two countries most innovative minds are coming together to make the "Innovation Delegation" which will be held at Kremlin, the historic structure holding Russia's presidential administration. Although the details of the meeting are vague, im sure you can find someone tweeting about it.

Billboard Porn Stunt

Imagine driving to work on a normal boring day when you look up and see a billboard.. featuring a porn video? That is what some people experienced in Novorossiisk, Russia recently thanks to an old, 40-year old man decided he wanted to fine-tune his hacking skills while also entertaining people.

The man hacked into an internet server in Chechnya because he believed that the police wouldn't take the effort to investigate it so far away. He meant to make the 2 minute clip appear in a store in Moscow, not a billboard.

Traffic was backed up by 20 minutes as drivers slowed down to watch, and even film with their phones, this.. different billboard. To make this even more interesting, an elderly motorcyclist had a heart attack after watching this scene.

The unemployed man who we have to thank/blame is now facing two-years in prison. One affect that this will have on the people of Russia is that the Moscow Advertising Committee has decided to ban all video billboards. I wonder how the people of Novorossiisk will remember this unique experience.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/hacker-arrested-in-billboard-porn-stunt/399895.html

Bush Bust

You're walking down a street in Russia and you're really craving some Kasha (Russian porridge)so you jog on over to your motorcyle to head to your favorite restaurant. Hopping on your bike you look around cautiously to check for any people around and seeing no one you start up your bike and accidentally make a moving violation when pulling out. All of a sudden two police men jump from out of a near by bush shouting and waving their ticket books charging you for your illegal actions. Looks like your Kasha money is going to have to pay for this ambush ticket instead.

This situation may seem comical and somewhat inprobable, but the Interior Ministry has officially placed a ban on traffic police hiding in bushes and dark places in order to catch these violations. Although the ban prevents the ambushes, I cant help but wonder if people look to their left, their right, and then behind any bushes before starting up their engines.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/traffic-cops-banned-from-bushes/399170.html

Russia Appoints New Leader for the Republic of Dagestan

On Monday, President Dmitri A. Medvedev made one of the most complex decisions of his presidency, nominating Magomedsalam M. Magomedov as the next president.
Magomedov, 45, is a Russian economist and businessman who rose to power because of his father who led Dagestan from 1987-2006.
President Medvedev appointed four new governors on Monday as well. However, the descision to appoint the new president of Dagestan was anxiously awaited, with some people saying that the political competition led to a small increase in Russian violence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/world/europe/09dagestan.html

The Frozen Homeless

Thanks to the work in City Hall of private charity organizations, the city of Moscow has made an effort to lower the number of homeless who are hospitalized due to frostbites or hypothermia. Patrols of the city are carried out both on foot and in cars to find homeless people before its too late. When someone is found they are given immediate medical assistance if necessary and are transported either to a hospital or a homeless shelter.

In past years, homeless have been able to hide out in stairwells, basements, or manholes. But due to the increase in door codes, locks on basements, or wielding of manholes, the homeless have found themselves locked out of the accesses to warmth (or at least not below freezing temperatures).

Many of the immigrants on the streets are from poor rural Russian areas and came to Moscow with the hope of finding a job and a way out of poverty. These immigrants find themselves in the streets with no job, no way of getting home, and their few important possessions stolen.

The work of these private charity organizations has saved many lives. Now legislation is needed to foster a collaboration between state agencies assigned to help those in the streets.


http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/city-steps-up-efforts-to-protect-homeless-from-cold/399344.html

PS The National Low in temperature in Russia is -97 C which is equivalent to -137 F

Belarius, The Spoiled Child of Russia

An oil conflict between Russia's capitol, Moscow, and Belarus's capitol, Minsk, sets the Belarian regime in danger of collapse as Moscow refused to supply over 5 tons of oil without putting a duty on the sale. The Belarian president, Aliaksandr Lukashenka, made promises of a 11-13% rise in GDP which would be impossible without the Russian preferences to Belarus. This dispute was settled though as a series of compromise on both sides resulted in a fee rise of 11% to oil transfered across Belarus along with other agreements involving a higher volume of duty-free imports toward the end of the year.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/moscow-minsk-settle-oil-dispute/398438.html

Nuclear Weapons: Today and Tomorrow

Countries such as the United State's and Russia are holding on to their nuclear weapons which is causing political, economic, and military turmoil in the world. While they may be holding on to their WMD's out of fear, or even to assert their powerful position to other countries, they don't need to be. It makes no sense for either country to spend billions of dollars on weapons systems of such radically diminishing strategic utility.
While the nuclear weapons are viewed as a mutual threat by nation's like Russia and the U.S., countries such as Poland and Sweden have something to worry about with the large number of these tactical nuclear weapons. Most of the active sub-strategic weapons in our world today seem to be mostly deployed in Eastern Europe in theoretical preparation for conflict in our part of the world.
Such nuclear weapons are dangerous remnants our world's dangerous past, and they should not be used to endanger our prolific future.
While we are still facing security challenges in the European world of today and tomorrow, but from any angle you look at it, there is no place for the use of nuclear weapons in resolving our current social, political, economic and religious quandaries.

Thoughts?

Corruption in the OMON

A common name for the police force in Russia is the OMON. Recently the corruption within these units have been revealed. OMON police officers have taken illegal side jobs, such as serving as a bodygaurd for a gangster, in order to make more money on the side. The commanders of these officers allow these activities to take place by requiring that they receive a percent of the profit. This is not the first time that this activity has been reported; the name Dymvosky may seem familiar because this policeman was fired for reporting similar allegations to the journalist community. Now the five men who reported these allegations are likely to receive the same treatment. Ilya Barabanov reported that when recruits begin, they must sign undated dismissal orders, which are kept in the commanders safe. If this isn't a sign of corruption, what is?

These men also reported that the OMON are falsely arresting many people in Russia. In the Kitai-Gordoi district, there are 12 homeless men in the prison. These police forces arrest so many innocent citizens in order to meet the order of three detentions per shift in order to keep their salaries from being cut from 26,000 rubles ($850) to 10,000 rubles.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/omon-officers-complain-of-corruption-in-their-ranks/398800.html

The Early Years of Russian History

The history of Russia begins with the Eastern Slavs. The first East Slavic state was Kievan Rus' which incorporated Christianity into their culture from the Byzantine Empire in 988. This implementation started the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the upcoming millennium. Kievan Rus' eventually disintegrated as a state, finally succumbing to Mongol invaders in the 1230s.
After the 13th century, the capital, Moscow gradually came to power. By the 18th century, the Grand Duchy of Moscow had become the huge Russian Empire, stretching from Poland all the way to the Pacific Ocean. "Expansion in the west sharpened Russia's awareness of its separation from much of the rest of Europe and shattered the isolation in which the initial stages of expansion had occurred. Successive regimes of the 19th century responded to such pressures with a combination of halfhearted reform and repression. Russian serfdom was abolished in 1861, but its abolition was achieved on terms unfavorable to the peasants and served to increase revolutionary pressure.
Between the abolition of serfdom and the beginning of World War I in 1914, the Stolypin reforms, the constitution of 1906 and State Duma introduced notable changes to the economy and politics of Russia, but the tsars were still not willing to relinquish autocratic rule, or share their power.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Russia

Jury Duty Calls!

Chechnya, a federal subject of Russia (basically a federation's equivalent of a state), has announced its plans to finally join the rest of Russia in holding jury trials. Previously, the Chechnyan people lived by codes and traditions of their teips or clans that included rules like "common revenge for murder or insult" and representation of women by male relatives. The plans have promise a list of 6,040 juror names that would take part in rulings, but the acceptance of this new system that the west takes for granted could take some time to adjust to.


(http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/chechnya-to-hold-jury-trials/398057.html)

The European Court of Human Rights

Russia has finally changed its position on the European Court of Human Rights. Since 2006, Russia has been the only one of 47 participating states to refuse to ratify. This may be because nearly one-third of complaints sent to the human rights court have been against Russia. Russia agreed to sign on after Vyatkin addressed Russia's proposal to have a guarantee that Russian judges on the court would take a part in reviewing the complaints against Russia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/16/world/europe/16russia.html