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Wednesday, March 5, 2008 Volume 12 Number 44
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Russia
RUSSIA TELLS IRAN TO 'FACE REALITY'Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin, who chairs the Security Council during March, said on March 4, one day after that body approved new sanctions against Iran for refusing to stop its uranium-enrichment program, that Tehran should face up to the "new reality" and cooperate with the international community, news agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 28, 2008). He added that Iran now has "a great opportunity [thanks to recent] offers by the [foreign ministers of Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany, and the United States], including the opportunity of overcoming its problems with the United States." Churkin stressed that the six countries now follow a common line in dealing with Iran, adding that "what happened in the past is the past, and now we have a different format of negotiations." He noted that Washington has dropped its previous "strong objection" to Russia providing enriched uranium as fuel for the reactor that Russia is building at Bushehr. The Russian daily "Gazeta" noted on March 5 that Moscow cannot afford to risk alienating Tehran because it wants to conclude a deal to sell 100 passenger aircraft to Iran. PM GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR CLOSER TIES TO RUSSIA Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in Berlin on March 4 at a gathering of his Social Democratic Party's (SPD) Willy Brandt Foundation that the EU needs closer relations with Russia as part of a new overall eastern policy, the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on March 5. Such a policy should also encompass the EU's ties to Ukraine, Belarus, and other former Soviet republics to the east and southeast of the Brussels-based bloc. He said that the EU should act as a "go-between" in dealing with the United States and Russia in order to develop "peace structures" linking "our trans-Atlantic allies...and our eastern neighbors." Steinmeier argued that the EU "must" work to establish "a common space of peace and prosperity from the Atlantic coast to Siberia." He said that the main issues that need to be faced in constructing "an all-European peace system" are climate change, energy security, natural resource supplies, demographics, and terrorism. Steinmeier warned the West against distancing itself from Russia or seeking confrontation with it, calling instead for "dialogue and trust." He acknowledged that Russia's recent presidential election could have been "more free, fair, and open," and alluded to unspecified "problematic developments" in Russia. Steinmeier nonetheless stressed that Russia is an "irreplaceable strategic partner" for the EU, adding that "Russia needs us" to help develop its economy and infrastructure. Steinmeier called for "taking [President-elect Dmitry] Medvedev at his word" when he speaks out on behalf of freedom and the rule of law. "Let us accept his offer of partnership," Steinmeier argued. He added that this includes seeking "mutually acceptable solutions" regarding the planned U.S. missile-defense system. PM RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PREPARES NEW STRATEGIC PAPER The Foreign Ministry is continuing work on a planned document to replace its basic policy paper that dates from 2000, the daily "Novye izvestia" reported on March 4. The paper noted that "the situation nowadays is certainly different from what it was then. The United States withdrew from the [1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile] Treaty [in 2001], Russia is less focused on international terrorism, and integration processes within the CIS have slowed." The daily quoted an unnamed "source" in the ministry as saying that "a great deal of what the concept adopted in 2000 is about has become outmoded. But our basic principles remain unchanged. They are pragmatism, [respect for differing] interests, and a nonconfrontational approach." The paper quoted Mikhail Margelov, who is chairman of the Federation Council's International Relations Committee, as saying that the new document should take into account that the UN and other international organizations set up during the Cold War are no longer "efficient" and should be "restructured" to include more "constructive cooperation." The daily quoted State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachyov of Unified Russia as saying that the new policy paper "should take into account Russia's new role in the world" as a richer and more assertive power than it was in the 1990s. (see "RFE/RL Newsline," End Note, September 6, 2007, and "Russia: The Kremlin's Evolving Foreign-Policy Stance," rferl.org, February 29, 2008). PM LAWYERS ASSOCIATION EXPERIENCES RAPID GROWTH The Association of Lawyers of Russia, which was created in December 2005 and whose oversight board is chaired by President-elect Medvedev, is undergoing rapid and massive expansion, strana.ru reported on March 4. The association has branches or representative offices in 58 federation subjects and plans to have a presence in all of them in the near future, association co-Chairman Veniamin Yakovlev told journalists on March 4. He added that 100,000 Russians turned to the association for legal help in 2007. Yakovlev cited Medvedev's recent comment that Russia has a culture of "legal nihilism" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 15, 2008) and said the association is determined to combat this culture. He added that the association assists the government by providing evaluations of proposed legislation. The association is also involved in the management of Zakon-TV, which began broadcasting in January and is financed by $10 million from Gazprom-Media, a subsidiary of the state-controlled natural-gas monopoly of which Medvedev is chairman of the board. Strana.ru speculated that the association has the potential to become an independent power base for Medvedev and could help him counter the influence of the siloviki -- people with connections to the defense, law enforcement, and security organs -- who came to prominence under outgoing President Vladimir Putin. RC OMBUDSMAN SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION 'UNSATISFACTORY' Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin on March 4 conducted a press conference summing up the work of his office in 2007, "Novyye izvestia" reported on March 5. He characterized the human rights situation in Russia as "unsatisfactory," saying that his office received more than 30,000 complaints last year. He noted that this is a 10 percent decline over 2006, but added that many election-related complaints were directed to other offices. He said the majority of complaints to his office involved alleged abuse by state officials, particularly law enforcement officials and judges. Many concerned conditions in pretrial-detention centers, torture and abuse in prisons, and unnecessary delays in court hearings. Lukin said the actions of the Moscow police in preventing a March 3 opposition protest were a "hyper-reaction and excessive," "Vremya novostei" reported on March 5. RC LEADING PETERSBURG LIBERAL DETAINED ON CHARGES OF ASSAULTING A POLICE OFFICER Maksim Reznik, a prominent official in the St. Petersburg branch of Yabloko and a leading force in the latest project to unite Russia's liberal groups, was ordered detained for up to two months by a Petersburg court on March 4 pending charges of insulting and assaulting a police officer, gazeta.ru reported the same day. Reznik was arrested in the early morning hours of March 3, the day after the presidential election and the day of a planned opposition March of Dissent protest in the city (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 4, 2008), outside the Yabloko offices. Police allege he was drunk and abusive and that he struck an officer several times in the face. He could face a sentence of more than two years in prison if convicted. Reznik denies the charges, but the court ordered him held in custody, saying that his previous administrative-detention sentences stemming from his protest activities indicated that he does not respect the law. According to Reznik's lawyer, witnesses to the incident said Reznik was not abusive. They also said a local police station received a call from a resident of the building across the street from the incident saying that he or she had seen police officers beating two men. Reznik is a key organizer of a planned March 22 conference at which leaders of Yabloko, the Union of Rightist Forces, the United Civic Front, and other liberal groups plan to discuss the formation of a broad liberal coalition. RC PROPOSED LAW WOULD RESTRICT FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF PRINT MEDIA, INTERNET COMPANIES The Duma on March 19 is expected to consider in the second reading a bill that would restrict the right of foreigners to own Internet service providers, print-media outlets, book publishers, and printing presses, "Vedomosti" reported on March 5. According to the report, the innovation is the brainchild of chief Kremlin ideologist and deputy presidential-administration head Vladislav Surkov. Under the bill, such companies would be considered part of a strategic sector that already includes radio and television broadcasting. As a result, any foreign entity seeking to own more than 50 percent of such a company would have to receive permission from a "special organ" created by the government and chaired by the prime minister. If a foreign government is involved, permission is required for the purchase of more than 25 percent. RC COMPANIES, BANKS FACE MAJOR DEBT PAYMENTS Russian companies must make a total of $110 billion in payments on accumulated debts in 2008, gazeta.ru reported on March 4. According to the report, Russian corporations owe $73 billion and banks owe $38 billion. Some $36 billion is due by the end of March, setting off a scramble for additional loans or refinancing. Yury Amvrosiyev, an analyst with the Russian Development Bank, told the website it would be "logical" if the Central Bank provided "new instruments" to help with the debts if the situation "becomes close to critical." Dmitry Pushkaryov, an analyst with ITinvest, noted that the falling value of the dollar and continued rising global energy prices could help Russia avoid serious consequences. President Putin on March 3 called for "the optimization of the management of the country's financial reserves," meaning the country's massive gold and foreign-currency reserves. He added that some mechanism for the long-term refinancing of the banking system must be worked out (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 4, 2008). RC INGUSH OPPOSITION UNVEILS AGENDA FOR 'NATIONAL CONGRESS' The organizers of a planned extraordinary congress of the Ingush people, scheduled to take place on March 8 on the western outskirts of Nazran, circulated the agenda on March 4, which was posted to the website ingushetiya.ru. They noted that the Russian Federation's Concept of Administrative Reform made public in 2005 contains a section on the interaction of executive power and civil society that, if implemented, could help extricate the republic from the current political, social and economic crisis. In a separate posting on ingushetiya.ru on March 5, one of the congress organizers, Magomed Khazbiyev, appealed to Ingush businessmen to contact them in order to discuss unspecified issues connected with a separate mass anticorruption protest planned for March 12. The republic's government refused last week to accept a formal application by Khazbiyev for permission to hold that protest (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 27, 2008). LF SUSPECTS DETAINED FOR MURDER OF DAGHESTAN OPPOSITIONIST Nizam Radjabov, an investigator with the Daghestan Prosecutor's office, confirmed on March 4 that two people have been detained in connection with the November 2007 killing of Farid Babayev, who headed the Daghestan chapter of the opposition Yabloko party, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. Babayev died on November 24, three days after an unidentified gunman shot him four times outside his home in Makhachkala (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 26, 27, and 29, 2007). Radjabov did not name the detainees, who he said have not yet been formally charged with the killing. LF
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