Russia in Review

An update from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for the week of October 1-8, 2010.

A digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for the week of October 1-8, 2010

I. U.S. and Russia priorities for the bilateral agenda.

Nuclear security agenda:

Russia hosted a meeting of high-level security representative from 43 counties in the Black Sea resort of Sochi attended by National Security Advisor Jim Jones, Chinese Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu and security advisor to Indian Prime Minister Shivshankar Menon among others on Tuesday. In his speech, secretary of Russia's Security Council Nikolai Patrushev warned the participants that "global terrorism is characterized by intentions to possess weapons of mass destruction. "Terrorists are seeking to get access to facilities and technologies of chemical and bacteriological weapons, radioactive, toxic agents and biological formulas," he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. The Russian security official's statements were echoed by General Jones. "Most troubling of all is the trend that this enhanced collaboration is leading to criminals helping terrorists acquire weapons of mass destruction, a development that could threaten all our nations," Jones said, according to the text of his speech available at the official website of the White House. Patrushev also said al Qaeda wants to make the North Caucasus region part of the Islamic caliphate that it strives to build and that militant groups in that region have strong ties" with this terrorist organization. (Belfer Center, 10/06/10).

Iran nuclear issues:

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi announced on Tuesday that the Bushehr nuclear power plant will reach its nominal capacity and generate electricity with full power in spring. (Thai News Service, 10/08/10).
A months-long delay in starting up Iran's first nuclear power plant is the result of a small leak, not a computer worm that was found on the laptops of several plant employees, Salehi said Monday. (AP, 10/04/10).
The head of Russia's arms manufacturer reportedly says it will return Iran's advance payment for the air defense missiles whose delivery was canceled by the Kremlin. Sergei Chemezov, head of the state-controlled Russian Technologies holding company, was quoted by Russia's news agencies as saying Thursday that Russia will return $166.8 million it received as payment from Iran. (AP, 10/07/10).
Russia's image as a "powerful country" that can resist US pressure will take a beating following its decision to stop the delivery of S-300 missiles to Tehran, Alaeddin Borujerdi, head of the Iranian parliament's foreign policy committee said. (AFP, 10/08/10).
Tehran continues negotiations on the delivery of S-300 systems, the Tehran Times quoted Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying on Thursday. The minister said that the Russian ban on S-300 deliveries was a breach of contract. "Nevertheless, Iran is negotiating the deal with Russia," he noted. (Interfax-AVN, 10/07/10).
Salekhi said that Russia and Iran reached an agreement to produce radioactive pharmaceuticals. "Iran and Russia reached the agreement to produce radioactive drugs. Russia is going to send to Iran a sample of radioactive isotopes. (Trend News Agency, 10/08/10).

NATO-Russia cooperation, including transit to Afghanistan:

Russia requested additional information on NATO intentions before responding to the alliance's invitation to participate in dialogue during the November summit. (GSN, 10/01/10).
The head of a leading party running for election in Kyrgyzstan in Sunday's parliamentary election said that an incoming coalition government would likely sharply increase the rent for a U.S. air base in the Central Asian country. Ak-Shumkar leader Temir Sariyev said that a government including his party would seek $100 million in annual rent for the Manas base, an increase from the current $60 million.
Since the start of NATO's military operation in Afghanistan the production of narcotic drugs in that country, contrary to all declarations by the allies, has grown more than forty times, the head of the Russian federal service for drugs control, Viktor Ivanov, said in Islamabad, where he is on a working visit. (Itar-Tass, 10/07/10).

Counter-terrorism cooperation:

No significant developments.

Missile defense:

No significant developments.

Ratification of the New START treaty:

The Obama administration is hoping for an overwhelming Senate vote in November to ratify the new arms control treaty with Russia, the chief U.S. negotiator said Tuesday. Rose Gottemoeller said: "We are hoping that we will have the same kind of vote which was the vote for the START treaty, 95-0 against." (AP, 10/05/10).
In a phone conversation on Friday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama discussed their interest in getting legislative approval in both of their countries of the new START treaty before the end of the year and "their continued concern for Iran's defiance of its international obligations." (Reuters, 10/01/10).

Energy exports from CIS:

No significant developments.

Access to major markets for exports and imports:

A nuclear cooperation agreement, known as Agreement 123, with Russia that President Obama submitted to Congress in May will only go into effect this year if the House and Senate are in session for a full two weeks, sources said this week. House leaders plan to bring the House into session the week of Nov. 15 and the week of Nov. 29, but the House must hold another pro-forma session in the intervening Thanksgiving Day week as well to reach the full 15 remaining session days required before the agreement can go into effect. If the Russia 123 Agreement does not go into effect, it will have to be resubmitted again in the next Congress. (Inside U.S. Trade, 10/08/10).
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama confirmed on Friday in a telephone conversation that bilateral talks on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization are complete. "The sides said that in line with agreements reached at their negotiations in Washington, bilateral talks on Russia's accession to the WTO are complete," Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said. (RIA Novosti, 10/01/10).
Georgia says Moscow will have to allow Georgian customs officials to operate in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia before Russia can join the World Trade Organization. (AP, 10/06/10).
Georgia's Vice President Nika Gilauri said Tbilisi's demand for Russian forces to end their occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is not tied to how Georgia will vote on Moscow's application to join the World Trade Organization. (RFE/RL, 10/08/10).
The BRIC countries are united in opposing U.S. efforts to weaken or eliminate mechanisms to control currency fluctuations, Russia's Finance Ministry said. (Bloomberg, 10/08/10).

Other bilateral issues:

Viktor Bout, the alleged arms dealer, has moved closer to being sent to the US for trial after a Thai court dismissed charges that could have held up his extradition. Thailand's government will hold a special meeting to discuss the pros and cons of extraditing Bout. (Financial Times, 10/05/10, AP, 10/06/10).
A Russian rocket with a U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts onboard blasted off successfully early Friday for the International Space Station. Russia's space agency chief said that a spacecraft that will be used to ferry crew to the international space station in December has been damaged during transportation by rail. (AP, 10/07/10).
Several foreign ambassadors were shocked Tuesday night when they arrived at the White House for the annual "Chiefs of Mission" reception but were denied entry by security staff. Ambassadors from Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, and several other countries were held at the door, while European diplomats from France and Finland were allowed in. (Foreign Policy, 10/06/10).
New chairman of Broadcasting Board of Governors Walter Isaacson is calling for even more money for the BBG to combat the public diplomacy efforts of America's "enemies," which he identifies as Iran, Venezuela, Russia, and China. (Foreign Policy, 10/05/10).
Ex-CIA spy Harold Nicholson slipped messages to his son from prison through paper napkins wadded into balls, despite the best efforts of the intelligence agency to monitor his communications, government prosecutors said in a pretrial filing. (AP, 10/02/10).

II. Russia news.

Domestic Political, Social and Demographic News

66 % of Russian citizens approve of President Dmitry Medvedev's decision to dismiss Yuri Luzhkov from the post of Moscow mayor, according to the results of a poll carried out by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Centre in 46 regions on October 2-3. (Interfax, 10/06/10).
In a revealing and candid discussion, Luzhkov on Wednesday told CNN that "we are losing democracy inside the country," and refuted rumors that he was planning to leave the country. Luzhkov also said he was fired because "the presidential elections of 2012 are approaching." He said: "The authorities need for Moscow to support the candidate who they will." (CNN, 10/06/10)
Acting Moscow Mayor Vladimir Resin may stay in office for the next two years, a respected business daily said on Thursday, citing a number of sources. (RIA Novosti, 10/07/10).
Russia plans to cut its army of smokers -- up to 80 % of its men -- with bans on advertising and smoking in public places, it revealed in a policy statement posted Monday on the government website. (AFP, 10/04/10).
Moscow continues to hold the lead in the number of crimes motivated by xenophobia, racism and radical nationalism. This conclusion follows from a monthly report which was published late last week by the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, which specializes in research on racism and xenophobia. (Vremya Novosti, 10/04/10).
Russian-born scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov shared the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for "groundbreaking experiments" with an atom-thin material expected to play a large role in electronics. (AP, 10/05/10).

Economy, and Energy:

Russia is set to have foreign contracts for the supply of nuclear fuel and uranium enrichment services worth $20 billion by the end of 2010, Sergey Kiriyenko, director general of Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom, has promised Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. (World Nuclear news, 10/06/10).
Russia's economy will expand 4.3 % next year, 0.2 % age points faster than previously forecast, the International Monetary Fund said today in its World Economic Outlook. (Bloomberg, 10/06/10).
Russia is facing a "significant" slowdown in economic growth, which will strip away the government's popularity, said Aleh Tsyvinski, co-director of the macroeconomics program at Yale University's Cowles Foundation. (Bloomberg, 10/06/10).
Russian new light commercial vehicle and car sales rose 55 % to 185,953 units in September compared with a year earlier. (Bloomberg, 10/08/10).
The Russian ruble saw its biggest daily gain of 2010 against the dollar Tuesday, after a central banker said the currency would probably rise in the short term following a bout of weakness that had spooked international investors. The ruble closed up 1.2% against the dollar at 30.09, its biggest daily rise since last December. (Wall Street Journal, 10/05/10).
Russia's VimpelCom Ltd and Weather Investments, the investment company headed by Egyptian telecom mogul Naguib Sawiris, said Monday they are merging to form what will become the world's fifth largest mobile telecommunication service provider in a deal valued at over $6.5 billion. (AP, 10/04/10).

Defense policy:

The Russian navy on Thursday successfully test-fired advanced ballistic missile Bulava from a nuclear submarine, giving a boost to the nation's top weapons program that has been haunted by a string of failures. (AP, 10/07/10).
Russia cannot afford fully professional army for the time being, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said. "We cannot afford to create a fully professional army," the minister said in an interview published by Russian Newsweek. Currently, 80 military units are manned with contract servicemen. (Itar-Tass, 10/04/10).
The funding to be provided to the Armed Forces to buy armaments in 2011 will be 100 billion rubles larger than in 2010, and spending on defense will increase from 1.277 trillion rubles to 1.5 trillion rubles, chairman of the State Duma's Defense Committee Viktor Zavarzin has announced. (Interfax-AVN, 10/05/10).

Security policy:

More than 400 police officers and other law enforcement agents have been killed by militants over the past five years in Russia's restive southern province of Ingushetia. (AP, 10/03/10).
Extremist militants based in the Chechen Republic have split from those operating in other regions of southern Russia. Experts believe that their days are numbered. In a statement published online on Thursday, the warlords said they have renounced their oath of allegiance to Russia's most-wanted terrorist Doku Umarov and have elected a new leader. Their new commander is Hussein Gakaev, a man with a US$330,000 bounty assigned for his capture, reports Kommersant daily. (RT, 10/08/10).
President Dmitry Medvedev has appointed Alexander Bastrykin to head the new Investigation Committee. (Itar-Tass, 10/04/10).
The Kremlin's human rights council has sent amendments to a controversial police bill to President Dmitry Medvedev that call for a leaner police force, higher salaries for officers and regular meetings where the public can vent frustrations to the police, council members said Wednesday. (Moscow Times, 10/07/10).

Foreign policy:

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France plans to propose a new security and economic relationship between Europe and Russia when he meets with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany this month in Deauville, senior French officials said Friday. The idea is to have a single zone of security and economic cooperation, the officials said, that will pull Russia closer to Europe but apart from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (New York Times, 10/01/10).
India and Russia are in talks to jointly produce a new range of fighter aircraft and the South Asian nation may buy as many as 300 of the jets to strengthen its defense forces. (Bloomberg, 10/07/10).
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday renewed his country's proposal for a new European Security Pact to replace existing security and problem-solving mechanisms in Europe. "Europe is not only North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and is not only European Union," Medvedev said in Nicosia after talks with Cyprus President Demetris Christofias during a one-day visit to the Mediterranean island. (Xinhua, 10/06/10).
Algeria and Russia signed six deals Wednesday in sectors including energy and transportation during a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. (AP, 10/06/10).

Russia's neighbors:

A top Ukrainian court handed Russia-leaning President Viktor Yanukovych greater powers on Friday by overturning constitutional changes made in 2004, fueling fears of increasingly authoritarian rule in a country that had embraced democracy.
The Constitutional Court announced that its ruling in the 2004 reforms -- which shifted some powers from the president to parliament -- were unconstitutional because of irregularities when they were adopted. Mr. Yanukovych will now be able to appoint and dismiss his own government, including the prime minister, and rule the former Soviet republic of 46 million in a presidential system. (Wall Street Journal, 10/02/10).
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has rejected a free trade agreement with the European Union, saying terms offered by Brussels were not in the country's interest. (RFE/RL, 10/01/10).
Ukraine has been formally registered as partner of the International Uranium Enrichment Center. The Ukrainian state concern "Nuclear Fuel" received 10% share in the enterprise after transferring the payment - 2.6 million rubles - to Russia's Rosatom. (Fissile material blog, 10/05/10).
The pro-Western ruling coalition in the small Baltic country of Latvia staved off a serious challenge by a Russian-leaning party in parliamentary elections Saturday, but the party's gains shook a nation still haunted by Soviet purges and executions. (LA Times, 10/03/10).
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed her country's support for Georgia's territorial integrity and its striving to join NATO. "The United States will not waver in its support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Clinton said at the U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership Omnibus Meeting on Wednesday. (Itar-Tass, 10/06/10).