Vladimir Gusinsky Revocable Trust
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Cases of Crimea, Eastern Ukraine, South Ossetia and Abkhazia
Revista UNISCI / UNISCI Journal, Nº 43 (Enero/January 2017) EU SANCTIONS POLICY TOWARDS POST-SOVIET CONFLICTS: CASES OF CRIMEA, EASTERN UKRAINE, SOUTH OSSETIA AND ABKHAZIA Maria Shagina 1 University of Lucerne Abstract : Going beyond the focus on the sanctions´ effectiveness, this article is rather interested in the investigation of EU internal dynamics of decision-making. Looking at post-Soviet frozen conflicts, namely Crimea, Eastern Ukraine, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the article analyses the internal tensions between Russia-friendly and Russia-hawkish states in the EU process of imposing sanction regimes. Despite potential economic losses and political tensions, in some cases the EU decides and successfully manages to impose sanctions, whereas in other cases no punitive measures are undertaken. Comparing cases with and without sanction regimes, this article aims to uncover the ´black box´ behind the EU´s decision to impose sanctions. It aims to analyze why and under what conditions the EU is ready to resort to sanctions in post-Soviet conflicts. Keywords : EU sanctions, Post-Soviet conflicts, Russia, Eastern Europe Titulo en Castellano : La política de sanciones en los conflictos postsoviéticos: Los casos de Crimea, Ucrania del este, el sur de Osetia y Abjasia Resumen: El artículo se centra en la investigación de la dinámica interna del proceso decisorio de la UE, y no tanto en la efectividad de las sanciones. Examinando los conflictos enquistados de Crimea, Ucrania oriental, sur de Osetia, y Abjasia, el artículo analiza las tensiones internas entre los Estados Miembros de la UE, los pro-rusos y los más firmes con respecto a Rusia, en el proceso de imposición de sanciones. -
The Killing of William Browder
THE KILLING OF WILLIAM BROWDER THE KILLING OF WILLIAM BROWDER Bill Browder, the fa lse crusader for justice and human rights and the self - styled No. 1 enemy of Vladimir Putin has perpetrated a brazen and dangerous deception upon the Weste rn world. This book traces the anatomy of this deception, unmasking the powerful forces that are pushing the West ern world toward yet another great war with Russia. ALEX KRAINER EQUILIBRIUM MONACO First published in Monaco in 20 17 Copyright © 201 7 by Alex Krainer ISBN 978 - 2 - 9556923 - 2 - 5 Material contained in this book may be reproduced with permission from its author and/or publisher, except for attributed brief quotations Cover page design, content editing a nd copy editing by Alex Krainer. Set in Times New Roman, book title in Imprint MT shadow To the people of Russia and the United States wh o together, hold the keys to the future of humanity. Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like the evil spirits at the dawn of day. Thomas Jefferson Table of Contents 1. Bill Browder and I ................................ ................................ ............... 1 Browder’s 2005 presentation in Monaco ................................ .............. 2 Harvard club presentation in 2010 ................................ ........................ 3 Ru ssophobia and Putin - bashing in the West ................................ ......... 4 Red notice ................................ ................................ ............................ 6 Reading -
(Stop a Douchebag) Vigilantes in Russia
© Laboratorium: Russian Review of Social Research. 2019. 11(3):16–45 16 DOI: 10.25285/2078-1938-2019-11-3-16-45 EROES OR HOOLIGANS? HMEDIA PORTRAYAL OF STOPXAM (STOP A DOUCHEBAG) VIGILANTES IN RUSSIA Rashid Gabdulhakov Rashid Gabdulhakov, Department of Media and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Address for correspondence: Erasmus University Rotterdam, Postbus 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, Netherlands. [email protected]. The author expresses sincere gratitude to the informants for their contributions, as well as to peer reviewers and editors of this special issue for their valuable feed- back. This work was supported by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) project num- ber 276-45-004. Several state-supported digital vigilante groups emerged in Russia at the downturn of the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi (Ours), when its former commissars formed issue- specific movements to counter perceived legal and moral offences through exposure of targets on social media. One of such groups is StopXam (Stop a Douchebag), specializ- ing in road-traffic and parking violations. StopXam participants confront the drivers and retaliate by placing stickers that read “I spit on everyone I drive where I want” on the targets’ windshields. The retaliation is often accompanied by verbal and physical fighting; the process is filmed, edited, and shared on YouTube, receiving millions of views. While digital media made such practices possible, traditional broadcasters maintain significance in rendering meaning to the phenomenon of vigilantism and in framing vigilantes, their targets, police, and other actors. As the existing literature on digital vigilantism is predominantly focused on digital media affordances, this article aims to address this gap through a qualitative analysis of traditional media coverage of StopXam. -
The Russia You Never Met
The Russia You Never Met MATT BIVENS AND JONAS BERNSTEIN fter staggering to reelection in summer 1996, President Boris Yeltsin A announced what had long been obvious: that he had a bad heart and needed surgery. Then he disappeared from view, leaving his prime minister, Viktor Cher- nomyrdin, and his chief of staff, Anatoly Chubais, to mind the Kremlin. For the next few months, Russians would tune in the morning news to learn if the presi- dent was still alive. Evenings they would tune in Chubais and Chernomyrdin to hear about a national emergency—no one was paying their taxes. Summer turned to autumn, but as Yeltsin’s by-pass operation approached, strange things began to happen. Chubais and Chernomyrdin suddenly announced the creation of a new body, the Cheka, to help the government collect taxes. In Lenin’s day, the Cheka was the secret police force—the forerunner of the KGB— that, among other things, forcibly wrested food and money from the peasantry and drove some of them into collective farms or concentration camps. Chubais made no apologies, saying that he had chosen such a historically weighted name to communicate the seriousness of the tax emergency.1 Western governments nod- ded their collective heads in solemn agreement. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank both confirmed that Russia was experiencing a tax collec- tion emergency and insisted that serious steps be taken.2 Never mind that the Russian government had been granting enormous tax breaks to the politically connected, including billions to Chernomyrdin’s favorite, Gazprom, the natural gas monopoly,3 and around $1 billion to Chubais’s favorite, Uneximbank,4 never mind the horrendous corruption that had been bleeding the treasury dry for years, or the nihilistic and pointless (and expensive) destruction of Chechnya. -
Telecoms & Media 2021
Telecoms & Media 2021 Telecoms Telecoms & Media 2021 Contributing editors Alexander Brown and David Trapp © Law Business Research 2021 Publisher Tom Barnes [email protected] Subscriptions Claire Bagnall Telecoms & Media [email protected] Senior business development manager Adam Sargent 2021 [email protected] Published by Law Business Research Ltd Contributing editors Meridian House, 34-35 Farringdon Street London, EC4A 4HL, UK Alexander Brown and David Trapp The information provided in this publication Simmons & Simmons LLP is general and may not apply in a specific situation. Legal advice should always be sought before taking any legal action based on the information provided. This information is not intended to create, nor does receipt of it constitute, a lawyer– Lexology Getting The Deal Through is delighted to publish the 22nd edition of Telecoms & Media, client relationship. The publishers and which is available in print and online at www.lexology.com/gtdt. authors accept no responsibility for any Lexology Getting The Deal Through provides international expert analysis in key areas of acts or omissions contained herein. The law, practice and regulation for corporate counsel, cross-border legal practitioners, and company information provided was verified between directors and officers. May and June 2021. Be advised that this is Throughout this edition, and following the unique Lexology Getting The Deal Through format, a developing area. the same key questions are answered by leading practitioners in each of the jurisdictions featured. Lexology Getting The Deal Through titles are published annually in print. Please ensure you © Law Business Research Ltd 2021 are referring to the latest edition or to the online version at www.lexology.com/gtdt. -
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE June 20, 2000 to Intimidate the Press, Mr
June 20, 2000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE 11437 to protect those things we hold dear. In the name of those who died, we before his inauguration, there were dis- Quite often these volunteer depart- will continue the fight to pass gun turbing signs of government hostility ments are the only line of defense in safety measures. toward Radio Free Europe/Radio Lib- these rural communities. It’s time we I yield the floor. erty, evident in the harassment of provide them with the needed funds for f RFE/RL correspondent Andrei proper training and equipment to bet- Babitsky. ARREST OF VLADIMIR GUSINSKY ter protect their communities. I am encouraged to see that promi- I offer my sincere gratitude to our IN RUSSIA nent Russians have been speaking out Nation’s fire fighters who put their Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I about the arrest of Mr. Gusinsky, and lives on the line every day to protect rise today to express my deep concern that our Government is signaling its the property and safety of their neigh- about the recent arrest in Russia of concern too. I echo the New York bors. They too deserve a helping hand Vladimir Gusinsky and its negative im- Times editorial on June 15 that this is in their time of need. pact on press freedom and democracy ‘‘A Chilling Prosecution in Moscow.’’ I I commend Senators DODD and under the leadership of President would ask unanimous consent that this DEWINE for introducing this important Putin. piece, as well as similar editorials from legislation, and urge all my colleagues Mr. -
Treisman Silovarchs 9 10 06
Putin’s Silovarchs Daniel Treisman October 2006, Forthcoming in Orbis, Winter 2007 In the late 1990s, many Russians believed their government had been captured by a small group of business magnates known as “the oligarchs”. The most flamboyant, Boris Berezovsky, claimed in 1996 that seven bankers controlled fifty percent of the Russian economy. Having acquired massive oil and metals enterprises in rigged privatizations, these tycoons exploited Yeltsin’s ill-health to meddle in politics and lobby their interests. Two served briefly in government. Another, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, summed up the conventional wisdom of the time in a 1997 interview: “Politics is the most lucrative field of business in Russia. And it will be that way forever.”1 A decade later, most of the original oligarchs have been tripping over each other in their haste to leave the political stage, jettisoning properties as they go. From exile in London, Berezovsky announced in February he was liquidating his last Russian assets. A 1 Quoted in Andrei Piontkovsky, “Modern-Day Rasputin,” The Moscow Times, 12 November, 1997. fellow media magnate, Vladimir Gusinsky, long ago surrendered his television station to the state-controlled gas company Gazprom and now divides his time between Israel and the US. Khodorkovsky is in a Siberian jail, serving an eight-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion. Roman Abramovich, Berezovsky’s former partner, spends much of his time in London, where he bought the Chelsea soccer club in 2003. Rather than exile him to Siberia, the Kremlin merely insists he serve as governor of the depressed Arctic outpost of Chukotka—a sign Russia’s leaders have a sense of humor, albeit of a dark kind. -
Strong Men, Weak State: Power Ministry Officials and the Federal
Strong Men, Weak State Power Ministry Officials and the Federal Districts PONARS Policy Memo 284 Brian D. Taylor University of Oklahoma October 2002 Vladimir Putin's KGB past, strong state rhetoric, and specific policy decisions (Chechnya, the attacks on media oligarchs Boris Berezovskii and Vladimir Gusinskii, etc.) have heightened fears of the return to a police state in Russia. The creation of seven federal districts in May 2000, five of which were headed by police and military generals, seemed to provide further evidence of this authoritarian drift. Two and one half years later, we can now draw some conclusions about the extent to which Putin's federal reforms are based on the use of military and police power. Although some of the nightmare scenarios have not materialized, the degree to which power ministry officials dominate federal district structures is striking. Paradoxically, however, the presence of so many officers in these positions will ultimately weaken, rather than strengthen, Putin's efforts to build a strong state. In the twenty-first century, effective state administration relies as much on horizontal ties as on vertical ones. As a general rule, Russian officers lack the political skills and training required to create these ties. Russia's strong men are likely to create a weak state. Coloring the Regions Khaki "Power ministries" or "power structures" (silovie strukturi, or siloviki for personnel from these structures) are the catchall terms used to describe Russian government bodies whose personnel carry weapons or wear uniforms. There are more than a dozen such agencies in Russia. The three most important are generally considered to be the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), and the Federal Security Service (FSB). -
William R. Spiegelberger the Foreign Policy Research Institute Thanks the Carnegie Corporation for Its Support of the Russia Political Economy Project
Russia Political Economy Project William R. Spiegelberger The Foreign Policy Research Institute thanks the Carnegie Corporation for its support of the Russia Political Economy Project. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Author: William R. Spiegelberger Eurasia Program Leadership Director: Chris Miller Deputy Director: Maia Otarashvili Edited by: Thomas J. Shattuck Designed by: Natalia Kopytnik © 2019 by the Foreign Policy Research Institute April 2019 COVER: Designed by Natalia Kopytnik. Photography: Oleg Deripaska (World Economic Forum); St. Basil’s Cathedral (Adob Stock); Ruble (Adobe Stock); Vladimir Putin (kremlin.ru); Rusal logo (rusal.ru); United States Capitol (Adobe Stock; Viktor Vekselberg (Aleshru/Wikimedia Commons); Alumnium rolls (Adobe Stock); Trade War (Adobe Stock). Our Mission The Foreign Policy Research Institute is dedicated to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the foreign policy and national security challenges facing the United States. It seeks to educate the public, teach teachers, train students, and offer ideas to advance U.S. national interests based on a nonpartisan, geopolitical perspective that illuminates contemporary international affairs through the lens of history, geography, and culture. Offering Ideas In an increasingly polarized world, we pride ourselves on our tradition of nonpartisan scholarship. We count among our ranks over 100 affiliated scholars located throughout the nation and the world who appear regularly in national and international media, testify on Capitol Hill, and are consulted by U.S. -
Russian NGO Shadow Report on the Observance of the Convention
Russian NGO Shadow Report on the Observance of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by the Russian Federation for the period from 2001 to 2005 Moscow, May 2006 CONTENT Introduction .......................................................................................................................................4 Summary...........................................................................................................................................5 Article 2 ..........................................................................................................................................14 Measures taken to improve the conditions in detention facilities .............................................14 Measures to improve the situation in penal institutions and protection of prisoners’ human rights ..........................................................................................................................................15 Measures taken to improve the situation in temporary isolation wards of the Russian Ministry for Internal Affairs and other custodial places ..........................................................................16 Measures taken to prevent torture and cruel and depredating treatment in work of police and other law-enforcement institutions ............................................................................................16 Measures taken to prevent cruel treatment in the armed forces ................................................17 -
The Long Arm of Vladimir Putin: How the Kremlin Uses Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties to Target Its Opposition Abroad
The Long Arm of Vladimir Putin: How the Kremlin Uses Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties to Target its Opposition Abroad Russia Studies Centre Policy Paper No. 5 (2015) Dr Andrew Foxall The Henry Jackson Society June 2015 THE LONG ARM OF VLADIMIR PUTIN Summary Over the past 15 years, there has been – and continues to be – significant interchange between Western and Russian law-enforcement agencies, even in cases where Russia’s requests for legal assistance have been politicaLLy motivated. Though it is the Kremlin’s warfare that garners the West’s attention, its ‘lawfare’ poses just as significant a threat because it undermines the rule of law. One of the chief weapons in Russia’s ‘lawfare’ is the so-called ‘Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty’ (MLAT), a bilateral agreement that defines how countries co-operate on legal matters. TypicaLLy, the Kremlin will fabricate a criminaL case against an individual, and then request, through the MLAT system, the co-operation of Western countries in its attempts to persecute said person. Though Putin’s regime has been mounting, since 2012, an escalating campaign against opposition figures, the Kremlin’s use of ‘lawfare’ is nothing new. Long before then, Russia requested – and received – legal assistance from Western countries on a number of occasions, in its efforts to extradite opposition figures back to Russia. Western countries have complied with Russia’s requests for legal assistance in some of the most brazen and high-profile politicaLLy motivated cases in recent history, incLuding: individuals linked with Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the Yukos affair; Bill Browder and others connecteD to Hermitage Capital Management; and AnDrey Borodin and Bank of Moscow. -
RUSSIA WATCH No.2, August 2000 Graham T
RUSSIA WATCH No.2, August 2000 Graham T. Allison, Director Editor: Ben Dunlap Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project Production Director: Melissa C..Carr John F. Kennedy School of Government Researcher: Emily Van Buskirk Harvard University Production Assistant: Emily Goodhue SPOTLIGHT ON RUSSIA’S OLIGARCHS On July 28 Russian President Vladimir Putin met with 21 of Russia’s most influ- ential businessmen to “redefine the relationship between the state and big busi- ness.” At that meeting, Putin assured the tycoons that privatization results would remained unchallenged, but stopped far short of offering a general amnesty for crimes committed in that process. He opened the meeting by saying: “I only want to draw your attention straightaway to the fact that you have yourselves formed this very state, to a large extent through political and quasi-political structures under your control.” Putin assured the oligarchs that recent investi- The Kremlin roundtable comes at a crucial time for the oligarchs. In the last gations were not part of a policy of attacking big business, but said he would not try to restrict two months, many of them have found themselves subjects of investigations prosecutors who launch such cases. by the General Prosecutor’s Office, Tax Police, and Federal Security Serv- ice. After years of cozying up to the government, buying up the state’s most valuable resources in noncompetitive bidding, receiving state-guaranteed loans with little accountability, and flouting the country’s tax laws with imp u- nity, the heads of some of Russia’s leading financial-industrial groups have been thrust under the spotlight.