DOCSLIB.ORG

Executive Intelligence Review, Volume 25, Number 42, October 23

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

EIR Founder and Contributing Editor: Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. Editorial Board: Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., Muriel Mirak-Weissbach, Antony Papert, Gerald From the Managing Editor Rose, Dennis Small, Edward Spannaus, Nancy Spannaus, Jeffrey Steinberg, William Wertz Associate Editor: Susan Welsh Managing Editors: John Sigerson, he world cannot afford a loss of nerve, a failure of command on Ronald Kokinda T Science Editor: Marjorie Mazel Hecht the part of the United States, as, at any given moment, the world may Special Projects: Mark Burdman be just seconds away from the disintegration of the global financial Book Editor: Katherine Notley Advertising Director: Marsha Freeman system. That, of course, means leadership from the Office of the Pres- Circulation Manager: Stanley Ezrol ident. INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORS: The LaRouche movement is defending that Office and President Asia and Africa: Linda de Hoyos Counterintelligence: Jeffrey Steinberg, Clinton from British-inspired attacks whose purpose is to emasculate Paul Goldstein the power of the United States to lead the world into a New Bretton Economics: Marcia Merry Baker, William Engdahl Woods system. As we go to press, a major rally is scheduled at History: Anton Chaitkin the White House on Oct. 17, at which signatures on the petition Ibero-America: Robyn Quijano, Dennis Small Law: Edward Spannaus “Americans to Save the Presidency” will be delivered to the White Russia and Eastern Europe: House. Rachel Douglas, Konstantin George United States: Debra Freeman, Suzanne Rose But, it is also necessary for President Clinton to take on the finan- INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS: cial establishment. In this week’s Feature, Lyndon LaRouche picks Bogota´: Jose´ Restrepo up where he left off with “Time to Tell the Truth” (last week’s issue), Bonn: George Gregory, Rainer Apel Buenos Aires: Gerardo Tera´n in addressing Clinton’s weaknesses. The President cannot simply Caracas: David Ramonet wait for favorable opportunities to act, but must himself create them. Copenhagen: Poul Rasmussen Houston: Harley Schlanger As a result of the failure to act in the G-7, G-22, and IMF-World Bank Lima: Sara Maduen˜o meetings in Washington in early October, the world has entered a Melbourne: Robert Barwick Mexico City: Hugo Lo´pez Ochoa more critical, reverse-leverage phase of global collapse. Clinton’s Milan: Leonardo Servadio “fatal, or nearly fatal political blunder during the period of that confer- New Delhi: Susan Maitra Paris: Christine Bierre ence, was his loss of nerve in a crucial situation, a situation not of his Rio de Janeiro: Silvia Palacios making, but a situation occurring ‘on his watch,’ occurring at a time Stockholm: Michael Ericson United Nations, N.Y.C.: Leni Rubinstein when the commanding responsibility lay in his hands,” says Washington, D.C.: William Jones LaRouche. Wiesbaden: Go¨ran Haglund As the world knows, LaRouche would show no such weakness. EIR (ISSN 0273-6314) is published weekly (50 issues) Our cover story (see National), reports the growing demand for Clin- except for the second week of July, and the last week of December by EIR News Service Inc., 317 Pennsylvania ton to name LaRouche as an economic adviser. In Economics, we Ave., S.E., 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20003. (202) 544-7010. For subscriptions: (703) 777-9451. have an exclusive interview with leading Russian economist Dr. World Wide Web site: http://www.larouchepub.com e-mail: [email protected] Sergei Glazyev, who calls for new economic leadership in the European Headquarters: Executive Intelligence Review United States. Nachrichtenagentur GmbH, Postfach 2308, D-65013 Wiesbaden, Otto von Guericke Ring 3, D-65205 In Strategic Studies, we dispel more of the myths of U.S. postwar Wiesbaden, Federal Republic of Germany Tel: (6122) 9160. Homepage: http://www.eirna.com history—related to the role of John J. McCloy—which is crucial to E-mail: [email protected] Executive Directors: Anno Hellenbroich, Michael Liebig understanding the mess that the United States is in today. In Denmark: EIR, Post Box 2613, 2100 Copenhagen ØE, Tel. 35-43 60 40 In International, we update British-instigated wars (see the article In Mexico: EIR, R´ıo Tiber No. 87, 5o piso. Colonia on Ariel Sharon, in particular), which are also designed to destroy the Cuauhte´moc. Me´xico, DF, CP 06500. Tel: 208-3016 y 533- 26-43. power of the United States to act for the good. Japan subscription sales: O.T.O. Research Corporation, Takeuchi Bldg., 1-34-12 Takatanobaba, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo 160. Tel: (03) 3208-7821. Copyright © 1998 EIR News Service. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission strictly prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Washington D.C., and at an additional mailing offices. Domestic subscriptions: 3 months—$125, 6 months—$225, 1 year—$396, Single issue—$10 Postmaster: Send all address changes to EIR, P.O. Box 17390, Washington, D.C. 20041-0390. EIRContents Interviews Strategic Studies Economics 6 Sergei Glazyev 48 How our world was nearly 4 After financial crash, Dr. Glazyev, the prominent Russian destroyed Russia acts on food supply economist, outlines the changes Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. and banks needed in Russia and the world introduces the story of Wall Street The Primakov government is economy. lackey John J. McCloy, the interacting with the fatally ill global “sorcerer’s apprentice” who, in financial system, but Russia cannot 12 Erik Hoffmeyer concert with Nikita Khrushchev, delay the adoption of emergency The recently retired Governor of and much of the London and Wall economic measures on the part of Denmark’s Central Bank admits, Street establishments, collaborated the state, before this winter. “We now have a recession or worse in a wildly utopian, one-worldist in a large part of the world.” project, aimed at eliminating the 6 ‘Serious changes’ needed in sovereignty of all nation-states. Russia and the world 40 Viveca Hazboun Their collaboration is the watershed of every principal catastrophe economy Dr. Hazboun, director of the the An interview with Sergei Glazyev. Guidance and Training Center for suffered by the U.S.A., among others, since the Cuba Missile the Child and Family in Bethlehem, 8 Global reverse-leverage is the only female child psychiatrist Crisis. in Palestine. collapse is under way 51 How Mr. Fixit nearly wrecked the world 9 U.S. exports, industry nose- Book Reviews Stuart Rosenblatt reviews Kai dive under ‘Asian phase’ of Bird’s biography of John J. world crisis 51 How Mr. Fixit nearly McCloy, The Chairman. wrecked the world 10 Indonesia nears brink of The Chairman, by Kai Bird. 58 Supplement I: British disintegration aimed for end of Germany, not Nazism 12 Danish former Central Departments Bank chief on crisis 60 Supplement II: Churchill’s An interview with Erik Hoffmeyer. 15 Report from Bonn plans for World War III A lot of ugly trouble lies ahead. 13 Mexican government panicked over economy Correction: In “ ‘Bailouts’ Won’t 45 Australia Dossier Work: The Whole Financial System Off in La-La Land. 14 Blair becomes unhinged as Is Disintegrating,” in last week’s economy crumbles issue, Figures 2 and 4 should have 72 Editorial been reversed. Kissinger spills some beans. 16 Business Briefs Photo and graphics credits: Cover, pages 7, 19, 37, EIRNS/ Stuart Lewis. Page 20, EIRNS. Page 27, EIRNS/Carlos de Hoyos. Page 49, U.S. National Archives. Page 55, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Page 57, ©Simon and Schuster Volume 25, Number 42, October 23, 1998 Feature International National 18 Paul Krugman’s cargo-cult 32 Cardoso wins elections in economics Brazil . sort of By Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. “What The narrow re-election of President will occur during the temporary Cardoso reflects not a popular phase which comes next, after the mandate, but nationwide discontent, October 12-15 interval of transition, as the financial storm begins to hit no one knows with certainty, and full-force. almost no one could imagine. What is certain, is that all that assortment 34 ‘Balkan graveyards are of ‘crisis-management’ tinkering, as filled with President proposed by Tony Blair, from Schiller Institute demonstrators at the Capitol Build- Milosevic’s broken ing in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 13, the International France, from circles around former Day of Action, call for President Clinton to turn to Chancellor Helmut Schmidt in promises’ Documentation: Commentaries LaRouche, and for the nation to rally to the President. Germany, and Clinton, will from the Kosovan press demand accomplish nothing, but to worsen intervention from NATO to stop the 62 Name LaRouche Clinton’s the situation much more than had genocide. economic adviser, say they made no such efforts; already, the effect of such tinkering has been thousands worldwide Rallies, demonstrations, and town to divert discussion of real solutions 36 Sharon appointment in meetings were held on Oct. 13 in from the agenda.” Israel makes death of Oslo Accords official North and South America, Europe, A dossier by Joseph Brewda. and Australia, responding to a call issued by Helga Zepp-LaRouche. 40 ‘We are greater than the pain’ 64 Starr’s quest to seize the An interview with Dr. Viveca Paula Jones case Hazboun. 66 CIA Inspector General 42 Unity conference challenges confirms Bush-North ties to silence on Rwanda cocaine Contras Documentation: Common You read it first in EIR’s September Declaration of the Rwandan 1996 Special Report, “Would a Democratic Opposition. President Bob Dole Prosecute Drug Super-Kingpin George Bush?” 46 International Intelligence Now, Volume II of the declassified report of the CIA Inspector General documents the links between the Contras and major Colombian drug- trafficking organizations. 68 EO 12333 and the Contra drug-running cover-up Executive Order 12333, signed in 1981, permitted U.S. intelligence agencies to enter into secret contracts with “private companies or institutions”—the core of the Contra operation.
Recommended publications
  • Unsuccessful Orthodoxy in Russian Heartlands

    Unsuccessful Orthodoxy in Russian Heartlands

    Religion, State & Society, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2000 Unsuccessful Orthodoxy in Russian Heartlands FELIX CORLEY The Russian Orthodox Church may be the dominant and most visible religious group in the Russian Federation, but its performance in different regions of the country has been patchy. Even in regions that share common features - geographic, ethnic, economic and social - the Church has made a big impact in some, but little headway in others. Here we look at how the Church has fared in the postsoviet era in four Russian heartland provinces - Astrakhan', Yekaterinburg, Saratov and Omsk. I In all these regions the Orthodox Church has failed to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the end of restrictions on religious activity a decade ago and it is now suffering because of what many perceive as the authoritarian and backward-looking leadership offered by the local bishops. The article looks at what common features the Orthodox Church in these regions has and examines the consequences of failure to present a dynamic witness. Saratov1 Saratov had a vibrant circle of Orthodox intellectuals by the end of the 1980s, thanks in part to the benign influence of the local hierarch, Archbishop Pimen (Khmel­ evsky). Consecrated bishop in 1965 and appointed to the diocese of Saratov and Volgograd (as it was then), Pimen had had a chequered career, joining the Zhirovitsy Monastery in Belorussia during the Nazi occupation. In the 1950s - in a sign of trust from the Soviet authorities - he served in the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. On his return to Russia he served in the Trinity-St Sergius Monastery in Zagorsk, for some of the time as deputy head.
  • The Meltdown of the Russian Federation in the Early 1990S Nationalist Myth-Building and the Urals Republic Project Alexander Kuznetsov

    The Meltdown of the Russian Federation in the Early 1990S Nationalist Myth-Building and the Urals Republic Project Alexander Kuznetsov

    The Meltdown of the Russian Federation in the Early 1990s Nationalist Myth-Building and the Urals Republic Project Alexander Kuznetsov Abstract: In the early 1990s after the collapse of the USSR, the new Russian state faced strong nationalist claims for sovereignty and increased autonomy from the side of regional elites. These nationalist challenges at the sub-national level were seriously considered by many experts to be a potential cause for the further breakup of Russia into a number of new independent states. The nationalist movements in ethnic republics like Chechnya, Tatarstan and Sakha-Yakutia, and their contribution to possible scenario of the disintegration of the Russian Federation, have been researched frequently in post- Soviet-studies literature. However, the examination of the impact of nationalistic ideas in ethnically Russian regions (oblasts) at the beginning of the 1990s has not received the same level of attention from political scientists. The Sverdlovsk oblast is a case study for this research. In the early 1990s, the creation of the Urals republic began in this region. This paper argues that the Sverdlovsk oblast’s claims for increased autonomy included elements of myth-construction within a sub-state nationalist ideology. The first section of this paper briefly contextualizes the events that occurred during the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s that led to the growth of strong sub-nationalist movements in post-Communist Russia. The second section gives details of the Urals republic project, launched in the Sverdlovsk oblast in 1993, and defines the presence of nationalist myth- making elements in this regional movement.
  • Regional Elections and Political Stability in Russia : E Pluribus Unum

    Regional Elections and Political Stability in Russia : E Pluribus Unum

    TITLE : REGIONAL ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL STABILITY IN RUSSIA : E PLURIBUS UNUM AUTHOR : JEFFREY W . HAHN, Villanova University THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FO R EURASIAN AND EAST EUROPEAN RESEARC H TITLE VIII PROGRA M 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N .W . Washington, D .C . 20036 LEGAL NOTICE The Government of the District of Columbia has certified an amendment of th e Articles of Incorporation of the National Council for Soviet and East Europea n Research changing the name of the Corporation to THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FO R EURASIANANDEAST EUROPEAN RESEARCH, effective on June 9, 1997. Grants , contracts and all other legal engagements of and with the Corporation made unde r its former name are unaffected and remain in force unless/until modified in writin g by the parties thereto . PROJECT INFORMATION : ' CONTRACTOR : Villanova Universit y PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR : Jeffrey W. Hah n COUNCIL CONTRACT NUMBER : 812-06 g DATE : September 25, 1997 COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Individual researchers retain the copyright on their work products derived from researc h funded by contract or grant from the National Council for Eurasian and East Europea n Research. However, the Council and the United States Government have the right t o duplicate and disseminate, in written and electronic form, this Report submitted to th e Council under this Contract or Grant, as follows : Such dissemination may be made by th e Council solely (a) for its own internal use, and (b) to the United States Government (1) fo r its own internal use ; (2) for further dissemination to domestic, international and foreign governments, entities and individuals to serve official United States Government purposes ; and (3) for dissemination in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act or other law or policy of the United States Government granting the public rights of access to document s held by the United States Government .
  • Medvedev and the Governors

    Medvedev and the Governors

    RUSSIAN ANALYTICAL DIGEST No. 86, 16 November 2010 2 ANALYSIS Medvedev and the Governors By Darrell Slider, Tampa Abstract Medvedev’s removal of important governors, culminating with Moscow’s Yuri Luzhkov, marks a departure from the more incumbent-friendly policies of Putin. This new cadre policy suggests a confidence that Mos- cow can pick regional leaders that will be just as effective as their predecessors. However, the new leaders are managers rather than politicians and it remains unclear that they will have the necessary skills to deal with the challenges they face. A Turning Point in Center–Periphery of allies in key administrative and economic positions. Relations Questions were rarely raised about corruption or vio- The replacement of Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov with lations of federal laws in these regions, which made a Sergei Sobianin marks a watershed in Russian politics. mockery of justifications sometimes given for the impo- While it was unlikely that Luzhkov would have been sition of Putin’s “vertical.” reappointed when his term expired in July 2011, his early departure changes much in the political dynam- Medvedev’s New Direction ics of the country. It sent a message that even the most What is new about the Medvedev presidency is that he powerful regional leader could be removed from power has been willing to abrogate Putin’s deals with regional in short order, and Dmitry Medvedev made this point “heavyweights”. The new approach debuted in Febru- explicitly in Shanghai when answering questions about ary 2009 with the forced resignation of Orel province’s his decision. Yegor Stroev, the oldest and one of the most honored of The legal framework allowing the president to dis- Russia’s regional leaders.
  • Russia Missile Chronology

    Russia Missile Chronology

    Russia Missile Chronology 2007-2000 NPO MASHINOSTROYENIYA | KBM | MAKEYEV DESIGN BUREAU | MITT | ZLATOUST MACHINE-BUILDING PLANT KHRUNICHEV | STRELA PRODUCTION ASSOCIATION | AAK PROGRESS | DMZ | NOVATOR | TsSKB-PROGRESS MKB RADUGA | ENERGOMASH | ISAYEV KB KHIMMASH | PLESETSK TEST SITE | SVOBODNYY COSMODROME 1999-1996 KRASNOYARSK MACHINE-BUILDING PLANT | MAKEYEV DESIGN BUREAU | MITT | AAK PROGRESS NOVATOR | SVOBODNYY COSMODROME Last update: March 2009 This annotated chronology is based on the data sources that follow each entry. Public sources often provide conflicting information on classified military programs. In some cases we are unable to resolve these discrepancies, in others we have deliberately refrained from doing so to highlight the potential influence of false or misleading information as it appeared over time. In many cases, we are unable to independently verify claims. Hence in reviewing this chronology, readers should take into account the credibility of the sources employed here. Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation 2007-2000: NPO MASHINOSTROYENIYA 28 August 2007 NPO MASHINOSTROYENIYA TO FORM CORPORATION NPO Mashinostroyeniya is set to form a vertically-integrated corporation, combining producers and designers of various supply and support elements. The new holding will absorb OAO Strela Production Association (PO Strela), OAO Permsky Zavod Mashinostroitel, OAO NPO Elektromekhaniki, OAO NII Elektromekhaniki, OAO Avangard, OAO Uralskiy NII Kompositsionnykh Materialov, and OAO Kontsern Granit-Elektron. While these entities have acted in coordination for some time, formation of the new corporation has yet to be finalized.
  • Center-Periphery Bargaining in Russia : Assessing Prospects for Federal Stabilit Y

    Center-Periphery Bargaining in Russia : Assessing Prospects for Federal Stabilit Y

    TITLE: CENTER-PERIPHERY BARGAINING IN RUSSIA : ASSESSING PROSPECTS FOR FEDERAL STABILIT Y AUTHOR: STEVEN L . SOLNICK, Columbia University THE NATIONAL COUNCI L FOR SOVIET AND EAST EUROPEAN RESEARC H TITLE V/// PROGRA M 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N .W . Washington, D .C. 20036 PROJECT INFORMATION : 1 CONTRACTOR : Columbia University PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR : Steven L . Solnick COUNCIL CONTRACT NUMBER : 810-08 DATE : May 30, 199 6 COPYRIGHT INFORMATIO N Individual researchers retain the copyright on work products derived from research funded b y Council Contract. The Council and the U.S. Government have the right to duplicate written reports and other materials submitted under Council Contract and to distribute such copies within th e Council and U.S. Government for their own use, and to draw upon such reports and materials fo r their own studies; but the Council and U.S. Government do not have the right to distribute, o r make such reports and materials available, outside the Council or U.S. Government without th e written consent of the authors, except as may be required under the provisions of the Freedom o f Information Act 5 U.S.C. 552, or other applicable law . The work leading to this report was supported in part by contract funds provided by the Nationa l Councilfor Soviet and East European Research, made available by the U . S. Department of State under Title VIII (the Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of 1983, as amended). The analysis and interpretations contained in the report are those of the author(s) . CENTER-PERIPHERY BARGAINING IN RUSSIA : ASSESSING PROSPECTS FOR FEDERAL STABILIT Y Steven L.
  • “Dough” and Saving the Machine: Lessons from Tatarstan

    “Dough” and Saving the Machine: Lessons from Tatarstan

    GETTING THE “DOUGH” AND SAVING THE MACHINE: LESSONS FROM TATARSTAN GULNAZ SHARAFUTDINOVA1 THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Abstract: This case study looks at the evolution of the political machine built in the Republic of Tatarstan, one of the notable subnational units of the Russian Federation. The study reviews the key features of the republican political system as it was constructed under its first president Mintimer Shaimiev and explores the sources of its durability, explaining the longevity of the system after Shaimiev’s departure. The study highlights the role of center-periphery interaction and the flexible tactics employed by the local elites with the aim of taking advantage of the changing political environment and opportunities arising in the federal center. To ensure the survival of its political machine, Tatarstan is increasingly relying on federal funds to finance regional and national mega-projects undertaken in the republic. bservers have long noted that local politics vary considerably both in Onationally democratic and authoritarian settings.2 The greater system- atic integration of subnational and multi-level research into comparative politics is a more recent endeavor and today there is a growing body of scholarship that makes use of subnational analysis in Brazil, Argentina, Russia, India, China, and other countries.3 The recent literature on subnational political diversity can be roughly Gulnaz Sharafutdinova is a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, 1957 E Street, NW, Suite 412, Washington, DC 20052, [email protected]. 1 The author thanks two anonymous reviewers and the journal editor for invaluable comments on an earlier draft of this article.
  • Drugs, Borders, State Sovereignty

    Drugs, Borders, State Sovereignty

    © COPYRIGHT by Maureen Carothers 2013 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Carothers DEDICATION To my wonderful parents, John and Frances, whose support helped me overcome numerous obstacles to finish graduate school. DRUGS, BORDERS, AND STATE SOVEREIGNTY: A CASE STUDY OF EKATERINBURG Maureen Carothers ABSTRACT This thesis will examine the interdependent relationship of drugs, border security, and sovereignty following the 1991 collapse of communism in Russia and the 2001 US-led overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Regime changes, particularly in Russia, led to a sharp decline in state revenues and subsequent loss of capacity to adequately fund border control institutions. The decline of border control mechanisms resulted in porous borders and fewer barriers for narcotics traffickers. In turn, drug traffickers weakened border security institutions through the corruption and co-optation of border guards. The thesis will use a historical case study analysis of Ekaterinburg and draw on data from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, World Bank, and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The study will conclude with a discussion of the concept of the sovereignty, and how trans-border phenomena, such as the drug trade, pose a challenge for territorial-based definitions of sovereignty. ii Carothers ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the contributions of friends, colleagues, mentors and professors. To Kristin Lagerquist, Ann Edmonds, and Borislav Chernev, whose razor- sharp minds and critiques propelled me forward during periods of immense frustration and self-doubt. To Gerry Vans and Megan Oliver, who gave me time off from work to pursue this endeavor, and helped me remain solvent during graduate school.
  • Varying Reception of Migrants in Russian Cities

    Varying Reception of Migrants in Russian Cities

    A WARY WELCOME: Varying Reception of Migrants in Russian Cities Mary Elizabeth Malinkin WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a living national memo- rial to President Wilson. The Center’s mission is to commemorate the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson by providing a link between the worlds of ideas and policy, while fostering research, study, discussion, and collaboration among a broad spectrum of individuals concerned with policy and scholar- ship in national and international affairs. Supported by public and private funds, the Center is a nonpartisan institution engaged in the study of national and world affairs. It establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. Conclusions or opinions expressed in Center pub- lications and programs are those of the authors and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center staff, fellows, trustees, advisory groups, or any individuals or organizations that provide financial support to the Center. The Center is the publisher of The Wilson Quarterly and home of Woodrow Wilson Center Press, dialogue radio and television. For more information about the Center’s activities and publications, please visit us on the web at www.wilsoncenter.org. Jane Harman, Director, President and CEO Board of Trustees Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Chairman of the Board Sander R. Gerber, Vice Chairman Public Board Members: James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress; John Kerry, Secretary, U.S. Department of State; G. Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution; Arne Dun- can, Secretary, U.S.
  • The Russian Economy in March 2000

    The Russian Economy in March 2000

    THE RUSSIAN ECONOMY IN MARCH 2000 Keith Bush Director, Russian and Eurasian Program - Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC Highlights • From 1989 through 1998, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the RSFSR, then Russian Federation, declined each year apart from a 0.8 percent growth in 1997. In 1999, a growth of 3.2 percent was claimed, primarily attributable to the import substitution effect after the devaluation of August 1998, the increase in value of Russia’s oil exports, and some restructuring. The 1999 GDP was about 58 percent of the 1989 level. At an official rate of exchange of 28.5 rubles to the dollar, the 1999 GDP of 4,476 billion rubles was valued at about $158 billion: at purchasing power parity, the Russian GDP was estimated by the World Bank at around $630 billion. • The IMF released the first of seven $640 million tranches of its $4.5 billion standby loan on July 30. The second may not be released before April at the earliest because, the Fund maintains, the Russian side has not fully met the commitments it made in the July 13, 1999 joint memorandum of the Russian Government and Central Bank. • The federal budget for the year 2000 envisages revenues of 797.2 billion rubles ($24.9 billion, or 14.9 percent of GDP), expenditures at 855.1 billion rubles ($26.7 billion, or 16 percent of GDP), with a primary surplus of 3.2 percent of GDP and an overall deficit of 1.1 percent of a GDP of 5,350 billion rubles ($167.2 billion).
  • After Primakov the Evolving Context of Russian National Security Policy

    After Primakov the Evolving Context of Russian National Security Policy

    Cahiers du monde russe Russie - Empire russe - Union soviétique et États indépendants 40/4 | 1999 Varia After Primakov The evolving context of Russian national security policy Stephen Blank Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/monderusse/31 DOI: 10.4000/monderusse.31 ISSN: 1777-5388 Publisher Éditions de l’EHESS Printed version Date of publication: 1 November 1999 Number of pages: 695-722 ISBN: 2-7132-1341-X ISSN: 1252-6576 Electronic reference Stephen Blank, « After Primakov », Cahiers du monde russe [Online], 40/4 | 1999, Online since 15 January 2007, Connection on 20 April 2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/monderusse/31 ; DOI : 10.4000/monderusse.31 2011 STEPHEN BLANK AFTER PRIMAKOV The evolving context of Russian national security policy FACING IMMINENT IMPEACHMENT, on May 12, 1999 President Boris Yeltsin replaced Prime Minister Evgenii Primakov with Minister of the Interior, Sergei Stepashin. Although Stepashin’s future policies were then undefined, Yeltsin’s action reveals much about the context of Russian national security policy. First of all, Yeltsin elevated his personal security and power above any concern for Russia’s stability or security and consciously risked using force to do so. In this respect he resembles his opponents. By firing Primakov and installing a new cabinet Yeltsin showed his determination to retain unchecked power at the expense of the state’s stabilization and thereby reaffirmed the primacy of the personal, private, factional, and sectoral interests of Russia’s elites over any concept of a national interest. Yeltsin’s actions, like those of his rivals, reflect what many observers have called the general privatization of the state.1 That condition denotes a government of men, not laws, and thus arbitrary rule.
  • The New Federal Structure: More Centralized, Or More of the Same?

    The New Federal Structure: More Centralized, Or More of the Same?

    The New Federal Structure: More Centralized, or More of the Same? Steve Solnik October 2000 PONARS Policy Memo 161 Columbia University Almost immediately after being sworn in as president in May 2000, Vladimir Putin began restructuring the institutions that regulate center-periphery relations in the Russian Federation. In part, Putin has expressed a straightforward concern that the "vertical" dimension of power must be strengthened if federal laws are to be implemented. More subtly, however, he has also warned of the dangers of a fragmented legal or economic space in Russia. Putin has argued that foreign investors will continue to shun Russia unless it presents itself as a unified market and an arena in which property rights are equally respected in all regions. To these stated ends, Putin has begun dismantling the patchwork of bilateral agreements and treaties concluded by former President Yeltsin with many of Russia's subnational units (i.e., oblasts, krais, and republics.) These agreements, beginning with the 1994 bilateral "treaty" with Tatarstan, allowed some regions to opt out of the unified national tax system, to place conditions on the service of conscripts from their territory, to claim exemptions from various clauses in the federal constitution, and to enjoy special fiscal benefits. One of Putin's first acts as president was to pressure Bashkortostan's president Murtaza Rakhimov to relinquish that republic's special tax status and to reintegrate itself into a unified national fiscal system. According to Putin, President Mintimer Shaimiev of Tatarstan similarly agreed to forego some of the benefits granted to the republic in the landmark 1994 treaty.