Putin
Urged to Reject Law Amendments
Assoicated Press, By Eric Engleman, November 20, 2002
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's leading news organizations,
including state television, urged President Vladimir
Putin on Wednesday to reject tough new restrictions
on terrorism coverage adopted by parliament following
the Moscow theater siege.
SPS
Pins Siege Deaths to Negligence
Moscow Times, By Natalia Yefimova, November 20, 2002 After conducting its own probe into the
handling of last month's hostage crisis, the Union
of Right Forces party, or SPS, blamed the death of
128 captives on officials in charge of organizing
the rescue effort, the party's leadership said at
an extraordinary meeting Tuesday evening.
Warmer
ties with NATO help quell Russia's concerns about
expansion
Associated Press, By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, November
19, 2002 MOSCOW - In what was
Russia's worst nightmare just a few years ago, NATO
is set to expand into former Soviet turf this week,
yet the Kremlin's reaction is remarkably calm, reflecting
the new, friendly relationship with the alliance.
Why
Doesn’t the Budget Allocate Expenditures on
War Separately?
Novaya Gazeta, November 28, 2002
Such a situation has developed since the first military
campaign in Chechnya. At the time there considerable
debate about the need to introduce a separate budget
item on [the war in] Chechnya. Unfortunately, however,
even then there were already a considerable number
of opponents to such transparency. Nobody wants to
disclose the exact figure for expenditures.
Russia:
Hostage Crisis Draws Putin And Yavlinsky Closer Together
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, By Gregory Feifer,
25 November 2002 Many expected that Moscow's hostage crisis
last month would shake up politics in Russia. But
few could have predicted that President Vladimir Putin
would come out lavishing praise on a former political
adversary, Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky,
who helped negotiate with the hostage takers. The
Yabloko chief had long been a major thorn in the Kremlin's
side. Now, however, he appears to have joined its
ranks as an informal adviser.
Russian
Lawmakers OK Media Limits
Associated Press, By Steve Gutterman, November 13,
2002
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian lawmakers approved media law
amendments Wednesday that critics charge would severely
curb coverage of anti-terrorist operations and prohibit
news outlets from carrying rebel statements. Presidential
approval is still needed to make the changes law.
Yavlinsky
calls untimely the Moscow conference of supporters
of talks with Maskhadov
Interfax, November 9, 2002
MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax) - Leader of the Yabloko party
Grigory Yavlinskyhas called inappropriate the timing
of the conference For the Termination of War and a
Peace Settlement in the Chechen Republic, which is
being held in Moscow on Saturday.
Russia's
upper house of parliament approves restrictive media
amendments
Associated Press, By Steve Gutterman, November 13,
2002
MOSCOW - Russia's upper house of parliament on Wednesday
approved new amendments to the media law, paving the
way for presidential approval of legislation that
would severely curb news coverage of anti-terrorist
operations and prohibit the media from carrying rebel
statements.
Duma
Deputy Mitrokhin to Fight for Evacuation of Mayak
Area Bellona,October 25, 2002
MOSCOW - If you ask Yury Ryzhkov, press secretary
for the Mayak Chemical Combine in the Urals town of
Ozersk — birthplace of the Soviet atomic bomb
project and home to Russia's single working radioactive
waste reprocessing plant — he will tell you
there are fewer better places to live.
"Good
Tsar" as a Risk Factor
Moscow News, By Grigory Yavlinsky, November 20-26,
2002
This article was finished several days before the
Nord-Ost tragedy. The hostage stand-off and everything
that happened around it shook society. Yet, in less
than a week the requiem gave way to political bravura.
The country was swept by a wave of flag-waving and
even militarist hysteria that drowned any calls for
a sober analysis of the political situation. Meanwhile,
far from disappearing, the need for such analysis
has become even more pressing...
Putin
Was Advised to Pardon the Press
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, By Lidia Andrusenko and Ivan
Rodin, November 21, 2002
Next week Vladimir Putin must sign amendments to the
law on the media passed by the Duma and approved by
the Federation Council. Or veto this bill which, corrected
by the deputies and senators, imposes considerable
restraints on a journalist’s freedom of speech.
The President has to make a difficult choice: either
to appear before the public (especially Western) as
the head of state who actually introduced censorship
in the country, or remain a democrat in spite of everything...
There
is Such a Party - YABLOKO
Grigory Yavlinsky: Slightly Right of Centre
Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Interview with Grigory Yavlinsky,
November 20, 2002
Grigory Yavlinsky is the first participant in the
[“Leader”] project. Alexander Arkhangelsky
(Kultura television channel), Sergey Buntman (Ekho
Moskvy), Jill Doherty (CNN television network), Vitaly
Dymarsky (Rossiiskaya Gazeta), and Kseniya Larina
(Ekho Moskvy) talked to Yabloko's leader.
Housing
and Communal Sector Reforms Postponed by Yavlinsky
gazeta.ru, By Marina Sokolovskaya, November 19, 2002
The first reading of the draft law on the fundamentals
of the federal housing policy has been postponed.
The State Duma Council refused to discuss the draft
at its session on Tuesday, let alone to include it
in the agenda of this week's plenary session even
after the president's opinion on the law became known.
Thus, one of the most important issues – housing
reform - has been put on hold again.
Russia's
military reforms
Progress amid chaos?
There are signs that the Kremlin may at last start
overhauling Russia's army
The Economist (UK), November 16-22, 2002
COULD the hostage crisis in a Moscow theatre two weeks
ago have produced good news? Boris Nemtsov certainly
thinks so. Three days after the rescue that killed
not only most of the Chechen separatists but also
around 120 of their hostages, President Vladimir Putin
spoke of a new role for Russia's army in the fight
against terrorism. Some read that as a sign that he
would step up the war in Chechnya. But Mr Nemtsov,
leader of the opposition Union of Right Forces, thinks
the opposite: that by drawing attention to the army's
failure in Chechnya, Mr Putin will press the generals
harder for a sorely-needed military reform.
YABLOKO
holds demonstration near the Federation Council
Gazeta.ru, November 13, 2002
Existing economic mechanisms only achieve the very
narrow goal of maintaining the present The The Moscow
police breaks up small demonstration by YABLOKO activists
against the amendments to the law on the mass media.
YABLOKO's
Position on the act of terror in Moscow on October
23-26, 2002
(A speech made by Grigory Yavlinsky at a session of
the the Presidium of the Bureau of YABLOKO's Federal
Council, October 28, 2002. Supported by members of
the Presidium).
A terrible tragedy has taken place in Moscow. The
losses suffered during the events in the Moscow theatre
are irreparable. We offer our condolences to everyone
who lost loved ones.
Russia
to Probe Hostage Crisis
Associated Press, By Sarah Karush, November 15, 2002
Moscow (AP) - President Vladimir Putin will appoint
an official to investigate last month's hostage crisis
in a Moscow theater that left 128 captives dead, a
leading Russian lawmaker said Friday.
Paper
Survives Threats, Murder, Success The
Moscow Times, By Natalia Yefimova, November 14, 2002
ELISTA, Kalmykia -- For a tiny opposition newspaper
in an autocratic republic, Sovietskaya Kalmykia Segodnya
has survived a great deal: a shutout by local printers
and distributors, threats, arson and, most harrowing
of all, the brutal murder in 1998 of editor Larisa
Yudina.
Russian
Lawmakers Reject Plans to Investigate Hostage Horror
New York Times, By Steven Lee Myers, November 14,
2002
MOSCOW, Nov. 13 - Russia's lower house of Parliament
rejected two proposals today to set up an independent
commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding
the 57-hour siege of a theater here last month that
resulted in the death of at least 128 hostages and
41 Chechen hostage-takers.
Russian
media. Opposition voice concern over reporting restrictions
AFP, November 13, 2002
Russian media and opposition members voiced concern
Wednesday after the upper house approved a controversial
amendment on media laws that would severely restrict
the freedom of the press to cover anti-terrorist operations.
Liberals
Split after Ultimatum to Putin
gazeta.ru, By Yelena Rudneva and Artyom Vernidoub,
November 6, 2002
Existing economic mechanisms only achieve the very
narrow goal of maintaining the present The public
commission formed by the Union of Right-Wing Forces
for an independent inquiry into the storm of the 'Nord-Ost'
musical theatre in Moscow has completed its work.
It has been announced that the results of the inquiry
will be made public in a week unless Vladimir Putin
takes an interest in the commission's conclusions.
The president has perceived that gesture as an ultimatum
and his response to ultimatums is well known.
In
Russia, "Nothing Is Debated"
Interview with Grigory Yavlinsky by Paul Starobin
and Catherine Belton BusinessWeek Online, November 13, 2002
In Russia, "Nothing Is Debated". So says Grigory Yavlinsky,
whose efforts to negotiate an end to the Moscow theater
siege reminded him that the Soviet mindset lives on
With dark rings under his eyes and a look of exhaustion
on his face, it was clear Grigory Yavlinsky, leader
of the liberal Russian parliamentary faction Yabloko,
had been through a hellish few days. An advocate of
ending Russia's war in the breakaway republic of Chechnya,
he was among the few allowed to negotiate with the
armed Chechen terrorists who took some 800 people
hostage in a Moscow theater Oct. 23 in a tense three-day
siege.
Duma
Votes to Limit News Coverage
The Moscow Times, By Natalia Yefimova, November 4,
2002
MOSCOW, Sept. 27 - Energy executives and government
officials from Russia and the United States will meet
in Houston next week to discuss energy cooperation
at a time when concerns FSB officers taking away a
computer Friday from the office of Versia, which was
preparing an account of the hostage crisis.
Forum
Tries to Find Peace for Chechnya
The Moscow Times, By Judith Ingram, November 11, 2002.
Human rights activists, liberal politicians and Chechen
representatives gathered at a Moscow hotel on Saturday
to discuss an unpopular idea -- ending the three-year
war in Chechnya through peace talks.
Putin
hints at new action to solve Chechnya Reuters, By Richard Balmforth, November
9, 2002
MOSCOW, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir
Putin, under international pressure to end the Chechnya
conflict peacefully after a bloody hostage-seizure
in Moscow, gave his backing on Saturday for new political
moves in the rebel region.
Yavlinsky
Describes His Role In Crisis
The Moscow Times, By Alex Nicholson, November 4, 2002
MOSCOW, Sept. 27 - Energy executives and government
officials from Russia and the United States will meet
in Houston next week to discuss energy cooperation
at a time when concerns over the safety of world oil
supplies have been heightened by the Bush administration's
push for Speaking to the expat business community,
Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky on Friday described
his frustrating efforts to negotiate with the Chechen
hostage-takers on the Kremlin's behalf.
A
Generation Raised With War
The Moscow Times, By Anna Politkovskaya, November
4, 2002
Abu Bakar lifts the black mask covering his face.
We are staring, examining each other at close quarters,
both trying to understand what's going to happen when
this, yet another Russian tragedy, is over. Abu Bakar,
a 29-year-old Chechen, looks 40. He is deputy commander
of the terrorist group that has taken several hundred
people hostage. I am a journalist who has come to
the captured theater to negotiate. I am trying to
understand who these people are. Who is behind them?
And, more important, what comes after them?
Hostage
Crisis May Expand Putin's Mandate in Chechen War
Washington Post, By Susan B. Glasser, October 30,
2002
MOSCOW, Oct. 29 -- Despite a death toll of more than
100 in Saturday's hostage rescue mission, President
Vladimir Putin appears likely to end up with an even
stronger mandate than before to wage war against the
Chechen rebels who brought terrorism to the center
of the Russian capital, political analysts and pollsters
said today.
Bellona,
October 25, 2002 
The
Moscow Times, By Natalia Yefimova, November 14, 2002
The Moscow Times, By Natalia Yefimova, November 4,
2002