World press on Russian foreign and domestic politics and economics (January 24, 2015)"How popular are Putin and Obama in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine?" ask Gerard Toal and Joan O'Loughlin in an article which appeared in the Washington Post. The newspaper organized surveys with support from the Political Science program of the U.S. National Science Foundation. The survey was conducted in six regions in the southeast of Ukraine with the exclusion of the war zones of Luhansk and Donetsk. The authors also used the results of the Levada Center survey conducted in Crimea during the same period. "First, in the oblasts of southeast Ukraine, there is general skepticism about political leaders, with only Poroshenko receiving a small positive likeability rating among Ukrainians who said they spoke both Russian and Ukrainian at home. Putin received by far the highest negative ratings of the four leaders. In the smaller Crimea survey, Putin scored strongly on the likeability scale among both Russians and Ukrainians, with Tatar respondents on balance neutral. Aksyonov scored moderately well in the likeability scale of this overwhelmingly Russophonic sample. Obama’s rating is a mirror image of Putin’s in Crimea but even in the six southeast oblasts, the overall score is negative for all groups," the article concluded. The results of the survey also show that there are no significant differences in opinion between ethnic Russians and ethnic Ukrainians."Moscow won’t admit it, but Russia is at war with Ukraine", Doug Schoen, Forbes' contributor writes."Russia can continue to feign ignorance, but this constitutes the most dangerous, deeply irresponsible escalation of violence and tensions in Ukraine since a little-observed ceasefire was signed in September," the article reads. "We have a moral obligation, not to mention considerable political interests at stake, in ensuring that... Ukraine is allowed to chart a course of successful, peaceful, and prosperous development as an intact and independent country... America and the West must be no less invested in achieving peace, defending sovereignty, and protecting international norms by refusing to allow Russia to achieve its aims in Ukraine," Schoen writes."The Chilly Fallout Between Putin and His Oligarch Pals" is an article which appeared in Bloomberg. "The ruble’s plunge has heightened opposition to Putin’s backing of the rebellion in Ukraine among his wealthiest allies, prompting the president to shrink his inner circle from dozens of confidants to a small group of security officials united by their support for the separatists, two longtime associates said," the article reads. Referring to a political consultant, Sergei Markov, the article reports that the core group of Putin's supporters consists of a group around Putin is by Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov, Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The article also reports that Putin has been tightening his power after the uprising in Ukraine in order "to weaken the network of businessmen and officials who’ve been allied with Putin since he was deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the 1990s.""Russia's Population Is Still Growing, But Trouble Lies Ahead," Forbes' contributor Mark Adomanis writes. The article notes an increase of about 275,000 in Russia's population in 2014, which a lower increase than in 2013. The current economic crisis makes population growth less likely. "Now that Russia’s economy is set for a nasty recession of indeterminate length, and now that real incomes are getting hit by a combination of currency weakness and inflation, it’s not terribly surprising that its population dynamics are starting to weaken," the article reads. "If oil rebounds to $70 or $80 a barrel by the end of the year, as a number of forecasters expect, then the demographic impact of the economic downturn will be noticeable but not nearly enough to quality as a 'shock.' If oil stays at the current level or heads lower then I expect there will be a very noteworthy and very negative impact on the growth rate, perhaps even a return to modest overall population loss," the author of the article offers his forecast.An article headlined "Europe Appeals to Putin’s Ego As it Seeks Peace in Ukraine" with a subheadline "In Davos, European leaders offer to make Putin's Eurasian dreams come true —but only if the conflict in Ukraine ends" written by a Ukrainian journalist, Simon Shuster appeared in Time magazine. "The Chancellor brought up the geopolitical vision (some would call it a fantasy) that Russian President Vladimir Putin has long been promulgating. “Later on, in the bigger picture,” Merkel said, “we can try to explore possibilities of cooperation, and an economic area that President Putin himself called ‘from Vladivostok to Lisbon’". Shuster believes that the European leaders brought up this idea as "a carrot to dangle in front of Russia, and a way to coax a change in Putin’s thinking on Ukraine." "Underneath its idealism, then, the proposal that Merkel and her allies offered Putin in Davos on Thursday may not do much more than stoke his [Putin's] ego. But for the sake of peace in Ukraine, they can be forgiven for hoping he goes for it," the article concludes.An article headlined "Empire, Islam and Russia. Faith in expediency" appeared in the Economist. "Russia sees itself as a proud successor to an imperial realm which co-opted rather than converted the religious communities that lay in its path. Like the tsars, today's Russia sees no contradiction between fighting certain forms of Islam in the Caucasus and shoring up that faith, in return for guarantees of loyalty, in other parts of its domininion," the article reads. The author believes that Putin's government "is a common, imperial regime—one that punishes "blasphemers" of all kinds, including those who challenge the regime itself, and colludes with religious authorities to maintain social control—is different from the liberal model of co-existence, where no religion is protected and each must argue its case in an open market-place of ideas." "Establishing a democratic space where all opinions are respected, based on a deep consensus on the value of freedom of speech, is a harder and longer road, but a better guarantee of peace. And whatever your religious views, it's nicer to live in places where blasphemers don't get whipped," the article concludes.
The British newspaper the Guardian today writes about art treasures in Russia in its article called “An Aladdin's cave of Soviet art bought on a shoestring budget”.
George Costakis’s apartment on Prospekt Vernadadskogo in southern Moscow was an Aladdin’s cave of avant-garde art, full of works by Kazimir Malevich, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky and many more — all bought on the salary of a humble embassy employee.
Costakis spent 35 years at the Canadian Embassy in Moscow, building up a stunning collection of 20th century art, most of which he eventually donated to the State Tretyakov Gallery when he left the Soviet Union in 1977. In honour of the centenary of his birth, the Tretyakov Gallery is now holding an exhibition entitled Georgy Costakis: departure from the USSR... devoted to Costakis and his collection. When socialist realism became the only officially approved art in 1934 under Joseph Stalin, avant-garde art became anathema and often dangerous for artists and for art lovers. But as a foreigner, Costakis was able to purchase works from some of the Soviet Union’s most talented artists or from their relatives — and for very affordable prices. Costakis bought some for around $100 — works that today would cost millions. Costakis was able to afford the art he bought because of an unusual agreement he made with the Canadian government. He was paid not as local staff, but as a Canadian, with a bank account in Ottawa. Costakis also benefitted financially from buying his Canadian colleagues’ extra rubles, which were purchased at a rate subsidised by the Canadian government.
Another British newspaper the Daily Mail writes today about the Russian daughter of the famous tennis player Boris Becker. “Boris Becker’s lovechild makes her modelling debut: Red-headed Anna, 14, shines on the catwalk at Berlin Fashion Week” runs the article. Her superstar father - and the circumstances of her birth - made her famous before she could even walk. But last night 14-year-old Anna Ermakova stepped out of Boris Becker's shadow and on to the catwalk as she appeared at Berlin Fashion Week. The tennis star's lovechild was conceived during a scandalous, short-lived and much disputed encounter at the London outpost of celebrity haunt Nobu in 1999. Her mother Angela Ermakova initially claimed the liaison took place in a store cupboard but Becker later confessed they had made love on a staircase between two bathrooms.
“There's no mistaking Anna Becker as the daughter of tennis champ Boris. They look so alike it's uncanny. Although we guarantee Anna looks better in a sequin mini dress than her dad”, says the author.
Another model in Turkey survives bad times, says the Daily Mail in its article “Former Miss Turkey, 26, facing trial after being arrested for posting satirical poem that criticised the country's president” The arrest of Merve Buyuksarac, 26, follows a crackdown in the country on critical media in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris.
Now it appears the Turkish crackdown is extending not just to monitoring the media, but also to its readers. Officials confirmed that the model had been taken before prosecutors and questioned over the social media posting that they said had insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Merve, an educated young professional who works as an industrial designer and writer, ended up in court in the Caglayan neighbourhood of the western city of Istanbul. Looking nervous and flanked by armed police, she told prosecutors that she 'may have quoted a poem' from the weekly humour magazine Uykusuz. But she said she deleted it soon afterwards when one of her friends warned that such messages could result in a criminal procedure from Turkish officials. The judge, however, ruled to release Buyuksarac unconditionally, pending a date for the trial set to take place later in the year.
The American newspaper the New York Times published an article called “Obama to Meet With Wife of American Pastor Jailed in Iran” The wife of an American pastor held prisoner in Iran says President Barack Obama will meet with her during his short visit to Idaho on Wednesday. On Tuesday confirmation was received that Obama had agreed to meet with her and her two young children. Abedini had recently written an open letter to the president requesting a face-to-face meeting. Abedini declined to reveal any other details about the meeting. Christian pastor Saeed Abedini has been in Iranian custody since September 2012. He was given an eight-year sentence in 2013 for what was termed undermining state security when he attempted to build a church network in private homes. The 34-year-old man is of Iranian origin but had been living in Boise.
