World press review on Russia's foreign and domestic policies (January 25, 2015)"Are Russia's Troops Vandalizing Korans In Dagestan?" asks the Daily Beast. The article reports on an anti-terrorist operation which took place in the village of Vremenny in Dagestan. The article reports that photos taken in the aftermath of the operation show "a Koran cut down the middle by an ax, as well as swastikas and other humiliating signs painted over the village’s ruined walls—all done by the military, or so locals claimed. One line of graffiti said: “Moscow is the force.”" Special Russian forces have destroyed 42 homes in recent counter-terror raids, the article reports. “The destruction in Vremenny looked like a punitive operation, the kind we often saw in Chechnya during the war... Officials claimed that the village was hiding insurgents and weapons in bunkers in Vremenny. Dagestan was taught a lesson, so no other villages would dare to help the underground,” the Daily Beast quoted the chairman of the Memorial Human Rights Society, Oleg Orlov.An article headlined "Ukraine crisis: Obama threatens more Russia sanctions" appeared today in the Financial Times. President Obama has talked about adopting new sanctions against Russia in connection with yesterday's attack by militias on Mariupol. European leaders have not yet fully backed Obama's proposition. "The feverish diplomacy over whether to move towards new sanctions reflected a shift in tenor for the west, particularly in Europe, where some leaders had started the year openly discussing lifting sanctions on Russia because of the crumbling Russian economy, which had been brought low by tumbling oil prices and the value of the rouble," the article reads. "Snubbed by U.S. and Europe, Kremlin Looks to Asia at Davos" the New York Times writes. "The three-day event at Davos, a gathering of thousands of business figures, politicians, academics and influential people, made clear how much the sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine have damaged Moscow’s ties with Europe and the United States. Also evident was its pursuit of Asia as a key alternative," the newspaper reports. According to the article, there were almost no new European businesses in Davos and even though "big German firms have not shut down operations in Russia, they are not making new investments. That trend holds across western Europe," the article reads. "Russian businessmen said privately that their meetings this year in Davos were almost exclusively with Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern partners or potential investors. The Europeans and Americans... were barely on the agenda," the article reads.
"Are Russia's Troops Vandalizing Korans In Dagestan?" asks the Daily Beast. The article reports on an anti-terrorist operation which took place in the village of Vremenny in Dagestan. The article reports that photos taken in the aftermath of the operation show "a Koran cut down the middle by an ax, as well as swastikas and other humiliating signs painted over the village’s ruined walls—all done by the military, or so locals claimed. One line of graffiti said: “Moscow is the force.”" Special Russian forces have destroyed 42 homes in recent counter-terror raids, the article reports. “The destruction in Vremenny looked like a punitive operation, the kind we often saw in Chechnya during the war... Officials claimed that the village was hiding insurgents and weapons in bunkers in Vremenny. Dagestan was taught a lesson, so no other villages would dare to help the underground,” the Daily Beast quoted the chairman of the Memorial Human Rights Society, Oleg Orlov.
An article headlined "Ukraine crisis: Obama threatens more Russia sanctions" appeared today in the Financial Times. President Obama has talked about adopting new sanctions against Russia in connection with yesterday's attack by militias on Mariupol. European leaders have not yet fully backed Obama's proposition. "The feverish diplomacy over whether to move towards new sanctions reflected a shift in tenor for the west, particularly in Europe, where some leaders had started the year openly discussing lifting sanctions on Russia because of the crumbling Russian economy, which had been brought low by tumbling oil prices and the value of the rouble," the article reads.
"Snubbed by U.S. and Europe, Kremlin Looks to Asia at Davos" the New York Times writes. "The three-day event at Davos, a gathering of thousands of business figures, politicians, academics and influential people, made clear how much the sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine have damaged Moscow’s ties with Europe and the United States. Also evident was its pursuit of Asia as a key alternative," the newspaper reports. According to the article, there were almost no new European businesses in Davos and even though "big German firms have not shut down operations in Russia, they are not making new investments. That trend holds across western Europe," the article reads. "Russian businessmen said privately that their meetings this year in Davos were almost exclusively with Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern partners or potential investors. The Europeans and Americans... were barely on the agenda," the article reads.
