Western press on Russia's contacts with China and Northern Korea (January 30, 2015)

 

Western press on Russia's contacts with China and Northern Korea (January 30, 2015)Today the Washington Post published an article running “What a Soviet soldier saw when his unit liberated Auschwitz 70 years ago”. When the Soviet Army's 322nd Rifle Division entered the concentration camp at Auschwitz on Jan. 27, 1945, they found a desolation. Eventually, Ivan Martynushkin, then a 21-year-old lieutenant, and his comrades spotted "some people behind barbed wire." Some 7,000 of the weakest and most infirm inmates remained."It was hard to watch them. I remember their faces, especially their eyes which betrayed their ordeal," Martynushkin said. Martynushkin is one of the few surviving Soviet soldiers from that dayBetween 1941 and 1945, the Nazis killed at least 1.1 million people in Auschwitz's gas chambers and execution grounds — the vast majority of them were Jews, but the victims also included Poles, Roma, homosexuals and Soviet prisoners of war.In the decades since, Martynushkin has attended various commemorative events and was awarded an honorary medal at a ceremony in the Polish city of Krakow in 2005. But this year's ceremony was marred by contemporary politics.The souring of ties over the past year between Moscow and Europe, including the Polish government, led to Russian President Vladimir Putin's absence at Tuesday's official commemoration. "I thought that the date associated with the liberation of Auschwitz, these historic events, might deserve the same kind of public unity," the Soviet soldier said.The Daily Mail today writes about a new chapter in relations between North Korea and Russia in an article running “N. Korean leader Kim Jong-Un set for global debut”. The Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that Kim would be among those attending ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Kim's presence would set up some potentially intriguing meet and greets.The North's ruling Kim dynasty has never been big on overseas trips, with the exception of forays to traditional allies Beijing and Moscow. Kim's choice of Russia for his foreign debut would be a reflection of warming ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, especially on the trade and economic front. Russia is seeking to expand economic ties with North Korea and is eyeing a project worth about $25 billion (20 billion euros) to overhaul the country's railway network in return for access to mineral resources.The Daily Beast published an article entitled “Chinese Money Is Backing Putin’s War”. The author reflects on continuing bonding between Russia and China, first of all in the economic field, writing “the growing Chinese-Russian alliance is one of the most important geopolitical developments of the century.”The author reminds that in December last year Russian oil exports to China grew at an annual rate of 86% In October, the countries agreed to a currency swap of 24.4 billion. During the last year, Putin met with Chinese ruler Xi Jinping five times. Then the author asks: “And what does China get in return? Beijing gets an opportunity to expand the use of its currency as Russia, targeted by new rounds of sanctions, is progressively shut out of the dollar-based global financial system. Chinese leaders dream about their currency being used around the world in place of the greenback, and Russia’s moment of need gives them an opportunity to bring Russia into an expanding renminbi zone.” In conclusion, the author remarks: “The battle between the reigning dollar and the challenger renminbi, the 21st century’s version of the tariff wars of the 1930s, is now being played out in a new arena, Russia”.The New York Times reflected on the way the funding in the sphere of research is being linked to politics in an article 'Scholars at Odds on Ukraine'. The article tells the story of the Russia scholar Stephen F. Cohen, who “has cast himself in the role of the unbowed dissenter” and his intention to invest in research on Russia and the region. Two years ago, Cohen and his wife Katrina Vanden Jovel began negotiations with the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies on the possibility of supporting the research. Last spring, the couple decided to establish a scholarship named Cohen. To begin with it was about 413 thousand dollars, which was nearly the size of ths State Department grants that were abolished in 2013. But in September, the couple withdrew the donation because some members of the association objected that the scholarships were named Cohen. On Monday, more than 60 scientists sent a letter to the leadership of the association in support of Cohen. The text of the letter condemned the actions of the political subtext.Iran appears in today’s issue of Britain's Guardian newspaper in an article “Iranian film on prophet Muhammad set for premiere”. А multimillion-dollar biopic about his youth – Iran’s most expensive and lavish film to date – is set to premiere on Sunday. Tehran’s Fajr international film festival, which coincides with the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, is scheduled to show the country’s own version of how Islam’s most revered figure lived. To protect the prophet’s dignity, the film will be shown out of competitionIran is bracing for a large international release in March, at least in the English and Arabic world.Another article called “Erdoğan: presidential Turkey would be like UK, where Queen’s in charge “ is about the plans of the Turkish president. He thinks to boost his ongoing campaign for a presidential system in Turkey with claims that the Queen is in charge of Britain. Erdoğan became the first Turkish president to be elected by popular vote last August after a decade in power as the country’s prime minister. When taking up office he vowed to be an active president who would use his mandate to strengthen what had until then been a largely ceremonial post and to push for the necessary constitutional change that would turn Turkey’s parliamentary system into a presidential oneErdoğan repeatedly claimed that Turkey needed a centralised political system in order to “strengthen the national will”. “One has to be able to use the powers invested in you by the national will in the best possible way. But at the moment, I am not able to do that,” he said. “At the moment, you have to ask permission of three different people for each decision, for each appointment. One is constantly being hindered. The judiciary puts obstacles in the way. One cannot run a country like that. For me, that is the biggest flaw of a parliamentary system.” Word press on events in Russia, Iran and Turkey<--break->Today the Washington Post published an article running “What a Soviet soldier saw when his unit liberated Auschwitz 70 years ago”. When the Soviet Army's 322nd Rifle Division entered the concentration camp at Auschwitz on Jan. 27, 1945, they found a desolation. Eventually, Ivan Martynushkin, then a 21-year-old lieutenant, and his comrades spotted "some people behind barbed wire." Some 7,000 of the weakest and most infirm inmates remained."It was hard to watch them. I remember their faces, especially their eyes which betrayed their ordeal," Martynushkin said. Martynushkin is one of the few surviving Soviet soldiers from that dayBetween 1941 and 1945, the Nazis killed at least 1.1 million people in Auschwitz's gas chambers and execution grounds — the vast majority of them were Jews, but the victims also included Poles, Roma, homosexuals and Soviet prisoners of war.In the decades since, Martynushkin has attended various commemorative events and was awarded an honorary medal at a ceremony in the Polish city of Krakow in 2005. But this year's ceremony was marred by contemporary politics.The souring of ties over the past year between Moscow and Europe, including the Polish government, led to Russian President Vladimir Putin's absence at Tuesday's official commemoration. "I thought that the date associated with the liberation of Auschwitz, these historic events, might deserve the same kind of public unity," the Soviet soldier said.The Daily Mail today writes about a new chapter in relations between North Korea and Russia in an article running “N. Korean leader Kim Jong-Un set for global debut”. The Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that Kim would be among those attending ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Kim's presence would set up some potentially intriguing meet and greets.The North's ruling Kim dynasty has never been big on overseas trips, with the exception of forays to traditional allies Beijing and Moscow. Kim's choice of Russia for his foreign debut would be a reflection of warming ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, especially on the trade and economic front. Russia is seeking to expand economic ties with North Korea and is eyeing a project worth about $25 billion (20 billion euros) to overhaul the country's railway network in return for access to mineral resources.The Daily Beast published an article entitled “Chinese Money Is Backing Putin’s War”. The author reflects on continuing bonding between Russia and China, first of all in the economic field, writing “the growing Chinese-Russian alliance is one of the most important geopolitical developments of the century.”The author reminds that in December last year Russian oil exports to China grew at an annual rate of 86% In October, the countries agreed to a currency swap of 24.4 billion. During the last year, Putin met with Chinese ruler Xi Jinping five times. Then the author asks: “And what does China get in return? Beijing gets an opportunity to expand the use of its currency as Russia, targeted by new rounds of sanctions, is progressively shut out of the dollar-based global financial system. Chinese leaders dream about their currency being used around the world in place of the greenback, and Russia’s moment of need gives them an opportunity to bring Russia into an expanding renminbi zone.” In conclusion, the author remarks: “The battle between the reigning dollar and the challenger renminbi, the 21st century’s version of the tariff wars of the 1930s, is now being played out in a new arena, Russia”.The New York Times reflected on the way the funding in the sphere of research is being linked to politics in an article 'Scholars at Odds on Ukraine'. The article tells the story of the Russia scholar Stephen F. Cohen, who “has cast himself in the role of the unbowed dissenter” and his intention to invest in research on Russia and the region. Two years ago, Cohen and his wife Katrina Vanden Jovel began negotiations with the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies on the possibility of supporting the research. Last spring, the couple decided to establish a scholarship named Cohen. To begin with it was about 413 thousand dollars, which was nearly the size of ths State Department grants that were abolished in 2013. But in September, the couple withdrew the donation because some members of the association objected that the scholarships were named Cohen. On Monday, more than 60 scientists sent a letter to the leadership of the association in support of Cohen. The text of the letter condemned the actions of the political subtext.Iran appears in today’s issue of Britain's Guardian newspaper in an article “Iranian film on prophet Muhammad set for premiere”. А multimillion-dollar biopic about his youth – Iran’s most expensive and lavish film to date – is set to premiere on Sunday. Tehran’s Fajr international film festival, which coincides with the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, is scheduled to show the country’s own version of how Islam’s most revered figure lived. To protect the prophet’s dignity, the film will be shown out of competition. Iran is bracing for a large international release in March, at least in the English and Arabic world.Another article called “Erdoğan: presidential Turkey would be like UK, where Queen’s in charge “ is about the plans of the Turkish president. He thinks to boost his ongoing campaign for a presidential system in Turkey with claims that the Queen is in charge of Britain. Erdoğan became the first Turkish president to be elected by popular vote last August after a decade in power as the country’s prime minister. When taking up office he vowed to be an active president who would use his mandate to strengthen what had until then been a largely ceremonial post and to push for the necessary constitutional change that would turn Turkey’s parliamentary system into a presidential oneErdoğan repeatedly claimed that Turkey needed a centralised political system in order to “strengthen the national will”. “One has to be able to use the powers invested in you by the national will in the best possible way. But at the moment, I am not able to do that,” he said. “At the moment, you have to ask permission of three different people for each decision, for each appointment. One is constantly being hindered. The judiciary puts obstacles in the way. One cannot run a country like that. For me, that is the biggest flaw of a parliamentary system.” 

 

 

 

Today the Washington Post published an article running “What a Soviet soldier saw when his unit liberated Auschwitz 70 years ago”. When the Soviet Army's 322nd Rifle Division entered the concentration camp at Auschwitz on Jan. 27, 1945, they found a desolation. Eventually, Ivan Martynushkin, then a 21-year-old lieutenant, and his comrades spotted "some people behind barbed wire." Some 7,000 of the weakest and most infirm inmates remained."It was hard to watch them. I remember their faces, especially their eyes which betrayed their ordeal," Martynushkin said. Martynushkin is one of the few surviving Soviet soldiers from that dayBetween 1941 and 1945, the Nazis killed at least 1.1 million people in Auschwitz's gas chambers and execution grounds — the vast majority of them were Jews, but the victims also included Poles, Roma, homosexuals and Soviet prisoners of war.In the decades since, Martynushkin has attended various commemorative events and was awarded an honorary medal at a ceremony in the Polish city of Krakow in 2005. But this year's ceremony was marred by contemporary politics.The souring of ties over the past year between Moscow and Europe, including the Polish government, led to Russian President Vladimir Putin's absence at Tuesday's official commemoration. "I thought that the date associated with the liberation of Auschwitz, these historic events, might deserve the same kind of public unity," the Soviet soldier said.

The Daily Mail today writes about a new chapter in relations between North Korea and Russia in an article running “N. Korean leader Kim Jong-Un set for global debut”. The Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that Kim would be among those attending ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Kim's presence would set up some potentially intriguing meet and greets.The North's ruling Kim dynasty has never been big on overseas trips, with the exception of forays to traditional allies Beijing and Moscow. Kim's choice of Russia for his foreign debut would be a reflection of warming ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, especially on the trade and economic front. Russia is seeking to expand economic ties with North Korea and is eyeing a project worth about $25 billion (20 billion euros) to overhaul the country's railway network in return for access to mineral resources.The Daily Beast published an article entitled “Chinese Money Is Backing Putin’s War”. The author reflects on continuing bonding between Russia and China, first of all in the economic field, writing “the growing Chinese-Russian alliance is one of the most important geopolitical developments of the century.”

The author reminds that in December last year Russian oil exports to China grew at an annual rate of 86% In October, the countries agreed to a currency swap of 24.4 billion. During the last year, Putin met with Chinese ruler Xi Jinping five times. Then the author asks: “And what does China get in return? Beijing gets an opportunity to expand the use of its currency as Russia, targeted by new rounds of sanctions, is progressively shut out of the dollar-based global financial system. Chinese leaders dream about their currency being used around the world in place of the greenback, and Russia’s moment of need gives them an opportunity to bring Russia into an expanding renminbi zone.” In conclusion, the author remarks: “The battle between the reigning dollar and the challenger renminbi, the 21st century’s version of the tariff wars of the 1930s, is now being played out in a new arena, Russia”.

The New York Times reflected on the way the funding in the sphere of research is being linked to politics in an article 'Scholars at Odds on Ukraine'. The article tells the story of the Russia scholar Stephen F. Cohen, who “has cast himself in the role of the unbowed dissenter” and his intention to invest in research on Russia and the region. Two years ago, Cohen and his wife Katrina Vanden Jovel began negotiations with the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies on the possibility of supporting the research. Last spring, the couple decided to establish a scholarship named Cohen. To begin with it was about 413 thousand dollars, which was nearly the size of ths State Department grants that were abolished in 2013. But in September, the couple withdrew the donation because some members of the association objected that the scholarships were named Cohen. On Monday, more than 60 scientists sent a letter to the leadership of the association in support of Cohen. The text of the letter condemned the actions of the political subtext.

Iran appears in today’s issue of Britain's Guardian newspaper in an article “Iranian film on prophet Muhammad set for premiere”. А multimillion-dollar biopic about his youth – Iran’s most expensive and lavish film to date – is set to premiere on Sunday. Tehran’s Fajr international film festival, which coincides with the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, is scheduled to show the country’s own version of how Islam’s most revered figure lived. To protect the prophet’s dignity, the film will be shown out of competitionIran is bracing for a large international release in March, at least in the English and Arabic world.

Another article called “Erdoğan: presidential Turkey would be like UK, where Queen’s in charge “ is about the plans of the Turkish president. He thinks to boost his ongoing campaign for a presidential system in Turkey with claims that the Queen is in charge of Britain. Erdoğan became the first Turkish president to be elected by popular vote last August after a decade in power as the country’s prime minister. When taking up office he vowed to be an active president who would use his mandate to strengthen what had until then been a largely ceremonial post and to push for the necessary constitutional change that would turn Turkey’s parliamentary system into a presidential oneErdoğan repeatedly claimed that Turkey needed a centralised political system in order to “strengthen the national will”. “One has to be able to use the powers invested in you by the national will in the best possible way. But at the moment, I am not able to do that,” he said. “At the moment, you have to ask permission of three different people for each decision, for each appointment. One is constantly being hindered. The judiciary puts obstacles in the way. One cannot run a country like that. For me, that is the biggest flaw of a parliamentary system.”