Apparently the contractor who was hired to install surveillance cameras in Moscow decided to cut a few corners and provide police with recorded images instead of installing some of the cameras. I wonder how long the system was in place before the police discovered they had beeen conned?
Police have learned that CCTV cameras all across Moscow streamed prerecorded pictures, while the company servicing them received more than a million dollars in payments.
The company, StroyMontageService, has been accused of security fraud. Police have detained its director, Dmitry Kudryavtsev, who denies all charges saying the scandal is an attempt by his rivals to squeeze him out of the market. (Russia Today)
A long standing New Years Eve tradition in Red Square is for Russia’s president to deliver an address at midnight. The address is broadcast throughout Russia on television and radio. More Russians will hear this address than any other speech delivered by the President during the year. This makes disrupting the event very attractive to dissidents. That may also explain why attending dissidents were quickly arrested last night.
Police detained dozens of anti-Kremlin activists, including an 82-year-old Soviet dissident dressed as Santa Claus’ female helper, at a New Year’s Eve rally on Moscow’s main shopping street Thursday.
Hundreds of riot police surrounded a Christmas tree in the centre of the city and arrested the opposition activists as they gathered to defend their right to peaceful protest. (Reuters)
Russian New Year celebrations include a visit from Father Frost, a Russian Santa Claus of sorts.
Meet Father Frost, Russias answer to Santa Claus and the giver of gifts! His image of an old man clad in a red robe, with a white beard and holding a staff, is radically changing. Make a wish and he will try to make it come true.
During our short holiday break, we hope you’ll have a happy holiday. We wish all of our readers the best of Thanksgivings. We hope that you enjoy the day with loved ones, food and football. We also hope you’ll remember all that you have thankful for.
We are grateful to you for making our efforts worthwhile. In a year that has been so tough that many blogs have faded away, we’re still here and will continue to be here as long as we can pay the server bill.
We wish you the well and hope you’ll keep reading!
While it probably saved it from complete economic collapse, privatization has been a mixed bag for Russia. The first wave featured rampant corruption, awarding the most valuable state enterprises to cronies at prices far below actual value. The results left Russia with a new class of oligarchs and rampant mismanagement. Corruption became further entrenched in the economic system, and government.
In his announcement of the new wave, Vladimir Putin promises things will be different this time. For the sake of Russia as well as the rest of the world, I hope he’s telling the truth.
Hopefully, the forthcoming wave of privatization in Russia will fare better than in the past. Last week, Putin went out of his way to stress that federal property should be sold at the real market price without any discount or privilege. Assuming that market conditions are favorable to the privatization of state holdings next year, how likely is it to happen? Here it is important to appreciate the underlying motive as well as the more obvious ones. The clear motives include the desire to raise revenue and future productivity. The underlying motive is more complex and specifically Russian. It is useful to recall that the initial strengthening of state control starting in 2004 seemed to be fueled more by strategy and personal interest than any ideology. Unlike Western Europe during earlier phases of nationalization, the move toward state ownership was devoid of any ideological baggage.
Now, the latest move toward privatization is likewise fueled by the same pragmatic elements. With the designation of strategic sectors in May 2008, the state can now logically divest of its not so strategic holdings or reduce the extent of holdings even in strategic sectors.
Perhaps one of the most potent reasons to move ahead now is that it would clearly be in the personal interests of those who, purportedly acting on behalf of the state, grabbed the assets in the first place. These officials and their associates now occupy senior management positions and directorships as a result of state control in a wide range of companies and banks. However, their positions — and the associated wealth and power — are only secure as long as they personally occupy those functions. What better way to ensure that these new-style silovarchs and their families enjoy their newfound wealth than to receive shares on a personal basis as a result of a market IPO of all or part of the state holding in compensation for services rendered? It is much more remunerative than any pension plan.
If I am right that many siloviki and their associates are seeking to make permanent the benefits of their power grab, then the timing of the forthcoming IPOs could be meaningful. If they collectively start to think that Russia may become a more normal country with transparent corporate governance and the rule of law, then it may be time to cash in. (Russia beyond the headlines)
Anyone casually familiar with Russia is aware of often reported police corruption. Even Russian media occasionally reported on it in the time between the fall of communism and the Putin era. Since Putin came to power, the Russian media has become monolithic, almost like in Soviet times. The difference between now and the Soviet era is the internet. As long as there are honest cops in Russia, a tiny number of them will speak out. The internet will give those few a platform to reach millions. So much for control of the media.
Maj. Alexey Dymovsky, a disgruntled officer from the southern port city of Novorossiisk, started the trend with two YouTube pleas in which he said his bosses forced him to falsely report that unsolved cases had been cracked.
He also said he divorced twice because his wives could not cope with his long hours and low pay.
“I am fighting for the truth,” he said, directly addressing Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. “I am a bit scared to address you and the whole country … but I can’t do it any other way.”
Dymovsky’s postings got 700,000 hits by Monday—the day when he was fired and threatened with a lawsuit for slander. However, the Interior Ministry ordered an investigation into his allegations, and Dymovsky’s example quickly found followers.
By Thursday night, three more YouTube pleas decried abuses, trumped-up convictions and corruption.
In two separate clips, ex-deputy prosecutor Grigory Chekalin and former police Maj. Mikhail Yevseyev claimed two innocent men were sentenced to life in prison for a 2005 arson in the northwestern city of Ukhta that killed 25. Yevseyev also alleged Ukhta police fabricated charges against local businessmen in return for bribes from their rivals. (Breitbart)
The film is set in 1962 in Sevastopol, Crimea, then a secret Navy Base in the Soviet Union. General Serov hires Viktor, a cadet from the Kremlin Guard to work as his private chauffeur. In a jet-black “ZIM” limo, Viktor is chauffeuring the General’s disabled daughter Vera. Viktor is oblivious to the hidden agenda of the KGB agent Saveliev, who manipulates everyone behind the scenes in the old rivalry between the Army and KGB.
Apparently the contractor who was hired to install surveillance cameras in Moscow decided to cut a few corners and provide police with recorded images instead of installing some of the cameras. I wonder how long the system was in place before the police discovered they had beeen conned?
A long standing New Years Eve tradition in Red Square is for Russia’s president to deliver an address at midnight. The address is broadcast throughout Russia on television and radio. More Russians will hear this address than any other speech delivered by the President during the year. This makes disrupting the event very attractive to dissidents. That may also explain why attending dissidents were quickly arrested last night.
During our short holiday break, we hope you’ll have a happy holiday. We wish all of our readers the best of Thanksgivings. We hope that you enjoy the day with loved ones, food and football. We also hope you’ll remember all that you have thankful for.
While it probably saved it from complete economic collapse, privatization has been a mixed bag for Russia. The first wave featured rampant corruption, awarding the most valuable state enterprises to cronies at prices far below actual value. The results left Russia with a new class of oligarchs and rampant mismanagement. Corruption became further entrenched in the economic system, and government.
