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)

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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)

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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)

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Free speech may still be alive and well in Russia, but it continues to be under assault. Russia’s number one search engine Yandex is the latest media outlet to bow to government pressure to squelch the voice of dissent. With so many most read blog posts critical of Russia’s government, this comes as no surprise.

Yandex, the country’s leading search engine, has announced plans to stop ranking popular blog posts after several entries exposed problems that embarrassed government officials.

The looming change stirred fears Thursday about a crackdown on free speech on the country’s No. 1 search engine.

Yandex explained in a statement that the rating service, dubbed Top Yandex, had stopped reflecting the situation in the Russian blogosphere and instead become a “media tool” aimed at influencing the public and the mass media. (Moscow Times)

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Recent statements by Vladimir Putin puts the reliability of natural gas supply to Europe in question as the long cold winter approaches. Disagreement over price with Ukraine could once again shut down the pipeline that connects Russia with much of western Europe. With no large alternative supply, Europeans may very well end up paying the price Putin demands.

” Vladimir Putin focused the attention of the EU leadership on signals coming in, including through official channels from Kiev, regarding potential problems with payment for gas supplies,” the official said.

Putin warned that payment problems could lead to difficulties for European consumers receiving Russian gas via Ukraine. A dispute between Moscow and Kiev at the start of the year over gas debts and 2009 deliveries left millions of Europeans without gas in January.

The Russian prime minister said on Friday that his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, had told him by telephone that President Viktor Yushchenko was blocking payments for Russian gas supplies.

The Russian prime minister said that IMF data showed Ukraine had gold reserves of $27-$28 billion, with a maximum of $12 billion required to cover the payment. He also noted that the European Union had refused to extend any loans to Ukraine to cover its gas purchases.

Kiev asked the EU for a $4.2 billion loan to pump Russian gas into its underground storages in order to avoid problems with gas transit to Europe.

“The EU has not given Ukraine any money,” Putin told leaders of his United Russia party on Friday. “Ukraine has not received a single cent, not one hryvnia.”(Moscow News)

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Moscow is one of the world’s most congested cities. In the opinion of many, it’s the worst. Everywhere in the world, the governments of large, congested cities have been trying to convince their residents to quite driving. It’s no secret most of us will vote out manipulating politicians before we give up our cars. Most Moscovites don’t own a car. The vast majority that don’t own a car dream of having one. It’s a safe bet that Moscow will not be less congested in the future.

The initiative - to celebrate “No Car Day” - is happening for the second year running on September 22, in line with events in 2,000 cities around the world.

But Moscow residents or even officials aren’t exactly optimistic that the city’s baby steps will make much of a difference.

Among the tricks proposed to keep cars off the streets are halving bus fares, said Pyotr Ivanov, general director of Mosgortrans, RIA Novosti reported.

But the discount applies only to one-time tickets bought at a ticket vendor, and not to tickets bought in the bus from the driver, or to monthly tickets. Although it was possible to buy these discount tickets from last weekend, they are valid only on Tuesday, September 22.

Ivanov said that he himself would only walk or use public transport that day.

“I’ll try to take a little load off the streets that way,” he told reporters.

The city is appealing to employers to ask their employees not to bring their cars into work that day, Ivanov said. But as it’s a voluntary scheme, not much difference is expected. (Moscow News)

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Called Perimeter, the doomsday system that went live in the waning days of the Soviet era, is reportedly still alive and well. As it turns out the “top secret’ machine has not been much of a secret at all. Even in the light of non-secrecy neither the US, Russia or the mainstream media want to talk about it.

It was built 25 years ago and remained a closely guarded secret. With the demise of the USSR, word of the system did leak out, but few people seemed to notice. In fact, though Yarynich and a former Minuteman launch officer named Bruce Blair have been writing about Perimeter since 1993 in numerous books and newspaper articles, its existence has not penetrated the public mind or the corridors of power. The Russians still won’t discuss it, and Americans at the highest levels—including former top officials at the State Department and White House—say they’ve never heard of it. When I recently told former CIA director James Woolsey that the USSR had built a doomsday device, his eyes grew cold. “I hope to God the Soviets were more sensible than that.” They weren’t.

The system remains so shrouded that Yarynich worries his continued openness puts him in danger. He might have a point: One Soviet official who spoke with Americans about the system died in a mysterious fall down a staircase. But Yarynich takes the risk. He believes the world needs to know about Dead Hand. Because, after all, it is still in place. (Wired)

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