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Posts Tagged ‘Vladimir Putin’

The Assassination of Boris Nemtsov: More a Shock Than a Surprise

March 1, 2015 Comments off

theatlantic.com

People gather at the site where Boris Nemtsov was recently murdered, with St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin walls in the background, in central Moscow. (Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

Hours after Boris Nemtsov was slain on Friday night near the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to seek justice: “Everything will be done so that the organizers and perpetrators of a vile and cynical murder get the punishment they deserve,” he said in a condolence message to the 55-year-old Nemtsov’s mother. Whether Putin is being sincere is something only he and his closest advisors know. But Russia’s recent history inspires little confidence that Nemtsov’s killers, whoever they are, will be brought to justice.

Nemtsov was a high-profile politician, having served as Read more…

Categories: Russia Tags: , ,

Putin stockpiles gold as Russia prepares for economic war

November 13, 2014 Comments off

telegraph

putin goldRussia has taken advantage of lower gold prices to pack the vaults of its central bank with bullion as it prepares for the possibility of a long, drawn-out economic war with the West.

The latest research from the World Gold Council reveals that the Kremlin snapped up 55 tonnes of the precious metal – far more than any other nation – in the three months to the end of September as prices began to weaken.

Vladimir Putin’s government is understood to be hoarding vast quantities of gold, having tripled stocks to around 1,150 tonnes in the last decade. These reserves could provide the Kremlin with vital firepower to try and offset the sharp declines in the rouble.

Russia’s currency has come under intense pressure since US and European sanctions and falling oil prices started to hurt the economy. Revenues from the sale of oil and gas account for about 45pc of the Russian government’s budget receipts.

The biggest buyers of gold after Russia are other countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States, led by Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

In total, central banks around the world bought 93 tonnes of Full Article Here

Categories: GOLD, Russia Tags: , , ,

Why is Putin stockpiling gold?

September 7, 2012 Comments off

Russia is bulking up its gold reserve

By Brett Arends

I can’t imagine it means anything cheerful that Vladimir Putin, the Russian czar, is stockpiling gold as fast as he can get his hands on it.

According to the World Gold Council, Russia has more than doubled its gold reserves in the past five years. Putin has taken advantage of the financial crisis to build the world’s fifth-biggest gold pile in a handful of years, and is buying about half a billion dollars’ worth every month.

It emerged last month that financial gurus George Soros and John Paulson had also increased their bullion exposure, but it’s Putin that’s really caught my eye.

No one else in the world plays global power politics as ruthlessly as Russia’s chilling strongman, the man who effectively stole a Super Bowl ring from Bob Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, when they met in Russia some years ago.

Putin’s moves may matter to your finances, because there are two ways to look at gold.

On the one hand, it’s an investment that by most modern standards seems to make no sense. It generates no cash flow and serves no practical purpose. Warren Buffett has pointed out that we Read more…

Categories: GOLD, Russia Tags: , , ,

Putin: Russia Must Re-Arm Because of United States Aggression

February 24, 2012 Comments off

economicpolicyjournal

That’s the only way to interpret a new article by Vladimir Putin in the new issue of Foreign Policy. He writes:

We will, under no circumstances, surrender our strategic deterrent capability. Indeed, we will strengthen it.

We will not be able to strengthen our international position or develop our economy or our democratic institutions if we are unable to protect Russia.

We see ever new regional and local wars breaking out. We see new areas of instability and deliberately managed chaos. There also are attempts to provoke such conflicts even close to Russia’s and its allies’ borders. The basic principles of international law are being degraded and eroded, especially in terms of international security.

Under these circumstances, Russia cannot rely on diplomatic and economic methods alone to resolve conflicts. Our country faces Read more…

Categories: Russia Tags: , , ,

Vladimir Putin: U.S. global economy ‘parasite’

August 2, 2011 Comments off

rian

Vladimir Putin: U.S. global economy ‘parasite’The U.S. spends beyond its means and “lives like a parasite off the global economy,” Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday, 1 August 2011.

U.S. President Barack Obama said earlier in the day he had reached a deal with Republican and Democratic leaders to raise the nation’s debt ceiling by at least $2.1 trillion and avoid a default.

The proposed legislation is expected to be put to a vote in Congress later on Monday.

Speaking at a Russian political youth camp, Putin said the U.S. exists to build up its debt by relying on credit.

“It lives beyond its means, taxing the global economy with its problems and living like a parasite off the global economy and the monopoly of the dollar,” he said.

At the same time, the Russian head of government admitted that in the present day situation the United States took a “balanced” decision as a possible default would also have affected the global economy, which would have been “no good at all,” he concluded.

Categories: Russia Tags: , , , , , ,

Vladimir Putin Calls Bernanke A Hooligan, Angry At American Money Printing

July 13, 2011 1 comment

zerohedge

Who would have thought that Ron Paul’s ideological ally in his quest to take down the Chairsatan would be none other than the Russian dictator-in-waiting (or rather, in actuality), Vladimir Putin. In a speech before the of economic experts at the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian prime minister had the following to say: “Thank God, or unfortunately, we do not print a reserve currency but what are they doing? They are behaving like hooligans, switching on the printing press and tossing them around the whole world, forgetting their main obligations.” What appears to have angered the former KGB spy is the end of QE2. According to RIAN: “Putin’s comments came in the wake of the completion of the US’ quantitative easing (QE) 2 program on June 30, in which the Federal Reserve bought $600 billion worth of Read more…

Categories: Dollar Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Putin Delivers Big, Mocking Speech Of US Debt, Trade Balance, And Out Of Control Fed

April 21, 2011 Comments off

businessinsider

Russian Prime minister Vladimir Putin has called U.S. monetary policy “hooliganism” in a speech before his country’s parliament.

Putin also criticized the U.S. debt situation, and said Russia could not conduct its policy similarly.

From WSJ.com:

“We see that everything is not so good for our friends in the States,” Putin told lawmakers in the lower house of parliament. “Look at their trade balance, their debt, and budget. They turn on the printing press and flood the world with dollars,” he said.

The speech seems pretty typical Putin, applauding himself for recent Russian successes, but it’s made in the context of the 2012 Russian presidential election, in which Putin is expected to run against current president Dmitry Medvedev.

He’s continued to emphasize the fact that Russia Read more…

Categories: Deficit, Russia Tags: , , , ,

China-Russia relations and the United States: At a turning point?

April 14, 2011 Comments off

rian


Dmitry Medvedev and Hu JintaoBy Dr. Richard Weitz

Since the end of the Cold War, the improved political and economic relationship between Beijing and Moscow has affected a range of international security issues. China and Russia have expanded their bilateral economic and security cooperation. In addition, they have pursued distinct, yet parallel, policies regarding many global and regional issues.

Yet, Chinese and Russian approaches to a range of significant subjects are still largely uncoordinated and at times in conflict. Economic exchanges between China and Russia remain minimal compared to those found between most friendly countries, let alone allies.
Although stronger Chinese-Russian ties could present greater challenges to other countries (e.g., the establishment of a Moscow-Beijing condominium over Central Asia), several factors make it unlikely that the two countries will form such a bloc.

The relationship between the Chinese and Russian governments is perhaps the best it has ever been. The leaders of both countries engage in numerous high-level exchanges, make many mutually supportive statements, and manifest other displays of Russian-Chinese cooperation in what both governments refer to as their developing strategic partnership.

The current benign situation is due less to common values and shared interests than to the fact that Chinese and Russian security concerns are Read more…

Categories: China, Russia, United States Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Concern about mission creep grows as more bombs fall on Libya

March 22, 2011 Comments off

theglobeandmail.com

Barely 48 hours into the Libyan war, the American general running the air strikes came under fire about mission creep even while insisting that allied warplanes won’t hunt Moammar Gadhafi or back the rebels seeking to oust him.

“I have no mission to attack that person. And we are not doing so. We are not seeking his whereabouts or anything like that,” said General Carter Ham, U.S. regional commander for all of Africa.

Concerns over mission creep continue to be raised around the world – including in Canada – as a new set of strikes hit Triopoli late Monday. On a day in which Canadian CF-18s flew their first missions over Libya and Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Canada had a “moral duty” to participate, all four opposition parties endorsed Canadian involvement in the mission but pressed for details over how long the mission would last, what it would cost, and how it would Read more…

Categories: Libya Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In Rare Split, Two Leaders in Russia Differ on Libya

March 22, 2011 Comments off

www.nytimes.com

MOSCOW — The conflict in Libya caused an unusual rift on Monday between Russia’s two leaders, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin and his protégé, President Dmitri A. Medvedev, who typically choreograph their statements and refrain from criticizing each other.

Dmitri A. Medvedev said words like “crusade,” used by Vladimir V. Putin, were unacceptable when discussing the Libya airstrikes.

Mr. Putin appeared to displease Mr. Medvedev on Monday by harshly assailing the

airstrikes by coalition forces in Libya. Mr. Putin said the United Nations Security Council resolution that authorized the attacks was “deficient and flawed.” Russia abstained from voting on the resolution last week, deciding not to use a veto to block it.

“In general, it reminds me of a medieval call for a crusade,” Mr. Putin said.

Mr. Putin is widely considered Russia’s paramount Read more…

Categories: Libya, Russia Tags: , , , , , , ,