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Press Release

Russia in Review

Published:

Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for the week of October 12-19, 2012

I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda.

Nuclear security agenda:

  • The United States urged a reluctant Russia to engage in talks to extend a program that has helped disarm thousands of ex-Soviet nuclear warheads and missiles. “There's surely more work to be done in that program and we're going to engage in that effort,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. (AFP, 10.11.12).
  • Retired Senator Sam Nunn said on future of CTR programs in Russia: “With the lessons learned and the best practices we've had of two decades of working together, I think that partnership could be very valuable for the U.S., for Russia and for the globe. But it will be on much more of a reciprocal access basis.” (CNN, 10.12.12.)
  • The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense (RF MOD) announced the commissioning of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Training Center near Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The KRTC will provide training for personnel who maintain or operate security systems at RF MOD nuclear sites. (NNSA, 10.12.12).
  • Kazakhstan on Monday announced the completion of a multilateral initiative to safeguard sensitive atomic materials at a Soviet-era nuclear test site on its territory. “The American-Kazakh-Russian project [at the Semipalatinsk Test Site] will be closed in a ceremony in Kurchatov on Oct. 17 and 18,” Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Altai Abibullayev told reporters. (GSN, 10.17.12).

Iran nuclear issues:

  • Twenty-seven percent of Russians believe Russia should not engage in a possible armed conflict between Iran and the United States, says a report from the Yuri Levada analytical center.  Thirty-two percent think that Moscow should be an intermediary and promote peaceful solutions to the Iran-U.S. problems, and 19 percent suggest maneuvering “for the sake of Russia's national interests.” (Interfax, 10.18.12).

NATO-Russia cooperation, including transit to and from Afghanistan:

  • Russia has been unable to establish a dialogue with the West on new mechanisms regulating the deployment of armed forces in Europe, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoliy Antonov told representatives of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.  (RIA Novosti, 10.18.12).

Missile defense:

  • Russia's Aerospace Defense Force successfully tested a short-range anti-missile defense system to confirm the effectiveness of interceptor missiles, deployed as part of the Russian A-135 (ABM-3) anti-ballistic missile network. (RIA Novosti, 10.16.12).
  • “The Russian response [to European missile defense] is currently mostly virtual, political and diplomatic in character, but under certain circumstances we would be forced to deliver a technical response, which I don't think you'll like,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told a visiting delegation of NATO's parliamentary assembly. (RIA Novosti, 10.18.12).

Nuclear arms control:

  • Under Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller said: “We and the Russian Federation are now engaged in a dialogue on strategic stability, laying the groundwork for future negotiations.” (U.S. State Department, 10.10.12).
  • A Department of Defense report on Russian nuclear forces, sent to Congress in May 2012, concludes that even the most worst-case scenario of a Russian surprise disarming first strike against the United States would have “little to no effect” on U.S. ability to retaliate with a devastating strike against Russia. (Hans M. Kristensen’s FAS blog, 10.10.12).

Counter-terrorism cooperation:

  • No significant developments.

Cyber security:

  • U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta didn't name Iran as a perpetrator of any particular cyber plot, but identified this country, along with China and Russia, as countries active in cyberspace,. “This is a pre-9/11 moment,” he said in a speech in New York. “The attackers are plotting.” (Wall Street Journal, 10.11.12).

Energy exports from CIS:

  • No significant developments.

Access to major markets for exports and imports:

  • Russia accounts for only about 1 percent of total U.S. trade, compared to China's 12 percent.  U.S. exports to Russia were up about 29 percent in the first eight months this year from a year ago, and are forecast to top $10 billion in 2012, up five-fold from a decade ago. Deere, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Caterpillar, and others are urging U.S. lawmakers to establish permanent normal trade relations (PTNR) with Russia.  “PNTR benefits the United States, not Russia,” said David Thomas, a Business Roundtable vice president.   (Reuters, 10.18.12).

Other bilateral issues:

  • Several Russians arrested last week in Texas and accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russian military and intelligence agencies have been subjected to “psychological and moral pressure” to make admissions of guilt, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday in a statement. (New York Times, 10.12.12).
  • Almost 70 percent of Russians believe that the United States often tries to put pressure on Russia, while only 17 percent think the United States treats Russia with respect, a recent Levada Center poll shows. The percentage of Russians with a positive attitude toward the United States fell from 67 percent to 46 percent over the past 12 months, while the percentage with a negative attitude rose from 27 percent to 38 percent, the poll said. (Moscow Times, 10.17.12).
  • There is a pattern, Representative Paul D. Ryan said, that characterized the president’s approach to the world — enabling a dictator to cling to power in Syria, outsourcing foreign policy decisions to the United Nations, and giving Russia a veto over American policies. (New York Times, 10.12.12).

II. Russia news.

Domestic Politics, Economy and Energy:

  • President Vladimir Putin’s ruling party decisively swept regional elections, according to results tabulated Monday. The United Russia party won all five governorships at stake and dominated all six regional legislatures up for election, along with a host of municipal councils and mayoralties. (Washington Post, 10.15.12).
  • Rosneft is poised to secure a tighter grip on Russia's oil industry by buying BP's 50 percent stake in TNK-BP. Rosneft has also made a tentative offer to BP's equal partners in TNK-BP, the AAR consortium. A combined Rosneft-TNK-BP would produce well over 4 million barrels of oil and gas a day - more than U.S. No.1 Exxon Mobil. (Reuters, 10.18.12).
  • In his first Cabinet shuffle, President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday appointed former Kostroma Governor Igor Slyunyayev as regional development minister instead of Oleg Govorun. (Moscow Times, 10.17.12).
  • The Russian Government is going to push ahead with its privatization program, estimated to have generated $19.4bln already this year. (Russia Today, 10.19.12).
  • President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a review of Russia's involvement in the Kyoto Protocol, raising the possibility that the country could finally “wave goodbye” to the climate treaty altogether. (Moscow Times, 10.18.12).
  • The record reduction in Arctic pack-ice this year has created favorable conditions for year-long navigation along the Northern Sea Route in 2013, offering major savings to shipping operators, Russia's Arctic Institute said on Wednesday. (RIA Novosti, 10.17.12).
  • Russia’s State Specialized Design Institute has started to design a plant for the fabrication of nuclear fuel in Ukraine. (Ukrano, 10.19.12).
  • Rosneft is looking to build a $700 million oil-products pipeline from Mozambique to Zimbabwe in an effort to expand its international reach. (Moscow Times, 10.15.12).
  • Currently, 44 percent of Russians say that they trust President Vladimir Putin, while a week ago the figure was 42 percent, and two weeks ago 41 percent, according to a survey by the Public Opinion Foundation. The sociologists also noted an increase in Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's confidence rating, from 36 percent to 39 percent. (Interfax, 10.11.12).
  • Over 55 percent of respondents in a survey conducted by the All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion on Social and Economic Issues said housing and utilities tariffs were their main concern, accounting for one-tenth of an average household's budget and constantly growing. Inflation comes second among Russian concerns, followed by the spread of drugs and corruption. (RIA Novosti, 10.15.12).

Defense:

  • The Russian defense ministry and navy officials said a Topol ICBM and a R-29R SLBM rockets were test-fired on Friday. Also Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers conducted successful cruise missile tests. (AFP, 10.19.12).
  • Russia plans to boost annual defense spending by 59 percent to almost 3 trillion rubles ($97 billion) in 2015, up from $61 billion in 2012,  head of the State Duma's Defense Committee Vladimir Komoyedov said. (RIA Novosti, 10.17.12).
  • Russia plans to spend 101.15 billion rubles ($3.27 billion) on nuclear weapons in 2013-2015, the head of the Defense Committee of the State Duma Vladimir Komoyedov said. The spending on nuclear weapons in 2012 made up 27.4 billion rubles, he said. (Pravda.ru, 10.18.12).
  • Russia will start production of a new 100-ton liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile before the end of this year. The new weapon will replace the heavy R-36M2 Voyevoda missile (NATO SS-18 Satan).(RIA Novosti, 10.19.12).
  • Russia's Strategic Missile Forces will extend the service lives of its Voyevoda intercontinental ballistic missiles through the end of the decade, according to a spokesman for the missile forces. (Forcst, 10.02.12).
  • The period of assessment for new, advanced long-range radar deployed by the Russian military in Siberia has successfully been concluded. (GSN, 10.19.12).

Security and law-enforcement:

  • The Investigative Committee pressed charges of planning an anti-Kremlin coup against prominent opposition figure Sergei Udaltsov and his aides Konstantin Lebedev and Leonid Razvozzhayev. (RIA Novosti, 10.19.12).
  • President Vladimir Putin has urged Russia’s intelligence agencies, police, and military to clamp down on terrorism to prevent violence at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi and other international events in Russia. (AP, 10.16.12).
  • The Federal Security Service announced on Saturday that it had shut down 20 nongovernmental organizations in southern Russia after discovering links to foreign spy agencies. (New York Times, 10.13.12).
  • Russia’s top investigative agency said Tuesday it is pursuing murder charges against the suspected triggerman and four others in the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, but has failed to determine who ordered the hit. (AP, 10.16.12).
  • The mother of Sergei Magnitsky, the anti-corruption lawyer who died in pretrial detention in 2009, has filed a complaint in the European Court of Human Rights. (Moscow Times, 10.18.12).
  • A man who was planning to be a suicide bomber was detained in Vologda after explosives intended for detonation were found his apartment, FSB investigators said Monday. (Moscow Times, 10.16.12).

Foreign affairs:

  • President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that only the U.N. Security Council could restrict Russian weapons sales abroad, a remark that appeared aimed at defending the Kremlin against criticism of its arms supplies to the Syrian government. (Moscow Times, 10.17.12).
  • A Syrian plane that was forced to land in Turkey was legally carrying Russian radar parts for Syria, Russia’s foreign minister said Friday. The U.S. said that “serious military equipment” was found on board a passenger plane forced down by Turkish fighter jets during a flight between Moscow and Damascus last week and that it has spoken to Russian officials about it. (AP, 10.12.12, MT, 10.18.12).
  • Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was in India this week for a three-day visit to discuss ways to intensify trade, review nuclear liability issues, and firm up the agenda for a meeting between the countries' leaders. (Moscow Times, 10.16.12).
  • Russia appealed Monday to the Afghan authorities and public to provide information on over 200 Soviet troops listed as missing since Soviet forces ended their occupation of Afghanistan in 1989 — including 30 to 40 who may still be alive. (AP, 10.15.12).
  • The crews of some European airlines will need visas to enter Russia as of Nov. 1 if the European Union does not scrap its visa policy for Russian officials, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said late Sunday in Luxembourg. (Moscow Times, 10.16.12).

Russia's neighbors:

  • Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Wednesday nominated his rival Bidzina Ivanishvili as prime minister after the tycoon's coalition defeated the president's ruling party in polls this month. Ivanishvili told NATO secretary general's special representative James Appathurai that “NATO should now take practical steps to enable Georgia to join the alliance as soon as possible.” Ivanishvili also said that Georgia should “definitely” compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Earlier Saakashvili has restored Georgian citizenship to Ivanishvili. (RFE/RL, 10.16.12. AFP, 10.17.12,Interfax, 10.18.12).