Tag Archives: Vladimir Putin

Via Business Insider: Hedge fund manager Bill Browder, once the largest foreign investor in Russia, estimates Russian President Vladimir Putin’s wealth at $200 billion — which would make him by far the richest man in the world. When asked to estimate his net worth by Fareed Zakaria of CNN, Browder said: “I believe that it is $200 billion. “After 14 …

Via the Associated Press: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, on Friday warned the West against trying to topple President Vladimir Putin and said that Russians are ready to sacrifice their wealth in Putin’s support. Russia has for the past year been sliding into recession amid a slump in its energy export …

Via Reuters: President Vladimir Putin assured Russians on Thursday that the economy would rebound after the ruble’s dramatic slide this year but offered no remedy for a deepening financial crisis. In an assured performance at a three-hour news conference, Putin blamed the economic problems on external factors and said the crisis over Ukraine was caused by the West, which he …

Via Vox: Russia’s official state-run news channel, Russia-1, has always been a bit brazen about cheerleading Russian President Vladimir Putin as a national action hero. But Russia-1 is taking that to a new level this week. The channel is broadcasting ads for Putin’s forthcoming press conference, on the disastrous fall of the ruble, that look very little like sober news …

Via USA Today: The Russian ruble currency declined sharply against the dollar on Tuesday despite an aggressive intervention just hours earlier by Russia’s Central Bank to halt the slide by hiking its benchmark interest rate to 17%. The ruble fell to a new low of 73 against the dollar on Tuesday. Initially, the ruble reacted favorably to the monetary policy …

Vladimir Putin today claimed that the United States treats gay people worse than Russia does because some states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books. From the poorly-written report by the official Russian news agency TASS: “Russia recognizes and does not infringe on the rights of non-traditional sexual orientation,” he said. “It is a label (of a country violating rights …

Details from the Associated Press.

Via TIME Magazine: Is Russian President Vladimir Putin meddling in the internal politics of countries in the European Union? That seemed a strong possibility to some Europeans this week, after French political leader Marine Le Pen confirmed she had secured a €9-million ($11.1 million) loan from a Moscow-based bank, in order to run her right-wing National Front party. “At this …

Via Vocativ: Russia’s numerous and varied ultra-nationalists groups have flourished since the collapse of the Soviet Union. They include groups who are anti-gay, anti-immigrant and pro-Hitler – and they have an enormous online following. Vocativ caught up with some of them at the annual “Russia March” in Moscow earlier this month. NOTE: Some images are not safe for work.

Russia can tear down their monument to Steve Jobs because Apple CEO Tim Cook has come out, but that won’t save their stock market. Via the Telegraph: Apple is now worth more than Russia’s stock market, new data have revealed. The US technology giant’s market capitalisation has overtaken the combined value of all Russian public companies for the first time …

About the lawmaker: Ms. Mizoulina, who holds an office roughly equivalent to that of a US Representative, is associated with the Dima Yakovlev Law and other efforts to prevent Americans from adopting Russian children. She is also known for odd proposals that express patriotism and concern for the continuation of the Russian nation. She recently recommended that all remaining Russian …

From their cover story: As the Olympic Winter Games headed to Sochi in 2014, so did a spotlight on the violations against the Russian LGBT community. Those violations are coming directly from the top of the Russian government, with President Vladimir Putin leading the charge. His crusade against LGBT Russians and the outrage and protests his actions sparked have earned …

1. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia 2. Barack Obama, President of the US 3. Xi Jinping, President of China 4. Pope Francis, Head of the Roman Catholic Church 5. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany 6. Janet Yellen, Chair, Federal Reserve System 7. Bill Gates, Co-chair, Gates Foundation 8. Mario Draghi, President of European Central Bank 9. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google 10. David Cameron, UK Prime …

Via the Guardian: Hollywood actor and musician Steven Seagal played a weekend concert in the Crimean peninsula, appearing on a stage adorned with the flag of pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine. Seagal and his blues band played on Saturday at a bikers’ show held in the city of Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet. The star has come under fire …

(Tipped by JMG reader Ashton)

Story developing…

Via the Wire: Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently on a grand tour of Latin America. His first stop is in Havana, Cuba. Ahead of arriving in Cuba, Putin decided to bestow a gift upon the Cuban government. With one swift signature, he eliminated $32 billion of Cuba’s debt, left over from the Soviet era. Cuba isn’t completely off the …

The kiss-in will take place today outside the Russian embassy. Source.

Vladimir Putin has condemned Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst for “aggressively” putting her sexuality “on show.” Via the Telegraph: The Russian President, who said he was “very liberal”, was attempting to pour water on a controversy which saw thousands of Russians protest before Wurst’s performance and the Orthodox Church describe her as an “abomination” by saying she has the “right” to …

According to Matthew Schmidt, an American expert on the region, Vladimir Putin has taken to labeling anti-Russian protesters in Ukraine as “gay Nazis.” The gay Nazis label was simultaneously an attempt to tie the new pro-Europe camp in Kiev to the hated German Third Reich while also taking advantage of the growing acceptance of gay marriage in the West, particularly …