Putin's Rating Falls While Unified Russia's Rises
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, May 29, 2003
The poll found that President Putin's approval rating fell to 70 percent from 73 percent last month -- reaching its lowest level since December 2000, when his rating was 68 percent. The center also found that the rating for the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party rose from 21 percent last month to 23 percent in May.

YABLOKO Sets Its Eyes on Foreign, Interior and Foreign Trade Ministries
By Olga Redichkina, Rustem Falyakhov, Gazeta, No. 92, May 2003
However, Yavlinsky is still not ready for a compromise: "We will not exchange our values for positions and appointments."

Deputy Mitrokhin manages to make the law-enforcement agencies initiate criminal proceedings for environmental pollution
Press Release, May 27, 2003
Criminal proceedings in accordance with Article 246 of the Criminal Code of the RF (violation of environmental protection regulations at work) were started by the Chelyabinsk Prosecutor for Environmental Protection for "investigation of all the circumstances and reasons for environmental pollution in the city of Krabash ."

Russia, U.S. Remain Divided, Despite Healing of War Rifts
By Gregory L. White, Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2003
But as the two presidents meet in St. Petersburg this weekend for the first time since the war, there's still little sign they will be able to get the strategic partnership, stalled by the war, back into high gear soon.

Putin uses Czarist splendor at city birthday bash
By Richard Balmforth, Reuters, May 29, 2003
"The VIPs will see the gloss of St Petersburg. But in reality we are going into the next 100 years with rats multiplying in our housing blocks..."

Duma Deputies Call For Extraordinary Measures Against Corruption
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, May 27, 2003
"Because of corruption, the long bloody butchery in Chechnya continues; the economy is stagnant; the national wealth and resources are being mercilessly plundered; industrial production and small businesses are being strangled; and arbitrary bureaucratic rule prevails..."

Arms Control - updated

Russia-US Relations - updated

Liberal Leader Expresses Satisfaction With U.S.-Russia Summit Results
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, May 25, 2003
Yabloko faction leader Grigorii Yavlinsky told RFE/RL's Russian Service on 25 May that he considers the declaration on Russian-American strategic cooperation signed last week by Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin an even bigger achievement than the new strategic-arms reduction treaty that they also signed.

Yabloko in Cabinet?
The Moscow Times, May 27, 2003
Yabloko head Grigory Yavlinsky said his party may enter the Cabinet that will be created after elections to the State Duma in December, Interfax reported Monday.

For Russia, Cold War Relic Becomes a Game of Chicken
By Jeanne Cummings, Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2003
When President Bush heads to Russia for a fence-mending trip this week, he won't be carrying with him one thing President Vladimir Putin badly wants: freedom from the so-called Jackson-Vanik rule, a Cold War relic that ties U.S. trade relations to the former Soviet state's treatment of Jews.

Grigory Yavlinsky: We Should Not Tolerate This Government Any More
By Sergei Yuriyev, Komsomolskaya Pravda, May 23, 2003
On the threshold of the May bank holidays the YABLOKO party announced its decision to begin collecting signatures among deputies of the State Duma for the vote of no-confidence in the government.

Alexander Shishlov: the Government is not authorised to review the decisions of the Security Council and the State Council
Press release, May 22, 2003
State support of education, in particular an increase in the wages of researchers should become a priority task for the state budget for 2004.

Grigory Yavlinsky Called on the Residents of Perm to Watch Less TV
By Ksenia Veretennikova, Vremya Novostei, May 26, 2003
"We should not imagine anything. We should create such an economy that would survive even under a bad government."

Zyuganov and the Void. Analysis of the latest political rumors
By Leonid Sergienko, Vremya MN, May 23, 2003
Vicious dirty PR tactics allegedly made by some political consultants close to the Kremlin indicate how seriously the regime considers a possible communist alliance with some oligarchs.

Putin Raises The Stakes For Duma Elections
By Laura Belin, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian Political Weekly Vol. 3, No. 20, 23 May 2003
...Nevertheless, for the first time in post-Soviet Russia, a president endorsed in such a forum the idea of appointing a government that would enjoy the support of most parliamentarians...

Vice Speaker of the State Duma Vladimir Lukin proposes the introduction of a visa-free regime for Russian and European students
Press release, May 20, 2003.
He also noted that YABLOKO is the European party that has consistently supported the idea of liberating Russian citizens from visa barriers on trips to Central and Western Europe.

Duma Approves Chechen Amnesty
By Nabi Abdullaev, The Moscow Times, May 22, 2003.
The Yabloko faction opposed the bill. An amnesty will not contribute to peace in Chechnya until the rampant mopping-up operations that federal troops conduct in Chechen villages are drastically limited and Chechen borders are effectively sealed so hardened rebels cannot escape, said Alexei Arbatov, the faction's point man on the bill.

Russian Government Delays Investment in Arctic Oil
Rosbalt, May 20, 2003
The Russian Ministry for Natural Resources has asked the government to approve its Arctic shelf exploration programme, stating that there are several Western oil companies ready to invest.

Russia: Observers Say Putin's Address Long On Criticism, Short On Solutions
By Gregory Feifer, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, May 19, 2003
Yavlinsky said the country's most pressing problems are the lack of an independent judicial system and an informative press, manipulations of elections, control over law enforcers, and the mix of business and politics.

Russia Lawmakers: End Abuses In Chechnya, Open Peace Talks
Associated Press, May 18, 2003
Liberal Russian lawmakers called Sunday for an end to abuses by Russian forces in Chechnya and for talks aimed at bringing peace to the region, where deadly violence has persisted despite the Kremlin's efforts to defeat rebels and enhance stability.

A Cabinet Based on the Duma
By Andrei Zolotov Jr., The Moscow Times, May 19, 2003
President Vladimir Putin's proposal to form the next Cabinet "based on the parliamentary majority" was the political highlight of his state of the nation address Friday.

Russian journalists pessimistic about media developments in the country
TVS television channel, May 16, 2003
The vulnerability of journalists as well as of other owners of media agencies that critcise the authorities was identified as the main problem at the congress today.

Full-Scale Production at Sakhalin 1 and 2 Fields to Begin Simultaneously
RIA Novosti, May 17, 2003
Full-scale production of hydrocarbons under the Sakhalin 1 project will begin at the same time as under Sakhalin 2, Governor of Sakhalin Region Igor Farkhutdinov has told reporters. The Sakhalin 2 project is scheduled to reach projected capacity in 2006-2007.

On Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly of the RF for 2003
By Grigory Yavlinsky, Statement, May 16, 2003

Putin's annual address offers prospect of new cabinet, say senior MPs
Interfax, May 16, 2003
Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky expressed his view that Russian President Vladimir Putin implied in his address to the Federal Assembly plans to replace the current government.

YABLOKO Against Extremism - updated

Criminal proceedings for inciting inter-ethnic hatred started after deputy Mitrokhin inquiry
Press release, May 16, 2003
Three criminal proceedings for inciting inter-ethnic hatred were opened by the Public Prosecutor's Office after the inquiry of deputy of the State Duma from the YABLOKO faction Sergei Mitrokhin

A Nuclear Bomb in Stars and Stripes. Deputies Ordered to reduce them
Interview with Alexei Arbatov by Marina Ozerova, Moskovskiy Komsomolets, May 15, 2003
Yesterday the State Duma ratified the Treaty on the Reduction of Offensive Potential, which was signed a year ago by Presidents Putin and Bush.

Who Bashes Production Sharing and Why: PSAs Are Victims of the Competition Between the Oil Companies
By Mikhail Subbotin, RusEnergy, February 14, 2003 (Archive)
The Russian government has decided that production sharing is an exceptional scheme that should be used only for reserves in virtually inaccessible areas.

Russia Wants to Restrict Incentives to Seek Oil
By Sabrina Tavernise, The New York Times, February 20, 2003 (Archive)
The Russian government has proposed restrictions on tax-rate and regulatory guarantees used to attract foreign investment to its oil industry.

Western oil projects in Russia
Reuters, February 19, 2003 (Archive)
Following is a list of existing and planned oil and gas projects in Russia by some of the world's biggest energy firms...

Russia: Boost In Oil Production Grabs World's Attention, But Can It Be Sustained?
By Jeremy Bransten, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, March 26, 2002 (Archive)
According to just-released statistics from the Paris-based International Energy Agency, Russia has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world's number one oil producer. What is behind Russia's return to the top and is Moscow's leadership in this all-important sector sustainable?

STREAMLINE PRODUCTION-SHARING LAW, U.S. PETROLEUM BOSS CALLS RUSSIA
Pravda.ru, October 29, 2001 (Archive)
A streamlined production-sharing law will skyrocket overseas investment in Russian fuel deposit development, said Glen Waller, external relations manager of the Russian Exxo Mobil office, as he was addressing a roundtable of the world Davos economic forum, which is holding session in Moscow.

Alexei Melnikov: "I would not make a rush statement that the opponents to Production sharing have won"
By Galina Bazina, Buro Pravovoi Informacii, May 5, 2003
Consequently we cannot state with conviction that the review of the amendments to the PSA Chapter of the Tax Code in the second reading which was postponed several times [by the State Duma] and is now scheduled at the first meeting after the May holidays, will take place and yield results.

Press Conference of Grigory Yavlinsky and Vladimir Lukin on dismissal of the government. April 26, 2003
13 min 26 sec - 56Kb/sec - 3,36 Mb; 150Kb/sec - 14,6 Mb

Russia's Latest Oil and Gas Oasis
By James Brooke, New York Times, May 13, 2003
Aggressive investments by the world's three largest oil producers illustrate how this isolated island north of Japan has become a world hot spot for energy development. Sakhalin, roughly equal in area to Maine but with fewer than half as many residents as Maine's 1.2 million people, is on a track to surpass Moscow this year as the top destination for foreign investment in Russia.

DUMA DEPUTY LINKS RATIFICATION OF MOSCOW TREATY TO IRAQ SETTLEMENT
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, April 23, 2003
Arbatov noted that the conflict over Iraq "has exposed differences in the two countries' approaches to solving key problems of international security and stability."

A Means to Escape Legalisation
By Igor Artemyev, Moskovskiye Novosti, May 6, 2003
Our faction believes that key reform should be a reduction in the single social tax. This is a matter of principle for us, as one of the main points of our programme during the [previous] election to the State Duma was legalisation of the population's incomes.

Russia reexamining its military
By David Filipov, Boston Globe, May 9, 2003
... the generals have resisted rapid change, and the Russian Army today is merely a stripped down, impoverished version of what it has been for decades -- a massive, unwieldy conscript force built for 20th century battles on the plains of Europe, with too many generals and not enough battle-ready troops.

Most Russian politicians positive about Putin's three years of presidency
gazeta.ru, May 7, 2003
Only Yabloko leader Sergey Mitrokhin complained that the President had remained a hostage to the oligarchic system and had failed to transform Russia into a modern and competitive state.

SPS Picks Kokh as Election Chief
By Andrei Zolotov Jr., The Moscow Times, May 6, 2003
Alfred Kokh, one of the most colorful and controversial figures in both business and politics, will undertake next Monday the daunting task of managing the parliamentary election campaign for the liberal Union of Right Forces party.

Chubais Gets New UES Term; Yabloko Miffed
By Alla Startseva, The Moscow Times, April 30, 2003
The government has extended Anatoly Chubais' contract as CEO of power monopoly Unified Energy Systems by five years, UES said Tuesday -- much to the dismay of the liberal Yabloko party.

Russia's elections will not be devoid of ideological content
By Igor Bunin, General Director of the Political Consulting Center, Vremya Novostei, April 29, 2003
Yabloko's key supporters are the Russian intelligentsia, who demand honest politics and moderate-liberal ideas. The widespread revival of the state idea in today's Russia has influenced these people as well - thus, in a timely response to this trend, Yabloko has avoided transforming itself into a politically destructive organization, unlike the Liberal Russia party. Therefore, it has a good chance of securing seats in the next Duma.

Our Government Is Absolutely Irresponsible
Interview with Grigory Yavlinsky by Evgeni Kiselev, TVS television channel, "Itogi" programme, April 27, 2003
The government is making a series of decisions distant from people's interests that they are finding hard to identify with. And in general the government is demonstrating total indifference to developments in the country which it is supposed to govern.

The Race Is on for Ombudsman Post
By Andrei Zolotov, The Moscow Times, May 7, 2003
A Yabloko source said Tuesday that the party was likely to vote for Mironov. As a former Communist, Mironov also is certain to win the support of his former colleagues.

Yabloko Plans to Ask Duma for a Vote of No-Confidence
The Associated Press, April 28, 2003
The liberal Yabloko party said Saturday that it would call for a no-confidence vote in the government of Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov because of its failure to safeguard citizens and its inability to carry out vital reforms.