http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/ The Moscow Times is a daily English-language newspaper featuring objective, reliable news on business, politics and culture in Russia and the former Soviet Union (CIS). en Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:12:34 +0400 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/upload/iblock/e65/OPINION-8-mega.jpg 330 250 Viktor Bogorad || Modernizing Russia's Tragic History http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/415147.html http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/415147.html By Vladimir Ryzhkov <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/themoscowtimes/opinion/~3/coVgwQ0HSaM/415147.html In a village in the Leningrad region, there is a large bronze statue of a strong, stocky man in a long coat and cap on a high red granite pedestal. An inscription reveals that it is a monument to Sergei Kirov, whose murder gave Josef Stalin an excuse to unleash the Great Terror. <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/TBD-OXyzEuIVwSqrfTAXWLTk3sg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/TBD-OXyzEuIVwSqrfTAXWLTk3sg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/TBD-OXyzEuIVwSqrfTAXWLTk3sg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/TBD-OXyzEuIVwSqrfTAXWLTk3sg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/415147.html http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/415148.html By Yulia Latynina <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/themoscowtimes/opinion/~3/cBiaJA_vLMs/415148.html After Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cruised around the Far East in a Lada Kalina for 11 days, political pundits claimed that it was the start of his presidential campaign. But what is the point of conducting an election campaign in a country that has no real elections? <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/WeE4M-oCYsEWRV3ceM5AYNrVnPg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/WeE4M-oCYsEWRV3ceM5AYNrVnPg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/WeE4M-oCYsEWRV3ceM5AYNrVnPg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/WeE4M-oCYsEWRV3ceM5AYNrVnPg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/415148.html http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/415149.html By Martin Gilman <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/themoscowtimes/opinion/~3/amIVBSZvlBM/415149.html A ruble exchange-rate crisis in two or three years is not inevitable, but if inflation is allowed to accelerate and real interest rates - adjusting for the effects of inflation - become negative again, an exchange-rate crisis just becomes a question of time. <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/SQf4Je6iqevw835e22GFfmnRZV0/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/SQf4Je6iqevw835e22GFfmnRZV0/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/SQf4Je6iqevw835e22GFfmnRZV0/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/SQf4Je6iqevw835e22GFfmnRZV0/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/415149.html http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/415153.html By Alexei Pushkov <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/themoscowtimes/opinion/~3/UwjKbkv0OUk/415153.html What is the future of the much-famed "reset" in U.S.-Russian relations? The previous political season between the two countries ended on a low note because of the spy scandal. This new season started with Vladimir Putin's recent remarks that so far he does not see any reset in relations. <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/RjVYu1jCK7lGoL_o_SvoTQLbxC4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/RjVYu1jCK7lGoL_o_SvoTQLbxC4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/RjVYu1jCK7lGoL_o_SvoTQLbxC4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/RjVYu1jCK7lGoL_o_SvoTQLbxC4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/415153.html