Free Republic

In a SPIEGEL interview, leading Russian politician and potential Putin successor Vladimir Yakunin discusses the president's plans, the Bush administration's "political arrogance" and the need for nations to consider the interests of other countries when defining their own.Vladimir Yakunin, 59, who worked as a diplomat at the Soviet mission to the United Nations in New York and later as the Russian deputy minister of transportation, became the president of the powerful Russian railroad corporation in 2005. He is considered a possible presidential candidate. SPIEGEL: You have known (Russian President) Vladimir Putin for a long time. In fact, you had neighboring...

Russia and China Vie for Najin Port Russia is trying to strengthen ties with North Korea, citing a "China threat" in Korea and the Far East. The Gudok, the daily newspaper of Russian Railways, said in an article Tuesday, "If China takes control of Najin port in North Korea, Russia may suffer huge losses in the project to link the TKR (Trans-Korea Railway) and the TSR (Trans-Siberian Railway)." Gudok is published by Vladimir Yakunin, the president and CEO of Russian Railways and one of the closest allies of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Sources say the report can be viewed as...