Free Republic

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has described the collapse of the Soviet Union as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century. Mr Putin's annual state of the nation address to parliament was broadcast live on Russian television. He said the break-up of the USSR in 1991 was "a real drama" which left tens of millions of Russians outside the Russian Federation. He also said Russia must develop as a "free and democratic" country. But he stressed that Russia "will decide for itself the pace, terms and conditions of moving towards democracy". "We are a free nation and our place...

MOSCOW, March 28 (RIA Novosti) - At the moment, 54% of Russians approve of the governor appointment system (by regional legislatures following the president's recommendations) proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Thirty-nine percent disagree. In September 2004, after Putin put forward the initiative, 38% of respondents backed this proposal (partially or in full), and 48% disapproved of it. This is the information of the all-Russian Public Opinion Center, which conducted a representative survey of 1,600 Russian citizens in 100 cities and towns in 40 regions, territories and republics on March 13-14 and March 19-21. The statistic error does not exceed...

MOSCOW - Russia expressed support Monday for a law passed by the Chinese parliament allowing Beijing to attack Taiwan should it move further toward independence. A close Chinese ally with strong bilateral arms trade with Beijing, Moscow said it could not support Taiwan's independence. "Russia, without change, supports one principled position," the Russia foreign ministry said in a statement. "We believe that there is only one China in the world, with Taiwan being its inalienable part," the statement said. "And from this standpoint, we do not support the independence of Taiwan in one form or another. We do not believe...