Free Republic

Vlad Sobell, Ph.D. Born in Prague but emigrated to the UK in 1969. After gaining a PhD on Comecon at St Antony's College, Oxford, worked as an analyst at Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe Research in Munich. On return to the UK in 1990 worked as Senior Editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit in London, covering Central Europe and Russia. Since 1996 has worked as Senior Economist at Daiwa Institute of Research, London. MOSCOW, August 30 (Vlad Sobell for RIA Novosti). With the ending of the Yukos affair, Russia has entered a more optimistic phase, allowing minds to focus on the...

The deputy head of the Russian administration, Vladislav Surkov -- who serves as a designated mouthpiece for the policies of President Vladimir Putin -- has begun advocating the creation of a heftier opposition to the ruling United Russia party. Talk surfaced Thursday of a suggested merger between the nationalist-socialist Rodina (Motherland) Party, the Party of Life, and possibly the Party of Pensioners into a new opposition party in the Russian Duma. ...The two-party system is only being created for the benefit of Putin's (or his successor's) administration. The new party would serve the function of a loyal opposition to United...

PRAGUE, August 4, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Moscow's new diplomatic assertiveness was on display for the world to see during last month's G8 summit in St. Petersburg. And one controversial topic that dominated the run-up to the summit has remained in the spotlight -- Russia's repeatedly stated intention of following its own democratic path, dubbed "sovereign democracy." The concept was formulated by Vyacheslav Surkov, the deputy chief and prime ideologue of President Vladimir Putin's administration. Surkov began floating the new ideology during speeches to activists of the pro-presidential Unified Russia party in February and May. Sovereign Democracy As outlined by Surkov...