Private habits of Putin (Russian Crisis)

[BlueKelah]

In that case here goes:

Russian TV says fighter jet shot down MH17

Russian state television has broadcast what it says are satellite images of a MiG-29 fighter jet flying near the Malaysia Airlines jet that was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July.

The report on Saturday quoted Ivan Andrijewski, vice president of the Russian union of engineers, as saying the images presumably came from a British or a US spy satellite.

Moscow drew wide condemnation over the July 17 flight MH17, which experts said was brought down by an explosion consistent with a surface-to-air missile.

Pro-Russian separatists are suspected of firing a missile that brought down the jet, killing 298 people. The separatists deny firing at the jet.

The satellite image which Russian TV says shows a Ukrainian jet shooting down MH17.

But Russia has said the airliner was shot down by a fighter jet, allegedly belonging to the Ukrainian government, and the television report suggested that the satellite images proved that assertion.

Investigators in the Netherlands have uncovered no evidence that another aircraft flew near the Boeing 777 passenger jet en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Russian state television described its story as a "sensation" airing just as the G20 summit opens in Brisbane Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was expected to take Russian President Vladimir Putin to task about the tragedy. Russian state television said its revelation was important for the confrontation between the two leaders.
Read more here

---==========================
Rock solid evidence? or photoshop

[greengiraffe]

Damn smart... leave early and need not face takan...

Vladimir Putin makes early exit from G20
PUBLISHED: 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES AGO | UPDATE: 0 HOUR 0 MINUTES AGO
print-font+fontReprints & permissions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has received a cool reception from some leaders at the Brisbane G20 summit. Photo: Bloomberg
MATTHEW CRANSTON
More stories from G20
Russian pundit attacks Tony Abbott over ‘cynical’ MH17 plot

Russian President Vladimir Putin has left the G20 leaders summit early following a frosty reception from leaders of countries including Australia and Canada.

But he reportedly told a press conference before he left that there had been a constructive atmosphere despite criticism of Russia’s role in the Ukraine.

He told Russian journalists that while some views didn’t coincide but the discussion was completely constructive and very helpful. He thanked Prime Minister Tony Abbott for hosting the meeting but said the economic blockade against Russia was a big mistake.

Mr Putin has received a cool reception from leaders at the G20 and was greeted on arrival by Australia’s assistant minister of defence Stuart Roberts, a junior minister.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s stern words to Mr Putin over the MH17 disaster have been well-documented, and other leaders such as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper have also faced off with the Russian leader.

The New York Times has reported that when Mr Putin approached Mr Harper to shake his hand, Mr Harper said, “I guess I’ll shake your hand, but I have only one thing to say to you: You need to get out of Ukraine”. Mr Putin reportedly replied to Mr Harper that his views would be relevant if Russia was in Ukraine.

He was also the subject of discussions at a trilateral meeting between Mr Abbott, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Barack Obama on Sunday morning.

The trio issued a statement condemning Russia over its actions in Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are waging a war in the east against the western backed government.

“The three leaders resolved to tackle pressing issues such as ... opposing Russia’s purported annexation of Crimea and its actions to destabilise eastern Ukraine, and bringing to justice those responsible for the downing of flight MH17,” they said.

Russian media have also hit back at world leaders who have highlighted Russia’s responsibility around the downing of the MH17 passenger jet where 298 people died, including 38 Australians.

Russia’s top rating news program launched an extraordinary attack on Prime Minister Tony Abbott and hinted he is part of a “cynical” and “deliberate” western plot to blame Russia for the MH17 tragedy.

The attack aired on Russian state channel ORT at the top of its national evening news bulletin in a special report by Mikhail Leontyev, a well known pundit with close links to the Kremlin.

With AAP

The Australian Financial Review

BY MATTHEW CRANSTON
Matthew covers Queensland property and business issues from our Brisbane bureau.

[greengiraffe]

Don't meddle in Russia's affairs: Putin
AFP NOVEMBER 19, 2014 11:45PM

President Vladimir Putin has urged Washington's new envoy not to interfere in Russia's affairs amid raging tensions.

"We are ready for practical cooperation with American partners along various directions guided by the principles of respect for each other's interests, equal rights and non-interference into domestic affairs," Putin said on Wednesday.

He spoke at the Kremlin where John Tefft, Washington's new ambassador to Russia, presented his letter of credence along with envoys from several other countries including North Korea.

Tefft - known for backing the pro-Western aspirations of former Soviet states - succeeded Michael McFaul, who abruptly quit his post in February after just two years on the job.

His predecessor McFaul, a Stanford university professor, frequently sparked Russia's fury with critical comments on Twitter and meetings with Russian opposition activists.

Cold War-era rivals Russia and the United States are locked in a tug-of-war over the fate of ex-Soviet republic Ukraine, with Washington imposing sanctions and US President Barack Obama branding Moscow's actions over Ukraine a "threat to the world".

Meeting with his supporters on Tuesday, Putin claimed the United States wanted to subjugate Russia but would never succeed.

"They want to subdue us, want to solve their problems at our expense," the Russian president said.

"No one in history ever managed to do this to Russia, and no one ever will."

In a fresh sign of mounting Russia-West tensions, Putin at the weekend faced scorn from Western leaders at a G20 summit in Australia which he left early.

In unusually blunt remarks on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Russia's aggression against Ukraine threatened Europe's "peaceful order".

In an apparent effort to calm tensions, Putin said on Tuesday no one in the West wanted to see an escalation.

"No one wants to ramp up tensions in the world, trust me, and they in the United States do not want this really, I mean the general public. So everything will sort itself out," he said.

[greengiraffe]

Russia's Vladimir Putin breaks silence on family to say daughters live in Russia
World | Updated Monday

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, famously reticent about his private life, broke silence Sunday on the whereabouts of his two daughters, whose lives are a highly kept secret.

In a rare glimpse into the Russian ruler's family life, Putin also told the state-run TASS news agency that he could seek to extend his rule through 2024, but that it would be "harmful" for him to remain president for life.

Putin's daughters - Maria, 29, nicknamed Masha, and Yekaterina, 28, known as Katya - are a mystery to Russians, who do not even know what they look like.

But Putin batted away rumours that they were living abroad, saying he meets them monthly.

"I have a packed work schedule. Even my daughters I only see once or twice a month, and then I need to pick my moment," Putin said in the interview.

Asked what country his daughters live in, the former KGB officer said: "In Russia, where else?"

"Of course, they live in Moscow. We meet at home," Putin added.

According to unconfirmed reports this summer, Maria was forced to flee her home in the Netherlands after a missile allegedly supplied by Moscow downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people, mostly Dutch nationals.

The mayor of the Dutch city of Hilversum, which lost several inhabitants in the July 17 disaster, called for her to be deported, before he retracted his "unwise" comments.

Ukrainian activists even published photos and the address of her purported "luxury apartment", urging people to protest outside.

Yekaterina was reportedly set to marry the son of a South Korean general in 2010 but the rumour was denied by Putin's spokesman.

Putin is never officially photographed with his daughters, whose secrecy is in marked contrast to the high profile Tatyana Yumasheva, daughter of his predecessor Boris Yeltsin.

Putin has effectively been in power since 1999, when Yeltsin made him prime minister, then acting president. He said in the TASS interview that "the possibility exists" of a fourth term in 2018, which would keep him in the Kremlin until 2024.

The decision depends on "my inner feelings, my mood", he said.

But he said he didn't plan on staying in power for life.

"No, that's not good for the country," he said. "It's harmful and I don't need that." Putin used the interview to hone his carefully crafted image as a clean-living leader, saying his favourite drink is "ordinary (black) tea", served in a thermal travel mug.

He said he was too busy to have many friends. "All the same I don't feel lonely. However strange that sounds."

Putin's own love life has long been the subject of rumours in a country where the media is largely under tight state control and there is little independently verified information on the lives of Putin's inner circle.

He was first linked to former Olympic rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabayeva several years before his divorce from his wife of 30 years, Lyudmila, a former Aeroflot stewardess, was announced last year.

In 2008 Moskovsky Korrespondent newspaper reported Putin was about to wed Kabayeva, who is 31 years his junior. The newspaper's owner closed it shortly afterwards.

"There is a private life in which no one should interfere - I've always had a low opinion of those with snotty noses and erotic fantasies who delve into the lives of others," Putin said at the time.

Kabayeva is now the head of a powerful pro-Kremlin media group, after resigning her seat in the Duma, the Russian lower house of parliament, as an MP for Putin's United Russia Party.

Lyudmila Putina has all but vanished from public view after their divorce was finalised in April.

[violinist]

Daniel Craig can play Putin!

[greengiraffe]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102223303?trknav=...:topnews:3

OPEC decision spells trouble for Russia
Holly Ellyatt | @HollyEllyatt
14 Hours Ago
CNBC.com


The decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to keep production at its current limits in the face of slumping oil prices means trouble for the Russian economy, analysts believe.

Despite hopes from members Venezuela, Iran and Iraq that the 12-counrty oil cartel would cut production from its current 30 million barrels a day, the committee, led by Saudi Arabia, sent out the message that it could cope with lower oil prices.

Brent crude was hovering near a four-year low early Friday of $72.43 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures tumbled Thursday nearly $6 to $67.75, the lowest since May 2010 after OPEC's decision. Crude prices have fallen around 30 percent since June on the back of an abundant supply and lack of demand. As such, there was hope that OPEC might support prices by cutting production but these were dashed on Thursday.

Read MoreOPEC needs to 'wake up' to shale revolution
Along with the currencies of other oil producing nations, such as Norway and Canada, the Russian ruble fell further after the OPEC decision was announced. On Friday, it was trading at 49.14 against the greenback, having dipped from 47.39 against the greenback ahead of the OPEC decision on Wednesday. Russian stocks also dropped on the news but the country's MICEX index had recovered to trade slightly higher Friday morning at 1,533.

Read MorePutin seeks to reassure world amid 'perfect storm'
The Russian stock market has seen wild swings this year and the country's currency has fallen 45 percent against the dollar year-to-date due to global concerns over Russia's alleged incursions into Ukraine and the fall in the oil price. Russia holds among the world's largest resources of gas, oil and coal, according to the International Energy Agency – and relies heavily on its energy exports.


With the oil price falling further on the OPEC decision, Russia's economy bear the brunt of the decision, analysts told CNBC.

"(The OPEC decision is) very bad news for Russia and the ruble - just makes a difficult decision that much more difficult," Timothy Ash , head of emerging market research at Standard Bank, told CNBC in an email Friday.

Read MoreRussians dumping rubles for... Rolls Royces?
Meanwhile Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade said in an email to CNBC Friday that lower oil prices will drive the income of oil-producing firms lower "which could increase the pressure on Mr Putin and on his economy".

Russia between a rock and a hard place

Russia might be able to cut production, but that will come at a price to Russia's economy. On Thursday, Russia's finance ministry said the country's budget policy should be adapted to low oil prices which could last for a long time, RIA news agency said, cited by Reuters.

A weaker ruble in Russia on the back of sanctions imposed on the country after its incursions into Ukraine has not helped rampant inflation miring the domestic economy. The economy ministry believes inflation will hit 9 percent before the year is out.

The country's central bank has increased interest rates in a bid to curtail spending and bring the inflation rate down. But growth is falling as economic outlook worsens. Russian gross domestic product expanded just 0.7 percent year-on-year in the third quarter.

The Russian Central Bank has lowered its 2014 growth forecast to 0.3 percent and now forecasts no growth in 2015, down from a forecast of between 0.9 and 1.1 percent growth forecast in September.

Read MoreWhy is Putin buying gold?
The falling oil price might not be all bad, however, according to Ava Trade's Aslam. Falling oil prices mean lower inflation -- something Russia could do with -- as the cost of producing goods becomes cheaper. As such, Russian producers could be given a boost but for oil companies it's a different matter.

"Lower inflation is good for producing goods especially now (in the short term) however, as far as it goes for the drilling companies, it is a disaster," Aslam said.

The Kremlin has major stakes in some of Russia's biggest oil companies, among whom are Rosneft, Lukoil, Yukos, Gazprom, TNK-BP and Surgutneftegaz, which were trading mixed on Friday but the OPEC decision could spell "disaster" for them – and for the government.

Pressure on Putin

With attempts to buoy Russia's economy set to get harder, Russian President Vladimir Putin could face growing disillusionment among the Russian populace, analysts also believed.

John Kilduff, the founding partner of Again Capital, told CNBC in an email Thursday that the decision could put pressure on Putin's regime. "The (decision) could spell political trouble for Russia, including a threat to Putin," Kilduff said. "(CNBC presenter) Steve Liesman joked to me that they can (afford) $60 oil, but the regime won't be able to afford to stay in power," Kilduff noted.

If oil prices remain near or below current levels then the Russian government may well have to make some difficult decisions to help balance the books and try to keep its economy on an even keel, Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets, told CNBC Friday.

"President Putin may be popular now but if the rise in inflation pressures starts to adversely affect the Russian public for a lengthy period of time it could well cause the Russian government some problems further down the line."

- By CNBC's Holly Ellyatt, follow her on Twitter @HollyEllyatt.

[greengiraffe]

http://www.news.com.au/world/russian-fle...7139501710

Russian Fleet pays unexpected visit to France, English Channel
16 HOURS AGO NOVEMBER 29, 2014 9:34PM

RUSSIA is getting bolder. In the past day it’s sent a fleet of warships through the English Channel and anchored it off the French coast — without notice.
The four warships passed through the crowded, narrow waterway last night before unexpectedly dropping anchor off the French coast in the Bay of the Siene.
RELATED: Putin puts nuclear war back on the agenda
France recently suspended the delivery of a newly built helicopter carrying assault ship to its buyer, Russia, in protest of its activity in Crimea and Ukraine. It is a move that has caused a serious rise in tensions between the two nations.

NATO has publicly been nonchalant about the unannounced move — which Russia attributes to “unexpectedly bad weather” — but it is an act that hearkens back to an era of Cold War tensions.
The four ships are led by the destroyer Severomorsk and includes an amphibious assault ship, a tanker and a tug.

“While it is anchored the crew are undertaking a series of exercises on how to tackle infiltrating submarine forces and are training on survival techniques in the case of flooding or fire,” Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports naval sources as stating.
NATO has told European media it is tracking the ships, but that it “did not regard their activity as hostile”.
Stormy waters ... A Russian supply vessel, A Ropucha class landing ship and a Udaloy-1 cl
Stormy waters ... A Russian supply vessel, A Ropucha class landing ship and a Udaloy-1 class destroyer pictured from HMS Tyne in international waters today. Source: British MoD Source: Supplied
“We see this as a routine movement on the part of the Russian navy. And they’re well within their rights to do so,” a spokesman for NATO’s military command said. “It’s not as if they are doing some war-fighting manoeuvres in the English Channel or something that could be considered hostile.”
The Royal Navy sent a patrol vessel, the HMS Tyne, to monitor the Russians as they passed through the narrow waters. Russian forces sometimes use the route as the most direct path to the Mediterranean Sea.

A British Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “We are aware that four Russian naval ships have passed through the Dover Strait from the North Sea into the English Channel, which all ships have the right to do under international law.”
But Russian moves in the skies above Europe and off the United States, combined with a possible submarine incursion in Sweden, has caused the West to be on edge for any such unexpected, unannounced activity.
At the time the Russian fleet sailed through the Channel, one of its submarines test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Barents Sea. The warheads were directed at test targets in Russia’s far east.

[greengiraffe]

Russian rouble collapses: Putin hit as oil, Western sanctions bite
DOW JONES DECEMBER 02, 2014 10:37AM



Russian Ruble Crumbles as Oil Continues to Slide
People walk past a display with currency exchange rates in central Moscow as the rouble hPeople walk past a display with currency exchange rates in central Moscow as the rouble hit a new all-time low. Source: AP
Russian Ruble Crumbles as Oil Continues ...People walk past a display with currency...

THE Russian rouble has slumped to a fresh record low, shedding about 40 per cent of its value since the start of the year, because of plunging oil prices and Western sanctions.

Overnight the beleaguered currency suffered its biggest one-day fall since the 1998 financial meltdown, dropping by nearly 9 per cent at one point to 53.9 against the US dollar, as sliding oil prices increased worries about the Russian economy, a major producer of crude.

Later, the currency picked up, amid signs of moderate dollar sales by the Russian central bank, according to US traders, to around 52 by the end of the main trading session on the Moscow Exchange.

The rouble is now down nearly 40 per cent against the US dollar this year, making it the second-worst performer in the world due not only to falling oil prices but also Western sanctions imposed against Russia for its support for a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

MOREOil makes biggest gain in two years
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

Russia is the world’s second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, pumping out 12 per cent of consumption. Oil and gas account for about two thirds of Russia’s exports and half of state revenues, making its economy and asset prices heavily dependent on global energy prices.

The latest drop spooked other investors, as well, with Russia’s benchmark RTS stock index dropping and the cost of insuring the country’s debt jumping sharply yesterday.

“The rouble is a no-touch as long as oil prices go down. It is all about the oil, and the central bank’s slow reaction, as they don’t want to burn reserves too fast,” said Viktor Szabo, a portfolio manager at Aberdeen Asset Management. “It’s difficult to call the bottom with liquidity so thin and the oil price continuing to slide,” said Daniel Wood, portfolio manager at FFTW in London. “Although the oil price is a contributing factor to the currency move, I think that negative sentiment toward Russia is helping to exacerbate the move to current levels.”

After spending $30 billion to slow the rouble’s slide in October, the central bank last month announced it would allow the currency to float freely, intervening only in if market moves posed a major threat to financial stability.

Traders said yesterday’s action appeared to be the central bank’s first sales since announcing the free-float, but were moderate. The sales quickly reversed the market, but weren’t big enough to pull the Russian currency back into positive territory for the day. “The central bank isn’t willing to fight external trends,” said Egor Fedorov, an analyst at ING Bank in Moscow. ‘That is disappointing for a lot of people.”

Russian mother of two Elina Drozdova said of the plummeting currency: “This is shock and horror.’’

“The first thought is, ‘goodbye summer vacations’.” “Our lives are becoming expensive directly in proportion to the rise of the dollar and euro,” she said.

According to a new study by the polling company Public Opinion, 50 per cent of Russians said the falling ruble was having an impact on their lives.

The pollster said Russians were concerned about price hikes and inflation. “Prices are growing like mushrooms,” Public Opinion cited one respondent as saying.

Signs of panic buying have emerged in recent weeks, with many Russians hoarding buckwheat, one of the country’s main staples.

Crude oil prices bounced back from five-year lows in what analysts say may be just a technical correction after last week’s $US10-a-barrel plunge.

Prices have been on a slide since June driven by rising supplies and slow demand growth around the world. The fall accelerated last week on OPEC’s decision to maintain its output ceiling despite the global glut.

The collapse of the Russian currency comes as NATO foreign ministers prepare to meet in Brussels this week for talks that will be dominated by the crisis in Ukraine, where fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels has killed over 4300 people and displaced nearly one million since April.

The West accuses Moscow of stoking the conflict and has imposed sanctions against Russia, sending relations plunging to Cold War lows.

Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal, AFP

[CityFarmer]

It reminded me the old China day of Mao, the "Emperor" decision on mega projects...

Putin drops South Stream gas pipeline to EU, courts Turkey

ANKARA - Russia on Monday scrapped the South Stream pipeline project to supply gas to southern Europe without crossing Ukraine, citing EU objections, and instead named Turkey as its preferred partner for an alternative pipeline, with a promise of hefty discounts.

The EU, at loggerheads with Moscow over Ukraine, and keen to reduce its energy dependence on Russia, had objected to the $40 billion South Stream pipeline, which was to enter the EU via Bulgaria, on competition grounds.

The proposed undersea pipeline to Turkey, with an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic metres (bcm), more than four times Turkey's annual purchases from Russia, would face no such problems. Russia offered to combine it with a gas hub at the EU's southeastern edge, the Turkish-Greek border, to supply southern Europe.

Alexei Miller, the chief executive of Russia's state-controlled gas exporter Gazprom, told reporters in Ankara, where he was on a one-day visit with President Vladimir Putin, that South Stream was "closed. This is it"
...
http://www.todayonline.com/business/gazp...ect-closed

[specuvestor]

^^At least these projects have economical sense. You forgot the projects by our dear Dr M in the north with little economical sense.