Rossiiskaya Gazeta
General Staff leaves for exercises as SCO starts drills in Kazakhstan
On Friday, the Russian Ñhief of the General Staff General Nikolai Makarov will give the go-ahead for Russian troops to join in large-scale drills. The drills are code-named Peace Mission-2010 and conducted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Russia has contributed one of the largest contingents to these maneuvers. It includes more than a thousand officers and men from the 21st Detached Motorized Rifle Brigade, about 130 armored vehicles - T-72 tanks, Msta self-propelled artillery guns, and armored personnel carriers - and a hundred of army trucks. Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer tactical bombers and Su-25 assault planes will provide air cover, while Mil Mi-8 Hip helicopters will transport troops.
The equipment of the Russian airbase at Kant, Kyrgyzstan, and the host's air force will also be involved.
Erlan Maksimov, the military attache of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Moscow, has said that a thousand officers and men, 150 tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, as well as dozens of aircraft and helicopters, will take part in counter-terrorist operations together with units from other countries. Other SCO armies also provided large units for the drills.
On Friday, in Almaty, top army commanders from China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Tajikistan will sign an operational directive marking the start of a major exercise.
Maneuvers of this scale are being held for the second time and, traditionally, are counter-terrorist. Their site has been chosen on purpose. First, this year Kazakhstan holds the rotating presidency in the SCO. Second, the republic takes a very serious view of defense issues and everything connected with the provision of facilities and combat training for the army. The Matybulak training ground, where the active phase of the drills begins on September 24, will allow friendly troops not only to reenact in full the fighting scenario against token terrorists, but also to hold the maneuvers in comfortable conditions.
The Russian General Staff chief's interest in the maneuvers is understandable. The Peace Mission differs from usual army drills in many ways. Before the fighting scenario is approved, generals would hold military political consultations to assess not only the expediency of using force, but also the nature of a terrorist threat. For SCO countries, this is not an abstract notion. Practically all member-states have come against it in real life. Now they have decided to combat terrorists together.
Novaya Politika
Government set to raise car-import duties
Many Russians wait to buy new cars after January 1, 2011 because car dealers offer substantial holiday-season discounts to sell off their 2010 vehicles and buy new ones. Consequently, the first few months of every year are the best time for bargain-hunters.
But these plans could change. Buyers may be motivated to buy new cars without any discounts this fall because prices may go up due to government plans.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has announced plans to charge higher duties on foreign cars again. At present, a 30% car-import duty is stipulated. Government motives are obvious because the state wants to support the national automotive industry.
Higher customs duties are among the most effective instruments in this context. We can afford to do this because Russia has not joined the World Trade Organization yet, Putin said.
Analysts say higher car-import duties are a logical and consistent measure. "Car-import duty increases will make imported vehicles much less attractive and will further induce foreign carmakers to assemble their products in Russia," said Nina Gladkova, an analyst with Finam Investment Company.
Foreign automotive giants, including Nissan/Renault, General Motors, Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen, currently assemble vehicles in Russia. Domestic automakers have recently expanded cooperation with their foreign partners.
Notably, AvtoVAZ, Russia's largest automaker, is set to assemble Renaults and Nissans in the next two years, while GAZ Group, Russia's second largest automaker, would like to assemble Volkswagens. Truck-maker KAMAZ hopes to assemble Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi trucks.
"In effect, the idea is not to just support the domestic auto industry but to support it by encouraging active cooperation with major global automakers. This is logical in light of the Russian auto industry's technological backwardness," Gladkova explained.
Consequently, higher car-import duties imply a far-reaching strategy aiming to induce foreign carmakers to establish industrial-assembly facilities in Russia, rather than attract attention to the domestic automotive sector.
Incentives alone are not enough to elevate the Russian auto industry to an entirely new level. Analysts say technology and cost-effective production facilities, as well as foreign engineering solutions and personnel, are essential.
Vedomosti
Why Russians are not inclined to charity
One-third of the global population makes regular donations to charity, while another 20% volunteer for social projects, according to the World Giving Report 2010 produced by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and Gallup. The report put Russia close to the bottom of the ranking, 138th out of 153 countries.
The most sympathizing people live in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Switzerland and the United States. In these countries, two-thirds of the population regularly donates money, one-third work as volunteers and over 50% are willing to help a stranger. Russians, however, are reluctant to share their money (only 6% do so regularly), but would rather invest their time in volunteer work (20%) or help a stranger in need (29%).
Why are Russians not inclined to charity?
For a number of reasons. The most obvious is their poverty and general discontent with life. The CAF report has revealed a direct link between the level of general satisfaction with life and willingness to sacrifice one's time and money for others'. Russia is not one of the "happy" countries right now, hence the low ranking. This ranking is a reflection of Russian society's status 20 years into a market economy.
The Soviet past also influences this attitude: 70 years of propaganda promoting group interests' over those of individual or family interests has left people tired of giving away more than they can. They have naturally swung in the opposite direction, and the individualism we are witnessing now is a sort of compensation for tough living during Soviet times.
Another important factor preventing Russians from showing compassion is their lack of confidence in non-profit organizations. That is why they are more willing to volunteer for a specific social project or toss a few coins to a beggar than to send their money to a charity bank account.
Traditions to donate money, food, clothes or time are alive in most countries and cultures. Russians are no exception, because they have lived in clans and communities for ages.
They take for granted many actions that other nations consider charity, such as family assistance. The typical Russians' ingrained propensity to give was powerfully manifest during the wildfires this summer, as thousands joined the firefighting, made donations, and sent medicines to the victims. Only, there were no organizations to guide them, as Russian charity groups are few and are mostly controlled by large businesses. A public drive is beyond their competence.
Vremya Novostei
Kosovo Serbs crave Russian citizenship
A new turn is imminent in the situation around Kosovo after Thursday's meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York, which clearly showed that Serbia's government is not going to risk a conflict with the West over the territory that unilaterally declared independence in February 2008.
Serbia hopes this policy will help promote its EU bid. However, Kosovo Serbs have accused officials in Belgrade including President Boris Tadic of trying to sacrifice their interests for relations with the West, and threatened to seek out Russia for support.
The Kosovo resolution put up for a vote of the UN General Assembly on Thursday is the result of long and difficult negotiations. Serbia's initial draft included a clause ruling out Kosovo's independence and calling for new negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo. Brussels demanded that Serbia withdraw its draft under threat of freezing the country's EU accession process. Serbia refused to withdraw the resolution, although agreed to soften the requirements.
As a result, the resolution became more relaxed and more open to compromise but at the same time, more vague. A reassessment of Kosovo's independence was entirely removed from the document.
"The Serbian government is aware that the West, that is, the United States and the European Union, is unlikely to make significant concessions on Kosovo or review its decision on the region's independence," Konstantin Nikiforov, director of the Institute of Slavic Studies in Russia, said. In his words, it was clear ten years go that the Western powers were determined to follow through on independence for Kosovo Albanians. Therefore, Serbia and the EU are limited to technicalities at their negotiations, such as international guarantees of certain autonomy for the areas in Kosovo where ethnic Serbs live.
The region's Albanian authorities are not interested in building relations with Serbia either, Nikiforov adds. The 100,000 Serbs living in densely packed communities in the northern areas of Kosovo populated by 2,000,000 are the least fortunate in this situation. They refuse to recognize the new government's jurisdiction and accuse Serbia of lack of support.
President of the Serb National Council of Northern Kosovo Milan Ivanovic said on Wednesday that the recent moves by Boris Tadic are forcing the Kosovo Serbs to turn to Russia. He warned that they will apply for Russian citizenship for all Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija if the EU-Serbian agreements violate the Kosovo Serbs' rights and are implemented without Russia's approval.
According to Ivanovic, Russia knows how to protect its citizens wherever they live, referring to the August 2008 conflict in the Caucasus that led to the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Moscow.
Kommersant
Clinton says United States does not see eye to eye with Russia
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. Not surprisingly, she said "the United States can, must, and will lead in this new century" and highlighted her country's relationship with Russia. The United States and Russia have refocused their relations and signed "a historic new arms reduction treaty," she said.
However, Clinton said they "simply do not see eye to eye" on certain issues such as the "Russian occupation of Georgia." She also referred to Russia as an authoritarian state.
The Secretary of State said the U.S. leadership in the 21st century would be asserted through soft power, although the country remains "committed to maintaining the greatest military in the history of the world."
This implies reliance on multilateral cooperation with "the countries that are growing rapidly and already exercising influence, countries like China and India, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, as well as Russia."
Interestingly, last year Russia was third, after China and India, on the list.
Clinton said the United States has "refocused the relationship" and signed a new arms reduction treaty with Russia, but also mentioned persisting differences.
"Now, working with these emerging powers is not always smooth or easy," she said. "Disagreements are inevitable. And on certain issues such as human rights with China or Russian occupation of Georgia, we simply do not see eye to eye, and the United States will not hesitate to speak out and stand our ground."
"Hillary Clinton's harsher words regarding Russia are logical. Many members of the American political class are dissatisfied with the resetting of relations with Moscow, and the State Secretary had to pander to them," said Alexei Arbatov, scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Moscow Center (nonproliferation program).
He said criticism of the issues of democracy and human rights is not unusual. "It is important that these issues are now addressed separately from the issues of security or business partnership, unlike during George W. Bush's presidency," Arbatov said.
In his opinion, positive intentions demonstrated in Barack Obama's policy regarding Russia "are the most we can expect in relations between Moscow and Washington."
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MOSCOW, September 10 (RIA Novosti)
