Month: March 2010

Kazakhstani Authorities Promise to Reduce Number of Checks on Business

Post author By The Proletariat
Post date March 31, 2010
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The Kazakhstani State Office of Public Prosecutors (SOPP) and The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) declared, that by 2011 the business community of the country will be divided into two types: those who are counted by the state as law-abiding, and those who are not. The second type of businesses need to be ever ready to be inspected any time, while the first kind has been promised to be left in relative peace.

Addressing the issue at a public event titled “Legality and Transparency of the State Control as a Basis of Consumer Rights Protection,” the authorities didn’t point out what criteria they are going to use to judge businesses and “to die-cast them as wolves or innocent sheep.”

Russia’s Gazprom seeks takeover of Belarus’s Beltransgaz

Post author By The Proletariat
Post date March 29, 2010
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Russian energy giant Gazprom has confirmed intentions on acquiring control over Belarusian gas pipeline operator, Beltransgaz.

Andrei Kruglov, Gazprom’s deputy CEO, discussed his company’s interest in boosting its stake in the company. This comes a few years after the company purchased 50 percent of Beltrangaz’s shares in 2007 indicating Gazproms’s intention to increase their control over the Belarusian pipeline.

Culture & History Legal & Regulatory Russia

Russia Altering 70-Year-Old Penal Colony System

Post author By The Proletariat
Post date March 23, 2010
1 Comment on Russia Altering 70-Year-Old Penal Colony System

Beginning this year, Russia is altering a prison system that dates back of 70 years to the time of Stalin, separating for the first time career criminals from the general prison population.

As the New York Times reports, currently, “the inmates are divided into barracks housing a hundred or so men without regard to the severity of their crimes. At night, a guard locks the door and walks away, leaving first-time offenders and people convicted of nonviolent crimes to fend for themselves in a crowd of gang members, hit men and other career criminals.”

Current Events Eastern Europe Issue

Bogus TV Report Incites Panic in Georgia

Post author By The Proletariat
Post date March 15, 2010
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The country of Georgia was set in about in a frenzy on Saturday after a television news program announced that the Russian army had invaded and killed President Mikhail Saakashvili.

The private television station Imedi showed the report at 8 p.m. Saturday evening, complete with voiceover commentary on ‘live’ video showing Russian tanks and fighter jets operating inside the country.

Georgians rushed to gas stations and ATMs, and the country’s wireless network crashed under the weight of fearful calls.

Central Asia China Economy & Foreign Trade Issue

Kazakhstan Enters China’s Grain Market

Post author By The Proletariat
Post date March 11, 2010
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During the Parliament-session of deputy group ‘Onir’ on Tuesday, Kazakhstan announced that it would begin exporting grain to China.

“I can report that 20 thousand tons of wheat has been exported to the Peoples Republic of China for the first time,” said Kazakhstan’s Vice-Premier Umirzak Shukeev during the meeting.

Current Events North Korea Politics

Kim Jong Il Said to be Planning Trip to China

Post author By The Proletariat
Post date March 3, 2010
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is likely to visit China later this month, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reported today.

According to the Japanese paper, Kim will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss aid issues and the North Korean nuclear program. Kim’s last trip abroad took place four years ago when he visited China in January of 2006.

China remains North Korea’s biggest ally and has helped buffer the regime form increasing pressure by the United States, Japan and South Korea to return to the negotiating table over nuclear disarmament talks. In 2008, China accounted for 73 percent of North Korea’s international commerce, according to figures from the Korea Trade- Investment Promotion Agency in Seoul.