RIA Novosti

Inverted World: Europe and Roma

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:03:01 GMT

In 1974 - a year after Great Britain's joining the European Economic Community – young British author Christopher Priest published his Inverted World which portrayed the united Europe as city Earth constructed on top of great wheels and being slowly winched along railroad tracks.

Kyrgyzstan: all power to drug lords!

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 13:10:36 GMT

On 6th September reports emerged in Kyrgyzstan that drug mafia was getting prepared to smuggle 3 tons of drugs through the republic by means of armed invasion, similar to the one taking place during the war in Batken in 1999-2000, when each of the militants had 20-30 kg of drugs with him.

Will China Help Modernize Russia?

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:36:56 GMT

Russian President D. Medvedev's visit to China will certainly help clarify in what international settings Russia is going to put into practice its declared modernization course.

“Hot Autumn” in Europe, or the Rebellion Without Hope

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:57:24 GMT

European governments are doing all they can to sustain the banking sector's customary profit margins, if necessary – at the expense of the general population. Social programs are sacrificed serially to stem mounting budget deficits. The actual result is that while the budgets are shrinking cash is flowing into the very banks which had provoked the financial crisis.

Referendum Failure in Moldova as a Triumph of Democracy

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:24:18 GMT

The unanticipated failure of the September 5 constitutional referendum in Moldova came as a shock not only to the pro-Western faction of the country's elite but no less to the forces within the EU which hoped the vote would help push Russia out of the strategic Transnistria and weaken its positions in the Balkans – Black Sea - Caspian region.

US gets ready to knock the world offline

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:01:14 GMT

After October 1 thousands of US military hackers and spies will get down to their cyber war activities. The declarations for taking cyber defense measures can be heard more and more often in the US. US analysts state that information and communication networks, on which the national infrastructure depends on, are becoming vulnerable for cyber criminals.

Surrender of Japan: the end of World War II

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:52:23 GMT

Today marks the 65th anniversary since the end of World War II. On 14 August, 1945, Emperor Hirohito issued the Imperial Rescript of Surrender announcing that Japan accepted the terms set down in the Potsdam Declaration.

Who Are the Real Pirates in Somalia?

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:23:18 GMT

A new international anti-piracy plan proposed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was discussed on August 25.

Guam Back to Life?

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:30:00 GMT

No doubt, 2010 has been a watershed year in Eurasian geopolitics. Favorable economic conditions helped Russia achieve serious political gains, though, in fact, the basis for some of the ongoing geopolitical transformations emerged in 2008 when Georgia lost the Five Day War.

Iran joins peaceful nuclear club

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:49:00 GMT

On August 21, 2010, a long awaited launch of the first unit of Iran's first nuclear power plant Bushehr was held. The first stage of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program has been completed and we can congratulate the Iranian people with such a significant achievement.

Fourlateral Summit in Sochi

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:07:26 GMT

In August the presidents of Russia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan convened for the second time in Sochi. The summit was mainly necessitated by the recent tensions between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and by the coming pullout of the US forces from Afghanistan.

The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Will Echo in the Arctic

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:19:52 GMT

The environmental tragedy triggered by the explosion which sank the BP-owned Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico has been unfolding for four months.

Expecting a War, Hoping the Expectations Will Not Materialize

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:28:33 GMT

There my be a variety of explanations behind the phenomenon of war but – anyway you look at things - wars begin in people's brains and the actual fighting only comes as the next phase. It is an open question when exactly the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan became a reality again, but in the public sphere - in comments and statements – the only issue concerning the hot phase of the conflict seems to be “When would be the best time to start?”, while concerns over the imminent catastrophic consequences of the escalation no longer have a pacifying effect.

Renaissance of Ethnic Separatism In “United Europe”

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:10:00 GMT

New serious inter-ethnic conflicts are brewing in Europe as it battles the global economic crisis. Typically they are deeply rooted in history, but the very fact that the renaissance of ethnic separatism in Europe is taking place in the epoch of European integration is noteworthy.

US armed forces in Central Asia – built to last

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:46:00 GMT

The US plans to build military training centers in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. First these plans were announced last year and they received a wide response because earlier it had been announced that a Russian military base would be built in the south of Kyrgyzstan. Now Pentagon is not going to confine itself with Kyrgyzstan and plans to build military facilities on the territory of five states of the region.

War Against Iran as a Method of Promoting Globalism

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:39:06 GMT

There is little doubt that the US will hit Iran after pulling its troops out of Iraq. Military spending in the US has gained too much momentum to leave any hope that the current dynamics will change in the foreseeable future.

Middle East at the Point of Boiling

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:28:00 GMT

The truth is that the UN peacekeepers deployed at the Holan Heights are basically safeguarding the interests of Israel.

Hiroshima and Modernity

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:19:00 GMT

Sixty five years ago, on August 6, 1945, US bomber B-29 dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima

Tensions over the European External Action Service

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:56:00 GMT

This story by Peter Iskenderov PhD, Senior Research Associate Institute for Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Science, Strategic Culture Foundation expert was published in International Affairs magazine

The US is Synchronously Preparing to Launch Aggressions Against Iran and Venezuela

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:02:51 GMT

The Columbian government voiced a new round of allegations that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is secretly supporting the FARC and ELN guerrilla movements in Columbia and giving shelter to their leaders. Venezuela reacted harshly – Chavez severed the diplomatic ties with Columbia, and the Organization of American States had to hold an urgent meeting on July 22 on Columbia's request.

Climate Weapons: More Than Just a Conspiracy Theory?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:05:00 GMT

The abnormally hot weather in the central regions of Russia has already caused serious economic damage.

UN Court and Kosovo: International law amputated

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:29:27 GMT

On July 22, 2010 the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on the legality of the unilateral declaration of independence by «the Kosovo administration».

Kosovo case in the International Court of Justice: time to shed illusions

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:32:00 GMT

On July 22, the UN International Court of Justice in the Hague will issue its opinion on the status of Kosovo, the breakaway province which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008.

Afghanistan: «unwinnable war»?

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:29:02 GMT

For the last few days following on the “Rolling Stones” interview by Gen. McChrystal and President Obama’s decision to replace him with Gen. Petraeus there has been a great deal of attention paid to the current situation in Afghanistan and what the change in command will portend for the strategy that Gen McChrystal had devised to achieve President Obama’s goal of disrupting dismantling and defeating the Al-Qaeda network and ensuring that Afghanistan did not again become a safe haven for terrorists intent on attacking the United States and its allies.

Russia and Uzbekistan: oil and gas cooperation

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:33:00 GMT

Since Uzbekistan had always been known for having plenty of natural gas deposits and well-developed pipeline infrastructure, already in Soviet times the country actively cooperated with Russia as part of a single oil and gas complex providing gas supplies to industrial centers in the Urals and to the European part of the USSR.