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RD got in touch with Russian and foreign economists to discuss the problem of investment climate in Russia in the times of high risks and unpredictability.
More here: http://www.russia-direct.org/video/rd...

Itai Sened of Tel Aviv University explains the differences in Russian and U.S. Middle East policies and offers his perspective on how Israel views Russian involvement in the region.
Read the full interview with Prof. Sened here: http://www.russia-direct.org/qa/why-i...

Ahead of the 2016 parliamentary elections in Russia, Vladimir Putin signed a bill on "undesirable" foreign organizations into law on May 23. From now on, prosecutors have power to declare foreign or international organizations “undesirable” if they threaten Russia's constitutional order, security or defense. Here is what this means and who might be the first targets.

Amidst the ongoing confrontation with the West, Russia Direct interviewed three foreign policy experts to understand what should Russia to do to see eye-to-eye with the West.

More here: http://www.russia-direct.org/video/rd...

RD interviewed Russia's prominent political experts to figure out what are the odds of the current economic crisis driving people to the streets and turning into a political one?

Against the backdrop of increasing global instability – especially the deteriorating relationship between Russia and the West – there has been growing debate about the ability of modern multilateral institutions such as the G20 to solve complex geopolitical issues that impact global economic growth.

In response to these developments, Russia Direct hosted a webcast ­– “Why the G20 still matters for Russia” – that discussed the outcomes of the Nov. 15–16 G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia.

The webcast covers the following questions:

- To what extent is the G20 effective in addressing new threats to world economic growth today?
- What is the current role of the G20 given recent developments in the international arena?
- What is Russia’s future role in the G20?
- To what extent do we need such an institution today?
- How effective is the group today?

Moderated by Ekaterina Zabrovskaya, the Editor-in-Chief of Russia Direct, the webcast will include the following participants:

- Josef Janning, Senior Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in the Berlin Office. In 2013-2014, he was a Mercator Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to that he served as Director of Studies at the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels;

- David Shorr, Program Officer with the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation. He spent many years at the Stanley Foundation. He has written extensively about the G20 and was a charter member of the Think20 consultation process;

- Oleg Preksin, B20 Sherpa during Russia’s G20 2013 presidency. He is Professor of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Vice President of the Association of Russian Banks (ARB);

- Nikolay Murashkin, Researcher at the Cambridge Central Asia Forum and a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies of St. Catharine's College at the University of Cambridge.

At the recent Fort Ross Dialogue event at Stanford University, a number of top thought leaders, diplomats and academics shared their thoughts on the importance of bilateral exchanges between the U.S. and Russia.

Kremlin bans 89 European officials from entering Russia.

A new scandal is erupting over the Russia’s blacklist of European Union politicians and military officials. The blacklist includes 89 EU citizens whose position on Russia is hostile and bars them from entering Russia. The move is believed to be taken by Kremlin in response to a fierce criticism from some EU countries and to their anti-Russia sanctions over Crimea and Ukraine.


Most of the blacklisted politicians are from Poland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Estonia and Germany. Countries that have taken a softer stance towards Moscow, such as Italy, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia, were absent from the list.


Kremlin’s move sparks an angry reaction from the EU. The EU says the travel bans are arbitrary and unjustified.


Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the European Union on Monday for allowing the publication of the blacklist which was handed over to the EU confidentially. Simultaneously, Foreign Minister Srgey Lavrov dismissed as absurd Western criticism that Russia's move was unjustified.


Russian officials say the visa bans had been imposed step by step since the middle of last year in response to hostile policy against Russia.

They also underline that Moscow will reciprocate accordingly if the United States or European Union decide to expand their blacklists of Russian citizens.

This week Russia released its own version of American TV show «Homeland» and celebrated the one-year anniversary of the takeover of Crimea. Moscow also said goodbye to its main image-maker in the West, American PR company Ketchum, whose nine-year contract was worth $30 million.

Russia Direct conducted a panel discussion "Future of Russian Hi-Tech/Science Cities and Innovation," on June 25, in New York, which featured international experts in the field of investments, human resources, economics, high-technologies and innovation.
The event followed shortly after release of Russia Direct new report "Insider’s guide to Russian high-tech hubs." The report highlights the early successes and challenges of Russia’s modernization drive, with an emphasis on the role of the state in guiding and supporting innovation efforts at the local level, primarily through the creation of new science parks.
The discussion brought together the following speakers:
- Axel Tillmann, the CEO of RVC‐USA, the US subsidiary of Russian Venture Company. Previously he held positions with Alpha Consult, Azure Technologies, ENIRA Technology and GBS Laboratories;
- Cathleen Campbell, the CEO of CRDF Global. She has been active in CRDF Global’s many science and innovation programs with Russia, including current programs to nurture technology entrepreneurs and to support
collaborative research;
- Mikhail Kalugin, Head of Economic Section at the Embassy of the Russian Federation to the U.S.;
- Igor Balk, Managing Member of Global Innovation Labs LLC.
- Taras Polischuk, an HR technology expert and an investment professional. He heads Business Development for GlobalHRU, an international event company and advises Talent Equity Ventures (TEqV).Taras is also a Board Member for Talent Tech Labs, a New York-based incubator.
- Dr. Nikolay Vasilyev, Staff Scientist at the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital and an Instructor in Surgery at the Division of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He is a co-founder and current President of the Russian American Science Association.

New Report “The Magnetic Push and Pull of the Russian Economy: What’s Next for Investors in Russia?” examines how the Russian economy has changed over the past year and what new opportunities have emerged there for foreign investors. (Download just for $4.99 here: http://www.russia-direct.org/archive/...)

Written by Stanislav Tkachenko of St. Petersburg State University, Oleg Buklemishev of Moscow State University and Michael Newcity of Duke University, the report also contains an analysis of Russia's regions and their special economic zones by Alexander Tsybulskiy, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, and an interview with Andrei Yakovlev, director of the Institute for Industrial and Market Studies at the Higher School of Economics, on why some foreign companies are leaving Russia while others are staying; and which sectors of the economy are most promising for foreign investment in 2016.

Russia Direct interviewed Carnegie Moscow Center Director Dmitri Trenin to know his take about the 2016 U.S. Presidential election and its impact on policy toward Russia.
Read the full version of the interview here: http://www.russia-direct.org/qa/dmitr...

Join Russia Direct for a Google Hangouts discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9 a.m. EST as we discuss the UN and its current role in world affairs, especially concerning its role in the settlement of regional crises.
http://www.russia-direct.org/company-...