Fledgling Democracies

Marina Rikhvanova, of Irkutsk, Siberia was one of seven grassroots environmental activists honored with the $150K prize in San Francisco Wednesday.

The Goldman Prize strives to recognize “individuals for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk.” Rikhvanova certainly fits the bill: she’s spent years leaning on Vladimir Putin to stop the planned expansion of state-owned gas pipelines that would threaten wildlife at Lake Baikal, the world’s oldest lake and largest reserve of fresh water. And we all know what happens to people who butt heads with Putin et al…can you say radioactive isotope?

Sure enough, this Foreign Policy Association piece makes mention of “murky circumstances” surrounding the arrest of Rikhvanova’s son. Clealy more than a matter of posting bail…

Anyone still wondering if Russia really matters again yet should consider the case closed: Wal-Mart is interested in expanding to the Russian market.

The mega-chain has hired a German retailing veteran, Stephan Fanderl, to “explore retail business opportunities in Russia and neighboring markets.” The company CEO says a timeline has not been established, but experts suspect it will take about two years.

Wal-Mart’s international sales grew 17 percent last year, compared to 6 percent in the U.S., so the foreign focus is not altogether surprising.

No doubt there are a number of dangerous professions in the region, and ‘judge’ certainly ranks high on the list. Khasan Yandivev, deputy chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ingushetia (a federal subject of Russia) was shot dead Sunday afternoon at a gas station while changing a tire on his car.

According to Russian media reports, Yandiyev had chaired trials of corrupt officials and also of Islamic rebels. The Ingushi are primarily Sunni Muslim, and officials blame radicals for a recent rise in violence there.

An interior ministry spokesman said an investigation was under way, but that no one had head shots fired.

Talks are scheduled to begin tomorrow in the hopes of settling a decades-old squabble between Russia and Japan over four of the Kuril islands, an archipelago stretching between the two nations. For some sixty years, the two nations have fought over Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and Habomai since the Soviet army occupied the islands at the close of WWII.

The two countries’ foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Masahiko Komura, are also expected to discuss North Korea’s nuclear program and the July G8 summit to be held in Japan.

Substantial details of the history of the dispute are in Andrew Johnson’s 2001 paper here.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the new Armenian President, Serzh Sargsian, to investigate clashes between security forces and opposition demonstrators following February 19 elections in the country.

Opposition supporters claiming the elections were marred by fraud held ten days of peaceful protests in the capital city of Yerevan before forces moved in to disperse the crowds. Eight people died in the resulting violence, and hundreds were injured.

A state of emergency was declared, and a complete ban on public rallies was instituted. HRW alleges the government detained protesters, denied them lawyers and mistreated them while in police custody. Newspapers were censored, and the opposition media were kept from publishing. Amendments to the law on public assembly severly restricting public gatherings were made by the the National Assembly before it lifted the state of emergency, resulting in criticism from several European organizations.

Says HRW’s Holly Carter: “The new Armenian leader is facing serious challenges. He should take decisive steps to investigate the excessive use of police force and lift restrictions on freedom of assembly.”

President Sargsian was inaugerated April 9.

This piece on the Brookings Institute’s site is worth a read. Professor Vladimir N. Kolotov, of the Far East History Department at St. Petersburg State University offers good insight into how Russia’s foreign policy direction is affecting trends in East and Southeast Asia.

 Of course with a mention of Putin’s disdain for the U.S. war on terror.