- 20:18 19/04/2011
When speaking about the arms race, people tend to mention nuclear rather than chemical weapons. But ecologists consider the latter one of the biggest threats to the environment. Professor Sergei Baranovsky, President of Green Cross Russia, tells RIA Novosti’s Samir Shakhbaz what steps are being taken to reduce this threat. He also suggests that environmental ignorance is the main source of many ecological problems in Russia.
- 21:30 15/04/2011
The Fukushima disaster has revived concerns about the safety of nuclear power plants. Russia - with its sad experience after the Kyshtym and Chernobyl tragedies - offered help to Japan, but for some reason it wasn’t accepted immediately. Professor Sergei Baranovsky, President of Green Cross Russia discusses possible ways to reduce the nuclear threat in the world and reflects on whether it is both possible and reasonable to get rid of nuclear energy completely.
- 21:14 12/04/2011
They came, they saw, they... got confused. Operation United Protector - the official name for NATO's operation in Libya -- seems bogged down in the desert, "united" only in name and "protecting" pretty much no one within striking range. Is this perplexing and deadly display of Western firepower a fight for democracy and human dignity? Is it an elaborate, international ruse to foil an eccentric autocrat and "protect" his oil? Taking no sides, at least not seriously, 2-Minute Warning gently lifts the veil of hypocrisy surrounding this Mess in the Maghreb.
- 22:51 31/03/2011
Scarcely a week passes without scientists discovering new “threats to humanity.” These threats are often considerably exaggerated and gladly spread by mass media. Meteorites hitting the Earth, exploding stars, fading Sun, you name it… Sergei Popov, Ph.D., senior research associate at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute, tries to separate the wheat from the chaff to find out where the real danger lies and what just the product of journalists’ fevered imaginations is. He also talks about magnetars – the most extreme form of neutron stars.
- 18:52 31/03/2011
The 13-member coalition, now led by NATO, continues to impose a no-fly zone over the North African country, where civil war has been brewing since mid-February. But what does the operation mean for global multilateralism? And where is it leading the international community? Fyodor Lukyanov, chief editor of the Russia in Global Affairs journal shares his views on the Libya conflict in an interview with the chief editor of RussiaProfile.org, Andrei Zolotov, Jr.
- 13:27 31/03/2011
Last week in Moscow was marked by an impressive comeback of renewed perestroika–era newspaper, Moskovskie Novosti. Tatyana Malkina, a famous Russian journalist and leading analyst in Moskovskie Novosti in an interview with RussiaProfile.org Editor-in-Chief Andrei Zolotov Jr. discusses the role of print media in the modern world.
- 21:40 28/03/2011
A rare public display of disharmony broke out between Russia’s ruling tandem last week after Putin provocatively criticized the Western-led military intervention in Libya. Within hours, the Internet was littered with speculation about the apparent rift between the two leaders ahead of the 2012 presidential election. Could the “spat” have been pre-planned? Or is Medvedev attempting to outbid Putin to try to stay in power? Yevgeny Minchenko, director of the International Institute for Political Expertise answers these questions and explains why we should avoid giving two-dimensional assessments of the ruling pair.
- 20:10 28/03/2011
Travel visas between Russia and the United States should be consigned to the scrap heap of history. In his recent meeting with Vice President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed that they be dropped altogether. “Good idea”, - said Biden. 2-Minute Warning explains why this plan could both jump-start the American economy and give some practical meaning to the vaunted Russia-US “reset.”2
- 21:33 24/03/2011
In the past two decades, fighting terrorism has become as important to Russian domestic policy as disseminating anti-American propaganda was in the Soviet era. Alexei Filatov, Vice President of the International Association of the Alfa Group Veterans, a man who has taken part in numerous antiterrorist operations, including in Chechnya, shares with us his first-hand experience.
- 20:02 17/03/2011
More and more experts are coming to the conclusion that non-Arab Africa will fall victim of revolutions. The delayed action mine planted by the Europeans during colonization will definitely have a cumulative effect on the whole of central Africa, Yevgeny Satanovsky, president of the Middle East Institute claims. In an interview with Samir Shakhbaz he also insists that Russia must avoid getting involved in possible wars.
- 20:21 14/03/2011
Two years after Russia and the USA “pushed the reset button” U.S. Vice President Joe Biden came to Russia to reaffirm the policy of rapprochement. The visit was to determine the state of Russia-U.S. relations and see a discussion of non-military aspects of bilateral ties. In an interview with RIA Novosti’s Samir Shakhbaz, political analyst Mikhail Troitsky asserts that Russia-U.S. relations may indeed progress to more than just arms reduction connected issues.
- 19:20 10/03/2011
Experts and analysts are not hesitating in calling the situation in Libya a civil war. How long will it last? What countries may suffer the same fate? Yevgeny Satanovsky, president of the Middle East Institute, in an interview with RIA Novosti’s Samir Shakhbaz claims that revolutionary processes can take a long time and may affect not only the Persian Gulf monarchies but also countries throughout Africa.
- 15:42 01/03/2011
A new law went into effect this week in Russia formally changing the Bolshevik-era name of the country's police from the "militzia" to the... police. To an outsider, it may seem obvious that the police should be called the police. But in the swirling, sometimes surreal currents of post-Soviet Russia, the name-change has sparked questions, debate and predictable apathy. With trademark irreverance, Samir Shakhbaz cuts to the chase and gives you his 'police story'.
- 20:17 28/02/2011
The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Feb. 26th to impose sanctions on the Libyan authorities. But a full-fledged scale civil war has every chance of becoming reality there soon. In this respect, the prospect of a humanitarian intervention is being repeatedly discussed. Chief Editor of RussiaProfile.org Andrei Zolotov, Jr. discusses the possible course of developments in Libya with Konstantin von Eggert, prominent Russian foreign policy commentator, Middle East expert, and RIA Novosti columnist, who claims that the revolutions in the Middle East is not so much about democracy, but first of all about the unaccountability of governments.
- 22:15 25/02/2011
The revolution in Libya that is currently in full swing is holding the world’s attention. Leaders of major countries have condemned Col. Muammar Gaddafi, but the Libyan leader has no intentions of resigning yet. Many experts assert that Libya is on the verge of a civil war and Gaddafi is doomed to lose his power sooner or later.
- 17:10 25/02/2011
Japan’s passionate celebration of “Northern territories day” sparked a new phase of tensions in relations between Moscow and Tokyo.
- 18:03 18/02/2011
Western Education has long become the world recognized standard. Its values spread along with globalization, covering more and more countries and people. But what are the real benefits that a western-educated person can gain in present-day Russia and in the modern world? Why is the number of the Western degree holders among Russian top-officials so low compared to other major non-western countries?
- 13:46 14/02/2011
Russian-British relations have historically passed through numerous ups and downs. Since the 21st century, ties between Moscow and London have suffered, in the first place due to mutual allegations of spying and extradition disputes. In an interview with RIA Novosti’s Samir Shakhbaz, Alexei Fenenko, PhD (History) Chief Research Fellow, Institute of International Security Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences asserts that there are some fundamental reasons behind this deterioration of relations between Russia and Britain.
- 14:24 11/02/2011
The 2011 Munich Security Conference, which was dominated by the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, saw Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his U.S. counterpart, Hillary Clinton, exchanged ratification documents of the New START. Alexei Fenenko, chief research fellow at the Institute of International Security Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, shares his views with RIA Novosti’s Samir Shakhbaz on the results of the conference and future development of the global security system.
