Right to childhood

­Maud de Boer-Buquicchio – Deputy Secretary General, Council of Europe

In the modern concept of human rights, children have a very special place. But it's still unclear and debatable how their rights should be protected, and if the state or whatever institution should interfere in family relations. Where is the line that should not be crossed and is it possible to secure a happy childhood...

Europol: Sharing experience with Russia

­Christian Bauer – Project Coordinator for Witness Protection, Europol

In Hollywood movies, witness protection is portrayed as a mysterious and thrilling experience. It gives people new lives and personalities, sending them to far-flung locations in exchange for a few crucial words said in court. It’s not that intriguing in real life, of course. In many countries, the witness protection...

Arctic: frozen conflict

­Steffen Weber – Secretary General, EU Arctic Forum

As the Earth is running out of natural resources, more and more countries are turning to the North. Scientists say the Arctic may posses of over 20% of the world's oil and gas deposits, which makes the region very attractive in terms of exploration. But who will get the right to drill there? Isn't the Arctic becoming a new 'great game'...

Corfu: Greece's goldmine

­Ioannis Trepeklis – Mayor of Corfu
In its crusade against the economic crisis and a catastrophic bankruptcy Greece counts much on tourists. But tourism is a tricky thing in a country torn by strikes and riots that scare travelers away…
Is there a remedy? Can the Greeks break the vicious circle? We’ll talk it over with the mayor of the Corfu island Ioannis Trepeklis.

SCO: Searching for goals

­Kirill Barsky – Russian President’s Special Envoy to SCO

Next June, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is having a joint antiterrorist drill. The preparations are going well, except for one thing: one of the members, Uzbekistan, has refused to take part in the exercise. The other partners say that’s alright, but analysts suppose a crisis is facing the SCO, which makes its members...

Lukashenko talks

­He’s often called the last dictator in Europe. But how does he feel about it? Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko explains what guides his decision making. And what it took him not to pardon those responsible for the Minsk metro bombing last year.

Economy on rebound?

­Sergey Storchak – Deputy Finance Minister
The previous year has been landmark for the Russian economy. The inflation rate was the lowest in decades, and other economic indicators were positive, too – despite the global economic downturn.
Moreover, after decades of negotiations, Russia has finally been admitted to the WTO, opening great investment opportunities for both, Russian and...

Iran: the other point of view

Reza Sajjadi – Iranian Ambassador to Russia
To bomb or not to bomb – that is the question, dominating the Middle East lately. The standoff with Iran concerning its nuclear program is getting tougher. Israel prepares to attack it in a month or two and urges Washington to do the same. The Western countries are not that hostile yet, but keep imposing more economic sanctions on Tehran.
A new...

Harvester of sorrow

­Zamir Kabulov – Russian President’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan

NATO forces in Afghanistan seem to be on a losing streak. Three weeks ago, a Koran-burning incident at a US airbase led to violent protests in which at least 30 people died. Now troops have been put on alert, after a US soldier killed 16 Afghan civilians, while diplomats try to calm down the international scandal. So what...

At home among strangers

American newspapers have recently written that the world’s largest retailer Walmart had opened a store in Moscow. Despite trying hard to do it in the Russian capital, the news was about another city – Moscow, Idaho.
Walmart spent two years trying to enter the Russian market, before its managers decided to leave. Yet they took Lev Khasis with them – the former head of Russia’s largest retailer....