By John Helmer in Moscow
Did Nicolas Sarkozy, the small rightwing candidate for President of France, benefit from the brief imprisonment in Lyon of one Russian billionaire, and from the award of a medal, days later in Paris, to another Russian billionaire, who happened to be the business partner of the first?
And was Sarkozy helped by Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, ministre blanchisseur, official custodian of French culture, receiver of kickbacks, and arranger of unorthodox donations to presidential campaign chests?
In short, on January 30, when Donnedieu de Vabres awarded the medal of Officer of the Legion of Arts and Letters to Vladimir Potanin, was this the end to an ingenious quartet of hostage-taking and ransom on the French side, procuring and precious metals on the Russian?
read more

Printing, distribution, reprinting or reproduction of any content from this web site for any use other than personal reading is expressly prohibited.
No articles or part thereof may be reproduced, distributed or printed for commercial purposes without express permission of publishers.
Copyright for all content belongs to The Russia Journal. The publisher does not take any responsibility for any external content or advertising.
For all queries or proposals, write to publisher@russiajournal.com

Free access to PDF archives of The Russia Journal newspaper and magazine published from 1999 till 2005 in Moscow and Washington DC.
Access is free to registered users.
PDF files should open inside your browser window.
It is illegal to download files and print them for any purpose other than personal use without permission of The Russia Journal.
The free access to Russia Journal archives is provided for personal reading use only and any printing, reprinting, distribution or reproduction of any content is expressly prohibited.
For terms and conditions of use, see Terms.
click here
read more

Russia Journal print archives in PDf format are available free of subscription to users of this web site for personal use only. No resale, reprint, distribution or publication is permitted. For all queries, contact publisher_at_russiajournal_dot_com

Blockading roads, leading protests and defying Arab norms, women have played an essential part in Arab uprisings from Cairo to Sana’a and Tripoli to Damascus. Advances in education and a clear view of their families’ economic suffering girded them for the lead role. But as conservative Islamic elements position to fill power vacuums, newfound freedoms are in danger of being lost. - Shahin Cole and Juan Cole (Apr 28, ‘11)

Reports that Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has advised Afghan President Hamid Karzai to dump the United States for a geopolitical alliance with China merely illustrate the state of US-Pakistan relations. Beijing has no interest in Afghanistan’s blood-soaked civil war, and Islamabad is simply moving to sabotage an American plan to break from past pledges by the George W Bush administration and exclude Pakistan from an Afghan settlement. - MK Bhadrakumar (Apr 28, ‘11)

Russia has pursued negotiations to joint the World Trade Organization for 18 years, leaving it the only major economy outside the global trade body. Lack of political will and business interests that see the WTO only as a threat remain as constraints against early resolution of outstanding issues. - Kester Kenn Klomegah

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday will for the first time formally meet the press, an opportunity to explain how undervalued Asian currencies help drive up global oil and other commodity prices. But that would mean involving himself in politics, so such clarity can be ruled out. - Peter Morici

The United States’ uniqueness has resided in a maze of institutions that allow people to leverage their talents. Consideration of how that was destroyed, and how it can be remedied, would help to clarify and resolve many problems - entitlements, energy, immigration, health - restore a sense of purpose, and again establish a model for others. - Reuven Brenner

China’s already tightening curbs on exports of rare earths, materials essential to many high-technology products, came to a head in 2010 with a brief de facto ban on their sale to Japan. Aware of the supply risks, Japan’s leading companies were already seeking alternative sources. - Cindy Hurst