From Russia With PR

[daveman]

From Russia With PR

Several opinion columns praising Russia and published in the last two years on CNBC’s web site and the Huffington Post were written by seemingly independent professionals but were placed on behalf of the Russian government by its public-relations firm, Ketchum.

The columns, written by two businessmen, a lawyer, and an academic, heap praise on the Russian government for its “ambitious modernization strategy” and “enforcement of laws designed to better protect business and reduce corruption.” One of the CNBC opinion pieces, authored by an executive at a Moscow-based investment bank, concludes that “Russia may well be the most dynamic place on the continent.”

There’s nothing unusual about Ketchum’s work on behalf of Russia. Public relations firms constantly peddle op-eds on behalf of politicians, corporations, and governments. Rarely if ever do publications disclose the role of a PR firm in placing an op-ed, so it’s unusual to get a glimpse behind the scenes and see how an op-ed was generated.

What readers of the CNBC and Huffington Post pieces did not know — but Justice Department foreign agent registration filings by Ketchum show — is that the columns were placed by the public-relations firm working on a contract with the Russian government to, among other things, promote the country “as a place favorable for foreign investments.”​

 

[blastoff]

The columns, written by two businessmen, a lawyer, and an academic, heap praise on the Russian government for its “ambitious modernization strategy” and “enforcement of laws designed to better protect business and reduce corruption.”

If true, two areas that were very much in need of fixing in order to create a better climate for attracting foreign investment. And I have no problem with hiring a PR firm to get the message out. It's how business is done.

 

[William Joyce]

Good find. Though anyone who thinks powerful undisclosed interests aren't behind pretty much everything you see in the MSM is deluded... all just a matter of degree.

 

[waltky]

Russia puttin' the quash onna gay agenda...

Russia moves to enact laws against 'homosexual propaganda'
January 21, 2013 – Kissing his boyfriend during a protest in front of Russia's parliament earned Pavel Samburov 30 hours of detention and the equivalent of a $16 fine on a charge of "hooliganism." But if a bill that comes up for a first vote later this month becomes law, such a public kiss could be defined as illegal "homosexual propaganda" and bring a fine of up to $16,000.

The legislation being pushed by the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church would make it illegal nationwide to provide minors with information that is defined as "propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgenderism." It includes a ban on holding public events that promote gay rights. St. Petersburg and a number of other Russian cities already have similar laws on their books. The bill is part of an effort to promote traditional Russian values as opposed to Western liberalism, which the Kremlin and church see as corrupting Russian youth and by extension contributing to a wave of protest against President Vladimir Putin's rule.

Samburov describes the anti-gay bill as part of a Kremlin crackdown on minorities of any kind — political and religious as well as sexual — designed to divert public attention from growing discontent with Putin's rule. The lanky and longhaired Samburov is the founder of the Rainbow Association, which unites gay activists throughout Russia. The gay rights group has joined anti-Putin marches in Moscow over the past year, its rainbow flag waving along with those of other opposition groups. Other laws that the Kremlin says are intended to protect young Russians have been hastily adopted in recent months, including some that allow banning and blocking web content and print publications that are deemed "extremist" or unfit for young audiences.

Dec. 19, 2012: In this Wednesday file photo police officers detain gay right activists during a protest near the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, in Moscow, Russia.

Denis Volkov, a sociologist with the Levada Center, an independent pollster, says the anti-gay bill fits the "general logic" of a government intent on limiting various rights. But in this case, the move has been met mostly with either indifference or open enthusiasm by average Russians. Levada polls conducted last year show that almost two thirds of Russians find homosexuality "morally unacceptable and worth condemning." About half are against gay rallies and same-sex marriage; almost a third think homosexuality is the result of "a sickness or a psychological trauma," the Levada surveys show. Russia's widespread hostility to homosexuality is shared by the political and religious elite.

Lawmakers have accused gays of decreasing Russia's already low birth rates and said they should be barred from government jobs, undergo forced medical treatment or be exiled. Orthodox activists criticized U.S. company PepsiCo for using a "gay" rainbow on cartons of its dairy products. An executive with a government-run television network said in a nationally televised talk show that gays should be prohibited from donating blood, sperm and organs for transplants, while after death their hearts should be burned or buried. The anti-gay sentiment was seen Sunday in Voronezh, a city south of Moscow, where a handful of gay activists protesting against the parliament bill were attacked by a much larger group of anti-gay activists who hit them with snowballs.

Read more: Russia moves to enact laws against 'homosexual propaganda' | Fox News

 

[B. Kidd]

Russia.....13 per cent flat tax rate, good.

Phil Mickelson was gonna move there, but most golf courses suck and snowed under..........

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Ain't dat precious - dem godless commies is turnin' to the Lord...

Church should have more control over Russian life, education, military: Putin
Sun, Feb 03, 2013 - CHURCH AND STATE: Putin has tried to mix religion with patriotism to unify the country, and the Orthodox Church has described Putin’s rule as a ‘miracle of God’

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the Orthodox Church should be given more say over family life, education and the armed forces in Russia, as he celebrated the leadership of its head, Patriarch Kirill. Faith runs deep in Russia after the fall of the officially atheist Soviet Union and Putin has looked to the largest religion in Russia for support since he began his third term as president after a wave of protests against his rule. He has also tried to mix spirituality with his own brand of patriotism to unify the officially secular country, where ethnic and political fault lines are beginning to show. “At the heart of all Russia’s victories and achievements are patriotism, faith and strength of spirit,” Putin said in the Kremlin’s gold-encrusted Alexeyevsky hall, celebrating the fourth anniversary of Kirill’s accession as patriarch.

Putin’s relationship with the church has strengthened since band members of protest punk band Pussy Riot entered Russia’s Christ the Savior Church last year and sang a vulgarity-laced song, urging the Virgin Mary to “throw Putin out.” Without giving specifics, Putin said a “vulgar” understanding of secularism must be swept away to give the Church, and other religions, control over more aspects of Russian life. “While preserving the secular nature of our state, and not allowing the over-involvement of the government in church life, we need to get away from the vulgar, primitive understanding of secularism,” he said. “The Russian Orthodox Church and other traditional religions should get every opportunity to fully serve in such important fields as the support of family and motherhood, the upbringing and education of children, youth, social development and to strengthen the patriotic spirit of the armed forces.”

Putin has praised the Church’s spiritual values in their own right, but he has also turned to religious understanding to counteract ethnic tension in cities such as Moscow, which have large Muslim migrant populations from the Caucasus Mountain region and Central Asia. The church in turn has praised Putin’s leadership. Shortly before the Pussy Riot performance, Kirill likened Putin’s time in power to a “miracle of God.” Putin was then prime minister and in the midst of a campaign for the March 4 presidential vote. The church has also given its priests freer rein in politics, establishing rules for the clergy seeking elected office, despite restrictions on almost all political activity by religious authorities.

The Pussy Riot performance took place at the height of a protest movement sparked by allegations of voting fraud during 2011 parliamentary elections. Holding regular protests, tens of thousands of Russians aired grievances over problems in Putin’s tightly controlled top-down political system. However, many Russians consider leaders of that movement out of touch with everyday problems outside of Moscow, where faith is stronger, and many were insulted by the Pussy Riot performance. The pro-Kremlin United Russia party has proposed a law introducing prison terms for offenses against religious symbols and feelings of believers.

Church should have more control over Russian life, education, military: Putin - Taipei Times

See also:

Russia marks 70 years since the Battle of Stalingrad
Sun, Feb 03, 2013 - The city of Volgograd was renamed Stalingrad for a day yesterday as Russia marked the 70-year anniversary of a brutal battle in which the Red Army defeated Nazi forces and changed the course of World War II.

Commuter buses emblazoned with pictures of the feared Soviet dictator ran across the southern city as patriotic Russians remembered what many view as the Soviet people’s greatest achievement. The half-year battle in 1943 in the city on the Volga River — much of it fought in hand-to-hand combat across the ruined streets — claimed the lives of 2 million people on both sides and eventually led to the German troops’ surrender. The battle marked Hitler’s first big defeat and led to a Nazi retreat from Soviet territory after a lightning June 1941 invasion that had caught Stalin completely unaware. The pulverized city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 after Soviet leaders admitted the extent of Stalin’s tyranny during his decades in power.

However, the old city name has remained synonymous with the battle and Volgograd lawmakers have decided to revive it for the anniversary and five other days of the year. “We will defend our country by commemorating the great Battle of Stalingrad — our great victory,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told veterans who gathered on the city’s central square at the start of the commemorations ceremony. “Any enemy and potential aggressor should see this, understand this and feel this,” the close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said. Putin — due to attend a fireworks display and concert in Volgograd later yesterday — has never denied Stalin’s murderous purges of innocent citizens and deadly forced collectivization.

However, he and other modern leaders have preferred to overlook the disastrous errors in military strategy Stalin made during the war. And Putin in particular has preached a patriotic message since returning to a third term in the Kremlin last year. Analysts believe this has helped him maintain support among many of the older middle-class voters in the face of the first street protests of his rule among the young. State media focused their attention on Volgograd throughout the week as they detailed the lavish preparations and Kremlin’s attention to veterans. The start of the Volgograd commemorations were broadcast live on the national news channels while state TV was due to broadcast a new dramatized documentary that promised to reveal new secrets about a “battle which changed world history.”

Russia marks 70 years since the Battle of Stalingrad - Taipei Times

 

[konradv]

From Russia With PR

Several opinion columns praising Russia and published in the last two years on CNBC’s web site and the Huffington Post were written by seemingly independent professionals but were placed on behalf of the Russian government by its public-relations firm, Ketchum.

The columns, written by two businessmen, a lawyer, and an academic, heap praise on the Russian government for its “ambitious modernization strategy” and “enforcement of laws designed to better protect business and reduce corruption.” One of the CNBC opinion pieces, authored by an executive at a Moscow-based investment bank, concludes that “Russia may well be the most dynamic place on the continent.”

There’s nothing unusual about Ketchum’s work on behalf of Russia. Public relations firms constantly peddle op-eds on behalf of politicians, corporations, and governments. Rarely if ever do publications disclose the role of a PR firm in placing an op-ed, so it’s unusual to get a glimpse behind the scenes and see how an op-ed was generated.

What readers of the CNBC and Huffington Post pieces did not know — but Justice Department foreign agent registration filings by Ketchum show — is that the columns were placed by the public-relations firm working on a contract with the Russian government to, among other things, promote the country “as a place favorable for foreign investments.”​

Doing business with Russia has certainly been catching on. I wonder if THEY knew.

A Romney Travels to Russia, but on Strictly Friendly Terms

WASHINGTON — Matt Romney, a son of the Republican presidential nominee, traveled to Moscow this week seeking Russian investors for his California-based real estate firm just days before his father is to wrap up a campaign in which he has vowed to take a tougher stance with the Kremlin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/us/politics/matt-romney-goes-to-russia-for-business.html?_r=0

 

[konradv]

Russia.....13 per cent flat tax rate, good.

Phil Mickelson was gonna move there, but most golf courses suck and snowed under..........

Bit what's the added cost of protecting what you have?