Posted by Annushka on 3 Feb 2011 in Middle East, Political Risk
The text below is an example of an update from our in-house 24 hours Operations Team, who collate up-to-date information from a variety of open and classified sources, and are in constant contact with several Inkerman Operatives currently deployed in Egypt.
Our clients tell us we are the first to relay critical developments on the ground, beating major international news agencies and government sources!
For more information on how to recieve this product, as well as updates on other countries, please contact Alice.Boyes@Inkerman.com
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Posted by Annushka on 27 Jan 2011 in Eastern Europe, Political Risk
There was an immense outpouring of sympathy following the deadly suicide bombing at Domodedovo both within Russia and from abroad this week. The overall tone of the foreign press was commiserative, with few publications (aside from perhaps Spiegel, FP and Liberation) really confronting Russia’s domestic issues. The discussion in the Western press mostly revolved around the limited practical possibilities of protecting large crowds of people in airports, and quite rightly so – the security implications of the bombing for most airports around the world are considerable. But the most interesting commentary on the incident, in our opinion, emerged from Russia itself.
Popular domestic commentary was anger, grief and deep cynicism combined. And, crucially, this anger was in equal measure directed at the terrorists and at the government, which will now likely face a challenge on the par with unrelenting Muslim separatists – they will have to try and secure (or, more appropriately to the Russian context, create) the support for their chosen policies in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan, which are evidently failing. And yet, the frequency of the terrorist incidents that lead to mass civilian casualties outside of Caucasus over the past few years, and Vladimir Putin’s dark warnings of “retribution” ensure that the ‘under-the-carpet’ war in the Caucasus Republics may well become a ‘full-time’ war once again.
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Posted by Annushka on 14 Jan 2011 in Corruption, Eastern Europe, Political Risk
Lithuanian press reports published this morning claim that the country’s Minister of Economy, Dainius Kreivys, had done rather well in the past two and a half years. According to Ekonomika.lt, the wealth of his immediate family increased from 5.6 million litas (€1,6 million) to some 170 million litas (€50 million), making Kreivys 26th richest man in the country. Members of the opposition, notably the Tvarka and Teisingumas (Order and Justice Party), and the leader of the parliamentary opposition, Algirdas Butkevicius, immediately asked Kreivys to reveal the source of his sudden good fortune, but the latter left his critics and the public guessing.
Whether the opposition is going to be able to capitalise on the scandal is unclear, despite the fact that the popularity of the government appears to be extremely low in Lithuania.
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Posted by Annushka on 17 Dec 2010 in Corruption, Eastern Europe, Elections, Political Risk
Elections in Belarus have not been a happy occasion ever since President Aleksandr Lukashenka surprised everyone by winning his first term as President in 1994. Over the past sixteen years, this increasingly autocratic ruler has successfully ambushed every political initiative by the opposing politicians and stymied every whiff of political intrigue. Although occasionally characterized by vigorous protests of the disgruntled, repressed and for most part woefully splintered opposition, all recent elections were a testament to Lukashenka’s personal dominance in the country, rather than the success of any burgeoning efforts to re-politicise Belarusians, who mostly appear to give in to the pressure of accepting their brutal and wily leader.
For five whole days, 14 – 19 December 2010 inclusive, the country’s citizens return to the polls. And all observers are looking for signs that something may finally change. Jeremy Druker, the editor-in-chief of Transitions Online (TOL), finds that the recent presidential campaign (which saw an unprecedented ten candidates successfully registered): “has been both far more interesting and more ‘democratic’ than at any point since Lukashenka started his long reign”.
Interesting yes, but not more ‘democratic’ in the traditional sense of the word.
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Posted by Annushka on 15 Dec 2010 in Eastern Europe, Political Risk
Ladies and Gentlemen,
May we at the Inkerman Group wish you a very Merry Christmas, and gift to you a video of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s rendition of “Blueberry Hill”. We’re not sure if it will improve his chances of being elected President in 2012, but perhaps he’s in with a shot at Christmas No.1?
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