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This special "Year in Review" issue replaces your regular weekly editions of the Reporter in Hoboken, Jersey City, North Bergen, Guttenberg, Secaucus, Union City, Weehawken, and West New York.
Next week, Jan. 6, we'll have a special "Year in Photos" issue. We will still include newsworthy briefs, so send tips to firstname.lastname@example.com.
We will resume regular issues on Sunday, Jan. 13, including letters and all our other popular features.
The Reporter offices will be closed on Monday, Dec. 31, and Tuesday, Jan. 1 for the new year. Happy new year! We reopen Wednesday, Jan. 2.
To place an ad, call 201-798-7800 or email email@example.com. Keep watching hudsonreporter.com for breaking news. Happy new year!
10,000 toys, books donated to needy around county
Area children and families in need or who were affected by Hurricane Sandy on Dec. 21 received a special holiday gift of toys, games, and books at the Secaucus Recreation Center. Barnes & Noble worked in conjunction with the town of Secaucus to distribute over 10,000 toys, games, and books to area towns that were affected by Hurricane Sandy including Secaucus, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, as well as Bergen County towns like Carlstadt, Moonachie, and Little Ferry.
Secaucus resident Lisa Wandell, who has four children, said that her family had a difficult year and the toys were "a blessing." Her husband and daughter are both in the hospital and the family has faced challenges living on one income. She added that when she got her most recent paycheck, she was faced with the decision of whether to pay her car insurance or buy her children presents for Christmas.
"This is a godsend," said Wandell.
Danny Conroy and Ryan Goor of the Secaucus-based company Commercial Furniture Transport also gave 10,000 pieces of Mattell and Hasbro toys through Angel Wish.
Local officials, school administrators, and Board of Education members were present for a special ceremony at the Recreation Center where Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli presented Barnes & Noble CEO Mitchell Klipper with a plaque in recognition of the company's contribution to the local community. Assemblyman Vincent Prieto and Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez were also in attendance.
Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, Board of Education President Richard Barsa, and Township Manager Jim Marchetti were present to receive a contribution, which will go to local flood victims as well as to future emergencies. Turner said that nearly 350 families were affected by Hurricane Sandy in Weehawken.
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said the donations were going to organizations that serve youth in need throughout the city as well as ones that were affected by the storm such as Daycare 100, which was flooded during the storm, the Jubilee Center, and the Boys and Girls Club.
Union City Superintendent of Schools Stanley Sanger said that the donations would go toward the families who were displaced due to the recent fire. He said that locally the school district had collected $9,000, and while the cash donation was helpful to provide the families support as they get back on their feet, the toys are "very special…for the kids."
Free to park at meters in Hoboken through new year's
People may park at meters for free in Hoboken until 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2013. The City Council extended the holiday parking meter measures recently as a way to promote shopping local for the holidays.
Also, on New Year's Day, alternate side parking rules are suspended.
Director of operations of North Bergen Housing Authority pleads guilty to extortion
The director of operations for the North Bergen Housing Authority, which oversees the town's federally subsidized public and senior housing, admitted on Thursday, Dec. 20 to extorting employees of a maintenance company contracted by the Authority, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman in a press release.
John T. Kennell, 49, of North Bergen, was arrested in August 2012, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark federal court to information charging him with extortion under color of official right and by fear of economic harm.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office:
While the director of operations for the NBHA, Kennell used his official position to extort cash payments from employees of a company (Company One) that provided repair and grounds maintenance services. Kennell, who supervised the employees of Company One working for the Authority, accepted cash payments in amounts ranging from $100 to $400 from employees for, among other things, securing additional paid vacation days for these employees. Kennell assisted in securing these additional paid vacation days by falsely reporting to Company One that the employees were working at the NBHA, when they were, in fact, traveling outside of the United States. Between February 2008 and June 2011, Company One compensated employees for approximately 80 days of unauthorized vacation, totaling $12,498, because of Kennell's actions. Kennell accepted $2,000 to $2,500 in payments for his official assistance in this fraud.
He also accepted cash payments of $50 to $100 from an undocumented alien employee of Company One for permitting that employee to twice change the alias that employee was using to continue working. Using his position of authority, as well as the threat of termination of employment, Kennell also regularly extorted the employees of Company One – sometimes as frequently as twice a month – for cash payments in amounts ranging from $10 to $20 per employee.
According to the press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the extortion count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
According to Town Spokesperson Paul Swibinski, Kennell was terminated from his position on Friday, Dec. 21 and there is currently no replacement as of yet. Sentencing is scheduled for March 25, 2013.
Jersey City honors victims of Newtown
At press time last week, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and members of the Jersey City Council were scheduled to hold a candlelight vigil for the 26 victims of the recent shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The vigil was timed to take place on Friday, Dec. 28, the two-week anniversary of the tragic incident that has reignited debate about gun control in the United States. The vigil was scheduled to take place at City Hall, 280 Grove St.
"This unspeakable horror devastated all of us across the nation, and the Jersey City community wants to pay tribute to all of the victims and let the families know that we are continuing to pray for them," Healy said last week.
Healy, a charter member of the gun control advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns – which is chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino – recently signed a letter calling on President Barack Obama to implement policies to curb gun violence.
Specifically, the organization is calling for: 1) requiring every gun buyer to pass a criminal background check; getting high capacity rifles and ammunition magazines off our streets; and making gun trafficking a federal crime, among other measures.
Healy has long been an advocate of anti-gun legislation and has passed legislation at the local level to limit handgun purchases to one per month. That legislation, along with a companion bill regarding the reporting of lost and stolen firearms, was adopted at the state level and is now law in New Jersey.
Since taking office, the Healy administration has also organized several gun buyback programs which have collectively resulted in the removal of 1,297 firearms from the streets of Jersey City.
Should the gun control debate continue into next year, it is possible that gun control and gun violence could become a campaign issues in the upcoming May 2013 Jersey City mayoral race.
The Dec. 28 vigil was organized by Jersey City resident Daniel Rodriguez.
No further development in attempted Hoboken carjacking
Police are investigating an attempted carjacking at gunpoint in the Maxwell Place development that took place the night of Dec. 2, police confirmed this week.
A victim and a witness were visibly shaken up when they were found by Hoboken police, according to a police spokesman.
One of the victims, who is a personal trainer, was placing gym apparatus in his Jeep with a client when a man (approx. 5'11", 180 lbs, facial hair, African-American) came up behind them and allegedly said, "Give me your keys; I have a gun," according to a police report.
The witness spotted a black handgun and ran, yelling to call 911. The victim also ran and then locked his truck remotely. The carjacker ran toward a garage, according to the victim.
The detective on the case has not yet been able to sit down with the victim, a police spokesman said on Thursday.
Guttenberg parking rules, senior activities
During the new year, the town of Guttenberg will be looking to extend the programming for senior citizens in town. Any senior citizen who is interested in participating in the programming should call (201) 868-2315, extension 152, to register for upcoming events.
From Dec. 17 at 7 a.m. to Jan. 2, 2013, all parking meters in the municipality will be free. However, regulations for resident parking will remain in effect.
Appleview development hearing this week
The latest Planning Board meeting to discuss the Appleview development in North Bergen will be held on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. at North Bergen Town Hall. The proposed Appleview condo development is controversial for a number of reasons. Residents are concerned that it will be built near a natural gas line. It's also being built at the Palisade Cliffs, and preservationists are concerned about removing portions of the land.
The town and county planning boards have been holding hearings on the application for over three years.
Arts group in Union City announces winter and spring wellness programs
The Arts at St. John's will host an open house on Saturday, Jan. 12 from 8:30 to 3:30 p.m., showcasing its wellness program, ASJ Wellness, which will be offered throughout the winter and spring seasons. There will be free classes starting at 8:30 a.m., a kids Gymnastics open house at 12:30 p.m., and a "Wellness Party" at 2 p.m.
ASJ Wellness, a non-profit community outreach group, is housed in historic St. John's Church on the corner or 16th Street and Palisade Avenue in Union City. Started in June 2012, the program offers high quality yet affordable group fitness, meditation and kids gymnastics classes to all levels.
The party will feature demonstrations of the classes being offered at the program, including tai chi, bellydancing, Vinyasa yoga, Kundalini Yoga, zumba, and meditation. Free food and beverages will be served.
The open house event kicks off the ASJ Wellness winter/spring schedule which continues every Tuesday night and Saturday morning until May 18. Adults can drop in anytime to group fitness classes or purchase a variety of subscription packages. Kids' gymnastics is offered in 12-week or six-week sessions.
Special one-time promotional pricing will be available at the open house allowing students to sign up for 6 weeks of their favorite class for $8 per class ($48 total, a $120 value) or get a universal 10 class pack for $10 per class ($100 total, $200 value).
Parents interested in kids' gymnastics will also be able to register their child at the event. Classes for ages 7-12 are $132 for a 12-week session: 4-6 year old classes are $66 for a 6-week session.
For more information call (201) 301-8340 or visit StJohnsUC.com.
Weehawken Volunteer First Aid Squad hosting annual fund drive
WEEHAWKEN – Weehawken Director of Public Safety Jeff Welz wrote a letter to the residents of Weehawken this past week, urging residents to donate to the township's Volunteer First Aid Squad, comprised of an ambulance corps and Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
Due to economic downturn, the squad is facing a tough year ahead. According to the letter, the state will no longer be funding training for the volunteers. In order to prevent the volunteer squad members from absorbing that cost, the squad and township has covered the cost.
"The Weehawken Volunteer First Aid Squad is in jeopardy of losing the ability to provide free, quality emergency medical service to the community due to cuts in funding and donations," said Welz.
Additionally, Welz announced that the squad is looking for new members. The squad has been a great starting point for those who are looking for careers in the medical and health care fields.
"The squad is proud that over 100 of its alumni and current members have become medical professionals, including paramedics, registered nurses, and doctors," the letter read.
For more information, call the township's Public Safety office (201) 319-6046.
Free month of PATH service for 30-day Smartlink cardholders
According to officials, Hoboken residents who have a 30-day Smartlink card will get another 30 days of PATH service free. The free rides are a show of appreciation for waiting out the lengthy closure of Hoboken PATH station after Hurricane Sandy. The 30-day free passes will automatically be added to the cards of Hoboken residents who were previously registered Smartlink customers with 30-day passes.
"We truly understand the extreme difficulties that closure of the Hoboken station put on our loyal resident riders," Stephen Kingsberry, PATH's acting director and general manager, said in a news release.
Weehawken garbage collection has holiday schedule
There will be no garbage collection in Weehawken's 3rd Ward on Tuesday, Jan. 1. Residents of the 3rd Ward are advised to put their garbage out Tuesday night, and it will be picked up Wednesday, Jan. 2. Garbage pickup schedules in the township's other wards remain the same, as to township-wide recycling schedules.
Man loses six fingers in work accident
According to North Bergen Police Captain Patrick Irwin, on Dec. 19 at 6:24 p.m., police responded to Eagle Recycling at 4711 Dell Ave. on a report of an injured party. The victim, a 22-year-old Union City man, was working and attempting to pull cardboard from a feeder belt that was clogged when both his hands became stuck inside it. The machine was then shut off but his hands became tangled in the feeder, which led to six of his fingers being severed.
Captain Irwin believes the man lost four fingers on his right hand and two on his left.
West New York EMS along with North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue responded to free him from the machine. The man was transferred to Jersey City Medical Center.
According to Irwin, OSHA was notified and responded. OSHA investigates industrial accidents. Eagle Recycling representatives were unavailable for comment.
Seminar on weight loss surgical options Jan. 3 at Palisades Medical Center
A seminar on weight loss surgical options will be presented for free on Jan. 3 at Palisades Medical Center in English and Spanish. The featured speaker is Stefanie Vaimakis, MD.
Registration is 6:30, and the seminar runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Free food, refreshments, parking. Free transportation available from 60th Street and Bergenline Avenue starting at 5:30 p.m.
More than 60 percent of the U.S. population is overweight and about 30 percent is classified as being obese. Today, there are many Bariatric (Weight Loss) Surgical Options for people who have been unable to achieve significant weight loss through diet and exercise.
For more information, contact Nikki Mederos, (201) 854-5702. Palisades is located at 7600 River Road.
North Bergen Health Department has fee collection change
As of Jan. 1, 2013, the North Bergen Health Department will only accept the following as payment of various fees: personal check, bank/teller check, or a money order. There will be absolutely no cash accepted for any fees.
Christmas Eve heist at Hoboken shopping center
The shopping center at 301 Jackson St. in Hoboken was burglarized on the night of Christmas Eve, for a loss of over $13,000 in stolen goods and cash. A dollar store and a liquor store were hit sometime overnight from Christmas Eve to early Christmas morning, a police spokesman said.
The initial robbery took place at the dollar store with a reported loss of $375 in cash and goods. The burglar(s) had cut through the wall. A liquor store in the same plaza had $4,500 in cash stolen, 90 cartons of cigarettes (50 not full, 40 full) estimated at $5,600, 24 bottles of vodka estimated at around $840, and 10 cases of mixed liquor estimated at $2,500. Walls were also cut at that property.
Construction workers were repairing floors and other hurricane damage at an adjacent store. It was unclear whether any doors left open by the workers aided in the accessibility.


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Huskers Drop Heartbreaker at NCAA Regionals
Morgantown, W.Va. - The No. 8 Nebraska women's gymnastics team finished third in a heartbreaker at the NCAA Morgantown Regional, earning a team score of 195.875. The Huskers missed a berth in the NCAA Championships by only .150 points, coming in behind Michigan (196.725) and Illinois (196.025). NU's performance marks the first time the squad has missed NCAA qualification since 2009. The Huskers will close their 2013 team campaign with a 16-3 (12-2) mark in regular season action and a 3-2 record in postseason competition.
Despite a difficult team finish, three Huskers earned individual berths at the NCAA Championships. Emily Wong and Jessie DeZiel led the way, earning appearances as the top two all-around competitors not on qualifying teams. Wong finished second overall in the all-around with a 39.225, while DeZiel won a tiebreaker to advance with a 39.200. Brittany Skinner finished as the regional champion on vault (9.95) to qualify as well.
After beginning the evening on a bye, Nebraska opened competition on uneven bars. NU battled several uncharacteristic mistakes on the event, but rallied to earn a 48.875 team score. After the Huskers began with a fall on the event, Skinner displayed great focus to earn a team-best 9.85. Giblin snagged a team-leading 9.85 as well. DeZiel and Kassandra Nathe both had solid performances, earning identical marks of 9.80.
The Huskers moved to beam for the third rotation of the evening, earning a mark of 48.525. Wong led the way, bouncing back from a tough bar routine to earn an NU-best 9.825. Giblin and Jennifer Lauer each tacked on 9.725 routines for Nebraska, while DeZiel posted a 9.675.
Bye the third rotation, all six teams had competed on two events at the meet. Michigan led all squads with a 98.575 between two events. Illinois followed in second at 97.925, while Kentucky took the third-place slot at 97.800. Nebraska came in at third with a 97.400, and North Carolina and West Virginia rounded out the six team squads with respective scores of 97.075 and 96.925.
NU moved to a bye following beam, looking to regroup before the squad's final two events of the meet. The Big Red returned in the fourth rotation for floor exercise, tallying a team score of 48.800. Wong led NU for the second consecutive rotation, capturing a 9.875. Hollie Blanske also had a solid outing on the event with a 9.80, while DeZiel earned a 9.775.
Sitting in fifth overall heading into their final rotation, NU needed a stellar outing on vault to have a shot at advancing to nationals. The squad put on a show, earning the best NCAA postseason score in program history at 49.650. DeZiel, Wong and Skinner tied for top honors on the event with identical scores of 9.95. Blanske took fourth overall following her teammates with a 9.925 performance, while Giblin added a 9.875.
Despite the Huskers best efforts, Illinois hit a 49.175 on beam to edge the Huskers for the second qualifying spot. The Illini's effort gave them the third NCAA qualification in program history. Michigan took the top spot, finishing at 196.725. Kentucky captured fourth at 195.575, and West Virginia came in fifth with a score of 194.475. North Carolina rounded out the competition at fifth, taking a 194.350.
Nebraska's three individual qualifiers will move on to the NCAA Championships in Los Angeles, Calif., in two weeks. Hosted by UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, the national championships will feature competition between the finest collegiate gymnasts in the nation on April 19-21.
The event will kick off on Friday, April 19 with team preliminaries. Preliminary competition will be split between two sessions, with the first beginning at 2 p.m. CT and the second taking place at 8 p.m. CT. The top three finishers in each session will advance to the Super Six team finals on Saturday, April 20 at 6 p.m. CT to vie for the 2013 national title. Individual NCAA event champions will be crowned in event finals on Sunday, April 21 beginning at 3 p.m. CT.
Fans wishing to purchase tickets for the NCAA Championships may do so at UCLABruins.com. Tickets are $55 for reserved adult seating and $40 for general admission. Discounted rates for students, children and groups are also available.
Name Vault Bars Beam Floor All-Around
Jordyn Beck --- --- --- --- ---
Hollie Blanske 9.925 9.275 --- 9.80 ---
Jessie DeZiel 9.95 9.80 9.675 9.775 39.200
Janelle Giblin 9.875 9.85 9.725 --- ---
Kailyn Hawkins --- --- --- --- ---
Amanda Lauer --- --- --- --- ---
Jennifer Lauer --- --- 9.725 9.675 ---
Ariel Martin --- --- --- --- ---
Madison McConkey --- --- --- --- ---
Kassandra Nathe --- 9.80 9.20 --- ---
Jamie Schleppenbach --- --- --- --- ---
Brittany Skinner 9.95 9.85 9.575 9.075 38.450
Desire' Stephens 9.85 --- --- 9.675 ---
Emily Wong 9.95 9.575 9.825 9.875 39.225
Team Score Vault Bars Beam Floor Total
Nebraska 49.650 48.875 48.525 48.800 195.875
Illinois 48.975 48.925 49.175 48.950 196.025
Kentucky 48.925 48.800 48.975 48.875 195.575
Michigan 49.200 49.375 49.050 49.100 196.725
North Carolina 48.775 48.550 48.550 48.525 194.350
West Virginia 49.025 48.475 48.450 48.525 194.475

subset: commoncrawl


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Robert Nachbar
Robert Nachbar explains how Mathematica and C were used to develop a hybrid deterministic-stochastic simulation engine based on differential equations and the chemical master equation. He highlights some interesting aspects of the implementation and demonstrates its use in this talk from the Wolfram Technology Conference.
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text: i'm hard at work on my engravings, i actually passed the template out to friends to do graphics for me hahaha.... i'm so lazy. (typing 9 page english paper DUE IN 8 HOURS! ... so i doubt i'll get any sleep. hmmm - so what colors would look good with a gloss black body and a polished rail - besides black... i don't want friggin black.


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Cliff Bleszinski tweets about a gift from Ubisoft that implies they are interested in ending Epic's former design director unemployment: "Hotel called my room. A package for me? Inside? A fully charged phone with one # programmed and the Ubisoft logo on the backdrop. Now what?" Seems the answer would be to call the number, but maybe this is a trick question. It's nice to hear that Ubisoft is doing well enough that they've replaced business cards with working cell phones. Thanks VG247.
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text: View corporate housing and furnished apartments in the St Louis area – 52 total among cities in the metro. Corporate housing is perfect if you have just moved, are on an extended business trip, are relocating, or just need a short-term home away from home. With CorporateHousing.com, you'll find a variety of potential temporary housing in the St Louis metro, including extended-stay hotels, corporate apartments, privately owned homes, and vacation properties.


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For the past 12 months, DEA agent Bobby Trench and U.S. naval intelligence officer Marcus Stigman have been reluctantly attached at the hip. Working undercover as members of a narcotics syndicate, each man distrusts his partner as much as the criminals they have both been tasked to take down. When their attempt to infiltrate a...
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For the past 12 months, DEA agent Bobby Trench and U.S. naval intelligence officer Marcus Stigman have been reluctantly attached at the hip. Working undercover as members of a narcotics syndicate, each man distrusts his partner as much as the criminals they have both been tasked to take down. When their attempt to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel and recover millions goes haywire, Trench and Stigman are suddenly disavowed by their superiors. Now that everyone wants them in jail or in the ground, the only person they can count on is the other. Unfortunately for their pursuers, when good guys spend years pretending to be bad, they pick up a few tricks along the way.
To get showtimes, select a county to find cinemas showing this movie in your area.
Despite boasting a couple of headliners who, at one point, might have sported enough gravitas as to pull the masses in to see any feature film, 2 Guns doesn't have a whole lot of draw. The well-worn buddy cop trope gets an interesting makeover with both parties playing undercover agents for independent organizations (Denzel Washington works for the DEA, while Mark Wahlberg is a Naval officer) unaware of the other's affiliation. Throughout, both parties manage performances that invite laughter, with Wahlberg's hybrid of badass and nebbish earning particular favor. But for some reason, the film just can't seem to muster up a full dish of appeal.
Maybe it's because 2 Guns seems to be, and proves to be, a film that sets the bulk of its attention on forwarding the criminal plotline. In this area, 2 Guns offers little in the new. Yes, the dramatic irony that both Washington and Wahlberg are officers of the law, and each under the impression that the other is a bona fide crook, is a twist with some flavor. But too heavily stocked with your standard cop movie tropes - inhabited by drug cartel baddie Edward James Olmos and sociopathic CIA man Bill Paxton - the film crumbles under its decision to take its story too seriously.
When it has fun, though, it has a good deal of it.
The high points of the film are not when Washington and Wahlberg are facing off with their laundry list of enemies - criminals, fellow lawmen, former allies, you name it... nobody likes these guys - but when the mismatched pair tustle verbally with one another.
Washington's Bobby Trench is a smooth, serious, acerbic would-be loner; Wahlberg's blathering Michael Stigman operates at peak energy and volume, wearing his lust for attention and friendship on his sleeve as he works tirelessly to win over his target/partner. Their chemistry, while nothing unprecedented in the buddy cop genre, is endearing, helping to pass the hour-and-a-half occupied by 2 Guns with just enough chuckles.
So if you're already there, having wandered accidentally into the wrong theater or affixed against your will to a diehard Denzel fan's idea of a perfect night out, buck up - the comedic scenes will get you through it. But if you're on the fence, they're not quite worth heading out to the theater for.
Follow Michael Arbeiter on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter
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The U.S.S.R. legally ceased to exist on December 31, 1991. The new state, called the Russian Federation, set off on the road to democracy and a market economy without any clear conception of how to complete such a transformation in the world's largest country. Like most of the other former Soviet republics, it entered independence in a state of serious disorder and economic chaos.
Upon independence, Russia faced economic collapse. The new Russian government not only had to deal with the consequences of the mistakes in economic policy of the Gorbachev period, but it also had to find a way to transform the entire Russian economy. In 1991 alone, gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by about one-sixth, and the budget deficit was approximately one-fourth of GDP. The Gorbachev government had resorted to printing huge amounts of money to finance both the budget and the large subsidies to factories and on food at a time when the tax system was collapsing. Moreover, the price controls on most goods led to their scarcity. By 1991 few items essential for everyday life were available in traditional retail outlets. The entire system of goods distribution was on the verge of disintegration. The transformation of the command economy to a market-based one was fraught with difficulties and had no historical precedent. Since the central command economy had existed in Russia for more than 70 years, the transition to a market economy proved more difficult for Russia than for the other countries of eastern Europe. Russian reformists had no clear plan, and circumstances did not give them the luxury of time to put together a reform package. In addition, economic reform threatened various entrenched interests, and the reformists had to balance the necessities of economic reform with powerful vested interests.
Although Soviet industry was one of the largest in the world, it was also very inefficient and expensive to support, complicating any changeover to a market-based economy. Industry was heavily geared toward defense and heavy industrial products whose conversion to light- and consumer-based industries would require much time. The industrial workforce, though highly educated, did not have the necessary skills to work in a market environment and would therefore need to be retrained, as would factory and plant managers.
In an effort to bring goods into stores, the Yeltsin government removed price controls on most items in January 1992—the first essential step toward creating a market-based economy. Its immediate goal was achieved. However, it also spurred inflation, which became a daily concern for Russians, whose salaries and purchasing power declined as prices for even some of the most basic goods continued to rise. The government frequently found itself printing money to fill holes in the budget and to prevent failing factories from going bankrupt. By 1993 the budget deficit financed by the printing of money was one-fifth of GDP. Consequently, the economy became increasingly dollarized as people lost faith in the value of the ruble. Inflationary pressures were exacerbated by the establishment of a "ruble zone" when the Soviet Union collapsed: many of the former republics continued to issue and use rubles and receive credits from the Russian Central Bank, thereby further devaluing the ruble. This ruble zone became an onerous burden for the Russian economy as an additional source of inflation. In the summer of 1993 the government pulled out of the ruble zone, effectively reducing Russian influence over many of the former Soviet republics.
During the Soviet era the factory had been not only a place of work but was also often the base of social services, providing benefits such as child care, vacations, and housing. Therefore, if the government allowed many industries to collapse, it would have had to make provisions not only for unemployed workers but for a whole array of social services. The government's infrastructure could not cope with such a large additional responsibility. Yet the inflation caused by keeping these factories afloat led to waning support for both Yeltsin and economic reform, as many average Russians struggled to survive. Starved for cash, factories reverted to paying workers and paying off debts to other factories in kind. Therefore, in many areas of Russia a barter economy emerged as both factories and workers tried to accommodate themselves to the economic crisis. Moreover, debts between factories were enormous; though they were diligently recorded, there was little hope of eventual collection. Thus, it was not uncommon for workers to go months without being paid and for workers to get paid in, for example, rubber gloves or crockery, either because they made such things themselves or because their factory had received payment for debt in kind.
In 1995 the government, through loans secured from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and through income from the sale of oil and natural gas, succeeded in stabilizing the national currency by establishing a ruble corridor. This corridor fixed the exchange rate of the ruble that the Russian Central Bank would defend. Consequently, the rate of inflation dropped, and some macroeconomic stabilization ensued. However, the government continued to borrow large sums of money on domestic and foreign markets while avoiding real structural reforms of the economy. By failing to establish an effective tax code and collection mechanisms, clear property rights, and a coherent bankruptcy law and by continued support of failing industries, the government found it increasingly expensive to maintain an artificially set ruble exchange rate. The problem was that the government-set exchange rate did not reflect the country's economic reality and thereby made the ruble the target of speculators. As a result, the ruble collapsed in 1998, and the government was forced to withhold payments on its debt amid a growing number of bankruptcies. The ruble eventually stabilized and inflation diminished, but the living standards of most Russians improved little, though a small proportion of the population became very wealthy. Moreover, most economic gains occurred in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and a handful of other major urban areas, while vast tracts of Russia faced economic depression.
Another element of economic reform was the privatization of Russian industries. Reformists in the Yeltsin government sought to speed privatization, hoping that the threat of a return to communism would be more remote once a Russian capitalist class had developed. The reformists, like many Western economists, believed that only by privatizing factories and enterprises and letting them fight for survival would the economy have any hope of recovering. Initially, the government implemented a voucher system according to which every citizen could in theory become a stakeholder in Russian industry and its privatization. Russians could invest their voucher (the sum of 10,000 rubles), sell it, or use it to bid for additional shares in specific enterprises. However, the average Russian did not benefit from this rather complicated scheme. By the end of 1992, some one-third of enterprises in the services and trade fields had been privatized.
The second wave of privatization occurred in 1994–95. However, to the average Russian, the process seemed to benefit solely the friends of those in power, who received large chunks of Russian industry for little. In particular, Russia's companies in the natural resource sector were sold at prices well below those recommended by the IMF to figures who were close to "the Family," meaning Yeltsin and his daughter and their allies in the government. From this process emerged the "oligarchs," individuals who, because of their political connections, came to control huge segments of the Russian economy. Many of these oligarchs bought factories for almost nothing, stripped them, sold what they could, and then closed them, creating huge job losses. By the time Yeltsin left office in 1999, most of the Russian economy had been privatized.
The stripping of factories played a major role in the public's disenchantment with the development of capitalism in Russia. To many Russians, it seemed that bandit capitalism had emerged. The majority of the population had seen their living standards drop, their social services collapse, and a great rise in crime and corruption. As a result, Yeltsin's popularity began to plummet.
Having played a key role in defeating the attempted coup against Gorbachev in 1991, Yeltsin saw his popularity surge. A skillful politician, he was first elected president of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1991 before the collapse of the U.S.S.R, and he was reelected in 1996. Although he had come to represent for many the face of political and economic reform, his first priority was the preservation of his own power and authority. In dealing with those around him in both the government and the bureaucracy, Yeltsin effectively utilized a divide-and-rule strategy that led to the emergence of various factions that battled each other. Indeed, in some cases bureaucrats spent more time in conflict with each other than they did governing the country. Yeltsin also had the tendency to frequently remove ministers and prime ministers, which led to abrupt changes in policy. Throughout his presidency Yeltsin refused to establish his own political party or to align himself openly with any party or group of parties. Instead, he believed that the president should remain above party politics, though he was at the heart of the political process, playing the role of power broker—a position he coveted—until his resignation in 1999.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Russian Federation continued to be governed according to its Soviet-era constitution. The office of president had been added to the political structure of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1991. However, the constitution did not specify which branch, legislative or executive, held supreme power. Political differences over various issues (e.g., the course of economic reform and the power of both the Communist Party and industrial interests) manifested themselves as constitutional conflicts, with Yeltsin's supporters arguing that ultimate power rested with the president and his opponents charging that the legislature was sovereign. Personality clashes between Yeltsin and the parliamentary leadership led to a break between the legislative and executive branches.
High inflation and continued economic crisis placed great pressure on Yeltsin. The government's focus on financial stabilization and economic reform to the apparent neglect of the public's social needs contributed to the growing political battle between the legislative and executive branches. Complicating Yeltsin's difficulties was the fact that many deputies in the parliament had vested interests in the old economic and political structure. The leader of the parliament, Ruslan Khasbulatov, and Yeltsin both sought support from regional elites in their political battles with each other by promising subsidies and greater local control. The political battle between Yeltsin and Khasbulatov climaxed in March 1993 when Yeltsin was stripped of the decree-making powers that he had been granted after the August 1991 attempted coup. Yeltsin was not prepared to accept total defeat. On March 20 Yeltsin announced that he was instituting an extraordinary presidential regime until April 25, when a referendum would be held over who "really ruled" Russia. He stated that during this period any acts of parliament that contradicted presidential decrees would be null and void. Many of Yeltsin's ministers, including Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, only half-heartedly supported the president's move, and Yeltsin, after intense political haggling, was forced to back down. Nonetheless, it was agreed that a referendum would be held on April 25. Four questions were posed to the Russian people, written by the Congress of People's Deputies to embarrass Yeltsin: (1) Do you trust the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin? (2) Do you approve of the socioeconomic policies implemented by the President of the Russian Federation and the government of the Russian Federation since 1992? (3) Do you consider it essential to hold pre-term elections for the presidency of the Russian Federation? and (4) Do you consider it essential to hold pre-term elections for the People's Deputies of the Russian Federation? In addition, the Congress passed a provision that, for a question to be approved, it needed the backing of at least half of all eligible voters (and not just half of the actual ballots cast); however, the Constitutional Court ruled that only the latter two questions needed at least 50 percent and that the first two questions were nonbinding. With Yeltsin's camp using the slogan "Da, da, nyet, da" ("Yes, yes, no, yes"), the results were a victory for Yeltsin. Nearly three-fifths of voters expressed confidence in him personally, and more than half supported his economic and social policies. Half of voters favoured early presidential elections, but two-thirds supported early parliamentary elections; however, with only 43 percent of eligible voters backing early parliamentary elections, Yeltsin was forced to continue his uneasy relationship with the Congress.
In the summer of 1993 Yeltsin established a Constitutional Convention to draw up a new post-Soviet constitution. The parliament also set up its own Constitutional Committee. Inevitably, presidential and parliamentary constitutional drafts were contradictory, and the increasing number of regional leaders who supported the parliamentary version worried Yeltsin. Thus, the referendum results did not end the political conflict between Yeltsin and the parliament, and that conflict grew more intense on September 21, 1993, when Yeltsin issued a series of presidential decrees that dissolved the parliament and imposed presidential rule that would exist until after elections to a new parliament and a referendum on a new draft constitution were held in December. The parliament declared Yeltsin's decree illegal, impeached him, and swore in his vice president, Aleksandr Rutskoy, as president. Weapons were then handed out to civilians to defend the parliamentary building, known as the "Russian White House." On September 25, troops and militia loyal to Yeltsin surrounded the building. On October 2, there were armed clashes between troops and supporters of the Congress. The most serious battle took place around the television station at Ostankino. By this time, crowds of parliamentary supporters had begun to fill the streets of Moscow, and it seemed a civil war was going to erupt in the middle of the capital, prompting Yeltsin to declare a state of emergency in Moscow on October 4. Shortly thereafter, tanks begin firing on the parliamentary building and on the deputies inside, leading to the surrender and arrest of everyone inside the building, including the speaker of the parliament and Rutskoi. With the defeat of parliamentary forces, the way was clear for elections to a new parliament and a referendum on a new constitution in December 1993.
Yeltsin's new constitution gave the president vast powers. The president appointed the prime minister, who had to be approved by the Duma, the lower house of the legislature, and the president could issue decrees that had the force of law as long as they did not contradict federal or constitutional law. The president also was given the power to dismiss the Duma and call for new parliamentary elections. Under the new constitution the prime minister was the vital link connecting the executive with the legislative branch. Although the prime minister was accountable to the parliament, he first had to maintain the president's confidence to remain in office. The premiership of Viktor Chernomyrdin, Yeltsin's longest-serving prime minister (1992–98), reflected the extent to which a Russian prime minister was dependent on the president—and not the parliament—for his mandate to rule. Yeltsin dismissed Chernomyrdin in 1998, ostensibly for failing to implement reforms energetically enough, though there was the suspicion that the prime minister had offended the president's ego by acting a bit too independently and grooming himself to succeed Yeltsin as president.
In the first two Dumas (elected in 1993 and 1995), the Communist Party of the Russian Federation was the single largest party, though it was never close to becoming a majority party. The Communist Party, which inherited the infrastructure of the dissolved Communist Party of the Soviet Union, had the most effective nationwide organization. Other parties found it difficult to project their message outside the major urban areas. Party loyalties were weak; deputies jumped from one party to another in the hope of improving their electoral chances. Worrying to many was the success of the ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, which captured 22.8 percent of the vote in 1993 (though its share of the vote declined thereafter). Nevertheless, despite hostile and even at times inflammatory rhetoric directed toward both Yeltsin and Russian foreign policy, Zhirinovsky's party generally backed the executive branch. Throughout the 1990s, hundreds of parties were founded, but most were short-lived, as the appeal of many was based solely on the personality of the founder. For example, the liberal party of acting prime minister Yegor Gaidar (1992), Russia's Choice, floundered once Gaidar was forced out of government at the end of 1992. Chernomyrdin's party, Our Home Is Russia, suffered a similar fate soon after Yeltsin dismissed him as prime minister.
The relationship between the Duma and President Yeltsin was characterized by public shows of anger and opposition; behind the scenes, however, compromises were more often than not hammered out by political foes. Moreover, Yeltsin had no qualms about threatening the Duma with dissolution if and when it seemed to be proving recalcitrant to presidential bills. Deputies, fearful of losing their extensive perks of office, such as a flat in Moscow, and of an electorate angry with all politicians, regularly backed down when faced with the implicit threat of dissolution. During Yeltsin's second term, some deputies tried to initiate impeachment proceedings against him, but, because of the many legal obstacles to such a move, Yeltsin easily avoided impeachment.
During Yeltsin's presidential terms, the weakened Russian state failed to fulfill its basic responsibilities. The legal system, suffering from a lack of resources and trained personnel and a legal code geared to the new market economy, was near collapse. Low salaries led to a drain of experienced jurists to the private sector; there was also widespread corruption within law enforcement and the legal system, as judges and police officials resorted to taking bribes to supplement their meagre incomes. The country's health, education, and social services were also under incredible strain. Due to a lack of resources, law-enforcement agencies proved unable to combat the rising crime. The collapse of medical services also led to a decline in life expectancy and to concerns over the negative rate of population growth; doctors and nurses were underpaid, and many hospitals did not have enough resources to provide even basic care.
One consequence of the political and economic changes of the 1990s was the emergence of Russian organized crime. For most of the Yeltsin administration, shoot-outs between rival groups and the assassinations of organized-crime or business figures filled the headlines of Russian newspapers and created greater disgust among Russians over the course of economic reform and democracy. The explosive rise in crime came as a shock to most Russians, who under the Soviet period had very rarely come into contact with such incidents. The assassinations of well-known and well-liked figures, such as human rights advocate Galina Starovoitova, served to underscore the Yeltsin regime's inability to combat crime. By the end of the Yeltsin era, the open warfare between organized-crime groups had diminished not because of effective state action but because of the consolidation of the remaining criminal groups that had emerged victorious from the bloody struggles.
Post-Soviet Russia emerged with formidable ethnic problems. Many of the autonomous ethnic regions that were part of the empire—formed before 1917—no longer wished to be under Russian hegemony, and ethnic Russians comprised less than four-fifths of the population of the Russian Federation. Inevitably, the question of ethnic identity emerged. The term rossiyanin was used to designate a citizen of the Russian Federation and was not given any ethnic Russian connotation. Yeltsin established a committee to construct a Russian identity and national idea that could be used to rally people around the new Russian Federation. The committee failed after several years of attempts, finding that a national idea and identity needed to come from below and not from above, since history had shown that the creation of an identity from above leads to the establishment or strengthening of an authoritarian or totalitarian state. The Russian Orthodox Church reestablished itself as a force in the moral guidance of reborn Russia, but there were many other religions among the minority groups, particularly Islam. Russia continued to face problems associated with governing a multiethnic state within a democratic framework.
During the Yeltsin years, Russia's numerous administrative regions sought greater autonomy. For example, Tatarstan negotiated additional rights and privileges, and the republic of Chechnya declared independence in 1991, before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Chechen nationalism was based on the struggle against Russian imperialism since the early 19th century and the living memory of Stalin's massive deportations of the Chechen population in 1944 that had resulted in the deaths of a large segment of the population. In late 1994 Yeltsin sent the army into Chechnya in the aftermath of a botched Russian-orchestrated coup against the secessionist president, Dzhokhar Dudayev. There were fears that if Chechnya succeeded in breaking away from the Russian Federation, other republics might follow suit. Moreover, Dudayev's Chechnya had become a source of drug dealing and arms peddling. In 1995 Russia gained control of the capital, Grozny. However, in 1996 Russian forces were pushed out of the capital city. Yeltsin, faced with an upcoming presidential election and great unpopularity because of both the war and economic problems, had Gen. Aleksandr Lebed sign a cease-fire agreement with the Chechens. The Russians subsequently withdrew from the republic, postponing the question of Chechen independence.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was established to serve as a forum for the former Soviet republics. All the former republics eventually joined, except the Baltic republics. Moscow coined the term "the near-abroad" when discussing its foreign policy toward the newly independent states. Russia still hoped to maintain influence over most of these former republics, and it considered both the Caucasus and Central Asia its special area of interest, raising fears that Moscow would use the CIS as a mechanism for achieving this aim. Aid from the Russian government to Russian separatists in the Dniester region of Moldova and intervention in the Tajik civil war were illustrative of Moscow's attempt to maintain influence in these areas. In addition, the Russian government was prepared to use other means of exerting influence, such as economic pressure on Ukraine and the threat of separatism in Georgia, to attain its ends.
However, Moscow did more to undermine the CIS through its inconsistent policies, lack of organizational leadership, and tendency to work bilaterally with the governments of the newly independent republics. At CIS meetings many announcements were made about closer integration among the member states, and a plethora of documents were signed, but very little was done. In 1996 Russia and Belarus began a process that, it was proclaimed, would eventually result in the unification of the two countries. However, by the early 21st century there was still no sign that unification would occur. Given Russia's severe economic difficulties, which limited its ability to provide financial and military assistance to its neighbours (at least until the surge in oil prices in the early 21st century), it found it difficult to retain influence over its near-abroad. Even regarding access to Russia's markets by its neighbours, Russian officials were wary of allowing too many goods to flow into the country for fear that it would further weaken Russian industry.
The collapse of the Soviet Union left some 30 million Russians outside the borders of the Russian Federation. The largest Russian populations were in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and the Baltic countries. Governments in these countries feared that Moscow could, if it wanted, use the Russian populations there to pressure the governments to adopt policies friendly to Moscow. However, during the 1990s Moscow refrained from following such an approach—sometimes to the great criticism of the Russians living in these areas.
For several years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin placed a high priority on relations with the West, particularly with the United States. The initial honeymoon period in U.S.-Russian relations ended abruptly, as it became increasingly clear that some geopolitical goals of each country were incompatible. Russia opposed the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Although Russia eventually accepted the inevitability of NATO expansion to some countries, the government tried to thwart the entry of former Soviet republics and to construct a viable bilateral relationship with NATO so that it would have some influence over the organization's decisions. While Moscow was still wary of NATO, it attempted to strengthen its economic and political relations with the European Union (EU). Policy disagreements over the Balkans—in particular, U.S. support for armed intervention against the Yugoslav government of Slobodan Milošević—also contributed to the cooling of relations between Washington and Moscow.
The collapse of the Soviet Union left the United States as the sole superpower. As a result, the Russian government tried to not only come to terms with the loss of empire and superpower status but also create a foreign policy doctrine reflecting the new global geopolitical reality. Russia's increasing concern with U.S. hegemony in the world system became a constant theme in Russian foreign policy, especially after Yevgeny Primakov became foreign minister in 1995. Primakov stressed the need for a multipolar system of international relations to replace the unipolar world dominated by the United States. In an attempt to counter U.S. power, Moscow strengthened its political and military relations with China and India, although friction between New Delhi and Beijing made it unlikely that a strong trilateral alliance would emerge to challenge the United States. Russia's relations with Iran and differences in approaches to Iraq further increased tensions in Russian-U.S. relations.
During the Yeltsin years the normal foreign-policy-making mechanisms did not perform well, as various bureaucratic bodies fought for control over the direction of Russia's external relations. Moreover, Yeltsin himself exhibited inconsistency in his foreign policy; his divide-and-rule strategy was an effective barrier to the establishment of greater order in Russia's foreign relations, though Primakov attempted to give some direction to Russia's foreign policy. Consequently, Russian foreign policy during this period was characterized by aimlessness, contradictions, and confusion.
The Yeltsin period witnessed changes in Russian historiography. During the Soviet period, history was written on the basis of Marxism-Leninism, which placed class struggle and the inevitable emergence of communism at the centre of history. With the collapse of the Soviet Union—and with it Marxist-Leninist dogma—Russian historians began to reevaluate the historiography of the Soviet and tsarist periods. They were aided by the opening of archives in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Historians engaged in serious debate as to whether the events of 1917 were inevitable or not. The belief that the Bolshevik Revolution had thrown Russia off the evolutionary course traveled by other European countries gained wide acceptance. Popular histories began to glorify the tsarist period, and Peter I, Catherine II, Alexander II, and others became positive figures in Russian history. Nicholas II was viewed more sympathetically, with emphasis placed on his great love for his family and Russia. The reburial of his remains and those of the immediate imperial family, all of whom were executed together in 1918, in the Peter-Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg in 1999 brought to a head the partial transformation of Nicholas II's position in Russian history. The opening of the archives also gave historians an unprecedented opportunity to rewrite the history of the Soviet period. The Stalin period and the role of Lenin in the emergence of a totalitarian state after the revolution were the first targets of this new history. Documentary evidence reflecting thinking at the highest levels during and after World War II also gave historians an opportunity to reevaluate the origins of the Cold War, which in many instances led to debunking conventional wisdom among Western historians of Soviet intentions at the time.
Toward the end of Yeltsin's tenure as president, Vladimir Putin began playing a more important role. During the Soviet period, he joined the KGB and worked in East Germany for many years. Fluent in German and proficient in English, Putin worked for the liberal mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak, in the initial post-Soviet period and ended up in Moscow when Sobchak failed to be reelected mayor in 1996. In July 1998 Putin became director of the Federal Security Service, one of the successor organizations of the KGB, and in August 1999 Yeltsin plucked Putin out of relative obscurity for the post of prime minister.
As prime minister, Putin blamed Chechen secessionists for the bombing of several apartment buildings that killed scores of Russian civilians, prompting the Moscow government to send Russian forces into the republic once again. (Evidence never proved Chechen involvement in these bombings, leading some to believe that the Russian intelligence services played a role in them.) The campaign enjoyed some initial success, with Grozny falling quickly to the Russians. Putin's popularity soared, and Yeltsin, having chosen Putin as his successor, resigned on December 31, 1999. Putin became acting president, and his first official act as president was to grant Yeltsin a pardon for any illegal activities he might have committed during his administration.
In the presidential election held in March 2000, Putin easily defeated Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov in the first round of balloting, winning 52.9 percent of the vote to secure a full term as president. Although the Russian military was able to win control of Chechnya, Chechen fighters fled to the mountains and hills, threatening Russian forces with a prolonged guerilla war. Fighting continued during the next two years, but by 2002 it had abated, and Putin, confident in Russia's military position, sought talks with what remained of the Chechen leadership. Nevertheless, in October 2002, Chechen separatists seized a Moscow theatre and threatened to kill all those inside; Putin responded by ordering special forces to raid the theatre, and during the operation some 130 hostages died—mostly as the result of inhaling gas released by the security forces in order to subdue the terrorists.
Despite worries arising from his years working for the intelligence services, many Russians came to believe that Putin's coolness and decisiveness would enable him to establish economic and political order in the country and deal with the Chechen problem. After years of Yeltsin's unpredictable behaviour, the upsurge in violent crime, and the decline in both living standards and Russia's prestige abroad, Russians were ready for a leader with an agenda and the mental capacity to implement it. Putin soon moved to reassert central control over the country's 89 regions by dividing the country into seven administrative districts, each of which would be overseen by a presidential appointee. The new districts were created to root out corruption, keep an eye on the local governors, and ensure that Moscow's will and laws were enforced. During the Yeltsin years, contradictions between Russian federal law and that of the regions had created great chaos in the Russian legal system, and Putin worked to establish the supremacy of Russian Federation law throughout the country. Putin even enjoyed success in taming the independent-minded regions, as the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan reluctantly brought their constitutions into accord with that of the Russian Federation in 2002.
Although Putin hoped to maintain a strategic partnership with the United States, he focused on strengthening Russia's relations (both security and economic) with Europe, particularly Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, after the September 11 attacks in 2001 on the United States by al-Qaeda, Putin was the first foreign leader to telephone U.S. President George W. Bush to offer sympathy and help in combating terrorism. Moreover, Russia established a council with NATO on which it sat as an equal alongside NATO's 19 members. Russia also reacted calmly when the United States officially abandoned the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, established temporary military bases in several of the former Soviet states in Central Asia, and dispatched special forces on a training mission to Georgia, where there were suspected al-Qaeda training bases.
However, Putin was wary of U.S. unilateralism and worked to strengthen Russian ties with China and India and maintain ties with Iran. In 2002–03 he opposed military intervention against Iraq by the United States and the United Kingdom and developed a joint position with France and Germany that favoured a more stringent inspections regime of Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction program rather than the use of military force (see also Iraq War).
Putin brought new life to the CIS by providing relatively active Russian leadership, in sharp contrast to the Yeltsin years, and he strengthened Russia's ties with the Central Asian republics in order to maintain Russian influence in this vital area. Under Yeltsin the Russian army, starved of funds, had lost much of its effectiveness and technological edge. Russian defeats in the first Chechen war only underlined the appalling state in which the armed forces found itself. Through greater arms sales, Putin hoped to increase funding for the armed forces, particularly for personnel and for the research and development sector of the Russian military industrial complex.
Putin also took steps to limit the political and economic power of the infamous oligarchs, whom many Russians considered to be thieves and one of the main causes of the myriad problems facing Russia. Although Putin did not and could not destroy the business elite, he made it clear that certain limits on their behaviour would be expected. Those oligarchs who were either openly against Putin during the presidential campaign or critical of his policies faced the Kremlin's wrath. For example, in 2001 Vladimir Gusinsky and Boris Berezovsky, two of Russia's richest men, were stripped of their electronic media holdings, and Berezovsky was removed from his position of influence at Russian Public Television, Russia's most widely watched television channel. And in 2003 Russia's richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of the oil giant Yukos, was arrested and eventually convicted of fraud and tax evasion. The campaign against certain oligarchs caused fear among many about Putin's commitment to freedom of speech and the press. During the Yeltsin era the media had become a tool in the hands of the oligarchs, who used their individual media outlets in their battles with each other and with political figures. On the other hand, certain television stations consistently contradicted the reports of government-controlled stations on issues such as corruption and the wars in Chechnya, thereby providing an alternative source to government news sources. While under Yeltsin the government did not try to reassert control over the mass media, television networks (or their owners) seen as unfriendly to Putin and his policies faced closure by the government—usually on charges of nonpayment of taxes and financial mismanagement.
Putin proved adept at constructing a stable relationship with the Duma. Yeltsin's automatic hostility to the Communist Party had resulted in a shaky relationship with the Duma and an inability to obtain passage of a number of reform measures. Putin was better able to work with the parties in the Duma and secured the passage of bills that reformed the tax, judicial, labour, and bankruptcy systems, provided property rights, adopted national symbols and the flag, and approved arms treaties. In addition, unlike Yeltsin, Putin was not inclined to frequent changes in the cabinet or premiership, thereby creating conditions for policy consistency and political stability that ordinary Russians appreciated. Putin also attempted to reduce the number of political parties—in particular, regional parties—in Russia by requiring that parties have registered offices and at least 10,000 members in at least half of Russia's regions to compete in national elections.
Despite some domestic opposition, Putin pursued economic reforms, believing that the Russian economy's long-term health was tied to deep structural reforms that the Yeltsin administration had ignored, though implementing such reforms proved difficult. Putin secured passage of legislation creating a new tax code that simplified and streamlined the tax system in order to encourage individuals and businesses to pay taxes and to improve the efficiency of paying and collecting taxes. As a result of these measures, the state's rate of tax collection dramatically increased. Coupled with a surge in income from the increase in world oil prices, the Russian government enjoyed a budget surplus and was able pay off some of its external debt. Putin was also keen to attract foreign investment into Russia in order to reduce Russia's dependence on Western loans (which he believed threatened the country's national interests and long-term economic prospects) and to help finance the refurbishment and expansion of Russian industry. Russia also sought to increase its exports by promoting the sale of oil, natural gas, and arms. The reforms implemented by Putin—as well as his demeanour—produced political stability and economic vitality not seen in the country during the 1990s and gave Russia a sense of confidence as it entered the 21st century.
Putin's presidency also witnessed a change in the way Russians viewed the Soviet past. Whereas under Yeltsin popular histories and general opinion were critical of the Soviet period and nostalgic for the prerevolutionary period, during Putin's tenure aspects of the Soviet period—for example, the victory in World War II, Russia's superpower status, and even the Stalinist period—were again glorified (Stalin was described in one teaching manual as "the most successful leader of the U.S.S.R."), and this dualism was reflected in the country's symbols. Despite nostalgia among some communists for the Soviet period and uncertainty among many about the future, by the early 21st century Russia seemed poised to set upon the long path of economic and political development. However, deep structural problems in the economy remained, and the number of people living in poverty remained high.
Despite criticism that he had centralized too much power in the presidency and was curtailing freedoms won with the dismantling of the Soviet Union, Putin remained popular and was reelected in 2004 in a landslide, garnering more than 70 percent of the vote. During his second term, Putin's popularity continued to be high, and speculation loomed that he, constitutionally ineligible to run for another term in office because of term limits, might engineer a change to the constitution to allow him to be reelected. Instead, Putin surprised many observers in October 2007 by announcing that he would head the list of the pro-Putin United Russia party in parliamentary elections. In December 2007 United Russia won more than three-fifths of the vote and 315 of the Duma's 450 seats. Less than two weeks later, Putin anointed First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as his successor as president for the 2008 elections. In turn, Medvedev subsequently announced that he would appoint Putin prime minister if his campaign succeeded, thus giving Putin a platform by which to continue his dominance of Russian politics. In March 2008, in a contest that some Western election observers (such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) considered not fully fair or democratic, Medvedev was easily elected president, winning 70 percent of the vote. Medvedev took office on May 7, 2008; Putin was confirmed as prime minister the next day.
Just three months into his presidency, Medvedev was confronted with a growing military conflict between Russia's neighbour Georgia and South Ossetia, a separatist region of Georgia that borders the Russian republic of North Ossetia–Alania. As fighting between Georgian and Ossetian forces escalated in August 2008, Russia sent thousands of troops across the border with the goal of supporting rebels in not only South Ossetia but also Abkhazia, another separatist region within Georgia. Despite a French-brokered cease-fire, hostilities continued, and Russian troops remained in Georgia. Russia's actions heightened tensions between it and the West. In response to condemnation from NATO, which Georgia hoped to join, Russia suspended its cooperation with the Atlantic alliance. In September the Russian government agreed to withdraw its troops from Georgia; however, it planned to maintain a military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, whose independence it had recognized.
Meanwhile, sporadic fighting between Russian forces and local militants continued elsewhere in the Caucasus region, particularly in the Russian republics of Ingushetiya and Chechnya. By early 2009 the conflict in Chechnya appeared to have abated, and that April Medvedev announced the end of Russia's counterinsurgency operations there. Despite this official pronouncement, clashes between security forces and militants in the Caucasus continued to occur, as did militant attacks on local officials and infrastructure. Later in 2009 militants assassinated political figures in Ingushetiya and Dagestan, and early in 2010 a Chechen rebel leader warned that attacks would be made in Russian cities. In March 2010 two female suicide bombers, believed to be linked to an extremist group in the Caucasus, detonated explosives that killed more than three dozen people in the Moscow Metro.
That summer, amid a withering heat wave and drought, hundreds of wildfires blazed in numerous regions of western and central Russia. Many of the fires proved difficult to extinguish, particularly those that burned underground in drained peat bogs, releasing vast amounts of smoke.
In December 2010 Khodorkovsky, who was nearing the end of his initial sentence, was found guilty of additional charges of embezzlement and money laundering, and he was ultimately sentenced to an additional six years in prison.
As 2011 progressed, Russians wondered if Medvedev would stand for reelection in 2012. He ended months of speculation in September 2011 when he announced that he and Putin would, in essence, trade jobs. Putin would run for president and, if elected, would likely appoint Medvedev prime minister. The plan for a seamless succession hit a snag on December 4, 2011, when United Russia suffered sharp and surprising losses in parliamentary elections. Although it retained a simple majority in the Duma, having captured just under 50 percent of the vote, the party lost the two-thirds majority that had allowed it to make changes to the constitution. International observers characterized the election as lacking fairness, and the Russian monitoring group Golos registered more than 5,000 complaints of voting violations. Within days of the election, an estimated 50,000 people gathered near the Kremlin to protest the results. Putin dismissed the display—the largest such demonstration since the fall of the Soviet Union—and claimed that the protesters were "paid agents of the West."
As resistance to Putin intensified, the Medvedev administration claimed a victory in one of Russia's longest-standing policy goals. After 18 years of negotiations, Russia joined the World Trade Organization on December 16, 2011, the last member of the Group of 20 to join. Independent analyses of the December vote uncovered pervasive irregularities, including statistically unlikely voter turnout levels and final results that were wildly at odds with preliminary counts. Organized protests continued into 2012, and in February of that year an estimated 30,000 people formed a human chain around the centre of Moscow.
On March 4, 2012, Putin was elected to a third term as president of Russia, with an official count of 64 percent of the vote. International observers reported comparatively few flagrant electoral abuses, but the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe criticized the poll for the overwhelming government support that Putin enjoyed in relation to his competitors. Putin was inaugurated on May 7, 2012, and one of his first acts was to nominate Medvedev as prime minister; the appointment was confirmed by the Duma the following day.
Putin's first months in office were marked by attempts to quash or marginalize the protest movement and those entities that might lend it support. Under newly enacted laws, the organizers and participants of unauthorized demonstrations were subject to dramatically increased fines, and nongovernmental organizations that received funding from outside Russia were forced to declare themselves as "foreign agents." While those measures were criticized by Western governments, the prosecution of the feminist punk collective Pussy Riot drew far wider condemnation. Three members of the band were arrested for an anti-Putin performance staged within the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow in February 2012. In August 2012 the trio was sentenced to two years in prison for "hooliganism." Later that month Russia completed its accession to the World Trade Organization, but economists cautioned that many of the benefits of membership were dependent on structural reform within Russia's economy and legal system.
In spite of U.S. Pres. Barack Obama's much-publicized "reset" of relations with Moscow in 2009, tension between Russia and the West remained. The war of words escalated in December 2012 with the U.S. Congress's passage of the so-called Magnitsky Act, a law that denied visas to and froze the assets of Russian officials suspected of involvement with human rights abuses. Putin responded by approving a measure that banned the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens. Ties between Washington and Moscow were further strained in June 2013 when former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden fled to Moscow after revealing the existence of sweeping secret NSA intelligence-gathering programs. Despite repeated requests from the U.S. government, Putin refused to extradite Snowden, who had been charged with espionage by U.S. prosecutors. In July 2013 anticorruption blogger Aleksey Navalny, who had been a prominent figure in the protests of 2011–12, was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement. The verdict was criticized by the U.S. and the EU, and thousands of opposition supporters filled the streets of Moscow in protest. Navalny was unexpectedly released the following day, however, and in September 2013 he performed surprisingly well in Moscow's mayoral election.
Putin continued to assert Russia's role on the global stage, and his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, brokered a deal that headed off potential Western military intervention in the Syrian Civil War. The agreement, made in the wake of a nerve gas attack on a civilian population outside Damascus, introduced UN inspectors and placed the chemical weapon stockpile of Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad under international control.
Ahead of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the post-Soviet constitution, some 25,000 people were freed from Russian prisons in December 2013. Among those freed were the imprisoned members of Pussy Riot and 30 Greenpeace activists who had been jailed in September 2013 for staging a protest at a Gazprom oil rig in the Pechora Sea. Days later Putin issued a pardon for Mikhail Khodorkovsky. After having spent more than a decade behind bars, the former oligarch promptly flew to Germany and vowed not to return to Russia as long as there existed the possibility that he might be arrested again.
Putin also took an active role in the events in neighbouring Ukraine, where a protest movement toppled the government of pro-Russian Pres. Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014. The protests began in November 2013 when Yanukovych scuttled a treaty that would have strengthened ties between Ukraine and the European Union. Instead, he sought to steer the country into the proposed Eurasian Economic Union with Russia. After a bloody crackdown in Kiev left scores dead and hundreds wounded, Yanukovych fled to Russia. The Putin administration, which did not recognize the acting government that had replaced Yanukovych, moved to capitalize on the situation. On February 28 armed men whose uniforms lacked visible insignia took control of key sites in the Ukrainian autonomous republic of Crimea. Long the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Crimean Peninsula was home to a predominantly Russian population, and the movement of Russian troops into the region was not opposed.
By March 3 a pro-Russian prime minister had been installed at the head of the regional parliament, and Russia had achieved de facto military control of the Crimea. On March 16 a referendum was held in the Crimea, and 97 percent of voters stated a preference for leaving Ukraine and joining Russia. The U.S. and the EU responded by enacting sanctions against high-ranking officials in Russia and in the self-declared government of the Crimea. On March 18 Putin and members of the Crimean parliament signed a treaty that transferred control of the peninsula to Russia. This treaty was ratified by the upper and lower houses of the Russian parliament and signed into law by Putin on March 21.
The table provides a chronological list of the leaders of Russia from 1276 onward.


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Circa 1900
A pair of large double light sconces with exceptionally sharp beading and foliate details. Signed on the reverse by the maker E. F. Caldwell. From an East Side Manhattan home.
Overall: 18" h. x 12" w. x 7-1/2" d.
Backplate: 16" h. x 4-1/2" w.
2 candelabra sockets, maximum 60 watts per socket
2" x 3" vertical junction box required
Dry UL listing available with modifications, please contact your salesperson for pricing.
1 pair total available.
Please contact your local showroom about viewing this item.


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763.72119/9775 › Page 22 - Fold3.com
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About this Publication TitleWWI - State Dept Records
NARA M367. Most of these documents relate to problems arising from the wartime conditions existing during 1914-18 and to the peace negotiations. The subjects specifically covered include neutrality, neutral commerce, enemy property, prisoners of war, civil prisoners and enemy noncombatants, illegal and inhumane warfare, hospital ships, military and civilian observers, negotiations for peace, and the armistice. They are arranged by first by subject, then year, month, and document number.
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It would be a mistake to go back to the Northeastern Conference. The conference is made up primarily of Division 2 schools based on enrollments. Only Peabody is a Division 1 team, and Revere is close. But both of these schools left the Greater Boston League a decade ago to join the conference.
The Northeastern Conference is not a classy league. They have twice turned down the five remaining GBL schools � Everett, Somerville, Medford, Malden and Cambridge, because they fear that Everett is too strong in football.
The idea that these schools would dominate the conference has little value, because the Division 2 schools � Lynn Classical, Lynn English, Beverly, Danvers, Gloucester and Marblehead � would not have to play Division 1 schools in the postseason. Winthrop and Swampscott are the only Division 3 schools in the NEC, if Saugus returns to the fold.
Both Winthrop and Swampscott should be applying to join the Cape Ann League to play against like-sized schools. In fact, the Winthrop football coach has been trying for years to get his school committee to join the Division 3 Cape Ann League, which is a better fit.
In addition to turning down the GBL, the NEC has twice turned down Masconomet, a Division 2 school, because the conference fears that Masco would also dominate. I always thought a team should welcome perennially strong clubs in an attempt to get better.
Over time, the size of a school population determines postseason match-ups. We played the likes of Newburyport and Amesbury when I was in school, so they are not unknown to old-time Sachem fans.
We had already proven last fall in football that we belong in the CAL. After the assigned required nine games within the division, there was the round-robin tournament that included Saugus, Swampscott, Austin Prep and Pentucket. Winthrop also had to play Division 3 schools in the assigned games.
Another reason to remain in Division 3 is demographics. Saugus is an older community that has a declining school population, and it would most definitely continue in decline because of the Northeast Voke and the growth of charter schools.
Football rosters are now on the decline within middle to upper income classes, because of the threat of concussions. Many families are turning from the sport, and replacing it with soccer to protect their children from serious injury.
The transportation issue is not a strong argument. It does not take very much time to travel to Cape Ann League sites than going to remote Northeastern Conference locations like Gloucester, Beverly or Danvers.
To keep our student-athletes competitive, Saugus belongs in the Cape Ann League, and I expect Winthrop and Swampscott to follow suit when they realize that upper division schools are not in their best interests.
High school roundup
We see the value of playing within our division in softball. After opening losses to two Division 1 teams � Lawrence (6-5) and Malden (6-0), the Saugus girls hosted Mystic Valley Charter School, and won, 10-0.
The Sachems started fast, scoring five times in the first.
Jessica Allen and Tayla Guiffrida had three hits each, including a triple and a double by Tayla that drove in three. Pitcher Brooke Westmoreland tossed a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts.
Boys track
The boys track team traveled up country to Amesbury, only to lose, 95-49.
Andre Ipojuca won the 400-meter low hurdles in 63 seconds. Evan Covell did the same in the two-mile (11:02). Ryan Clarke kept up the trend in the long jump (19-5), and was second in the 100. Angelo Bellia bested everybody in the high jump (5-2).
The Sachems then took on North Reading and Triton at North Reading, where the locals lost to the Hornets (80-61) and also the Vikings (84-60).
Ipojuca was first in the 400-meter hurdles (62.2, a state qualifying time). Bellia was a winner in the triple jump (38-4.25), and Clarke did the same in the long jump (18-9), not to mention the 200 (23.8) to qualify for the state meet. Brian Nelson (101-5) went to the head of the class in the discus.
Girls track
The girls track team lost a heartbreaker to Amesbury, 76-64.
Norma Waggett was first in the high jump (4-10), and second in the 400-meter hurdles. Emily Monaco placed first in the 400-meter hurdles (76.6). Victoria Sparages topped everybody in the 400, and the javelin (87-6). Mikayla Perella was second in the shotput (30-3.5).
The Sachems won the 4 by 100 relay (54.75), with Sparages, Alex Rodrigues, Allison Aldred and Ailyn Minaya teaming up to come out on top.
The girls split at North Reading, beating Triton (75-69), before losing to North Reading (103-42).
Waggett accounted for first in the high jump (4-8). Sparages (87-5) was No. 1 in the javelin.
Against Triton, the winners were Monaco in the 400-meter hurdles (73.9), Perella in the shotput (32-4), Minaya in the 100 (13.7) and the 4 by 400 quartet of Waggett, Gianna Filaritos, Haley Dennis and Alex Anna Andrade (4:40.9).
Against North Reading, Monaco won the 800 (2:38.2), and Sparages (28.1) crossed the tape first in the 200.
The baseball team, under new coach Steve Freker, won its opener over Pentucket, 3-1.
Kyle Autilio was on the mound for the Sachems, and delivered a four-hit, six-strikeout performance. Dan Cacciola was credited with a two-run single in the third to secure the victory.
The girls golf squad traveled to Hingham to face the defending state champions, and came away with a 4-2 victory. Nicole Moschella (4 and 2), Brianna McNalley (5 and 4), Caitlin DiGirolamo (5 and 4) and Sofia Cogliano (6 and 2) picked up the individual wins.
A Saugus fan's plea to remain in the CAL
It would be a mistake to go back to the Northeastern Conference. The conference is made up primarily of Division 2 schools based on enrollments. Only Peabody is a Division 1 team, and Revere is close. But both of these schools left the Greater Boston League a decade ago to join the conference.


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Bought a Dynaflow reg and a set of wood grips. Shipped fast, easy to deal with, and the stuff was in good condition, especially the grips which were in pristine condition. I'd be glad to trade with morocomole again.
I purchased a Dye Matrix from morocomole. There was slight delay from the PO, but the gun eventually arrived just fine and well packed in a Snack Pack Pudding box. If only he'd included pudding as well...
Bought a mag from me ask me to hold it until friday and offered to pay a down payment. I told him I didnt need it and his word was good enough. He came through as he said he would. Very trust worthy I would do buisness with him anytime!!
Bought a Traccer from him.
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text:
National Weather Service See what the National Weather service is predicting here
24-Hour satellite Watch NOAA's 24-hour satellite image here Real-time conditions See what Boulder's weather is like now at the National Center for Atmospheric Research here
After a small snowfall overnight, Boulder should see another day of freezing temperatures and light flurries today, according to the National Weather Service.
Today's forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high of 16 and wind chill as low as zero, with winds around 5 mph. Light snow could continue to fall, mainly before 9 a.m. The overnight low is expected to be near 6, with winds chill as low as -10. Winds are expected to be 8 to 13 mph with gusts as high as 20 mph.
The city is also no longer on accident alert as of 6 a.m. today after declaring the status Sunday night.
Tuesday's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with a high near 35 winds wind chill as low as -6, with winds 8 to 13 mph and gusts as high as 30 mph. The overnight low is expected to be near 23 with winds 7 to 9 mph.
Wednesday's forecast calls for sunny skies with a high near 48 and winds 5 to 10 mph with gusts as high as 16 mph. The overnight low is expected to be near 23.


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Lion fans, join the 10K By Opening Day campaign and help Columbia Athletics become the most 'liked' Facebook page in the Ivy League! Our goal is to have 10,000 fans LIKE our page by the Columbia Football Home Opener on September 28, 2013 vs. Monmouth University.
Get a special inside look into the world of Columbia Athletics that can only be found on Facebook. Show your support for Columbia Athletics and LIKE the Official Columbia Athletics Facebook Fan Page. Click here to LIKE the page today!
Remember to #TURNITBLUE at the Columbia Football Home Opener on September 28, 2013 at 12:30 p.m.!


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ABC News says the 84-year-old Walters was honored on Monday in a ceremony dedicating The Barbara Walters Building in Manhattan.
Walters announced in 2013 she would be retiring this year from regular TV appearances. She's scheduled to say goodbye as co-host of "The View" on Friday.
The network says she'll remain an executive producer with the New York-based series and will make special ABC News appearances as events warrant.


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BOULDER — A Boulder District judge on Thursday morning sentenced a 58-year-old man to 40 years in prison for the 2007 beating and strangulation death of his girlfriend.
Boulder District Judge Thomas Mulvahill told George Ruibal that if the lengthy prison term amounts to Ruibal spending the rest of his life in prison, then that is the "natural consequence of your murder of Dana Pechin."
A Boulder County jury convicted Ruibal of second-degree murder in November after listening to more than a week of testimony and argument.
Mark Siegrist, Pechin's brother, said the family was pleased with Ruibal's sentence.
"Forty years is a good number," he said. "It is a very good number."
Mulvahill told Ruibal that his history of domestic violence with other women played into the sentencing decision.
"What you did to Dana Pechin was brutal. It was savage. She was beaten repeatedly, and the number of injuries noted by the coroner was remarkable. It was shocking. It caused massive trauma, particularly to Ms. Pechin's head and skull," Mulvahill told Ruibal.
Ruibal and a co-worker reported finding Pechin dead in the couple's shared apartment on Dec. 10, 2007. Ruibal told acquaintances and police that Pechin had left their apartment on her own to go to Albertsons and had returned later, beaten. He reported that he cared for her wounds and sat with her as she tried to recover on the couch, police reported. He also told police that after she had been hurt, she had moved around their apartment, made breakfast and completed other tasks.
Longmont police Detective Bryan Franke testified during the trial that Pechin never appeared on any surveillance video from the grocery store and former medical examiner John Meyer testified that, given the extent of Pechin's injuries, it was unlikely she was able to do the tasks Ruibal described.
The judge noted that Pechin suffered while she died on the couch.
In 2007, police investigated the possibility that Pechin had been in a car wreck because of the extent of her injuries. However, Meyer concluded her wounds, including strangulation, were caused by another person and ruled her death a homicide. Ruibal wasn't arrested until 2011 after a cold-case review that led to a Boulder County grand jury indictment.
Ruibal's defense attorney, Eric Klein, said during the trial that Ruibal was innocent of the charge and that another man likely beat Pechin while she was away from the apartment. Klein said Thursday that Ruibal maintains his innocence.
Klein added that it was an honor to defend Ruibal, whose daughter also spoke on his behalf. She said her father was always there for her.
"This is a man who would give you his last dollar," Klein said. "To this day there is not one shred of direct evidence linking Mr. Ruibal to the death of Ms. Pechin."
He added that Ruibal also lost someone he loved when Pechin died.
Pechin's brother, Neil Siegrist, recalled his sister during a brief statement to the judge before sentencing. He said Pechin struggled at times, "but she was a very caring person, a great cook, and always remembered birthdays with a call or a card."
Pechin's friends testified during the trial that Pechin was happy and fun, but enjoyed alcohol through most of her day. She lived in a camper in a scrap yard before moving in with Ruibal. Prosecutor Tim Johnson said Pechin's independence frustrated Ruibal because he could not control her. The beating, which would prove fatal, was an exercise of control, he said.
"It is not something of which there were one or two blows delivered to Dana Pechin," he said. "There were scores."
Johnson asked the judge to sentence Ruibal to 40 to 48 years, even though the range would have allowed as little as 16.
Neil Siegrist did not ask for a specific sentence length.
"The court has either seen or heard all the evidence pertaining to the brutality and savagery of her death," he said. "Consider, if you would, she was your family member — what length of sentence would most gratify you?"
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273 or email@example.com.