Russia & CIS

The government of Dmitry Medvedev has resigned. Medvedev failed to meet the requirements of many of Putin's decrees, but Putin takes every effort to make the lives of former governmental officials comfortable by moving them to other high-ranking positions. Is there any place for the feeling for patriotism? And Medvedev's government goes to... It became known that: ex-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will work at the Security Council of the Russian Federation. There was a new position established especially for him - deputy chairman of the Security Council. Medvedev will thus deal with issues of improving the defense capability and security of the Russian Federation. Frankly speaking, security officials can hardly be happy to see Medvedev in their ranks.   Maxim Topilin, the former Minister of Labor and Social Protection, who "defended" Russian pensioners by raising the retirement age, became ... the head of the Pension Fund. The former head of the Pension Fund, billionaire Anton Drozdov, who could not find any funds to index pensions for working pensioners for 4 years, was appointed to the position of Deputy Minister of Finance. The money to raise pensions for working pensioners was quickly found now. Veronika Skvortsova, the former Minister of Health, who was unaware of the amount of real salaries of doctors in Russia, took the position of the head of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency. In other words, having failed in the field of primary health care, her new duty is to control it. Vitaly Mutko, who was responsible for construction and housing in Medvede's government, could never manage to put things in order in both of those spheres. Moreover, when Mutko served on his previous position of the Minister for Sports, the doping scandal started. According to Grigory Rodchenkov, it was Mutko who was coordinating the substitution of samples with him. According to RBC, Mutko may take the post of the head of the state-owned investment company Dom.rf. For ex-Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, Putin personally promised to find a good place. He was appointed assistant to the president for culture, that is, he will become the curator of the industry. The former head of the Ministry for Economic Development, Maxim Oreshkin, was appointed to a similar position. Former Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, who was responsible for economic cooperation with Ukraine, also failed on his job. Yet, he found common language with Ukrainian officials, after Russia signed an extremely disadvantageous gas transit contract. Kozak was appointed deputy head of the presidential administration. One shall assume that the shadow cabinet will make Ukraine feel even better. How can one love a country ruled by immoral officials? Putin did not say why those people would not work in the new government. On the contrary, he thanked them for "macroeconomic stability", but said nothing about the microeconomic stability. At the same time, it is not clear why Finance Minister Anton Siluanov is still in the office, because it was him, who, together with chairwoman of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, crushed the economy with a system of unaffordable crediting and money supply restrictions. Why does Denis Manturov, the Minister of Industry, keep his post as well, even though he failed the Superjet project and ruined the domestic aircraft-building industry?

Dmitry Medvedev, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation considers that it is the right decision for the sitting government of the Russian Federation to resign against the background of Putin's proposals to amend the Constitution of Russia."These amendments, when they are adopted, they will bring significant changes not only to a number of articles of the Constitution, but to the balance of power, executive power, legislative  and judicial power," said the Prime Minister. "In this context, it is obvious that we, as the government of the Russian Federation, should provide the president of our country an opportunity to make all the necessary decisions. In these conditions, I believe that it was the right decision for the government to resign in accordance with article 117 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation."The amendments to the Constitution, which President Putin suggested during his Address to the Federal Assembly on January 15, 2020, contain the idea to delegate powers to approve the head of the government and the ministers from the President of the Russian Federation to the State Duma (the parliament).Putin instructed the outgoing government of Dmitry Medvedev to perform its duties until the new cabinet is formed.Against the background of the news about the resignation of the government, the Russian ruble declined sharply against the US dollar. The dollar is now traded at 61.725 rubles per dollar, which is 30 kopecks lower than before the government resignation news was announced.It remains unknown who is going to become Russia's next prime minister. Reportedly, Putin is going to open a new position of deputy head of the Security Council and plans to appoint Dmitry Medvedev to this post. Putin himself, as president, also serves as the chairman of the Security Council."Dmitry Anatolyevich [Medvedev] has always been engaged with these issues and, from the point of view of enhancing our defense capability and security, I consider it possible and asked him to deal with issues of this property and category in the future," Putin added, commenting on Medvedev's upcoming appointment as his deputy at the Security Council.Putin recalled that Medvedev was served as the president of the Russian Federation and chaired the government for almost 8 years. "This is probably the longest time of service in this post in recent history," he said.Putin emphasized that if Medvedev's appointment requires changes to existing laws and regulations, then this will be done in the near future.The Security Council of the Russian Federation is a constitutional body, which, in particular, prepares decisions of the head of state in issues related to the nation's development strategy, protection of the vital interests of citizens, society and the state from internal and external threats, and pursues the unified state policy in the field of national security.The chairman of the Security Council is Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Secretary of the Security Council (Nikolai Patrushev has been taking this position since 2008), permanent members of the Security Council and members of the Security Council, whom the president appoints, also act as members of this authority. Putin regularly holds operational meetings with permanent members of the Security Council.

On January 15, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his 16th Address to the Federal Assembly. During this annual speech, the head of state traditionally sets out his assessment of the state of affairs in the country and his vision of main objectives for the future. This year, Putin's speech was broadcast live almost everywhere - on the facades of buildings, in public transport, at clinics, hospitals, airports, libraries, on Mount Elbrus and even on board the International Space Station. Putin paid first priority attention to such issues as increasing the birth rate in Russia, increasing the income level of citizens, supporting young families, overcoming poverty and economic stagnation.Economists, experts and many public figures believe there will be no "revolutionary" or "breakthrough" suggestions, because they are simply no such suggestions per se. Putin started his speech with saying that there is a demand for a change in the Russian society. The pace of change should increase every year, he said, with the active participation of Russian citizens in them. At the same time, he noted, it is extremely important how many people there are in the country. Thus, the problem of demography was the first one that Vladimir Putin spoke about in this speech.The fate of Russia and its historical prospects depend on demography in the first place, the president said, added that the country needs to escape from the demographic trap and ensure the country's population growth.Putin noted that it is the generation of the 1990s that builds families today. Russia experienced a significant demographic crisis during the 1990s, which has created a complicated demographic period today.The total birth rate coefficient in 2019 was 1.5. For comparison, the coefficient was 1.4 during war years.As Putin said, the point of all measures that he proposes is to create an extensive family support system.The president emphasized that the measures in the field of demographic development that the Russian authorities had taken before have already brought positive results, and there is a large new generation growing in Russia. "They are the boys and girls who go to kindergartens and study at schools now," the president said. "It is very important that they take true family values close to their hearts: that family means love, happiness, the joy of motherhood and fatherhood, that family means strong connection of several generations, where respect for elderly people and care for children always unite, that family gives a feeling of confidence, security and reliability," Putin said.If all this becomes a natural moral norm for the younger generation, then the authorities would be able to solve the historical objective to guarantee the development of Russia as a large and successful country.About 70-80% of low-income families in Russia are families with children. "Very often, even when both parents work, the income of such a family is very modest," Putin said.If incomes are low, families should receive additional payments for their first and second children, the president said and suggested implementing monthly payments for each child from three to seven years old already from January 2020. Families whose income does not exceed one subsistence rate per person will be eligible to such payments. "When the child turns three years old, the family stops receiving payments and may find itself in a difficult situation. This is what happens most of the time, and we should not make this happen. In this regard, I propose to provide monthly payments for children aged from 3 to 7 years inclusive, starting from January 1, 2020," Putin said."At this age, children "get acquainted" with viruses, they often get sick and do not go to school. So, it is often difficult for mothers to combine work and child care," he added. Initially, such payments will amount to a half of the cost of living - 5,500 rubles, and in 2021 they will be increased twice to the average amount of 11,000 rubles per month.The program of the maternity capital in Russia will be extended before 2026, while the capital will be increased. "Presently, this program embraces the period before December 31, 2021. I know that many people wonder what the state intends to do after December 31, 2021. We will extend this program, at least before December 31, 2026," Putin said. With the birth of a second child, the maternal capital will be increased by another 150,000 rubles, and then it will be indexed every year.The total amount of the maternity capital for a family with two children will make up more than 616,000 rubles. From January 2020, families in Russia will receive maternity capital already with the birth of their first child.For young families, the preferential mortgage rate will apply to the entire loan. Vladimir Putin called on all banks - not only the state ones - to actively participate in the program of preferential mortgage at 2% for families with children.Putin proposed that all school children studying in grades from 1 to 4 should have free hot meals at their schools.

The Jerusalem Post has published an article highlighting AzerbaijanIsrael relations Written by Javid Mammadzade the article is headlined The light in the world of darkness

Irans top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed severe revenge after the United States killed Major General Qasem Soleimani commander of the Islamic republics Quds Force in an air strike in Baghdad on Friday the Iranian state TV reported

Over the past 24 hours Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 23 times the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Jan 3

A new modern train control system is being introduced in Baku Metro CJSC spokesman for the company Bakhtiyar Mammadov told Trend

ndonesia will carry out cloud seeding on Friday in a bid to prevent further rainfall over the capital Jakarta after deadly flash floods and landslides following some of the heaviest rains ever recorded AzVisionaz reports citing Reuters

On the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Supreme CommanderinChief of the Armed Forces Mr Ilham Aliyev on January 2 the leadership of the Ministry of Defense visited one of the Air Defense Units with the aim of an unannounced inspection of the combat readiness of the Air Force

Fiftytwo people affected by the New Years firecrackers and fireworks have turned to medical centers in Armenia the countrys Health Minister Arsen Torosyan said

As a result of the creation of electronic systems by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the population each citizen will have his own individual social program said Sahil Babayev Azerbaijani Minister of Labor and Social Protection APA reports

Taiwans top military official was found dead following a Blackhawk helicopter crash Thursday morning in mountains outside the capital Daily Sabah reported

The death toll from flash floods and landslides in and around Indonesias capital Jakarta reached at least 21 on Thursday with more heavy rain forecast authorities said Reuters reported

A Google artificial intelligence system proved as good as expert radiologists at detecting which women had breast cancer based on screening mammograms and showed promise at reducing errors researchers in the United States and Britain said Reuters reported

An earthquake with a magnitude of 50 jolted 41 km SSW of Coquimbo Chile at 165132 GMT on Wednesday the US Geological Survey said Xinhua reported

Over the past 24 hours Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 30 times the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Jan 2

UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned that North Korea has indicated it could resume nuclear and missile tests a UN spokesman said on Wednesday Reuters reported

2019 is about to end It has been a successful year for our country All the goals we set ourselves at the beginning of the year have been successfully fulfilled and Azerbaijan has successfully developed said President Ilham Aliyev in his message of congratulation to the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis and the New Year

Our position on the ArmeniaAzerbaijan NagornoKarabakh conflict remains unchanged Our position of principle is that this conflict must be resolved within the territorial integrity of our country NagornoKarabakh is ancient Azerbaijani land an integral part of Azerbaijan from an international legal perspective All leading international organizations have made decisions and resolutions on the conflict and expressed their position said President Ilham Aliyev in his message of congratulation to the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis and the New Year

This year the TANAP project was commissioned It is a historical project TANAP has already reached the EU We celebrated this historic event in November this year TANAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor said President Ilham Aliyev in his message of congratulation to the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis and the New Year