By John Helmer, Moscow In the final summing-up of Boris Berezovsky’s case for several billion dollars in stolen goods against Roman Abramovich, the name of Vladimir Putin turns up just four times. The four mentions by Berezovsky’s counsel, Laurence Rabinowitz, during his two-day court presentation on January 17 and 18, are more noteworthy for what […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, January 19th, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow Archangel Diamond Corporation (ADC) has this month renewed its battle against LUKoil for the latter’s alleged theft of multi-billion diamond mining rights at the Verkhotina deposit in the Arkhangelsk region of northwestern Russia. The new claims were lodged in the US District Court in the District of Colorado on January 6. […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow Turning modestly paid public office into extravagant personal wealth isn’t provably criminal, particularly not if there’s a decent interval of time between performing the first and scoring the second. It may be indecent for elected politicians or officials on the taxpayer’s payroll to intend to turn the one into the other. […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow In this thriller the evil genius (EG) is, for once, not a Russian oligarch, Kremlin grandee, Russian computer hacker – not even a Moscow muzhik trained to use Facebook and Twitter to make or join flash mobs.

by John Helmer - Sunday, January 15th, 2012
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by John Helmer - Sunday, January 15th, 2012
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My beloved Russian died on December 9. When he needed breath and his heart was failing, there were five who prevented me from reaching him. I grieve for him. For them, another reckoning. If you will take to the mountain road, it is possible to breathe and sing this song.

by John Helmer - Friday, December 30th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow Nathaniel Rothschild’s (centre) libel lawsuit against the Daily Mail and Associated Newspapers, due to commence on January 23 in the High Court in London, is now unravelling even more Russian oligarch secrets. As they crack open, so do suspicions of even more inexplicable involvement by Rothschild’s friend, Lord Peter Mandelson, than […]

by John Helmer - Friday, December 30th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow Russian labour unions have been crippled since the end of the Soviet Union. With the exception of the coalminers and the seafarers, they have been incapable of defending their members’ wages, terms of employment contracts, or work safety standards. This week the Seafarers Union of Russia – affiliated with the International […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow Homer accords with the latest in canine science. Because Odysseus raised his Argos as a pup from birth, the dog fixed on him as devotedly as he would, had his canine mother, or another human being, done the nurturing within the first ten weeks of the dog’s life. Odysseus, far too […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, December 25th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow Constructivism, that combination of industrial design ideas applied to post-revolutionary Russian urban growth requirements, has been struggling to survive the assault of commercial real estate development since 1991. The current exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of Art, entitled “Building the Revolution” reveals how many of the buildings of the Constructivist era […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, December 25th, 2011
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