By John Helmer, Moscow There is no literal Russian language version for stool pigeon, as the term is understood in English — someone who acts as a decoy to trap others into committing a crime, and then gives evidence against them for a payoff. The nearest Russian term is стукач. The meaning is the same […]

by John Helmer - Saturday, September 8th, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow That Boris Berezovsky (image upper right) is a self-delusional liar is no news, particularly not in Moscow. That Justice Dame Elizabeth Gloster (image lower right) should have made this point the crux of her August 31 judgement, dismissing Berezovsky’s claims against Roman Abramovich (lower left), should come as a surprise only […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, September 2nd, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow Tall stories told by newspapers and their reporters generally don’t start wars. But they do justify them in advance. Afterwards they protect the officials who start them from being prosecuted for war crimes. On August 5, 1964, there was no truth in President Lyndon Johnson’s claim – reported by every major […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, July 26th, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow Oleg Deripaska, chief executive of United Company Rusal, is prosecuting his old friend and Rusal veteran, Andrei Raikov, on charges already dismissed by the Moscow police and the Moscow courts, because Raikov, according to his representatives, has refused to testify for Deripaska against another old friend, Mikhail Chernoy (Michael Cherney). Cherney’s […]

by John Helmer - Monday, July 2nd, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow If President Vladimir Putin is intending to demonstrate he has already lost control of the newly appointed government and their oligarch business partners, then in the proposal of Suleiman Kerimov to expand Alrosa’s asset base by buying BHP’s diamond mines in Canada, and privatize 51% of the company in a public […]

by John Helmer - Friday, June 1st, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow It’s a pity it had to wait until the Facebook folly for a lawsuit to be launched against Morgan Stanley on the double-barrelled charge — the investment bank and underwriter lies in its prospectuses and makes saps of share-buyers. According to the federal US court filing, “the [Facebook] registration statement and […]

by John Helmer - Friday, May 25th, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow In the tarot pack, the card of the Hanged Man is not one everyone wants to be dealt. To some it portends doom. Others believe it symbolizes the great awakening to occur the moment after death when, if, there is a resurrection. As cards go, it’s a big bettor who wants […]

by John Helmer - Saturday, May 19th, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow On October 12, 2004, Sergei Frank, a former federal Minister of Transport, was appointed chief executive of Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest oil tanker company and one of the top five in the world. Frank confirmed, said the company on its website, “that the Company’s management will take all necessary steps to enhance […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow When the archaeologists of the next millennium excavate, they will find the evidence of a tectonic shift and turning-point in Russian history that took place in the two months between December 28 and February 25. That’s from the day Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed government order number VP-P13-9308, and instructed Deputy […]

by John Helmer - Monday, February 27th, 2012
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By John Helmer, Moscow I know, I know. It’s old fashioned to regard the celebration of February 23 as Red Army Day. And for all the awards heaped on my head for defending the Fatherland from its enemies, foreign and domestic, on this anniversary I plead paucity of means, and defer to those who have […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
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