By John Helmer in Moscow The first time Vladimir Putin made the outhouse a lever of state policy was in 1999. Referring to Chechen secessionists and terrorists, he said: “If we can find them in the outhouse, we will whack them in the outhouse.” On Friday, in Chelyabinsk, he did it again. Only this time […]

by John Helmer - Monday, July 26th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow Noone who knows and loves Victor Vekselberg doubts his philanthropy towards the country of his birth. He has helped finance the return of the original Danilovsky Monastery bells, sold to the US in 1930, and then donated to Harvard University. He allows his collection of Faberge eggs to tour Russian […]

by John Helmer - Friday, July 23rd, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow The truth hurts, speaking musculoskeletically. Vladimir Potanin (right) usually gives his nerves away when he’s under pressure by the rapid tapping of his foot under the table. Oleg Deripaska (left) shows his nerves, when gulping noises are audible in his throat and he forces a smile.

by John Helmer - Friday, July 16th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow There are some memorable accounts of returns and arrivals in Russia. Vladimir Nabokov in Speak, Memory (1951), for example, remembers his return from university in England, when, as he wrote, the sound of the snow and ice crystals crackled under his feet as he stepped off the train at St. […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, July 15th, 2010
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The Australian foreign ministry, known as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), has released 350 pages of documents in connection with the investigation in Canberra of the attempted attack on John Helmer, which took place on December 28. A total of 178 documents with classifications ranging from CONFIDENTIAL to SECRET SENSITIVE have been […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow Business aviation, that elite division of the Mile High Club that is more luxurious and more private than first-class, has been a poor investment since the crash of 2008. A great many jets have been on the market, including the Boeing 737 Business Jet (BBJ) that is owned by Suleiman […]

by John Helmer - Friday, July 2nd, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow A new London investment company called Vallar is being floated by two men whose most recent claim to public trust is what they have done, or advised doing with Russian money — Nathaniel Rothschild with Oleg Deripaska’s company Rusal, and James Campbell as a director on the Evraz board — […]

by John Helmer - Monday, June 28th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow Everyone who is watching the World Cup has his or her favourite moments of the competition. Depending on their national or other allegiances, many prefer to speak of extraordinary wins; the South African team’s defeat of France 2 to 1, for example. For me, it’s been the bravery of defence […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, June 24th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow President Dmitry Medvedev is lying when he claims that his modernization slogan, under which he is running for re-appointment by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, means free and fair competition; security for foreign investment; and private ownership in place of state control. I mean lying, as in lying on the fakir’s […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow When two of Russia’s most reclusive oligarchs are publicly reported to be in a big shareholding transaction, rumour of which suddenly drives up the share price of the asset by 25%, the least that can suspected is that someone is manipulating the market for personal gain. So, when Suleiman Kerimov […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
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