Monthly Archives: October 2005

St. Petersburg and Kazan

Posted on October 29, 2005 by Tim Newman

I am now in Kazan, capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan situated due east of Moscow on the river Volga. I arrived last night after a 28 hour train journey from St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg was marvellous, although I … Continue reading →

Posted in Russia, Travel | 2 Comments

Gloria on Gaza

Posted on October 18, 2005 by Tim Newman

A great post by Gloria Salt on the non-reaction of the sections of the West to the recent violence in the Gaza Strip: But what about the rest of the world? All those activists on campuses in Britain, for example. … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | Comments Off

Moscow-St. Petersburg-Kazan

Posted on October 17, 2005 by Tim Newman

Apologies for the poor quality posting of late, a consequence of clearing my desk of work before I depart to Russia on Thursday. I’m going to be spending one night in Moscow, then catching a train to St. Petersburg where … Continue reading →

Posted in Russia, Travel | 3 Comments

Still a Mystery

Posted on October 16, 2005 by Tim Newman

Upstream Online runs an opinion piece discussing the effect Russia’s political wranglings are having on outside investment. [I]n a country run quite autocratically by a character such as Putin there will always be a suspicion that both minor and major … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas, Russia | Comments Off

Outsiders further shut out of FSU

Posted on October 16, 2005 by Tim Newman

The signs are not looking good for foreign companies wishing to play a role in the oil and gas industry of the former Soviet Union. Firstly, the government of Kazakhstan has stepped in with a hastily written law in order … Continue reading →

Posted in Kazakhstan, Oil & Gas, Russia | 1 Comment

Russian Anecdote

Posted on October 7, 2005 by Tim Newman

Person 1: Where are you from? Person 2: Near to Moscow. Person 1: Where exactly? Person 2: Bishkek. (BTW, can anyone enlighten me as to whether the practice of claiming to be from Moscow or near to Moscow is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Russia | 1 Comment

Total to go into Russia?

Posted on October 7, 2005 by Tim Newman

Despite the poor economic and political governance of Russia which dissuades foreign investment, the sheer size of Russia’s reserves are such that Western supermajors will always be willing to participate in Russian projects to some degree, as this report shows: … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas, Russia | Comments Off

CPC bows to Moscow’s demands

Posted on October 7, 2005 by Tim Newman

This is probably not good news. It will certainly be worth keeping an eye on. The six members of the Chevron-led Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which pumps oil from Kazakhstan to Russia’s Black Sea coast, have agreed to a list … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas, Russia | Comments Off

Ramadan Driving

Posted on October 5, 2005 by Tim Newman

From the Gulf News: The emirate’s roads witnessed a tremendous rise in the number of accidents on the first day of Ramadan, a police official told Gulf News yesterday. “There have been many accidents today. They are all minor, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Dubai | 2 Comments

Silence of the Camels

Posted on October 4, 2005 by Tim Newman

Further to this story, a Mr T. G. Davies from Abu Dhabi writes an amusing letter to the Gulf News: I assume the camel was not a consenting partner in these acts. That being the case, it is clear to … Continue reading →

Posted in Dubai | 2 Comments