RUSSIALINK: “Russian Communist Party to be on top of ballot paper in Duma elections by draw” – Interfax

Russian State Duma Building file photo

MOSCOW. Aug 16 (Interfax) – The Russian Communist Party will be on top of the ballot paper in the upcoming State Duma elections as a result of a draw between parties held by the Central Elections Commission. The Greens will go second, and the Liberal Democratic Party will go third. The New People party will be on the fourth position, […]

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Disqualified In 2019, Prospective Russian Duma Candidate Pulls Out All The Stops This Time

Russian State Duma Building file photo

… In the meantime, her team is putting their heads down to fight for every vote and the atmosphere on the street seems very different this time around, with United Russia polling record-low support […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Ruling Party Wants a Big Win in Upcoming Elections; United Russia has seriously limited the opposition but is losing popularity itself” – Foreign Policy

Russia Regions Map

“… United Russia … is defending their super majority … but faces increasing challenges due to its own unpopularity and mounting grievances. … [with] a large majority .. key … to ensuring its own cohesion and shoring up legitimacy of the Putin government. …  [An] effort to secure the vote results from the government’s need for credibility in … a […]

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The Week In Russia: The Dangerous Summer

Forest Fire file photo

As September elections approach, COVID-19 takes a mounting toll and wildfires burn across huge swaths of the country …. The Kremlin crackdown on dissenters, civil society, and independent media continues […]

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RUSSIALINK: “As Coronavirus Fatalities Hit a Record High, Russia’s Vaccination Campaign Falters” – Moscow Times

Covid-19 Coronavirus file photo, adapted from image at cdc.gov

With parliamentary elections looming, the Kremlin is wary of pushing Russians too hard to do something a majority are against — getting vaccinated. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jake Cordell – August 13, 2021) The pace of vaccinations across Russia has dropped by 60% in recent weeks, just as the country breaks records for the number of daily fatalities as […]

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Russia May Soon Move Toward a Two-Party Model, Zemskova Says

Russian State Duma Building file photo

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Aug. 4, 2021) The September Duma elections are unlikely to bring any serious surprises in the party composition of the Russian parliament, Elena Zemskova says; but rumors are swirling that the Kremlin, on the one hand, and the three systemic opposition parties, on the other, are unhappy with the current situation. And […]

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In Blacklisting A U.S. College, Russia Shutters A Program That Bridged An International Divide

Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

Three years after the Soviet collapse, Bard and SPSU joined forces to launch SPSU’s Arts and Humanities course, Russia’s first liberal arts curriculum …. But on June 21, … [t]he Russian Prosecutor-General’s Office declared Bard an “undesirable” organization […]

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Moscow City’s Pothole Management Portal Benefits Residents and Regime, Sharafutdinova Says

Moscow Roads

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, June 25, 2021) Russia’s autocratic government is modern not just because it has reversed the democratization wave of three decades ago but because it is willing to make use of modern techniques in some spheres of life under its control for its direct benefit, according to Gulnaz Sharaftudinova. The Kremlin uses various […]

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Russian Bill Barring Navalny Associates From Running In Elections Passed

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

… The measure appears to be a thinly veiled attempt at neutralizing Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which the authorities are seeking to have declared an “extremist” group ahead of parliamentary elections […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Patrushev: Russia ready to use force to suppress unfriendly activities by other countries” – Interfax

Nikolai Patrushev file photo, adapted from image at defense.gov

MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) – Russia may use force if need be in response to unfriendly activities by other countries, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said. “The new edition of the National Security Strategy emphasizes that Russia seeks greater predictability, trust and security in the international arena. At the same time, it says that it is lawful to take […]

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‘Green Shift’ Occurring across Russian Political Spectrum, Shaburov Says

Russia Regions Map

Most parties … participating in the upcoming Duma and regional legislative assembly elections are now including environmentalists in their list of candidates […]

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RUSSIALINK: “World Bank Urges Russia to Adopt Guaranteed Minimum Income to Slash Poverty” – Moscow Times

World Bank Building

Russia spends $30 billion on social welfare, but only 10% goes to the extremely poor. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 26, 2021) The World Bank has recommended Russia overhaul its welfare state if it wants to slash poverty as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S.-headquartered organization said Russia should adopt a “guaranteed minimum income” — a […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russian Congress Seeking Inspiration From Medieval History Is Quashed by Authorities” – Moscow Times

Russia Regions Map

The crackdown is being seen as a sign that the Kremlin is playing closer attention to local power structures ahead of fall elections […]

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Russian Lawmakers Take Step Toward Ban Of Navalny Supporters From All Elected Posts

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

… The measure appears aimed at neutralizing the foundation of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, which Russian authorities are seeking to have declared “extremist” ahead of parliamentary elections […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Wants to Exempt State Media From ‘Foreign Agent’ Scrutiny” – Moscow Times

Satellite Dishes

… Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media submitted a draft bill … requiring only commercial, and not state media, to be subjected to financial audits […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Google Files First Lawsuit Against Russia’s Internet Censor” – Moscow Times

File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

… The company filed a lawsuit April 23 against Roskomnadzor in the Moscow Arbitration Court […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Navalny Fights to Stay in Public Eye in Putin Standoff” – Wall Street Journal

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

“Imprisoned dissident’s supporters are looking for new ways to maintain his visibility and, they say, keep him alive.” “… Russian authorities are moving to have [Navalny’s] political movement, including his anticorruption foundation, declared an extremist organization, putting it on a par with terrorist groups such as al Qaeda or violent religious cults. The move would choke off funding and provide […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Navalny Has ‘Recovered’ After Hunger Strike — Prisons Chief” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 20, 2021) Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has recovered after he ended a 24-day hunger strike last month demanding adequate medical treatment, a top aide and the head of Russia’s prison service said Thursday. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s best known domestic critic, is serving two-and-a-half years in a penal colony outside Moscow on old […]

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The Inconvenient Sakharov: His legacy is a moral challenge to the Kremlin, to Western elites and to many of Russia’s oppositionists

Andrei Sakharov file photo, adapted from image at Russian-speaking Community Council facebook event page

Subject: THE INCONVENIENT SAKHAROV Date: Thu, 20 May 2021 From: DDGlinski <DDGlinski@alumni.harvard.edu> THE INCONVENIENT SAKHAROV His legacy is a moral challenge to the Kremlin, to Western elites and to many of Russia’s oppositionists by Dmitri Glinski Dmitri Daniel Glinski, Ph.D., a member of the council of the Democratic Russia Movement in the early 1990s and of Russia’s Constitutional Consultative Assembly […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Putin denies militarization of Russian economy, says ‘everyone trying to nibble will be kicked in teeth'” – Interfax

Kremlin and River

MOSCOW. May 20 (Interfax) – The Russian economy is not being militarized, however, anyone trying to encroach on its territory will receive a harsh response, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “The same thing has happened now and always: as soon as Russia gets stronger, a pretext is found to limit its development. As one of our emperors once said, ‘Everyone […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Medvedev calls for ensuring everyone’s access to coronavirus vaccines, abandoning ‘vaccine nationalism'” – Interfax

Dmitri Medvedev file photo

MOSCOW. May 19 (Interfax) – Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has called on the global community to ensure access to vaccines for the novel coronavirus infection to everyone and to stop practicing “vaccine nationalism.” “It is necessary to in the near future agree on the rules for recognizing vaccines for the purpose of cross-border travel and ensure general […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians’ Views of Navalny Protests Increasingly Negative – Poll” – Moscow Times

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

… Young people and new media readers were more likely to view the protests positively, while older age groups and television viewers held more negative attitudes […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Moscow court restricts Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation” – AP

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

“A Moscow court … restricted … an organization founded by … Navalny, pending a decision on whether it and his offices across Russia should be outlawed as extremist groups. … another step in the sweeping crackdown on Navalny, his allies and his political infrastructure. The Moscow prosecutor’s office … [has] petitioned the court to label the foundation and Navalny’s network […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Is Russia Entering a Third Coronavirus Wave? Despite the Kremlin denying a hidden rise in cases, figures for Moscow and reports from hospitals paint a worrying picture.” – Moscow Times

Coronavirus File Photo adapted from image at cdc.gov

… Russia’s coronavirus statistics have been heavily questioned since the start of the pandemic […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Jailed Russian Dissident Alexei Navalny Ends Hunger Strike” – Wall Street Journal

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

“Opposition leader says doctors advised him to end the hunger strike because it was threatening his life.” “… Navalny announced Friday that he would end a weekslong hunger strike after he received medical treatment and his doctors warned that continuing to refuse food could kill him. … Navalny … started his hunger strike … to protest poor treatment in prison […]

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Russia’s Dwindling Middle Classes No Catalyst for Shift in Kremlin Foreign Policy

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Confrontation with the west after the annexation of Crimea, the resulting sanctions and the Kremlin’s focus on macroeconomic stability at the expense of prosperity have entrenched a stagnation […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Filmmaker Vitaly Mansky on Artdocfest and Russia on Film” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Reel of Film

Film director Vitaly Mansky … was in the news throughout the festival in Moscow and St. Petersburg as he was closed down by the authorities and attacked by pro-Kremlin activists […]

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‘Why Don’t You Like Putin?’: Russian Students Pay A Heavy Price For Political Protests

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

… In the weeks since the demonstrations, local officials … have cracked down on young people … who participated …. Many have found themselves facing expulsion from their educational institutions, serious criminal charges, or … both […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Central Bank sees no risks in disconnecting Russia from international payment systems; it would be very unfavorable for them – CBR first deputy governor” – Interfax

File Image of Artist's Conception of Globe with Curved Connecting Lines of Light Passing Through Space, adapted from image at fincen.gov

MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) – The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) does not see any risks in disconnecting Russia from the international payment systems, as this would be unfavorable for them, CBR first deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova said during a briefing on Wednesday. “If we are talking about the current situation, then I believe that it is rather calm and […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Putin Receives Second Coronavirus Vaccine Dose” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 14, 2021) President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday that he has received his second Covid-19 vaccine shot with one of Russia’s domestically developed jabs and that he hoped Russians would follow his example. Putin, 68, received his first dose on March 23. “I want to inform you that right now, before entering this room, I […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “House of the dead: Does the Kremlin want Alexei Navalny to die in prison? It is beginning to look like it” – The Economist

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

“… Putin may have hoped that locking up … political opponent [Navalny] in a harsh [Pokrov] penal colony would finally put him out of sight and out of mind. … [Navalny] has been on a hunger strike … protesting … the appalling conditions of his confinement … deprived … of sleep and … medical care. … [with] a fever and […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Virus-Driven Migrant Shortage Keeps Russia From ‘Ambitious Plans’ – Kremlin” – Moscow Times

Dmitry Peskov file photo adapted from image at kremlin.ru/wikimedia commons

… Russia’s government estimates … the country’s population decline hit a 15-year high in 2020, driven by record-setting excess deaths and outmigration linked to Covid-19 border closures […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Leaders of Russia, France, Germany discuss global crises” – AP

Map of Europe, adapted from image at loc.gov

The leaders of Russia, France and Germany met by conference call … discuss[ing] coronavirus vaccines, the Iranian nuclear standoff[,] … eastern Ukraine, Libya … Syria [and Navalny] […]

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Russia’s Navalny Says Risks Solitary Confinement Over Prison Infractions

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

Jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny says he fears the possibility of solitary confinement in a punishment cell after being accused of minor infractions. … six reprimands within two weeks at the correctional colony where he is being held. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin felt minor side effects from COVID-19 vaccine – Ifax” – Reuters

File Photo of Blue-Gloved Hand Holding Syringe and Injecting Arm, adapted from image at nih.gov

“… Putin said … he … experienced minor side effects from the coronavirus vaccine … Interfax … reported, citing a TV interview. [According to Putin, symptoms included] ‘… slight pain in [his] muscles[,] … [but his] temperature was normal,’ …. [with] an uncomfortable feeling on the [injection] site …. Putin did not reveal which of three Russian vaccines he [received] […]

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Putin Regime Rests Less on Support than on Absence of Resistance, Lev Gudkov Says

File Photo of Kremlin Aerial View, adapted from .gov source

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, March 26, 2021) Vladimir Putin’s continued high ratings and the absence of any mass willingness to protest against him reflect less unqualified support for his person and policies than the absence of alternative leaders and the continuing impact of traditional Russian attitudes about a national leader, Lev Gudkov says. Even Russians who […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Facing Heightened Threats, Russia’s Main Independent Paper Contemplates a Bleak Future” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Woman's Hands Typing on Computer Keyboard, adapted from image at fbi.gov

The latest attack on Novaya Gazeta is making some of its editors wonder how long it can survive in the country. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Felix Light, Pjotr Sauer – March 25, 2021) On the way to work at Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta last Monday morning, journalists noticed a strong chemical stench on the street outside their central Moscow […]

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Demand for Russia’s Sputnik-5 Vaccine Exceeds Supply Abroad and at Home

Russia Regions Map

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says demand for the Russian vaccine far exceeds supply in foreign countries …. But the same situation holds in many parts of Russia where there is now not enough vaccine to meet domestic demand […]

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The Dzerzhinsky Discord: Who Will Fill the Vacancy in Lubyanka Square?

FSB Headquarters file photo

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo – Maria Lipman – March 19, 2021) Maria Lipman is an affiliate of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES) and the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS Eurasia) at George Washington University. For about a decade, negative, anti-Western, and anti-liberal ideological trends have been on the rise in […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Tentative recovery in sight as Russia’s real wages, unemployment improve” – Reuters

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

“… [Russia’s] central bank expects the economy to return to pre-crisis levels before the end of [2021] … central bank [governor] Elvira Nabiullina, said … after a surprise 25-basis-point rate increase, brought about by rising inflation and geopolitical risks. … [The government’s] Rosstat[] said … real wages … rose 0.1% year-on-year in January. … Economic growth and … recovery in […]

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JRL RUSSIALINK: “Katherine Zubovich’s Magnificent ‘Moscow Monumental’; The story of Moscow’s skyscrapers and the lives they changed” – Moscow Times

Moscow State University file photo

“In its 874-year history, Moscow has grown from an obscure twelfth-century military outpost into a world-class capital city of over 20 million inhabitants. Along the way, the city has been reinvented over and over to suit the needs of its rulers. Ivan the Great made Moscow “The Third Rome” after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, raising stone cathedrals inside […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Could Putin Launch Another Invasion?” – Politico/ Leon Aron

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“The same factors that led up to his incursion into Ukraine are in place again, including domestic protests, a struggling economy and a desire for glory” “… [O]n the seventh anniversary of the Crimean Anschluss, many of the same vectors that produced the invasion of Ukraine are here again. … There are at least two reasons for Putin to be […]

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