RUSSIALINK: “What’s the Kremlin Scared Of? Pro-War Ultranationalists” – Moscow Times

File Photos of Law Books and Gavel, adapted from image at fjc.gov

(Moscow Times – Lucy Birge – March 15, 2024) The killing of Alexei Navalny four weeks before the Russian presidential election appears to portray an increasingly brazen and self-assured Kremlin. Yet its treatment of ultra-nationalist Igor Strelkov tells a different story, that the Kremlin is afraid of ultra-nationalism as a political force. On Jan. 25, 2024, Ukraine and Russia became […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s opposition and Ukraine find it impossible to unite against Putin” – Washington Post

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“… Russia’s liberals … walk[] a tightrope. Their opposition to the war puts them at odds with much of their own society …. [M]any Ukrainians still feel … the Russian opposition has not gone far enough in condemning the killing of Ukrainians and occupation of their lands, instead opposing the war from a Russian viewpoint, focused predominantly on the losses […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Kremlin Seeks to Suppress Navalny’s Influence, in Death as in Life” – New York 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

“The Russian authorities vilified the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny with a viciousness that suggested he was more influential than Moscow would admit. Little has changed since he died.” “When … Navalny was alive, the Kremlin sought to portray him as an inconsequential figure unworthy of attention, even as … Russian authorities vilified and attacked him with a viciousness that […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Free Boris Kagarlitsky: The Nation joins the global appeal for his release” – The Nation: Katrina Vanden Heuvel

Lit Candle with Reflection and Dark Background

“… [O]n February 13, a military court sentenced Boris Kagarlitsky, prominent sociologist, Marxist scholar and labor activist, to five years in prison for criticizing the war in Ukraine … after a Moscow court initially ordered him to only pay a $6,500 fine for ‘justifying terrorism,’ charges which Kagarlitsky denied. Prosecutors appealed … calling [the initial judgment] ‘excessively lenient.’ Kagarlitsky, … […]

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Russia in Review, Feb. 23-March 1, 2024

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 7 Things to Know Vladimir Putin used his annual address to the Russian parliament to not only rattle his nuclear saber at the West again, but also to accuse his Western counterparts of “spooking the world” with the threat of a nuclear war, all while claiming to be ready for talks on nuclear arms control. “We remember what […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Navalny’s Funeral to Be Held on Friday, Spokeswoman Says” – New York 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

“The service for the Russian opposition leader will be open to the public, but it was unclear whether the authorities will try to stop people from attending.” “… The planned service, at a church on Moscow’s outskirts, sets up the possibility of a rare display of opposition sentiment in the Russian capital … [] Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, advised anyone […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Vladimir Putin, riding high before Navalny’s death, seems unstoppable” – Washington Post

Vladimir Putin file photo, adapted from screenshot of video at shareamerica.gov

“When prison authorities announced the death of … Navalny, … Putin’s most potent political opponent, the Russian president appeared to be overflowing with cheer. Addressing … workers and students at a machinery plant in the … industrial city of Chelyabinsk …, a smiling Putin, unsurprisingly, made no mention of Navalny’s death … and instead professed himself … satisfied at the […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “State Dept. official [Victoria Nuland]: If Putin wins Ukraine, tyrants ‘will get hungry’ with aspirations” – PBS

File Photo of Victoria Nuland Testifying

“The Biden administration unveiled a new set of sanctions against Russia to punish it further for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine … [and] the death of anti-corruption activist and politician Alexei Navalny. Geoff Bennett spoke with U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland ….” Click here for: “State Dept. official [Victoria Nuland]: If Putin wins Ukraine, tyrants ‘will get hungry’ […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Vladimir the Poisoner of Underpants; What Navalny’s death means for Russia, Putin and the world” – 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

“Fear and greed drive Russia’s regime. The opposition leader struck at both.” “… Navalny’s death was blamed by Russian prison authorities on a blood clot … [H]is doctor said he suffered from no condition which made that likely. Whatever ends up on his death certificate, he was killed by … Putin. Russia’s president locked him up; in his name [] […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “With Navalny’s death, Russia’s opposition loses its last leader” – Christian Science Monitor

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

“Many in the West saw Alexei Navalny as the Russian opposition’s most promising challenger to Vladimir Putin. His death in prison on Friday brings a tragic end to a struggle the Kremlin had already largely contained.” “Alexei Navalny, Russia’s best-known and most indefatigable Kremlin opposition figure[,] … died in an Arctic penal colony Friday under as yet unknown circumstances …. […]

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Russia in Review, Feb. 9-15, 2024

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 5 Things to Know Donald Trump’s advisers have discussed getting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin around a negotiating table early in a potential second term, according to a Feb. 14 report by Bloomberg. One adviser to Trump said the promise of severing U.S. military aid could help get Zelenskyy—whom Trump has described as “the greatest […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukrainian justice tested as collaboration cases mount” – AFP

File Photos of Law Books and Gavel, adapted from image at fjc.gov

“… [Ukraine’s] Prosecutor General’s Office has registered over 7,000 cases of collaboration and several thousand more on similar charges. The number will rise exponentially if Ukraine succeeds in its aim of re-capturing the roughly 20 percent of its territory in Russian hands. There have been verdicts in 941 collaboration cases, the UN rights office OHCHR said in December, cautioning that […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine says it uncovers mass fraud in weapons procurement” – Reuters

File Image of Ukrainian Currency, adapted from file at usaid.gov

“Ukraine’s SBU security service said on Saturday it had uncovered a corruption scheme in the purchase of arms … totalling the equivalent of about $40 million. … The fight to root out endemic corruption remains a major issue as Ukraine presses its bid to secure [EU] membership …. The SBU said an investigation … ‘exposed officials of the Ministry of […]

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Russia in Review, Jan. 12-19, 2024

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 1. In the past month, Russian forces have gained 57 square miles of Ukrainian territory, while Ukrainian forces have re-gained 1 square mile, according to the Jan. 16, 2024, issue of the Russia-Ukraine War Report Card. In an article on the war entitled “Russia Regains Upper Hand in Ukraine’s East as Kyiv’s Troops Flag,” NYT noted […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Protests in Russia Put Spotlight on Wartime Ethnic Grievances” – New York Times

Russia Regions Map

“The trial and conviction of an activist in the Ural Mountains region sparked one of the biggest outbreaks of social unrest since the start of the war.” “The trial of a minority rights activist in Russia … sparked one of [Russia’s]  biggest outbreaks of social unrest … since the start of the [Russo-Ukrainian] war … highlighting the strain … on […]

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Russia in Review, Jan. 5-12, 2024

Kremlin and Red Square file photo, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 6 Things to Know The Pentagon has failed to properly track at least $1 billion in weapons that the U.S. has provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to a report by the Defense Department’s inspector general, FT  reports. The high rate of weapons that were missing or otherwise immediately unaccounted for in government […]

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Russia in Review, Dec. 21, 2023-Jan. 5, 2024

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and its commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi have continued their indirect struggle over which of them should assume prime responsibility for the unpopular decision1 to conscript up to 500,000 Ukrainians. The tussle began on Dec. 19 when Zelensky claimed that the Ukrainian army chiefs had requested the conscription of up to 500,000 men, according […]

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Russia in Review, Nov. 17-21, 2023

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 3 Things to Know In the past month, Russian forces have gained 16 square miles of Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine gained 7 square miles, according to calculations by Katherine Davidson, associate of the Belfer Russia-Ukraine War Task Force.1Yet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has this week denied his top general Valery Zaluzhny’s recent claim that the war has reached […]

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Russia in Review, Nov. 9-17, 2023

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) The U.S. Congress’ interest in financing Ukraine’s fight against invading Russian forces has “dipped lower than ever,” according to WP. Moreover, rising competition from other national security priorities could “sound the death knell for continued American aid” for Kyiv, this newspaper predicted shortly before Biden signed a bill that is designed to avoid a government shutdown, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Indicts Officials Linked to Efforts to Investigate the Bidens” – New York Times

File Photos of Law Books and Gavel, adapted from image at fjc.gov

“Three officials were accused of operating at the behest of Russian intelligence when they aligned with efforts by Rudolph W. Giuliani to tie the Biden family to corruption in Ukraine.” “Ukrainian police and prosecutors have accused two politicians and a former prosecutor of treason …. Those accused include Kostyantyn Kulyk, a former Ukrainian deputy prosecutor general …. Also implicated were […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ordinary Russians Feel Wrath of Putin’s Repression” – WSJ

File Photo of Prison Cell and Bars with Shaft of Light, adapted from image at fbi.gov

“Authorities seek to crush everyday opposition to the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine” “… [C]ases … documented by OVD-Info, a human-rights group that monitors police detentions and helps protesters find lawyers, speak to new levels of repression in Russia, as … Putin seeks to crush even the most innocuous opposition to his war on Ukraine. Prominent opposition politicians, human-rights activists and […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Corruption Worries Cloud Its Push to Join EU” – WSJ

EU Map adapted from cia.gov image

“Brussels recommends membership talks start soon, but many European leaders share U.S. concerns over rule of law.” “… At the heart of European concerns … — echoed by Washington — is whether [Ukraine] can overhaul its governance and political culture to rein in … big tycoons and eradicate endemic corruption that has impeded economic growth and social cohesion. … [T]he […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Squeezed by Sanctions, Some Oligarchs Are Heading Home to Putin’s Russia” – Bloomberg

Cash, Calculator, Pen

“Putin’s war in Ukraine is leaving billionaires who sought to integrate with the West to face the reality of international isolation.” “… Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed everything for [certain Russian oligarchs] … who prospered under Putin until the U.S. and Europe imposed sweeping sanctions aimed at isolating the Kremlin leader and bringing his economy to its knees. The penalties […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Alexey Navalny Never Wanted to Be a Dissident” – Politico

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

“Once upon a time, Alexey Navalny wanted to be a normal politician in a normal country. Now that’s just a fantasy.” [original article was adapted from “The Dissident: Alexey Navalny, Profile of a Political Prisoner,” released by Twelve, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.] “… Navalny, despite decades crusading against Russian corruption and against … Putin’s increasingly dictatorial rule, never […]

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Russia in Review, Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2023

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 7 Things to Know Putin has shot down proposals to lower the threshold for nuclear weapons use in Russia’s doctrinal documents, but called for Russia to de-ratify the CTBT. When asked by Sergei Karaganov at the Valdai Club meeting on Oct. 5 whether Russia should “modify the doctrine on using nuclear weapons, lowering the nuclear threshold,” Putin said: “[T]here […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Leaked U.S. strategy on Ukraine sees corruption as the real threat” – Politico

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“A report obtained by POLITICO details specific plans to reform Ukrainian institutions and warns Western support may hinge on cutting corruption.” “… The ‘sensitive but unclassified’ version … lays out … [ways] Washington is … help[ing] Kyiv root out malfeasance and otherwise reform an array of Ukrainian sectors. … The United States appears eager to help Ukrainian institutions build … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Corruption accusations continue to plague top Zelenskiy aides” – Reuters

File Photo of Assorted U.S. Cash, adapted from image at tsa.gov

“… Ukraine consistently ranks in the bottom half of Transparency International’s annual global Corruption Perceptions Index … [I]n the latest survey, for 2022, only Russia was rated more corrupt in Europe. … In a [June] report … the [IMF] said donors and foreign investors need to see reforms to improve governance, transparency and tackle corruption ‘without delay.’ In a[] [June […]

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Does the case against Ihor Kolomoiskyi signal the end of oligarchs in Ukraine?

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“Billionaire’s arrest has been touted as a sign of change, but predictions of an end to oligarchy may be premature.” (opendemocracy.net – Andrii Ianitskyi – Sept. 13, 2023) Born in Sevastopol in 1983, Andriy Ianitskyi has lived in Kyiv since 2007 after graduating from the Sevastopol branch of Moscow State University. He works as a journalist and editor in the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Can Samantha Power Win the Battle for Ukraine’s Future?” – New York Times

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“… [E]ventually the war will end. What happens to Ukraine then? … Will it revert to the oligarchical model that typified its early years[] [o]r … make good on its promise of genuine modernity? That process … require[s] a renovated ethical culture to undergird a strong rule of law and a political class bound by … public duty and personal […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Is Ukraine really interested in fighting corruption?” – The Economist

Hands Opening Envelope Containing Cash

“Volodymyr Zelensky removes his defence minister and goes after an oligarch” “… At face value [Ukraine’s latest corruption stories] show the government wresting back the initiative on reform. … Zelensky said he would replace … defence minister[] Oleksii Reznikov … following months of corruption scandals …. [T]he SBU … detained [oligarch] Ihor Kolomoisky … on suspicion of fraud and money-laundering. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Musk’s new Twitter policies helped spread Russian propaganda, E.U. says” – Washington Post

File Photo of Elon Musk, adapted from image at nasa.gov, with photo credit to Bill Stafford

“X’s failure to slow the spread of disinformation on the Internet would have violated E.U. social media law, had it been in effect.” “… The E.U. has taken a far more aggressive regulatory approach to government-backed disinformation than the United States …. The Digital Services Act … requires [so-called social media companies] to assess the risk of false information, stop […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Where Is the Money?’ Military Graft Becomes a Headache for Ukraine” – New York Times

Hands Opening Envelope Containing Cash

“The removal of the defense minister highlights the enduring challenge of corruption in Ukraine, which has emerged as a rare area of criticism of … Zelensky’s leadership.” “… Zelensky’s announcement Sunday night that he was replacing the defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, elevated the [corruption] issue to the highest level of Ukrainian politics. … Ukrainian media reports have pointed to overpayments […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Former Ukraine prosecutor makes explosive claims against Joe and Hunter Biden in new interview” – Fox

File Photo of Joe Biden at Podium with U.S. Seal, With Ukrainian and U.S. Flags in Background

“White House says Shokin not credible, was fired for being too soft on corruption.” Fox News reports on an exclusive interview with former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, set to air Saturday at 8 p.m. ET., including allegations against Joe and Hunter Biden, including allegations the then-Vice President Joe Biden used U.S. financial support to pressure then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelenskyy fires recruitment officials for accepting $10,000 bribes” – Business Insider

Screenshot file photo of Volodymyr Zelensky Gesturing, from Congressional Teleconference, adapted from image at doggett.house.gov

“Almost all Ukrainians think the country has a problem with corruption, survey suggests.” “… On Friday, Zelenskyy said he dismissed the heads of Ukraine’s regional-military committees as investigations into corruption in Ukraine continued, particularly in its armed-forces recruitment. ‘We are dismissing all regional military commissars,’ a [Zelenskyy Telegram] statement … said. ‘This system should be run by people who know […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Prigozhin went free. What about these Russians?” – Washington Post

File Photo of Prison Cell and Bars with Shaft of Light, adapted from image at fbi.gov

“For 18 months, Russia has been sliding deeper into totalitarian rule, including draconian laws pushed by … Putin that make it criminal to question the war against Ukraine — or even call it a ‘war’ …. [T]housands of Russians who object to the war and oppose [] Putin have not had the benefit of [the kind of] lenienc[y] [shown Prigozhin, […]

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Russia in Review, May 26-June 2, 2023 – 4 Things to Know

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) Fighting flared up this week between Russian and Ukrainian forces, with the former bombarding Kyiv with missiles and drones and the latter reportedly sending pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters to stage incursions into Russia’s Belgorod region, according to FT and Bloomberg. Ukrainian forces regained control over 51 square miles of their land in the past month, while Russia […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Dogged Effort to Get Weapons to the Battlefield, Not the Black Market” – New York Times

File Photo of HIMARS Missile Being Launched, adapted from image at army.mil

“They can’t track every shell, but at a time of heightened scrutiny in Washington they know they can ill afford slips with the big ticket items.” “… Rocket launchers, precision-guided missiles and billions of dollars’ worth of other advanced American weapons have given Ukraine a fighting chance against Russia …. [I]n Washington, against a looming government debt crisis and growing […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden administration hunts for high-value Russians for potential prisoner swap” – CNN

File Photo of Prison Cell and Bars with Shaft of Light, adapted from image at fbi.gov

“The Biden administration [reportedly] is scouring the globe for offers that could entice Russia to release two wrongfully detained Americans, Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan …. The U.S. [reportedly] does not currently have any high-level Russian spies in its custody … [and therefore is] approaching allied countries [holding] Russian spies …. U.S. officials [reportedly] have also been surveying allies without […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Putin’s war destroyed a golden age of Russian culture” – Financial Times

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

“Inside the pain, purges and persecution that have decimated the country’s once-flourishing theatre scene” “… Hours after Russia’s invasion … [Moscow’s experimental] Meyerhold Centre … became the first theatre to protest. … [A]ctors, directors, ballet dancers and conductors followed suit. … [A]bout 2,000 Russian cultural workers … signed an open letter … opposing the war. Some went into the streets […]

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As Ukraine War Rages, Russia’s Anti-Putin Forces Fractured By Mudslinging, Mutual Allegations

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Article text Copyright © 2023 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036. – rferl.org – Robert Coalson – March 9, 2023 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-opposition-fractured-navalny-venediktov/32310660.html) A major new investigative report by the team of imprisoned Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny charges that the Moscow […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “A shakeup in Ukraine masks deeper problems; Systemic problems remain in establishing reliable rule of law, and deeper reforms will be necessary.” – Washington Post

“… [R]ecent reports that [some Ukrainian] government [officials] were profiteering from wildly inflated prices for [certain supplies to soldiers] were a useful reminder … that … Putin’s imperial ambitions are not the only peril facing [Ukraine]. Another is the threat posed by scandal or misuse of funds ….. The [January] corruption scandal … has burgeoned, with 10 high-level officials … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Russians Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the War; The Pliant Majority Sustaining Putin’s Rule” – Foreign Affairs/ Andrei Kolesnikov

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

“… Those who fear Putin have either fled the country or are silent. The regime has a formidable arsenal of instruments to deploy against anyone who speaks out or otherwise expresses opposition. It has used the legal system to crush any dissent, handing down Stalinist prison terms to antiwar activists. It has invented its own equivalent of yellow stars to […]

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Documentary on Jailed Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny Nominated for Oscar

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 – Jan. 26, 2023) The U.S.-produced fly-on-the-wall documentary “Navalny,” which followed the now-jailed Russian anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny during the aftermath of a poisoning attempt in 2020, was nominated for an Academy Award on Tuesday. The film, directed by Daniel Roher, shows Navalny during his recuperation in Berlin from poisoning with nerve agent Novichok and […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Defense minister Reznikov under fire as corruption probes rock Ukraine” – Politico

File photo of Lloyd J. Austin III and Oleksii Reznikov seated at table, with U.S. and Ukrainian Flags Behind, adapted from image at defense.gov with photo credit to DOD and Chad J. McNeeley)

“The deputy infrastructure minister has been fired, and the defense ministry is facing the heat over a military catering contract.” “Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov … is now under fire on the home front as investigations into government corruption rocked the country …. Kyiv’s officials have been at pains over the course of the war to attempt to show that […]

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VIDEO: “How U.S. prosecutors seize sanctioned Russian assets” – CBS

Hand Pulling Cash from Envelope

“Since the U.S. levied sanctions against Russian oligarchs last spring in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s wealthiest have gone to great lengths around the globe to hide their wealth. So, too, have U.S. prosecutors in pursuit of would-be sanctions evaders. … The Justice Department’s KleptoCapture unit does not only seek Kremlin companions hiding assets. It also looks for […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin is trying to silence those who tell of the war’s horrors” – Washington Post

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“… Putin has imposed Stalin-like restrictions on speech about the military and its disastrous invasion of Ukraine. … [O]pposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to 8½ years in prison for calling attention to possible war crimes … in … Bucha … another attempt to lock up the truth. … The barbarism that has taken place in Ukraine is being closely […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “In Russia, critiquing the Ukraine war could land you in prison” – Christian Science Monitor

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“The Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent has gone from being focused on particular targets to broadly criminalizing any criticism of the government or its war – and it is casting a pall over Russian society.” “… Mikhail Lobanov, a local political activist in the Moscow suburb of Ramenki, put a little sign on his balcony that said ‘No War.’ … [O]ne […]

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War Can Both Help and Hurt Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Efforts

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Alexander Kupatadze – Nov. 17, 2022) Alexander Kupatadze is a senior lecturer at King’s Russia Institute at King’s College London. Since the Euromaidan revolution of 2013-2014, Ukraine has made substantial progress against corruption, in my view. With the help of international donors and non-government groups, Ukrainian authorities have established anti-corruption infrastructure, adopted crucial legislation and […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Lifts House Arrest for Top University Head Mau” – Moscow Times

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

(Moscow Times – Aug. 3, 2022) The head of one of Russia’s leading universities for civil servants was released from house arrest Wednesday in exchange for staying in the country during the course of a high-profile fraud investigation. Vladimir Mau, 62, was detained in late June in connection with a 21-million-ruble ($350,000) fraud investigation targeting a former senior education official. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Dark days again in Russia. For prisoners, an endless carousel of absurdity” – Washington Post

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“To understand Russia today, it is necessary to reach back to Stalin’s Great Terror …. Everyone was scared[,] even Communist Party theorists … ‘frightened out of their wits like rabbits’ [as described by one commentator.] … [Similarly, today] Russian security services are grabbing people arbitrarily and imprisoning them for criticism of … Putin or his barbaric war against Ukraine. [According […]

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