RUSSIALINK: “Putin explains why AI cannot yet run country” – Interfax
While the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in public administration is bound to grow, a machine cannot yet be the leader of a state, … Putin […]
» Read moreTag: Government
Young Russians Increasingly More Pessimistic about Future than Their Elders, Goncharov Says
… That pattern, [a] Levada Center sociologist says, reflects … the very different experiences of the two generations and the inability of the Putin government to find a common language with the rising generation … a threat to the stability of the regime […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Over 20 NGOs appeal to Russian ombudsman, Council of Europe over broadening of foreign agent list, tightening of requirements” – Interfax
… The authors of the address added that, if these bills are passed, it will become far more challenging to organize rallies, demonstrations, processions, and pickets […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Moscow Plans Expanded Social Credit-Style Tracking System – Open Media” – Moscow Times
AUDIO: Katrina vanden Heuvel: “Steve Cohen’s Anecdote Lecture — December 6, 1983/ via John/ JohnBatchelorShow.com podcast”
Subject: Steve Cohen’s Anecdote Lecture — December 6, 1983/ via John/ JohnBatchelorShow.com podcast Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2020 From: Katrina vanden Heuvel <kat@thenation.com> Steve Cohen gave an annual anecdote lecture in his Soviet Politics class, first at Princeton starting in 1980, and running through his ten years at NYU — until about 2012 — Here is the 12/6/83 Lecture broken […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Along Russia’s ‘Road of Bones,’ Relics of Suffering and Despair” – New York Times/ Andrew Higgins
“The Kolyma Highway in the Russian Far East once delivered tens of thousands of prisoners to the work camps of Stalin’s gulag. The ruins of that cruel era are still visible today.” “… [P]risoners, hacking … through insect-infested summer swamps and winter ice fields, brought the road … [which] then brought yet more prisoners … a torrent of slave labor […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Talk of an early retirement for Vladimir Putin is premature; Speculation rose after parliament passed a law granting immunity from prosecution to former presidents and their families” – Financial Times/ Henry Foy
“The future prospects of any strongman leader often boil down to two choices: guaranteed safe passage to civilian life with legal protection, or life-long rule. … Putin, … [soon] mark[ing] 21 years in charge[,] … has engineered a situation [with] a shot of achieving either. … [T]his week … the country’s parliament rubber-stamped a law granting immunity from investigation or […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s authorities increase pressure on NGOs with plans to strengthen ‘foreign agent’ laws” – Meduza
“… Russia’s Government Cabinet … submitted a bill to the State Duma … strengthening the Justice Ministry’s control over NGOs … [designated as] foreign agents[.] [The bill would] empower[] … authorities to dissolve these organizations or … hinder their work. … requir[ing them] to inform Russia’s Justice Ministry of all of … [planned] programs and events … [T]he Justice Ministry […]
» Read moreRussia’s Tragedy is that Those who Love Russia Don’t Love Freedom and Those who Love Freedom Don’t Love Russia, Tsipko Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Nov. 16, 2020) Russia’s underlying tragedy, one that has been very much on public view for more than a century, is that its patriots who declare their love for “old Russia” are completely opposed to the values of freedom and human rights, while liberals view the Russian past as alien rather than […]
» Read moreBah Humbug! Russian Santa Faces Fine For Protesting Ban On Holiday Celebrations
… Moscow police detained a man dressed as Grandfather Frost … on Red Square near the Kremlin … where he was protesting a city ban on holiday celebrations […]
» Read moreBy Hook Or By Crook: For The Opposition In St. Petersburg, Winning An Election Is Only The Beginning Of The Battle
… St. Petersburg conducted controversial gubernatorial and local legislative elections. Observers … reported unjustified delays in the vote count, voter intimidation, suspicious recounts, and other alleged violations. … Nonetheless … [o]pposition and independent deputies nearly doubled their representation […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Reshuffle: Political Analysis” – BMB Russia
“The Russian government underwent a mini-reshuffle … [with] new leaders for five of its 21 ministries. … [The reshuffle] test[ed] the new procedure for appointing cabinet officials. According to … constitutional changes, cabinet officials nominated by the PM are now … approved or rejected by the Duma before going to the president. … Mishustin is solidifying his position within the […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russian PM Mishustin Tightens Grip on Domestic Policy in Mini Reshuffle; Putin’s divide-and-conquer approach is also on display.” – Moscow Times
The Russian government is pushing ahead with a long-rumored mini-reshuffle … in what analysts see as a mark of both newly installed prime minister Mikhail Mishustin’s growing influence and … Putin’s divide-and-conquer approach to keeping his underlings in check […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Navalny pledges to return to Russia as soon as he recovers” – Interfax
MOSCOW. Oct 30 (Interfax) – Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny is planning to return to Russia once he makes a full recovery and says he is feeling better now. “As for coming back and health. Of course, I’m much better now, some things have been fixed, and some things have yet to be fixed, but I have no doubt that […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Pandemic to cost Russia 9% of GDP in 2020-2021 – Siluanov” – Interfax
Measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic and cover the budget revenue shortfall will cost Russia around 9% of its GDP in 2020-2021, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Putin: Russia’s Rise in Coronavirus Deaths Due to Improved Methodology” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oct. 22, 2020) Coronavirus deaths are on the rise in Russia partly because of improved cause-of-death methodology, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday. Russia’s national coronavirus information center has confirmed a total of 25,242 Covid-19 deaths after reporting record daily fatalities of over 200 in 10 of the last 15 days. By comparison, daily Covid-19 deaths […]
» Read moreRussians’ Unwillingness to Take Responsibility Found Wherever They Feel They can’t Affect Outcomes, Levada Center Sociologist Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Oct. 13, 2020) As was the case at the beginning of the pandemic, so now too again Russian officials are complaining that the unwillingness of Russians to assume personal responsibility may force the government to take repressive actions that will harm everyone, Karina Pipiya says. But the Levada Center sociologist says that […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Putin’s entourage inoculated against coronavirus” – Interfax
MOSCOW. Oct 6 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said that many of his relatives and friends have been injected with a Russian coronavirus vaccine. “In my entourage, very many people close to me, and close relatives, we had them vaccinated. All staff who work around me. We are talking about tens of people,” Putin said at a meeting with […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Alexei Navalny Supporters Probe How the Russian Opposition Leader Was Poisoned” – Wall Street Journal/ Thomas Grove, Ann M. Simmons
“Team scoured his hotel room and found a water bottle they say has traces of Novichok, a nerve agent” “… [A]fter … Navalny collapsed … on a plane over Siberia with signs of poisoning, his supporters rushed to [his] hotel room ….. bagg[ing] everything they could find … in the hopes of solving the mystery …. Days later, German doctors […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Post about Love” – Alexey Navalny/ Instagram
“Julia and I had our anniversary … 20 years of being wed … You, of course, have seen this a hundred times … one loving person lies in a coma … the other brings him back to life with her love and incessant care […]”
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russian prosecutors ask German counterparts to interview Navalny, find out who planned Tomsk trip” – Interfax
MOSCOW. Sept 21 (Interfax) – The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has asked the relevant German authorities to learn certain important details related to the incident involving Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny. “In particular, [the Prosecutor General’s Office] is seeking to find out who planned Navalny’s trip to Novosibirsk and Tomsk and when, who bought the tickets, booked the hotels, and […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia to cut defence spending in bid to prop up ailing economy; Continued support for less well-off set to wipe out fiscal surplus of recent years” – Financial Times/ Henry Foy
“Russia will spend more on supporting its economy than funding its armed forces next year for the first time since 2014 … ahead of critical parliamentary elections. … [with economic] doldrums … amid low oil prices and western sanctions … [and with the economy] contract[ing] sharply … due to … coronavirus …. The Kremlin announced … [higher] spending … to […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “‘I Didn’t Recognize People’: Navalny Says Long Recovery Ahead in Latest Health Update; Opposition leader says he has trouble walking, can’t use his phone or pour a glass of water.” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sept. 19, 2020) Alexei Navalny has said he has difficulty performing everyday functions and that he faces a “long road” of recovery after his Novichok poisoning which left him in a coma. The opposition leader posted an update to his Instagram page Saturday from the Charite clinic in Berlin where he is being treated, outlining […]
» Read moreBecause of Pandemic, Moscow This Year Spent More on Economy than on Defense
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, September 19, 2020) The pandemic has introduced major changes in Russian government policy but perhaps not one greater than this: for the first time in a very long time, the Russian government has spent more on promoting the economy than on maintaining and developing its military (sobkorr.org/news/5F6610F248362.html). The number of new cases […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Navalny Says He is Breathing on His Own in a Message From His Hospital Bed; The poisoned Russian opposition leader plans to return to Russia, his spokeswoman says.” – New York Times/ Katrin Bennhold, Michael Schwirtz
“… The message came hours after a senior German security official … [said] Navalny was awake, alert and had told German prosecutors that he was refusing to cooperate with a Russian inquiry into his case. He also vowed … to return to Russia as soon as possible to continue his work. … German officials now say they have almost no […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian paramedics’ accounts challenge Moscow’s explanation for Navalny’s coma – sources” – Reuters
Newly emerging accounts of the sudden illness of Russian opposition figure and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny reportedly refute official claims that Navalny had other medical causes for his symptoms. “… [P]aramedics who treated … Navalny after he fell violently ill on a plane last month found no increase in his blood sugar in initial tests and saw no signs of […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Navalny’s smart voting scores rare successes in Russia’s regional elections” – bne Intellinews/ Ben Aris
“… ‘Smart voting’ tactics promoted by anti-corruption blogger and opposition activist Alexei Navalny[,] [promoting candidates most likely to oust United Russia, regardless of political allegiances,] delivered a few successes in … regional elections …. Opposition leader Sergei Boyko won … in … Novosibirsk, despite an energetic campaign by … ruling United Russia Party. … [L]ocal elections have been a test […]
» Read moreRussian Interior Ministry Wants To Question Navalny In Germany
Russia’s Interior Ministry wants to question … Navalny in Berlin, where he is being treated after German doctors reported “unequivocal evidence” … he was poisoned with … military-grade nerve agent Novichok, contradicting … Russian counterparts who said they … found no trace of poison […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Faces Test of Voters With Poisoned Critic in Hospital” – Bloomberg/ Henry Meyer
“With his most prominent critic hit by a near-fatal poisoning that opponents and the West blame on the Kremlin … Putin faces a key test of support in regional elections ahead of a national vote next year. About a third of the electorate is eligible to vote … over three days … to choose representatives at different levels … in […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s 2020 elections hotspots; A semblance of real political competition makes the upcoming vote worth following in several regions” – Meduza
“… [On Sunday,] residents of 18 regions … elect governors, another 11 regions … vote for local parliamentary deputies, and 22 regional capitals … hold city council elections. In several regions … results may not be in favor of … [ruling powers] in spite of … three-day voting rules, which can create increased opportunities for manipulating … election results. … […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Regional Elections, Explained” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sept. 11, 2020) Russians are heading to the polls through Sunday to elect new regional and city leadership. In a year that has seen a global pandemic, weeks of anti-Kremlin protests in the Far East and historically low approval ratings for President Vladimir Putin, the vote is set to be a key test for the […]
» Read moreRussians Increasingly Say Their Country is Becoming Both More Authoritarian and Less Stable, Levada Center Survey Reports
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Sept. 9, 2020) The share of Russians who think that their country is becoming more authoritarian or a dictatorship has risen from nine percent in 2015 to 17 percent now, according to Levada Center polls. At the same time, the portion who believe that the country suffers from a loss of order […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Germany hands over its Novichok investigation data to OPCW” – bne Intellinews/ Ben Aris
“Germany has handed over all … data related to its investigation into … [the] agent … used to poison … Navalny to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). … Merkel … announced that a top German military lab … [confirmed] ‘unequivocal proof of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group’ …. ‘… shocking information about the […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “What is Nord Stream 2 and Why Might Navalny’s Poisoning Stop Its Completion?” – Moscow Times
The confirmation that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok has heightened calls for Germany to review its support for Nord Stream 2 […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH AUDIO: “Former CIA Chief Of Russia Operations On Poisoning Of Putin’s Rival With Novichok” – NPR
“… HALL: … it’s really not surprising at all that we’ve had this assassination attempt on a guy like Navalny. These are intelligence operations. It’s the Russian intelligence services that are responsible for doing this. … “
» Read more‘It’s A Whole New Situation’: Russia’s Liberal Opposition Determined To Keep Fighting During Navalny’s Absence
Much of the Russian electorate is still seething over … constitutional amendments … foisted on the country … [that] could pave the way for … Putin to remain in power until 2036. And anger against … ruling United Russia … over a reviled reform that raised retirement ages has not abated […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “The West Is Outraged By Navalny’s Novichok Poisoning. That’s No Guarantee of Tough Sanctions.” – Moscow Times
Looming U.S. elections and disparate EU interests could translate into a symbolic response. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jake Cordell – Sept. 4, 2020) Lawmakers across Europe and the U.S. are scrambling to respond to the revelation that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok – a lethal Soviet-era military nerve agent – with the possibility of fresh sanctions […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office says no need to open criminal case into Navalny’s poisoning” – bne Intellinews
“Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office (GPO) [said, in a Aug. 27 press release, that it] doesn’t see any grounds for opening a criminal case into the poisoning of anti-corruption blogger and opposition activist Alexei Navalny …. However, the press release was almost immediately deleted …. No explanation was given for the decision. The GPO’s statement said … no information “evidencing a […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “In Wake of Suspected Poisoning, Navalny’s Allies Vow to Soldier On” – Moscow Times
But if the Kremlin critic is unable to return to health, Russia’s opposition will lose its most recognizable leader. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Evan Gershkovich- August 27, 2020) While Russia’s most prominent opposition politician Alexei Navalny lies in a coma in a Berlin hospital after suffering an apparent poisoning last week, the pressure on his activities continues back home. […]
» Read moreKhabarovsk Protesters Add Concern for Navalny to Demands [For] Furgal’s Return and Putin’s Ouster
… [T]housands … came into the streets of Khabarovsk … to reiterate … demands … their elected governor be restored … and Putin [removed] … [and, now, additionally] to express … solidarity with opposition leader Aleksey Navalny who remains in a coma […]
» Read more‘No More than 10’ Russian Regions Now Providing Accurate Coronavirus Data, Mathematical Analysis Shows
Over the last month, regions including Moscow are reporting figures that reflect what their leaders have promised but that are improbable when subjected to mathematical analysis […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Security strongmen take on key role in Russian Arctic policy” – The Barents Observer (Norway)/ Atle Staalesen
“The Russian Security Council is given an expanded position in the management of national interests in the Arctic.” “According to a[n] [Aug. 25] decree signed by … Putin … the [Russian] Security Council is to establish a special commission … promot[ing] Russian national interests in the far northern region[,] [a]mong its responsibilities … ‘analysis of the international and social-economic situation […]
» Read moreWith Navalny Poisoning Confirmed, Focus Turns To With What And By Whom
For five days now, Russian anti-corruption activist Aleksei Navalny has been comatose, medically induced into unconsciousness in an effort to keep his body from shutting down […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH:”FSB admits to ‘close’ surveillance of Russian opposition activist Navalny, who was medivaced to Berlin after suspected poison attack” – bne Intellinews/ Ben Aris
“… Navalny arrived at Berlin’s Charité hospital … in a police convoy from Tegel Airport and remains under heavy guard with three cordons of police …. [after] nearly two days in [the] [Omsk] hospital …. The [FSB] statement … surprising in … [its] level of detail … throw[s] … light on just how heavily Navalny’s movements are monitored …. admitt[ing] […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Don’t Drink the Tea: Poison Is a Favored Weapon in Russia” – New York Times/ Andrew E. Kramer
“Poison has been a preferred tool of the Russian security service for more than a century, and critics of the Kremlin say it remains in the arsenal today.” “… [O]ther countries … have targeted killing programs … limited to counterterrorism …. [yet] Russia … has been accused of targeting a wide variety of opponents both at home and abroad. The […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “What Navalny’s Poisoning Really Says About the Current State of Putin’s Russia” – The New Yorker/ Joshua Yaffa
“… This guessing game, though tempting, is not only unsolvable; it misses the insight that attacks like Nemtsov’s murder and Navalny’s poisoning really offer about Putin’s Russia — the most pernicious and terrifying fact is not whether Putin did or did not issue orders to his underlings to off perceived enemies but that anyone from the ruling circle can use […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Why Would Vladimir Putin Want to Get Rid of Aleksei Navalny Now? The unchanging leader of the regime is Mr. Putin; the unchanging leader of the opposition is Mr. Navalny. But everything changes.” – New York Times/ Oleg Kashin
“… [In] [a] heart-rending video … one of the [plane’s] passengers … capture[d] … Navalny’s groans and cries of pain. They sounded like the screams of a dying man. … If the Russian government has now decided to get rid of … Navalny, that suggests … some new political configuration in which there is no longer a need for any […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “The Suspected Poisoning of Alexey Navalny, Putin’s Most Prominent Adversary” – The New Yorker/ Masha Gessen
“Alexey Navalny … creator of Russia’s leading alternative-media outlet and its only real political organization, is now in a coma in the Siberian city of Omsk. [An] anti-corruption blogger[,] … for years [Navalny] has been … Putin’s only formidable opponent[,] … [i.e., Putin’s] only adversary who has remained in Russia, stayed active, and maintained prominence despite repeated attacks from the […]
» Read moreExposing Putin’s Hidden Riches Won’t Stop Russia’s Election Meddling
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Lincoln Pigman – Aug. 19, 2020) Lincoln Pigman is a research fellow at the Foreign Policy Center and an alumnus of King’s College London’s Department of War Studies and Oxford University’s School of Global and Area Studies. Four years have passed since the alarm was first raised about Russia’s meddling in U.S. elections, from its […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “As Discontent Grows at Home, Russia’s Opposition Is Watching Belarus” – Moscow Times
Despite massive protests continuing in the Far East, all eyes in Russia are on its western neighbor. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Evan Gershkovich – Aug. 18, 2020) During his weekly YouTube talk show Thursday, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny summed up how Russia’s opposition feels about the protests that are raging on either end of the post-Soviet space with one […]
» Read more