Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
“… [Khabarovsk] protests … against the arrest of former local governor Sergei Furgal have … been ongoing for … 100 consecutive days … remarkable … [for] Putin era protests. … [On] October 10 … for the first time[] [there was] … a crackdown by riot troops and the arrest of about 30 …. [T]he numbers … have significantly dwindled … […]
» Read more
(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 more
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Oct. 21, 2020) This month marks the tenth anniversary of Sergey Sobyanin’s time as mayor of the Russian capital; and over the past ten years, both his actions and broader changes have made Muscovites feel a greater attachment to and even love for their city than they had felt earlier. This change […]
» Read more
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Oct. 17, 2020) A survey of more than 6,000 Russian university students finds that many of them believe their country is unjust in its distribution of resources among classes and regions but that few are prepared to take action to change things. Instead, the study says, they believe that this is the […]
» Read more
(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 more
“A simmering dispute between Russia and Ukraine over the origins of bortsch could … boil over as Kiev prepares to apply for international recognition of its bragging rights to the warming beetroot soup. The Ukrainian culture ministry wants Unesco cultural heritage status for the dish in an attempt to settle the ‘bortsch war,’ started last year … with some Ukrainians […]
» Read more
(Oilprice.com – October 6, 2020) In 2019, Scottish politician Michael Ancram, Marquess of Lothian, requested of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) the information they held on the installation plans of Russian military bases in Africa, particularly in Zimbabwe. There was concern that Moscow’s influence might collide with London’s. Another major actor in Africa, Paris, became alarmed in 2018 as […]
» Read more
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 more
“… Hunter Biden joined the supervisory board of [Ukraine-based] oil and gas company] Burisma, while his father Joe Biden … [was] U.S. vice president. … Trump once again hinted … Joe Biden was using his position to shield Burisma, the company that employed his son[,] from investigation in Ukraine. … Trump has been actively commenting on Hunter’s activity in Ukraine […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sept. 25, 2020) Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, voiced his support for the Belarusian opposition Thursday as the country continues to see mass protests against long-serving strongman Alexander Lukashenko. His statement came the day after Lukashenko was sworn into office in a secret ceremony following more than a month of unprecedented […]
» Read more
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – Sept. 23, 2020) Slightly more than half (51%) of Russians either support implementing the idea of “Russia for [ethnic] Russians” or think it would be good to implement “within reasonable limits,” according to a Levada Center poll of 1,600 people in 137 localities across 50 of Russia’s 80-plus regions conducted Aug. 20-26, […]
» Read more
“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 more
Russia has not interfered in U.S. electoral processes and is not going to, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, commenting on … restrictive measures imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury […]
» Read more
“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 more
“… The extent of ice-covered ocean at the North Pole and extending further south to Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia reached its summertime low of 1.4 million square miles … last week before starting to grow again. Arctic sea ice reaches its low point in September and its high in March after the winter. This year’s melt is second only […]
» Read more
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 more
“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 more
(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 more
(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 more
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – Sept. 17, 2020) The share of Russians with a good or very good attitude toward the U.S. remained steady at 42 percent from January to August 2020, as did the share of Russians who have a bad or very bad attitude toward the U.S. (46 percent), according to the Levada Center’s latest report […]
» Read more
“… 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 more
(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – Sept. 14, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/what-do-the-regional-election-results-tell-us-about-putin-s-russia-/30838190.html) No surprise: Russia’s dominant party is claiming sweeping victories in regional and local elections. Surprise: Allies of poisoned anti-corruption crusader Aleksei Navalny may have won legislative seats in two Siberian cities, and the Kremlin-controlled United […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sept. 14, 2020) Three newly registered political parties will be able to take part in Russia’s State Duma elections next year without collecting the required voter signatures, Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova said Monday. While the For Truth, New People and Green Alternative parties have varying ideological platforms, some analysts have linked their appearance […]
» Read more
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 more
“… ‘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 more
“Accumulating evidence points at prospects of growing destabilization at the regional level in Russia. In 2019, five consecutive years of economic stagnation ignited a wave of protests across the country. In 2020, as Russia’s economic situation worsened dramatically due to a pandemic-driven halt to economic activity combined with a fall in oil prices, support for Kremlin appointees might start crumbling […]
» Read more
“… Putin on Monday backed embattled … Lukashenko[,] …. [who] thanked Putin for his support and vowed to stick closer to ‘elder brother’ Moscow during … talks at … [Putin’s Sochi] residence …. [Lukashenko’s] first foreign trip since his disputed [election] win … prompted mass protests against [Lukashenko’s] rule …. Putin appeared to endorse Lukashenko’s political future, praising … plans […]
» Read more
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 more
“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 more
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Sept. 10, 2020) Sociologists Sergey Belanovsky and Anastasiya Nikolskaya interviewed 60 Russians who identify with the non-systemic political parties in order to determine “the range of ideas that, in the event of radical changes in the existing government, could shape a new agenda.” What they found, they say in a report on […]
» Read more
“On Sunday, Russia will hold regional elections. … some 9,000 races in 83 regions … everything from elections to fill national legislature vacancies to elections for regional governors and municipal councils. According to … respected Russian election monitoring group Golos, these elections are likely to be a sham. Even the Communists, a tame, officially recognized opposition party, have not been […]
» Read more
“With … regional elections … start[ing] … September 13 …. 31% … say they are willing to vote for the ruling United Russia Party, according to independent pollster the Levada Center. If elections to the State Duma took place this coming Sunday, 31% of Russians would vote for United Russia. … 11% … are now ready to vote for the […]
» Read more
“… [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 more
(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 more
(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 more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sept. 10, 2020) Leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a new, deadlier variant of military-grade nerve agent Novichok, the German weekly Die Zeit reported Wednesday. Hours after the Die Zeit report, The Insider news website reported, citing anonymous sources, that Navalny, 44, has almost completely recovered after falling violently ill on a flight […]
» Read more
“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 more
“[G7] [f]oreign ministers … issued a joint statement … condemning … ‘the confirmed poisoning’ of … Navalny. … sa[ying] Germany … has concluded … he was ‘the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve-agent of the “Novichok” group, a substance developed by Russia.’ It called on Russia to investigate who is responsible, ‘bearing in mind Russia’s commitments under the […]
» Read more
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Sept. 7, 2020) Recently, some Russian parliamentarians have called for extending the upper limit of youth to age 35 while others have urged that the voting age be cut to 16. This renewed focus on young people prompted VTsIOM to conduct a survey last month on how young people see the world […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sept. 9, 2020) President Vladimir Putin has canceled his annual call-in session with the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, his spokesman announced Wednesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin “has already been conducting the Direct Line the past few months,” referring to his several video addresses announcing support measures for Russians during the Covid-19 […]
» Read more
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 more
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 more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sept. 2, 2020) Elderly scientists who helped develop Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine have not reported adverse effects after being injected, the head of the research institute behind the inoculation told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency Wednesday. Sputnik V’s registration last month as the world’s first coronavirus vaccine before large-scale clinical trials has sparked […]
» Read more
“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 more
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 more
… [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
“Hundreds of journalists have gone on strike demanding fair coverage of demonstrations.” “… [In] a sea change at … [Belarus’s] normally pliant state media[,] [h]undreds of journalists have gone on strike demanding fair coverage of the [anti-Lukashenko] protests and … brutal police crackdown …. Several have resigned …. [S]tate media … remains a crucial tool in … Lukashenko’s attempt to […]
» Read more
“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 more
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 more
“Thousands of Belarusians … gather[ed] once again on [I]ndependence [S]quare in central Minsk … [T]he police … [have again] started to randomly arrest protestors …. The protests have become as large as those in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union. … [After] fears that the protest movement was losing … momentum as Lukashenko launched an increasingly effective counter […]
» Read more