Staunton, September 9 -- The flood of news stories from a country as large,
diverse and strange as the Russian Federation often appears to be is far too
large for anyone to keep up with. But there needs to be a way to mark those
which can’t be discussed in detail but which are too indicative of broader
developments to ignore.
Consequently, Windows on Eurasia presents a selection of 13 of these
other and typically neglected stories at the end of each week. This is the 48th
such compilation. It is only suggestive and far from complete – indeed, once
again, one could have put out such a listing every day -- but perhaps one or
more of these stories will prove of broader interest.
1.
How Bad are Things
in Russia Today? One Woman Handcuffs Herself at Putin’s Office; Others Strip
Along Highway for Food Money.
Russian government statistics show that the country is rapidly depleting
its reserves and that the middle class is suffering as the number of Russians
in poverty increase (svpressa.ru/economy/article/155996/
and novayagazeta.ru/society/74448.html). But the real horror is reflected not in these
statistics but in the behavior of individuals. This past week, one woman
handcuffed herself to the entrance of Putin’s office to protest her situation,
and other women stood along a highway offering to strip for passersby in order
to earn money (ixtc.org/2016/09/zhenschina-prikovala-sebya-naruchnikami-u-priemnoy-putina/
and youtube.com/watch?v=t9jTVj9tK4g&feature=youtu.be). There is one bright spot in the Russian
economy, however. Russia’s prisons are hiring more jailors, and schools in
Volgograd are now training pupils to become prison guards (openrussia.org/post/view/17394/).
2. Matvienko Goes Marx One Better – ‘He Who Doesn’t Eat
Won’t Get Medical Care.’ The speaker of the Federation Council has proposed
that those who don’t have a job should not get government-paid-for medical care
(novayagazeta.ru/news/1706874.html).
But even those with jobs may have a hard
time: the number who are employed but not being paid has increased by 50
percent over the last month (rg.ru/2016/09/05/v-avguste-na-zaderzhki-zarplaty-pozhalovalos-v-poltora-raza-bolshe-rossiian.html and experts say that an average Russian would
need to work 113 years in order to get an adequate pension (ura.ru/articles/1036268876).
3.
Were
Putin’s Military Maneuvers Simply about Getting More Money for Arms Industry? Russians and not only they routinely suggest
that military activity by Western governments is intended to gin up popular support
for more weapons spending. Now a Russian commentator has suggested that a major
reason behind Vladimir Putin’s recent sabre rattling may be exactly the same (versia.ru/k-chemu-provodit-mobilizacionnye-meropriyatiya-esli-ne-budet-vojny). Meanwhile, in other military related developments,
officials say that units of Putin’s “national guard” will be established
throughout Russia (vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2016/09/07/655986-upravleniya-rosgvardii),
the Kremlin has decided to eliminate the military procuracy next year and place
all military cases in the hands of civilian prosecutors (rosbalt.ru/russia/2016/09/07/1547768.html).
4.
Will Novaya Zemlya
Again Be Known as Nicholas II Land? Some Russian nationalists are pushing to
restore the original name of the territories now known as Novaya Zemlya. That name
was Nicholas II Land, a name given after the appearance of neighboring Franz
Joseph Land (ruskline.ru/analitika/2016/09/07/o_vozvraweniya_istoricheskih_naimenovanij_arhipelagu_severnaya_zemlya_i_ostrovu_malyj_tajmyr/). Meanwhile, another Russian nationalist has
listed all the places now abroad that should again be under Russian rule. They
include not only all the former soviet republics but also Poland, Norway, part
of China, part of Japan, Alaska, and many others (ruskline.ru/analitika/2016/09/06/kusochki_russkogo_mira/).
5.
Buryats Welcome
Medvedev with His Own Slogan – and Get Arrested. A group of
Buryats met visiting Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with signs carrying
his statement that “there is no money but have a nice day.” For their troubles,
they were arrested (graniru.org/Politics/Russia/activism/m.254357.html).
Meanwhile, other Russian officials seem committed to dethroning the premier as
the Russian champion of Marie Antoinette-type remarks. A collection of their
remarks is offered at versia.ru/v-konkurse-glubokomyslennyx-chinovnichix-aforizmov-pobedil-sergej-stepashin-s-frazoj-o-vzyatkax.
6.
Russia River Runs
Red and Black Sea Dies. Pollution
from a Norilsk nickel plant has caused a river in the Russian north to run
blood red, and experts also report that pollution from Russian plants is transforming
the Black Sea into a dead one (versia.ru/chernoe-more-postepenno-stanovitsya-mertvym
and versia.ru/reka-v-norilske-okrasilas-v-bagrovyj-cvet).
7.
‘Vote the Right
Way or You Won’t Get Help,’ Mordvinia Head Says. Although surveys
suggest that most Russians aren’t taking the upcoming Duma elections too
seriously given that their outcome seems predetermined, the head of Mordvinia
has told his people that unless they bring in big majorities for United Russia,
the people in their districts will not get any government help (sobkorr.ru/news/57CE7D2F63BD5.html
and rufabula.com/news/2016/09/06/what-election).
8.
FSB, Having
Attacked Protestants, Goes After Alternative Orthodox Churches. The FSB began
its enforcement of the Yarovaya laws by going after Protestants and especially
Protestant missionaries from abroad. Now it is harassing Russia’s Orthodox
churches that are not subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate (ng.ru/ng_religii/2016-09-07/5_fsb.html).
9.
TASS Gets It
Right: Counter-Sanctions are Anti-Russian. The Russian government’s new
agency, which is often marked by duplicity and outright lies, unintentionally
got something right this week: It described the counter-sanctions imposed by
the Kremlin as “anti-Russian actions” (ng.ru/editorial/2016-09-07/2_red.html).
10.
Orthodox
Parishioners Pray for Russia’s Nuclear Arsenal. Parishioners in
Orthodox churches subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate have been praying for
the success of Russia’s nuclear arsenal (svpressa.ru/society/article/155714/).
Perhaps that is one of the reasons why the Patriarchate has launched a plan to
build even more churches even though it hasn’t paid for all those that have
gone up in recent years. The hierarchy says the new churches will be financed
by Russian businesses (apn.ru/index.php?newsid=35414).
11.
Moscow Always has
Money for Regional Spectacles but Not for Regional Needs. The central
Russian government seems able to find money for spectacles held in the country’s
regions but it doesn’t have funds for the needs of the people there (sobkorr.ru/news/57C984ECD1EEF.html). As a result, not only does the country not
have decent roads and other infrastructure, but reporters noted that even in
Moscow, many new buildings do not feature such “luxuries” as plumbing (vedomosti.ru/realty/articles/2016/09/05/655676-zataplivaet-moskvu).
12.
Russia’s Muslims
Fail to Fill New, Lower Haj Quota. When the Saudis reduced Russia’s haj
quota two years ago from 20,500 to 16,000, Moscow officials pledged to
negotiate a higher figure given pent-up demand, but this year, Muslim leaders
say, the economic crisis and higher prices for travel to Meccas have meant that
Russian Muslims have filled only 95 percent of the lower quota which remains in
place (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/288799/
and islamrf.ru/news/russia/rusnews/40243/).
13.
Health Disaster in
Russian North Much Worse Because Moscow Ended Vaccinations in 2007. The recent
outbreaks of disease in Russia’s far north that have been triggered by the
melting of permafrost have been much worse than they otherwise would have been,
officials now concede, because Moscow ended a vaccination program there in 2007
and many who would otherwise have been immune have fallen ill (beregrus.ru/?p=7787). And the illnesses have spread more widely for
another reason: officials lack the resources to fight mosquitos which have
carried the infection as far as 250 kilometers from its point of origin (siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/f0253-deadly-anthrax-infection-spread-250-kilometres-in-15-days-due-to-mosquitoes/).
And six more from
countries in Russia’s neighborhood:
1.
Useful Idiots in
Ukraine Greater Threat than Moscow Media.
Russia has won over to its side so many useful idiots that they now
constitute a far greater danger to Ukraine than do explicitly identified Moscow
outlets, according to “Delovaya Stolitsa” (dsnews.ua/temy_nomerov/chem-zaymutsya-poleznye-idioty--04092016190200).
2. Disagreements among Baltic Countries Said Threatening
Rail Baltic Project.
Disagreements among the three countries cast doubt on whether the Rail Baltic
project (which must not be confused with the Rail Baltica program)will be completed on time or even completed at all, some observers say
(nr2.com.ua/News/politics_and_society/Ambicioznyy-proekt-Rail-Baltica-nahoditsya-pod-ugrozoy-sryva-123455.html).
3.
Muslims
from Repressive Post-Soviet States Now Fleeing to Freedom in Ukraine. Muslims from former Soviet republics where
repression against Muslims is on the increase are choosing to move to Ukraine
where they are able to practice their religion freely (ru.hromadske.ua/ru/articles/show/Sbezhat_Ot_Rezhimov_Karimova_I_Putina).
4.
Former Tajik
Colonel Becomes ISIS Commander. A former senior officer from Tajikistan
who deserted his country earlier has now assumed the role of senior commander
for the Islamic State (centrasia.ru/news.php?st=1472983020).
5.
Protests Begin in
Uzbekistan’s Regions.
In the wake of the death of Islam Karimov, some in Uzbekistan’s regions have
taken to the streets in protest, apparently out of fear that their regions will
suffer as power is redivided under Karimov’s successors (haqqin.az/news/79356).
6.
Tensions Along
Uzbek-Kyrgyz Border Intensify. The border between Uzbekistan and
Kyrgyzstan has been tense for a long time because the two countries have not
been able to agree on its demarcation. In the wake of the death of Islam
Karimov, those tensions have intensified, despite apparent efforts on both
sides to calm the situation (fergananews.com/articles/9084).
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