Paul
Goble
Staunton, October 28-- 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 each week
presents a selection of these other and typically neglected stories at the end
of each week. This is the 106th such compilation, and it is again a
double issue with 26 from Russia and 13 from Russia’s neighbors. Even then, it
is far from complete, but perhaps one or more of these stories will prove of
broader interest.
1.
Putin has the Money
and the Power but Far From Universal Support. Research has shown the enormous wealth
that Putin has concentrated in his hands and those of his cronies (echo.msk.ru/news/2079948-echo.html) and polls show that just over half of all Russians
say they would vote for him (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59F2E001D7C55). But many Russians are very much opposed to the
Kremlin leader, reminding him with a banner, quickly taken down, that he will
be held responsible for Nord Ost (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59F2F5F6D153F)
and that despite official moves against them, slogans like “Russia Will Be Free”
and “Russia without Putin” are signs of what many really feel (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59EEF651AE74F). One
commentator has said that Putin is now promoting “Stalinist globalism” (republic.ru/posts/87171), and
another has said that he is pushing an updated version of Soviet
totalitarianism, albeit with hybrid touches that deceive some but not all (ivpavlova.blogspot.com/2017/10/who-is-mr-.html).
2.
The Russian
Election Becomes a Spectacle Rather than a Contest. Given that Putin
will win re-election if he wants to by hook or by crook, the presidential race
has become a spectacle rather than a contest about choice. Indeed. One commentator
says that whatever happens, the next Russian president will come from “the
house of Putin” and little will change (business-gazeta.ru/article/361545).
Some think however that the Kremlin may be regretting its backing of Kseniya
Sobchak because of her outspokenness, raising issues the leadership would
prefer not to have discussed (babr24.com/msk/?IDE=166428),
but Sobchak continues to say good things about Putin (newsland.com/community/4788/content/kseniia-sobchak-putin-uderzhivaet-rossiiu-ot-smuty/6047196). Meanwhile,
the Russian government has worked hard against Aleksey Navalny, denying him the
chance to organize in major cities while allowing him to go ahead in smaller
ones (ng.ru/politics/2017-10-26/1_7103_navalny.html ). Many of Navalny’s most passionate
supporters are in the megalopolises, as evidenced by signs against Putin that
have appeared in Moscow (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59EC4C51618CA).
Mikhail Khodorkovsky has come out against a boycott of the March elections (profile.ru/politika/item/120831-bojkot-bojkotu),
and the KPRF and monarchists are seeking to unite behind a single candidate (nakanune.ru/articles/113396/
and takiedela.ru/2017/10/v-ozhidanii-carya/).
3.
Moscow Angry at US
but Very Pleased with Trump. Russian commentators say that the Kremlin
is quite angry at the US for new sanctions but very pleased with Donald Trump
for his attitudes and his statements about Russian collusion, including his
promise to pay legal bills of anyone who falls under that investigation (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59EF7D7D19067
and rbc.ru/politics/22/10/2017/59ebdad69a7947d77189938e?from=main).
To show its agency and to ensure that the new US sanctions, which hit primarily
the elite, will be viewed by Russians as hitting them as well, Moscow has
broadened its counter-sanctiosn regime as well (rosbalt.ru/russia/2017/10/27/1656475.html).
Moscow did suffer a serious set-back when Interpol told governments to ignore
Russian demands for the arrest of William Browder (themoscowtimes.com/news/magnitsky-interpol-rejects-russias-request-to-arrest-fund-manager-browder-59389).
4.
Is the Valdai Club
Now Putin’s Surrogate Parliament?
The Russian parliament no longer functions as a place to debate policy,
and one analyst has suggested that the Valdai Club is its hybrid version (afterempire.info/2017/10/23/oblomok/).
The regime continues to protect its loyalist as the case of Medynsky and his
plagiarized dissertation shows (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59ED99E1EDA46).
More leaks from the budget into corrupt hands have been identified (newsland.com/community/5652/content/schetnaia-palata-utechka-deneg-iz-biudzheta-uskorilas-v-12-raz/6054181), and the social councils which are supposed to
oversee government operations have been captured by officials and no longer
serve a useful purpose (versia.ru/obshhestvennye-sovety-rossii-proshli-perezagruzku).
One interesting development in governance: ever more attention is being given
to the wives of new senior officials (fedpress.ru/article/1881817).
5.
Russia has Eaten
Through Six Trillion US Dollars of Its Soviet Inheritance. Russia’s economic situation would be even
worse if it were not for the fact that since 1991, experts say, it has eaten up
422 trillion rubles left from Soviet times (newsland.com/community/3782/content/rossiia-proela-420-trillionov-rublei-naslediia-sssr/6047768).
The Russian currency may be in trouble, and the finance ministry wants the
power to block ruble convertibility in the event of a crisis (svpressa.ru/omy/article/184377/).
The federal government has made clear that it has no interest in feeding
Russia’s poor (ng.ru/omics/2017-10-27/1_7104_budget.html).
The construction industry is collapsing in many places (ng.ru/omics/2017-10-23/4_7100_kazna.html).
Ever more companies are unprofitable (newsland.com/community/4109/content/rossiia-putina-dolia-ubytochnykh-organizatsii-na-rf-vyrosla-na-tret/6054733),
and many others are losing confidence that they will soon return to growth (lenta.ru/news/2017/10/27/noconfidence/).
6.
Russian
Consumption Fell More from 2014 to 2016 than in the 1990s. Andrey
Illarionov has documented that Russian consumption levels fell more between
2014 when Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine and 2016 than they did during
the entire 1990s. As a result, Russia has seen its consumption decline in the
last three years more than all the countries of the world except for Congo,
Zimbabwe, and its victim Ukraine (cho.msk.ru/blog/aillar/2079346-echo/).
Wage arrears continue to spread, sparking protests and court cases (forum-msk.org/material/news/13877704.html).There
was a sharp drop in the total number of Russians with jobs in September (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59EDED0F1D36B).
And Russians continue to borrow not for new spending but to pay off old loans (ura.news/articles/1036272674).
7.
Russians Taking
Out Their Frustrations on Their Children. Hard-pressed parents are maiming or
killing their children in large numbers and refusing to contest the
government’s efforts to take their children away from them (chaskor.ru/article/rossiya_otygryvaetsya_na_detyah_42599).
One source of tension: 16 percent of children do not ever more away from their
parents’ homes because of housing problems (snob.ru/selected/entry/130588).
Half of Russians say they aren’t impressed by government’s show trials against
siloviki (newsland.com/community/4788/content/polovina-rossiian-schitaet-pokazukhoi-gromkie-ugolovnye-dela-i-obyski-u-silovikov/6052078).
Remarkably, new data show that property crimes are declining in number even as
incomes fall (ng.ru/economics/2017-10-26/4_7103_stealing.html).
Fewer Russians can afford to go to restaurants, and those who do are ever less
inclined to complain (moslenta.ru/city/moskvichi-stali-menshe-zhalovatsya-na-magaziny-i-restorany-27-10-2017.htm/?utm_source=from_lenta). The Baikal cellulose plant Putin got so much
praise for closing is continuing to pollute the sacred lake because clean-up
efforts were inadequate (babr24.com/irk/?IDE=166466).
Aeroflot has announced that it won’t give refunds to ticket holders who
subsequently learn that they can’t get visas to the country of their
destination (frequentflyers.ru/2017/10/24/afl_no_visa/).
Russians are again increasingly interested in spy stories in films and on
television (profile.ru/culture/item/120794-vrag-nikogda-ne-dremlet).
Prison hospitals have been called “death factories” because so many die in them
(lenta.ru/articles/2017/10/24/turma/). The intellectual degradation of the education
system means that Russia will soon have a deficit of 10 million trained
specialists, something the government doesn’t seem concerned about (rosbalt.ru/blogs/2017/10/24/1655638.html,
newsland.com/community/4765/content/tak-vygliadit-degradatsiia-primer-vypusknykh-ekzamenov-po-matematike-1991-i-2016-godov/6046690,
newsland.com/community/129/content/issledovanie-rossiiu-zhdet-defitsit-analitikov-i-tvorcheskikh-spetsialistov/6054111
and echo.msk.ru/news/2081178-echo.html).
And some Russians are bemoaning the fact that many traditional Russian curse
words are no longer in common use (newsland.com/community/5862/content/kakie-rugatelstva-ischezli-iz-russkogo-iazyka/6047548).
8.
Regional Health
Ministry Says Rise in Mortality among Elderly ‘A Good Thing.’ The health
minister of Sverdlovsk oblast says that rising mortality rates among older
groups is a good thing because it reduces pressure on the pension fund (politsovet.ru/48652-ministr-zdravoohraneniya-smertnost-sredi-starikov-rastet-eto-horosho.html and babr24.com/msk/?IDE=166424).
People in Vladimir Oblast have complained to Putin about the sad state of
hospitals there (regnum.ru/news/society/2337536.html),
and health experts say the rising number of materal deaths in Russian villages
reflects the growth in illegal abortions because of the absence of facilities,
yet another a result of Putin’s optimization program (interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=68469).
A horrific case in which an ambulance driver asked a patient for money for gas
attracted widespread attention, condemnation, and ultimately a criminal charge
against the driver (znak.com/2017-10-23/v_omskoy_oblasti_ot_pacienta_potrebovali_zaplatit_za_benzin_dlya_skoroy_pomochi and newsland.com/community/5862/content/omskii-minzdrav-oshtrafoval-spasshuiu-patsientu-zhizn-medsestru/6053321).
A lack of polio vaccines threatens to spark a polio epidemic in Russia (ura.news/articles/1036272754).
There is also a serious shortage of insulin in the Russian Far East (egnum.ru/news/society/2337077.html),
and Russian pharmacy companies have stopped making needed but less profitable
medicines (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59EDFE75C618C). The Western sanctions regime and Russian
counter-sanctions is pushing Russian demographic figures down, provoking
outmigration, and helping to drive fertility rates down even faster than the
rate of decline in the number of women in prime child-bearing cohorts (publizist.ru/blogs/108984/20964/-
, kp.ru/daily/26746/3775003/ and spektr.press/cvety-zhizni-kak-v-latvii-reshayut-problemu-demografii/).
And a new report confirms that Muscovites live longer than anyone else in
Russia, except for people in Muslim areas where alcohol consumption is much
lower (vz.ru/society/2017/10/24/892099.html).
9. Patriarch’s Problems Mount. Russian Orthodox
Patriarch Kirill is hated by liberals in society but also by conservatives
within the church itself who believe he is guilty of heresy (gorod-812.ru/patriarha-kirilla-obyavili-eretikom/). He has maintained tight control over
financial flows ensuring that money collected goes up to him rather than down
to the poor (http://www.mk.ru/social/2017/10/19/finansovye-potoki-v-rpc-tekut-tolko-snizu-vverkh.html) and over efforts to reclaim church
property in many places across the country (kommersant.ru/doc/3447976). An analyst has suggested that new
Orthodox converts like new Muslim ones are more inclined to radicalism (takiedela.ru/2017/10/novye-pravoslavnye/). The Moscow patriarchate has called on the
faithful to study the Bible so that they can counter the influence of
Protestants who do (politsovet.ru/56958-v-rpc-prizvali-veruyuschih-prochitat-bibliyu.html). The Russian Orthodox television channel,
Tsargrad, has stopped broadcasting via cable (ura.news/articles/1036272750),
and Orthodox missionary work is increasingly tied to the Internet (magazines.russ.ru/nz/2017/4/pravoslavnoe-missionerstvo-v-internete-proekt-batyushka-onlajn.html).
10.
Russia
Again Busts Saudi Haj Quota. Reflecting both
demand and Moscow’s unwillingness to live according to the rules, 23,401
Muslims from Russia made the haj this year, more than the Saudi quota of 20,500
(ansar.ru/society/itogi-hadzha), while
an anti-Muslim activist says Moscow shouldn’t fear political explosions from
ordering mosques to be torn down (66.ru/news/society/204134/).
Religion touched Russian foreign policy this week as well: The Lutherans were
given back a church in Moscow that the Soviets had confiscated during a visit
by the German president (ng.ru/faith/2017-10-26/2_7103_temple.html),
and Israel is seeking an explanation for anti-Semitic acts at the Sochi youth
forum (kommersant.ru/doc/3443412).
11.
Ethnic Groups
Becoming More Politically Active. Elders of non-Russian nations in the
North Caucasus have called for the restoration of direct elections there (kavkaz-uzel.eu/blogs/342/posts/30455).
Anniversary of the death of Imam Shamil who fought the Russian advance into the
region (onkavkaz.com/novosti/3322-v-dagestane-otmetili-220-letie-imama-shamilja.html).
Wepsy enthusiasts have opened the first Wepsy national restaurant in St.
Petersburg (freeingria.org/2017/10/v-peterburge-otkrylsya-restoran-vepsskoj-kuhni-mo/).
Inter-ethnic hostility continues to simmer in Moscow between Tajiks and
Russians (kp.ru/daily/26747.5/3775874/).
Russian commentators are worried that Chuvashia, a Christian-Turkic republic,
may be a link between Muslim protests and national ones (sputnikipogrom.com/inside-russia/78938/chuvashia/).
Chechnya leads the country in magazine and newspaper subscriptions per capita (spektr.press/news/2017/10/27/pochta-rossii-nazvala-chechnyu-samoj-chitayuschim-rossijskim-regionom/).
The Russian Jewish Center says that there are 1.5 million Jews or people with
Jewish ties in Russia, far more than the census shows (interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=68482).
A military-style youth camp opens in Chechnya (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/311620/).
And the head of Buryatia has apologized for not yet having learned the language
of the people he governs (nazaccent.ru/content/25741-glava-buryatii-priznalsya-chto-ne-uspevaet.html).
12.
Defenders of
Non-Russian Language Stage Anti-Putin Demonstration. Bashkirs defending
their language have broadened their protest to include anti-Putin messages, a
measure of the way in which this issue is becoming ever more political (kommersant.ru/doc/3443252).
The president of Tatarstan in his defense of the republic language asks “how
can the study of a state language be voluntary?” (business-gazeta.ru/article/361986).
Support for Tatar is coming from every more social groups and organizations,
including Muslims (idelreal.org/a/28811011.html
and ansar.ru/rfsng/pyatnichnye-hutby-v-tatarstane-posvyatili-sohraneniyu-rodnogo-yazyka), movie stars (idelreal.org/a/28815711.html), and ethnic organizations (idelreal.org/a/zayavlenie-vsemirnogo-kongressa-tatar/28810577.html).
Defenders of non-Russian languages in Daghestan say there aren’t enough
textbooks in their languages, one of the ways Moscow is squeezing them out of the
schools (http://nazaccent.ru/content/25756-dagestanskim-shkolnikam-ne-hvataet-uchebnikov-rodnyh.html). In response, they have come up with a unique
defense: national languages are needed to promote ethno-tourism (tass.ru/severnyy-kavkaz/4665930).
Advocates of Russian over Tatar have also become more active, demanding that a
Moscow official who has not pushed hard enough against Tatar be fired (ruskline.ru/news_rl/2017/10/26/sabotirovanie_poruchenij_prezidenta_po_zawite_russkogo_yazyka_nedopustimo/)
and in one case, going to court and demanding a million rubles in compensation
for forcing her child to study Tatar (realnoevremya.ru/society/education/79769-roditeli-sudyatsya-protiv-obyazatelnogo-tatarskogo-v-shkole).
And now some Muscovite outlets have found someone beyond Russia’s border to
blame for support of non-Russian languages: the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences
(eadaily.com/ru/news/2017/10/23/v-akademii-nauk-azerbaydzhana-obsuzhdayut-razval-rossii-po-yazykovomu-voprosu
and kavkazr.com/a/mnimye-svyazi/28815335.html).
13.
Crackdown on
Regionalist Sites Highlights Moscow’s Nervousness. The Russian
government continues to block regionalist websites, an indication of its
concern about the issue (freeural.org/moskva-boitsja-referendumov-imperskie-cenzory-protiv-alnoj-kramoly/).
Some regionalists are discussing whether crypto-currencies could be the path to
genuine ones (polit.ru/article/2017/10/22/crypto/). A Kuban independence advocate on release from
prison – she was the first to be convicted under Russia’s law against promoting
changes in Russia’s borders – says she will continue to promote her ideas (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/311359/). Pro-communist sites are beginning to focus on
what they call “exotic” forms of separatism such as Ingrianism (forum-msk.org/material/news/13514935.html
and forum-msk.org/material/society/13866447.html).
The Mari El republic has been identified as having one of the most degraded
economies in Russia (mariuver.com/2017/10/25/fr-degr-ekon/).
Moscow wants to make the North Caucasus region into a center of light industry
to address unemployment there (svpressa.ru/economy/article/184450/).
Corruption has prevented the emergence of a Russian “Hong Kong” in the Far East
and the governor there has been sharply criticized for suggesting that a circus
should be “the visiting card” of his region (ng.ru/economics/2017-10-25/1_7102_hongkong.html
and beregrus.ru/?p=10313).
14.
Protests about
Various Issues Continue Across Russia.
One of the most popular forms of protest on the Internet now consists of
articles complaining that Moscow is giving billions of dollars to other
countries while Russians are suffering (kp.ru/daily/26747.5/3775867/).
But other more traditional protests also continued: an Ulyanovsk man was fined
for putting flowers on a monument for those repressed under Stalin (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59EF443430981),
the miners’ strike in Gukovo showed no signs of resolution (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/311496/),
and various petition drives were launched including one to rein in the chemical
industry and prevent it from contaminating air and water across the country (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/311420/).
15.
More Journalists
and Activist Flee After Attacks On Their Number. After the murder
of a democratic activist in Moscow and the latest attack on an Ekho Moskvy
journalists, other journalists are deciding to leave the country rather than
become victims of crimes the Russian government will do little to prevent or
solve (https://graniru.org/Events/Crime/m.265038.html
and newsland.com/community/6605/content/kollega-ranenoi-vedushchei-ekha-moskvy-uekhala-iz-rossii/6054591).
The Russian authorities in Arkhangelsk have sought to end cooperation with
foreign NGOs by fining Russian ones that have been working with Norwegian ones
(thebarentsobserver.com/en/civil-society-and-media/2017/10/arkhangelsk-ngo-fined-cooperating-norwegian-youths), the Duma is moving forward on a measure that will
make it easier for the regime to block sites it doesn’t like (regnum.ru/news/polit/2338613.html),
students are being forced to denounce political and religious enemies of the
regime (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59F19DE437860),
and puritan groups in Siberia, confident that the regime will back them, have
launched a new campaign against stores and activities that they say violate
Russian standards of morality (momenty.org/people/i178390/).
This week, the Russian government prosecuted new cases against Tatars, Bashkirs
and Russian nationalists (openrussia.org/notes/715168/)
and refused to consider calls for memorializing Cossacks and the victims of
collectivization (politsovet.ru/56996-spch-predlozhil-schitat-kazakov-zhertvami-repressiy.html).
Russian prisons came in for criticism internationally and domestically for
moving prisoners about to keep them off balance and for the tiny space allotted
to inmates (novayagazeta.ru/articles/2017/10/23/74296-ploschad-nevoli-0-33-m-sup-2-sup and ng.ru/politics/2017-10-25/3_7103_gulag.html).
16.
At Least 131
Russians have Died in Syrian Combat, Embassy Documents Show. Documents from
the Russian embassy in Damascus that have been examined by Reuters show that at
least 131 Russian combatants have lost their lives in the conflict there (newsland.com/community/4765/content/reuters-nashlo-dokumentalnoe-dokazatelstvo-gibeli-131-rossiianina-v-sirii/6054649). Meanwhile controversies swirl about Moscow’s
failure to provide for the widows of some of these and on the consequences of
using Central Asian troops in the Russian military (rbc.ru/society/23/10/2017/59ee04239a79473b35e73c51
and lenta.ru/articles/2017/10/27/army/
http://www.centrasia.ru/newsA.php?st=1509082860). Moscow has announced that it will build a new
naval base in the Kuriles but some Russian admirals have expressed skepticism
about the idea (newsland.com/community/3550/content/rossiiskaia-voennaia-baza-na-kurilakh-pochemu-tak-ostorozhny-admiraly/6054120). Because of new sanctions, Moscow has made a single
bank responsible for servicing the defense sector (novayagazeta.ru/news/2017/10/26/136433-iz-za-sanktsiy-vse-oboronnye-predpriyatiya-budet-obsluzhivat-odin-bank). More problems have emerged at Russia’s Gyumri base
in Armenia (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59F0A0B02E73E).
And Russia’s rocket sector is in trouble as a result of the disappearance of
billions of rubles, the failure to attract more qualified people to serve as
cosmonauts, and the inability of companies working at the Vostochny base to pay
their workers on time (newsland.com/community/5652/content/iz-biudzheta-ischezlo-47-mlrd-rub-ot-roskosmosa/6054077,
newsland.com/community/5206/content/vot-pochemu-rossiia-otstaet-konkurs-v-kosmonavty-v-10-raz-menshe-amerikanskogo/6050921,
kommersant.ru/doc/3447914
and forum-msk.org/material/news/13864994.html).
17.
What will the
Kremlin Use as the Next Mathilda to Divert Attention from Economic Crisis? Now that the controversial film is in the
theaters, some are wondering what will be the next issue the Putin regime will
use to divert popular attention from the problems Russia faces (portal-credo.ru/site/?act=comment&id=2199). But right
now, it is still effective: seven theaters in Moscow alone have been evacuated
because of bomb threats (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59F19A396D581) and
opponents have clashed with police (ruskline.ru/news_rl/2017/10/27/policejskie_svoim_povedenie_diskreditirovali_vsyu_policiyu/).
Most intriguingly, twice as great a share of Russians say they plan to view the
film precisely because of the
controversy than say it should be banned (regnum.ru/news/cultura/2338094.html
and rbc.ru/society/25/10/2017/59f040f59a79477ebee39249?from=main). But the Mathilda fight is likely to cast a
shadow on the future: many Russian nationalists and Orthodox Christians are
furious that the government has not heeded their calls to ban what they see as
a slander on a Russian saint (rusk.ru/newsdata.php?idar=79254).
The Mathilda fight overshadowed but did not end other fights about cultural
monuments. The Saami of Murmansk
remained deeply split about a monument concerning their history (nazaccent.ru/content/25784-murmanskie-saamy-razdelilis-iz-za-ustanovki-pamyatnika.html), activists in Yekaterinburg plan two memorial days
in honor of those repressed by Stalin (politsovet.ru/57027-v-ekaterinburge-dva-dnya-posvyatyat-zhertvam-stalinskih-repressiy.html),
the civil war over restoring place names has heated up in both capital cities (iz.ru/662957/margarita-zviagintceva/nazvat-svoimi-imenami
and takiedela.ru/news/2017/10/23/akciya-vozvrashhenie-imen-proydet-v-mo/), monuments to tsarist figures went up in Omsk and
St. Petersburg (newsland.com/community/4109/content/v-omske-ustanoviat-pamiatnik-generalissimusu-grafu-a-suvorovu-rymnikskomu/6049000
and uskline.ru/news_rl/2017/10/21/slavnye_imena_rossii/),
but there were at least two unfortunate mishaps: a monument to the heroes of
Plevna was allowed to disintegrate (newsland.com/community/4109/content/v-tsentre-moskvy-gibnet-pamiatnik-geroiam-plevny/6050077), and roadbuilders near St. Petersburg destroyed the
graves of Soviet soldiers and civilians from the World War II period (takiedela.ru/news/2017/10/21/zahoronenie/).
18.
Moscow Sees US
Using Doping Issue Against Russia.
Russian officials and commentators are suggesting that the US sees the
doping issue as a weak link in Moscow’s armor and thus continue to raise the
issue in order to discredit not only Russian sport but Russia as such (cenznet.com/2017/10/25
/александр-емельяненко-у-американцев/ and
regnum.ru/news//2337024.html).
Vladimir Putin has echoed this line and reiterated that nothing will make
Russian athletes compete under a neutral flag as some international athletic
federations want (novayagazeta.ru/articles/2017/10/21/74280-beg-s-amerikanskimi-prepyatstviyami).
Meanwhile, more problems have arisen in preparations for the 2018 World Cup.
The Russian government has just put in 34.5 billion more rubles (600 million US
dollars) (versia.ru/cena-provedeniya-chempionata-mira-po-futbolu-rastyot),
Russian hoteliers report that they have received the first cancellations of
reservations by foreigners for that competition (echo.msk.ru/blog/yunis/2080524-echo/), and Moscow is making the games ever less user
friendly: Russian stadiums won’t accept credit cards next year (znak.com/2017-10-21/bolelchiki_udivleny_otsutstviem_beznalichnogo_rascheta_na_arene_gde_proydut_matchi_chm_2018).
Meanwhile, Russians are learning that even more of them will be discommoded by
the competition, with students in one venue told they will have to move out of
their dorms (nakanune.ru/news/2017/10/24/22487081/)
and some workers being told that their jobs will be suspended during the
competition (novayagazeta.ru/news/2017/10/21/136310-v-ekaterinburge-v-dni-matchey-chm-2018-predlozhili-ne-rabotat).
19.
Russia Now Leading
Source of ISIS Fighters. More people now fighting for the Islamic State come
from Russia than from any other country, including Saudi Arabia and the Central
Asian countries, although the latter taken together slightly outnumber those
ISIS militants from Russia (novayagazeta.ru/news/2017/10/26/136437-rossiyu-nazvali-glavnym-eksporterom-boytsov-v-ig).
20.
Russia’s Size
Makes Long-Distance High-Speed Trains Unprofitable; Its Location Makes Its
Current Population Location Unwise. Vladislav Inozemtsev says that Russia because
of its size should not consider building long-distance high-speed trains
because any rail trip of more than five hours people will prefer to go by air (znak.com/2017-10-26/vladislav_inozemcev_pochemu_rossiya_vryad_li_smozhet_postroit_vysokoskorostnye_magistrali),
and Pavel Pryanikov says that Russia’s population should be moving toward its
southern borders where climatic conditions are better and improving (rosbalt.ru/posts/2017/10/27/1656449.html).
21.
Kremlin Edits Out
Word ‘Annexation’ from German President’s Speech. Russian
officials edited out the word “annexation” concerning Crimea from a speech the
German president gave in Moscow (themoscowtimes.com/news/kremlin-blanks-word-annexation-from-german-presidents-speech-on-crimea-59373).
22.
Eighty-Five
Percent of Russian TV News about Ukraine or the United States. Russian media is currently ignoring much of
the world, including parts close to Russia. According to a new survey, 85
percent of the subjects of Russian television news is devoted either to Ukraine
or to the United States (newsland.com/community/1003/content/85-efira-rossiiskikh-novostei-ob-ukraine-i-ssha/6052013).
23.
Most Russians See
No Reason to Focus on 1917. A new poll shows that a third of all Russians can’t
give an assessment of the revolutions of 1917 and that a majority see no reason
to try to do so at all, all the public discussions about events then during
this centenary year (politsovet.ru/56976-tret-rossiyan-ne-smogla-ocenit-sobytiya-1917-goda.html
and kommersant.ru/doc/3447934). At the
same time, some Russians are now suggesting that it is time to rehabilitate the
1990s, a period that the Putin regime has consistently demonized (rosbalt.ru/posts/2017/10/25/1655771.html).
24.
Putin Introducing His
Version of Tsarist Domostroy. The Putin government is promoting the
introduction into school curricula an updated version of the notoriously
reactionary Domostroy rule book on family life of tsarist times (ura.news/articles/1036272716, ng.ru/editorial/2017-10-27/2_7104_red.html
and newsland.com/community/43/content/razrabotannyi-rpts-shkolnyi-kurs-nravstvennykh-osnov-semeinoi-zhizni-mogut-sdelat-obiazatelnym/6049122). The course is intended to explain to young people
that there duty to the state is to marry and have children rather than to
study, something the labor ministry says is exactly what it should communicate
to the next generation (gazeta.ru/comments/2017/10/23_e_10954538.shtml
and rosbalt.ru/piter/2017/10/20/1654810.html).
25.
Russians Not
‘Psychologically Ready’ for Gun Ownership, Moscow Says. Russian Guard commanders say that the Russian
people have not matured sufficiently to be able to handle gun ownership and
thus should not be able to acquire most kinds of weapons (regnum.ru/news/society/2338117.html).
Such arguments are common in Belarus as well where officials routinely say that
the population isn’t ready for democracy either (naviny.by/article/20171024/1508865553-vlastyam-vygodno-kultivirovat-mif-o-nezrelyh-belorusah).
26.
Biographer Says
Lenin Would Rule by Tweets Were He Alive Today. A new biographer
of Lenin argues that the Bolshevik revolutionary would be a frequent user of
Twitter and other electronic media were he alive today (newsland.com/community/5652/content/biograf-lenina-segodnia-vozhd-revoliutsii-byl-by-zvezdoi-twitter/6052429). Another writer says that while living in the
Soviet Union, he was not a communist but that in Putin’s Russia, he has become
one (newsland.com/community/politic/content/zhivia-v-sovetskom-soiuze-ia-ne-byl-kommunistom-pozhiv-v-sovremennoi-rossii-ia-im-stal/6047374).
And 13 more from
countries in Russia’s neighborhood:
1.
Ukraine has a
Border Problem with Belarus Too. Ukraine’s problems with its eastern
border as a result of the Russian invasion and its western one as a result of
Hungarian claims are well-known. Less
well-known are its problems concerning the border with Belarus. Those problems
are less political than topographic and technical: changes in rivers have
affected the border, and portions of it remains lacking in border posts. Such
uncertainties could be exploited by Russia to provoke a problem if Moscow chose
to (vz.ru/world/2017/10/25/892428.html).
2.
Ukraine Faces a
New Period of Atamanshchina, Russian Commentator Says. A Russian commentator on
the Orthodox television channel Tsargrad says that Ukraine now faces another
period of ataman rule similar to the one it suffered through during the Russian
Civil War (tsargrad.tv/articles/ukrainu-ozhidaet-novaja-atamanshhina_92165).
3.
Kyiv and Warsaw have
Signed an Agreement on Minority Languages. The Ukrainian and Polish
governments have signed an agreement on how each will treat minority languages
in its educational system, thus ending what had appeared to be a serious
conflict between the two nations (profile.ru/politika/item/120822-ukraina-i-polsha-podpisali-soglashenie-o-yazyke-obucheniya-natsmenshinstv).
4.
Russian Guard to
Stand Watch on Bridge to Occupied Crimea. Fearful that Ukrainian forces may try to
blow up the bridge Moscow is building to occupied Crimea, Putin’s Russian Guard
has announced that its soldiers will stand guard over the bridge now and in the
future (meduza.io/news/2017/10/25/dlya-ohrany-mosta-v-krym-sozdadut-morskuyu-brigadu-rosgvardii).
5.
Russian Forces in
Donbass Copy Moscow’s Repression of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In yet another
way that the Russian forces in the Donbass are implementing the worst features
of Putin’s Russia, officials there have launched a witch hunt against the
Jehovah’s Witnesses (fakty.ua/247736-chekist-provodivshij-obysk-u-svidetelej-iegovy-povyazal-na-ruku-krasnuyu-nitku-ot-durnogo-glaza-chtoby-ne-proklyali).
6.
92 Percent of
Belarusians Say Their Economy is in Crisis.
More than nine out of ten Belarusians say that the economic situation in
their country has reached a crisis point (thinktanks.by/publication/2017/10/24/issledovanie-nielsen-92-belorusov-schitayut-chto-ekonomika-strany-v-krizise.html). As a result, many are suffering ill health (thinktanks.by/publication/2017/10/24/pochti-polovina-belorusov-imeet-povyshennoe-arterialnoe-davlenie.html) or dying
prematurely, leading to a population decline
(thinktanks.by/publication/2017/10/27/zhiteley-belarusi-za-god-stalo-na-9400-chelovek-menshe.html).
7.
Dedovshchina in
Belarusian Army Reflects Problems in Belarusian Society. The mistreatment of Belarusian soldiers while
serving in the army, mistreatment that in some cases has led t deaths, has
sparked anger among many Belarusians, but one analyst has pointed out that what
happens in the military including dedovshchina is only a mirror of what is
occurring in Belarusian society at large (charter97.org/ru/news/2017/10/24/266938/).
8.
Pope Francis
Thanks Belarusian Catholics for Statue of John Paul. The Vatican has thanked Belarus’ Roman
Catholics for erecting a statue to his predecessor who played such a major role
in ending Soviet rule in Belarus and other eastern European countries (charter97.org/ru/news/2017/10/23/266835/).
9. American Retirees Urged to Consider Moving to Belarus. A study has
found that Belarus is one of the least expensive places for American retirees
to live, and a Minsk think thank is promoting the idea that US elderly should
consider moving there (thinktanks.by/publication/2017/10/27/belarus-popala-v-amerikanskiy-reyting-samyh-deshevyh-stran-dlya-zhizni-ili-vyhoda-na-pensiyu.html).
10.
Dedovshchina
Doesn’t Exist in Lithuanian Military. Lithuanian
officials are taking great pride that there is no dedovshchina in their
country’s military, a reflection not only of Lithuanian cultural traditions but
also of concerted efforts by commanders to root out this Soviet-era evil (charter97.org/ru/news/2017/10/22/266751/).
11.
Finland
Establishes Special Ambassadorship for Hybrid Threats. To respond to the new kind of challenges the
Putin regime poses to its neighbor, Helsinki has created the position of
special ambassador for hybrid threats to cooperate with other countries in
countering them (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=59EA231D56283 and kommersant.ru/doc/3443412).
12.
Yerevan Said
Resettling Syrian Armenians in Occupied Territories. Turkish and
Azerbaijani sources are reporting that Armenia is resettling Armenians who have
fled from Syria in Karabakh and the other occupied territories (turantoday.com/2017/10/karabakh-syrian-armenians.html).
13.
Use of Russian
Will Continue to Decline Across Central Asia Unless Moscow Offers a More
Attractive Vision. A new study suggests that Russian will be
used by ever fewer Central Asians unless and until Moscow offers a more attractive
vision of the Russian world than the one now on offer (magazines.russ.ru/druzhba/2017/10/russkij-yazyk-stal-yazykom-postsovetskogo-ellinizma.html).
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