Paul Goble
Staunton, July 30 – Below are 26 more stories from Russia this week that deserve to be noted because they shed significant light on Russia, its government and its people, but that I was unable to write up as full-scale Windows:
1. Russian Growth Figures in 2021 Look Good Because Last Year was So Bad. Russian government figures showing impressive gains in per capita income and business operations over a year ago are the result of just how bad both were in the pandemic year. They thus fail to capture continuing declines in both (capost.media/news/ekonomika/realnye-dokhody-rossiyan-vyrosli-vpervye-s-nachala-pandemii/, ehorussia.com/new/node/23966 and newizv.ru/article/general/28-07-2021/out-off-business-pochemu-za-pervye-polgoda-v-rossii-zakrylos-bolee-polumilliona-ip).
2. Soviet Nuclear Sub to Make Last Voyage through Russia’s Rivers and Canals. Moscow has ordered the last Soviet-era nuclear submarine to make its final voyage through the country’s extensive internal river and canal system, a sign of just how important that transportation network remains (thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2021/07/final-voyage-soviets-first-nuclear-sub-will-be-inner-waterways-0).
3. Scholars and Journalists React Angrily to FSB Ban on Criticism of Roskosmos. Russian journalists and scholarly investigators have denounced an FSB plan to ban almost all coverage of the Russian space program and have pointed out that without media monitoring, the situation in that sector will only get worse (znak.com/2021-07-29/uchenye_raskritikovali_proekt_prikaza_fsb_kotoryy_zaprechaet_kritikovat_roskosmos).
4. Russia Begins Construction of New Doomsday Plane. Moscow has announced that it is building a replacement of its so-called “doomsday plane” from which Russian leaders would operate in the event of a nuclear war (znak.com/2021-07-26/v_rossii_nachalos_sozdanie_novogo_samoleta_sudnogo_dnya).
5. Kremlin Believes in Shamanism and Magic. By its attacks on Sakha Shaman Aleksandr Gabyshev, the Russian government has demonstrated that it believes in the power of shamanism, one commentator says. Another suggests that magical and superstitious thinking governs much of leadership decision making in Russia today (rosbalt.ru/posts/2021/07/27/1913191.html and rosbalt.ru/posts/2021/07/26/1912947.html).
6. Moscow Promotes Militarism among Youth to Prevent Them from Wanting Freedom. The reason the Russian government is increasingly militarizing education, opposition politician Leonid Gozman says, is to ensure that young people do not get a taste of freedom that might lead them to protest against the repressive regime (rosbalt.ru/posts/2021/07/27/1913145.html).
7. Equipment in Russian Factories Averages 10 Years of Age. Between 2008 and 2018, the average age of equipment in Russian factories fell from 13.4 years to 10 but there has been no further decline in the last three, the HSE reports (iq.hse.ru/news/480903788.html).
8. The Oligarchs Vanish and So Too Do Ukrainian Athletes. In Soviet times, political changes often required that disgraced officials be whited out from pictures, as David King described in his 1997 classic, The Commissar Vanishes. Now, a book about Putin’s entourage has eliminated pictures and stories about two oligarchs who are no longer in good odor in much the same way (znak.com/2021-07-29/iz_knigi_lyudi_putina_udalyat_otsylki_k_svyazyam_avena_i_fridmana_s_kgb). In a similar fashion, Russian television turned away from the action when the Ukrainian flag and team appeared at the Tokyo Olympics (rusmonitor.com/olga-kortunova-nenavistnyj-odin-narod.html).
9. Man without Hands Accused of Clawing Russian Police. Some charges are less credible than others. One that has no credibility at all is a new court case against a Russian man without hands who has been charged with clawing policemen there (https://doshdu.com/bezrukij-obshhestvennik-iz-kbr-obvinjaemyj-v-izbienii-policejskih-rasskazal-o-fabrikacii-ugolovnogo-dela/).
10. Moscow Specialist on China Says US and China will Divide Russia into Spheres of Influence. Andrey Devyatov, a prominent Russian sinologist who used to work in the GRU, says that China and the United States will divide up Russia into separate spheres of influence (business-gazeta.ru/article/515396).
11. New BAM Railroad Tunnel Took Seven Years and 2.1 Billion Rubles to Build. The challenges Moscow faces in improving rail links to the Far East have been highlighted by reports concerning a new tunnel on the BAM. It took seven years to build and cost 2.1 billion rubles (30 million US dollars), and it is only one of many that must be built to expand that line (k-politika.ru/bam-lishili-glavnogo-sovetskogo-nedostatka/).
12. Last August 1991 Coup Plotter Dies. Oleg Baklanov, who had been the only surviving member of the State Committee that tried to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev and save the USSR in August 1991 has passed away (echo.msk.ru/blog/serpompo2018/2879042-echo/).
13. Number of Working Pensions has Fallen from 15 to Nine Million over Last Five Years. The increase in retirement age and economic problems has resulted in a decline in the number of pensioners who continue to work from 15 million in 2017 to nine million now, the Russian government reports (ura.news/news/1052496708).
14. ‘No Persons of Buryat Nationality Admitted.’ A hotel in the Transbaikal has posted a sign declaring that no person of “Buryat nationality” will be given a room, a reflection of coronavirus concerns and an indication of just how close to the surface ethnic hostilities are (nazaccent.ru/content/36265-lyudej-buryatskoj-nacionalnosti-ne-puskaem-mvd.html). In a related development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insists that Russian law applies equally to all residents without regard to their ethnicity "(nazaccent.ru/content/36277-peskov-rossijskie-zakony-rasprostranyayutsya-na-vseh.html).
15. Russians who Dye Their Hair or Get Tattoos Treated ‘Worse than in Soviet Times.’ Young people who choose to dye their hair or get tattoos find they are subject to more hostility from their elders than was even the case in Soviet times, some of them say (idelreal.org/a/31362669.html).
16. More than 3,000 Turkish Firms Operating in Russia. Turkish firms have now opened more than 3,000 branches in the Russian Federation, a reflection of cooperation between the two countries and something that offers each leverage against the other (trtrussian.com/novosti-rossiya/vice-premer-rf-novak-v-rossii-rabotaet-bolee-3-tysyach-tureckih-predpriyatij-6189267).
17. Putin Says 10 Percent of Russian School Buildings Need Repair. Vladimir Putin says that approximately 10 percent of all school buildings in Russia need repairs but that less than one percent are near collapse (apn-spb.ru/opinions/article33736.htm). But in Moscow, his preference for school consolidation means that ever more students there attend large schools but in shifts rather than within normal time frames (newizv.ru/news/society/01-08-2021/gigantomaniya-i-vtoraya-smena-bezdumnaya-zastroyka-moskvy-privela-k-defitsitu-shkol).
18. Shiyes Protest Leader Wins Election to Head Muncipality in Arkhangelsk. Sergey Yakimov, one of the leaders of the protests against Moscow’s plans to build a dump in the North, has won election as head of a municipality in Arkhangelsk Oblast, another sign of the declining fortunes of United Russia and Vladimir Putin (sovross.ru/articles/2151/53002, rfi.fr/ru/россия/20210730-левада-центр-рейтинг-доверия-президенту-путину-снизился-до-31 and rusmonitor.com/rejting-edinoj-rossii-v-moskve-15-vybory-v-stolicze-mogut-stat-provalom-dlya-partii-vlasti.html).
19. Moscow Oblast Residents Want Referendum to Restrict Jet Noise. Residents of Moscow Oblast is pushing for a referendum that would restrict the overflight of noisy jets there. They say the planes are too noisy and too low and should be routed away from residential areas (mbk-news.appspot.com/suzhet/referendum-o-zaprete-poletov-nad-domami/).
20. Khakasiya Runs Out of Money to Pay Its Bills. Just how difficult regions are finding it given the unfunded liabilities Moscow has imposed on them is highlighted by the situation in Khakasiya where officials have stopped paying their bills because they don’t have any money left (finanz.ru/novosti/aktsii/khakasiya-paralizovana-regionalnoe-pravitelstvo-ostanovilo-vse-platezhi-1030671281).
21. Pyramid Schemes Return to Russia with a Vengeance. In the 1990s, many Russians suffered from pyramid schemes. Now, such scams have returned, with the Central Bank saying that 146 of them are now operating in that country (krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/86907).
22. New Russian Law Opens the Way for Hunting Endangered Species. Under the terms of a law that goes into effect in August, some select Russians will be allowed to hunt animals on the endangered species list, a bow to elites who in many cases have already been doing that (sobkorr.org/news/6106AA643557D.html).
23. Sobyanin Says Absence of Migrant Workers Causing Inflation. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin opines that declines in the number of migrant workers, who toil for minimal wages, is a major cause of inflation in Russia (ura.news/news/1052497021).
24. Russian Women Said to Need Separate Subway Cars for Their Own Protection. St. Petersburg Social Chamber leader Vladimir Petrov is pushing for the establishment of special cars on Russian subways for women only. He says this step is necessary to protect them from harassment (mk.ru/social/2021/07/28/nasilniki-von-v-rossii-mozhet-poyavitsya-metro-tolko-dlya-zhenshhin.html).
25. 50 Million Russians have Taken Vacation Trips So Far in 2021. Pent-up demand from the pandemic year has prompted some 50 million Russians to travel this summer (sovsekretno.ru/news/pochti-50-mln-rossiyan-puteshestvovali-po-rossii-v-pervom-polugodii-2021-goda/).
26. US Embassy in Moscow Loses 182 Russian Employees. By Vladimir Putin’s order, 182 Russian citizens who had been working at the US embassy in Moscow have left their positions, forcing American diplomats to scramble to perform their jobs (svobodaradio.livejournal.com/5691478.html).
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