Politics
Russia-Related Top News: October 20-25
Reading Time: 5 minutesSelection of Russia-Related Events: October 20-25
ECONOMIC CRISIS SPREADS ACROSS RUSSIA … Although the Russian government has done what it could to deny or at least hide the impact of the global economic crisis on Russia, many Russians, especially those living in regions far from Moscow, are suffering and telling pollsters that they are convinced the Moscow elite is using the crisis to evade responsibility for its actions in other sectors (forum.msk.ru/material/region/542935.html#). Some regions are suffering far more than others, and a Moscow institute has now published a map of the competitiveness of regions which shows just how varied they currently are, with energy exporters in real trouble and those involved in other kinds of economic activity less so at least for the moment (www.irpex.ru/fl/).
… AS PRIESTS TELL PARISHIONERS TO IGNORE MOSCOW’S UPBEAT COVERAGE. One measure of just how serious things have become is that a number of Russian Orthodox priests, who traditionally defer to the government especially during times of crisis, are now telling their congregations to ignore the upbeat coverage offered by Moscow’s electronic media and "prepare for worse to come" (www.nr2.ru/moskow/202648.html).
ICELAND TURNS TO IMF, NOT RUSSIA, FOR AID. Reykjavik will receive six billion U.S. dollars in assistance from the International Monetary Fund for its troubled economy and not massive aid from Moscow as both Russian and western media reported last week. As a result, there is no chance that the economic crisis will push Iceland to shift sides in the geopolitical competition between the West and Russia (korrespondent.net/business/economics/621723). Russian government officials, including deputy finance minister Dmitry Pankin, denied that Russia ever discussed aid with Reykjavik, but some observers say that Russian oligarchs were quite involved, an indication of the increasing disorder at the top of the Russian economic-political heap (www.anticompromat.ru/putin/island_nt1.html).
RUSSIA’S REAL DEFENSE SPENDING NOT RISING AS FAST AS SUGGESTED. Many in Russia and the West were struck by the Russian government’s announcement that it would spend 100 billion rubles (four billion U.S. dollars) more on defense next year than on this, but a Russian analysis suggests that this increase is less than meets the eye. Much of the increase reflects inflation and the costs of building new bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia rather than on any new strategic programs (www.sobkorr.ru/news/48FC41358511F.html).
RUSSIAN CORRUPTION UP, PRESS FREEDOM DOWN. Transparency International says that corruption in Russia is higher now than at any time since Vladimir Putin became president (newsland.ru/News/Detail/id/310345/cat/44/). And Reporters sans Frontiers says that Russia now ranks 141st among the countries of the world in terms of media freedom, significantly down from the early years of this decade and just ahead of the state of media freedom in Ethiopia (babr.ru/?pt=news&event=v1&IDE=48232).
VOLGA RIVER IS DYING, EXPERTS SAY. The Volga River, which provides drinking water for four out of every ten Russians and symbolizes the country for many, is dying, experts say, the result of too many dams (eight), uncontrolled dumping of industrial wastes into its ever slower flow, and inadequate efforts at water purification. As a result, the river is not longer a real river; it is "a mutant," with all the terrible consequences that entails for the Russian people as a whole (www.runewsweek.ru/country/25533/).
MEDVEDEV PUTS NEW MAN IN CHARGE OF NEW BODY FOR RELATIONS WITH CIS, COMPATRIOTS. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has named Farit Mukhametshin, a 61-year-old Tatar who currently serves as Moscow’s ambassador to Uzbekistan to organize and then head the new Federal Agency for the Affairs of the CIS, Compatriots and International Humanitarian Assistance that will bring together a wide variety of government programs. His selection was surprising as many people, including Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, reportedly wanted the position (www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=1044453&NodesID=5).
MOSCOW PLANS RUSSIAN INSTITUTES IN ISRAEL, ITALY, TURKEY, GREECE. The Academy of Sciences, Moscow State University, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society have created a new Russian Historical Institute to coordinate research abroad on Russian topics and announced plans to open branches in Jerusalem, Venice, Istanbul, and Athens. The organizers said that their model was the Russian Archeological Institute in Constantinople which functioned from 1894 to 1914 and the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society which has operated for more than a century (www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/477631.html).
RUSSIAN DISTRICT COURT AGAIN REFUSES TO REHABILITATE KATYN VICTIMS. The same district court that earlier refused to consider whether the Polish officers executed by Stalin and then was ordered by an appellate court to do just that has now held a hearing and again rejected the relief those who brought the case sought. The court did not give its reasons, but it did note that prosecutors had assembled more than 183 volumes of testimony, of which 116 contain "secret" materials about the case (www.gzt.ru/politics/2008/10/24/170041.html).
STALIN NOW ON ICONS, KOLCHAK SOON TO BE ON MOSCOW MAPS? Some Russian Orthodox icon painters are now putting the image of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin on their products (www.rusk.ru/newsdata.php?idar=179276). And at the same time, some groups are seeking to have a Moscow street named for White Russian leaders Admiral Kolchak and General Kappel (www.rusk.ru/newsdata.php?idar=179267).
PUTIN’S ‘NEOCONS’ PUSH ‘SOCIAL CONSERVATIVISM.’ An article in Italy’s "Panorama" magazine identifies Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov, Eurasianist Aleksandr Dugin, and commentator Vitaly Tretyakov as Vladimir Putin’s "neocons," advisors who it says – and some Russian writers agree – seek to impose a new "social conservatism" on the next generation (evrazia.info/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4116&PHPSESSID=33215ef9a06d191fe3aabffba846128a and www.nr2.ru/policy/202302.html).
MOSCOW’S REP IN PARIS INSISTS SHE WAS ‘NEVER A STALINIST.’ Historian Natalya Narochnitskaya, who heads the Russian institute in Paris intended to challenge Europeans on human rights questions and is the author of "What Remains from Our Victory?" about World War II, says that she was "never a Stalinist" but sees the Soviet leader as having played an important role in defeating Hitler and thus worthy of continued admiration whatever else he did (www.rusk.ru/newsdata.php?idar=179059). Meanwhile, a Muslim woman has responded to Narochnitskaya’s earlier essay, "A Letter to Muslim Friend," by pointing out how many historical mistakes the Russian historian and activist has made there and elsewhere (www.islamcom.ru/material.php?id=687 and www.pravoslavie.ru/jurnal/051220214749.htm).
PUTIN’S VISIT TO GROZNY MOSQUE UPSETS SOME CHECHENS. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to the new mosque in Grozny has infuriated some Chechens who remember what he said about and did to Chechens in 1999 and thereafter (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/newstext/news/id/1231561.html). But Chechens who feel that way did get one form of revenge: Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has decided to name a street in his capital after Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov, one of the most anti-Soviet and anti-Russian writers about the nationality question in the North Caucasus (www.caucasustimes.com/article.asp?id=17368 and chechenasso.ru/index.html?&show_news=633).
JAMAAT SHARIAT SITE IN DAGHESTAN GETTING MORE VISITS THAN REPUBLIC GOVERNMENT ONES. The Jamaat Shariat website in Daghestan marked its 18th month of activity by pointing out that it has had 1.5 million visits over that period, far more than the official sites of the Daghestani government (www.jamaatshariat.com/content/view/889/34/). That report helps explain why the Russian military has set up an internet intelligence section (www.interfax.ru/news.asp?id=41336).
RUSSIANS UNCOMFORTABLE AT HUNGARIAN RECEPTION IN MEMORY OF 1956 EVENTS. Russian officials who attended a reception at the Hungarian consulate general in St. Petersburg on the 52nd anniversary of the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolution in 1956 appeared uncomfortable, Ingria.info reported, while those Russians who had served time in the GULAG for opposing that Moscow action and others were entirely comfortable, the site said (www.ingria.info/?lenta&news_action=show_news&news_id=4192).
MOSCOW’S SOLUTION TO FALL TIME CHANGE: SLOW TRAINS SO THEY ARRIVE ‘ON TIME.’ The Russian government has come up with a novel solution to the scheduling problems that seasonal time changes invariably involve: It has ordered long distance trains to slow down so that they will arrive in Moscow at the precise time they are scheduled, even though that is in fact one hour later than they should have entered the stations of the Russian capital (www.annews.ru/news/detail.php?ID=170583).
A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.
International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.
Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.
Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.
Is it Moldova?
First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.
At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”
What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.
“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.
Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.
Is it a victory?
In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.
Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.
“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”
Is it only about football?
FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.
The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.
Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.
Photo: unknown
Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu, pay an official visit to Brussels, between September 27-28, being invited by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles.
Today, Prime Minister had a meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Moldovan PM thanked the senior European official for the support of the institution in strengthening democratic processes, reforming the judiciary and state institutions, economic recovery and job creation, as well as increasing citizens’ welfare. Natalia Gavrilita expressed her confidence that the current visit laid the foundations for boosting relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, so that, in the next period, it would be possible to advance high-level dialogues on security, justice and energy. Officials also exchanged views on priorities for the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in December.
“The EU is open to continue to support the Republic of Moldova and the ambitious reform agenda it proposes. Moldova is an important and priority partner for us,” said Charles Michel.
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita also met with Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, expressing her gratitude for the support received through the OMNIBUS macro-financial assistance program. The two officials discussed the need to advance the recovery of money from bank fraud, to strengthen sustainable mechanisms for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova, and to standardize the customs and taxes as one of the main conditions for deepening cooperation with the EU in this field.
Additionally, Prime Minister spoke about the importance of the Eastern Partnership and the Deep Free Trade Agreement, noting that the Government’s policies are aimed at developing an economic model aligned with the European economic model, focused on digitalization, energy efficiency and the green economy.
A common press release of the Moldovan Prime Minister with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, took place today, where the agenda of Moldova’s reforms and the main priorities to focus on in the coming months were presented: judiciary reform; fighting COVID-19 pandemic; promoting economic recovery and conditions for growth and job creation; strengthening state institutions and resilience of the country.
“I am here to relaunch the dialogue between my country and the European Union. Our partnership is strong, but I believe there is room for even deeper cooperation and stronger political, economic and sectoral ties. I am convinced that this partnership is the key to the prosperity of our country and I hope that we will continue to strengthen cooperation.”
The Moldovan delegation met Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Tomorrow, there are scheduled common meetings with Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport and Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.
Prime Minister will also attend a public event, along with Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.
Photo: gov.md
Politics
Promo-LEX about Maia Sandu’s UN speech: The president must insist on appointing a rapporteur to monitor the situation of human rights in Transnistria
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to New York, USA, between September 21-22. There, she participates in the work of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a press release of the President’s Office, the official will deliver a speech at the tribune of the United Nations.
In this context, the Promo-LEX Association suggested the president to request the appointment of a special rapporteur in order to monitor the situation of human rights in the Transnistrian region. According to Promo-LEX, the responsibility for human rights violations in the Transnistrian region arises as a result of the Russian Federation’s military, economic and political control over the Tiraspol regime.
“We consider it imperative to insist on the observance of the international commitments assumed by the Russian Federation regarding the withdrawal of the armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the country,” the representatives of Promo-LEX stated. They consider the speech before the UN an opportunity “to demand the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Russian Federation with reference to this territory which is in its full control.”
“It is important to remember about the numerous cases of murder, torture, ill-treatment, forced enlistment in illegal military structures, the application of pseudo-justice in the Transnistrian region, all carried out under the tacit agreement of the Russian Federation. These findings stem from dozens of rulings and decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Russia is responsible for human rights violations in the region.”
The association representatives expressed their hope that the president of the country would give priority to issues related to the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region and would call on relevant international actors to contribute to guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms throughout Moldova.
They asked Maia Sandu to insist on the observance of the obligation to evacuate the ammunition and the military units of the Russian Federation from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, to publicly support the need for the Russian Federation to implement the ECtHR rulings on human rights violations in the Transnistrian region, and to request the appointment of an UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.
**
The Promo-LEX Association concluded that 14 out of 25 actions planned within the National Action Plan for the years 2018–2022 concerning respecting human rights in Transnistria were not carried out by the responsible authorities.
The association expressed its concern and mentioned that there are a large number of delays in the planned results. “There is a lack of communication and coordination between the designated institutions, which do not yet have a common vision of interaction for the implementation of the plan.”
Promo-LEX requested the Government of the Republic of Moldova to re-assess the reported activities and to take urgent measures, “which would exclude superficial implementation of future activities and increase the level of accountability of the authorities.”
Photo: peacekeeping.un.org
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