Russia in Review

I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda.

Nuclear security:

Russia and the United States have removed from Antarctica the "dirty bomb" components — radioactive elements from autonomously operating equipment. They are not protected and could get into the hands of terrorist, head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition Valery Lukin said. (Tass, 11.18.15).
Head of Rosatom’s department for state policy in the sphere of radioactive waster Oleg Kryukov believes his company will retrieve all of the spent nuclear fuel from a former naval base at the Andreeva Guba bay in Russia’s Kola peninsular by 2021. (Tass,11.17.15).
The Russian government has approved a federal program on nuclear and radioactive safety that will run through 2020 and cost 560 billion rubles. Russia also plans to shut down a number of nuclear facilities in the near future, according to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Sergei Kirienko, head of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, noted that Russia’s first Federal Target Program for Nuclear and Radiation Safety had reached all of its goals and then some. He also offered words of thanks to NGOs and foreign partners for their assistance in identifying and liquidating the Soviet Cold War nuclear legacy. (Interfax, 11.16.15, 11.17.15, Bellona, 11.20.15).
Russia has almost entirely rid itself of more than 1,000 small radioactive power sources that have for nearly half a century powered navigational beacons, lighthouses and meteorological outposts along its arctic coasts and deep in its hinterlands, a division of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has said. (Bellona, 11.12.15).

Iran nuclear issues:

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a visit to Tehran Monday, the Kremlin said. (AFP, 11.20.15).

NATO-Russia relations:

In Russia, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said the U.S. hasn’t been as concerned with Moscow since the Cold War. “We are making adjustments in our own investments, in our own posture to take into account Russian moves and make sure we stay ahead,” he said, such as positioning heavy equipment in countries surrounding it and strengthening NATO’s posture. He added: “This is a new playbook.” (Wall Street Journal, 11.17.15).
Bernie Sanders wants a new NATO -- and he wants Russia to be part of it. In a lengthy speech to a jam-packed house at Georgetown University this afternoon, the U.S. senator and presidential candidate called for the creation of a new multi-nation organization to fight global extremism. (Daily Beast, 11.20.15).

Missile defense:

No significant developments.

Nuclear arms control:

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia’s recent disclosure of a nuclear-armed underwater drone submarine was a deliberate leak, according to analysis of Russian video news reports and official Moscow statements. (Free Beacon, 11.19.15).

Counter-terrorism:

G20 leaders have vowed to do more to share intelligence, cut off funding to terrorists, and strengthen border security in Europe in the wake of the deadly terror attacks in Paris. U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States would intensify its campaign of air strikes and arming and training moderate forces. And he called on other nations to step up their involvement in the fight against the extremists. Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the need to cut off the Islamic State's ability to generate revenue through oil smuggling. Putin cited Russian information that Islamic State was receiving financing from 40 countries -- including members of the G-20. (Wall Street Journal, 11.17.15, RFE/RL, 11.16.15).
A senior Obama administration official cautioned that nothing of substance in the U.S.-Russian relations has changed after the U.S.-Russian presidential meeting on sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday, and that there was nothing on the table now to suggest that the two countries could join forces in Syria in a meaningful way. However, John Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, raised the prospect on Monday of closer counter-terrorism cooperation, saying he had had “several conversations with one of my Russia counterparts over the past several weeks" on the topic. (Wall Street Journal, 11.16.15).
The Kremlin believes that the forthcoming visit of French President Francois Hollande to Washington and Moscow as a step towards creation of anti-terrorist coalition, Russian Presidential aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Hollande in Moscow on Nov. 26 to discuss fighting against terrorism and Syrian crisis, Ushakov said. Ahead of his visits to U.S. and Russia Hollande has called for “grand and single coalition" to combat Islamic State. The Russian Defense Ministry said on November 19 that Russia's chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov discussed with his French counterpart, Pierre de Villiers, "the coordination of military troops' actions against IS terrorists in Syria." (RFE/RL, 11.19.15, Wall Street Journal, 11.17.15, Reuters, 11.19.15).
“We must fight terrorism all together and the challenge to combat against terrorism would need joint, coordinated, and truly concerted action,” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in his remarks at the APEC summit in Manila. (RBTH, 11.20.15).
Russia's parliament backed a sweeping overhaul of national security, including possibly expanding the powers of the country's intelligence services. In a rare meeting of chambers of parliament on Friday, deputies, senators adopted a resolution calling for tougher penalties for terrorists, stricter public security measures and new action to combat extremism. (Reuters, 11.20.15).
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday outlining the launch of an inter-departmental commission that would counter the financing of terrorism, the Kommersant newspaper reported. (MT, 11.18.15).
Three Russian employees of the Volga-Dnepr airlines have been rescued from the Radisson Blue hotel, which suspected Islamists have captured in Mali. At least six Americans are among the hostages (Gazeta.ru, NPR, 11.20.15).
Law enforcement officials estimate that there are at least 2,000 fighters from the Caucasus among up to 7,000 recruits from Russia and the former Soviet Union now in Syria and Iraq. Nearly 500 Chechens have joined the IS terrorist organization and of these 200 have been killed, according to Chechen president Ramazan Kadyrov. According to Russian deputy foreign minister Oleg Syromolotov, however, a total 160 Russian nationals fighting for the IS extremist group have been killed in Syria. To date there is scarce evidence of blowback in the Caucasus, however. In Dagestan in 2015, for example, only 95 people died violently through September, compared with 208 in 2014 and 413 in 2011, according to the Caucasian Knot website, which tracks the conflict (New York Times, 11.20.15, RFE/RL, 11.19.15).
A court in the Russian region of Tatarstan has sentenced a man to six years in a prison colony for serving as an Islamic State fighter and sentry in Syria and Iraq. The Chally City Court on November 19 found Mikhail Golovenko guilty of taking part in an illegal armed group. (RFE/RL, 11.19.15).
After hedging for 17 days, Russian officials acknowledged on Tuesday that the passenger jet had been downed by a bomb. The bomb contained up to 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of TNT, Mr. Bortnikov said, adding that “foreign made” explosive material was found on parts of the plane and other objects that were examined. Russia has offered $50 million for any information leading to the capture of those who carried out the attack, and President Vladimir V. Putin vowed to track them down. “To forgive the terrorists is up to god, to send them to him is up to me,” Putin said. The bomb may have been revenge for Russia's involvement in the anti-Islamic State campaign in Syria, the head of the Foreign Ministry's department of new challenges and threats said. The Islamic State group's official magazine has posted a photo of what it says was the improvised bomb used to bring down the plane. (Fox News, 11.17.15, New York Times, 11.17.15, RFE/RL, 11.18.15, (MT, 11.20.15).
U.S. air-safety experts expect to have only a limited role, focused strictly on engine-related technical issues, as they assist the Egypt-led probe into the crash of a Russian jet in the Sinai Peninsula two weeks ago, according to a senior U.S. accident investigator. (Wall Street Journal, 11.13.15).
Egyptian authorities have detained two Sharm el-Sheikh Airport employees in connection with the downing of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai Peninsula. (Moscow Times, 11.17.15).
The Ukrainian military has denied knowledge of how its weapons made it into the hands of Islamic State terrorists. Lebanese citizen Osama Khayat, who was arrested this week in Kuwait with other suspects, said he purchased arms in Ukraine that were meant to be delivered to the militant group in Syria via smuggling routes in Turkey. (IBTimes, 11.20.15).
The body of Russian woman Natalya Muravyova who went missing after Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris was identified by her husband on Tuesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said. (MT, 11.18.15)
Authorities in southern Kyrgyzstan have detained a 19-year-old man suspected of recruiting fighters for the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. Kyrgyzstan says up to 500 of its citizens might be fighting with extremist militants in Syria and Iraq. (RFE/RL, 11.16.15).
A court in Uzbekistan has sentenced a young Uzbek man to 13 years in jail on charges of fighting alongside Islamic State militants in Syria. Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court said on November 13 that 23-year-old Muhammad Abdullaev pleaded guilty and confessed that he had been recruited in Astrakhan, Russia, in 2013 by IS supporters who sent him to Syria via Azerbaijan and Turkey. (RFE/RL, 11.13.15).
Also see section for Syria.

Cyber security:

The Group of 20 pledged on Monday or the first time not to conduct cyber economic espionage. The agreement reached at conference in Antalya, Turkey, marks the first major, high-level international consensus aimed at reducing tensions in cyberspace. The leaders also affirmed that international law applies to cyberspace. (Washington Post, 11.17.15).
Islamic State militants used Telegram two weeks ago to claim responsibility for the downing of a Russian jet over the Sinai Peninsula that killed 224 people, and used it again over the weekend to declare they were behind the Paris carnage — all while hiding the identity of the sender. We were disturbed to learn that Telegram's public channels were being used by ISIS [alternative name for IS] to spread their propaganda," said a statement from Telegram, which was set up in 2013 by two Russian brothers, Pavel and Nikolai Durov. (New York Times, BBC, 11.17.15).
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed an order banning the use of all foreign produced software in state and municipal agencies. Exceptions are only allowed in cases when there are no Russian-made analogues to foreign computer programs. (Russia Today, 11.20.15).

Energy exports from CIS:

Russia plans to squeeze all the oil it can from Soviet-era discoveries to hold crude output stable for the next two decades as new finds are delayed by sanctions and slumping prices, according to the Energy Ministry. (Wall Street Journal, 11.17.15).
Oil prices briefly dropped below $40 a barrel before settling above that level as the dollar pared gains. Producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia are pumping at full tilt, and U.S. output hasn't declined as much as some investors had expected earlier this year (Wall Street Journal, 11.19.15).

Bilateral economic ties:

At the end of the period between the second half of 2014 and the first half of 2015, the share of U.S. brands accounted for 64 percent of the new outlets opened in Russia, according to a study carried out by the company Magazin Magazinov. The share of the United States' nearest rivals (Sweden and Spain) accounted for only 8 percent. (RBTH/Gazeta.ru, 11.16.15).

Other bilateral issues:

Yury Melnik, head of public affairs for the Russian Embassy, said officials there watched Tuesday night's Republican debate, where Russia was invoked 16 times and President Vladimir Putin's name was mentioned 12 times, often disparagingly. "It is regretful that the anti-Russian rhetoric has become part of stump speeches for many candidates," Mr. Melnik said. (Wall Street Journal, 11.14.15).
Also see section on Syria.

II. Russia news.

Domestic politics, economy and energy:

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Monday denied reports Russia was considering a travel ban to EU countries in the wake of terrorist attacks in France's capital Paris on Friday night. The statement made by Maria Zakharova seemed to contradict earlier media reports in which the deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov was cited as hinting that travel restrictions were being considered. (MT, 11.16.15).
More than 25,000 bank employees were laid off in the first nine months of this year by major Russian retail lenders struggling to weather an economic slump. (MT, 11.19.15).
The head of the Russian Athletics Federation said on Sunday he hoped to restore Russia's membership in track and field's international federation within three months to allow the country's athletes to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics. (Wall Street Journal, 11.15.15).
Slain Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov has been posthumously honored with a new human rights award named for Sergei Magnitsky. (RFE/RL, 11.18.15)

Defense:

On November 17, 2015 the Air and Space Forces of Russia successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1b launcher from the launch pad No. 4 of the launch complex No. 43 of the Plesetsk site. The satellite is believed to be the first Tundra spacecraft of the new early-warning system, known as EKS. (Russianforces.org, 11.17.15).
On November 17, 2015 the Strategic Rocket Forces carried out a successful launch of a Topol/SS-25 missile from the Kapustin Yar test site. According to the official statement, the purpose of the launch was "to test new combat payload for future ICBMs." (Russianforces.org, 11.17.15).
Russian military engineers have developed devices that allow seeing through walls. One of them weighs only 0.6 kg and can see through the walls from the distance of 14 meters. The second wall-see-through-scanner is heavier (4.5 kg) but one could use it from the distance of 20 meters, RG said. (Sputnik, 11.20.15).

Security, law-enforcement and justice:

A Moscow court has sentenced a physicist to nine years in prison on charges of high treason. The Moscow City Court found Maksim Lyudomirsky guilty on November 18 and sentenced him the same day. (RFE/RL, 11.18.15)

Foreign affairs and trade:

Syria:
- On Tuesday U.S. defense officials said Russia had begun an aggressive air campaign against sites in Raqqa, Islamic State stronghold . The Russians used sea-launched cruise missiles and long-range bombers to target Islamic State in Raqqa. The Russian strategic bombers’ raid on the Daesh targets marked not only the combat debut of the Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack, but of stealthy new Russian cruise missile Kh-101.On Thursday Russian strategic bombers fired a salvo of cruise missiles at targets in Syria, destroying Islamic State command centers and several oil and weapons facilities, the Defense Ministry said. Tu-95M3 strategic bombers launched 12 cruise missiles against targets near Aleppo and Idlib in Syria on Thursday morning, and a group of Tu-22M3 bombers conducted intensive raids hours later near Raqqa and Deir-Ez-Zur. Russia shifted its air campaign in an effort to mimic the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition's recent offensive to target ISIS-run oil and natural gas infrastructure from November 18-19. On Friday Russian warships from the Caspian flotilla have launched 18 cruise missiles on terrorist targets in Syria. (Institute for Study of War, 11.20.15, MT, 10.20.15. Sputnik, 11.20.15, National Interest, 11.19.15, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, 11.17.15).
- Spotted by a Russian military blogger, a map by the Russian military apparently showed that several 152mm howitzers of the 120th Artillery Brigade based in the Kemerovo region are deployed close to the Syrian town of Sadad, some 60 kilometers south of Homs. Asked about the map, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Russian troops were not taking part in ground operations. (RFE/RL, 11.19.15).
- More than 1,300 people, around two-thirds of them combatants, have been killed in Russian air strikes in Syria since Moscow's aerial campaign began on September 30, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The NGO said 381 IS fighters had been killed, along with 547 militants from Al-Nusra Front and other rebel forces. The strikes also killed 403 civilians, including 97 children, according to the monitor. (AFP, 11.20.15).
- Turkey says it has summoned Russia's ambassador in protest at the "intensive" bombing of Turkoman villages in northern Syria by Russian jets. (RFE/RL, 11.20.15).
- U.S. President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Sunday for about half an hour on the sidelines of the two-day Group of 20 summit. The two leaders agreed to support a cease-fire in Syria, followed by U.N.-led negotiations between the regime and opposition forces. The Russian leader said the U.S. appeared to be changing its stance on a partnership with Russia in the fight against Islamic State. “We must now look ahead, we must unite our efforts in the fight against a common threat," Mr. Putin said. American officials described the conversation between the U.S. and Russian leaders as ''constructive'' , but Russian officials described the meeting in less glowing terms, saying that Mr. Obama and Mr. Putin remained at odds over how to achieve those goals. ''The strategic goals concerning the battle with ISIS, in principle they are very close to each other,'' Yuri V. Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Mr. Putin, told reporters. ''But on tactics, the two sides are currently diverging.'' (Wall Street Journal, 11.17.15, Wall Street Journal, 11.17.15, Washington Post, 11.17.15, New York Times, 11.16.15).
- U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that if Russia shifts its military strategy in Syria to focus on Islamic State, the U.S. would welcome cooperation with Moscow on an intensified military campaign. In separate remarks Obama said Iran and Russia “are going to have to make a fundamental decision: Do they actually believe that they can prop up Assad and win on the ground militarily inside Syria against all the opposition, or do they actually think that it is better to save the Syrian state and work with the international community and the U.N. to find a government that truly can be legitimate?" (Wall Street Journal, 11.19.15, Wall Street Journal, 11.17.15).
- The United States, France and Russia must step up their coordination in striking the Islamic State in Syria after the Paris terrorist attacks, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday, but he insisted that cooperation cannot begin until there is a cease-fire and a political transition. (New York Times, 11.17.15).
- The United States and its coalition seem to be sparing the Islamic State organization so that while it weakens Syrian President Bashar Assad, it can never take power in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. “It looks like a cat that wants to eat a fish but doesn’t want to wet its feet. They want the Islamic State to weaken Assad as soon as possible to force him to step down this or that way but they don’t want to see Islamic State strong enough to take power." (Tass, 11.17.15).
- United States officials fear that any information they shared with Moscow about American-supported opposition groups would be used by the Russians or Mr. Assad to target them.(New York Times, 11.17.15).
- The Obama administration and European and Arab allies are seeking to peel Russia away from its alliance with Iran, a partnership that has bolstered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said senior diplomats involved in efforts to end Syria's lengthy conflict. (Wall Street Journal, 11.18.15).
- “For a political solution in Syria, Moscow is key," Jordan's King Abdullah II said in an interview with Euronews last week. “They are the ones that can give the guarantees to the regime that they have a stake in the future." (Wall Street Journal, 11.17.15).

Other countries:

European Union officials say that there is little appetite in key capitals, including Berlin, London and Paris, to win Russian help in Syria by abandoning Ukraine. EU leaders are expected to discuss the Russia sanctions at their mid-December summit unless the issue is resolved before then, as happened in June. Any decision must be backed by all 28 member states. Officials say three options are being floated: extending the sanctions again by another six months, a one-year rollover or a shorter three-to-four month extension to signal to Moscow the bloc’s recognition of some concessions over Ukraine. (Wall Street Journal, 11.19.15).
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, suggesting closer trade ties between the 28-nation EU and a Russian-led economic bloc once a ceasefire is implemented in Ukraine. (Reuters, 11.19.15).
The Kremlin confirmed that Vladimir Putin will take part in a key climate conference in Paris on November 30 and will meet Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu for talks on the sidelines of the event. (AFP, 11.20.15).
Despite earlier reports in the Russian press that Vladimir Putin could host the Saudi Arabia's King Salman in Russia for a meeting soon, Ushakov said that the two sides were eyeing a possible date next year after the leaders spoke at the G20 summit in Turkey. (AFP, 11.20.15).
Russia and China have reportedly signed a deal for Beijing to buy 24 Su-35 fighter jets worth $2 billion. (RFE/RL, Kommersant, 11.19.15).
Russia may deliver a large batch of Sukhoi Superjet aircraft to Iran before 2020, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel on Thursday. (Interfax, 11.19.15).
The volume of trade between Japan and Russia in the first 10 months of 2015 decreased by 38 percent due to low oil prices. Bilateral trade between Russia and Japan in the first 10 months of 2015 stood at $17.7 billion, compared to $28.3 billion in the same period in 2014, according to the report. (RBTH, 11.20.15).
Russia does not consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Bogdanov said Hezbollah and Hamas had both been democratically elected and were “legitimate societal-political forces.” (Moscow Times, 11.16.15).
Moscow and Cairo signed an agreement on Thursday for Russia to build a nuclear power plant in Egypt, with Russia extending a loan to Egypt to cover the cost of construction. The plant would be built at Dabaa in the north of the country and was expected to be completed by 2022. (Reuters, 11.19.15).
The European Commission is reportedly striking down a project to build two new reactors for Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant in a deal awarded to Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. (Bellona, 11.18.15).
Russia is demanding that Lebanon suspend flights in and out of Beirut's international airport for three days, effectively shutting down all commercial flights in and out of the country from Saturday to Monday. (Vox, 11.20.15).

Russia's neighbors:

Ukraine:
- Russia says it intends to ban imports of Ukrainian food starting next year. The move announced Wednesday by Alexei Ulyukayev, the economic development minister, could deal a considerable blow to the economy of Ukraine, which is already struggling from the fight with Russia-backed separatists in its eastern regions. (AP, 11.18.15).
- Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has rejected Russia's restructuring proposal for the repayment of Kiev's Eurobond debt. Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed this week that Ukraine pay down its Eurobond debt in installments of $1 billion, starting in 2016. Russia is waiting for the International Monetary Fund to respond to its proposal to change the terms on the debt. The countdown is on for the Dec. 8 deadline given by Russia after it offered to change the terms and spread out payments by Ukraine over the next three years. (MT, 10.20.15, Bloomberg, 11.20.15).
- Ukraine will receive a third billion-dollar loan guarantee from the U.S. in the coming months as it continues to stick to a tough reform agenda, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a visit to Kiev on Friday. (Wall Street Journal, 11.13.15).
- Five Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours in fighting in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said Saturday, its highest death toll since a fragile cease-fire with pro-Russian separatists began two months ago. “This is the highest death toll within the past two months,” said a Ukrainian military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko. “All losses are related to the combat clashes with sabotage groups.” (Reuters, 11.15.15).
- The Ukrainian military says one of its servicemen has been killed in the country's east. Army spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said on November 15 that the soldier was killed and eight others wounded after shelling some 10 kilometers north of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. (RFE/RL, 11.15.15).
- Ukraine's military says it will be "forced to return artillery and mortars" to its eastern front line if fighting in the country's east escalates further. Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko made the comments on November 16 as fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists intensified after weeks of relative calm (RFE/RL, 11.16.15).
- On Saturday, Ukrainian armed forces received two American-made TPQ-36 weapon-locating radar systems, designed to detect and track incoming artillery and rocket fire to determine the point of origin for counterbattery fire. “This is what we need as air,” President Petro O. Poroshenko said during a trip to Lviv in western Ukraine. “It will become an effective deterrent to aggressors.” (Reuters, 11.15.15).
Other neighbors:
- Azerbaijan says its troops killed two Armenian soldiers and wounded several others in what it calls an attempted attack by an Armenian "saboteur" group against Azerbaijani positions late on November 12. Nagorno-Karabakh separatist officials confirmed the death of two ethnic Armenian soldiers, saying they were shot dead by Azerbaijani snipers. (RFE/RL, 11.13.15).
- Azerbaijan has handed over to its breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region a separatist fighter who defected earlier this year to the Azerbaijani side. (RFE/RL, 11.18.15).
- Kazakhstan's long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbaev has said "all of us" must prepare successors. (RFE/RL, 11.18.15).

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