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Russia in Review

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Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism for September 11-18, 2015

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

Nuclear security:

  • No significant developments.

Iran nuclear issues:

  • No significant developments.

NATO-Russia relations:

  • Poll in Sweden revealed significant shift in public opinion that favors the non-aligned Nordic state joining NATO. Conducted by TNS Sifo, poll showed 41 percent support for Sweden becoming a full NATO member, 39 percent remain opposed and 20 percent are undecided. “What is most surprising is the rapid change in opinion. Since the annexation of Crimea and crisis in Ukraine, we have seen a steady trend where opposition to NATO membership is in decline,” said political analyst Ulf Bjereld. (Defense News, 09/17/15)
  • Poland announced that it would buy stealthy JASSM long-range cruise missiles from Lockheed Martin to arm its American-made F-16 fighter jets. (Defense One, 09/17/15)
  • US ready to back NATO membership for Montenegro, provided the former Yugoslav republic continues to pursue reforms and increases popular support for joining Western security alliance, White House said. “Vice President [Biden] and prime minister agreed that Montenegro’s membership in NATO would firmly anchor Montenegro in Euro-Atlantic institutions, promote greater regional stability in the Balkans, and demonstrate the credibility of NATO's Open Door policy,” White House said. (RFE/RL, 09/15/15)
  • General Frank Gorenc, commander of US Air Forces in Europe, cited Russia’s “alarming” investments in air force modernization and in building formidable surface-to-air missile defenses around Crimea. “The advantage that we had from the air, I can honestly say, is shrinking,” Gorenc said. (Reuters, 09/14/15)

Missile defense:

  • No significant developments.

Nuclear arms control:

  • No significant developments.

Counter-terrorism:

  • US Secretary of State Kerry said that US was prepared to engage in military-to-military talks with Russia concerning Syria. “[President Obama] believes that a mil-to-mil conversation is an important next step and I think, hopefully, will take place very shortly.” (NYT, 09/18/15)
    • Shortly after Kerry spoke, Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter had spoken by telephone with Sergei K. Shoigu, Russian minister of defense. It was Carter’s first discussion with his Russian counterpart since he became SecDef seven months ago. The two men agreed to continue discussions on “mechanisms for deconfliction” in Syria, Pentagon said.
  • White House spokesman Josh Earnest said US would like to see Russia engage constructively with international coalition fighting ISIS in Syria, rather than build up its own military presence there. He also mentioned that President Obama had not spoken to Putin about the issue but would attempt to do so when the president “determines that it would advance our interests.” (Reuters, 09/15/15)
  • Russia is using an air corridor over Iraq and Iran to fly military equipment and personnel to new air field just south of Latakia, openly defying American efforts to block the shipments. “There were military supplies, they are ongoing, and they will continue,” Lavrov said. “They are inevitably accompanied by Russian specialists, who help to adjust the equipment, to train Syrian personnel how to use this weaponry.” (NYT, 09/14/15)
  • Russia called for military-to-military cooperation with US to avert “unintended incidents” as it stages navy exercises off the coast of Syria. (Reuters, 09/11/15)
  • Obama warned Russia against doubling down on its support for Assad, casting recent buildup of Russian military equipment and personnel in Syria as effort to prop up the embattled leader. “The strategy they’re pursuing right now of doubling down on Assad is a mistake.” Lavrov, meanwhile, called on world powers to join his country in that pursuit, arguing that Syria’s army is most efficient force to fight ISIS. “You cannot defeat Islamic State with air strikes only,” Lavrov said, in a dig at Obama’s strategy. “It’s necessary to cooperate with ground troops and the Syrian army is the most efficient and powerful ground force to fight the ISIS.” (AP, 09/11/15)
  • Russia sent half dozen T-90 tanks, 15 howitzers, 35 armored personnel carriers, 200 marines and housing for as many as 1,500 personnel to airfield south of Assad family’s ancestral home, Latakia, in what American officials say is part of escalating buildup that could give Moscow significant military foothold in the region. “We have seen movement of people and things that would suggest the air base south of Latakia could be used as a forward air operating base,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said. (NYT, 09/14/15)

Cyber security:

  • Russia has been cyber-spying extensively on US and countries throughout Europe and Asia for seven years, Finnish data security firm F-Secure said in report, which warns that large and “well resourced” hacking group known as “the Dukes” is spying for Russian government. (RFE/RL, 09/18/15)
  • Hackers made a “very powerful” attack on Kremlin’ official website, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, linking attack to regional elections in Russia in which the opposition sought to challenge government-allied politicians in the one region it was allowed to run—Kostroma Oblast. (Reuters, 09/14/15)

Energy exports from CIS:

  • No significant developments.

Bilateral economic ties:

  • No significant developments.

Other bilateral issues:

  • Putin open to meeting with Obama when he visits UN this month. “President Putin is always open to dialogue, especially with his colleague President Obama,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama and Putin might meet in New York, though he could not confirm any plans. “Certainly, there is the possibility that the two leaders could meet while they're there, because they are likely to be there at the same time,” he said. (RFE/RL, 09/16/15)
  • US ambassador to OSCE Daniel Baer said there is important lesson for former Soviet republics to have learned from conflict in eastern Ukraine: Don’t be too reliant on Russia. “Having President Putin as your only friend is a terrible position to be in,” he said. “I think Moscow has proved time and again that it likes to use and manipulate political forces to its own end and has very little regard for what people actually experience. It doesn’t care about the way citizens experience their government -- it likes to manipulate governments to meet its own objectives.” (RFE/RL, 09/15/15)
  • Putin granted Russian citizenship to prominent US professional boxer Roy Jones Junior, who had asked for citizenship last month when he met Putin in Crimea. Move is latest example of the Kremlin publicizing cases of prominent Westerners who praise Russia or offer symbolic support for Putin’s policies, at a time when Putin is at odds with Western governments over the Ukraine crisis. (Reuters, 09/12/15)

II. Russia news.

Domestic politics, economy and energy:

  • Russian opposition leader and anticorruption crusader Aleksei Navalny accused Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov of illicitly purchasing his 8,400-square-foot house – worth an estimated $7.1 million – using government funds. (RFE/RL, 09/18/15)
  • Ruble weakened for first time in four days, pressured by decline in oil, as Moody’s named Russia among four emerging markets most at risk from potential increase in US interest rates. Ruble slipped 0.6 percent to 65.856 per dollar, surpassed only by South Africa’s rand and Brazilian real, which along with Turkish lira were cited by Moody’s as facing “exchange rate and financial-market instability.” (Bloomberg, 09/17/15)
  • Kremlin issued $600,000 in fines for alleged food safety violations at Burger King and French supermarket chain Auchan. Auchan is also target of allegations from Russia’s agricultural agency, which claims some of chain’s meat products tested positive for bacteria such as E.Coli and listeria. Inspections come at time of tension between France and Russia over the extension of EU sanctions. (RFE/RL, 09/16/15)
  • Reuters found signs of ballot stuffing, multiple voting and undue pressures on voters in Kostroma Oblast, approx. 200 miles from Moscow, and the only area where opposition PARNAS party was allowed to run in regional elections. PARNAS, co-founded by Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead near Kremlin in February, needed to win at least five percent of votes to gain foothold in local parliament. United Russia ultimately won with 50.96 percent while PARNAS secured only 2.28 percent of the vote. (Reuters, 09/15/15)
  • FAS, Russia’s anti-monopoly agency, said Google was abusing market position in the country and would face penalties, in a case launched by local competitor Yandex. FAS said Google violated law by pre-installing certain apps on mobile devices and could face penalties totaling up to 15 percent of its 2014 revenue in the Russian market. (Reuters, 09/14/15)
  • Deutsche Bank decided to close 90 percent of Russian operations but will retain Global Transaction Banking, its transaction banking services. (Reuters, 09/14/15) Move makes Russia first casualty in DB’s plan to shrink its global footprint to a regional one.
  • Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi became most prominent Western politician to visit Russian-annexed Crimea when he walked with Putin on Black Sea coast. (Reuters, 09/11/15)
  • Russian Soyuz capsule carrying world’s most experienced space flier, Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, and two rookie crewmates, Kazakh cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov and Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, traveled from International Space Station and landed southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.Padalka spent record 879 days in orbit while Aimbetov and Mogensen spent less than 10 days in orbit. (Reuters, 09/11/15)

Defense and Aerospace:

  • Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would “discuss and consider” sending troops to Syria if Damascus were to make such a request, but he insisted the question is purely hypothetical at this stage. (RFE/RL, 09/18/15)
  • Russia’s biggest annual military exercises, dubbed Center-2015, are under way. 95,000 soldiers are taking part, along with dozens of military jets and naval ships. Military maneuvers set to last seven days and happening mostly in Russia’s Central Military District, which comprises the Ural Mountains and Siberia. (RFE/RL, 09/16/15)
  • Putin defended Moscow’s military assistance to Syrian government, saying it’s impossible to defeat ISIS without cooperating with Damascus. “Without an active participation of the Syrian authorities and the military, it would be impossible to expel the terrorists from that country and the region as a whole, and to protect the multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Syrian people from destruction,” he said. (AP, 09/15/15)
  • Talk of Russian troop presence on the ground in Syria is “a lie,” Syrian Ambassador to Moscow Riad Haddad said, amid accusations that Moscow is beefing up military presence there. “We have been cooperating with Russia for 30-40 years in various areas, including the military sphere. Yes, we receive arms, military equipment, all this is done in line with agreements sealed between our countries,” Haddad was quoted as saying by the ITAR-TASS news agency. (Reuters, 09/14/15)
  • Russian military planes ferrying supplies to Syria and setting up camp for more than 1,000 refugees, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. Humanitarian aid included materials included beds, mattresses, stoves, water cisterns, and food. However, Syrian National Coalition condemned “direct Russian military intervention” as “hostile behavior.” (AP, 09/12/15)
  • Moscow sending SA-22, an advanced anti-aircraft missile system, to Syria. “This system is the advanced version used by Russia and it’s meant to be operated by Russians in Syria,” said one anonymous source regularly briefed on US and Israeli intelligence assessments. (Reuters, 09/11/15)

Security, law-enforcement and justice:

  • 2,400 Russian nationals are fighting with ISIS, Russia’s First Deputy Director of Federal Security Sergei Smirnov said. (Reuters, 09/18/15)
  • Moscow court placed human rights activist Andrei Mayakov in pretrial detention on suspicion of fraud, alleging that he accepted $13,700 from defendant in criminal case and promised him he would bribe prosecutors to rule in his favor. (RFE/RL, 09/18/15)

Foreign affairs and trade:

  • Russia and Angola opposed motion at UN Security Council to impose sanctions on South Sudan’s army chief Paul Malong and rebel general Johnson Olony. US had proposed travel ban and asset freeze on both individuals for continuing to fuel the conflict, whereas Russia’s ambassador to UN said it was sanctions that might fuel the conflict. (BBC, 09/16/15)
  • Israeli PM Netanyahu will visit Russia next week for talks with Putin on the expanding Russian military presence in Syria, an Israeli official said.” The prime minister will present the threats to Israel emanating from the increased flow of advanced weaponry to the Syrian arena and from the transfer of lethal weaponry to Hezbollah and other terrorist groups,” the official said. (Reuters, 09/16/15)

Russia's neighbors:

  • Russia threatened Poland with “most serious consequences” for pulling down monument to a Soviet World War II general General Ivan Chernyakhovsky. Local authorities claim that Chernyakhovsky symbolizes the foisting of communism on Poland. For Russia, however, Chernyakhovsky is a national hero. (RFE/RL, 09/18/15)
  • Ukrainian prosecutors to file charges against director of Massandra winery in Crimea for uncorking 240-year old bottle for Putin and former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, who toured ancient ruins and visited peninsula’s prized winery. (RFE/RL, 09/18/15)
  • Georgia’s constitutional court ruled that opposition leader and former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava, who has been detained for 14 months on graft charges, is being illegally kept in prison. (RFE/RL, 09/18/15)
  • Armenian opposition activist Vahan Martirosian, head of the NGO Internal National Liberation Movement, has requested political asylum in archrival Azerbaijan. Martirosian slammed policies of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian, calling them anti-Armenian, and said Azerbaijani media is only source offering “truthful information” about the current situation in Armenia. (RFE/RL, 09/18/15)
  • Ukrainian parliament passed debt restructuring deal that aims to save Kyiv billions of dollars and bolster financial stability. Speaker of parliament, Volodymyr Groisman, called it a “victory for Ukraine.” PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk told parliament that the “yes” vote meant “economic growth, foreign investment, increasing the number of jobs, and a rise in social standards.” (RFE/RL, 09/17/15)
  • Kyiv imposed new sanctions and extended existing measures against scores of Russian politicians, companies, and even western journalists, in connection with planned elections in separatist-held regions. “This risky and irresponsible decision [of separately planned elections in breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk] requires our firm and coordinated reaction to the threat created to the Minsk agreements, such as prolongation and widening of sanctions,” Poroshenko said. (RFE/RL, 09/17/15)
    • Western backlash against Kyiv re journalists has been significant. BBC Foreign Editor Andrew Roy earlier called the order "a shameful attack on media freedom"; OSCE said such action is "not the way to ensure security"; and New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said, "While [Kyiv] may not like or agree with the coverage, labeling journalists a potential threat to national security is not an appropriate response." Poroshenko asked his government to remove six European journalists from sanctions list after he was criticized by Western allies.
  • Ukraine’s decision to sanction many media representatives is unacceptable, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “The fact that there are many representatives of the media on these lists is of course totally unacceptable,” Peskov told journalists on a call. “It does not correspond with the principles of freedom ... We very strongly condemn this decision.” (Reuters, 09/17/15)
  • Romanian PM Victor Ponta to be tried by country’s top court after he was indicted on several counts of corruption. Ponta denounced prosecution as “totally unprofessional,” and said charges against him have been fabricated and contrived. (BBC, 09/17/15)
  • Self-proclaimed leader of breakaway Donetsk region, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, signed decree that schedules elections for local self-government bodies on October 18. Elections in territory under control of pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk region is planned for November 1. (RFE/RL, 09/16/15) Kyiv indicated that holding such elections on different date than those in rest of country would be considered violation of Minsk agreements.
  • During joint press conference with visiting Czech President Milos Zeman in Baku, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev blasted recent European Parliament resolution that condemned his country’s human rights record and called for release of political prisoners and imprisoned journalists. “The resolution is groundless, biased, and it is a political provocation based on lies,” Aliyev said. The nonbinding resolution decried the “unprecedented repression against civil society in Azerbaijan.” (RFE/RL, 09/16/15)
  • EU extended by six months visa ban and asset freeze targeting close associates of Putin and others involved in Russia’s annexation of Crimea and pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine. 149 people and 37 entities are currently listed under the ban. (RFE/RL, 09/15/15)
  • Third and final stage of US-Ukrainian Fearless Guardian 2015 military exercise, involving personnel of US Armed Forces, Ukrainian National Guard and Ukrainian Defense Ministry, has begun in Lviv. (Kyiv Post, 09/15/15)
  • Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbaev met in Dushanbe day before summit of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The two leaders discussed greater economic cooperation and signed new “strategic partnership,” which includes regulations on status of Tajik migrants who work in Kazakhstan as well as measures to increase Kazakh investments in Tajikistan and to enhance cooperation in education. (RFE/RL, 09/14/15)
  • Thousands of Moldovans taking part in anti-corruption protest in Chisinau over government failure to address disappearance of over $1bn from country’s banks, arguing that their living standards have been damaged by the fraud. (BBC, 09/13/15)

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