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June 5, 2016 Special Dispatch No. 6458

Russia This Week - May 30-June 6, 2016

June 5, 2016
Russia | Special Dispatch No. 6458

Russia This Week is a weekly review by the MEMRI Russian Media Studies Project, covering the latest news and analysis relating to Russia from media in Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.

 

Cartoon Of The Week

 
Vk.com/13studiya, VitalyPodvitsky, June 2, 2016.

Uncle Sam on a NATO tank talking to the Russian Bear: "What don't you like? We did not cross into your land!" 

Zakharova Dixit

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova is one of the most-quoted Russian officials. She is known for using colorful language when describing Russian foreign policy in her weekly press briefings. The following is Zakharova's quote of the week:


(Source: Mid.ru, June 2, 2016)

"Recently, Turkish officials rehashed statements about their hope for an early resumption of Russian-Turkish relations. That's a laugh! They make loads of statements that mostly conflict with reality and that discredit this country [Russia]. We've disavowed this, at all levels, practically every day. And then they say they are interested in improving our bilateral relations!"

(Mid.ru, June 2)

 


Vk.com/13studiya, March 3, 2016.

Zakharova is portrayed as the character Masha of the famous Russian animated series, "Masha and the Bear", based on a popular Russian oral folk tale with the same name. In the cartoon, Zakharova talks to the Bear, Russia's symbol, who grips the U.S. Eagle. Zakharova to the Bear: "Misha [a gentle and friendly way to refer to the Bear] tear him to pieces  [referring to the U.S. eagle]".

Quotes Of The Week:

Russia's Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko said: "Today, NATO is trying to replicate its confrontational schemes on the Black Sea. Recently, Turkish President Erdogan said that the Black Sea was becoming a 'Russian lake' should be avoided at all costs. However, NATO officials are well aware that the Black Sea will never become a 'NATO lake' either [emphasis added], and we will take all necessary measures to neutralize possible threats and attempts to play power politics with Russia in the south."

(Interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Mid.ru, May 31)

Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko said: "Cancelling the [NATO-Russia] Founding Act, with its provisions on practicing restraint in the military sphere, would be a direct invitation to a new phase of the arms race. [emphasis added] Such a development would greatly destabilize the situation in Europe and runs counter to European interests."

(Interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Mid.ru, May 31)

In The News:

Russia-NATO: Grushko: Measures Will Be Taken Against NATO's Activities In The Baltic Sea

Alexander Grushko advocated a Russian response to NATO's activity the Baltic Sea. Grushko said:"A decision to deploy [NATO's] extra battalions qualitatively changes the regional situation in the security sphere ...It's all too obvious that measures will be taken and our partners at the Russia-NATO Council shouldn't be surprised by them."[emphasis added]

(Tass.ru, June, 3)

Russia intends to beef up its military presence along its western border. Two brigades of motorized infantry will form part of three new divisions, which are expected to be deployed in the Smolensk, Voronezh and Rostov regions by December. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu spoke about the formation of the new divisions back in January 2016.

(Themoscowtimes.com, June 3)

The Polish Air Force will police the aerial territory of NATO's eastern flank.

(Thenews.pl, June 3)

NATO stages BALTOPS (Baltic operations) from June 3 to June 19. The exercise will air, ground and maritime activity. Participating countries in BALTOPS 16 include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, the UK, and the US.

(Err.ee, June 3)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that four combat battalions will be deployed in Poland and in the three former Soviet Baltic republic of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In response, State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee head Aleksey Pushkov said that this decision contradicts the principles of the NATO-Russia Founding Act.

(Izvestia.ru, May 30)


Russia and NATO: Largest military drills since 2015. (Source: Valdaiclub.com, April 27, 2016)

Russian National Security And Defense Policy: Russia To Stage More Than 2,000 Military Drills In 2016

Five Russian T-50 5th generation fighter jets are undergoing tests. The jets will be operative in 2017.

(Interfax.ru, June 4)

A total of more than 2,000 military drills are due in 2016. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that in the summer "there will be nine exercises within the framework of international military cooperation."

(Tass.ru, June 1)

Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation is to sign a contract with the Russian government to build a Project 23560 Lider-class destroyer. The destroyer will displace 17,500 metric tons, with a length of 200m and a beam of 20m. The ship will also carry more than 200 missiles.

(Ria.ru, June 1)

Russia launched the sixth Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarine of Project 636.3 Kolpino, intended for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Fifth-generation conventional submarines will be built for the Northern and Baltic fleets.

(Tass.ru, May 31)

Russia plans to allocate over 25 billion dollars to the country's defense industry complex development program for 2016-2020. Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said: "We are currently engaged in reequipping the entire army, the Armed Forces, the Navy...there are certain targets to meet and certainly, it is necessary to ensure the competitiveness of our products worldwide."

(Tass.ru, May 30)

Russia is creating a new youth patriotic movement, known as the "Youth Army".Officially the movement will be launched on September 1, 2016. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said: "We want to create hundreds of centers for patriotic education throughout the country." [emphasis added] Shoigu mentioned that the movement's goal is to educate the new generation to be proud of the "heroism of the fathers and grandfathers."

(Rbc.ru, May 28; Ria.ru, May 28)

Russia And The U.S.: Ashton Carter Pushes For A "Principled Security Network" For Asia Against "Russia's Worrying Actions"

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security forum in Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter pushed for a "principled security network" for Asia which would offer protection against "Russia's worrying actions."

(Sputniknews.com, June 4)

Russia And The Middle East: Russia Calls For Territorial Exchanges Between Israel And Palestine

The Director General of Russia's State Corporation Rostec Sergey Chemezov said that China, Egypt and Algeria are very interested in the Buk-M2E and Antey-2500 anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as in the S-400 Triumph missile systems.

(Tass.ru, June 3)

During a phone conversation with U.S, Secretary Of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that there is a need "to urgently distance the moderate opposition from the Jabhat al-Nusra group." [emphasis added]

(Mid.ru, June 3)

Russian presidential special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, said that the problem of border demarcation between Israel and Palestine can be resolved with a territorial exchange. Bogdanov said: "The border should be established between Israelis and Palestinians. This border may envisage territorial exchanges, appropriate and adequate, taking into account that such an approach allows to resolve the problem of Israeli settlements on the West Bank...Such settlements may remain in some regions with understanding that in exchange for territories with Israeli settlements, the Palestinians will get an appropriate compensation in the form of parts of the territory. [emphasis added] This is a so-called territorial exchange."

(Tass.ru, June 3)

In her weekly briefing, Zakhorova underlined the importance of sealing the Turkish-Syrian border, adding that had it not been for "Turkey's criminal armed intervention into the affairs of their neighboring country" [emphasis added] and which "entailed support for terrorist organizations", in order to achieve Turkey's "unrealized geopolitical ambitions", a political settlement in Syria could have already been achieved.

(Mid.ru, June 3)

Russia's Economy: Kudrin Advised Putin To Reduce Geopolitical Tensions In Order To Attract Foreign Investments

Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia is going to increase crude oil output in 2016. Novak said: "If the dynamics remains unchanged till the end of the year we will see an increase of around 8 million tons, which means a total of about 540-542 million tones." He then added that that this was contingent upon oil prices stabilizing between 40 and 60 dollars a barrel, and at around 50 dollars per barrel through the end of 2016.

(Tass, June 3)

Russia's Former Minister of Economy AndreyNechaev said that a rising wave of protests against corruption and abuse of power is occurring. According to Nechaev, if protests by the "democratic minority" against the "strengthening of totalitarianism" in the country merge with more widely based economic protests, Russia will face a serious political crisis.

(Novayagazeta.ru, May 31)

Russia's former finance minister Aleksey Kudrin advised Russian President Vladimir Putin to reduce geopolitical tensions in order to attract foreign investments Kudrin believes that Russia is falling further behind western countries in technological innovation. Reportedly, Putin has replied that Russia, with over one thousand years of history, is not going to barter its sovereignty.

(Vedomosti.ru, May 30)

Human Rights in Russia: Putin Signed A Law That Clarifies What Constitutes "Political Activity" By NGOs

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that clarifies what constitutes "political activity" by NGOs. On May 20, the Duma amended the law on Russia's NGOs thus expanded the definition of "political activity" to include activities pertaining to government, legislative regulation, and human rights. The amendments mean that any NGO-supported study or critique on these areas would incur the increased risk that the sponsoring NGO could be declared a foreign agent or shut down.

(Tass.ru, June 2)

Russia's Presidential Human Rights Council cancelled a planned meeting with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, due to Kadyrov's position on human rights activist and the head of the NGO Committee Against Torture Igor Kalyapin. According to the Russian media, the Chechen leadership said that the council's security could not be guaranteed if Kalyapin accompanied the delegation.

(Themoscowtimes.com, June 2)

The Moscow-based Russian nonprofit organization SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, which conducts research and information activitiy on nationalism, racism and human rights, published a report, titled "Inappropriate Enforcement of Anti-Extremist Legislation in Russia in 2015." The report states that 2015 saw "an increase in inappropriate or questionable verdicts against various opposition activists" in Russia. However, these verdicts are "the outcomes of the cases initiated in 2014, while the number of newly opened cases is much smaller." The report states further: "Such sentences have come to increasingly include real prison terms. The practice of banning extremist materials, as well as restricting online access to extremist content, has been gradually expanding."

(Sova-center.ru, June 3)

According to the SOVA Center, during 2015 there were 233 convictions for "extremism" and for insulting religious feelings in Russia.

(Sova-center.ru, May 6)

Russia And The Media: Lavrov: "We Consider Information Wars, Propaganda...To Be Unacceptable"

Russian Foreign Ministry, Spokesperson Zakharova stated in her weekly press briefing that Ukrainian authorities approved sanctions against leading Russian media executives and journalists. Zakharova described Ukraine's measures as "politically biased decisions" and "fresh evidence of Kiev's policy of disregard for international standards on human rights and freedom of speech."

(Mid.ru, June 2) 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned media propaganda and information wars, during a meeting with representatives of Russian non-profit organizations. Lavrov said: "We consider information wars, propaganda, misinformation and simply the dissemination of blatant lies to be unacceptable. Journalism should be honest and responsible. We are profoundly concerned by attempts to restrict the work of journalists for political reasons. They are being blacklisted, denied entry, deported and subjected to physical and psychological attacks."

(Mid.ru, June 1) 

Foreign Messengers And Social Media: Russia's Economic Development Ministry Suggests To Ban Foreign Messengers For State Officials

The Russian Foreign Ministry created an Instagram account. The ministry already has accounts on VKontakte, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

(Mid.ru, June 2)

Russia's Economic Development Ministry proposed to ban the use of foreign messengers, such as Skype, WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram, for state officials and military personnel. Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there are no decisions on the issue. However, Peskov considers that to use foreign messengers to send classified information is "reckless", since no messenger, "including Russian ones", is protected.

(Sputniknews.com, May 30; Kommersant.ru, May 30)

Russia And Christianity: Lavrov: "It is Clear That We Can Properly Protect Christian Populations In [The Middle East] And Achieve Lasting Stability"

On June 2, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivered a speech at a Foreign Ministry reception marking the Orthodox Easter. In his speech, Lavrov emphasized the important role of the Russian Orthodox Church citing the meeting between Pope Francis and the Head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill in Cuba on February 12, 2016. Lavrov also said that Russia can act to protect the Christian minority in Middle East by fighting against terrorism. Lavrov said: "The historic meeting between Your Holiness [Patriarch Kirill] and Pope Francis was an important milestone on the road to reinforcing inter-Christian harmony on key political, spiritual, moral and social problems of life today. The joint appeal made by these two church leaders drew the international community's attention to the need for steps to protect Christians in different parts of the world from severe persecution and in many cases even from deliberate destruction, above all, in the Middle East and North Africa.It is clear that we can properly protect Christian populations in this region and achieve general, lasting stability there only if we effectively suppress terrorism and extremism and resolve the numerous crises through political and diplomatic means based on international law and national dialogue with all ethnic groups and faiths taking part."

(Mid.ru, June 2)

 
Vk.com/13studiya, Vitaly, April 30, 2016.

Pope Francis sports a Putin t-shirt with the logo: "Putin is All Right."

Interview Of The Week:

 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (Source: mid.ru, May 31, 2016).

On May 31, 2016, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave a simultaneous interview to both the daily and radio service of Komsomolskaya Pravda. In the interview, Lavrov stated that no world war would erupt between Russia and the West, as Western leaders are sufficiently responsible to prevent such a war from happening. However, Lavrov warned that Russia would retaliate against NATO if the Western military alliance moved closer to the Russian border. Lavrov said: "There will be no 'world war'. President Putin said this in [Russian journalist] Vladimir Solovyov's [two-hour documentary] film, World Order [Miroporyadok, premiered in December 2015]. I am convinced that responsible politicians in the West will not allow this to happen either, because they still well remember the horrors of the First and the Second World Wars...In 2001, the United States withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Back then, US President George W. Bush said, in response to concerns expressed by President Vladimir Putin that Moscow need not worry about it, as it [the unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 treaty] is not aimed against Russia, and the United States understands that Russia will be forced to respond. He also said that Moscow could take any steps and do what it wants. Our peaceful neighbors from Eastern Europe should also keep this in mind. We are issuing calm admonitions that we will take retaliatory steps if NATO's military infrastructure moves closer to our borders. [emphasis added] They tend to forget this and blame Russia."

(Mid.ru, May 31)

 
Ria.ru, Vitaly Podvitsky, May 31, 2016.

Uncle Sam tramples upon the European Union flag to hang a NATO flag on Russia's border.

Strange But True

Engineer Receives Sentence Of 27 Months For Reposting Article Against Crimea's Annexation

 
Andrei Bubeyev (Source:Khodorkovsky.com)

A Russian mechanical engineer from the Tver region, Andrei Bubeyev, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for sharing on social media a picture of a toothpaste tube with the caption: "Squeeze Russia out of yourself!", and for reposting an article by Russia journalist Boris Stomakhin critical of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Stomakhin, who is the editor of the monthly newspaper Radikalnaya Politika, was convicted of "extremism" for the third time in April 2015. Bubeyev was found guilty under Part 2 of Articles 280 and 280.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, which ban "public appeals to implementation of actions aimed at violating the Russian Federation's territorial integrity."

 
One of the images posted by Bubeyev in the social media that got him into trouble: A toothpaste tube with the caption: "Squeeze Russia out of yourself!"

Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Open Wall published an article, titled "Whatever You Do, Don't Say 'Crimea Is Ukraine'", analyzing Bubeyev's sentence and concluded: "rather than any malevolent designs on the part of Vladimir Putin, it's the indolence and hollow-hearted obtuseness of the local regime forces that must be blamed. To make such an assertion is not, of course, to exonerate Putin. Firstly, he failed to save Bubeyev from jail (let's not forget that the president can still issue a pardon), and, secondly, he and his team have spent the last sixteen years constructing a system where this life-wrecking, formalistic approach has become the stock-in-trade of the security forces, while state-media journalists have learned to turn a blind eye."

(Themoscowtimes.com, May 6; Khodorkovsky.com, May 16)

Man Sentenced To 15 Months For Questioning On Social Media The Russian Orthodox Tradition Of Plunging Into Cold Water To Mark The Orthodox Epiphany

 
Maksim Kormelitsky (Source: Kurer-sreda.ru, May 24)

A Berdsk's local court, in the Novosibirsk Oblast, sentenced to 15 months a former PARNAS opposition party activist Maksim Kormelitsky for posting on his social network VKontakte account a picture questioning the Russian Orthodox ritual of plunging into frozen rivers and lakes to celebrate the Epiphany.

Kormelitsky was accused under part 1 of article 282 of the Russian criminal federal code, which states that "actions aimed at the incitement of national, racial, or religious enmity" are punishable by fine or imprisonment. According to investigators, the defendant "is an atheist who feels hatred towards those professing Christianity."


Russian Orthodox Christians plunging into icy water to celebrate the Orthodox Epiphany (Source: Ivona.bigmir.net)

(Source: Kurer-sreda.ru, May 31; Kurer-sreda.ru May 24)

 

 

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