The Real Russia. Today. Reining in an unruly Communist Party Meduza – Meduza

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

The Russian Investigative Committee is looking into the work of popular rappers Oxxxymiron and Noize MC after receiving a complaint about their lyrics. As it turns out, the basis for the probe was a satirical LiveJournal post by a left-wing opposition activist, who immediately acknowledged that he wrote it as a joke. With a pre-trial check already underway, Russian investigators now have ten days to decide whether or not to initiate a criminal case. Will they get the joke and drop the probe? Meduza asks experts to weigh in.

Russian Supreme Court upholds presidential decree on classifying NKVD employment records (Yeltsins 1995 orders will stand, thwarting historian Sergey Prudovskys research efforts)

Presidential Human Rights Council chairman asks Moscow mayor to look into upsetting subway signs written in Uzbek and Tajik (Some Muscovites see the signs as evidence that migrants arent integrating into Russian society, says Valery Fadeyev. The ubiquity of English-language text throughout the capital apparently does not trigger people, however.)

Russian Supreme Court sends murder conviction of Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis for appellate review, following ECHR decision in February (The two were convicted of killing lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova in 2009. Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov has vowed to help uphold the conviction, which the ECHR says was the result of an unfair trial.)

Lawmakers adopt legislation expanding police powers (Officers will get more search-and-seizure authority, but the State Duma stopped short of formalizing something akin to qualified immunity. Officers will now be permitted to withhold their name and rank if they feel it might endanger them or impede their work. The legislation sanctions practices that are already commonplace, says Mediazona.)

TikTok vlogger sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for attacking FSB squad car during January protests against Navalnys arrest (Konstantin Lakeyev has been in jail since the start of the year)

Federal Investigative Committee director chides generals for allowing Russias acquittal rate to rise though its still less than 1 percent (Alexander Bastrykin expressed concerns about jury trials and instructed staff to work with prosecutors to challenge unjudicial rulings. In 2020, Russian courts acquitted 2,256 people 0.36 percent of all verdicts.)

In 2021, Russias Communist Party managed to become a headache again for the Kremlin, reemerging as a genuine threat to the countrys ruling political party. The Communists staged protests, nominated unruly candidates for the State Duma, and opposed the governments unpopular introduction of COVID-19 vaccine passports. In return, the partys members have found themselves under felony investigation and at the center of attack pieces in the pro-government media. Meduza special correspondent Andrey Pertsev examines how the Kremlin and Russias security apparatus have targeted the Communist Party, and he explores what we know about President Putins thoughts on the campaign.

A methane blast at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine in Siberias Kemerovo region killed 51 people on November 25. It was the deadliest mining accident Russia had seen since 2010. The explosion sent toxic smoke through the mines ventilation system, suffocating miners and rescue workers who came to their aid. But as miners at the Listvyazhnaya told Meduza, the mines methane levels had been critical for about two weeks beforehand, ever since a rock collapse completely crushed a ventilation shaft. The Listvyazhnayas management, however, opted against shutting down operations. According to the miners Meduza spoke to, their bosses were afraid they wouldnt fulfill the production plan.

Former Arkhangelsk mayor wants to rename the city Putingrad (Alexander Donskoi says the change would lift peoples spirits and possibly draw more federal funding)

Krasnodar Krai district council boots out Yabloko deputy, following governors demands (Alexander Korovainy lost the seat for supposed corruption, but colleagues say he doesnt even own a car and gets around town on a bicycle. Before entering politics, he taught history. Korovainy lost his job in 2017 for attending a pro-Navalny demonstration.)

Research shows that Yandex search results return highest share of conspiracy-promoting content (four scholars found that Yandex was less likely than Google, Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo to return hyperlinks to scientific sources debunking conspiracy theories)

(Opinion) Andrei Soldatov says Russia blocking the Tor browser shifts the balance between technically advanced democracies and technically backward authoritarian regimes (the technology itself, political from the beginning with its U.S. military origins, has been blurry thanks to its criminal uses and susceptibility to DPI filtration)

(Opinion) Alexey Kovalev says the Kremlins mismanagement of the pandemic and premature triumphalism have cost lives and complicated the states vital work (vaccine skepticism is rampant, thanks in part to Russias own misfired state propaganda, and a lack of leadership from Putin has undermined federal efforts)

Three-quarters of Russians oppose QR-code vaccine passport requirements for accessing public transport (only 54 percent of respondents opposed mandatory vaccination against COVID-19, however)

U.S. Justice Department will explore possible regulatory modifications to FARA (The agency is soliciting public comments on how the U.S. government administers and enforces disclosure and labeling requirements for foreign agents. The Kremlin claims that Russias foreign agent laws mirror American regulations.)

Nobel laureate and Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief tells U.S. democracy summit that all nations, America included, should ditch foreign agent laws (Dmitry Muratov points out that the Kremlin cites FARA in the United States when justifying Russias foreign agent policies)

(Opinion) Russian deployments, force posture, and possible intentions along the border with Ukraine (writing for the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, analyst Andrew Bowen summarizes in just three pages! the leading speculation about what Russias military is doing you-know-where)

Germanys new leadership would consider halting Nord Stream 2, if Russia expands invasion of Ukraine (Chancellor Olaf Scholz is broadly supportive of the infrastructure project, but hes reportedly flexible about responding to a broader war in Ukraine)

Biden signals wish to convene meetings between NATO allies and Russia to discuss Moscows grievances with the pact (eastern states are reportedly spooked that any talk of compromise with Moscow means Washington will abandon them to Russian aggression)

(Opinion) International Crisis Group briefing breaks down Russian military buildup near Ukraine and proposes mutual de-escalatory measures (The researchers endorse Washingtons approach to signal the repercussions of escalation by Moscow, acknowledging Europes broken security system and the limits of deterrence alone. This necessitates deals with Russia to prevent military buildups, using Minsk II, warts and all, as a basis.)

(Opinion) Samuel Greene and Graeme Robertson say invading Ukraine wouldnt help Putin (They argue that Putins overriding interest is in maintaining and cultivating his own power, he relies on popular support, his ability to shape public opinion has limits, and he minimizes the costs at home of any adventures abroad. In other words, Putin wont pursue goals of conquest that cost him power domestically. With an invasion of Ukraine unlikely, albeit possible, the West should strap in for a long period of confrontation and relearn strategic patience.)

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The Real Russia. Today. Reining in an unruly Communist Party Meduza - Meduza