May 26:
An explosion outside a concert hall in Stavropol, the largest region in the North Caucasus Federal District, has killed five people and injured more than forty. The blast occurred outside Stavropol’s House of Culture and Sport before a Chechen band’s concert. According to the FOCUS News Agency, the city’s governor has called it “a terrorist attack aimed at shattering national unity.” Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has weighed in as well, saying that “some forces very much dislike that the North Caucasus is becoming a stable region attractive to domestic and foreign investors" and "are trying to hinder the process in this way.”
May 27:
Russia has expressed an interest in gradually eliminating visa requirements for EU citizens, according to the FOCUS News Agency. A preliminary agreement waiving visas for citizens of Europe was recently adopted by Russia at the 12th session of the Russia-EU Permanent Partnership Council on Freedom, Security, and Justice, the news agency reports.
Following President Dmitry Medvedev’s demand that wealthy Russians invest in areas of Russia that are failing because of crumbling industries, billionaire oligarch Viktor Vekselberg has announced his investment in a synthetic oil plant outside of St. Petersburg. According to Bloomberg News, the cost of resuming oil production at the Slantsy plant would total around $40 million. The town is one of dozens of Stalin-era “mono-cities” centered around a single company that provided jobs, housing, and schools. About 12 percent of the Russian people currently reside in such “mono-cities,” the Independent Institute for Social Policy estimates.
President Medvedev has publicly questioned Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s recent decision to reopen the Baikal Pulp and Paper mill despite warnings from ecologists that the plant was contaminating Lake Baikal, the world's largest freshwater source. According to Reuters, Medvedev criticized Putin for ignoring environmental concerns, and added that “the problem is the attitude of the leadership of the country to ecology.” But the issue might end up becoming a test of Medvedev's political clout; though the president stated his willingness to “throw the weight of his presidency behind the issue,” he did not guarantee a reversal of the decision to reopen the plant.
May 28:
In its latest effort to obtain lower oil prices from Russia, Belarus has offered the Kremlin total ownership of its gas pipeline network. A $5 billion deal inked back in 2006 had ceded 50 percent control to Russia of Beltransgaz, the Belarusian energy company with control of the network, in exchange for a reduction of its debts and discounted gas prices, according to the Associated Press. Now, Belarusian president has proferred total control of its pipeline grid to Moscow in exchange for reduced market prices for imported gas.
The offer comes after Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to form a customs union — one that excludes Belarus, despite its presence throughout the negotiations. According to Prime Minister Putin, the split with Minsk arose following disagreements over “tariffs on crude oil and oil products,” reports the Associated Press. And Russia and Kazakhstan are reportedly prepared to join the WTO should Belarus remain intransigent and fail to sign onto the new customs union. The agreement would allow for free trade among the members, with a shared set of tariffs for the rest of the world.