July 19:
Recently-convicted opposition leader Alexei Navalny was unexpectedly freed on parole following demonstrations in several major Russian cities. Nearly 200 people were arrested in the protests, NBC News reports, but there were no major clashes with police. The United States and European Union joined protestors insofar as to suggest the ruling “raised questions about the rule of law and Russia’s treatment of Putin’s opponents.” The White House in particular called it part of a “disturbing trend aimed at suppressing dissent.” Some analysts suggest Navalny’s release illustrates a divide within the Kremlin. “There really is a split in the elite,” argued one expert, “and it seems there will be no peaceful outcome.”
July 21:
Russia’s military buildup continues, as officials announce plans to increase the size of the country’s Pacific naval fleet. It will be the first time the fleet has been increased since the fall of the Soviet Union, The Diplomat reports, and will begin as early as next year. Ballistic missile submarines, Mistral-class amphibious assault ships (helicopter carriers), and a series of Steregushchy-class frigates are among the ships expected to join the fleet.
July 23:
The Kremlin has accused the United States of hypocrisy over its continued demands for the extradition of leaker Edward Snowden. “The United States is repeatedly refusing Russia to extradite individuals,” noted Sergei Gorlenko, acting chief of the prosecutor general’s extradition office. “We have been denied the extradition of murderers, bandits, and bribetakers.” Politico reports that a spokesman for the Russian Interior Ministry agreed with Gorlenko’s statement, adding that “law agencies asked the U.S. on many occasions to extradite wanted criminals through Interpol channels, but those requests were neither met nor even responded to.” Moscow officials continue to insist that they have no obligation to turn Snowden over to American authorities, as the U.S. and Russia do not have an extradition treaty.
July 24:
Both Japan and the EU filed complaints with the World Trade Organization over a Russian fee levied on car imports. Reuters reports that although Moscow insists the fee is intended to offset the cost of recycling cars, critics insist that the fee is an illegal tax, because it doesn’t apply to cars made in Russia, Belarus, or Kazakhstan (all members of the Russia-led Eurasian customs union). The United States also reportedly plans to join the challenge to the Russian tax, claiming that between September 2012 and May 2013, the fee was levied on $1.25 billion of U.S. exports, the equivalent of 10 percent of total U.S. exports to Russia. If the complaints cannot be dealt with through negotiations over the next 60 days, WTO officials may be asked to adjudicate, with an end goal of forcing a change to Russia’s rule.
July 25:
The European Court of Human Rights offered a mix bag of results in its ruling on the trial against ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. While the court ruled that Russia had a legitimate case against Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev over alleged tax fraud, the trial itself was found to be “unfair,” and the 2005 sentencing to a remote jail near the Arctic Circle “unjustified.” The ruling does not mean amnesty for Khodorkovsky, Reuters reports, but the Kremlin was ordered to pay him over $13,000 in damages. Both sides have three months to appeal the court’s ruling.
New legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin will reintroduce a legal alcohol limit for motorists. Under the new law, the Moscow Times reports, drivers with a blood alcohol content of up to .3 grams of alcohol per liter of blood will now be considered sober (for comparison, the U.S. limit on the same scale is .8 grams of alcohol/liter). The move will expand the limit placed in 2010 by then-President Dmitry Medvedev, which forbade drivers from having any alcohol in their systems. Officials emphasized that the new law is not a sign of a “slackening of punishments” on road violations, pointing out that the same legislation will increase penalties for drunk driving and a number of other driving offenses