August 17:
Nearly 170,000 people were evacuated from Russia’s Far East, following the region’s biggest floods in over a century. As many as another 100,000 could soon be evacuated from their homes near Russia’s border with China if the floods continue, Reuters reports. In a televised speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that “the damage is extensive, but the most significant achievement is there have been no casualties...we cannot relax, there is still a lot of work to be done.” A similar flood in 2012 killed nearly 200 people in southern Russia’s Caucasus region, and damaged more than 4,000 homes.
August 18:
The Kremlin upped the stakes of Ukraine’s upcoming decision over signing an agreement to strengthen ties with the European Union. “We are preparing to toughen customs administration in case Ukraine takes this suicidal step and signs the association agreement with the EU,” said Sergei Glazyev, a senior economic advisor, referring to the already-tougher customs checks being employed at the border between the two countries. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Kremlin has long tried to tempt Ukraine toward joining the Kremlin-led Eurasian Customs Union by offering cheaper gas prices, which Kiev claims to need in order to bolster its economy. Even if Ukraine does choose to turn its priorities west, EU officials have not confirmed whether they will sign the agreement. The bloc has criticized Ukraine over the jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, as well as a recent tariff on EU car imports.
August 19:
A new law coming into effect will now force any Russian politician or official found with a foreign bank account to either resign or be fired. The law was approved back in May, Euronews reports, and officials were given three months to “close any accounts and repatriate assets from abroad.” The move was a part of the ongoing national campaign against corruption, and the Chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Committee released a statement in conjunction with the new law to say that “Russians who are focused on their well-being in the West are a threat to the state, and most of all they are a threat to the power of the president.” Several senators have reportedly already stepped down, including billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of the British football club Chelsea, who formerly served as chairman of a local parliament in the region of Chukotka.
August 21:
Russian authorities blocked a Greenpeace ship from entering Arctic waters to protest oil exploration. The Guardian reports that the ship was denied access because of “questions over the vessel’s ice strengthening,” but activists criticized the move. “This is a thinly veiled attempt to stifle peaceful protest and keep international attention away from Arctic oil exploration in Russia,” insisted Greenpeace campaigner Christy Ferguson. “The Arctic Sunrise (the Greenpeace ship) is a fully equipped icebreaker with significant experience of operating in these conditions, while the oil companies operating here are taking unprecedented risks in an area teeming with polar bears, whales, and other Arctic wildlife.” The organization reportedly sought to “expose” the offshore drilling activities conducted by Russian oil company Rosneft in the Kara Sea, north of western Siberia.
August 22:
A year on from Russia’s admittance to the World Trade Organization, the country appears to be worse off. Trade turnover shrank in the first half of 2013, exports fell by 3.8 percent, and imports increased by 4.4 percent. Because they can’t compete with the influx of imported goods, Russia’s food and agricultural markets suffered. Officials maintain that the initial slump was expected as part of “the pain of getting used to a new economic reality.” Analysts originally estimated that the country’s federal budget would lose about $14 billion in the first two years as a result of lost tariff revenue. RIA-Novosti reports that predictions now push closer to $15 billion, but after that the World Bank estimates that membership states could add an additional 3.3 percent to overall GDP, or about $65 billion in the first three years after.
August 23:
Amid increasing reports of chemical attacks by the Syrian government against rebel groups, the Kremlin has joined the nations calling for a U.N. inquiry. Following a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his U.S. counterpart, John Kerry, Lavrov noted that the two nations had a “mutual interest” in backing such an inquiry. The Kremlin has suggested, however, that an investigation may find that it is the Syrian rebels, rather than the government, launching the attacks in order to discredit the Assad regime. “We are dealing with a preplanned provocation,” insisted a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said the use of chemical weapons would “constitute a crime against humanity,” adding that there is “no time to lose” in investigating the claims. The L.A. Times notes that an inquiry will require the cooperation of the Syrian government.