April 18:
Russia's increasingly strained relations with the West are adding fuel to the fire of radical nationalism. A new report by Al Jazeera America has profiled the National Liberation Movement, a new - and extreme - ultranationalist group which has gained currency of late. Formed in 2011, the Movement identifies as its goals "to reclaim the sovereignty Russia lost in 1991 - the right to determine how we live and operate" and "to free the nation from foreign occupation" - i.e., Western influence. The Movement is said to boast 200,000 members, and to have organized more than 1,000 protests annually since its founding to showcase its support for Russian "independence" from the West and its opposition to American and European values.
The group does not see its struggle as confined to Russia, however. "National liberation is a global process, a fight that 99 percent of the world's population depends on. Russia, with Putin at its head, is a vanguard in the war against the American colonial system," says National Liberation Movement leader Yevgeny Fyodorov. "Either we win or the U.S. wins and eliminates Russia. We understand this clearly."
April 19:
The Kremlin has scored a major win in its fight against Islamic militancy. The Long War Journal reports that Russian security forces have killed Ali Abu Muhammad al Dagestani, the "emir" of the al Qaeda-affiliated Caucasus Emirate, the country's most significant terrorist group, in a raid in Dagestan. Al-Dagestani, who has led the group since the death of its founder, Doku Umarov, in late 2013 or early last year at the hands of Russian troops, was said to be loyal to al-Qaeda - while a growing number of commanders under his control had switched their loyalties in recent months and pledged "bayat" to the Islamic State.
April 20:
Russia's international trade profile is plummeting. The Moscow Times reports that, in the first two months of 2015, the total value of Russia's trade with the world constricted by more than 30%, falling by over $83 billion in January and February as a result of ongoing instability stemming from the Kremlin's ongoing campaign of aggression in Ukraine.
Libya's beleaguered government is looking east to Russia for arms and assistance, Al-Monitor reports. In a recent interview conducted during a state visit to Moscow, Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni told RTthat the Islamist insurgency raging in his country was being stoked by external forces, most directly the countries of Turkey and Qatar. However, Western aid to al-Thinni's government has not been forthcoming because of a 2011 United Nations resolution which levied an arms embargo on Libya and which remains in effect. In response, al-Thinni has pinned his hopes on the Kremlin - the Libyan leader's trip was an attempt an attempt "to soothe ties with Russia, which have been strained since 2011," through the reactivation of diplomatic contacts and, potentially, arms deals as well.
April 21:
Russian officials are beginning to acknowledge their country's dire economic straits. Radio Free Europe reportsthat, in his annual report to the parliament on the economy, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev outlined that Russia has lost 25 billion Euros ($26.7 billion) to date because of "unprecedentedly harsh" Western sanctions over the Kremlin's Ukraine policy. That figure, moreover, could be "several times" higher in the coming year, he predicted. But sanctions are not the only cause of Russia’s economic troubles. A "sharp drop in oil prices" is also responsible for increasingly difficult fiscal conditions, Medvedev told lawmakers. "We've never faced such an array of simultaneous challenges," he concluded. That assessment differs substantially from the more rosy outlook offered just days prior by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who stated publicly on April 16th that the economy was "over the worst."
Medvedev's estimate of the economic damage suffered by Russia last year is just part of the picture, however.According to CNN Money, current projections aired by the Prime Minister suggest that sanctions will cost Russia as much as $80 billion in 2015. That will place the total losses suffered by Russia for its Ukraine policy in excess of $100 billion.