September 8:
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, once more rejected the United States’ push for further sanctions against Syria and Iran, reports the Washington Post. Sanctions against the Middle East’s rogue states are contrary to Russia’s commercial interests, Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on the sidelines of the APEC summit. “Russia is fundamentally against this,” he later told reporters, “since for resolving problems you have to engage the countries you are having issues with and not isolate them...We clearly stated that this was unacceptable, and they listened to us. What the result will be, I don’t know.” The two officials additionally discussed wildlife conservation and the upcoming winter Olympics in Sochi, and signed an agreement to enhance bilateral efforts in the Antarctic.
September 9:
Reuters reports President Putin drew parallels after his latest publicity stunt of flying with migrating cranes between his opponents and the weak birds “unable to follow their leader.” After a talk show host likened his flight to March’s contested elections, in which he won nearly two-thirds—but not all—of the votes, Putin replied “only the weak cranes did not follow at the first attempt...Of course, there are some birds who do not like to fly in a flock, and prefer to nest individually. But what can we do? Even if they are not in our flock, they are still members of our breeding population and should be treated with care.” The president largely ceased the publicity stunts that were once so popular, but now draw mockery from his critics, including tracking a Siberian tiger and swimming in mountain rivers.
September 10:
Nearly 1,000 people attended a “Free Pussy Riot Fest” musical festival headlined by several of Russia’s politically-motivated rock groups. Organizers claimed St. Petersburg officials attempted to prevent the festival, reports the Associated Press, claiming safety violations, while riot police surrounded the building and arrested several attendees for alleged jaywalking. Proceeds from the show were donated to Pussy Riot along with other jailed activists, while the jailed musicians’ fellow bandmates posted a video online pledging to carry on “with their musical fight.”
September 12:
Despite an officially sympathetic response to the violent death of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya from Russia, numerous officials and commentators were harshly unapologetic, the New York Times reports. While Foreign Minister Lavrov’s telegram to U.S. Secretary of State Clinton denounced the attack as a “crime,” that confirmed the “necessity of combining the forces of our countries and the whole international community to fight with the evil of terrorism,” one prime-time news report compared it to the death of Muammar el-Qaddafi. Another suggested that Russia’s earlier warnings against action in the Middle East “came from the bitter experience of the Soviets in Afghanistan.” “You are trying to distribute democracy the way we tried to distribute socialism,” he said. “You do it the Western way. They hate both.”
September 13:
The Russian parliament voted 291-150 with three abstentions to expel Gennady Gudkov from his position as a member, under allegations of illegal business dealings. “You deprive me of lawyers, of cross-examination,” he said in his final speech to the body. “You deprive me of the possibility of asking questions and getting answers. And finally, you deprive me of the right to appeal. This is a reprisal. It is not a court. And what is happening today here, it’s a shame for the country.” Opposition activists accepted the news with a warning that their efforts may become more radical to achieve political change, the BBC reports. Officials will determine whether to open a criminal case against Gudkov by the end of the month.
September 14:
Russian officials denied suggestions that the EU’s ongoing investigation into Gazprom’s European activities will be a “repeat” of the decade-long battle between Microsoft and the EU. “I’m sure Gazprom will be more efficient than Microsoft in defending its interests and reaching a solution,” insisted one official. “There is no analogy with Microsoft or Google (also currently under investigation in the EU).” According to Reuters, Microsoft was eventually fined more than $1.3 billion for breaching EU rules. Gazprom already eliminated a contract clause thwarting Austrian and Italian gas companies from re-selling gas bought from Gazprom under pressure from EU officials.