Russia Reform Monitor: No. 1829

April 21:

In an editorial for the New York Times, Bill Keller suggests that the trial against Aleksei Navalny ranks among the “most important political trials in Russia in decades.” “If you set out to design a political nemesis who would give Vladimir Putin the shivers,” Keller suggested, “you might well come up with Aleksei Navalny.” The ethnic Russian, easily the most well-known of the country’s opposition leaders, has made a reputation through a relentless campaign against corruption. Among Navalny’s most recent targets was Aleksandr Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee which shortly after charged Navalny with embezzlement. Keller calls the embezzlement claims against Navalny a “laughably bogus” attempt to discredit his reputation with charges of greed. What’s worse, Keller argues, is that the “Russian public knows exactly what is going on.” “That is the point,” he concludes. “The trial is a show, and the moral of this drama is, if you stick your head up too high, you could lose it.” If found guilty, Navalny will be precluded from holding political office, which would represent a substantial blow to the opposition cause, given that The Moscow Times recognized Navalny as “the only electable” opposition figure in 2011.

April 22:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov once more warned the European Union not to lift the arms embargo preventing weapons supplies to Syrian rebels, report Reuters. Even without the embargo, Lavrov maintained that such supplies are prohibited by international law, and so “the international obligations of the EU countries...are not going anywhere.” The Foreign Minister additionally encouraged the implementation of the declaration approved by the major powers last summer in Geneva, which calls for a transitional government. Lavrov and his U.S. counterpart, John Kerry, are set to meet on the sidelines of an upcoming NATO gathering to discuss “ways to promote a peace process in Syria.”

April 24:

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, both prominent human rights watchdogs, released reports containing sharp criticism for the Russian government. In its report, CNN reports, Amnesty International noted that at least two new laws were introduced and another eleven amended in the last year, including vague provisions allowing what it labeled “arbitrary interference” with the freedom of expression, while Human Rights Watch used its report to accuse the Kremlin of unleashing a crackdown on civil society “unprecedented in the country’s post-Soviet history.” “Prominent government critics, opposition voices, watchdogs and ordinary individual protestors have all seen their rights restricted over the course of the last year,” the group added. Both groups accused the government of using the controversial measures to “stifle dissent” in the year since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency, noting the increase in criminal cases against opposition figures, from Pussy Riot to Aleksei Navalny.

April 25:

The threat of an adoption ban is quickly becoming a favored negotiation tactic in the Kremlin. The Financial Times reports that Moscow this time warned the Irish Parliament that it would pursue such a ban if Dublin pursues a U.S.-style Magnitsky sanction list. Ireland, which currently holds the European Union presidency, presented a draft motion to the country’s parliament last month calling on the Irish government to use its regional influence “to impose EU-wide visa sanctions.” Such a measure could lead to Europe-wide “Magnitsky lists,” which levied sanctions against human rights violators in Russia, including a visa travel ban to the U.S. and an asset freeze. However, Russia is the second-largest source country of adoptive children for Irish families, and the two countries are currently in negotiations over a bilateral agreement that will enable the resumption of adoptions, which were halted in 2010. The Kremlin’s letter to the Irish parliament cautioned that adopting sanctions “can have negative influence on the negotiations on the Adoption Agreement between Russia and Ireland.”

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing by two Chechen brothers, Russian President Putin called on U.S. officials to increase bilateral efforts against terrorism. The need for unity was illustrated by the attack, he argued, but if the two countries join efforts, “we will not allow these strikes and suffer such losses.” Despite last year’s wave of anti-Kremlin protests, Voice of America reports that a recent Levada Center poll showed the president’s approval rating at 63 percent.

April 26:

Only days after Putin’s proposal, Russian authorities announced that 140 people were detained in southern Moscow on suspicion of involvement in extremist organizations. Analysts suggest that the timing of the announcement, so soon after the Boston Marathon bombing and subsequent implication of two Chechen brothers, point to a Kremlin interest in using the attack as justification for further security crackdowns. One analyst called the plan a “schizophrenic policy” which has seen the Russian government use the bombings for purposes ranging from increased counterterrorism efforts to criticism of the U.S.’s foreign policies in the Middle East. Chechen extremists have waged several deadly attacks in Russia, reports the Los Angeles Times, but Western officials and analysts often disagree with Moscow’s heavy-handed security tactics.