Russia Reform Monitor: No. 1843

July 26:

Rights activists decided to hit Russia where it hurts in protest over new laws allowing police officers to arrest tourists and foreign nationals suspected of being either homosexual or “pro-gay.” “To show our solidarity with Russian queers and their allies and to help to draw international attention...[to] Vladimir Putin’s increasingly fascistic Russia,” wrote Dan Savage, a well-known U.S. writer, “dump Russian vodka.” Savage identified Stolichnaya and Russian Standard for the boycott, the Guardian reports, and within hours six bars in Chicago announced that they would stop selling Russian products. Stolichnaya representatives were quick to deny any connection with the Russian government, and Val Mendeleev, the head of the SPI group (the Belgian company that produces Stolichnaya) published an open letter condemning the Kremlin for “limiting the rights of the LGBT community.” Russian activists said that while the boycott in general may have been misguided, given that Stolichnaya isn’t owned by Russians, “this is all good for attracting attention to the situation in Russia.”

July 28:

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest publicity stunt had the Internet buzzing. In the most recent of a long string of outdoors-themed publicity shots, the Kremlin this time released a video of the sixty-year-old president catching a large pike. Boasts from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov that the pike was at least 21 kilos (46.3 pounds) quickly prompted an outcry from Internet users. “They must have forgotten to unfreeze the pike,” suggested one person, while another suggested that “the Kremlin must have weighed the pike the way they count the votes.” Political opponents accused Putin of turning Russian media coverage into his own personal reality show. In years past, Putin was seen in similar encounters with polar bears, tigers, and even a snow leopard, and the LA Times reports that the Kremlin received similar criticism last August when Putin was photographed diving in the Black Sea in south Russia, emerging with two ancient amphorae from a shipwreck.

July 29:

As Russian and Ukrainian leaders met in Kiev, the site of the original Russian state, to celebrate the 1,025th anniversary of Russia’s conversion to Christianity, President Putin once more pushed Ukraine to turn its gaze away from the West. Currently, reports the Christian Science Monitor, Ukraine’s leaders are set to sign a new agreement with the European Union in November, which will grant the country trade preferences with Europe. It will also preclude membership in any alternative trading blocs, such as the Russia-led Eurasian customs union. Putin, who has voiced hopes that the customs union will serve as a precursor to a “Eurasian Union” of former Soviet states, cautioned his Ukrainian counterparts against closer ties with the west. “Competition on global markets is very fierce today,” he noted at a meeting with Ukrainian religious and political leaders. “I am sure that most of you realize that only by joining forces can we be competitive and stand a chance of winning in this tough environment.”

July 30:

As relations between Washington and Moscow move “from crisis to crisis,” Job Henning suggests in an editorial for the New York Times that there remains little to be gained from further “reboot” efforts. “Whatever the merits of the ‘reset’ effort in 2009,” he argues, “it is not a good idea for Washington to spend time and political capital to once again try to build a strategic partnership.” The Kremlin has demonstrated little to no interest in further arms reductions, Henning notes, which was a “key focus” of the 2009 reset. For proof, he notes that the announcement in March that the United States would not build the final phase of the European missile defense shield, which would include long-range interceptors (the greatest threat to Russia’s strategic deterrent) failed to garner any positive response from Moscow. He points out that our strategic interests differ on nearly every major topic, from Iran to Syria to human rights. “These divergent interests simply will not support a new and productive strategic relationship between the United States and Russia,” Henning concludes. “But sometimes there is nothing wrong with maintaining a tactical, opportunistic relationship. Washington should remain ready to exploit opportunities for cooperation with Putin on issues where interests do happen to overlap.”

July 31:

The flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet, the Moskva, set off for Havana in what U.S. officials consider an effort to boost military, intelligence, and economic ties with Cuba. Earlier in the year, according to the Washington Times, the Kremlin wrote off the majority of Cuba’s Soviet-era debt, totaling close to $30 billion. Analysts suggest the move is an attempt to maintain influence in the region, following the death of Venezuela’s leftist leader Hugo Chavez and the expected retirement of Cuban leader Raul Castro. After stopping in Havana, the Moskva will continue on to Caracas, Venezuela; Managua, Nicaragua; and Praia Port in the Cape Verde Islands off the eastern coast of Africa.

August 1:

Despite continued pressure from Washington, the Kremlin granted a year’s asylum to American fugitive Edward Snowden. The announcement jeopardizes a September summit between Russian and American leaders in Moscow. “We see this as an unfortunate development and we are extremely disappointed by it,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney. “We are evaluating the utility of a summit, in light of this and other issues.” Reuters reports that several other meetings between U.S. and Russian officials are also in limbo, including next-week’s scheduled discussions between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and their Russian counterparts. Several U.S. lawmakers are also pushing President Barack Obama to boycott the G20 summit scheduled to meet in St. Petersburg in September. “Russia has stabbed us in the back," insisted Senator Chuck Schumer, “and each day that Mr. Snowden is allowed to roam free is another twist of the knife.”