Russia Reform Monitor: No. 1874

February 4:

According to China's Xinhua news agency, St. Petersburg authorities are actively considering the creation of street patrols comprised of Caucasian youth. The proposed patrols are intended to reduce rising tensions between Slavic nationalist groups and the Caucasian population, and to counteract the popular perception that local authorities are prejudiced against residents of Caucasian origin.

February 6:

Moscow is renewing its focus on the Far East. RIA Novosti reports that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the Russian government to draw up plans for a transfer of a number of state-owned companies and federal agencies to the Far East. The Kremlin has so far declined to identify which government branches and firms will be relocated. The announcement comes a month after Medvedev declared that he was personally taking control of government efforts to improve business conditions in Siberia and the Far East.

On the eve of the start of the Sochi Olympics, Russian officials are facing a mounting litany of complaints from journalists covering the Games and other visitors. The problems include missing doorknobs, bathroom malfunctions, and assorted other mishaps that have gone viral on the World-Wide Web. But the Kremlin’s official response, the Wall Street Journal reports, actually reveals a great deal about extensive official spying on visitors to Sochi. Responding to media inquiries, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak attempted to explain away at least some of the problems by saying that authorities “have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave for the whole day.” Following the statement, Kozak was quickly ushered away by his aides.

February 7:

Russia is prepared to expand its nuclear cooperation with Iran, a top Kremlin official has said. Iran’s official FARS news agency cites Nikolai Spassky, the deputy head of ROSATOM, as saying during an official visit to Iran that Russian officials “are holding a dialog with the Iranian side on the option of prolonging our cooperation regarding the Bushehr nuclear power plant.” This, according to both Spassky and assorted Iranian officials, will take the form of assistance in the construction of a second nuclear plant at Bushehr, which will be only one of a number of new nuclear facilities now being contemplated by the Islamic Republic.

Russia is poised to crack down on a new form of virtual currency known as Bitcoin. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office has formally served notice that it plans to ban the crypto-currency, which has proliferated on the Internet and become an alternative source of payment and funding for a range of criminal activities.

The New York Times reports that at least 61 people have been detained by Russian authorities in a far-reaching dragnet designed to enforce social order as the Olympic Games begin. The security sweep, which stretched from St. Petersburg to the country’s restive North Caucasus republics, has targeted gay rights activists, environmental campaigners, and at least one prominent opposition politician.