April 29:
The New York Times reports that Russia is in negotiations with Iran on a new, multi-billion dollar energy deal. The prospective agreement, worth an estimated $8 to $10 billion, would involve the Russian export of electricity to Iran, as well as Russian construction of new thermal and hydroelectric plants in the Islamic Republic. It comes on the heels of a $20 billion oil-for-goods barter deal announced earlier this year.
DNA tracking of foreign workers may soon become a reality in Russia. The Moscow Times reports that the country’s Federal Migration Service has proposed expanding its tracking of foreign workers within the Russian Federation - currently limited to fingerprinting - to include DNA sampling. The proposal follows other restrictions aimed at foreign workers, including a law requiring potential residents to know Russian history and the Russian language.
April 30:
Bloomberg reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned additional pressure from the West could lead Moscow to edge the U.S. and EU out of the Russian energy market. Should sanctions continue “then of course we will have to consider who’s working and how in the Russian Federation, in the key sectors of the Russian economy, including energy,” Putin told reporters while on a state visit to Belarus. Putin’s comments came in response to a new round of economic penalties applied by Europe on Putin’s inner circle, a day after additional such sanctions were imposed by the U.S.
The lower house of Russia’s parliament has passed a strict new measure taking aim at the country’s burgeoning blogosphere. The Agence France Presse reports that the State Duma has approved a new law regulating content on “popular” blogs - defined as those with more than 3,000 visitors daily. The websites in question are henceforth prohibited from “making calls to carry out terrorism or publicly justifying terrorism,” as well as carrying any “extremist” material – a broad category covering literature promoting violence or pornography. The law was passed over the objections of Mikhail Fedotov, head of the Kremlin’s human rights advisory council.
Amid ongoing political instability related to Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund has again downgraded its forecast for Russian growth. The Financial Times reports that the IMF now predicts Russian GDP to grow by just 0.2 percent in 2014, down from a projected 1.3 percent in April. “Geopolitical tension, sanctions and the fear of more sanctions are having a really bad effect on investment,” says Antonio Spilimbergo, the head of the IMF’s Moscow mission. “And the reason this slowdown is so serious is that the geopolitical tension is coming on top of existing serious structural bottlenecks.” According to Spilimbergo, Russia’s economy is now already technically in recession.
May 1:
Authorities in Kyiv have ordered Russia’s military attache to the country to be expelled, Reuters reports. The Russian unnamed officer was allegedly caught “red-handed receiving classified information from his source,” a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s security service has said. The source was described as a colonel in the Ukrainian armed forces. The Ukrainian government has declared the Russian official persona non grata and ordered his expulsion.
Want these sent to your inbox?
Subscribe