May 17:
Vladimir Putin's handling of Ukraine has pushed the Russian president's popularity to a six-year high. London'sIndependent, citing a new study by polling group VTsIOM, reports that Putin's popularity now stands at some 85 percent - up by more than a third since the beginning of the year, and the highest level recorded since 2008.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Given the effect of Russia's increasingly authoritarian political climate on pollsters and respondents alike, the results of public opinion surveys in Russia should be viewed with some caution.]
May 19:
On the eve of a major summit between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, Kremlin officials are waxing optimistic about the prospects for greater space cooperation between Moscow and Beijing. The Moscow Times reports that Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, meeting in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart ahead of the Putin-Xi summit, has announced the signing of "a protocol on establishing a control group for the implementation of eight strategic projects" - including joint space navigation. Plans are now reportedly in the works for a meeting in the near future between the heads of Russian and Chinese space agencies.
Has Russia begun to stand down vis-a-vis Ukraine? The New York Times reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered the withdrawal of troops from his country's common border with Ukraine following the conclusion of current war-game exercises. The announcement, the paper reports, reflects an effort by the Kremlin to signal that it has no plans to invade Ukraine ahead of that country's May 25th election. Yet so far, NATO officials say that have not seen evidence of a Russian redeployment.
Muslim migrants in Russia's capital will soon have the opportunity to learn Russian. Izvestia reports that the country's Federal Migration Service is working with the spiritual directorate of Muslims in Moscow to better assimilate migrants into the country. Beginning next month, four mosques under the Moscow spiritual directorate will launch Russian language courses in a move that observers say is intended to better assimilate Muslims from abroad into the country.
The Russian government is lowering the barriers for students to get higher education, The Moscow Timesreports. Under a new plan put forth by the country's Education and Science Ministry, high-school seniors in Russia will be able to take the country's "unified state exam" as many as three times in one year in order to raise their scores. The plan, which takes effect in 2016, is intended to improve competitiveness among Russian students, as well as to alleviate criticism of the widely-panned "unified state exam."
May 20:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Shanghai for an international conference that is expected to be the stage for a dramatic strengthening of ties between Moscow and Beijing. India's The Statesman reports that Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have backed each other's stances on issues such as cyber espionage (China), the Ukraine crisis (Russia), and maritime territorial disputes (China). Beijing has called for a "political solution" to the Ukraine crisis, and opposed Western sanctions on the Kremlin for its fomentation of unrest in eastern and southern Ukraine.
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