July 1:
The Daily Beast reports that five Russian combat fighter jets have arrived in Iraq. The Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets - part of a planned contingent of 12 aircraft promised to the Iraqi government - will be employed in the battle against radical Islamist group ISIS in the near future. Russia has also reportedly sent “trainers” along with the aircraft to familiarize Iraqi pilots with the systems. ready to “enter the battle against ISIS within a few days.”
A recent poll by the Levada Center has provided some interesting insights into Russian citizens’ use of media and the Internet. According to The Moscow Times, the study found that while 46 percent of Russians go online daily, 36 percent do not use the Internet at all. Additionally, 53 percent of those polled said they supported censorship of - and government constraints on - the Internet. Among the survey’s other findings is that Russian social media sites such as vKontakte are highly preferred over their foreign counterparts (like Facebook and Twitter).
[EDITORS’ 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.]
The Moscow Times reports that the Russian government will spend $18.2 billion on Crimea in a bid to further develop the struggling region. $4.3 billion of that sum will be used to build a bridge connecting Russia to the recently-annexed peninsula. The Kremlin hopes this investment will alleviate Crimea’s rising water and energy costs, slumping tourism industry, and large budget deficit.
July 2:
Russia’s economic growth continues to suffer in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. According to The Moscow Times, credit ratings agency Moody’s has assigned a “negative” outlook to Russia’s largest cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. If they are severe enough, the agency noted, these poor prospects could be ameliorated through massive government intervention, and there is a “moderate probability of extraordinary support coming from the federal government if the cities were to face acute liquidity stress.” Absent such assistance from the Kremlin, however, the outlook for these cities is bleak.
July 4:
The Russian government’s apparent moderation of its approach to Ukraine in recent days is rubbing the country’s nationalists the wrong way. The Wall Street Journal reports that prominent nationalist thinkers like Eurasia Movement founder Alexander Dugin have become increasingly disenchanted with president Vladimir Putin’s handling of Ukraine, which they fault for being too accommodating. "Before, we could have an illusion that Putin himself is a Eurasian patriot, a defender of Orthodox identity," the paper cites Dugin as saying. "His hesitation now is a sign that he has followed this line by some pragmatic calculations, by some realistic understanding of the politics." Dugin, moreover, isn’t alone in his discontent. "The disappointment isn't only mine. It is shared by many people," he says.
The Kremlin, for its part, is trying to mute such extreme views. "Now they're not allowing people who are demanding an immediate invasion on television," nationalist figure Alexander Prokhanov has said. “That is the current political line."
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