September 7:
Even as Russia's relations with the West sour, the Kremlin is eyeing an expansion of its public diplomacy toward the rest of the world. Social media site BuzzFeed reports that earlier this year, Russia's state-run broadcaster, Rossiya Segodnya, approached the Iraq affiliate of the U.S.-government's Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty service to explore the possibility of using the latter's transmitters for stepped up messaging toward the Middle East. The move appeared part of a "general" outreach to "possible affiliate partners," RFE/RL officials said. Nevertheless, it reflects an increasingly aggressive messaging effort on the part of the Russian government, which is eyeing new capabilities "to transmit programs into Arab countries, into Iran, and even further down - let's say China, India — on shortwave."
September 8:
In a throwback to Cold War era strategic brinksmanship, Russian bombers have again practiced cruise missile strikes on the continental United States. The Washington Free Beacon reports that two Tu-95 "Bear" bombers have carried out a training mission near Iceland, Greenland and Canada as part of "nuclear bombing practice" against the U.S.
Hard-hit by Western sanctions, Russia's state oil giant Rosneft is getting a helping hand from the Kremlin.According to The Moscow Times, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is considering a gradual transfer of as much as 1.5 trillion rubles ($40.6 billion) of state funds to the conglomerate. Rosneft head Igor Sechin previously requested that a sum in that amount be withdrawn from Russia's National Welfare Fund - something the Kremlin now appears to be actively considering, despite domestic criticism.
The Moscow Times reports that the Russian government is moving ahead with its Arctic strategy. According to the paper, Russia's Defense Ministry has confirmed that new military camps are now being built in the region at locations in the Chukchi Sea, near Alaska. The bases mark the first new facilities in the region since the Soviet era, is seen as a significant step toward Russia's militarization of the Arctic - and a concrete effort by the Kremlin to solidify its claim over the resource-rich territory in the face of opposition from the other "polar" powers (the U.S., Canada, Denmark and Norway).
As the crisis over Ukraine continues, Russia's economic fortunes are dimming still further. Interfax reports that investment bank Morgan Stanley is predicting that Russia's economy will enter a recession next year. The investment giant "has lowered its growth forecast for the Russian economy in 2014 from 0.8 percent to 0.6 percent, and in 2015 the bank's economists now expect a recession, with a constriction of 0.5 percent," according to the news agency.
September 9:
In an effort to mitigate the effect of Western sanctions, Moscow is turning to Beijing. The Moscow Times reportsthat, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Russia and China are on track to sign an agreement on the joint production of long-range aircraft in October. The move is seen as a compliment to Russia's domestic aircraft production, which Kremlin officials have said must be boosted to offset the possible cut-off of cooperation with Western aviation firms like Boeing and Airbus.
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