August 31:
How do Russians see the United States? The answer, according to a recent survey bythe the state-owned Public Opinion Research Center, is profoundly negative. The Moscow Times reports that the poll found that 70% of Russians have negative views of America, with many believing that the United States is morally decadent and openly racist, with "no warmth in people's relations.” The findings mark a significant change from 1990, when the same survey showed that a majority of Russians saw the U.S. as an ideal system where success depended on one's own effort.
[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.]
Russia has begun dispatching military forces to Syria, with thousands more expected to arrive at a regime-controlled airbase in the coming weeks. Russia is said to be sending fighter jets, helicopters, advisors, instructors, and arms to equip and train the army of dictator Bashar al-Assad, ostensibly to better equip it to fight the Islamic State terrorist group. Israel's Yediot Ahronot, however, notes that Russia's motive may be a more defensive strategy, one designed to prop up Assad's Syria and make it a buffer between the terrorist group and the majority-Muslim former republics of the USSR.
September 2:
The Kremlin's ongoing assault on Internet freedom within the Russian Federation has taken a step forward.Radio Free Europe reports that, pursuant to a new law recently passed by the Russian government which took effect on September 1st, domestic and foreign companies are required to store all data of Russian users on servers physically located within Russia. Violators of the ordinance will be put on a blacklist and fined up to 300,000 rubles, and may also be blocked by Internet providers. But enforcement of the law could turn out to be difficult, because a number of high-profile companies - including social media giant Facebook - have already said they would not comply.
As Western economic sanctions and low oil prices continue to buffet the Russian economy, the Kremlin is taking a more hands-on role in stabilizing its ailing financial sector. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Russia's central bank, on orders of the Kremlin, "has set aside 100 billion roubles to help finance industrial and agricultural projects" impacted by the country's economic downturn. The goal, Kremlin confidantes say, is "to quickly saturate the economy with long-term, cheap financing." Beneficiaries of the policy include agricultural conglomerate EkoNiva and state oil giant Rosneft, among others.
September 3:
Ukraine is moving to limit Russian influence in its media sector. Radio Free Europe reports that a new measure passed by the Ukrainian Rada formally bans Russians from establishing or running TV or radio stations on Ukrainian soil. Under the measure, according to RFE, "no one involved in the broadcast business can be from a country regarded by Ukraine as an aggressor" - a designation formally accorded to the Russian Federation by the Ukrainian government earlier this year.
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