September 23:
Russia's biggest mosque is opening in Moscow. The Moscow Times reports that the formal unveiling is expected to be a high-profile affair, with President Putin, as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in attendance. The mosque, which is one of Europe's biggest, is built on the site of the city's original 1904 mosque, and - according to Muslim religious officials - "will be able to accommodate more than 10,000 people, about 10 times more than its predecessor." The reported price tag for the place of worship was $170 million, and reportedly was funded entirely by private donations from abroad.
The new facility is engendering no shortage of ill will, however. According to a new poll by the Levada Center, "51 percent of Muscovites are against the building of new mosques in the city," and "only 4 percent support the idea," despite the absence of adequate places of worship for Moscow's practicing Muslims.
[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.]
September 24:
Russia will be holding naval drills in the "east Mediterranean" in September and October, the country's defense ministry has announced. According to the Associated Press, the drills - which are purportedly separate from Russia's current military engagement in Syria - will include three warships from the Black Sea Fleet and aim to accomplish "40 combat exercises, including rocket and artillery fire at sea and airborne targets."
Russians are seeking to emigrate in ever greater numbers, a new study by the analytical website Intersection Project has found. "the proportion of Russians drawn to Europe for travel purposes is falling whereas the number of those leaving Russia for permanent residence in other countries is growing. In 2014, 308,475 Russians left for permanent residence abroad compared to the 186,382 who emigrated in 2013." Those figures, the study notes, far outstrip the country's previous emigration nadir of 1999, "when Russia 'lost' 214,963 of its people."
September 25:
Fox News reports that, in an effort to further strengthen their country's military campaign in Syria, Russian commanders have established a "coordination cell" with their Iranian and Syrian counterparts. The contact group, based in Baghdad, is reportedly aimed at better synchronizing joint military action against the Islamic State and other assorted opponents now threatening the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
September 26:
Following protracted negotiations between Russia and Estonia, the two countries have agreed to exchange prisoners on a bridge separating their territory. The BBC reports that the Estonian prisoner is Aleksei Dressen, a Russian national who has been imprisoned in Estonia on charges of espionage since 2012. The Russian prisoner, however, isn't a spy, but rather Estonian security service agent Eston Kohver, who was kidnapped by Russian gangs on Estonian soil, taken to Russia, and subsequently received 15 years in prison from a Russian court in what observers say was a political show trial.
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