February 5:
Russians are growing increasingly pessimistic about their country's economic and political situation.NEWSru.com reports that, for the first time since the start of the current political crisis precipitated by Russia's aggression against Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014, "the majority of Russians have termed the situation bad." The news portal, citing the results of a new poll of Russian opinion conducted by the FOM policy center (and first reported in the Kommersant newspaper), outlines that 54% of respondents assessed the current economic situation in the country "negatively," while 41% of those polled described conditions as "satisfactory."
[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.]
Russian authorities have reportedly launched a formal investigation into the activities of Vladimir Yakunin, the former head of Russian Railways and a one-time close ally of President Vladimir Putin. According to The Moscow Times, Yakunin - who ran Russia's state railroad concern for more than a decade - has come under scrutiny by Russian law enforcement agencies after multiple charges of corruption were leveled against him by opposition activist and blogger Alexei Navalny.
Has Vladimir Putin picked an heir apparent? London's Daily Mail, citing sources in Moscow, reports that Alexei Dyumin, a 43-year old former bodyguard of the Russian president is being "groomed" for political power - and perhaps even for the presidency itself. Dyumin was recently given the governorship of the Tula region by the Kremlin - a sign of the high regard in which the former "aide-de-camp" of the president and retired Army special forces officer is held in the corridors of power in Moscow.
February 6:
Russian truckers are intensifying their protests outside of Moscow, RosBalt reports. The protests, galvanized in opposition to the Russian government’s PLATON system of fees for large-cargo vehicles, have gone on for some two month, and show no sign of abating. In fact, according to the news agency, the truckers are now organizing and "will soon create a country-wide truckers association" to assist in their efforts.
February 8:
Russia's gray and black markets are thriving. The Moscow Times reports that, according to state financial monitoring agency ROSFINMONITORING, an estimated $11.7 trillion rubles ($152 billion) in what can be classified as "suspicious" financial transactions took place in Russia last year. The total encompasses "suspicious banking operations" out of Russia to the tune of 1.47 trillion rubles ($19 billion), and 250 billion rubles ($32 billion) in inflows. And as the Russian economy has deteriorated, the pace of financial crime ha accelerated. Last year, "a total of 627 criminal cases related to money laundering were sent to court last year, 18.3 percent more than in 2014," the paper reports, citing Interior Ministry statistics.
February 9:
A leading Russian opposition figure has been attacked in Moscow, The Daily Beast reports. Former Prime Minister - and current opposition leader - Mikhail Kasyanov was assaulted by a group of some 20 men while at a restaurant in the Russian capital. Observers described the attackers, who smashed a cake over Kasyanov's head in an act of public humiliation, as speaking Chechen. Kasyanov is currently the leader of the RPR-PARNAS political faction, which he co-chaired with Boris Nemtsov until the latter's assassination in February of last year.
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