March 18:
Russia's control of the Crimean Peninsula, which the Kremlin formally annexed in 2014, has been punctuated by a "pervasive climate of fear and repression," a top human rights watchdog group has said. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that a new study by Human Rights Watch has outlined a massive worsening of human rights conditions in Crimea since its annexation by Moscow. Among other negative developments, the study notes, the "space for free speech, freedom of association, and media in Crimea has shrunk dramatically," while Russian authorities have systematically "harassed, intimidated, and taken arbitrary legal action against Crimean Tatars, an ethnic minority who openly opposed Russia's occupation."
A tony neighborhood on the outskirts of Moscow has become the latest target for an insurgent campaign waged by anti-corruption crusaders. The Moscow Times reports that an anti-corruption fund led by blogger and activist Alexei Navalny plans to field a slate of six candidates for local elections in April in the neighborhood of Barvikha, widely known as the "Russian Beverly Hills."
The move represents a broadside aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin and other high ranking officials, many of whom have residences in the neighborhood. "Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Aeroflot chief Vitaly Savelyev, Senator Dmitry Sablin...It's the same people that we're always investigating," a lawyer at the fund explained. If any of the prospective candidates make it onto the 10 seat municipal government board, "It would increase our ability to directly fight corruption," says another.
March 20:
The Kremlin is expressing outrage over new sanctions just levied by the Canadian government on Russia for its conduct in Ukraine. "Contrary to the commitments declared by the new government of Justin Trudeau to cooperate on the international stage, Ottawa continues to whip up tension," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in an official statement carried by Ukraine Today. "The new Canadian authorities had a chance to overcome the impasse inherited from the previous government - but Ottawa did not use it." The Kremlin now appears to be pondering its next steps. "This unfriendly move will not be left without a response - our countermeasures are to follow," the statement made clear.
March 21:
Russia's most famous Ukrainian prisoner of war is facing a guilty verdict from a Moscow court. TheWashington Post reports that Nadiya Savchenko, who has been dubbed "Ukraine's Joan of Arc," will likely be convicted in coming days in what has become a very public show trial. Savchenko, a Ukrainian helicopter pilot who was shot down over Eastern Ukraine in mid-2014 and subsequently spirited to Russian territory, stands accused of being responsible for the battlefield deaths of two Russian journalists.
Declining Russian economic fortunes and ongoing conflict with the West are beginning to take a bite out of Russian President Vladimir Putin's popularity, Reuters reports. A new poll by the independent Levada Center has found trust in Putin to stand at 73 percent - down 10 percentage points from a year prior. The number of respondents who said they "did not trust" Putin, meanwhile, has risen by 5 percentage points, to 19 percent.
[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.]
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