March 26:
Chechnya's notorious strongman has received a political reprieve from the Kremlin. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree appointing Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov the acting head of the republic until September of 2016, when the region will hold formal elections. Kadirov, whose official term in office expires on April 5th, has had an increasingly tense political relationship with Moscow over the past year, fanning rumors that the Chechen warlord would be removed from office in the near future. This speculation was further fueled by Kadyrov himself, who recently commented that he believed it to be time to step down. Putin's edict, however, appears to be a vote of continued confidence in the regional strongman.
The decree, however, came with a clear reproach. At their Kremlin meeting, Putin told Kadyrov - who has struck an increasingly independent line vis-a-vis the federal center - that "as the future leader of the republic, you should do everything to ensure full compliance with Russian laws in all spheres of life."
March 28:
Russia is blaming foreign governments and media organizations for attempting to discredit President Putin and influence the results of the country's upcoming parliamentary elections in September. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, one the organizations which is the target of Kremlin ire is the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a Washington, DC-based network of reporters from over 65 countries. "They continue to actively try to influence our country. They continue to rock the boat in our country," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has alleged regarding the ICIJ and other foreign organizations.
March 29:
Russia's intervention in Syria has had an unforeseen benefit for the Kremlin; it has created a new foreign market for its military hardware. The Kremlin-controlled Sputnik news outlet reports that the Russian military's success in Syria "has already attracted the attention of a whole array of foreign customers" for Russian arms. The list of current and prospective Russian arms clients now includes Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Pakistan, among others - and their military and defense-industrial ties to Moscow are deepening. As a result, in the near future "Russia may clinch such contracts, worth about seven billion dollars." That sum, in turn, exceeds "the 33 billion rubles that were spent on the country's air campaign in Syria," making intervention in the Syrian civil war a sound business decision for the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Russia's special forces are having a marked effect on the ongoing conflict in Syria, the Washington Post reports. Russian Spetznaz troops played a significant role in the Syrian military's recent, successful offensive to recapture the city of Palmyra, and represent an increasingly important part of Russia's ongoing involvement in the Syrian civil war. "Russian special forces are doing a lot of the targeting for Russian airstrikes and a lot of advising for the Syrians," notes Michael Kofman, an analyst with the Center for Naval Analyses. They are also directly engaged in the hostilities, "participating in combat alongside Syrian troops at the tactical level," the Post notes.
March 30:
Contrary to President Putin's announcement earlier this month, Russia in fact does not seem to be planning to withdraw from Syria any time soon. Reuters notes that, in the two weeks following Putin's declaration, five separate cargo ships, including an oil tanker, have arrived in Syria. The exact make-up of the ships and cargo planes now traveling between Russia and Syria remains unknown, but their existence suggests that Russia is preserving its position in Syria in the event that its bases in the country come under threat, or there is a danger of greater instability for the Assad regime.
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