June 2:
Is the Kremlin expanding its military presence on the Belarusian border? Various media outlets have reported that Russia recently relocated a permanent motor rifle brigade from the Urals to the Bryansk region. Moscow, however, has publicly denied these claims and criticized Western media for manipulating information, according to the Itar-TASS news agency. "It would be a strong exaggeration to speak about the strengthening of some alignment of forces on the border with Belarus," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has told reporters.
Russia's male population faces an increasingly grim demographic future, a leading Russian social scientist has said. Galina Tikhova, a Professor of Statistics and Demography at Russian State Social University, tells Russia Beyond the Headlines that "the gap between male and female lifespans currently exceeds 11 years." And while many elite institutions cite the declining mortality rate as proof that Russia's demographic crisis is exaggerated, Tikhova warns that the mortality rate in Russia is still three to four times higher than in most developed countries - a statistic that will be slow to change given the country's declining living standards.
Who do Russians consider their enemies? The Moscow Times reports that a recent Levada Center poll has found that Russian citizens view the U.S., Ukraine, and Turkey in that category. An overwhelming majority of respondents (72 percent) viewed the United States as a hostile power, while almost half (48 percent) saw Ukraine as an adversary - an increase of 11 percent since 2015. The most drastic change, however, has been the rise in the number of Russians who view Turkey as a threat - 29 percent now versus only 1 percent in 2015.
[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.]
June 3:
Less than three months after announcing a significant military withdrawal from Syria, the Kremlin is poised to expand its contingent there anew. According to deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Fyodorov, Russian President Vladimir Putin is increasingly contemplating the notion of a deployment of ground troops in Syria in response to battlefield losses by Syrian President (and Kremlin ally) Bashar al-Assad.
The move, though controversial, is a logical one. "Russia has little choice," political scientist Sergey Strokan tells Al Jazeera. "It can't allow itself to lose [the Syrian city of] Aleppo... This would enable the other side to regain the initiative and [force Russia] to accept conditions not favorable for Assad."
NGOs and charity organizations that receive foreign funding in Russia could soon breathe a little easier. RT reports that, after years of cracking down on such groups, President Putin has signed into law a bill that exempts "nonpolitical" organizations from registering as foreign agents, as stipulated under the Kremlin's notorious "Foreign Agents Law." The loosening comes amid the continued decline of the Russian economy, and is seen by many as an effort to facilitate greater financial flows into the country.
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