Russia Reform Monitor: No. 2077

June 10:

Russia continues to expand its activities in the Arctic. The Defence Blog reports that, as part of its growing claims to the region, the country's military has launched its first icebreaker there. The vessel, known as theIlya Muromets, "will be capable of making a two-month autonomous voyage to a distance of up to 12,000 nautical miles" and "will be capable of moving through 80-centimetre thick ice."

In a move signaling a further tightening of state control over media in Russia, the Duma has approved a new law designed to regulate - and constrain - the work of news aggregators. According to The Moscow Times, the law - which was unanimously approved by the chamber - institutes a series of new regulations that significantly expand official oversight and control of news services online.

June 11:

Russia's takeover and control of the Crimean Peninsula just over two years ago generated a veritable exodus of local residents, new statistics have shown. London's Telegraph reports that fresh data compiled by Ukrainian charity Crimea SOS pegs the number of people who fled the territory following its accession to Russia in the first part of 2014 at approximately 100,000 - nearly double the estimates previously propounded by groups such as the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

June 12:

Russia's economic prospects could soon be a bit brighter, provided Europe plays ball. Bloomberg reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to initiate talks with European Commission chair Jean-Claude Juncker about the possibility of reviving plans to expand the capacity of "Nord Stream," the controversial natural gas pipeline originally planned to carry Russian gas to Germany. Russia is seeking to restart negotiations over the moribund project as a way of loosening European sanctions and reestablishing economic leverage over Berlin. Europe, for its part, appears open to the idea - provided that Moscow respect European energy policy, something it has not done so far.

June 14:

Poor economic conditions, an increasingly nationalistic polity, and mounting authoritarian practices are contributing to a massive brain drain in Russia, with catastrophic long term consequences for the country's prosperity, a leading political scientist has noted. "Russian government statistics show a sharp upturn in emigration over the last four years," writes Judy Twigg of Virginia Commonwealth University in The National Interest. "Almost 123,000 officially departed in 2012, rising to 186,000 in 2013, and accelerating to almost 309,000 in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea and even more in 2015." But, Twigg notes, "[t]hese statistics probably underestimate actual flows, however, as many people no longer notify the government that they're leaving."

"Even more important than the absolute numbers is the type of people who are leaving: the younger, more urban and better educated," she writes. "Overwhelmingly, Russia's recent upturn in emigration is driven by relatively skilled urban liberals fleeing due to politics rather than economics. These are the heart of the 'creative class,' the scientists, educators, artists and knowledge-based workers who drive much of current economic growth worldwide. People in this category are disturbed by the political environment under Putin and are anxious to leave before it gets worse."

The results are profound - and profoundly negative for Russia. "Emigration has already hollowed out and aged Russia's scientific community, and the situation seems likely to get worse." However, "the most alarming recent trend is the emigration of students and recent graduates, driven by low salaries for young researchers, housing issues, substandard research facilities, an inadequate overall scientific environment, low social prestige for scientists and lack of effective government measures to improve the situation." This trend, moreover, will compound over time, as rising students follow their mentors overseas, leaving Russian society bereft of its "best and brightest."