MOSCOW ABORTS VOTE ON DZERZHINSKY STATUE
Last month, Muscovites were given the opportunity to vote on whether they would like to see a statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the feared Bolshevik revolutionary who headed the Soviet Union's first secret police, the Cheka, returned to its original location in front of the FSB headquarters in central Moscow. The statue had originally been torn down in 1991, shortly before the collapse of the USSR. Online voting was organized by the municipal government of Moscow and allowed participants to pick between Dzerzhinsky and Aleksandr Nevsky, the 13th century Novgorod Prince who defended Russia from an invasion by the Teutonic Knights. After only two days of voting, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin abruptly closed the online pole, citing polarized results and the need to erect a statue in Lubyanka Square that unified the public, not divided it. (The Moscow Times, February 25, 2021; BBC News, February 26, 2021)
PRIGOZHIN AND OTHERS ADDED TO FBI MOST WANTED LIST
The FBI has placed pro-Kremlin oligarch Evgeni Prigozhin and twelve other Russian nationals on its most wanted list for alleged conspiracy to undermine the United States and its political system during the runup to the 2016 presidential election. An arrest warrant for Prigozhin was issued in 2018 in connection to a Justice Department indictment of the Internet Research Agency, the notorious "troll farm" known to have spread propaganda and incited division among would-be U.S. voters. There is now a $250,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
Prigozhin is known in Russia as "Putin's Chef" due to his ownership of the company that provides catering to the Kremlin. He is also known to be closely affiliated with Wagner, a mercenary firm whose contractors have operated in Ukraine, Syria, and other countries vital to Russian interests. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, February 26, 2021)
COVID FORCES RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS OUT OF NORTH KOREA
Eight staff members from Russia's Embassy in Pyongyang were forced to flee North Korea in a trip that involved 32 hours of train travel and a two hour bus ride. For the last mile of the journey, the Embassy's third secretary, Vladislav Sorokin, had to also push the families’ children on a railway wagon, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry Facebook post. North Korea's borders have been shut down for months in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19, forcing the families to improvise a way out of the DPRK. Alexander Matsegora, the Russian ambassador to North Korea, had informed Russian media earlier in the month that the remaining diplomats in Pyongyang had been prevented from using public transportation and had been struggling to purchase basic food items. (NPR, February 26, 2021)
RUSSIAN OUTRAGE AT U.S. STRIKES IN SYRIA
Russian officials have condemned the recent U.S. airstrikes against Syria, stating that the move was "extremely outrageous" and that it violated "Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity." The overnight airstrikes targeted facilities in eastern Syria that were said to have belonged to Iran-backed militia forces. The strikes were carried out in response to the February 15th attack on U.S. forces in Iraq. According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the United States did not inform Russia of their actions until minutes before, further adding that, "This sort of warning — when strikes are already underway — gives (us) nothing." The Kremlin has stated that it will continue to "closely monitor" the situation in Syria. (The Moscow Times, February 26, 2021)
RUSSIANS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF NEMTSOV MURDER
Thousands of people, including British and Western diplomats, gathered to pay homage to Boris Nemstov on the Moscow bridge where the opposition leader was shot six years ago. Nemstov, a former deputy prime minister, was a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The anniversary of his assassination is of particular significance this year as it comes just weeks after the jailing of the country's most prominent opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. A number of Navalny's supporters attended the event, with many of them signing a statement specifying that this was a memorial event and not a rally. The statement, which was posted on social media, further urged Navalny's supporters to refrain from bringing posters or anything that might prompt the police to detain them. (Al Jazeera, February 27, 2021)
NAVALNY SENT TO NOTORIOUS PENAL COLONY
Alexei Navalny has arrived at the Russian penal colony where he will serve out his two-and-a-half-year sentence for breaking the terms of his probation while in Germany recovering from poisoning last summer. The facility is located in Vladimir Oblast and is considered a "red zone" where strict control is maintained over all aspects of prisoners' daily lives. Another opposition activist, Konstantin Kotov, served a year-and-a-half at the facility and reported "extreme psychological pressure" at the hands of his jailers. According to Kotov, isolation and other punishments were administered for minor infractions such as failing to salute a prison guard. (Bloomberg, February 28, 2021)
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