RUSSIA LOCKS DOWN UNEVENLY ACROSS ITS REGIONS
Russia's logistical response to the coronavirus has been piecemeal in nature, as national and regional authorities differ in their messaging. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has affirmed to the public that a national closure of transportation infrastructure between the country's administrative regions, such as railroads and highways, is not being seriously considered at the highest levels. The announcement was made in the wake of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov's announcement that, starting on April 5th, Chechnya would close its borders, with the exception of shipment of foodstuffs and medical equipment, and the transport of seriously ill seeking treatment. Additionally, Murmansk Oblast, located within the Arctic Circle, has restricted travel to multiple cities within its borders in an attempt to slow the spread of the outbreak. (RBC, April 2, 2020)
MEDICAL ACTIVIST AND WHISTLEBLOWER ARRESTED
Anastasia Vasilievna, a Moscow-area eye doctor, was detained by police on her way to deliver medical supplies to a village hospital outside of Russia's capital city. Vasilievna heads the Alliance of Doctors, an organization formed a year ago to shed truth on the Kremlin's claims of improved funding for hospitals around the country. In preparation for the current pandemic, Vasilievna and the Alliance fundraised for supplies for hospitals in dire need of masks, gloves, and other necessary goods.
Vasilievna was on her way to deliver them that she was detained, ostensibly for "violating quarantine." However, eyewitnesses claim that police stopped no other vehicles and were looking for the doctor specifically. Vasilievna had recently posted a video denouncing Russia's coronavirus statistics as fabricated, and had previously been arrested for demonstrating against the closure of a medical facility serving a poor area in southern Russia last year. (New York Times, April 3, 2020)
RUSSIAN WHITE SUPREMACISTS BLACKLISTED BY U.S.
For the first time ever, the United States has designated a white supremacist group as a terrorist organization. On April 6th, the State Department announced that it had added the Russian Imperial Movement and its leaders to its "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" list. The Movement is known for providing European neo-Nazis with training and support, as well as using its two Saint Petersburg facilities as locations for weapons training and ideological indoctrination. In 2016, the group trained two Swedish citizens for 11 days at those facilities, and the individuals returned home and embarked on a campaign of terror against migrants, bombing a café and a migrant center in the city of Gothenburg. The designation was made possible by a recent Executive Order on the part of the White House that gives the U.S. greater sanctioning authority over groups and individuals suspected of engaging in terrorism. (U.S. Department of State, April 6, 2020)
STRANDED RUSSIAN NATIONALS BAILED OUT BY MOSCOW
Russian authorities are doing double duty as they try both to seal the country's borders and to support Russian nationals stranded abroad as the world locks down due to the coronavirus. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has announced a $6.3 million relief fund for the estimated 25,000 Russians currently stranded in other countries awaiting repatriation as a way of easing the financial burden on those waiting. Moscow is not, however, speeding up its repatriation efforts, which have been capped at 500 daily for Moscow and 200 a day for all other cities, dragging out the process. Citizens must now file for repatriation to Russia, because previously uncoordinated efforts had resulted in nearly empty flights landing in Russia from abroad. (The Moscow Times, April 6, 2020)
OIL RETURNING TO BELARUS
Russia's largest oil companies are set to resume providing oil to Belarus after cutting off service to Minsk on January 1st of this year. The break resulted from an inability of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to come to terms on issues of economic integration between the two countries. Russia's largest oil suppliers – ROSNEFT, LUKOIL, and GAZPROM NEFT - are each said to be resuming shipping thousands of tons of crude oil. At its peak, Belarus' monthly oil intake from its eastern neighbor was 1.5 million tons, several times the new total. The coronavirus pandemic is also said to have played a role in the resumption of trade. (Reuters, April 6, 2020)
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