NEWS FROM RUSSIA: February 18, 2024

Edward's weekly Russia-related news roundup & open thread

photo credit: No Context Russia

Welcome to Edward Slavsquat’s weekly Russian media news roundup and open thread-thing. Feel free to share your own URLs in the comments section.

The quote of the week

The main question that many people have is why, despite Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal, the grain corridor still functions as if the deal is ongoing? In addition to the weakness of the Black Sea Fleet, this is due to several other factors. […]

The grain corridor is functioning because there are corresponding unspoken agreements … [G]lobal players moderating the military conflict in Ukraine designate certain rules that political players must comply with. And the functioning of the grain corridor is determined precisely by these rules. This is not a conspiracy theory, but a real state of affairs.

It is for this reason that the strikes of the Russian Armed Forces on Odessa after the completion of the grain deal were mostly demonstrative in nature, and were not aimed at the complete destruction of the port infrastructure. Such goals were simply not set.

— Military Review (Russia’s most popular military news portal), February 13, 2024

And now for some news.

Economy

• 59% of young families in Russia have household loans, and on average 80% of families would like to improve their living conditions, according to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR). [tass.ru]

• Russia took third place in terms of gas supplies to Turkey at the end of 2023, overtaking Kazakhstan. [ria.ru]

• Vladimir Putin congratulated Gazprom on the 31st anniversary of its founding, stating that the company had made important contributions to strengthening Russia’s technological sovereignty. [ria.ru]

• The share of Asian countries in the total volume of Russian exports at the end of 2023 was 72%. Europe accounted for 20% of Russian exports. [kapital-rus.ru]

• The Central Bank of Russia decided to keep the key rate at 16%. [ura.news]

• Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have pledged to tighten anti-Russian sanctions and step up efforts to combat their circumvention. [regnum.ru]

• The head of the Russian Grain Union, Arkady Zlochevsky, said the country’s grain reserves currently exceed 39 million tons. Zlochevsky claimed that Russia could provide China with up to 9 million tons of grain per year, but that Beijing was imposing strict requirements on Russian wheat that aren’t applied to Kazakh and Ukrainian wheat. [nakanune.ru]

• The Parliament of Uzbekistan adopted a law that provides for a ban on banking transactions for individuals and legal entities subject to sanctions. Uzbekistan has become a hub for “parallel imports” to Russia and a popular destination for “bank card tourism” for Russians. [sovsekretno.ru]

• Steel production in Russia increased by 5.3% in 2023, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. [interfax.ru]

Society

• The number of pensioners in Russia decreased by 700,000 in 2023. [rbc.ru]

• Russian authorities opened a criminal case into the theft of over 670 million rubles taken from the budget allocated for research and development for the federal Safe City system. [pravo.ru]

• Novosibirsk plans to increase the number of CCTV cameras integrated into its facial recognition system as part of the “Safe City” program. The total number of facial recognition cameras is expected to reach 2000 by the end of 2024. The program ensures “the safety of crowded places, transport infrastructure, and social facilities. Video images from cameras make it possible to prevent and timely detect offenses.” Authorities claim the system has helped solve dozens of crimes. [ru-bezh.ru]

• The Russian Ministry of Justice added businessman and founder of Tinkoff Bank, Oleg Tinkov, to the register of foreign agents. [regnum.ru]

• Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin issued a decree for the creation of a National Genetic Information Database. The database, which will be operational no later than September 1, 2025, will aid the development of genetic technologies in Russia. [ura.news]

• A draft bill in the State Duma will impose fines on foundations and charities that distribute food products that are past their expiration dates. “The changes proposed by the bill are aimed at minimizing the risks of distributing unsafe products (for example, expired food products) to recipients,” according to the bill’s explanatory note. The legislation will encourage retail chains to provide non-expired food to charities by dropping VAT on all donated items. [finance.mail.ru]

• The State Duma is considering a draft bill that would allow Roscosmos to withhold information about procurement contracts and suppliers. [kapital-rus.ru]

• Around 14% of teachers in Russia quit in 2023, according to the Ministry of Education. In every third region, the number of teachers quitting increased by more than 50%. [antijob.net]

• Akhmat Kadyrov, the 18-year-old son of the head of Chechnya, was appointed to the post of minister of the republic for youth affairs. Perviously, Akhmat held the position of First Deputy Minister of Chechnya for Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy. [nakanune.ru]

• The Russian government has simplified requirements for former citizens of the USSR who wish to obtain Russian citizenship. The new rules no longer require knowledge of the Russian language at a level sufficient for communication. [ria.ru]

Ukraine

• Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Saturday informed Vladimir Putin that Avdeevka was fully under the control of the Russian military, after the UAF withdrew from the city. [interfax-russia.ru]

• French President Emmanuel Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky signed a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine in Paris. The agreement includes the supply of modern military equipment to Ukraine, compatible with weapons supplied by NATO, as well as the training of Ukrainian soldiers and the strengthening of Ukraine's defense industry. “This is a sign of our determination to support Ukraine in the long term,” Macron said. [svpressa.ru]

• Up to 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel will receiving training in France. [Vedomosti]

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Zelensky signed a bilateral security agreement on February 16. The Chancellor explained that Germany will help Ukraine strengthen its defense capabilities in order to prevent a new conflict after the “possible” end of the current one. [regnum.ru]

• Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to speed up the process of issuing benefits, documents and payments to participants in the special military. [interfax-russia.ru]

• A fire broke out at an oil depot in the Kursk region after a drone attack launched by the Ukrainian military on February 15. [regnum.ru]

• “The immediate trigger [for the start of a special military operation] was the complete refusal of today’s Ukrainian authorities to implement the Minsk agreements,” Vladimir Putin said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin. He added: “The only thing we can regret is that we did not take active action earlier, believing that we were dealing with decent people.” [tass.ru]

• Vladimir Putin said he did not “fully enjoy” the interview with Tucker Carlson, claiming that he was surprised that Carlson didn’t ask tougher questions. Putin described Tucker’s “patient” manner as a “tactic” uncommon among Western journalists. [tass.ru]

• Commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, was relieved of duty. [Telegram]

• Gazprom continues to supply gas to Europe via Ukraine in the amount of 41.5 million cubic meters per day, a Gazprom representative disclosed on February 18. [tass.ru]

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the SMO will be successfully completed despite the military operation taking longer than anticipated. “The special military operation began as an operation against Ukraine, over time it took the form of a war against the collective West, a war when the countries of the collective West, led by the United States, are directly involved in this conflict,” Peskov said. He added that even though the SMO “may last a little longer” than expected, the extended timeframe “will not change the course of things.” [rbc.ru]

• Joe Biden said that the United States should respond to Navalny’s death by providing more support for Ukraine. “This tragedy [Navalny’s death] reminds us of what is at stake,” the US President said, adding: “We need to continue to fund Ukraine so that Ukraine can defend itself.” [svpressa.ru]

• Ecuador changed its mind about transferring military equipment to Ukraine. [rbc.ru]

• The Ukrainian military shelled Belgorod, killing nine people, including an infant. [svpressa.ru]

“Public Health”

• The Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) has created a new flu vaccine, VectorVacQuadri, which will soon begin pre-clinical trials, Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova said. [tass.com]

• Russia is close to creating a cancer vaccine, Vladimir Putin said at the Forum of Future Technologies in Moscow. [tass.ru]

• Russian science and medicine must be sovereign in order to be ready for any challenges, including the threat of new epidemics, President Vladimir Putin said at the Forum of Future Technologies. [interfax.ru]

• Vladimir Putin revealed that at the start of the Covid pandemic he ordered Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova to ensure that Russia had test system that could quickly detect the virus. “Until your test system tells whether a person is sick or not, he will infect 100 people around him. We will now speed it up, speed it up,” Putin recalled telling Golikova. The Russian president said that testing turned out “better” in Russian than in other nations. [kp.ru]

• A significant increase in the incidence of influenza, coronavirus infection and ARVI has not been observed in Russia, according to Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko. However, Murashko urges Russians to “remember such preventive measures as maintaining hand hygiene and wearing masks in crowded places, as well as promptly consult a doctor if symptoms occur.” [tass.ru]

• Employees of Uralvagonzavod (Nizhny Tagil, part of the UVZ concern of the Rostec state corporation) were ordered on February 12 to take PCR tests to prepare for a possible visit from Vladimir Putin. [ura.news]

Have a restful Sunday,

— Riley