Russia Monitor Articles
Novak Gets Supervision over Energy Giants
Although Alexander Novak stepped down as Russia’s energy minister in November, he will still control Russia’s biggest oil and gas companies as a new deputy prime minister. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved a new division of powers in his cabinet to distribute control of some state businesses between deputy prime ministers.
Germany’s AfD Visits Moscow: Is This Kremlin’s Attempt to Discipline Merkel?
It is not coincidence that Germany’s top opposition party has paid a visit to Moscow right now. With this invitation, the authorities in Moscow show their German counterparts they have other conversation partners in Germany. This serves as an attempt to exert pressure on Angela Merkel and Germany’s ruling coalition to quit its firm actions after the attempted poisoning of Russian opposition activist Alexey Navalny and come back to the business-as-usual attitude towards Russia.
Turkey, Russia Sign Deal for Karabakh Peacekeeping Center
The Russian and Turkish defense ministries sealed a deal to monitor a truce over the Nagorno-Karabakh region from a joint peacekeeping center. It was about setting technical details for dispatching and operating the facility. However, Moscow and Ankara did not settle the project entirely, a move that shows these two still have distinct opinions on the issue.
NATO Expert Report: How to Efficiently Stop Russia?
A two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers was held in early December where the officials discussed reforms to amend the military bloc, among other topics. Therefore, an expert group wrote a report outlining suggestions about how to reboot the alliance. The high-level paper mentions still-belligerent Russia and its military potential as a chief task for the alliance.
Rosneft Plans to Sell Some Deposits Amid Costly Vostok Oil Project
Rosneft plans to sell depleted assets to streamline the company and raise funds for its priority project Vostok Oil, according to sources in the Russian crude industry. Many signs are that some of the latest official and unofficial news might be a deliberate leak from Rosneft.
U.S.-Russia Navy Incident in the North Pacific
Moscow accused the United States of violating its border after the USS John McCain had sailed into what Russia believed to be its territorial waters. The United States does not hide that the incident was a deliberate move to show that the gulf belongs to international waters. This marked the latest navy incident in the North Pacific in the vicinity of both countries.
Russia Pours Money Into Iraqi Oilfields
Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft announced an increase in the production capacity in Iraqi Kurdistan – the region where it has invested most so far. Moscow’s ever-stronger position in the Kurdish energy industry offers Russia bigger leverage over the government in Baghdad.
Turmoil over TurkStream Loan: Is Serbian Leg of the Pipeline In Danger?
The Serbian government has made a last-minute decision to remove from the parliamentary agenda a bill envisaging state guarantees on loans for the construction of a Serbian leg of the Russian TurkStream gas pipeline. Media outlets make speculations over political pressure from the U.S. as the country opposes the pipeline while Serbia’s pro-Russian president says the venture will be ready on time.
OPEC+ Stutters Over Oil Cut Deal, Russia’s Sechin Forecasts Oil Prices
There are discrepancies over the situation on the energy market and forecasts for the next year, according to crude oil producers. This delayed the OPEC+ decision on what actions to perform throughout Q1 2021.
Moldova’s Sandu on Withdrawing Russian Forces from Transnistria
There are already first signs of Moldova’s political shifts after the Russian-preferred president Igor Dodon missed out on the vote. When discussing the potential solution to the Transnistria issue, the country’s president-elect Maia Sandu said it is absolutely necessary to remove Russian forces from the region.
Sechin’s “Steel” Business Raises Serious Doubts
Rosneft seeks to build a large metal plant in the Far East to supply steel sheet to the Zvezda shipbuilding yard. The thing is yet that construction of the former will cost more than that of the latter. The mere idea raises severe doubts while possibly being another example of how Igor Sechin’s oil company might embezzle public money.
Russia As Hydrogen Giant? Deputy Energy Minister Reveals Optimism
Russia may soon export far bigger volumes of hydrogen than those outlined in a new government policy by 2035, according to the country’s Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin. The government blueprint forecasts 2 million tons of hydrogen per year.
Lavrov Visits Minsk: Russia Wants Lukashenko to Implement Commitments
During Sergey Lavrov’s latest visit to Minsk, both parties delivered some declarations on the solid Russian-Belarus alliance. However – and perhaps above all – with this trip, Russia sought to remind Alexander Lukashenko of what commitments he had made at the September meeting with Vladimir Putin in Sochi.
In the Interest of the Kremlin? Russian Oligarch Creates Far-Right Movement
Konstantin Malofeev has been around in Russian politics since at least 2014 when he gained notoriety for the vital role he had played in financing separatists in Crimea and Donbas. Now he is setting his sight on forming a social movement, possibly to help monitor far-right moods that have been on the rise in Russia.
Warsaw Institute
