Russia Monitor Articles
Russia After 2024: Chancellor Putin Seems an Unlike Scenario
Shortly after Vladimir Putin took the oath of office for his next term as Russian president, many speculated what the Kremlin’s host would be able to do in a bid to remain in power after his two consecutive terms expire in 2024. Under one of many theories that have recently resonated in the media, Putin could serve as a prime minister, however enjoying greater powers, a shift possible thanks to changing election rules.
Druzhba Pipeline Failure: Belarus Assesses Losses, More Suspects Are Coming Up
A few weeks have passed since a major failure of the Druzhba oil pipeline and there is still no answer to the three key issues. First of all, the system has not yet been fully cleaned up. Secondly, Russia has still not decided to compensate foreign recipients for all losses incurred. And thirdly, investigators are probing into who is to be blamed for and, while new suspects are coming up, this does not answer the question whose fault it was.
INF Treaty Collapse Is Russia’s Fault
Moscow denied accusations of being to blame for the collapse of the Treaty on the Elimination of the Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, commonly referred to as INF. Europe’s security ahead of the U.S. planned withdrawal from the Treaty on August 2 was part of the official agenda of the latest NATO-Russian Council meeting.
Morales’s Visit to Moscow: Bolivia Drifts Closer to Russia
Russian authorities keep solidifying their influence in Latin America. Naturally, their priority is to help save the Maduro regime in Venezuela, but Moscow also seeks to back Cuba and Nicaragua. And now Bolivia is facing an opportunity to rise in importance. Bolivian President Evo Morales will visit the Kremlin on July 11 to sign strategic partnership agreements between his country and Russia.
Is Turexit Possible? Ankara’s New S-400s Is NATO’s Problem
Ankara’s determination to acquire Russian-made missile systems will enrage both its NATO peers and the U.S. But Erdogan hopes U.S. President will block Washington’s sanctions on Ankara. Yet this does not change the fact that outfitting the Turkish army with S-400 air defense missiles poses a threat to the security of the entire Alliance.
Russia’s Finance Tsar Don’t Like Oil Companies
Russia’s deputy prime minister and finance minister Anton Siluanov, who has recently grown in strength in domestic policy, clashed with the country’s favored financial sector. Given his increasing importance as a member of the government, it should be said that a signal was sent to Russian oil firms to watch their backs and even to support the Kremlin.
Osaka G20 Summit: Putin and Trump Fail to Get New Yalta
The Kremlin’s sole success is that the meeting between the two leaders took place at all, and Vladimir Putin should not count on anything else, which is what he might have known a few days ahead of bilateral talks with Donald Trump on Osaka. This was due to Putin’s mounting actions, a step that triggered off provocations in Cuba and Venezuela.
Russian Paratroopers Deployed to Serbia As Part of Slavic Brotherhood 2019 Drills
The joint Serbian-Russian-Belarusian tactical military maneuvers Slavic Brotherhood have recently culminated in Serbia. The state authorities emphasized the political importance of the drills amid tensions with neighboring Kosovo. Military exercises and the rhetoric adopted by the majority of local politicians and media confirm ever-closer cooperation between Belgrade and Moscow.
Druzhba’s “Failure of Century”: Rosneft versus Transneft
It has not yet been established who is responsible for the pollution of oil in the Druzhba pipeline. With the ongoing investigation, it seems that small companies from distant parts of Russia will be to blame for tainting crude shipped via the pipeline. Naturally, none of them accounts for the technical failure that must have been caused by a large oil firm.
Oil Price Jumps in Russia Following Government-Oilers Contract Expiry
The Russian government has decided not to prolong the deal to retain control over the retail prices of fuels it concluded a year ago with oil companies. Gasoline prices will slightly go up starting from July 1, with the two parties to the agreement saying that the growth in prices will not be higher than inflation. Although the deal will not be renewed, the fuel sector will still be manually controlled by the regime.
Russians in the Caribbean: Sending Signal for Trump Before Osaka Summit
A few days ahead of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Osaka Russia showed its military engagement in the Western Hemisphere close to the United States. The Kremlin showed at the same time its firm support for Cuba and Venezuela, both of which have strained relations with the United Staes.
Ingushetia’s Head Quits Amid Kadyrov Deal and Crisis
The head of the Russian region of Ingushetia Yunus-bek Yevkurov has announced his intention to step down. But it is not known whether his resignation will help alleviate tensions sparked by an unfavorable border agreement with the neighboring region of Chechnya. What happened in the republic got out of the control, and Russian federal siloviki even came to the region.
Putin’s “Direct Line” Show Makes No Breakthrough
What Putin reassured during his annual live phone-in show answering questions and appeals from the Russian citizens, will fail to change the country’s political situation and leverage the president’s popularity ratings. The Russian leader took part in the seventeenth edition of the Q&A session, but this time he did not do well at all, missing to allay widespread fears over the decay in living standards and suggesting that the country will not reorient its current policy.
Who Staged “Russophobic Provocation” in Georgia?
Several thousand people took to the streets of Tbilisi to protest against Russia; however, their rallies quickly took on the anti-government character, and Russia uses mounting tensions to escalate its relations with Georgia. But Moscow gave a threatening tone to the situation and took extraordinary yet unjustified steps. As it seems, the Kremlin will soon seek to play the Georgian issue in several aspects.
Warsaw Institute
