RUSSIA MONITOR MONTHLY 07/2017
Contents
“Secret prison” of FSB
The information that the Federal Security Service (the FSB) kidnaps people and then imprisons them in an unknown facility, torturing and forcing testimony prior to their official detention, should not come as a surprise.
Russia controls, Syria bombs
Moscow has done the next step towards an implementation of the plan to create so-called “de-escalation zones” in Syria, which was announced in May.
Russia’s games for Belgrade
It appears that Serbia, under a new president, is more clearly turned towards Russia.
Creeping border
Large military exercises in neighboring “republics”, diplomatic pressure and some border provocations – these are some of the examples of the cruel pressure that Russia exerts on Georgia.
Kremlin filters governors
Everything is going to happen lighting fast, without loud campaigns, the opposition and any second rounds. The Kremlin accelerates the implementation of “the 2017 gubernatorial elections”.
Malorossiya is a Russian Idea
Leaders of the self-proclaimed people’s republics in the part of Donbass occupied by Russia do not take any significant action without Moscow’s consent.
Moscow Insists on the Dacha Issue
Refraining from reacting after the expulsion of more than 30 Russian diplomats from the United States seems to be one of the strongest arguments for how much the Kremlin had hoped for fruitful cooperation with Donald Trump.
Russia Covers MH17 Tracks
Three years after the Malaysian Boeing airliner flying over Donbass was shot down, new facts seem to come out which may confirm Russia’s responsibility for the disaster.
Problems with the Russian plan for Syria
The plan for the creation of four so-called “de-escalation zones” in Syria, elaborated on by Moscow, is facing more and more obstacles.
Scandal in Moscow’s FSB
Information on the detention of FSB officers suspected of corruption has recently leaked to the media, which may confirm the escalation of some inter-group conflicts within the Russian security apparatus.
Russians are returning to Central Asia
New perspectives on military presence in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia are standing open to Moscow. While Kyrgyzstan invites the Russian army to the Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan returns to military cooperation with Moscow.
One Bulava does not make a summer
A successful test of the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, the first such test since last fall, does not mean the end of problems with weapons of this kind.
Russia wants more troops in Syria
During the next round of Syria talks in Astana, the Russian delegation has agreed to send more battalions of a military police to Syria.
Assets owned by “Putinocrats”? It’s a secret.
Duma has passed, and President has promptly signed a new law that allows for classifying any information about the assets owned not only by top Russian officials and their families…
Demolition worth billions of dollars
The number one enemy of the Kremlin government must choose his political route for the future.
Warsaw Institute
