It was entirely predictable that the Russian government would once again beat up citizens who went out to protest against the extension of Naval'ny's incarceration. The massing of the forces of order in key streets in both St Petersburg and Moscow was insufficient deterrent to those protesting. Nezavisimaya gazeta gently suggests that behaving in this … Continue reading Further Protest and Crackdown

The atmosphere in wintry Moscow has been heating up and not from leaking pipes. The President has his hands full at home. What he could do without is something dramatically unexpected abroad - likely as not from Turkey. Edgy that the Biden people will want to save the Kurds at Turkish expense, Ankara realises that … Continue reading Wait and See: America’s Russian Policy

A curious thing has started happening that is unprecedented in Putin's Russia. After the bloody beatings on Saturday the police and Omon (special forces used in anti-terrorism) have come in for a verbal beating on account of the failure to observe the law. And some have apparently asked for forgiveness, which does not impress victims … Continue reading Russia. Law as Well as Order?

Tomorrow's coverage of the Russian political crisis in Nezavisimaya gazeta illustrates the fact that President Putin is still reeling from the surprising depth and extent of the protests over Naval'ny's incarceration. Today he held a meeting for one hour, twenty four minutes with students from around Russia evidently to show that he too could relate … Continue reading Putin Faces Questions From Students

After Naval'ny's return and incarceration foreign protests mounted. Locking up Naval'ny and hoping by this means to silence him has turned out to be futile as his supporters released video of Putin's personal billionaire palace on the web. His name kept popping up all week whenever a European statesman made contact with the Kremlin, which … Continue reading Putin Under Attack at Home and Abroad

Coverage of the street protests by the crowds on Saturday against Naval'ny's incarceration has suddenly taken an interesting twist. The huge turn-out of Naval'ny supporters - now called "Naval'nysty" - on this occasion found the authorities oddly unprepared - indeed, seemingly at sixes and sevens - for an event they had been expecting to take … Continue reading Russia: The Brave Protests Show Strength

Myanmar (once Burma) is a former British colony which, not unlike Pakistan, has the unfortunate history of being controlled by the military for about as long as anyone can remember: not a great success of British colonialism, one has to admit. The previous régime was so utterly terrifying that I recall one Burmese diplomat once … Continue reading Russia Muscles into Myanmar

The Russians are very pleased that the poisoning of opposition leader Aleksei Naval'ny has not disturbed Berlin's entente with Moscow. For a while it did not look so good. But Chancellor Merkel saved the day, averting an unanticipated crisis in relations with President Putin by kicking the Naval'ny poisoning into the long grass. By referring … Continue reading Russian Gas to Secure German Dominance over Europe

It might have been supposed that given President Vladimir Putin's tight grip on Russia and those Russians abroad who have reason to fear for their lives, the leader of the opposition would keep out of his gunsights and the Russian press would go out of their way to avoid drawing attention to themselves by reporting … Continue reading Naval’ny Wins Respect

Russia's real opposition leader Aleksei Naval'ny, whom the Kremlin's secret police tried to poison not that many months ago, was warned that if he returned to his own country from Germany he would be arrested. It was not a simple police car that waited for him outside Vnukovo airport today but enough security people, including … Continue reading Naval’ny Arrested