Kremlin Out in the Cold Podcast 4

Traitors in our Midst: Treason Charges in Putin’s Russia

Treason is a powerful word. It invokes a sense of distrust in the person, their distaste for country and readiness to betray their home. This is, at least, the common understanding of treason and one that the Russian government recognizes. However, they have also accepted a more troublesome understanding, one that more simply believes disagreeing with the state or doing your job can be viewed as treasonous.

Bombings in the Caucasus: From the Desert to the Mountains

At the end of March, two separate bombings shook Dagestan.  On 30 March 2016, the Caucasus Province of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) claimed responsibility for detonating two explosive devices against two Russian interior ministry (MVD) vehicles in the Kaispisk area of eastern Dagestan. The group claimed that ten soldiers were killed and three were wounded, though local media sources claim that one soldier was killed and two wounded.

Russia’s Coal Exports: Declining, but Not Burnt Out

Russia’s Minister of Energy Alexander Novak informed Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that the Ministry predicts that price of coal will continue to fall through 2016. Over the last five years, the price for coal (in rubles) has decreased by 21%, even when accounting for the currency devaluation. Additionally, export prices (in USD) for Russian coal have decreased 1.6 times for energy usage and 2.2 times for coking.

Power Projection, Not the Power of the People

On 27 March 2016, Kommersant published an article claiming that Russia’s military action in Syria is likely to lead to windfall sales of military equipment.  The article claims that Russian can expect upwards of $6-$7 billion in new arms contracts this year as a result of what some have referred to as Russia’s “advertising” campaign in Syria.

Kremlin Out in the Cold Podcast 3

Cross Border Flow: Not Just Confined to Southern Europe

The Arctic Route from Russia to Norway saw a steady stream of asylum seekers crossing and by late November 2015, Norwegian officials had had enough. Their Ministry of Justice and Public Security announced a change to the border regime that was aimed at stopping the flow of asylum seekers and has since been maintained.

Kremlin Out in the Cold Podcast 2

Russia Is Certainly a Great Power, But Syria Proves She is Hardly a Superpower

When pundits and analysts say that Russia is seeking great power status, what they really mean is the former Soviet Union’s superpower status.  Russia is, by and large, a great power, at least by strict definition - it maintains vast territory with considerable resources, it is able to exert considerable power among other sovereign states, even if only on a regional level, and other powers and outside actors acknowledge that Russia is indeed a dominant player in its region and maintains a certain capability for global engagement and influence.

The Russian Far North - Untapped Resources and Foreign Agents

Since 2012, legislation has existed in Russia that requires non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in “political activity” and receive foreign funding to register with the government as a ‘foreign agent’. The initial law required that the organizations voluntarily contact the Ministry of Justice to register as foreign agents, though few NGOs did so voluntarily.

Kremlin Out in the Cold Podcast 1

Russia’s Arctic Development: Overextending in the North?

During a Federation Council meeting at the end of February 2016, the representative for the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO - a region in Russia’s far north), Vadim Tyulpanov, posed a rather interesting question to Deputy Defence Minister Dmitry Bulgakov: will the Defence Ministry be redeveloping the abandoned Soviet base in the village of Amderma?