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Putin

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Anna Akage

Snitch Nation: How Putin's Regime Is Getting Russians To Turn In Their Neighbors

The war in Ukraine has launched an epidemic of denunciations in Russia: 145,000 individual reports to the security services in just the first six months of the war. It's the latest evidence of the current regime's Stalinist approach.

On July 30, 1937, a secret Soviet order launched the Great Terror – a period of mass repressions during which hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

The order from dictator Joseph Stalin was dubbed, “On repressive operations of former Kulaks, criminals and other anti-Soviet elements,” and aimed to root out enemies of the Communist party by calling on citizens to denounce their neighbors to police and KGB agents, who had to meet arrest quotas set for each Soviet republic.

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In slogans, posters, work meetings, newspaper articles, books and films, official media and channels presented the denunciation of suspected enemies as every citizen’s duty to the Motherland.

Without mass participation in the search for traitors, the number of victims of repression and prisoners in camps would have been significantly lower. The Great Terror led to the arrest of 1.4 million people, and the deaths of at least 700,000 – although the real number is likely higher.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia and its current leader Vladimir Putin have been increasingly compared to Stalin and the Soviet Union during the era of the Great Terror. And the latest proof is in the explosion of similar denunciations by common citizens.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Pierre Haski

A 25-Year Sentence Seals Putin's Switch From Authoritarianism To Totalitarianism

Vladimir Kara-Murza was handed the heaviest prison sentence since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin is making an example of the rare few who dare to speak out against him, evoking the reign of Joseph Stalin.

-Analysis-

Facing his judges, Vladimir Kara-Murza compared his trial to those of the Stalinist era. He knows what he is talking about: during Stalin's reign, his two great-grandfathers were executed and his grandfather was sent to the Gulag. In turn, Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison yesterday for his opposition to the war in Ukraine.

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This is the heaviest sentence handed down since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Any opposition to the war is severely punished, but the Russian authorities clearly wanted to make an example of Kara-Murza by significantly raising the cost of dissent. The justice system has piled on by accusing him of "subversion.”

Since Feb. 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin has transformed the authoritarianism of his regime into totalitarianism: there is no more space for freedom of the press, no more right to demonstrate, no independent justice. Even children have to adhere to warrior patriotism: in early March, 13-year-old Maria was sent to an orphanage for a pacifist drawing, and her father in prison.

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Geopolitics
Hubertus Lutterbach

Why Putin’s Public Acts Of Religious Piety Make Him Even More Dangerous

Geopolitical analysts who view Russia as an unpredictable force tend to understand Moscow’s actions in purely worldly, political terms. German Professor of Theology Hubertus Lutterbach has uncovered a different message hidden in Putin’s religiosity — an implicit threat to his neighbors and the world.

-Analysis-

BERLIN — The recent image of Vladimir Putin holding an Easter candle was seen around the world — as was the picture of him praying in front of an iconostasis, the screen decorated with icons that separates the space around the altar from the main body of an Orthodox church.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Anna Akage

Moldova Toward Definitive Break With Moscow — How Will Putin Respond?

Chairman of the Parliament of Moldova Igor Grosu has announced the nation’s withdrawal from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Will Moldova succeed in making a final break with Russia?

-Analysis-

Ever since the war in Ukraine began, diplomats have warned of the risk of Moldova being “next” in the Kremlin’s sights.

A series of well-orchestrated pro-Moscow protests earlier this spring in Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, demanded the overthrow of the country's democratically elected president, Maia Sandu, who has taken a firm pro-Western stance.

Since its attack on Ukraine, the Kremlin has sought to destabilize the ex-Soviet country. The small republic of 2.6 million inhabitants is sandwiched between Ukraine and NATO member Romania and has few military resources to oppose Moscow.

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What it does have are trade and diplomatic arms at its disposal. On Monday, Moldovan Parliament Chairman Igor Grosu announced the country’s imminent exit from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which today also includes Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Anna Akage

That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances?

Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelgänger for meetings and appearances.

Have no doubt, the Vladimir Putin we’re seeing alongside Xi Jinping this week is the real Vladimir Putin. But it’s a question that is being asked after a range of credible experts have accused the Russian president of sending a body double for a high-profile visit this past weekend in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

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Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.

Russian opposition politician Gennady Gudkov is among those who confidently claim that a Putin look-alike, or rather one of his look-alikes, was in the Ukrainian city.

"Now that there is a war going on, I don't rule out the possibility that someone strongly resembling or disguised as Putin is playing his role," Gudkov said.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Agents.Media

Putin's New Military Decree To Push Untrained Recruits To The Frontline

As Russia continues to suffer heavy losses in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to mandate training for military reserves, which human rights activists is meant to be used to force new recruits to the frontlines.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has quietly signed a new decree that calls for a special two-month training regiment for all men in the military reserves. In February 2022, Putin signed a similar decree six days before the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

The current document, signed late Wednesday, does not say when the training camps will occur nor how many people will be called. But already, the move may reveal a lot about the state of Russia's military capabilities.

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Reports say an estimated 147,000 more Russians have been called up for military service in 2023 than last year. However, there is no official accounting of how many of those called for duty are professional soldiers and how many are new volunteers.

Russian state news agency TASS reported that the participants of the two-month training would not participate in actual combat. But government critics believe that Putin has called for the new training rules precisely as a way to force more recruits and reserves to the frontline, as Russia has exhausted its stock of professional soldiers, volunteers, and even former prisoners — and is facing difficulties replenishing its troops.

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In The News
Emma Albright, Inès Mermat and Anne-Sophie Goninet

Putin In Kherson, Tunisia Arrests Opposition Leader, Polyamorous Spain

👋 Aang!*

Welcome to Tuesday, where Vladimir Putin visits two Russian-annexed regions of Ukraine, the leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda opposition party Rached Ghannouchi is arrested, and things get caliente in Spain. Meanwhile, Ukrainska Pravda analyzes the security and geopolitical consequences of Poland’s ban on Ukrainian food imports.

[*Aleut, Alaska]

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Geopolitics
Pierre Haski

With Putin Shut Out, Xi Makes His Play For Central Asia — And Europe

Five former Soviet states have arrived for a key summit in China, and the absence of Vladimir Putin signals Central Asia's desire to distance itself from Moscow — and China's rising global dominance.

-Analysis-

PARIS — They are called the five "Stans"... Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan. They used to be part of the Soviet Union and are today at the center of a strategic zone between Russia and China.

The leaders of the Central Asian countries arrived Thursday in Xi'an, in central China to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping. And there was undeniably someone missing from the picture: Vladimir Putin.

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The Russian leader's absence is highly significant: the "Stans" are getting closer to Beijing in order to put more distance between themselves and Moscow.

We are not talking about a change of direction or a rift, but rather a rebalancing, a new regional order in which the Chinese ascendancy is now an undeniable reality. But an unofficial representative of Beijing admitted it Wednesday in private: this summit between the Central Asian countries and China, without Russia, must not have pleased Putin.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Anna Akage

Is Lukashenko Sick? Putin Too? Why Ukraine Won't Be Waiting For Dictators To Die

A spate of speculation on the health of Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko follows similar reports about would-be Vladimir Putin illnesses. Such talk feeds the hope of the Russian opposition and many in the West. Ukrainians have a different agenda — and timetable.

-Analysis-

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko was not enjoying the parade.

Appearing in Moscow’s Red Square for the May 9 Victory Day celebration, the 68-year-old strongman looked quite ill, and wore a bandage on his arm.

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He missed the Kremlin breakfast and didn't take the walk with Vladimir Putin and other heads of state across the Square to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, reaching it by electric car instead, reports independent Russian news outlet Agents.Media reports reports.

When he then missed the Belarus celebration of the Day of the State Flag, Emblem and Anthem, rumors started to circulate that Lukashenko might have a serious health problem.

And for nearly a week, he vanished.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Pierre Haski

"Grandpa Vlad" — Wagner Boss Prigozhin Is Now Mocking Putin Directly

Head of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin's furious videos have been aimed in the past at Putin's deputies and generals. Now, he's taking aim at the tsar himself.

-OpEd-

What exactly is Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, up to? This question has been on everyone's minds for months, but now he has truly crossed a line.

Prigozhin was already engaged in open conflict with top military brass and even the Russian Defense Minister. However, Tuesday, he launched a direct attack on Vladimir Putin himself, depicting him as a comical "grandfather" in a video meant to ridicule him. He specifically chose to do it on Victory Day, the day of the anniversary of Russia’s triumph over Nazism, just as Putin was preparing to preside over the parade on Red Square.

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In the video, Prigozhin theatrically portrays his ongoing conflict with Russian military authorities. Despite having no military background, the corpulent Prigozhin dresses in military fatigues and a bulletproof vest, with Kalashnikov magazines visibly strapped to his belly.

He narrates receiving a menacing letter from the Russian Ministry of Defense, threatening him with charges of "treason" if he were to withdraw his troops from Bakhmut, the Ukrainian city he has been striving to capture for weeks.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Pierre Haski

How Putin's May 9th Ideology Has Come Back To Haunt Him

May 8th and May 9th crystallizes the divergent fates of Ukraine and Russia. For Vladimir Putin, the victory of the "Great Patriotic War" is at the core of his national narrative. More than 14 months into his invasion of Ukraine, who still believes the story?

-Analysis-

PARIS — In the run-up to May 9 last year, speculation was rife that Vladimir Putin would use the anniversary of the victory over Nazism to announce the end of his "special military operation" in Ukraine. This year, Russia is still very much at war in Ukraine, and the atmosphere in Moscow is very different.

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May 9th crystallizes attention as it is at the heart of Putin's ideology. It illustrates the divergent fates of Ukraine and Russia: as a supreme symbol, Ukraine now marks the date of May 8, aligned with European ceremonies to celebrate the end of World War II. The Nazi capitulation was indeed signed at 11:01 p.m. Berlin time on the 8th, which was 12:01 a.m. Moscow time on the 9th…

The victory anniversary of the "Great Patriotic War" is at the core of the national narrative in Moscow as it has been written and rewritten by the Putin system. It is the backdrop for the invasion of Ukraine, with the initial hype about "denazification." One year later, who still believes it?

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Anna Zafesova

Don't Underestimate How Much More Putin Needs Xi Than Xi Needs Putin

Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow was a much-needed favor Vladimir Putin. But make no mistake, Beijing is there to serve Beijing — and holds virtually all the cards.

-Analysis-

Chinese president Xi Jinping’s much-anticipated visit to Moscow begins with a diplomatic mystery. In the first minutes of formal greetings at the Kremlin, Xi congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Russia has achieved significant successes under your leadership. Next year you have elections coming up, and I am convinced that the Russian people will give you their support.”

The Russian president’s candidacy in 2024, officially, is one of the biggest mysteries in Russian politics, as Putin has not yet declared his intentions, even though it is extremely unlikely that he would voluntarily move out of the Kremlin, and even less so after amending the constitution in 2020 to allow himself to enjoy two more six-year terms.

Still, the fact that Russians learned that their president will run again from Xi is extraordinary enough that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters they had "misunderstood."

According to Moscow, the Chinese president said more generally that his Russian “friend” would continue to be supported by Russians next year.

It was hardly a gaffe — not at this level of politics, where every blink is weighed and measured. Maybe it was a translation error, or a courtesy Xi wanted to show Putin, in response to his host's compliments. Putin's welcome speech included the phrase "We envy you a little bit” (for China’s rapid pace of progress), which must have truly pained the Russian leader to say.

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