Russia This Week is a weekly review by the MEMRI Russian Media Studies Project, surveying developing stories in Russian domestic affairs as presented in the Russian media.
In The News:
Navalny Undergoes Eye Operation in Spain, After Attack
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny travelled to Barcelona in order to undergo an operation on his right eye, following an attack in Moscow. As reported by the Moscow Times, in April, "a man sprayed antiseptic into Navalny’s face as he was exiting his office in Moscow. The substance got into Navalny’s right eye, resulting in what doctors later diagnosed to be a chemical burn… [Russian] officials issued Navalny a passport to allow him to travel abroad, despite the two suspended criminal sentences he is currently serving out in Russia. Navalny’s lawyer initially reported that prison authorities warned Navalny against leaving the country, but a spokesperson for the Moscow City Court later clarified that the two convictions against the opposition leader do not forbid him from traveling outside Russia."
Navalny came back to Russia on May 11 after the eye surgery in Spain.
(Themoscowtimes.com, May 9, 2017)
(Source: Instagram.com/navalny4/)
(Source: Instagram.com/navalny4/)
This is not the first time that Navalny was sprayed with antiseptic, known as zelyonka. Earlier, on March 19, Navalny was doused with the green dye, during his visit to the Siberian city of Barnaul to campaign for the 2018 presidential elections. Navalny said that the assailant then jumped into his car and parked in front of the regional administration headquarters. Navalny said it made him feel like he was starring in the film "The Mask" and even his teeth were green.
(Novayagazeta.ru, March 19, 2017)
(Source: Twitter.com/navalny, March 19, 2017)
Criticism Of Police Reluctance To Investigate The Attack On Navalny
The website of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Fountion published an article by activist Nikita Kulachenkov, titled "Chemicals – A New Weapon In Putin's Fight Against Political Rivals." The following are excerpts from the article:
"The major Russian opposition figure gets violently assaulted right next to his office, he risks losing his eyesight, and the police do absolutely nothing to catch the assailant.
"On April 27th Alexey Navalny was leaving his workplace and heading to WTC Moscow, where he was going to make a speech at the Global Event Forum 2017. As he was about to get in his car, which was parked right in front of the business center where the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s office is situated, a man holding a coffee cup ran up to him, splashed the contents of the cup right into Navalny’s face and ran away. These contents, however, were not coffee…
"The police was immediately called to the site, and that’s where things started getting even stranger. First of all, it turned out that the surveillance cameras on the outside walls of the business center overlooking the spot where the assault took place were not working at the moment of the assault (just like the cameras overlooking the bridge where Boris Nemtsov was murdered in February 2015). The cameras in the main hall did work and managed to catch the face of the assailant, but the police simply refused to use any footage from them in the investigation. Moreover, they didn’t even open an investigation or properly interview Alexey, despite clearly seeing his green face and burnt eye and receiving a statement from him.
"Three days later Ren-TV channel suddenly published a video of the assault taken from the street. It seemed like the author of the video knew exactly when the assault is going to happen and when to start recording. For some reason Ren-TV decided to cover the faces of the assailant and his accomplice with white circles. In any other country this would cause the police to investigate how the channel got this footage and why they decided to hide the identities of criminals. The Russian police, however, still prefers to ignore the entire case… UPDATE As of May 2nd both of Navalny's assailants have been identified by the volunteers who used the footage published by Ren-TV. Both of them are activists of 'patriotic' group named SERB known for similar attacks on people and events they don’t like (SERB regularly the vandalize the memorial of the murdered Boris Nemtsov). However, there is still no news that the police reacted or even started the investigation."
(Fbk.info, May 2, 2017)
Man Suspected Of Attacking Navalny Testified Against Detainee In 'March 26 Protests' case
Independent Russian media outlet Meduza.io reported:
"SERB movement activist Alexander Petrunko, who is suspected for attacking oppositionist leader Alexei Navalny with a brilliant green dye solution [zelyonka], has given testimony against Yury Kuly… accused of attacking a policeman during Moscow’s March 26 anti-corruption protests. 'He said that he saw Kuly taking a policeman by the hand, trying to drag him into a crowd of aggressive citizens, and shouting something [along the lines of] 'let’s grab him',' said lawyer Alexei Liptser. According to Lipster, another witness not connected with pro-Kremlin movements has also given testimony against Kuly, in addition to Petrunko’s testimony and that of the injured riot policeman.
"Yuri Kuliy is one of four defendants accused of attacking law enforcement officers during an anti-corruption protest in Moscow on March 26… According to Liptser, the policeman in this particular case did not receive any injuries, but identified Kuly as the person 'who had grabbed his hand and thereby hurt him.'
"SERB activist Alexander Petrunko was identified by Internet users as the man who poured a mixture of brilliant green dye on opposition leader Alexey Navalny on April 27… Activists of the 'patriotic' SERB movement appear regularly at opposition rallies and periodically attack civil activists and oppositionists. In 2016, Alexander Petrunko threw a cake at Navalny and poured urine over a photo at the [American photographer] Jock Sturges' exhibition."
(Meduza.io, May 12, 2017)
(Source: Instagram.com/navalny4/)
Navalny’s Campaign Headquarters Ransacked By SWAT Team
Meduza.io reported: "Navalny’s Vladivostok campaign headquarters were ransacked by a SWAT team from Russia’s national guard Rosgvardiya in connection with the anti-corruption protests that swept Russia on March 26. Navalny’s national campaign chief Leonid Volkov made this announcement on Facebook on Friday.
"The SWAT team came to Navalny’s campaign coordinator Sofia Kryvtsova at 6 am and said that she would be a witness in a case on an attack on a police officer. Her mobile devices and laptop were confiscated on suspicion that she attended and filmed one of the rallies and, therefore, had footage of it.
"Volkov said that the campaign headquarters in Vladivostok had been searched on two previous occasions. Each time, the premises were visited with warrants related to criminal cases.
"The Vladivostok headquarters are scheduled for opening on May 15. The opening of Navalny’s regional campaign headquarters is almost always accompanied by attacks or provocation. In Nizhny Novgorod, the doors of the headquarters were filled with mounting foam; in Tomsk, the headquarters were evacuated because of a bomb scare; and, in Krasnodar, the headquarters were attacked by people in Cossack uniforms…"
(Meduza.io, May 5, 2017)
Despite Sentence, Navalny Seeks To Continue His 2018 Presidential Election Campaign
On May 3, the Regional Court of Kirov upheld the embezzlement verdict for politician Navalny, dismissing his appeal. Russian media outlet Rbth.com reported: "In accordance with the verdict, Navalny receives a five-year suspended sentence. This means that, having been found guilty in accordance with Russia's Penal Code, Navalny will be ineligible to participate in the March 2018 presidential elections.
"Navalny has been on trial in Kirov since 2013, when he was given a five-year suspended sentence for allegedly ripping off the Kirovles company in 2009, from which he had allegedly bought forest products at below market rates… Now, although the verdict has entered into force, the situation has not changed. 'Navalny's presidential campaign does not depend on the Kirovles case verdict, it never depended on it,' the Mediazone publication cites Leonid Volkov, head of Navalny's election staff. In turn, the opposition figure’s lawyer, Vadim Kobzev, said that his client would again appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Navalny's election campaign will continue - his offices are opening in various Russian cities."
(Rbth.com, May 3, 2017)
#Nadoel Protests
On April 29, former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s public movement, Open Russia, held protests all over Russia to oppose the eventuality that President Vladimir Putin will run for a fourth term of office. The slogan of the protests #Nadoel (translated as "tired" or "I'm fed up [with him]" or also as "enough") echoed Egypt's Kifaya (Enough) movement that advocated the end of the Mubarak presidency, during the Arab Spring. The hashtag soon became viral on social networks.
See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6916, Kremlin Critic Khodorkovsky: Fear Is On The Rise In Russia, But So Is Fearlessness, May 11, 2017.
In addition to being fed up with Putin and Medvedev, the banner is also fed up with Natlia Poklonskaya (top right), the former Crimean prosecutor and now a member of the United Russia Duma faction, and with Moscow Patriarch Kiril (bottom center) (Source: Nadoel.org)
Putin Indirectly Accuses Navalny Of Opportunism
In a meeting with members of the Council of Legislators, Russian President Vladimir Putin indirectly accused Navalny of failing to fight corruption, but of playing political games [instead]. It is worth noting that Putin never mentioned Navalny's name. Putin said: "We must distinguish between those who indeed want to do this [fight corruption] and to really strengthen the state and those who seek to use it as an instrument in their own political games, for self-advertisement. We have already seen it in the case of the so-called 'Arab Spring', and we know well what that turned into. We see this through the example of Ukraine." Putin added: "Everyone who arrives from Ukraine complains about exactly the same thing - earlier, kickbacks used to be 50%, while now it is at 75%. This is what the fight against corruption has resulted in."
The Russian President then stressed: "We must spare no effort to fight against it [corruption]. And in order not to let all sorts of dubious individuals use it for their self-serving purposes, we must demonstrate to people that the state is capable of fighting corruption efficiently and that it is doing so."
(Tass.com, April 24, 2017)
Almost Half Of Russians Surveyed Support Medvedev’s Resignation
After the March 26 anti-corruption protests, the independent, non-profit sociological research organization Levada-Center conducted a poll on support among Russians for Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Meduza.io reported: "Almost half of the participants in a recent Levada-Center survey have expressed some form of support for Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s resignation. Eighteen percent of respondents said they were 'definitely for' Medvedev’s resignation, while 27 percent said that they were 'likely for' it.
"[…] The Levada-Center, which conducted its survey on April 7-10, also reported that Russians’ trust in Medvedev has noticeably decreased. In April 2017, a mere three percent of respondents said that they 'fully trust' Medvedev, compared with nine percent in December 2016. Thirty-three percent of the April 2017 survey’s participants said that they 'mostly do not trust' the prime minister.
"Medvedev’s spokeswoman Natalia Timakova called the Levada-Center poll a 'political frame-up'. 'The prime minister does not pay much attention to these [polls], especially those conducted by the Levada-Center as a definite political frame-up,' Timakova said.
"The goal of the above survey was to assess Russians’ attitudes towards Medvedev as an individual. Separate studies were conducted to evaluate popular sentiments in regards to his actual work as prime minister. Accordingly, Levada-Center reported that 42 percent of respondents spoke positively of Medvedev’s work as prime minister in April 2017; this was, nevertheless, ten percentage points lower than a month earlier."
(Meduza.io, April 26, 2017)
See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6826, New Navalny Investigation Accuses Medvedev Of Corruption, March 10, 2017.
(Source: fbk.info)
Russian Analyst Abbas Galyamov: Sooner Or Later Medvedev's Resignation Will Happen
Interviewd by the Russian media outlet Gazeta.ru, Abbas Galyamov said: "Sooner or later Medvedev's resignation will happen. The protest mood of the population is not yet that high, but it's getting higher gradually. Putin does not like to make decisions under pressure." Galyamov added that if Putin fires Medvedev right now, this will be seen as a political victory for Navalny, thus the most likely timing for Medvedev's resignation is the end of the presidential election campaign. Galyamov said: "The decision to dissolve the government may be the finishing touch of the presidential campaign, or will be carried out after the campaign ends, in order to start the new presidential term with the presentation of a new government. [Demanding the resignation] now would play into Navalny's hands and look as if it was his victory. It's Putin's decision to dissolve the government – not Navalny's."
(Gazeta.ru, April 26, 2017)
Strange But True
The 'Anti-Terror 2017' Role-Playing Games
The Moscow Times reported that police in Murmansk, in the northwest part of Russia, held a competition last Friday between teams from five colleges, "where students were asked to play the role of special law enforcement". The Moscow Times wrote: "The 'Anti-Terror 2017' role-playing games were designed to train young people to identify suspicious objects, respond to extremist propaganda, and know the signs of a suicide bomber. At one stage of the competition, students were even asked to search through their friends’ pages on social media, to try to find any prohibited materials… Murmansk police say the role-playing games were designed to teach young people about how to respond in situations where they might confront extremist or terrorist threats."
See photos from the Anti-Terror 2017 Games.
(Themoscowtimes.com, April 24, 2017)
Russian Blogger Convicted And Given A Suspended Sentence Of 3 And A Half Years In Prison For Playing Pokemon Go in Church
The Russian news agency Interfax reported: "The Verkh-Isetsky District Court of Yekaterinburg convicted blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky and gave him a suspended sentence of three and a half years in prison… for playing the Pokemon Go game at a Yekaterinburg church, an Interfax correspondent reported from the courtroom… The court agreed that Sokolovsky's reformation was possible without an actual prison term.
"The court convicted Sokolovsky on nine counts of incitement of hatred and animosity and abasement of human dignity and also seven counts of public actions that showed obvious disrespect for society and were committed in order to insult worshippers' religious feelings."
(Interfax-religion.com, May 12, 2017)
