LIVE UPDATES: Chechen school-teachers are putting little children up to supporting leader Ramzan Kadyrov, asking him not to leave when his term expires in April.
Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies.
The previous issue is here.
Recent Analysis and Translations:
– – Why the World Should Care About the Assassination of Boris Nemtsov
– How Boris Nemtsov Was Murdered: Investigation by Novaya Gazeta
– – How Stalin Returned to Russian Contemporary Life – Meduza
UPDATES BELOW
As we reported this morning, a source within Russian law-enforcement told Interfax that the Uzbek nanny suspected of murdering a 4-year-old child and parading with her severed head had the telephone numbers of two foreign extremists in her cell phone.
Today, a Just Russia faction member in the State Duma filed a protest with the prosecutor over a symbol now being used by the Communist faction in their anti-migrant campaign: a ban sign of a woman holding up a severed child’s head, Novaya Gazeta reported.
After the complaint was filed, the image was removed but is still visible in Google cache and has spread around social media.
While there has been ample news suggesting Bobokulova could have been under the influence of drugs or suffering from a delusional attack, a number of details in the story don’t check out.
Initially, officials said that she committed the murder because she was upset because her husband had cheated on her with another woman. But it turned out she was divorced in 2002, and that her three children had been sent to live with either relatives or their father. Subsequent reports indicated she had a boyfriend she met in Moscow, a Tajik, who may have been the figure in question, and who was said to have gone to another woman.
According to our information, during the period of her stay in Russia, Bobokulova cohabitated with a citizen of Tajikistan, who was subjected to a work-over with the ideas of Islamist extremism.
In a tape that has appeared on the Internet, Bobokulova herself confidentially explains to the investigator her act as revenge against Putin for bombing Syria.
How is Bobokulova, with a severed head in her hands, different from the fighters in Syria with severed heads in their hands? Because she’s crazy and they aren’t? Answer: because they are part of an organization. But now it turns out that she is also a part of one.
Oh, no, people, this is not insanity. Insanity is not collective. When it is collective, it is called idelogy. And whether some number of the bearers of this ideology were not quite psychiatrically healthy to start with is a separate question.
So far, there’s no evidence that her Tajik boyfriend is part of any organized terrorist group, however. And that’s a major difficulty in assessing this story, given the propensity for not only Russia, but especially Central Asian governments, to find “terrorists” when they may not exist.
UPDATE: Here is the link to the video referenced by Latynina; Currentime.TV ran a transcript (in Russian).
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
Vladimir Churov, the long-time head of the Russian Central Elections Commission and the constant target of opposition leaders charging fraud in Russia’s ballots, is missing from the newly-restructured commission, Novaya Gazeta reports, citing a decree published today from President Vladimir Putin.
The five new members of the CEC are: Aleksandr Kinyev, deputy head of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service; Vasily Likhachyov, a State Duma deputy; Boris Ebzeyev, a former Constitutional Court judge; Ella Pamfilova, ombudsperson for human rights; and Yevgeny Shevchenko, a member of the Patriots of Russia party.
In the Russian system, the president appoints five members, but 10 others must be chosen and confirmed by the State Duma (5) and Federation Council (5), respectively, for the total of 15.
Unlike other former Soviet republics where opposition parties have gained seats in CECs, in Russia a formula has not been created to enable this, given the docile nature of the parliament. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 2016.
Back in December, Churov had told TV Rain he would leave his post if told to, and in January, Vedomosti had predicted Churov might leave the high-pressure post but there is also said to be a “planned rotation,” according to a source.
Churov was appointed in 2007, re-elected in 2011 and saw the consolidation of Putin’s power and his controversial re-election in 2011. He was then elected again.
Ella Pamfilova is believed to be Putin’s choice to head up the newly-constituted CEC, but this will not be clear until the final composition of the CEC is confirmed by parliament.
Translation: The CEC without magic: what to expect from Vladimir Churov’s successor.
Churov was nicknamed the “Magician” after then-president Dmitry Medvedev said he was “practically a magician.”
Pamfilova, an engineer by training, currently the human rights ombudsman and formerly the head of the Presidential Council for Human Rights and Civil Society Development, had occasionally taken positions against the Kremlin, such as defending NGOs accused of being “foreign agents.” Her influence is limited, however; when she believed she had overturned the designation for Golos, the independent elections monitoring NGO, ultimately it remained on the Justice Ministry’s list and was later closed.
By installing Pamfilova, who is seen as a liberal in the Russian context, Putin may hope to forestall complaints that the elections are not free or fair. It will be another matter whether Pamfilova herself will agree to play this role.
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
Viktor Krasnov, 38, who appeared in court Wednesday, is being prosecuted under a controversial 2013 law that was introduced after punk art group Pussy Riots was jailed for a performance in Moscow’s main cathedral, his lawyer Andrei Sabinin told AFP.
The charges – which carry a maximum one-year jail sentence – centre on an internet exchange that Krasnov was involved in in 2014 on a humorous local website in his hometown of Stavropol.
“If I say that the collection of Jewish fairytales entitled the Bible is complete bullshit, that is that. At least for me,” Krasnov wrote, adding later “there is no God!”
One of the petitioners never adequately explained why he felt Krasnov should be prosecuted if he also advocated forgiveness and another, a soldier never confirmed that he was even a religious believer and there was no independent confirmation he had attended church services, said Sabinin. Nevertheless, on the strength of these two vague testimonies, Krasnov could serve time in labor colony.
The next hearing in Krasnov’s case will take place March 15; he has pleaded not guilty and protested the pressure placed on him by investigators.
The second case concerns a locally popular blogger, Aleksei Kungurov of Tyumen, who was just arrested today, Radio Svoboda reported.
Translation: Aleksei Kungurov was detained by agents after search of his home, now he is being taken to investigation-isolation prison.
Kungurov’s wife said on her LiveJournal page that their apartment was searched but law-enforcers didn’t inform her husband of the articles of the criminal code under which he was arrested. She said one of the policeman said “You’re not allowed to write everything.”
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
The following headlines today are drawn from 7:40 na Perrone, Currenttime.TV, RBC, Interfax, Gazeta, Novaya Gazeta, Izvestiya,
– Sources Say Nanny Murder Suspect Had Foreign Extremists’ Contacts in Phone; Investigative Committee Denies Her Contact with Extremists
– EU to Extend Sanctions Against Russia in July, But Some Members Object
– Defense Ministry Denies Connection Between Syrian Operation and European Refugee Crisis
– Entry of Netflix to Russian Market Sparks Calls for Restrictions to Protect Russian Businesses
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick