NOTE: The Power Vertical Briefing is RFE/RL’s short look ahead to the stories expected to make news in Russia in the coming week. It is hosted by Brian Whitmore, author of the Power Vertical blog, and appears every Monday.
Reports have surfaced that Vladimir Yakunin, a longtime crony of Vladimir Putin, is being investigated by Russian law-enforcement.
Russia’s Interior Ministry officials are not confirming the reports, which first appeared on the blog of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. But they are not denying them either.
On this week’s Power Vertical Briefing, we try to unpack the issue and look at what it might mean.
Joining me are senior RFE/RL editor Steve Gutterman and Pavel Butorin, managing editor of RFE/RL’s Russian-language television program Current Time.
Also on The Briefing, Steve, Pavel, and I look at the historic meeting scheduled this week between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill.
Enjoy…