At yet another summit in Beijing, just a week after Donald Trump's visit, the Russian and Chinese presidents discussed strategic cooperation, calling US policy "irresponsible”. But once more, negotiations have stalled regarding the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline, which is vital for Moscow but not China.
Since May, data on the grounds for court rulings relating to political and social repression, cases against military personnel, and those concerning defendants and convicts who are being sent to fight in the war in Ukraine have become inaccessible in Russia. In recent years, the figures had revealed an exponential rise in convictions for treason, espionage and collusion with foreign powers.
At the recent European summit in Armenia, attended by Zelenskyy and marked by a clear desire to strengthen relations with the European Union, Putin responded by warning Armenia not to follow in Ukraine’s footsteps. These are weighty words in a country preparing to go to the polls on 7 June for extremely sensitive parliamentary elections.
There is a growing popular demand for ‘left-wing’ politics. Among the demands is a tax on the super-rich in response to social inequality. Young people are joining radical left-wing groups in search of the ‘truth’ and clashing with Nazis on the streets. In a climate of weariness, any demand holds great potential. The steady, though not yet catastrophic, decline of United Russia and Putin.
The death and retirement of two politicians who, for almost thirty years, led the local parliaments of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan offer a glimpse into their loyalty to every form of power during Russia’s transition of regimes. Icons of the process that, with the war, has now reduced the entire country to global isolation
In September, Russia will go to the polls for parliamentary elections, and in the campaign that is now getting underway, the traditional allies of United Russia, Putin’s party, appear for the first time to be intent on distancing themselves in order to capitalise on popular discontent. Thus, to close ranks, the Kremlin is rallying the loyalist leaders of local administrations.
