The Real Russia. Today. Tuesday, May 7, 2024

👑 Vladimir Putin delivers inaugural address as he begins fifth term as Russian president (2-min read)

On May 7, Vladimir Putin was sworn in for his fifth term as Russian president. The inauguration ceremony, which took place at the gilded Grand Kremlin Palace, was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, and Chechnya Governor Ramzan Kadyrov, as well as numerous other chosen dignitaries. Shortly after taking the oath of office (in which he vowed to defend “human and civil rights and liberties”), Putin addressed the assembled crowd.

⚖️ Russia charges Middle East reporter with ‘justifying terrorism’ over social media posts about the Taliban (3-min read)

Russia has arrested journalist and Middle East correspondent Nadezhda Kevorkova and charged her with “justifying terrorism.” The charges are reportedly related to years-old social media posts about the Taliban and Islamic militants in the North Caucasus. Despite the Taliban’s official designation as a terrorist organization in Russia, the Russian authorities frequently invite the group’s leaders to Moscow and have discussed plans to remove the group from Russia’s list of terrorist organizations.

☢️ Russia’s tactical nuke drills are Putin’s latest effort to restore fear in his ‘red lines,’ but it might actually work this time (5-min read)

This week, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that President Putin has ordered preparations for drills to test the combat readiness of the country’s tactical nuclear weapons. In a series of statements from Russian military spokespeople, senior diplomats, and the Kremlin’s press secretary, Moscow has explained the unscheduled exercises as a response to Western rhetoric about military aid to Ukraine, framing the expanded assistance as an intervention that directly endangers (internationally recognized) Russian territory and risks spiraling out of control. This first official nuclear threat since February 2022 to punish the West for supporting Ukraine is likely the Kremlin’s attempt to restore its faded “red lines” in the war. Meduza explains how the nuke drills are militarily unremarkable but might nevertheless be an effective deterrent amid Western concerns about uncontrolled escalation.

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• 💔 Jailed American soldier’s Russian ladyfriend identified online: Journalists at RFE/RL tracked down the social media accounts of arrested U.S. Staff Sergeant Gordon Black’s Russian (ex?) partner (perhaps his wife), finding “profanity-laced TikTok videos” cataloging their romance in South Korea. In some of the videos, Black echoed “several talking points frequently used by the Kremlin” related to the war in Ukraine and NATO expansion. RFE/RL could not confirm if the woman, Aleksandra Vashchuk, is also the person from whom Black allegedly stole, according to the charges filed against him in Vladivostok. (Black traveled to Russia without informing the U.S. military.)
• ⚖️ Watch your tongue, homophobe: Notorious anti-gay activist Timur Bulatov has been fined for “discrediting” Russia’s military. He told journalists at Mediazona that he doesn’t know what was flagged as a speech offense and expressed confidence that his friends would nullify the conviction. Bulatov has filed dozens of police reports against members of the LGBT community and outed several gay teachers.
• 👑 Putin’s latest ‘May Orders’: After his inauguration on Tuesday, President Putin signed an executive order laying out national development goals between 2030 and 2036. Putin prioritized “population preservation," "sustainable and dynamic economy," and "technological leadership.” The burden of implementing the president’s ambitious post-inauguration goals falls largely to regional officials who often fail to carry out the task due to a lack of resources. For example, only 16 or 89 regions managed to raise the salaries of public sector employees as instructed in Putin’s 2018 “May Orders.”

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