The Real Russia. Today.

The wives and mothers of Azov, a wave of pessimism hits the Kremlin, and Washington cancels its waiver

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

For ongoing coverage of the invasion of Ukraine and its consequences back in Russia, follow Meduza’s live updates. Please note that the authorities are now blocking our website in Russia, and we’re turning to you, our global audience, for financial support.

In today’s newsletter:

• Latest news
• The wives and mothers of three Azov soldiers who defended Mariupol to the end
• Meduza’s sources say there’s a new wave of pessimism in the Kremlin

Major recent events in Russia and Ukraine

• 💱 The default draws nearer: The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on Tuesday that it isn’t renewing the provisions of “GL-9C issued pursuant to the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations.” In other words, the United States government is no longer permitting American bondholders to receive debt payments from the Kremlin — a major step toward pushing Russia into a government default. The waiver had allowed Moscow to keep paying interest and principal and avert default on its government debt. Russia has $40 billion of international bonds outstanding.
• 🎓 New education standards: Russia’s Science and Higher Education Ministry says it plans to abandon the European higher-education standards adopted almost 20 years ago, pulling Russia out of the so-called Bologna education system. “The future belongs to our own unique education system,” Minister Valery Falkov told the newspaper Kommersant, insisting that Russia’s higher education priorities should reflect “the interests of the national economy.”
• 🚨 It’s an emergency: Hungary’s government will assume emergency powers in response to the war in neighboring Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a Facebook video on Tuesday. “The world is on the brink of an economic crisis,” Orban said in the video, as reported by Reuters. He stressed that Hungary must stay out of the war in Ukraine and “protect families’ financial security.”
• ⚖️ An apology for Navalny: In a speech before a Moscow court upheld his nine-year prison sentence, anti-Kremlin opposition leader Alexey Navalny revealed that Natalya Repnikova, the judge who presided over the trial that replaced his probation sentence with imprisonment, allegedly passed him a note through several lawyers where she apologized for her ruling. Repnikova reportedly died from COVID-19 last September, though Navalny suggested in his speech on Tuesday that foul play might be the cause. In his remarks, Navalny also criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• ⚖️ Prosecuting war crimes in Ukraine: Ukrainian prosecutors have accused five Russian soldiers and three mercenaries from the “Wagner” PMC of kidnapping, torturing, and murdering the village elder of Motyzhyn together with her family. In total, the suspects are accused of involvement in 14 separate war crimes against civilians in the Bucha district outside Kyiv.
• 👟 Just done it: Nike is officially leaving Russia. The company has reportedly decided not to renew a franchising agreement with Inventive Retail Group, which operated 37 Nike-branded retail stores in Russia. Nike suspended deliveries to Russia in March. IRG’s spokeswoman told the newspaper Vedomosti that supplies are now too low to keep its Nike stores open.
• 💥 An elderly pilot’s luck runs out: A retired Russian major general reportedly died in Ukraine when his Sukhoi Su-25 jet was shot down over the Luhansk region. Journalists at BBC Russia identified him as 63-year-old Kanamat Botashev, who left the military after he stole and crashed a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet in 2012, ejecting to safety. Russia’s Defense Ministry hasn’t commented on the reports about Botashev’s death, but analysts cite open-source data showing that at least nine retired Russian soldiers over the age of 50 have died in combat in Ukraine.
• 🤰 Two draft laws to deal with those shifty foreigners: Lawmakers in the State Duma adopted the first reading of federal legislation that would ban the services of surrogate mothers for foreign citizens. The bill would restrict surrogacy to married Russian citizens and unmarried infertile Russian women. The ban would not apply to married couples where one of the spouses is a Russian citizen. Deputies also approved the first reading of a draft law that will allow “external management” of Russian businesses, at least 25 percent of which belongs to companies from “unfriendly” countries. Courts would be empowered to order domestic takeovers in the event that one of these entities ceases operations in Russia “without obvious economic grounds.” The bill also stipulates qualifying criteria for external management, such as the production of “socially significant or essential goods.” An interdepartmental commission at the Economic Development Ministry would also be able to flag companies for takeovers. Researchers at Yale University’s School of Management say nearly 1,000 companies have officially announced they are voluntarily curtailing operations in Russia.

🪖 Meduza’s interview with the wives and mothers of three Azov soldiers who defended Mariupol to the end (20-min read)

Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant was under continuous siege by Russian troops from early March until May 17. The last place unoccupied by Russian troops in the city, the plant was completely cut off from the outside world. Ukrainians managed to defend it up until May 16, when the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ordered the commanders of the units in Azovstal to “save the lives of the personnel.” The soldiers (the majority of whom belong to the Azov regiment, which was using the plant as a base) laid down their weapons and surrendered. Meduza spoke to the wives of two of the Azov soldiers who were taken prisoner, and to the mother of one who died, about what it was like to follow the siege from afar as their loved ones were under siege inside the plant.

🧠 Meduza’s sources say a new wave of pessimism in the Kremlin has Russia’s hawks demanding more brutality in Ukraine while others scout for presidential successors (7-min read)

As of today, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been underway for exactly three months. Throughout Moscow’s “special military operation,” representatives of the Russian elite have repeatedly changed their positions on the war in Ukraine and the crisis at home. Moderate optimism replaced what was initially extreme pessimism, only to be ousted by a wave of moderate pessimism. Sources close to the Kremlin told Meduza that these moods have shifted again, as more elites express dissatisfaction with Vladimir Putin directly. Frustration with the president, moreover, is rising among both supporters and opponents of the invasion.

Yours, Meduza