Evening Medusa

It seems that Russia is the world's first deaths from coronavirus per capita. The rapper of the purulent was arrested for seven days for a speech about the clitoris. To whom and how the sanctions will damage for the persecution of Navalny

Good evening,

This is the daily newsletter "Medusa", in which we talk about the main news of the day. But for starters - the call in Zum. Calm: no one will have to call. This Texas lawyer Rodonton forgot to disable the “cat” filter. As a result, on the online-offering of a court in the case of smuggling, he performed in the image of a cat with running eyes and justified himself. And after, of course, he became the hero of the memes .

Subscribe to our newsletter, and you do not have to prove that you are not a cat. Or share a link in social networks or messenger.

Pulse

The main thing is in the day - as short as possible

Julia Navalny seemed to fly to Germany . The head of the headquarters of Alexei Navalny Leonid Volkov was arrested in absentia . The arrested in Sakharov is threatened by criminal proceedings for the fact that they chanted “Putin - thief!” On a walk. 80% of Russians heard about protests in support of Navalny. The State Duma four times increased fines for disobedience to the security forces. The rapper Purulent received seven days of arrest for a speech on the clitoris on promotions in support of Navalny (the police considered this word to obscene). The UAE brought to the orbit of Mars the first Arabic satellite. Russian films "Dear comrades!" And the Gunda entered the short list of Oscars. The US Senate decided that the impeachment of Trump does not contradict the constitution .

The texts of the day

How the Kremlin organized a flash mob with a video in support of Putin - and was disappointed in it

In different regions of Russia, a video has been shot for a couple of weeks in support of the president. Moreover, the participants in the filming in Belgorod and Volgograd were deceived: they were told that the patriotic video was just filming without the mention of Putin. Similar videos were shot in Khabarovsk, Arkhangelsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. The state media presented this as spontaneous initiatives of local residents, but in fact the administration of the president is behind the idea. The videos were conceived as an answer to the investigation about the Palace of Putin. As a result, the flash mob decided to turn off , because "they were transferred in the regions."

What sanctions will impose against those involved in the persecution of Navalny and how effective they are

In the “Priority Short List”, which was compiled by the associates of Navalny, eight names, and 35 in the expanded list. Among those against whom it is proposed to impose sanctions, TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, Alisher Usmanov and Roman Abramovich. The measures of the already current “Magnitsky Law” can apply to them or even freeze their American assets. And also - prohibit the entry into the United States, withdrawing the current visa and refusing to issue new ones. Sanctions also mean more thorough inspections by Western banks, the complication of financial procedures, problems with the export and import of technology - and eventhe inability to receive treatment abroad . The long -term effect of sanctions is still poorly detected. But the experience of recent years showed that Russia managed to soften the effect of many restrictions - for example, by import substitution.

Coronavirus

In 2020, 358 thousand people died from the epidemic in Russia - that is, 6.3 times more than the authorities stated

If we focus on the statistics of excess mortality for 2020, which Rosstat published, it turns out that Russia by December 31 occupied the second place in the world (after the United States) in terms of the absolute number of victims of coronavirus. By the beginning of February, she most likely came back in the first place in the number of deaths per capita. The actions of the authorities led to so many deaths. In particular, voting on the Constitution.

An article about the “satellite V” in The Lancet was included in the top 6 of the most discussed scientific publications for all the time. Why is she praised and criticized?

At the first stage of the studies of the creators of the "satellite V", they criticized for inappropriate haste, cutting off corners and lack of information transparency. But now most experts highly assess the effectiveness and level of protection that the vaccine gives. Critics pay attention to weak places of research (for example, a short average time of observation of volunteers) and they say that conclusions about effectiveness are impossible to draw . Now the vaccine is waiting for a new (possibly even more stringent) review by experts of the European Medical Agency.

Other news about coronavirus:

• According to official figures, the number of cases in Russia exceeded four million people .
• Chechnya and Udmurtia were the first of the Russian regions to cancel the mandatory wearing of masks.

Podkast "What happened"

Due to authoritarianism, Russia is compared with Iran. In vain - comparison is not in our favor

The political regime in Iran, despite Islamic theocratic surroundings, is much more democratic than the Russian one. There is regular replacement of the authorities (although not at the Ayatollah level) according to the results of the elections, and there are much more large-scale protests in the country-including due to corruption and social problems. What is still happening in the internal and foreign policy of Iran, says an employee of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations named after E. M. Primakov RAS Nikolai Kozhanov.

Listen “What happened” at Medusa . And subscribe to Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Yandex.Musica and other podcast services.

Picture of the day

How in the Kremlin they loved to read medical publications

When in December 2020 an article was published in The Lancet magazine about the poisoning of Alexei Navalny from the Novichok group, the Kremlin preferred not to notice it. But the article on the effectiveness and safety of the “satellite V” (which we wrote above) was praised by Vladimir Putin. Just an ideal hit in a template a meme about the dog and Chims !

We read, read and we will read medical publications, your "Medusa"