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LONDON (AP) — Russia's State Duma took a step forward Wednesday towards approving its biggest-ever federal budget which will increase spending by around 25% in 2024, with record amounts going on defense. Part of the Russian budget is secret as the Kremlin tries to conceal its military plans and sidestep scrutiny of its war in Ukraine. Analysts suggest Russia is in third place globally for defense spending behind China and the United States, which spends around $850 billion a year. The main driver of that growth is Russia's war in Ukraine, which is now as important to the Kremlin economically as it is politically. If there is a reduction in military spending, or a need to reduce spending which impacts living standards, it could send shockwaves through the Russian economy and significantly impact ordinary people.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, ”, Richard Connolly, Farida Rustamova, Maksim Tovkaylo, Alexandra Prokopenko, Anton Siluanov, “, Connolly, they’ve, ” Prokopenko, Prokopenko, — — David McHugh Organizations: —, Duma, Kremlin, Royal United Services Institute, Independent, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Russian Central Bank, Finance, Defense, Central Bank Locations: — Russia's, Russia, Ukraine, London, China, United States, Russian, West, India, Berlin, Frankfurt

This means there are practically no workers left in the economy, the situation with personnel is really very acute," Nabiullina said. "For further growth of the Russian economy, increased labour productivity is needed." Inflation pressure peaked in the third quarter of this year, Nabiullina said, but annual inflation will only start decreasing next spring. The central bank's forecasts suggest that reaching the 4% target by end-2024 will be a tough ask. Nabiullina said another rate hike may be required before the bank can start reducing borrowing costs again.

Persons: Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Nabiullina, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Alison Williams, Gareth Jones Organizations: Central Bank Governor, State Duma, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Moscow, Ukraine, State, Russian, London

☆ A mob that stormed a Russian airport hunting for Jews got its marching orders from Telegram. Then the channel lost control.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Their actions seemed directed by a local antisemitic Telegram channel urging people to target Jews. AdvertisementAdvertisementA mob of protesters that ransacked a Russian airport in search of Jews on Sunday was incited by an antisemitic Telegram channel. The crowd at the airport went further than the channel asked, breaking through security cordons and storming through the airport. The identity of the Telegram channel administrator is unclear. Following the mob, Dageston Governor Sergey Melikov told reporters the Telegram channel was run from Ukraine by unnamed "traitors," according to the state-run outlet TASS .

Persons: —, Ilya Ponomarev, Putin, Sergey Melikov, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Service, Sunday, Airport, AP, Red Wings Airlines, Telegram, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, RIA Novosti, Ministry of Health, Financial Times, State Duma, Federal Agency for Air Transport, Israeli Locations: Russia, Israel, Dagestan, Tel Aviv, Makhachkala, Russian, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Ukraine

☆ Russia says it shot down 36 Ukrainian drones as fighting grinds on in Ukraine’s east
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A satellite image shows smoke billowing from Russian Black Sea navy headquarters after a missile strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Sept. 22, 2023. Russian air defense shot down over 30 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula overnight Saturday, Russia's Defense Ministry said Sunday. "The air defense systems in place destroyed 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea and the northwestern part of the Crimean peninsula," the ministry wrote on Telegram. Local authorities in the southern Krasnodar region bordering the Black Sea said that a fire broke out at an oil refinery in the early hours of Sunday, but did not specify the cause. In Ukraine, the country's air force said Sunday it had shot down five Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones launched by Russia overnight.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Volodin, Volodin, Ursula von der Leyen Organizations: Russia's Defense, Telegram . Local, Russia, Russian, UK Ministry, European Union, State Duma, European, Russian Federation Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Sevastopol, Crimea, Crimean, Krasnodar, Moscow, Siversk, Donetsk province, British, Russia, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Kyiv, Belgium, Europe

☆ Moscow will confiscate EU assets if Brussels 'steals' frozen Russian funds, Putin ally says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Russia will confiscate assets belonging to European Union states it deems unfriendly if the bloc "steals" frozen Russian funds in a drive to fund Ukraine, a top ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Friday that the EU executive was working on a proposal to pool some of the profits derived from frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction. Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma, the Russian lower house of parliament, said Moscow would retaliate in a way that would be more costly to the bloc if the EU moved against Russian assets, many of which are held in Belgium. In that case, far more assets belonging to unfriendly countries will be confiscated than our frozen funds in Europe," he said. Von der Leyen said on Friday that the value of frozen Russian sovereign assets was 211 billion euros ($223.15 billion) and recalled that the bloc had decided that Russia must pay for Ukraine's reconstruction.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Ursula von der Leyen, Vyacheslav Volodin, Putin, Von der Leyen, Volodin, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Union, European Commission, EU, State Duma, Russian Federation, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Belgium, Kyiv, Europe

The bill to deratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was approved by 156 votes to zero in the upper house after the lower house also passed it unanimously. Putin had requested the change to "mirror" the position of the United States, which signed the CTBT in 1996 but never ratified it. Though it has never formally come into force, the CTBT has made nuclear testing a taboo - no country except North Korea has conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion this century. CNN published satellite images last month showing that Russia, the United States and China have all expanded their nuclear test sites in recent years. Russia suspended the treaty this year and it is due to expire in 2026, leaving the two countries without any remaining bilateral nuclear weapons agreement.

Persons: Sergei Ryabkov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Ryabkov, Washington, Filipp Lebedev, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Russia's, Duma, Russian, Handout, REUTERS, Washington, CNN, U.S . Energy Department, U.S, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, United States, Ukraine, North Korea, China, Nevada, U.S, Kyiv, Washington

The lower house, the State Duma, on Wednesday passed the second and third readings of a bill that revokes Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. What is happening in the world today is the exclusive fault of the United States," parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Russia's testing ground in the remote northern archipelago of Novaya Zemlya in August. CNN published satellite images last month showing Russia, the United States and China have all built new facilities at their nuclear test sites in recent years. The Soviet Union last tested in 1990 and the United States in 1992.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Vyacheslav Volodin, Volodin, Sergei Shoigu, Melissa Parke, Mark Trevelyan, Nick Macfie Organizations: States Arms, West, State Duma, Comprehensive, Washington, Defence, CNN, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, International, Nuclear, Soviet Union, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, United States, Russian, Ukraine, China, India, Pakistan, Korea, Washington, Novaya Zemlya, Stockholm, USA, Soviet Russia

☆ Russia’s State Duma Votes to Revoke Ratification of Nuclear-Test-Ban Pact
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: duma Locations: russia

"In the interests of ensuring the security of our country, we are withdrawing the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty," Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said ahead of a debate and parliamentary vote on revoking ratification. While Russia is revoking ratification, it would remain a signatory and would continue to cooperate with the test ban treaty organisation and the global monitoring system, which alerts the world to any nuclear test. Post-Soviet Russia has never carried out a nuclear test. "I hear calls to start testing nuclear weapons, to return to testing," Putin said on Oct. 5. Since the CTBT, 10 nuclear tests have taken place.

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Volodin, Volodin, Guy Faulconbridge, Robert Birsel Organizations: Comprehensive, Russian Federation, U.S, Soviet Union, United Nations, Cuban Missile, U.S . Congress, Thomson Locations: Russia, United States, MOSCOW, Washington, Soviet Russia, Soviet Union, China, Ukraine, Moscow, Beijing, India, Pakistan, North Korea

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin visits 'dear friend' Xi in Beijing as Ukraine reports overnight strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Russia is revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty because of the irresponsible attitude of the United States to global security, the speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament said on Tuesday. President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 5 that he was not ready to say whether or not Russia should resume nuclear testing after calls from some Russian security experts and lawmakers to test a nuclear bomb as a warning to the West. "In the interests of ensuring the security of our country, we are withdrawing the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty," Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said ahead of a debate and parliamentary vote on revoking ratification. Volodin said that while Russia ratified the 1996 treaty in 2000, Washington failed to ratify because of its "irresponsible attitude to global security issues". "The Russian Federation will do everything to protect its citizens and to maintain global strategic parity," Volodin said.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Volodin, Volodin, — Organizations: Comprehensive, Russian Federation Locations: Russia, United States, Washington

[1/2] An analyst monitors from a computer screen in the control room of the international nuclear test monitoring agency CTBTO in Vienna February 12, 2013. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 17 (Reuters) - Russia's parliament starts voting on Tuesday on withdrawing Moscow's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The CTBT is a 1996 treaty that bans "any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion" anywhere in the world. It says that the test ban, "by constraining the development and qualitative improvement of nuclear weapons and ending the development of advanced new types of nuclear weapons, constitutes an effective measure of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in all its aspects". But the move would provide it with legal cover to test if it wanted to, and some security analysts see a Russian test now as more likely.

Persons: Heinz, Peter Bader, Matthew Harries, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Comprehensive, UN, Arms Control Association, State Duma, Publicly, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Britain, France, Russia, United States, Israel, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, US, London, RUSSIA, Ukraine, Russian, Belarus

☆ Treaty Shift Doesn't Mean Russia Plans Nuclear Test - Foreign Ministry Official
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's planned withdrawal of its ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear tests does not mean that it intends to conduct such a test, a senior foreign ministry official told Russian media. Russia ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 2000 but the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, is due to vote on Tuesday on a bill to reverse that step. He said Russia's position was set out by Putin in February when he said that Russia would only conduct a test if the United States did so first. No country except North Korea has conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion this century. Putin said earlier this month he was not ready to say whether a nuclear test was needed or not.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Yermakov, Yermakov, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Russian, State Duma, Duma, TASS, Reuters Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, United States, Washington, North Korea, Ukraine

☆ Russian parliament bosses to discuss revoking ratification of nuclear test ban treaty
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian lawmakers attend a session of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in Moscow, Russia January 16, 2020. The Kremlin chief said Russia could look at revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as the United States had signed, but not ratified, it. On Friday, Russia's envoy to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said Moscow would revoke its ratification of the pact, a move that Washington denounced as endangering "the global norm" against nuclear test blasts. Last month CNN said satellite images showed growing activity at nuclear test sites in Russia, China and the United States. In 2020, the Washington Post said the then-Trump administration had discussed whether to hold a nuclear test.

Persons: Evgenia, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Russia's, Vyacheslav Volodin, Washington, Lidia Kelly, Guy Faulconbridge, Gerry Doyle, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: State Duma, REUTERS, Putin, Kremlin, Comprehensive, Duma, Treaty Organization, Cuban Missile, United, The Soviet Union, CNN, Washington Post, Trump, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, States, MOSCOW, Russian, United States, China, Soviet, Ukraine, Washington, Egypt, Iran, Israel, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Melbourne

☆ Belarus President Lukashenko says by arming Ukraine, US is "pushing" Russia "towards using" nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday that by arming Ukraine, the United States is pushing Russia toward using nuclear weapons. “I am getting the impression – I say again that it is my opinion – that Americans are pushing Russians toward using the most terrifying weapon. Lukashenko added that if such a missile struck Russian territory, Moscow would have to respond. Otherwise, why do we need these (nuclear) weapons for?,” Lukashenko said. He claimed US President Joe Biden could use a Ukrainian victory on the battlefield to boost his approval rating.

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, “, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky, ” Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Russia “, Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Volodin, Ukraine “, Zelensky, Joe Biden, Biden Organizations: CNN, Belarusian, Russian, State Duma, Comprehensive Locations: Ukraine, United States, Russia, Brest, Moscow, State

Putin on Thursday said Russia's nuclear doctrine did not need updating but that he was not yet ready to say whether or not Russia needed to resume nuclear tests. The Kremlin chief said that Russia should look at revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as the United States had signed it but not ratified. Just hours after Putin's words, Russia's top lawmaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, said the legislature's bosses would swiftly consider the need to revoke Russia's ratification for the treaty. "At the next meeting of the State Duma Council, we will definitely discuss the issue of revoking the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty," Volodin said. Putin's words, followed by Volodin's, indicate that Russia is almost certain to revoke ratification of the treaty, which bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere.

Persons: Vyacheslav Volodin, Maxim Shemetov, Putin, Vladimir Putin, peaker Volodin, Volodin, Volodin's, Guy Faulconbridge, Sonali Paul, Stephen Coates Organizations: Nazi, REUTERS, Soviet Union, Comprehensive, Cuban Missile Crisis, Kremlin, State Duma Council, Soviet, United Nations, United, United States Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Thomson Locations: Russia's, Nazi Germany, Red, Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, United States, Washington, Brussels, State, Ban, Soviet Union, India, Pakistan, North Korea

☆ Putin Says Russia Has Tested Next-Generation Nuclear Weapon
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had successfully tested a potent new strategic missile and declined to rule out the possibility it could carry out weapons tests involving nuclear explosions for the first time in more than three decades. Putin said for the first time that Moscow had successfully tested the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile with a potential range of many thousands of miles. He also told an annual gathering of analysts and journalists that Russia had almost completed work on its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system, another key element of its new generation of nuclear weapons. Putin, who has repeatedly reminded the world of Russia's nuclear potential since launching his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, said no one in their right mind would use nuclear weapons against Russia. He noted that the United States had not ratified the treaty that bans nuclear tests, whereas Russia had both signed and ratified it.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Karaganov, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Duma, Military, Reuters Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Soviet Union, United States, Russia's

☆ Putin Holds Out Possibility That Russia Could Resume Nuclear Testing
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

By Guy FaulconbridgeMOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin on Thursday held out the possibility that Russia could resume nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades and might withdraw its ratification of a landmark nuclear test ban treaty. The Kremlin chief said there was no need to change Russia's nuclear doctrine however, as any attack on Russia would provoke a split-second response with hundreds of nuclear missiles that no enemy could survive. "I think no person of sound mind and clear memory would think of using nuclear weapons against Russia," Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. He noted that the United States had signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty but not ratified it while Russia had signed and ratified it. In February, Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START treaty that limits the number of nuclear weapons each side can deploy.

Persons: Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Karaganov, Karaganov, Margarita Simonyan, UKRAINE Putin, Russia's, Guy FaulconbridgeEditing, Andrew Osborn, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Kremlin, State Duma, Inside, RT, United Nations, Soviet Union, United, Cuban Missile, West Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Black, Sochi, West, United States, Inside Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, Ban, Soviet Union, UKRAINE, Afghanistan, Ukrainian

☆ A Kremlin propagandist faced backlash from Siberian officials after saying Russia should detonate a nuke in its own territory
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Kremlin propagandist suggested Moscow should drop a nuclear bomb over Siberia, reports said. A nuclear bombing over Siberia would send a "painful" message to the West, Simonyan reportedly said. A nuclear bombing over Siberia would send a "painful" message to the West, Simonyan said, according to a translation by The Moscow Times. Nikolai Korolev, an aide to Moscow City Duma deputy Evgeniy Stupin, petitioned Russia's Interior Ministry and Investigative Committee to probe Simonyan's comments, according to the news outlet. AdvertisementAdvertisementSimonyan wrote in a message on Telegram that she did not call for a nuclear strike on Siberia, Russian news outlet Meduza reported.

Persons: Margarita Simonyan, Simonyan, —, Vladimir Putin's, …, Julia Davis, Maria Prusakova, Anatoly Lokot, Simonyan's, Nikolai Korolev, Evgeniy Stupin, Dmitry Peskov, Davis Organizations: Service, US State Department, Moscow Times, Russian Media Monitor, Communist Party, State Duma, Moscow, Duma, Russia's Interior Ministry, Committee Locations: Moscow, Siberia, Ukraine, Russian, State, Siberia's Altai, Siberian, Novosibirsk

☆ Putin says Russia has tested next-generation nuclear weapon
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, October 5, 2023. Putin, who has repeatedly reminded the world of Russia's nuclear might since launching his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, said no one in their right mind would use nuclear weapons against Russia. He noted that the United States had not ratified the treaty that bans nuclear tests, whereas Russia had both signed and ratified it. In February, Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START treaty that limits the number of nuclear weapons each side can deploy. I think no person of sound mind and clear memory would think of using nuclear weapons against Russia."

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Grigory Sysoyev, Putin, Sergei Karaganov, Karaganov, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Duma, Military, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Sochi, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Soviet Union, United States, Russia's, Russian, Western, U.S, Europe

☆ Russia's Putin sends the West a warning over nuclear testing
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Everything can be changed but I just don't see the need for it," Putin said of the nuclear doctrine, saying the existence of the Russian state was not under threat. "I think no person of sound mind and clear memory would think of using nuclear weapons against Russia," he said. "I hear calls to start testing nuclear weapons, to return to testing," Putin added, referring to suggestions from hardline political scientists and commentators who say such a move could send a powerful message to Moscow's enemies in the West. In February, Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START treaty that limits the number of nuclear weapons each side can deploy. Putin accused the West of losing touch with reality over the Ukraine war.

Persons: Putin, West, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Karaganov, Russia's, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Putin, Kremlin, State Duma, Military, West, Thomson Locations: Russia, MOSCOW, Moscow, Russian, United States, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Ukrainian

Discovery, was among the Western studios to pull out of Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. A “Barbie House” photo zone was set to open in Moscow last week and Russian clothing brands have launched pink Barbie-themed collections. “Hi Barbie!” one Moscow-based influencer said to her fans, asking them which of her Barbie looks they like the most. Commentaries in state media have linked the movie and the doll to the United States’ “downhill” culture and geopolitical aims. Now they have somewhat different ideals,” said Moscow State Pedagogical University Associate Professor Tatyana Semenova according to Russia’s privately owned National News Service outlet.

Persons: Barbie ”, Barbiemania, “ Barbie, hasn’t, ”, Barbie, Bulkin Sergey, “, influencer, Specialnaya, doesn’t, Dmitry Kosyrev, –, Maria Butina, Butina, Tatyana Butskaya, Barbie don’t, Tatyana Semenova Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, Russia Russia’s Ministry of Culture, Warner Bros Discovery, RIA Novosti, Press, Moscow, Mattel, Hollywood, Duma, International Affairs, State, State Duma, Moscow State Pedagogical University, National News Service Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russia Russia’s, Siberian, Tyumen, Moscow, Russian, EU, United States, Asia, South, Vietnam, United Russia

☆ Russia's inflation spike sets Kremlin and central bank on collision course
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina Alexei Nikolsky\TASS via Getty ImagesRussia's rising inflation and plunging currency have spotlighted an emerging discord between the Kremlin and the country's central bank. Analysts suggested the government's direct strong-arming of the central bank into monetary policy action was a sign of the problems faced by the country's economy. In other words, the Russian currency has entered a vicious circle that it will struggle to escape from." This is because the negative factors behind the weakening currency are largely outside the control of the Central Bank of Russia." She added that blaming the central bank has therefore become an "easy tactic" for the Kremlin in the absence of any tangible options through which to improve the situation.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina Alexei Nikolsky, Vladimir Putin's, Maxim Oreshkin, Anatoly Aksakov, Agathe Demarais, Demarais, Stephanie Kennedy, Julius Baer, Kennedy Organizations: Russian Central Bank Governor, Getty, Kremlin, Central Bank of Russia, Bank, Bank of Russia, Financial, Bank of, Economist Intelligence Unit, CNBC, CBR, U.S . Locations: Russia, Bank of Russia, Ukraine

☆ Russia is raising its conscription age and calling up 70-year-olds in an effort to avoid another large-scale mobilization that could spark backlash, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An expert on Russia said the government is likely trying to avoid another large-scale mobilization. Last week, Putin signed into law legislation that raises the maximum age for male conscription from 27 to 30 years old. One year of military service was previously required by Russian men ages 18 to 27 with conscriptions held twice a year. "But it's not "over there" when 200,000 people get roped into military service to go and fight this stupid and futile war," he added. The new conscription law is just one of several steps Russia has recently taken to address personnel shortages.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, conscriptions, Simon Miles, they've, that's, Miles Organizations: Service, Duke University's Sanford School of Public, Soviet Union, dodgers, New York Times, Institute for Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Soviet, Crimea

☆ Putin is forming mysterious private armies across Russia to protect himself from Wagner soldiers, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin is forming private militias across Russia. The plans for the private military companies, or "special enterprises," were noted in a new bill that raises the draft age for the Russian military. It comes weeks after the mutiny by Russia's Wagner mercenary group, which exposed gaps in Putin's defenses. According to the report, Putin's militias would be under the command of regional governors, operate at Putin's behest, and would be armed by the Russian Ministry of Defense. "They are a tool to enhance security [important given very active clandestine actions by Ukrainian military intelligence], and can, as necessary, help against any new mutiny," said Sokov.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Andrey Kartapolov, Russia's Wagner, Putin, Nikolai Sokov Organizations: Service, Daily Beast, Fighters, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense, Barents Observer, Daily Locations: Russia, Russian, Wall, Silicon, Rostov, Moscow, Norwegian, Ukraine

☆ Russia says it shot down Ukrainian missile over southern city with 14 injured
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Uliana Pavlova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russia said it shot down a Ukrainian missile over the southern Russian city of Taganrog and that fragments from the blast injured several civilians. Vasily Golubev also said on Friday in a Telegram post that there was a rocket explosion in the middle of the city. The Russian Ministry of Health later said 14 people had been injured. Russian air defense systems intercepted the missile, fragments of which fell on the city and damaged buildings, the defense ministry said. There were no victims or severe damage reported at the site, Khinshtein said.

Persons: It’s, Ukraine —, Vasily Golubev, ”, Maria Zakharova, “, ” Zakharova, Alexander Khinshtein, Khinshtein Organizations: CNN, Russian Ministry of Defense, Regional Gov, Russian Ministry of Health, Russian Foreign Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Duma Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Taganrog, Ukraine, Rostov Region, Rostov, Moscow, Kiev, Samara

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