- “You wanted a bloodless revolution?” tweeted one of Putin’s favored messengers, Margarita Simonyan, who leads Russia’s RT television network. “Here you go.”
- “Putin is advancing the idea of keeping his authority as a more powerful and influential prime minister while the presidency will become more decorative.” - Political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin
- “The only goal of Putin and his regime is to stay in charge for life, having the entire country as his personal asset and seizing its riches for himself and his friends.” - Alexei Navalny, Russian opposition leader
- “Putin's reshuffle shows he wants to become Russia's supreme leader.” - Garry Kasparov
Putinist võib saada midagi ajatollade või Deng Xiaopingi sarnast
Kadri Liik - ERR
“Venemaa president Vladimir Putin on selgelt asunud otsima võimalusi presidendiametist lahkumiseks ning tema uus roll võib olla midagi sellist nagu oli Hiina kunagisel liidril Deng Xiaopingil või on Iraani islamirevolutsiooni järel ajatolladel. …”
Who Is Russia’s New Prime Minister?
(Foreign Policy)
“When Russians woke up on Wednesday morning, most had likely never heard of Mikhail Mishustin, the head of the country’s tax service. But by the time they went to bed that night, Mishustin had been named as Russia’s new prime minister after a day that included a flurry of proposed changes to the constitution and a series of dramatic shake-ups that saw the government resign en masse. It was the first real inkling of the power transfer to come, with President Vladimir Putin set to reach his constitutionally imposed term limit in 2024.”
—
“By selecting Mishustin, Putin is looking to learn from his past mistakes during his return to the presidency in 2012 and offer Russians change, while still maintaining his grip on power.”
Putin asub pärast presidendiametit tegutsema julgeoleku teemadega
(ERR)
“Politoloog Karmo Tüüri hinnangul jääb Venemaa president Vladimir Putin pärast ametiaja lõppu tegutsema julgeolekupoliitika valdkonda.”
Putin Wants a Kazakh Retirement
(Foreign Policy - March 2019)
“Russia and Kazakhstan have plenty in common. Why not the transition plans for their longtime presidents?”
Putin’s Power Play: Shuffle the Cabinet But Keep Command
by Anna Nemtsova - Daily Beast
“During his annual state of the nation address to the Russian parliament on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said repeatedly that the Russian people expect changes, and the one announced less than three hours later—described on Kommersant FM radio as “Operation Successor”—seemed to throw a lot of cards up in the air. … The political elite is being careful with its comments since few know who will benefit from this major change.”
Putin’s Bloodless Revolution
(Time)
“I truly believe that it is time to introduce certain changes to our country’s main law,” Putin said. Shortly afterward the government resigned en masse, not in protest but seemingly to pave the way for these reforms.”
—
“The details of his plan were vague and in many ways confusing, though their significance was not lost on those close to the Kremlin.”
Did Putin Just Appoint Himself President for Life?
(Carnegie Moscow Center)
“Moving to a new position while retaining significant influence is more akin to the maneuver seen last year in Kazakhstan, where Nursultan Nazarbayev relinquished the presidency after nearly three decades to become head of the Security Council, having enhanced that body’s power shortly before that.”
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Friday 17. January
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Putin Restores the GULAG by Legalizing Slave Labor of Convicts
by Paul Goble
“Given all the changes Vladimir Putin is making in these days in the Russian constitutional order, ones that legalize the presidentialist dictatorship he has already created, many may have failed to notice that a law he signed restoring a key feature of the GULAG, the use of convicts as slave laborers, went into effect on January 1.”
—
“The law discussed, passed and signed by Putin last year calls for creating two kinds of labor camps: entire colonies where inmates will be put to work either for the state or for businesses on a contract basis and special “correction centers” attached to business sites …”
Lavrov kritiseeris Eesti tegevust seoses Sputnikuga
(ERR)
“Eesti võimude tegevuse kohta esitas Lavrovile küsimuse Eesti Sputniku juht Jelena Tšerõševa, kes süüdistas välisminister Urmas Reinsalu ja president Kersti Kaljulaidi ebadiplomaatilistes ja Venemaa-vastastes avaldustes.”
Estonian population growth continues in 2019 due to immigration
(BNN)
“Preliminary estimate of the population of Estonia as at 1 January 2020 was 1,328,360, which is 3,540 persons more than a year ago.”
President Putin kirjutab põhjalikku artiklit Teisest maailmasõjast
(ERR)
“President valmistab ette mahukat artiklit, see rajaneb eranditult tõsiasjadel — uutel andmetel, mil leiti Vene arhiividest," ütles Sergei Lavrov pressikonverentsil, mis oli pühendatud Venemaa mulluse diplomaatilise tegevuse tulemustele. Ta meenutas, et kaitseministeerium avalikustas äsja arhiividokumendid Varssavi vabastamisest, mis sinnamaani olid salastatud. "Oleks tähtis teada saada, mida arvab Poola, kui nendega tutvub.”
Putin’s Sudden Interest in the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
(Deutsche Welle - 11. Dec. 2019)
“The Russian president … dismissed as "unfounded" an EU resolution stating that the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact had laid the groundwork for World War II. "They are very nearly blaming the Soviet Union, alongside Nazi Germany, for causing the Second World War," Putin said. "As if they have forgotten who attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, and the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.”
—
“The governments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania had released a statement in August saying the pact ‘doomed half of Europe to decades of misery’. “We will continue to talk about the events, the facts of the Great Patriotic War, to unveil and publicize archive materials in their entirety," Putin said.”
Lithuania and Poland are against Russia's attempts 'to rewrite history'
(Delfi)
“… Putin has said on several occasions recently that Poland is responsible for the outbreak of World War Two. "We'll certainly not allow history to be falsified so easily, and our strategic communicators are already cooperating and counteracting that lie, which is (...) another attempt to rewrite history, revive the image of Stalin as a positive figure (and) justify the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.”
Putin’s parallel world and the return of Stalin
(Lithuanian Tribune)
“The thing that surprised many analysts the most – even in Russia itself –was Vladimir Putin’s sudden interest in history. And it was not just history in general. Rather, it was the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the outbreak of World War II in particular.”
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Thursday 16. January
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Sisepoliitika varjutab Eesti diplomaatia edu
Kristi Raik - Postimees
“Värske uuringu tulemused riikide mõjukusest ELis annaks ehk liiga igavalt ilusa pildi Eesti diplomaatiast ELis, kui sellele ei lisanduks sisepoliitika äikesepilved ja kärgatused, kirjutab RKK Eesti Välispoliitika Instituudi direktor Kristi Raik.”
Reporters Without Borders 'extremely concerned' for future of independent journalism in Estonia
(ERR)
“… after an exodus of nearly all investigative reporters and editorial writers from leading daily Postimees in recent weeks.”
—
“RSF expressed concern that the exodus from Postimees could mark the end of investigative journalism in a country that had until now been seen as a model of press freedom, adding that the possible disappearance of the independent paper could prove disastrous for a country the size of Estonia, "one in which the media are already very polarized between the state-funded public radio and TV broadcaster and a major private-sector media company, Ekspress Grupp."
Brexit: British flag to come down from the Parliament in Brussels
(Politico-Europe)
“According to the minutes of a meeting of the European Parliament's top brass on Thursday, the Union Flag will come down at the Parliament building in Brussels on January 31 — Brexit Day — with the flag to be kept in the House of European History. … a "farewell ceremony" will be held on January 29 for the Brits.”
Interview: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
(Time)
“I Don’t Trust Anyone at All.”
—
“Zelensky Speaks Out on Trump, Putin and a Divided Europe. … Ukraine still needs the support of the United States. Otherwise his country does not stand much of a chance in its effort to get back the territory Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, starting with the Crimean Peninsula. Nor can Ukraine rely on steady financial support from abroad if President Donald Trump and his allies continue to signal to the world that Ukraine is corrupt, Zelensky said. “When America says, for instance, that Ukraine is a corrupt country, that is the hardest of signals.”
All Signs of Formation of Totalitarian State Now Present in Russia
(Window on Eurasia)
[The opinions of outspoken actress Yuliya Aug, who was born in Leningrad and grew up in Estonia.]
—
“It is wrong to say that the Russians and the Estonians are in a dispute with one another: their relations are different, those of “an aggressor and his victims. This must not be called a dispute. And therefore, I understand very well Estonians who do not like Russians. But, by the way, another generation has grown up there.”
—
“Unlike their parents, the actress concludes, they neither like nor dislike Russians. Instead, they focus on Europe. “Historically, they know about the relations of Estonia and Russia, but they already do not have such a trauma in the literal sense of the word.”
Finland experiencing mildest winter in 100 years
(Yle)
“Turku daily Turun Sanomat reported on Thursday (in Finnish) that the mild conditions may result in the lakes of southern and western Finland - as far north as Ostrobothnia - not freezing over this winter for the first time in recorded history.”
Kas Eesti 80aastane külmarekord jääbki püsima?
“Homme täitub 80 aastat Eesti külmarekordist. Praegusel plusskraadidega mööduval talvel tundub eriti uskumatu, et akna taga võiks paukuda 40kraadine pakane.”
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Tuesday 14. January
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Finland and Estonia – a timeless friendship? EKRE making trouble
(Euractiv)
“(EKRE ’s) voice, the newspaper Uued Uudised, published an article just before Marin’s visit targeting the Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö. The paper urged the president to wake up to the dangers of foreign influences and to the leniency of the current Finnish green and red government with immigration.”
—
“Finland was painted as a divided nation suffering from insecurity and tensions. Many EKRE supporters believe that the Finnish government has purchased apartments in Tallinn and is planning to inhabit them with refugees. In a column published in another paper close to EKRE, Objektiiv, Finland is portrayed as a country derailed and threatened by the European Union and its climate hysteria and liberal sexual legislation.”
—
“Mart Ummelas, an EKRE activist and journalist did not hold back his views in a Uued Uudised column. According to him, the Finnish-Estonian relationship has deteriorated in recent years. “The Finnish government of Sanna Marin represents everything we don’t want in Estonia.”
Estonia and the US to build joint cyber threat intelligence platform
(ERR)
“The platform will be used to automate the exchange of data for cyber threats. The system will be developed by Cybernetica and procured by the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment.”
Belarus Scrambles For Oil Amid Supply Standoff With Russia
(RFERL)
"All commercial departments of our plants, of the Belarusian Oil Company, have been holding talks practically on a daily basis. I think we will get alternative sources for oil supplies soon. It is about all possibilities -- Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic states, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, wherever. We are working on it now," Deputy Prime Minister Dzmitry Krutoy said on January 14.”
Putin Faces Difficulties and Possible Defeats ‘in Practically All Directions’ Domestic and Foreign
(Window on Eurasia)
“As for Ukraine, Putin did not get the concessions from Vladimir Zelensky he expected at the Normandy format meeting in Paris. The Ukrainian president took a hard line and the Kremlin leader has no reason to expect that he is about to change it. Moreover, Moscow had to pay Ukraine an enormous sum to keep gas flowing across Ukraine to Europe.”
—
“With regard to Belarus, much has been promised but little delivered. Instead, Alyaksandr Lukashenka has played Putin in such a way that the Kremlin leader is unlikely to get the breakthrough he hopes for in the coming months. Instead, while there may be some cosmetic changes, the union state isn’t going to take the form Putin has promised.”
How one Russian city makes it through the polar night
(PRI)
“Murmansk is the largest city in the Arctic Circle. Nowhere else in the world do so many people spend so long in near-perpetual darkness. On Sunday, residents came out to catch the first glimpse of the sun in 40 days.”
EU lays out 1 trillion-euro plan to support Green Deal
(AP | Euronews)
“The Europe Investment Plan unveiled Tuesday will be funded by the EU budget and the private sector. It aims to deliver on European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s Green Deal to make the bloc the world’s first carbon-neutral continent by 2050.”
—
“The bloc’s executive arm says that half of the investment will come from the EU budget. National governments will contribute 100 billion euros and 300 billion euros will come from the private sector. …”
—
Can Nuclear Power Offer a Way Out of the Climate Crisis?
(Spiegel)
“Billionaires and leading researchers in the United States are developing next-generation nuclear reactors that are small, reputedly safe and suitable to modern power grids. … The core of the reactor will be almost entirely filled with nuclear waste, which is a great way of disposing of it. Furthermore, the reactor should be able to operate for 60 years without refueling. Indeed, the spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants in the United States alone would be sufficient to cover the entire world's energy needs for centuries to come.”
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| Twitter satire account |
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