In this week’s media highlights, Masha Gessen writes in The New Yorker about Alexey Navalny’s special place in both the opposition movement and the Kremlin’s politics. In The New York Times, Ivan Krastev explains Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy and enthusiasm for Donald Trump.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny seen after a court hearing in Moscow in February 2015. Photo: Anton Novoderezhkin / TASS.
Alexey Navalny’s Very Strange Form of Freedom
Masha Gessen, The New Yorker
Gessen tells the story of Alexey Navalny, who—to the great surprise of many observers and unlike other Russian opposition leaders— “is walking around Moscow, still.” The key behind his fearless and energetic crusade against Putin’s corrupt regime is that over time he has “perfected the art of living as if Russia were a normal country.” When the optics of this “naive normalcy” are applied to Russia, the possibilities for new investigations are boundless.
How Ukraine Weaned Itself Off Russian Gas
Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg View
This week, Ukrainian government announced that it was no longer interested in purchasing Russian gas because it was getting plenty of gas in Europe. Bershidsky cites two reasons for that: economic stagnation that had begun under former President Yanukovich, followed by the substantial drop in output after 2014 “Revolution of Dignity,” and the new government’s determination to end its dependence on Russian gas.
Putin is Waging a Relentless Cyberwar Against Ukraine
Jarno Limnéll, Newsweek Europe
The author argues that, since Russia is one of the top-three most cyber-capable countries, its actions in Ukraine set a precedent of how to integrate cyber operations into the military activity. So far, Russia has been pursuing only civilian targets in Ukraine, not military ones; however, the author warns, this year may bring a “different set of interests to conduct destructive cyberattacks.”
Putin’s Ploys in Central Asia
Edward Lemon and Joe Schottenfeld, Foreign Affairs
Russia has been trying to dominate and exert influence in Central Asia since the tsarist times, but the current relationship between Moscow and its former satellites in the region does not seem balanced. As the Russian economy deteriorates, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and others are increasingly looking for more stable partners—in particular China. Will Russia’s efforts to draw Central Asia closer through a mix of military assistance and punitive measures against migrants guarantee its ascendance in the region?
Why Putin Loves Trump
Ivan Krastev, The New York Times
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s enthusiasm for each other caused vivid discussions in both American and Russian media. According to Krastev, who provides a valuable insight into Mr Putin’s foreign policy objectives, it is rooted in the fact that both politicians “live in a soap-opera world run by emotions rather than interests.”
