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August 2020: Guilty verdicts in the Novoye Velichiye case, crackdown on the Kushtau protests, shaman Alexander Gabyshev

Details: 02 September 2020; Diana Fishman

As political repressions expanded in July, the Russian authorities’ activities in August may appear less intense. Still, human rights violations continued. In early August, seven people were found guilty of extremism as part of the Novoye Velichiye case. In Bashkiria, environmental protests against mining at Mount Kushtau were brutally suppressed. Yakut shaman Alexander Gabyshev was forcibly placed in a neuropsychiatric dispensary for speaking out against Vladimir Putin.

Details: Opinions

Why the Concept of “Psychological Torture” Needs a New Official Russian Translation in UN Documents

Details: 26 August 2020; Peter Barenboim, Ekaterina Mishina

A recent video address from Svetlana Tikhanovskaya recorded under evident psychological pressure from the Lukashenko regime highlights the need to adopt a more precise official definition of the concept of “psychological torture” in the post-Soviet space. Legal experts believe that the United Nations’ (UN) and Russia’s differing definitions of this concept lead to human rights violations.

Details: Analysis

What Putin wants from Lukashenko

Details: 25 August 2020; Dmitry Shlapentokh

Despite its proclaimed support for the Lukashenko regime, the Kremlin is increasingly frustrated with the Belarusian president, who has skillfully avoided integration with Russia and engaged in a multivector foreign policy with the West. A democratic alternative to Lukashenko with a proper privatization program will likely be accepted by Moscow as it seeks to gain access to key assets of the Belarusian economy.

Details: Analysis

COVID-19 in Russia: appearance vs reality

Details: 21 August 2020; Robert Ian Abbott

Russia scores headlines as it has registered first COVID-19 vaccine, but this would-be “Sputnik moment” is undermined by the country’s questionable coronavirus statistics. According to some estimates, over 50 percent of coronavirus-related deaths remain underreported.

Details: Analysis

U.S. Oil Deal in Syria Angers the Kremlin

Details: 18 August 2020; Ksenia Svetlova

In early August, the U.S. firm signed a surprise deal with the Syrian Kurds to revamp oil fields in northeastern Syria. The deal clearly irritated Moscow, which doesn’t hide its intentions to gain control over oil production in the country and prop up Bashar Assad’s heavily oil-reliant regime. As the Syrian economy continues to deteriorate, U.S.-Russia tensions in the region are likely to grow.

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