As Russia switches to a war economy, social programs continue to take a hit.
The Russian media is making a lot of hay about the alleged discovery of "mass graves" in Donetsk.
But Tom Parfitt of "The Daily Telegraph" is checking out the details and raising some doubts:
Meanwhile, oil prices are dropping fast, according to Business Insider:
Whoa!
Oil just totally crashed. One possible culprit is this Reuters story, showing that OPEC production is surging.
There are a host of other factors that might be driving down oil as well.
What are they? Read the whole piece here.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
RUSSIAN, KAZAKH LAWMAKERS OK EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION
Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans for a Eurasian Economic Union are coming closer to reality.
Russia's upper parliament house and Kazakhstan's lower chamber ratified treaties on the EES on October 1.
The EES was established on the basis of the Customs Union by member states Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan in May. It is scheduled to officially start functioning from January 1, 2015.
Moscow has been pressuring former Soviet republics to join the Customs Union and the EES, saying the latter will be modeled after the European Union.
Armenian Prime Minister Ovik Abramian said in July that an agreement allowing his country to join the EES will be signed by the end of October.
Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev has said that Kyrgyzstan will join the Customs Union by the end of 2014.
(Based on reporting by KazTAG and Kazinform)
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
RUSSIAN, NORTH KOREAN FMs HOLD TALKS IN MOSCOW
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow has plans to expand relations with North Korea in "various fields."
Lavrov made his comments at a press conference with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong in Moscow on October 1.
Lavrov said his talks with Ri would focus on bilateral relations, economic ties, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Ri noted the "long tradition of relations" between Moscow and Pyongyang and said ties between the two countries are "bonded with blood."
Ri, who is one a 10-day visit to Russia, is also expected to discuss the resumption of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program.
Pyongyang suspended the talks in 2009.
Lavrov said Russia puts "high value" on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's statement that bilateral relations would continue on course.
(Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS)
And just when you though it couldn't get any weirder, Valery Zorkin destroys your illusions.
That's Valery Zorkin, the chairman of Russia's Constitutional Court. Zorkin penned an article last week in "Rossiiskaya gazeta" (that's the official Russian government newspaper, by the way), calling for -- wait for it -- a return to serfdom. A big h/t to Elena Holodny at Business Insider for flagging this.
Here's the money quote:
"Even with all of its shortcomings, serfdom was exactly the main staple holding the inner unity of the nation. It was no accident that the peasants, according to historians, told their former masters after the reforms: 'We were yours, and you — ours.'"
Zorkin also took a shot at Pyotr Stolypin, the 19th century reformist prime minister (and a hero of Vladimir Putin's), and his judicial reforms.
"Stolypin's reform took away communal justice from the peasants in exchange for individual freedom, which almost none of them knew how to live and which was depriving their community guarantees of survival."
I wonder what that portends. Zorking also compared the abolotion of serfdom to the post-Soviet reforms of the 1990s.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA WON'T RESTRICT INTERNET ACCESS
President Vladimir Putin says Russia is not planning to limit access to the Internet or put it under total state control, but will need to ensure the stability and security of its Russian segment.
Putin, speaking at a meeting of his presidential Security Council, said Russian Internet domains have faced a growing number of cyber attacks.
Putin appeared to seek to defuse speculation over possible restrictions amid escalating tensions with the West over the conflict in Ukraine.
He said Russia will consistently and legally close sites disseminating or promoting extremism, xenophobia, terrorism and child pornography.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
BARROSO WARNS PUTIN OVER EU-UKRAINE TRADE DEAL
The head of the European Commission says an EU-Ukraine trade deal can only be changed by Brussels and Kyiv – not Moscow.
Jose Manuel Barroso made the remarks in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin released on October 1.
Ukraine's parliament ratified its agreement with the EU last month.
However, the implementation of the trade part of the deal has been delayed until January 2016 to appease Russia, which says the pact will hurt its markets.
Moscow has called for more three-way negotiations to amend the deal and threatened to curtail Ukraine's access to Russian markets if Kyiv implements it.
In his letter, Barroso warned Putin not to impose new trade measures, saying it would threaten the agreement with Russia to delay the EU-Ukraine pact.
(With reporting by Reuters)
And for anybody interested, here's the full text of Barroso's letter:
"Mr. President,
Following your letter of 17 September, I would like to welcome the constructive engagement from all sides in the trilateral ministerial meeting on the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area on 12 September.
The conclusions reached at that meeting were endorsed by all participants and set out in a joint ministerial statement.
On the EU side, we have informed our Member States of the outcome of the trilateral process, and we have now obtained their approval for the necessary legislative steps.
I should emphasize that the proposal to delay the provisional application of the DCFTA is linked to continuation of the CIS-FTA preferential regime, as agreed in the joint ministerial statement. In this context, we have strong concerns about the recent adoption of a decree by the Russian government proposing new trade barriers between Russia and Ukraine. We consider that the application of this decree would contravene the agreed joint conclusions and the decision to delay the provisional application of the trade related part of the Association Agreement.
The joint ministerial statement also foresees further consultations on how to address concerns raised by Russia. We are ready to continue engaging on how to tackle the perceived negative impacts to the Russian economy resulting from the implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.
I take however this opportunity to underline that the Association Agreement remains a bilateral agreement and that, in line with international law, any adaptations to it can only be made at the request of one of the parties and with the agreement of the other, according to the mechanisms foreseen in the text and the respective internal procedures of the parties.
I wish to recall that the joint conclusions reached at the Ministerial meeting state clearly that all these steps are part and parcel of a comprehensive peace process in Ukraine, respecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine as well as its right to decide on its destiny.
Consequently, while all parties should implement the conclusions as laid down in the joint ministerial statement in good faith, the statement does not and cannot limit in any way the sovereign prerogatives of Ukraine.
The European Commission remains fully committed to contribute to a peaceful solution. In this respect we hope that the recent positive steps embodied in the Minsk Protocol of 5 September and the ensuing memorandum from 19 September will be fully implemented, including the monitoring of the Ukrainian-Russian state border and its verification by the OSCE, and the withdrawal of all foreign armed formations and military equipment from the Ukrainian territory.
We also expect that rapid and decisive progress can be achieved in the trilateral gas talks towards a mutually acceptable interim solution for the upcoming winter period, on the basis of the compromise elements set out by the European Commission. It is key that the resumption of energy deliveries to the citizens of Ukraine is ensured and that the fulfilment of all contractual obligations with customers in the EU is secured.
Yours faithfully,
José Manuel BARROSO"
Karen Dawisha, who appeared on the Power Vertical Podcast back in April, dscusses her new book "Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia"