DOCSLIB.ORG

Repression and Autocracy As Russia Heads Into State Duma Elections Sabine Fischer

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Repression and Autocracy As Russia Heads Into State Duma Elections Sabine Fischer NO. 40 JUNE 2021 Introduction Repression and Autocracy as Russia Heads into State Duma Elections Sabine Fischer Russia is experiencing a wave of state repression ahead of parliamentary elections on 19 September 2021. The crackdown is unusually harsh and broad, extending into pre- viously unaffected areas and increasingly penetrating the private sphere of Russian citizens. For years the Russian state had largely relied on the so-called “power verti- cal” and on controlling the information space through propaganda and marginalisa- tion of independent media. The political leadership, so it would appear, no longer regards such measures as sufficient to secure its power and is increasingly resorting to repression. The upshot is a further hardening of autocracy. Even German NGOs are experiencing growing pressure from the Russian state. This trend cannot be expected to slow, still less reverse in the foreseeable future. Repression – wherever it occurs – involves of repression – restrictions and violence – restrictions (of civil rights and liberties) and have increased noticeably in recent months. physical violence. Russia has seen a string The state continues to rely primarily on the of political assassinations and assassination former but has also expanded its use of the attempts over the past decades. The poison- latter. ing of Alexei Navalny is only the most recent case, following on the spectacular murder of Boris Nemtsov in February 2015 What Is New? and numerous other attacks at home and abroad. In Russia’s Chechen Republic, Three aspects are new. The measures are, Ramzan Kadyrov has entrenched violence firstly, much larger-scale. During the against opponents and civil society as the nationwide demonstrations in late January foundation of his power. and early February 2021 alone more than Few of these crimes have been properly 11,500 individuals were detained. Protestors investigated, and the Russian state denies were subjected to violence and detainees’ any involvement or responsibility. Security rights were violated. The security forces also forces crush protests. Torture is common- cracked down on journalists. place in Russian prisons. Civil rights and Since January several thousand adminis- liberties are heavily curtailed. Both forms trative penalties have been issued in con- nection with the protests. The proportion lawyers. In mid-April the Moscow state of “administrative detentions” (compared to prosecutor applied to have the FBK and fines) has jumped in comparison to earlier other organisations associated with Navalny years. More than 130 criminal investiga- designated as “extremist organisations”. In tions have been initiated and a number of parallel the State Duma amended the law long prison sentences already imposed. on “extremist organisations” which now The “offences” included participation in prevents their members from standing in unauthorised demonstrations, violation of elections (even if their membership ended administrative and Covid prevention rules, before designation). On 9 June the FBK, and inciting minors to join protests. Action Navalny’s regional offices and his Citizens’ against social media likes and reposts about Rights Protection Foundation were – as the protests has also been stepped up. The expected – classified as “extremist”, with human rights organisation OVD-Info, which far-reaching political and legal consequenc- documents abuses and provides legal sup- es not only for activists but potentially also port, states that: “The scale of detentions, for hundreds of thousands of private donors. administrative and criminal prosecution in Anticipating this outcome, FBK had already connection with the protests in January- dissolved its nationwide structures on 29 February 2021 is undoubtedly the largest April to shield its staff. in the entire history of modern Russia.” Independent media have also come under The protests were triggered by the deten- pressure. Three editors of the student news- tion of opposition politician Alexei Navalny paper DOXA were charged in mid-April with after he returned to Moscow on 17 January inciting minors to participate in the pro- 2021. On 2 February a Moscow court sen- Navalny protests and have been under tenced him to two years and eight months house arrest since then. In May two promi- imprisonment for violating parole from nent independent Russian-language media an earlier sentence – which the European outlets, Meduza and V-Times, were declared Court of Human Rights had already declared “foreign agents”. politically motivated and called on the Rus- More than ninety organisations are cur- sian government to rescind. rently classified as “foreign agents” and face State institutions and Navalny’s nation- existential challenges. They are required to wide teams published widely diverging display the designation prominently in all estimates of the size of the demonstrations public statements, with the intention of between January and April. Photographs discrediting them. They are also subject to prove that thousands of people took to the heightened bureaucratic scrutiny, which streets on 23 and 31 January in more than ties up time and resources and is especially 120 Russian cities. These were thus the burdensome for smaller organisations and biggest demonstrations since the mass pro- natural persons. The label deters Russian tests against election fraud in 2011/12. donors and targeted entities quickly find themselves in existential financial difficul- Secondly, repression has expanded to tar- ties. Meduza responded with get organisations and groups that were pre- a crowdfunding campaign that attracted viously largely untouched. The arrest of 80,000 donors within the space of just a few the well-known lawyer Ivan Pavlov on accu- days. Other media, organisations and sations of disclosing confidential informa- individuals lack such capacities. V-Times tion caused consternation, for example. announced on 3 June that it was closing Pavlov is the head of Team 29, a group of down. The state campaign lawyers working to uphold civil rights that against Meduza, V-Times and DOXA repre- also represented Navalny’s Anti-Corruption sents a bitter setback for Russia’s inde- Foundation (Fond Borby s Korruptsii, FBK). pendent media landscape. His arrest was understood as signalling an expansion of state repression to include SWP Comment 40 June 2021 2 Thirdly, in a departure from previous prac- Why Now? tice, the state is increasingly encroaching on the private sphere and turning its atten- The proximate cause of the clampdown is tion to the politically unorganised. Since the Duma election on 19 September 2021. the protests at the beginning of the year The state is bulldozing anything that could hundreds of citizens across the country be regarded as a political alternative to the have been visited by the security forces at ailing ruling party United Russia. home or work and warned, summonsed, The root cause, however, is the protracted fined or detained. Moscow’s public CCTV legitimacy crisis of the Russian political systems have been used for large-scale system. Its roots lie in the simultaneity of facial recognition for the first time. These societal modernisation and political auto- measures also affect citizens who did not cratisation that has characterised the rela- actually participate in the protests, with tionship between state and society since security forces questioning neighbours the 2000s. The contradictions were initially and family members. Numerous dismissals masked by economic growth and increasing across the country were apparently asso- prosperity. That phase ended with the eco- ciated with participation in or mobilisation nomic crisis of 2008/09 and the suppression for the protests. The most spectacular case of mass protests during the 2011/12 Duma involved about one hundred employees and presidential elections. of the Moscow metro, who lost their jobs Traditionalism, nationalism, strong in mid-May for supporting the protests. leadership and geopolitical confrontation The repression has been accompanied with the West became the central legitimis- by a wave of new legislation designed ing narrative of the Russian state after to hamper opposition and civil society Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin in activities and expand the state’s scope for 2012 and annexed the Crimea in 2014. repression. At the end of 2020 it was made The wave of patriotism generated by the possible to designate natural persons as “Crimea effect” lasted only four years. The “foreign agents” if they receive financial pension reform announced in summer support from abroad. The right to demon- 2018 was widely regarded as the state ulti- strate has been further curtailed and new mately tearing up the implicit “social possibilities have been created to suppress contract” that had offered material security political speech in the internet and social in return for political passivity. Since then, media. A new law on education came into the oscillation of public protest and state effect at the beginning of June to control repression has grown increasingly fierce. the discussion and dissemination of politi- Notable protests occurred in summer 2019 cal issues in education, training and scien- in Moscow around the City Duma election tific contexts, as well as international and from July 2020 in Khabarovsk after the research collaborations. The laws on “ex- sacking and detention of Governor Sergei tremist” and “undesirable” organisations Furgal. The protests of winter and spring were also drastically
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Origins of United Russia and the Putin Presidency: the Role of Contingency in Party-System Development
    The Origins of United Russia and the Putin Presidency: The Role of Contingency in Party-System Development HENRY E. HALE ocial science has generated an enormous amount of literature on the origins S of political party systems. In explaining the particular constellation of parties present in a given country, almost all theoretical work stresses the importance of systemic, structural, or deeply-rooted historical factors.1 While the development of social science theory certainly benefits from the focus on such enduring influ- ences, a smaller set of literature indicates that we must not lose sight of the crit- ical role that chance plays in politics.2 The same is true for the origins of politi- cal party systems. This claim is illustrated by the case of the United Russia Party, which burst onto the political scene with a strong second-place showing in the late 1999 elec- tions to Russia’s parliament (Duma), and then won a stunning majority in the 2003 elections. Most accounts have treated United Russia as simply the next in a succession of Kremlin-based “parties of power,” including Russia’s Choice (1993) and Our Home is Russia (1995), both groomed from the start primarily to win large delegations that provide support for the president to pass legislation.3 The present analysis, focusing on United Russia’s origin as the Unity Bloc in 1999, casts the party in a somewhat different light. When we train our attention on the party’s beginnings rather than on what it wound up becoming, we find that Unity was a profoundly different animal from Our Home and Russia’s Choice.
    [Show full text]
  • The Media As a Mirror of Putin's Evolving Strategy in Ukraine
    Tomila Lankina and Kohei Watanabe ‘Russian Spring’ or ‘Spring betrayal’? The media as a mirror of Putin’s evolving strategy in Ukraine Article (Accepted version) (Refereed) Original citation: Lankina, Tomila V. and Watanabe, Kohei (2017) ‘Russian Spring’ or ‘Spring betrayal’? The media as a mirror of Putin’s evolving strategy in Ukraine. Europe-Asia Studies. pp. 1526- 1556. ISSN 0966-8136 DOI: 10.1080/09668136.2017.1397603 © 2017 University of Glasgow This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/68226/ Available in LSE Research Online: January 2018 LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website. This document is the author’s final accepted version of the journal article. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it. 1 Tomila Lankina* and Kohei Watanabe** ‘Russian Spring’ or ‘Spring Betrayal’? The Media as a Mirror of Putin’s Evolving Strategy in Ukraine Abstract We develop a novel Russian-language electronic content analysis dictionary and method to analyse Russian state media’s framing of the Euromaidan protests.
    [Show full text]
  • Russia: CHRONOLOGY DECEMBER 1993 to FEBRUARY 1995
    Issue Papers, Extended Responses and Country Fact Sheets file:///C:/Documents and Settings/brendelt/Desktop/temp rir/CHRONO... Français Home Contact Us Help Search canada.gc.ca Issue Papers, Extended Responses and Country Fact Sheets Home Issue Paper RUSSIA CHRONOLOGY DECEMBER 1993 TO FEBRUARY 1995 July 1995 Disclaimer This document was prepared by the Research Directorate of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada on the basis of publicly available information, analysis and comment. All sources are cited. This document is not, and does not purport to be, either exhaustive with regard to conditions in the country surveyed or conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. For further information on current developments, please contact the Research Directorate. Table of Contents GLOSSARY Political Organizations and Government Structures Political Leaders 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CHRONOLOGY 1993 1994 1995 3. APPENDICES TABLE 1: SEAT DISTRIBUTION IN THE STATE DUMA TABLE 2: REPUBLICS AND REGIONS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION MAP 1: RUSSIA 1 of 58 9/17/2013 9:13 AM Issue Papers, Extended Responses and Country Fact Sheets file:///C:/Documents and Settings/brendelt/Desktop/temp rir/CHRONO... MAP 2: THE NORTH CAUCASUS NOTES ON SELECTED SOURCES REFERENCES GLOSSARY Political Organizations and Government Structures [This glossary is included for easy reference to organizations which either appear more than once in the text of the chronology or which are known to have been formed in the period covered by the chronology. The list is not exhaustive.] All-Russia Democratic Alternative Party. Established in February 1995 by Grigorii Yavlinsky.( OMRI 15 Feb.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparing and Contrasting Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler, Domestically and Internationally, Through the Use of Mass Media by Roshan R
    Comparing and Contrasting Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler, Domestically and Internationally, through the Use of Mass Media by Roshan R. Varghese, 2014 CTI Fellow David W. Butler High School This curriculum unit is recommended for: Grade 12: American History II-Honors and Standard Grade 11 & 12: United States History-Honors & Standard Keywords: American History, United States History, World History, European History, Vladimir Putin, Russia, Adolf Hitler, Germany Teaching Standards: See Appendix for Common Core Standards addressed in this unit. Synopsis: In this Curriculum Unit, the life and reign of Vladimir Putin of Russia will be compared and contrasted to Adolf Hitler of Germany, domestically and internationally, through the use of mass media. As the events involving Vladimir Putin have unfolded in 2014, many Americans and other Westerners may have harkened back to a time when the world witnessed constant territorial expansion and blatant disregard for the rights of a sovereign nation. In the periods between World War I and World War II (1919-1939), and often known as “the Interwar Era”, the world witnessed much changing of borders, not by popular choice or nationalistic fervor, but rather by will and expedience of a few powerful men. The world witnessed as Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s German troops marched into Austria and the subsequent appeasement of Hitler with the German-speaking Sudetenland of sovereign Czechoslovakia, prior to the Germans steamrolling over much of the European continent. Now today, one such individual is causing the world the same type of alarm and his desires and ambitions do not translate to that tension be reduced as the days pass.
    [Show full text]
  • Nord Stream 2
    Updated August 24, 2021 Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Natural Gas Pipeline to Germany Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline nearing completion, is which accounted for about 48% of EU natural gas imports expected to increase the volume of Russia’s natural gas in 2020. Russian gas exports to the EU were up 18% year- export capacity directly to Germany, bypassing Ukraine, on-year in the first quarter of 2021. Factors behind reliance Poland, and other transit states (Figure 1). Successive U.S. on Russian supply include diminishing European gas Administrations and Congresses have opposed Nord Stream supplies, commitments to reduce coal use, Russian 2, reflecting concerns about European dependence on investments in European infrastructure, Russian export Russian energy and the threat of increased Russian prices, and the perception of many Europeans that Russia aggression in Ukraine. The German government is a key remains a reliable supplier. proponent of the pipeline, which it says will be a reliable Figure 1. Nord Stream Gas Pipeline System source of natural gas as Germany is ending nuclear energy production and reducing coal use. Despite the Biden Administration’s stated opposition to Nord Stream 2, the Administration appears to have shifted its focus away from working to prevent the pipeline’s completion to mitigating the potential negative impacts of an operational pipeline. Some critics of this approach, including some Members of Congress and the Ukrainian and Polish governments, sharply criticized a U.S.-German joint statement on energy security, issued on July 21, 2021, which they perceived as indirectly affirming the pipeline’s completion.
    [Show full text]
  • How Dangerous Is Vladimir Putin?
    A SYMPOSIUM OF VIEWS THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY 220 I Street, N.E., Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20002 Phone: 202-861-0791 Fax: 202-861-0790 www.international-economy.com [email protected] How Dangerous Is Vladimir Putin? estern experts have offered various explanations for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in recent years. Some sug- gest Putin has been merely reacting to NATO and EU enlarge- Wment. Others suggest the Russian leader has succumbed to a bout of irrationality, spawned by a desire to return to the “good old days” of the Soviet Union. After all, according to historian Stephen Kotkin, traditional Soviet geopolitical thinking always assumed that Western capitalism would eventually disintegrate. Princeton Professor Harold James suggests Putin’s actions are based on the rational assumption that in the wake of the global financial crisis and subsequent eurozone debt crisis, the West would lack the ability to take decisive action. This would provide Russia with a window to pursue a strategy of expanding its influence. Putin’s bet was that Western policymakers and politicians would stumble in the effort to repair their economic and financial sys- tems in the wake of the crisis. By deliberately exacerbating geo- political tensions, Putin reasoned, the preoccupied West would look even more indecisive and weak. Of course, the Russian leader’s actions have already risked a recession back home with the plummeting of the global price of oil, not to men- tion the economic bite of Western sanctions. On a scale of one to ten—with one suggesting Putin is merely a delirious fool and ten a serious threat—how dangerous is Vladimir Putin to the West? More than thirty noted observers offer their assessment on a scale of one to ten.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Media and Civil Society in the Russian Protests, December 2011
    Department of Informatics and Media Social Science – major in Media and Communication Studies Fall 2013 Master Two Years Thesis Social Media and Civil Society in the Russian Protests, December 2011 The role of social media in engagement of people in the protests and their self- identification with civil society Daria Dmitrieva Fall 2013 Supervisor: Dr. Gregory Simons Researcher at Uppsala Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies 1 2 ABSTRACT The study examines the phenomenon of the December protests in Russia when thousands of citizens were involved in the protest movement after the frauds during the Parliamentary elections. There was a popular opinion in the Internet media that at that moment Russia experienced establishment of civil society, since so many people were ready to express their discontent publically for the first time in 20 years. The focus of this study is made on the analysis of the roles that social media played in the protest movement. As it could be observed at the first glance, recruiting and mobilising individuals to participation in the rallies were mainly conducted via social media. The research analyses the concept of civil society and its relevance to the protest rhetoric and investigates, whether there was a phenomenon of civil society indeed and how it was connected to individuals‘ motivation for joining the protest. The concept of civil society is discussed through the social capital, social and political trust, e- democracy and mediatisation frameworks. The study provides a comprehensive description of the events, based on mainstream and new media sources, in order to depict the nature and the development of the movement.
    [Show full text]
  • Russia's Silence Factory
    Russia’s Silence Factory: The Kremlin’s Crackdown on Free Speech and Democracy in the Run-up to the 2021 Parliamentary Elections August 2021 Contact information: International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) Rue Belliard 205, 1040 Brussels, Belgium [email protected] Contents I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 II. INTRODUCTION 6 A. AUTHORS 6 B. OBJECTIVES 6 C. SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND METHODOLOGY 6 III. THE KREMLIN’S CRACKDOWN ON FREE SPEECH AND DEMOCRACY 7 A. THE LEGAL TOOLKIT USED BY THE KREMLIN 7 B. 2021 TIMELINE OF THE CRACKDOWN ON FREE SPEECH AND DEMOCRACY 9 C. KEY TARGETS IN THE CRACKDOWN ON FREE SPEECH AND DEMOCRACY 12 i) Alexei Navalny 12 ii) Organisations and Individuals associated with Alexei Navalny 13 iii) Human Rights Lawyers 20 iv) Independent Media 22 v) Opposition politicians and pro-democracy activists 24 IV. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS TRIGGERED BY THE CRACKDOWN 27 A. FREEDOMS OF ASSOCIATION, OPINION AND EXPRESSION 27 B. FAIR TRIAL RIGHTS 29 C. ARBITRARY DETENTION 30 D. POLITICAL PERSECUTION AS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY 31 V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 37 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY “An overdose of freedom is lethal to a state.” Vladislav Surkov, former adviser to President Putin and architect of Russia’s “managed democracy”.1 Russia is due to hold Parliamentary elections in September 2021. The ruling United Russia party is polling at 28% and is projected to lose its constitutional majority (the number of seats required to amend the Constitution).2 In a bid to silence its critics and retain control of the legislature, the Kremlin has unleashed an unprecedented crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, independent media, and anti-corruption activists.
    [Show full text]
  • North Korea,” Predicting the Effect of Russia's
    “Welcome to North Korea,” Predicting the Effect of Russia’s new Protest Law Written by Regina Smyth This PDF is auto-generated for reference only. As such, it may contain some conversion errors and/or missing information. For all formal use please refer to the official version on the website, as linked below. “Welcome to North Korea,” Predicting the Effect of Russia’s new Protest Law https://www.e-ir.info/2012/07/04/welcome-to-north-korea-predicting-the-effect-of-russias-new-law-on-meetings-rallies- demonstrations-processions-and-pickets/ REGINA SMYTH, JUL 4 2012 On June 9, 2012 President Putin signed Federal Law 70631-6 «On Amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations» that enacted significant amendments to the legal code regulating the organisation and participation in public protest meetings. Labelled draconian by Russian and Western civil rights organizations and the opposition at which it was directed, the law dramatically increased the penalties for organisation of and participation in non-sanctioned meetings and all violations occurring at sanctioned meetings. The new law provoked a serious debate among Russian political observers about its potential effects, focusing on whether or not the strong state response is likely to radicalise the movement or intimidate citizens from participating altogether. This very real policy debate in Russia echoes a long term scholarly debate about the effect of repression on political action. Despite the quote in the title, the new law is not likely to transform Russia into North Korea, but that it is consistent with Putin regime’s growing reliance on the ad-hoc rule by law to arbitrarily punish its most effective opponents.[1] The most likely effect of the law is to exploit existing divisions within the protest movement that disagree over the efficacy of large scale street protests.
    [Show full text]
  • UNA Executives Review Finances, Discuss Mergers U.S. Secretary Of
    INSIDE:• Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry reacts to Russian Duma resolution — page 2. • Memorial concert to mark Chornobyl anniversary in Toronto — page 8. • Lviv’s Les Kurbas Theater in Metropolitan New York area — page 9. Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXIV HE No.KRAINIAN 12 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 1996 EEKLY$1.25/$2 in Ukraine RussianT Duma UU.S. secretary of state denouncesW Duma resolution negates decision by Marta Kolomayets Kyiv Press Bureau dissolving USSR KYIV – In yet another reaffirmation of the growing relationship between the United States and Ukraine, Secretary of by Marta Kolomayets State Warren Christopher arrived in Kyiv Kyiv Press Bureau on March 19 for a six-hour visit to meet KYIV – The Russian Duma – the with top government officials – includ- lower house of that country’s Parliament ing President Leonid Kuchma, Prime – adopted a resolution on March 15 Minister Yevhen Marchuk, Foreign reversing a Soviet legislative decision Minister Hennadiy Udovenko and made in December 1991 that renounced Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz. the 1922 treaty forming the Soviet Union. Mr. Christopher denounced the Russian In effect, this resolution denounces the Duma for its March 15 vote on reconstitut- Belaya Vezha pact of December 1991, ing the Soviet Union, calling it “highly and calls for the rebirth of the USSR – an irresponsible.” He was to travel to action that sent alarming signals through- Moscow on March 21 following a visit to out the former Soviet republics, includ- Prague where he addressed Central and ing Ukraine. East European foreign ministers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Russian State Duma , On-Stage and Off: Inquiry, Impeachment , and Opposition
    The Russian State Duma , On-Stage and Off: Inquiry, Impeachment , and Opposition MARTHA MERRITT L egislatures in mixed regimes the world over are often less popular than pres- identa, dismissed as "talking shops" while executive power lays claim to active and decisive leadership.l This tendency is clear in Russia's relatively new political institutions, with the State Duma rated in December 1999 as the Ieast trusted organ of government.z Both reflecting and helping to consolidate this atti- tude, the harsh national media routinely belittle the Duma: Deputies are said to "scurry like cockroaches" as they register electronic votes for themselves and their absent colleagues during the allotted fifteen-second period, the television news describes deputies as "babbling" while reporters discuss crises as yet unad- dressed, and during election periods television talk shows run polis to ask view- ers whether the country needs a national legislature at all. Not surprisingly, those who choose to telephone in this most unrepresentative of surveys defeat scattered support and record thousands of antiparliament "votes" Duma-bashing is something of a national sport in Russia, but it was also a use- ful resource for executive power as exercised by President Yeltsin. Although some commentators predicted a dramatic lessening of tension between Yeltsin's suc- cessor and the Duma after the relatively pro-government parliamentary elections of December 1999,3 the very majority that they had anticipated led to a dramat- ic walk-out of minority parties in early 2000 when the two largest legislative blocs, the Communists and Unity, found common ground in dividing committee chairperson positions.
    [Show full text]
  • Nord Stream 2: Background, Objections, and Possible Outcomes Steven Pifer
    NORD STREAM 2: BACKGROUND, OBJECTIONS, AND POSSIBLE OUTCOMES STEVEN PIFER APRIL 2021 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Nord Stream 2 is an almost-finished natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. The Biden administration opposes it and has come under congressional pressure to invoke sanctions to prevent its completion, in large part because the pipeline seems a geopolitical project targeted at Ukraine. The German government, however, regards the pipeline as a “commercial project” and appears committed to its completion, perhaps in the next few months. U.S. sanctions applied on Russian entities to date have failed to stop Nord Stream 2, raising the question of whether the U.S. government would sanction German and other European companies for servicing or certifying the pipeline. Such sanctions would provoke controversy with Germany at a time when both Berlin and the Biden administration seek to rebuild good relations. The two sides have work to do if they wish to avoid Nord Stream 2 becoming a major point of U.S.-German contention. THE PIPELINE The European Union currently imports about 40% of its natural gas from Russia, or about one-third Nord Stream 2 is actually a pair of natural gas of its total gas consumption.4 Gazprom began pipelines that, if/when completed, will run some discussions with European companies on a direct 1,200 kilometers along the bottom of the Baltic Russia-Germany gas pipeline in 2001. At that time, 1 Sea from Ust-Luga, Russia to Greifswald, Germany. it shipped gas to western Europe via pipelines that The two pipelines, collectively referred to as Nord mainly transited Ukraine, and also Belarus and Stream 2, are projected to have the capacity to Poland (the Yamal system).
    [Show full text]