Eastern Radar #24
The life of a Donetsk factory from the inside, the people and companies bankrolling “United Russia” in Siberia, sino-phobia in Russia and Kyrgyzstan and more
Beeps
A lot of good podcasts to check out this week: the China in the World podcast discusses the China-Russia relations amid the arrival of a new US administration, War on the Rocks looks at the evolution of power structures in post-Soviet Eurasia, the Bear Market Brief talks freedom, both on the internet and the ballot box, as Russia prepares for elections, Andrei Tsygankov provides somes perspective about the US-Russia rivalry in the SRB Podcast, and the Carnegie Center discusses the recent crackdown in Belarus with Sabine Fischer and Artyom Shraibman — a brilliant analyst who was himself forced to flee Minsk recently.
As for the news:
🎤 “Shum” by Ukrainian band Go_A became the first Ukrainian-language song to enter the Billboard Global 200, following Go_A’s participation in the Eurovision. Listen to Shum over here, it is indeed really, really good.
🚨 28 Roma people who were accused of involvement in a mass brawl in Russia’s Penza region announced a hunger strike, saying they could “no longer bear the torture” in the detention center.
✉️ Belarusian postmen will now be allowed to carry weapons, according to a decree published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A select few of them, at least: the entire postal service will be granted 60 machineguns, 16 pistols and 14 revolvers.
✈️ An M-346 jet trainer and light combat aircraft sporting the color scheme resembling the one applied to the Turkmenistan or Azerbaijan’s jets has been spotted in Italy in late May.
Under the Radar
The funds, companies and governors bankrolling “United Russia” in Siberia [RU]
Yaroslav Vlasov | Tayga Info | June 2 | 1,600 words
The region’s biggest donor to United Russia is the "Krasnoyarsk Fund for Support of Regional Cooperation and Development" — it transferred more than 43 million rubles ($590,000 at current rates) to the party in 2019, and was funded by a local politician and a senator from Moscow’s regional parliament. In 2020, the fund reported revenue of just 49 thousand rubles ($700). Several other funds show similar trends. Notable individuals also give to the party: Alexander Barsukov, a deputy in the Novosibirsk parliament, gave 2 million rubles ($27,000). He’s also the head of a local construction company that regularly receives road repair contracts.
Between life and oil: the oil spill in Russia's Komi region
Tatiana Britskaya (translation by Adam Goodman) | Novaya Gazeta | June 2 | 4,400 words
In the 80s, oil flowed there, but at the time they drilled less, and further away from the villages. The word was done in the tundra, far away. Now, the nearest drilling area is just 3-4 kilometers from the villages.
At the Usinsk airport, visitors are greeted by a poster: “LUKOIL-Komi is celebrating its 30th anniversary!” When the company first arrived in the region, it took on the obligations to eliminate old spills — and control of the entire Soviet infrastructure of oil fields. But pipeline renovation is slow, and hundreds of leaks have been found. According to Ivan Ivanov, the chairman of the “Pechora Rescue Committee”, a local environmental organization, based on the data of the Central Dispatch Directorate of the Fuel and Energy Complex, there were 752 leaks in 2015 alone. They found 616 more in 2016, 598 in 2017 and yet another 590 in 2018.
The life of a Donetsk factory from the inside [RU]
Arthur Avakov | Moskovsky Komsomolets | May 31 | 1,400 words
— I don’t get it. You’re saying that you’re often paid 10% or 20% of your official salary, that’s a couple of thousands of rubles a month (2,000 rubles = $30). Food prices in Donetsk are close to those in Moscow. How do you survive?
— First people spent their savings from the Ukrainian times, then borrowed from friends, looked for a part-time job... then people left the factory, and the DNR. There was an emergency last year, just before the start of the heating season. Nobody was left to launch one of the plant’s subdivisions, which provide heating to the city hospital No. 6, a few houses next to it, and the Donetsk pre-trial detention center. Entire working crews had left to work in Russia, where salaries are 6-8 times higher than here.
Research & Culture
Missiles, money and ginseng: A North Korean spy in Cold War Kyiv
Andrei Lankov | NK News | June 3 | 1,400 words
Pushkar’s spycraft continued in 1972, when the North Koreans asked him to get intel about the RPK-1 “Vaza” anti-aircraft radar system, which was also serviced at his factory but in a different section. Pushkar himself had no access to the necessary documents, so he introduced the North Koreans to another technician, named Naumov. At first, Naumov showed little enthusiasm for his mission, but he eventually provided them with some materials they were looking for. Naumov and Pushkar sometimes worked together, sometimes separately. Throughout 1973-1975, Pushkar provided the North Korean spies with a great amount of intelligence on the Soviet missiles, especially the ATGM systems. He even went beyond photocopying secret manuals and writing out weapons system schemes and began to steal spare factory parts and weapons components. But the KGB began to harbor suspicions about Pushkar in late 1971.
Sino-phobia in Russia and Kyrgyzstan 🔒
Theodore P. Gerber, Qian He | Journal of Contemporary China | June 2021
Sino-phobia, which has reportedly grown internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic, is a potential obstacle to China’s economic and foreign policy initiatives involving Russia and Central Asia. After providing historical and theoretical context, the authors analyse publicly reported time-series data from Russia and original survey data from Russia and Kyrgyzstan to assess the extent of Sino-phobic attitudes and their associations with demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic variables. By also considering attitudes toward Americans and other national groups, the authors show that anti-Chinese sentiment, while high, does not exhibit especially pronounced tendencies. In Russia, nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment are key correlates of Sino-phobia. Additional survey research is necessary to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Sino-phobia and determine whether it hinders China-friendly policies, as some observers have suggested.
Karlos Zurutuza, Gilad Sade | Newslines Magazine | June 4 | 1,700 words
In the spring of 2016, Grigori Avetissyan expanded the family business into a second vineyard. It was part of a scheme encouraged by Karabakh’s Culture Ministry, which asked him to establish a winemaker’s association and foster higher production and superior wine quality in the region. In retrospect, the ominous signs were present that week in April when Avetissyan planted his new vines as the region saw some of the worst fighting in decades between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. But the Avetissyans felt optimistic about their venture, and the region’s winemakers kept harvesting their unique grape.
ICYMI
Stories from well-known outlets you might nevertheless have missed.
Foreign Policy: Ukraine Wants to Be Cryptocurrency Central
Nikkei Asia: Russia fortifies Central Asia military clout before US Afghan exit
And for no particular reason other than I’m currently reading it, here are a few Russian-language excerpts from “Gospel of an executioner” (“Евангелие от палача”), a daunting novel about a chekist involved in the creation of the “doctor’s plot” who later managed to hide his past and turn himself into a respectable member of the Soviet intelligentsia. It’s a brutal, near-mystical read about the madness of the Stalin-era security services, and it’s made all the more gripping by the fact that it was written (though not published) in the Soviet Union by the Vayner brothers, most well-known for writing the scenario of “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed” (“Место встречи изменить нельзя”), a massively popular Soviet-era TV show following murder detectives in post-World War 2 Moscow. The book hasn’t been translated in English sadly, but if you read Russian (it’s also been translated in French), I very much recommend it.
— Дочка ваша вчера приезжала… В дом заходила, ненадолго…
Молодец сторожевой! Он и видел‑то Майку пару раз, но запомнил, ощутил расстановку, уловил ситуацию.
— На иностранной машине… Вроде вашей… Но номер не наш. И человек ее в машине ждал…
Эть, сучка какая выросла, девочка моя. Мой темперамент. Видно, по рукам пошла. А вообще‑то — пускай, лишь бы здоровье не порушила. Жалко одно что с иностранцем путается. Ей это ни к чему, а мне она может дела попортить. Я человек заметный. КОНТОРА не станет разбираться, что я с той семьей тысячу лет не живу. И знать их не желаю. Они сими по себе. Я их хочу забыть.
Интересно, кто ее возит — фирмач или дипломат? Кто ее пользует — демократ, нейтрал или капиталист? Во всем этом есть у нас важные оттенки. Вохровец мой любезный, вологодский сторожевой пес Тихон Иваныч их не улавливает, он ведь при всей дружбе со мной, при всем глубоком почтении в рапорте районному Уполномоченному КОНТОРЫ сообщит просто: «…есть контакты с иностранцами». А мне при подходящем случае это припомнят. Заслуги заслугами, а принцип жизни всегда один: оглянись вокруг себя — не гребет ли кто тебя.
Все это подумалось за короткую, как выстрел, секундочку, потом хлопнул я сторожевого легонько по плечу, засмеялся весело:
— Ошибочку давал, Тихон Иваныч! Номер не наш на той машине, а человек там сидел наш. Мой человек. Так надо…
И сторожевой сбросил с себя груз озабоченности, истаяло бремя ответственности за наблюдаемый в зоне непорядок, могущественный пароль «так надо» вновь свел в фокус мучительное раздвоение штатной ситуации.
Так надо. Универсальный ответ на все неразрешимые вопросы жизни. ТАК НАДО. Абсолютная логическая посылка. ТАК НАДО. Абсолютный логический вывод, не допускающий дальнейших нелепых и ненужных вопросов: КОМУ НАДО? ЗАЧЕМ НАДО? КАК НАДО?
Так надо. Венец познания.
[…]
— Куда надо? спросил шофер, приятный юноша со смазанным подбородком дегенерата.
— Гостиница «Советская». Он задумался, и машина дважды — разз! разз! — ухнула в глубокие ямы на дороге, потом сказал торжественно:
— «Советская»… «Советская»… А где это?
— Сначала поедем по Красноармейской, потом по Краснокурсантской, затем по Красногвардейской повернем на Краснонролетрскую, заедем на Красноказарменную, пересечем Краснобогатырскую, развернемся на Красной площади, спустимся оттуда на Красносоветскую, а там уж рукой подать — просто «Советская». Понял?
— Понял, кивнул шофер. — Но не совсем…
— Тогда езжай прямо, мудак, — подсказал я душевно.
[…]
— Сейчас в административной камере оформят твой арест — ты ведь последние минуты на воле — и отправят на допрос в Особую инспекцию. Ты когда‑нибудь видел, как там допрашивают?
Он испуганно вжал голову в плечи.
— Ты вдряпался, Минька, в очень серьезную историю, и поэтому к тебе применят третью степень допроса, «экстренную». Надо, чтобы ты побыстрее все рассказал.
— А что мне рассказывать?
— Не знаю. Что понадобится Абакумову. Твоя беда именно в том, что ты не знаешь, что надо рассказать Абакумову. Поэтому тебя подвергнут «экстренному» допросу. Ты знаешь, что такое утконос?
— Н‑ну… пассатижи такие, с узкими губками…
— Да. Вот тебе их и засунут в обе ноздри, начнут выламывать нос. Понял? И это только начало…
Минька закрыл глаза, булькнул горлом, и я испугался, что он упадет в обморок.