Current Digest of the Russian Press, Vol. 77, No. 28 – Table of Contents

BRICS LEADERS ASSEMBLE IN BRAZIL FOR SUMMIT MINUS PUTIN, XI; EXPERT: LULA’S DESIRE TO AVOID POLITICS MEANS STATEMENTS WILL BE ‘TOOTHLESS’ ON UKRAINE, LIMITING TOPICS TO AI, CLIMATE CRISIS

(By Vladimir Skosyrev. Nezavisimaya gazeta, July 7, 2025, p. 6. Complete text:) The BRICS summit has opened in Rio de Janeiro. This association, which initially included Brazil, Russia, India and China, was later joined by South Africa, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Indonesia. The group’s weight in the global economy and its political influence in the international arena are growing, despite opposition from the US, which is threatening sanctions if the association elects to use its own currency for foreign trade transactions instead of the dollar. But unity is also being hampered by tensions between leading BRICS members like China and India…

FINAL STATEMENT CONDEMNS ISRAEL FOR MIDDLE EAST ATTACKS, U.S. FOR ‘RESTRICTIVE MEASURES,’ ASPIRES TO FAIR GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION,

(By political analyst Aleksandr Korolyov. Izvestia, July 8, 2025, p. 3. Complete text:) The main focus in the run-up to the BRICS summit in Brasilia was on the absence of the bloc’s two unofficial leaders – Xi Jinping, who declined to attend the event in person, and Vladimir Putin, who appeared by video link. While there is some reason for speculation in the first case, it’s pointless to have a field day discussing the Russian president’s nonarrival…

CUNLIFFE: TRUMP’S WARNINGS OF HIGHER TARIFFS FOR BRICS-ALIGNED COUNTRIES WERE PROMPTED BY EFFORTS BY BRICS TO BASE TRADE ON BLOCKCHAIN,

(By Philip Cunliffe, associate professor of International Relations at University College London’ department of risk and disaster reduction. Sovetskaya Rossia, July 12, 2025, p. 3. Complete text:) Editors’ Note. – This article was originally published in UnHerd…

NGE: ICC WARRANT AND FEAR OF ASSASSINATION BY UKRAINE PLAYED A ROLE IN PUTIN’S ABSENCE FROM SUMMIT, BUT REAL REASON MAY BE HIS RELUCTANCE TO ADMIT THAT HIS PET PROJECT OF BRICS IS FAILING

(By Saahil Menon, Dubai-based freelance journalist, exclusively for Novaya gazeta Europe, July 14, 2025 https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/07/14/skipping-out-en. Complete text:) Brazil’s decision to host the 17th annual meeting of the BRICS forum in Rio de Janeiro earlier this month, just eight months after the grouping’s last meeting in the Russian city of Kazan, appeared to backfire when neither Chinese President Xi Jinping nor Russian leader Vladimir Putin attended the event in person…

FOREIGN MINISTRY, STATE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCE LAVROV-RUBIO TALKS ON ASEAN EVENT SIDELINES; RUBIO TO CONVEY IDEAS TO TRUMP ‘DISAPPOINTED’ BY LACK OF PROGRESS TOWARD A UKRAINE PEACE

(By Anastasia Dombitskaya. Kommersant, July 11, 2025, p. 5. Complete text:) Editors’ Note. – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went on his first Asian tour of the year, opening it with a visit to Malaysia. In Kuala Lumpur, he was expected to participate in three large-scale Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) events and a series of talks with Asian colleagues. However, from the very first minutes, journalists’ attention was focused on another, previously unannounced contact – with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Kommersant correspondent Anastasia Dombitskaya observed the intrigue in Kuala Lumpur surrounding the meeting between the Russian and US diplomatic heads, and what it resulted in…

LAVROV DISCUSSES ECONOMIC, SECURITY TIES WITH ASEAN STATE COLLEAGUES; EXPERT: U.S. DISTRACTED BY OTHER ISSUES AT HOME AND ABROAD, PROVIDING RUSSIA TIME TO PRESS ADVANTAGE AGAINST UKRAINE

DON’T SHOOT FROM THE HIP, RUBIO.1 (By Kirill Fenin. Izvestia, July 11, 2025, p. 2. Condensed text:) . . . Russia and the US have confirmed their mutual commitment to finding peaceful solutions to conflicts, the Russian Foreign Ministry said following a meeting between Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The talks took place during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur…

(By Yulia Timofeyeva, Sergei Krylov and Maksim Bazanov. Izvestia, July 8, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) . . . On Monday, July 7, former transportation minister Roman Starovoit died by suicide. Izvestia’s sources were the first to report this; later, the following version of the circumstances surrounding his death was published by the [Russian] Investigative Committee (IC):

“The body of former Russian transportation minister Roman Vladimirovich Starovoit was found today in a private car in the Odintsovo municipal district, with a gunshot wound,” the official IC statement reads. “The investigative bodies of the IC’s Chief Investigative Administration for Moscow Province are working at the scene, and the details of what happened are being determined. The primary theory is that this was a suicide.” Later, more detailed information surfaced that Roman Starovoit’s body was discovered not in the car itself, but in the underbrush 10 meters away from the parking lot that adjoins a park in the village of Romashkovo in Odintsovo municipal district…

(By Novaya gazeta Europe editor in chief Kirill Martynov. Novaya Gazeta Europe, July 8, 2025, https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/07/08/the-starovoyt-option-en. Complete text:) In the 25 years of Putinism to date, ministerial officials have usually been honorably discharged. They have only ended up in prison in exceptional cases, as happened with Aleksei Ulyukayev [see Vol. 69, No. 50, pp. 17 18] and Mikhail Abyzov [see Vol. 71, No. 13, pp. 6 8].

Until recently, the [Russian President Vladimir] Putin system functioned according to the “We don’t abandon our own” principle, by which he didn’t mean soldiers in the trenches in the war in Ukraine or Russian speakers in neighboring countries, but, rather, high-ranking members of his own team. A certain level of access to the Kremlin combined with loyalty meant you were untouchable, and could protect your family and capital…

(By Maria Litvinova. Republic.ru, July 9, 2025, https://republic.ru/posts/116058. Complete text:) Khroniki [Chronicles], an independent social research project, has released a new report on how the Ukraine war affects the daily lives of Russians. The poll reveals that people’s perception of the economic situation is deteriorating, especially among corporate workers. The poor are getting poorer, and the aggrieved include people working in the IT and financial sectors. Technically speaking, they are making more money than they used to, but inflation is wiping out whatever additional income they are earning. More than half of the people polled said that, overall, the “special [military] operation” (SMO) has had a negative effect on their lives – not just on their income level, but on their lives in general. The analysis shows that this perception is what largely shapes people’s attitudes toward the authorities and the war.

So, what did the poll (conducted in February) reveal? First of all, it is clear that the financial situation of the Russian people has once again taken a turn for the worse in 2025. Experts who worked on the project explained to Republic that the initial impact happened in 2022, and it was a real shock to the Russian economy. Many lost their jobs, income levels dropped significantly, and people in general weren’t feeling at all confident about their future. Then the situation somewhat stabilized in 2023, although most people did not see any improvement due to galloping inflation…

https://expert.ru/mnenie/zhurnalistika-epokhi-transformatsii/. Condensed text:) Editors’ Note. – Russia must not return to the times when some publications had an editorial policy of being negative toward their own country. Dmitry Peskov, deputy head of the presidential administration and presidential spokesman, expressed this opinion in an interview with Ekspert, which will turn 30 on July 11. . . .

Question. – Over the past three years, the Russian journalism landscape has changed rather dramatically. Some publications have left the Russian market, and some journalists have relocated [abroad]. How has this affected the media industry?…

(Vladimir Mokhov, Krasnaya zvezda, July 7, 2025. Complete text:) On Sunday, July 6, Russian President [Vladimir Putin] visited the Rossia national center and toured an exhibition showcasing the results of three years of work by the [All-Russia] People’s Front [for a volunteer campaign] under the slogan “Everything for Victory!” The president reviewed exhibits dedicated to the humanitarian mission supporting the Donetsk Basin and Novorossia, the latest equipment for quickly evacuating the wounded from the battlefield, and the achievements of the Kulibin Club, which brings together producers of drones, electronic warfare and reconnaissance equipment and other innovative products for soldiers.

Speaking at the “Everything for Victory!” awards ceremony, Vladimir Putin said: “I am very pleased to be with you today at this forum. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all participants – everyone contributing to our common cause, to the fight for our national interests, for Russia’s future. Here we have gathered decisive people, firm in their beliefs, true patriots from every region of our vast country. Thank you for your work, for your sincere and devoted service to the Fatherland. Thank you very much. The mission of the People’s Front is to unite committed, active individuals – people like you and the millions of our comrades and allies. Comrades – that is the form of address used in the Army, and that is how we should address you as well.”…

([No author indicated.] Kholod, July 14, 2025, https://holod.media/2025/07/14/flagman-rossijskogo-flota-mogut-raspilit-na-metallolom/. Complete text:) The Russian Navy may be preparing to say goodbye to its only aircraft carrier. Repair and modernization work on the Admiral Kuznetsov – a project that has been dragging on for years and a symbol of big ambitions and technical problems – has been suspended, Izvestia’s sources said. Now the Defense Ministry and the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) must decide whether the work on the ship, which will turn 40 in 2025, should continue. If the decision is negative, then the cruiser may be retired and sent to the scrapyard.

The Navy’s flagship has been under repair since 2017. During this time, it has not reentered service, and the project seems increasingly dubious to many. What’s more, this is not only about technical problems, but also about the expediency of aircraft carriers as part the Russian Navy per se…

(By Igor Seleznyov. Nezavisimaya gazeta, July 11, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) The first high-level direct talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan have taken place in the United Arab Emirates. . . .

The event was announced the day before it was to be held. Before then, neither Baku nor Yerevan had given even the slightest indication that such a meeting would happen. Nazeli Baghdasaryan, press secretary for Armenian Prime Minister [Nikol Pashinyan], spoke about Pashinyan’s plans as though nothing special were on his schedule…

(By Dmitry Taratorin. Nezavisimaya gazeta, July 7, 2025, p. 5. Condensed text:) Over the weekend, [Belarussian President] Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in the opening of the Glory of Mogilev Province museum. In his speech, he explained how and why he is fighting for the “minds and brains” of his fellow citizens. . . .

“It’s not because we don’t have anything else to do or anything else to build. We want you to come here. There is still a generation of Soviet people who honor this memory of the Great Patriotic War. And these people can pass on this experience to young people. So that they understand why we are doing this,” he said…

(By Konstantin Remchukov. Nezavisimaya gazeta, July 14, 2025, p. 1. Complete text:) The key questions about the causes of the deepest crisis yet of the international legal order are: What made it break down? How did it get derailed? And most importantly, who are these villains?

I found an unexpected answer to these questions: the entire world community – or, to be more precise, the leaders of 160 countries who attended the UN World Summit and voted for its final document (General Assembly Resolution 60/1 adopted on Sept. 16, 2005)…

(By Kirill Kotkov, political analyst. Izvestia, July 9, 2025, p. 3. Complete text:) Russia’s recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has become a serious step in relations between our [two] countries. In early July, [Afghanistan’s] new Ambassador Gul Hassan arrived in Moscow, [and] Russia accepted his credentials. Thus, Russia has become the first country in the world to recognize the Islamic republic since the Taliban came to power in 2021.

However, in order to objectively assess the benefits of the recognition of Afghanistan, it is essential to recall the history of our relations. Afghanistan has been characterized by extreme instability since the 18th century. Furthermore, it has always been extremely difficult to run this multitribal country. This is why no conqueror has ever been able to establish full control over Afghanistan. This factor, as well as [the country’s] complicated geography, has helped preserve the archaic way of life and tribal relations in society…

(By Andrei Serenko. Nezavisimaya gazeta, July 11, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) . . . Two documents prepared by the security agencies of the Afghan Taliban government have come into NG’s possession. They give an insight into the Taliban’s real attitude toward the recent recognition of their regime by the Russian authorities [see the first article under Afghanistan, above].

A document prepared by Directorate 0376 (counterintelligence) of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) on July 7, 2025 (four days after the Russian recognition), titled “Intelligence-gathering by Russian tourists in Afghanistan,” predicts increased activity by Russian intelligence services in Afghanistan…