Current Digest of the Russian Press, Vol. 77, No. 13 – Table of Contents

EXPERT GROUPS FROM RUSSIA, UKRAINE, U.S. ARRIVE IN RIYADH FOR ‘TECHNICAL’ TALKS; FOCUS WILL BE ON REVIVING GRAIN DEAL; RUSSIA, UKRAINE WON’T MEET DIRECTLY, BUT WILL TALK VIA U.S. MEDIATORS

(By Yevgeny Shestakov. Rossiiskaya gazeta, March 24, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:). .. According to the CBS television network, talks in Saudi Arabia began on Sunday [March 23] with a meeting between the US and Ukrainian delegations. Consultations between the Russian and US teams are set for Monday. If discussions prove productive, another day, Tuesday, was set aside to finalize the results. Then the negotiators will leave. Since the format of Saudi Arabia meetings is defined as “technical” with the participation of expert groups, many details of the upcoming contacts are labeled “for official use only” and are not being disclosed…

DEAL REACHED TO ENSURE SAFE NAVIGATION IN THE BLACK SEA; KREMLIN: WE WILL IMPLEMENT THE DEAL WHEN SANCTIONS ARE LIFTED FROM FOOD, FERTILIZER FIRMS; ZELENSKY: DEAL DEPENDS ON MOSCOW’S ACTS

(By Timofei Panov. Republic.ru, March 26, 2025, https://republic.ru/posts/115430. Condensed text:) Editors’ Note. – The latest round of bilateral talks between the US and Russian and Ukrainian delegations was held March 23 – 25.. .. Republic summarizes what is known about it as of now…

NG: POLL SHOWS 47% OF UKRAINIANS DON’T BELIEVE RUSSIA WANTS PEACE, BUT UKRAINE IS THE ONE TO REPEATEDLY VIOLATE AGREEMENTS; EXPERT: PEACE SETTLEMENT DEPENDS ON RESOLVE FROM U.S., RUSSIA

(By Natalya Prikhodko. Nezavisimaya gazeta, March 26, 2025 p. 5. Condensed text:). .. According to media reports, a 30-day ceasefire [on attacks] against energy facilities and in the Black Sea was discussed during the second round of technical talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations, which were held in Riyadh on Tuesday. The first round of talks, which was mainly devoted to suspending strikes against energy facilities, was held last Sunday. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov called the talks constructive and substantive. After this, the Ukrainian envoys were left to wait for the conclusion of consultations between the Russian and US delegations, which were scheduled for Monday. These talks primarily concerned the challenges of restoring commercial navigation in the Black Sea. But the consultations lasted 12 hours, so the second meeting between the Americans and the Ukrainians was moved to the next day…

‘COALITION OF WILLING’ MEETS IN PARIS TO DISCUSS PEACEKEEPING MISSION TO UKRAINE; STARMER, EU AGREE THAT SANCTIONS WON’T BE EASED FOR DEAL

(By Gennady Petrov. Nezavisimaya gazeta, March 28, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) With a few exceptions, the US’s European allies do not agree with a partial weakening of sanctions, which would fulfill one of the Kremlin’s conditions for a ceasefire with Ukraine.. . …

NATIONAL ANTICORRUPTION CENTER AGENTS ARREST EVGHENIA GUTUL ON ORGANIZED CRIME CHARGES IN ASSOCIATION WITH EXILED BUSINESSMAN SOR; ALLIES IN VICTORY BLOC CRY FOUL, PLEDGE TO FIGHT BACK

(By Nurlan Gasymov and Gleb Mishutin. Vedomosti, March 26, 2025, https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2025/03/26/1100361-zaderzhanie-glavi-gagauzii. Condensed text:) Moldovan authorities detained Evghenia Gutul, bashkan (head) of the pro-Russian autonomous region of Gagauzia, at the Chisinau airport late on March 25 before she attempted to leave the country, Gagauznews has reported. The arrest was carried out by agents of the National Anti-Corruption Center. Gutul’s passport was confiscated during her arrest. Politician Marina Tauber said that the prosecutor’s office is preparing a motion to detain Gutul for a month…

NG: ARREST FOLLOWS YEARS OF PERSECUTION, MEANT TO PREVENT TRAVEL TO MOSCOW; SUPPORTERS RALLY IN COMRAT, DRAW ON SYMPATHY FROM OPPOSITION

(By Svetlana Gamova. Nezavisimaya gazeta, March 27, 2025, p. 5. Condensed text:) On Wednesday [March 26], protests were held in the cities of Gagauzia against the 72-hour detention of Evghenia Gutul, the head of the autonomous entity.. . …

MOLDOVAN OPPOSITION LEADER: RULING PARTY WILL FACE JUSTICE FOR CREATING ‘FASCIST, OCCUPIED STATE’; ‘WE HAVE THE STRENGTH’ TO LEAD PROTESTS

(By Yelizaveta Borisenko and Yelizaveta Yesipovich. Izvestia, March 28, 2025, p. 3. Condensed text:) Editors’ Note. – The Moldovan authorities are trying to intimidate the opposition on the eve of the parliamentary elections, Alexei Lungu, leader of the ruling [sic; opposition – Trans.] Chance party, who was not allowed out of the country on March 27, told Izvestia. Read about the confrontation between Chisinau and Comrat, the prospects for dialogue between the authorities and the opposition, and also the protests in the republic in Alexey Lungu’s exclusive interview with Izvestia…

(By Polina Troitskaya, exclusively for Novaya gazeta Europe. Novaya gazeta Europe, March 24, 2025, https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/03/24/erarta-against-the-world-en. Complete text:) Since St. Petersburg’s Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art first opened its doors in 2010, its exhibitions have pushed the limits of creative and political conformity, a challenging task that has only become more so as Russia sinks ever deeper into authoritarianism.

Housed in a renovated Stalinist neoclassical building that was once home to the district Communist Party and then St. Petersburg’s Synthetic Rubber Research Institute, the impressive five-story space teems with works by primarily young, almost exclusively Russian creatives, and it’s easy to see why Erarta was central to the public fascination with contemporary art that gripped Russia during the relatively liberal 2010s…

(Nezavisimaya gazeta, March 24, 2025, p. 2. Complete text:) Some social activists and even federal parliamentary deputies are sounding the alarm: Another krestopad [literally, “cross falling” – Trans.] is under way. These days, this word is not even used for the physical desecration of memorial crosses that happened in the early 2010s, but for excessive conformism in depicting churches. This time, the guilty party was a publishing house, which used an image on the cover of a textbook on the Russian Constitution where the outlines of St. Basil’s Cathedral could be discerned.

The church domes in the illustration are topped with what appear to be thin spires, not the crosses that are visible when depicted from the front. The publisher is making the excuse that these are side views of crosses. But critics aren’t buying this and suspect that it is an attempt to avoid irritating members of non-Christian religions. Herein lies the fear of zealots of “realism.” In their opinion, there is a danger that the dominant Orthodox [Christian] faith will be replaced by the religions of migrant workers. In recent years, similar scandals have erupted for various reasons. A krestopad was also seen in the design of the new 1,000-ruble note and on a box of oatmeal…

(By Yelena Balayan, Irina Andreikova and Roman Kretsul. Izvestia, March 25, 2025, p. 5. Condensed text:) On March 24, the Moscow City Court opened a hearing in a criminal case against former [Russian] deputy defense minister Timur Ivanov and his subordinate Anton Filatov.. . .

Former defense minister Timur Ivanov denied all charges at the trial that began on March 24 at the Moscow City Court. [Ivanov] is being accused of embezzling and laundering 216 million rubles during the procurement of [two] ferries for the Kerch [Strait] ferry line [and] almost 4 billion [rubles] from the Moscow-based bank Interkommerts, which went bankrupt [in 2016]. The former official pleaded not guilty in court…

(By Andrei Gavrilenko and Yulia Kozak. Krasnaya zvezda, March 28, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) During a meeting in Murmansk on the development of the Arctic zone and the Arctic transport corridor, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the day before he had heard a report from head of the Russian General Staff and first deputy Defense Minister Gen. Valery Gerasimov about the participation of sailors from the Northern Fleet in the special military operation [in Ukraine]. “Our most powerful Northern Fleet, which secures Russia’s Arctic borders, is based on the Kola Peninsula. I spoke about this with the leadership of the Defense Ministry yesterday. The head of the General Staff reported on how the sailors are fighting,” said Vladimir Putin. “I want to thank everyone again for their service and the courage shown by the Northern Fleet sailors during the special military operation,” he added.

Vladimir Putin made a number of important statements about the situation in the Arctic, the threats to Russia’s national interests there and ways to counter them during his speech at the International Arctic Forum…

(By Igor Seleznyov. Nezavisimaya gazeta, March 28, 2025, p. 5. Complete text:) Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, speaking in the republic’s parliament, stated the need to end the Karabakh movement in order to conclude peace with Azerbaijan and secure the future of Armenian statehood. The opposition believes that the head of government is making one concession after another to Baku. However, the Azerbaijanis are not eager to fight for Karabakh either.

“Does Armenia, do the people of Armenia want to continue the Karabakh movement or not? How was the Karabakh movement used on the path to establishing Armenian statehood? I want to state clearly and unequivocally: I believe that we should not continue the Karabakh movement. And I want to say that the peaceful path we are taking is the most effective for resolving the issue of prisoners. There is no more effective way,” Pashinyan said…

(By Igor Seleznyov. Nezavisimaya gazeta, March 24, 2025, p. 5. Condensed text:) In Tbilisi, opponents of the ruling Georgian Dream [party] held a mass rally in support of the American MEGOBARI (friendship – Ed.) Act, which provides for the imposition of sanctions against the authorities of the republic. Several hundred people walked through the center of the capital with portraits of US President Donald Trump and a huge stars and stripes flag. Oppositionists hope that the sanctions will be approved by the relevant committee on March 27.

Under the MEGOBARI Act, members of Georgia’s ruling elite who, from Washington’s point of view, are involved in infringing on democratic freedoms, may lose the right to visit the US and use the country’s banking system. The document especially emphasizes the negative role of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgian Dream. In addition, the US State Department will check how thoroughly Tbilisi complies with international sanctions, including those imposed on Russia…

(By Sergei Mikhailov. Republic.ru, March 26, 2025, https://republic.ru/posts/115406. Complete text:) Last Thursday, March 20, the [French] weekly L’Express ran a lengthy interview with Vladislav Surkov, who previously held various high-ranking posts in the Russian government and presidential administration. He is known primarily not as a statesman, but as an informal ideologue, a sort of éminence grise in the [Russian President Vladimir] Putin regime, whose influence, however, is probably impossible to assess objectively due a lack of accurate information. It is said that he has fallen out of favor and is trying to get back into the Kremlin overlord’s good graces, but it’s hardly worth commenting on rumors.

L’Express, which featured this story on its cover and thereby highlighted its importance, has a reputation as a serious publication that runs high-quality analysis and occupies a prominent position in the French media hierarchy. Its positions can be categorized as centrist or right-wing liberal, and its readers as educated and urban. Therefore, the presence of a Surkov interview in this particular publication is nothing controversial in itself, and it appears in a series of ordinary articles representing various opinions from various sources. This occurs not just in L’Express, of course, but in other leading French media outlets as well, constantly, day after day…

(By Albert Kalashyan. Izvestia, March 27, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) Editors’ Note. -. .. Tehran does not intend to conduct dialogue on [its] nuclear program under pressure from Washington, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said in an exclusive interview with Izvestia.. . .

Answer. – We do not think that mediation is the main problem of the [Iranian] nuclear dossier. Russia is a full-fledged participant in the negotiating process. It has always been part of the five-party format, and it remained in the 4+1 format with other countries after the US pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) [see Vol. 70, No. 18 – 19, pp. 7 – 10]. We are in constant consultations with Russia…

(By Linggong Kong, Ph.D. candidate in political science, Auburn University, Novaya gazeta Europe, March 31, 2025, https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/03/31/friends-un-united-en. Complete text:) In an October interview with right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson, US President Donald Trump argued that the US under [then-US president] Joe Biden had, in his mind erroneously, pushed China and Russia together. Separating the two powers would be a priority of his administration. “I’m going to have to un-unite them, and I think I can do that, too,” Trump said.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has been eager to negotiate with Russia, hoping to quickly bring an end to the war in Ukraine. One interpretation of this Ukraine policy is that it serves what Trump was getting at in his comments to Carlson. Pulling the US out of the European conflict and repairing ties with Russia, even if it means throwing Ukraine under the bus, can be seen within the context of a shift of America’s attention to containing Chinese power…