Current Digest of the Russian Press, Vol. 77, No. 15 – Table of Contents

EXPERT SERGEYEV: UNCLEAR WHETHER TRUMP TEAM ‘TOO GOOD OR TOO BAD’ AT ECONOMIC STRATEGY – RECKLESS TARIFFS MAY RUIN U.S. -LED ECONOMIC SYSTEM, BUT WORLD IS UNSURE HOW TO RESPOND

(By Yegor Sergeyev, associate professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Izvestia, April 7, 2025, p. 4. Complete text:) The [US President] Donald Trump administration continues its big geopolitical show, each time trying to take the world by surprise and shock it with another sharp turn in American politics…

ANALYSTS: LOSS OF CONFIDENCE IN U.S. DOLLAR, FED OVERTURNS TRADITIONAL MARKET LOGIC; INVESTORS FLEE NOT ONLY STOCKS BUT USUAL HAVENS; DIVE IN OIL PRICE THREATENS RUSSIA AS MUCH AS SANCTIONS

(By Denis Morokhin. Novaya gazeta Europe, April 8, 2025, https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/04/08/trampression. Condensed text:). .. “The worst day for the global stock market in five years” – that is, since the beginning of the pandemic and quarantines – was the headline under which financial analysts released their comments on Monday [April 7]. European indices fell by 6% to 10% at the opening of the stock exchanges on the first day of the week, Japanese indices fell by almost 8%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Stock Exchange index fell by more than 13%…

COUNTRIES SPLIT OVER TARIFF REACTIONS; U.S. AND CHINA REPEATEDLY HIKE DUTIES; CANADA, EU LEVY COUNTERTARIFFS DESPITE HUNGARY’S OBJECTION; INDIA AMONG NONRETALIATORS SEEKING A DEAL

(By Kirill Fenin and Natalya Ilyina. Izvestia, April 10, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:). .. The EU, China and Canada have retaliated with countermeasures against the tariffs that the US president imposed on April 2. The countries that have decided to respond to Donald Trump’s measures account for about 35% of global gross domestic product, according to Izvestia’s estimate based on IMF data…

TRUMP RELENTS, PAUSES MOST TARIFFS, REPORTEDLY DUE TO JAPANESE SELL-OFF OF TREASURIES; CHINESE TO ‘FIGHT TO THE END’ IN ANY TRADE WAR, FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS, AS U.S. LOSES BIG LNG, FILM MARKET

(By Mikhail Sergeyev. Nezavisimaya gazeta, April 11, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) President Donald Trump’s tariff attack on his trading partners has backfired. China has already refused to import American energy products and banned the sale of its rare earth metals to the US. Beijing says the door is open for trade talks. But the price of these negotiations for Trump will be a loss of face – that is, recognition of China as an equal participant that is not going to obey American leaders…

(By Darya Garmonenko. Nezavisimaya gazeta, April 7, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) The latest political polling released by the All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion (ARCSPO) shows a striking contradiction between the levels of trust in the leaders of parliamentary parties and support for the parties themselves. For example, Russian Federation Communist Party Central Committee chairman Gennady Zyuganov and A Just Russia – For the Truth (JRFT) copresident Sergei Mironov come out ahead of their State Duma colleagues, but the RFCP and JRFT [party] ratings are either stagnating or declining. Russian politics used to be highly personality-driven, but it seems that now this aspect is losing its significance.. . .

The RFCP leader is in the number one spot among the parliamentary opposition in terms of trust: Over 36% of those surveyed support him. However, in the electoral rankings his party is only in third place, supported by 10% of respondents. For Mironov, this gap is even wider: Trust in him (30%) is over seven times higher than trust in JRFT. The leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) and Noviye Lyudi [New People] – Leonid Slutsky and Aleksei Nechayev, respectively – come off as more harmonious individuals in comparison: Attitudes toward them personally and their parties differ by at most a factor of two or are even almost the same. Politics in Russia has always been highly personality-driven, but ARCSPO polling now seems to refute this: A party leader’s personal approval rating is either irrelevant or artificially created, and possibly for certain campaign strategy reasons. Readers are reminded that all the pollsters, practically in unison, put the LDPR in second place after United Russia, even though in its previous incarnation, when it was led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, this party was indeed markedly leader-focused. Could it be that in the three years since [Zhirinovsky’s] death [see Vol. 74, No. 14, pp. 3 – 5], Slutsky has been able to turn the LDPR into an electoral machine after all?…

(By Sonya Mustayeva. Novaya gazeta Europe, April 8, 2025, https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/04/08/ad-blockers-en. Complete text:) While Instagram and Facebook were blocked in Russia soon after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many content creators continued to post to both platforms by using a VPN, allowing them to benefit from lucrative paid partnerships. That came to an end on Monday when [Russian President] Vladimir Putin signed a new law prohibiting these mutually beneficial arrangements.

Under the new law, any Russian entering a paid partnership or advertising on Instagram and Facebook will be subject to fines – starting at 2,500 rubles (26 euros) for individuals and rising to 500,000 rubles (5,300 euros) for companies…

(By Aleksandr Chernykh in Vologda. Kommersant, April 7, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) Editors’ Note. – The “semidry law” has been in effect in Vologda Province for just over a month now [see Vol. 77, No. 11, pp. 14 – 15]: On weekdays, alcohol is sold in stores only from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Governor Georgy Filimonov claims that the ban has already yielded positive results, and proposals to extend this initiative to all of Russia are periodically being made. Kommersant correspondent Aleksandr Chernykh headed to Vologda, where he found out firsthand that a black market for alcohol has formed within the city, so the restrictions aren’t that hard to get around.

“It’s total BS. PR and nothing more,” Andrei Nikolayevich snapped. “I’m telling you as a native Vologda resident that this law makes no sense. It’s more stupid than it was under [former Soviet premier Mikhail] Gorbachev [who waged an antialcohol campaign in the waning years of the Soviet Union – Trans.]…

(By Yelizaveta Borisenko. Izvestia, April 7, 2025, p. 2. Condensed text:). .. There is a clear demand for equality and mutual respect for [national] interests in the world, [Russian] Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko said at the 150th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly. The event is being attended by representatives from more than 180 countries, and this is the first time it is taking place in Tashkent, which speaks to Uzbekistan’s growing profile in the world arena, experts believe.. . .

The assembly’s overall theme is “Parliamentary Action for Social Development and Justice.” This is precisely why the assembly is addressing topics such as eradicating poverty, promoting decent work, and increasing the participation of marginalized groups in decision-making…

(By Andrei Gavrilenko, Krasnaya zvezda, April 10, 2025, p. 1. Complete text:) The Russian Armed Forces continue the special military operation [in Ukraine]. As of April 9, our troops have improved their tactical positions and taken up more advantageous lines and positions in most operational areas. A large quantity of Ukrainian military equipment and weaponry has been destroyed. In addition, strikes have been carried out against an operational-tactical missile factory, production lines for strike-type unmanned aerial vehicles and their storage sites. The Russian Armed Forces continue to defeat Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) formations in the territory of Kursk Province.

According to a summary from the Russian Defense Ministry on the progress of the special military operation as of April 9, 2025, units of the Sever (North) grouping of forces in the Belgorod operational area inflicted damage on formations of two UAF mechanized brigades, an assault brigade, an airborne assault brigade, a coastal defense brigade, two assault regiments, and four territorial defense brigades in the districts around Krasnopolye, Petrushevka, Stepok, Turya, Okop, Ugroyedy, Miropolskoye and Prokhody in Sumy Province…

(By Mikhail Vasilyevich Yemelyanov, chairman of the Foundation for Political Studies and Public Initiatives. Nezavisimaya gazeta, April 8, 2025, p. 3. Complete text:) People in Russia are talking a lot about the future world order, but they often have a poor understanding of its contours and tend to idealize it. Decades of US dominance in international affairs have so discredited the unipolar world that any change to it seems positive. Even experienced politicians are talking about a future multipolar world with the equality of sovereign states, their honest economic cooperation and the lower threats of war.

These dreams are unlikely to come true. The predatory nature of international relations, which are based on a brutal struggle for resources in the broadest sense of the word, will not change. But the players and the rules will be different…

(By Gleb Ivanov. Argumenty i fakty, April 9, 2025, p. 3. Complete text:) Editors’ Note. – According to Mark Green, chair of the [US] House Committee on Homeland Security, US President Donald Trump is driving a wedge between Russia and China with his negotiations on Ukraine. In fact, Republican Party ideologists are not hiding the fact that everything possible must be done to prevent further rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing. Aleksei Maslov, director of Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African Countries, explains what the US plan consists of and what course Russia is pursuing.

Question. – Aleksei Aleksandrovich [Maslov], why is it so important for the US to drive a wedge between Russia and China?…

(By Yury Paniyev. Nezavisimaya gazeta, April 14, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) Nicolas de Rivière, the new French ambassador [to Russia], arrived in Moscow in March. In this first interview with Russian media, he explains to Yury Paniyev, international politics editor at NG, what his priorities in Russia will be and what role France may play in settling the Ukraine conflict.

Answer. – It’s the first time I’ve come to Russia for an extended period of time. But I have visited Moscow many times before, especially between 2011 and 2019, before I was sent to New York as ambassador to the UN.. . …

(By Kirill Fenin. Izvestia, April 8, 2025, p. 4. Condensed text:). .. Djuro Macut, the nominee for Serbian prime minister, will receive majority support in parliament, and therefore a [new] government will be formed, Dragan Stanojevic, head of the parliamentary committee for diaspora and Serbs in the region, told Izvestia.

“[Serbian President Aleksandar] Vucic has chosen a compromise figure, because Djuro Macut is not a party man, and this moves us toward a nonpartisan government. He will receive majority support, and a government will be formed. There is no specific date (for confirmation. – Ed.). Maybe it will be on the 18th,” the politician said…

(By Leonid Samuna and Semyon Boikov. Izvestia, April 11, 2025, p. 1. Condensed text:) Editors’ Note. – After talks in Istanbul on April 10, representatives of Russia and the US stated that it is necessary to immediately eliminate the irritants that built up in the bilateral dossier under the [former US president] Joe Biden administration. Uninterrupted banking and financial services are required for Russian and American diplomatic missions. The resumption of direct flights is also on the agenda.. .. Read this Izvestia article to find out what other agreements have been reached.

The Russian-American expert consultations in Istanbul lasted about six hours and were a logical continuation of the first round, which took place on Feb. 27. Both conversations were held in a closed format. The Russian delegation was led by new Ambassador to the US Aleksandr Darchiyev, whose appointment in February symbolized Moscow’s attempt to reset the dialogue with Washington [see Vol. 77, No. 9 – 10, p. 20]. The American side was represented by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter…