Current Digest of the Russian Press, Vol. 78, No. 8 – Table of Contents

WANG YI DECRIES ‘MY COUNTRY FIRST’ POLICIES IN MUNICH COMMENTS, MEETS UKRAINE’S SIBIGA AMID PUBLIC CIA ATTEMPTS TO RECRUIT CHINESE SOLDIERS

(By Vladimir Skosyrev. Nezavisimaya gazeta, Feb. 16, 2026, p. 6. Complete text:)At the conference in Munich, China engaged in a diplomatic battle with the US. After US Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to dispel doubts among allies in Europe about the reliability of Washington’s commitments, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized those countries that are pursuing a “my country first” policy, strengthening bloc-based politics and reviving the cold war. The speaker did not point the finger at anyone in particular, but later told the press that the US was using every opportunity to harm China. This could lead to conflict. Wang called on the US to abandon this course in light of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China scheduled for April…

CHANGE OF VENUE SPARKS ‘HOPE’ FOR PROGRESS; SAME STICKING POINTS PERSIST; RUSSIA: WE WILL PURSUE ‘SPIRIT OF ANCHORAGE’; TRUMP ADVISES UKRAINE THAT IT ‘BETTER COME TO TABLE, FAST’

(By Sergei Strokan. Kommersant, Feb. 18, 2026, p. 6. Condensed text:) After two rounds in Abu Dhabi [see Vol. 78, No. 5, pp. 14-15, and No. 6, pp. 16-17, respectively], the trilateral talks on Ukraine have moved to Geneva, the “diplomatic capital of the world.” The Ukraine talks in Switzerland started on Tuesday, Feb. 17, and will last for two days. The parties will decide on the spot how many meetings to have and how long they should be based on how productive the dialogue turns out to be…

EXPERTS: MEDINSKY’S RETURN MAY SIGNAL TURN FROM TECHNICAL ASPECTS LIKE CONDITIONS FOR A CEASEFIRE TO MORE COMPLEX POLITICAL TOPICS OF TERRITORIAL CLAIMS AND SECURITY GUARANTEES

(By Daniil Sechkin. Izvestia, Feb. 18, 2026, p. 1. Condensed text:) The first day of US-brokered Russia-Ukraine peace talks has ended in Geneva. A group of European diplomats also arrived there: Representatives from London, Paris, Berlin and Rome tried to join the process on the sidelines of the meeting. Their goals have yet to be ascertained. . . …

NG: MEDINSKY, UMEROV REVEAL FEW DETAILS AFTER TALKS; ZELENSKY SAYS CURRENT FORMAT ALLOWS RUSSIA TO DRAG OUT TALKS; U.S.WANTS FAST RESULT

(By Gennady Petrov. Nezavisimaya gazeta, Feb. 19, 2026, p. 1. Condensed text:) . . . The Geneva talks lasted for two days: four hours on Feb. 17 and another two on Feb. 18. The head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, limited himself to a terse statement to the press saying only that the talks had been difficult. The head of the Ukrainian delegation, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, was not as terse, but his comments were not that different from Medinsky’sas far as substance. “Security parameters and mechanisms for possible decisions were discussed; a number of issues were clarified, while others remained under additional coordination.We’re focused on working through the key provisions required to finalize the process. This is complex work that requires alignment among all parties andsufficient time. There’s progress, but no details can be disclosed at this stage,” Umerov said…

WOLFF: TRUMP’S USE OF WITKOFF, KUSHNER AS LEAD MEDIATORS IS ‘RECIPE FOR FAILURE’; WORK OF BOARD OF PEACE WILL BE TO BENEFIT ‘WALLETS,’ ‘EGOS,’ NOT TO HELP WARRING PARTIES ACHIEVE A LASTING PEACE

(By Stefan Wolff, professor of International Security, University of Birmingham. Novaya gazeta Europe, Feb. 22, 2026,https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2026/02/22/the-artlessness-of-the-deal-en. Complete text:) The inaugural meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday capped a busy week for US diplomacy, though not necessarily for the country’s professional diplomats, who have been largely sidelined by the US president’s personal envoys, his former real-estate business partner Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner…

(Editorial) – SECOND PLACE IN ELECTIONS IS MATTER OF SURVIVAL. (Nezavisimaya gazeta,Feb. 17, 2026,p. 2. Complete text:)According to the latest political party ratings published by the Public Opinion Foundation (POF), the Russian Federation Communist Party (RFCP) is ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) 10% to 8%. This may seem insignificant, given that United Russia, with its 40%, is still out of reach for either party. That is, we are talking about a fight for second place. However, over the past year, judging by POF polls, the Communists have never outperformed the LDPR, and have matched its results only four times (ratings are taken weekly). For comparison, the LDPR remains higher in the All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion (ARCSPO) ratings, but its lead over the last two weeks has been quite small – between 0.7% and 0.8%.

Some analysts attribute this rise in ratings to the fact that the Communists have toughened their opposition rhetoric. On Feb. 10, RFCP leader Gennady Zyuganov stated from the State Duma rostrum that Communists are being persecuted in the regions, citing several examples, including the initiation of what he called “spurious” criminal cases. He called these frame-ups designed to undermine the country from within. According to Zyuganov, in Altai, assistants to Communist deputies are being interrogated and attempts are being made to find out why they are “working for the party.” The RFCP leader stated that aides to deputies are “obligated” to do this; this is entirely consistent with the logic of the existing political system, in which the state pays parties for every vote they receive and does not allow oligarchs to subjugate them. Zyuganov called for an honest political struggle, essentially recalling the political consensus of which the RFCP considers itself a part…

(By Dmitry Grinkevich and Aleksei Kharnas. Ekspert, Feb. 10, 2026, https://expert.ru/intervyu/okno-vozmozhnostey-dlya-rynka-truda-eto-molodye-rebyata/. Condensed text:) Editors’ Note. – We need to learn to work with a new generation and talk to it in a new way, said Russian Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov. . . . In a conversation with Ekspert, Anton Kotyakov stood up for the Zoomer generation and explained why the state and the business sector should work to ensure that a professional career and motherhood are not mutually exclusive alternatives.

Question. – When people talk about the labor market crisis, they usually mean high unemployment. [Unemployment] is currently at its lowest [ever], but this is also seen as a major problem for the economy. So which is worse?…

(By Oleg Kapranov. Rossiiskaya gazeta,Feb. 19, 2026,p. 1. Complete text:)Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev reported to lawmakers on the work done by the ministry over the past year, outlined plans for 2026, and answered questions about the Max messenger and the blocking of Telegram [see Vol. 78, No. 7, pp. 3-8].

The minister’s slides contained a lot of information about supporting the IT sector, connecting remote and sparsely populated areas to communications networks and postponing the launch of low-orbit communications satellites from the end of last year to the first quarter of 2026, when 16 satellites are to be launched. (They are intended to be Russia’s answer to Elon Musk’s Starlink – with adjustments for our circumstances.)…

(Editorial) – ON ONLINE RESTRICTIONS AND PUBLIC REACTIONS. (Nezavisimaya gazeta, Feb. 20, 2026,p. 2. Complete text:)Amid news of a possible complete block on Telegram [see Vol. 78, No. 7, pp. 3-8]and the requirement for mobile operators to shut down the Internet at the request of authorized agencies, [Internet portal] Rambler&Co conducted a survey on public attitudes toward such events and processes. Specifically, respondents were asked how they feel about “service restrictions.” [Among respondents,] 37% said “rather negatively”; 26% chose the option “it is difficult to imagine what will happen next”; and 21% are calm about what is happening, considering it “part of digital reality.”

In the event of new restrictions, 38% of respondents intend to use what remains available; 31% will prepare methods to bypass blocking in advance; 23% will look for alternative platforms; and 8% will change their habits and spend less time online. It is noteworthy that when asked which resources they find it most difficult to live without, only 19% named instant messengers and social media (36% chose “news and media,” and 25% chose “online services, banks, delivery”)…

(By Pavel Rylkov. Krasnaya zvezda, Feb. 19, 2026, p. 3. Complete text:) Standard communications systems used by the Russian Armed Forces in the special operation zone [in Ukraine] ensure information exchange via secure data transmission channels.

Our forces’ combat command-and-control system is largely based on the use of modern high-speed communications equipment produced domestically. Therefore, the blocking of Starlink terminals has not affected the stability of their functioning, nor has it impacted the fulfillment of combat missions by specialists from the Unmanned Systems Forces and other branches of the Armed Forces…

(By Igor Seleznyov. Nezavisimaya gazeta, Feb. 18, 2026, p. 5. Condensed text:) Just over three months remain until Armenia’s parliamentary elections. The country’s main political parties have begun to nominate their candidates for both parliament and prime minister. There are almost no new faces among them. At the same time, voters are looking for politicians without any ties to previous governments or the current one. . . .

The ruling Civil Contract has completed the first stage of candidate selection for the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7. Its 932 delegates selected 50 people from its group to be included on the ballot. The top five included Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (894 votes), Defense Minister Suren Papikyan (780 votes), Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan (765 votes), Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (743) and party deputy chairman Vaagn Aleksanyan (697 votes)…

(By Polina Zherebtsova. Republic, Feb. 18, 2026, https://republicmag.io/posts/117119. Condensed text:) The Bulgakov Museum in Kiev was a true world treasure.

One day I waited hours in line to get inside. Staff at the house/museum arranged tea parties for guests, together with a good-natured, well-fed black cat that purred like a tractor. It used to be difficult to get a picture with the statue of the great writer due to the abundance of tourists from various countries. Now a decision has been made to take down the statue of Mikhail Afanasyevich [Bulgakov] in Kiev…

(By Konstantin Skorkin. Meduza, Feb. 26, 2026, https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/02/27/the-long-story-behind-the-arrest-of-ex-minister-herman-halushchenko-the-latest-chapter-in-ukraine-s-wartime-energy-scandal. Complete text:) Editors’ Note. –In mid-February, detectives from the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) apprehended former energy minister German Galushchenko as he attempted to cross the border on a Warsaw-bound train. Now facing charges of money laundering and involvement in a criminal network, Galushchenko is the latest high-profile official ensnared in the corruption scandal known as “Mindich-gate” [see Vol. 77, No. 46, pp. 3-6]. According to NABU, the scheme’s architect was Timur Mindich, a former business partner of [Ukrainian] President Vladimir Zelensky. Investigators allege that the officials behind the scheme collected more than $100 million in kickbacks from the state-owned nuclear operator, Energoatom, even as Russian strikes battered the country’s power grid. For Meduza, Ukrainian journalist Konstantin Skorkin explores the rise of German Galushchenko and his alleged role in Ukraine’s biggest wartime corruption case.

German Galushchenko, a 52-year-old native of Lvov, has been a long-time fixture in Ukraine’s political leadership. A lawyer by training, he began his career in government under [former Ukrainian] president Leonid Kuchma, holding various positions between 1997 and 2005 in the presidential administration and the Foreign Ministry. He remained in the presidential administration after [former Ukrainian president] Viktor Yushchenko came to power and later, under [former Ukrainian president] Viktor Yanukovych, moved to the Justice Ministry, where he served as director of the judicial department from 2011 to 2013…

(By Gennady Petrov. Nezavisimaya gazeta, Feb. 12, 2026, p. 1. Condensed text:)US Secretary of State Marco Rubio took an entirely eloquent step testifying to the true nature of the current White House administration’s attitude toward the European Union. Immediately following the Munich Security Conference [see the first feature in this issue], where he delivered a conciliatory speech to America’s European allies, the head of American diplomacy set out for Slovakia and Hungary. . . .

The most daring predictions about the secretary of state’s participation in the Munich Security Conference said that he would carefully try to reset relations between the US and the EU, reducing the intensity of mutual recriminations. But instead, Rubio is resetting relations with Slovakia and, especially, Hungary. “Twice in Washington so far, now for the first time in Budapest: a new golden age in Hungarian-American relations,” Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote [in English] on social media…

(By Maksim Bazanov. Izvestia, Feb. 17, 2026, p. 3. Condensed text:) . . . Next fall, the American administration’s resilience will be seriously tested. The US will hold midterm congressional elections on Nov. 3, 2026. The entire House of Representatives (435 members) and one-third of the Senate (33 members) will be up for reelection. Against this backdrop, the struggle between the two main political forces – the Democrats and the Republicans – is intensifying in Washington.

One touchy topic has been the [Jeffrey] Epstein case. Yesterday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi published a list of 300 names of celebrities and politicians mentioned in the files of the financier and pedophile. The list includes [US President] Donald and Melania Trump, [former president] Bill and Hillary Clinton, [former president] Barack and Michelle Obama, [former vice-president] Kamala Harris, [former president] Joe Biden, Prince Harry, Bill Gates, Woody Allen, Mark Zuckerberg and Beyoncé…