Politics
Sunday 25 August 2019
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![Ramzan Kadyrov]()
Ramzan Kadyrov
Head of Chechen Republic
“I am on every existing sanctions list in the world, and I cannot travel anywhere. Why? Only because I am defending the rights of Muslims. Their morals, customs, traditions – that is the only reason I am on these lists, nothing else.”
Read more...Ramzan Kadyrov has been blacklisted for atrocities against civilians that, according to Human Rights Watch, are “so widespread and systematic, they constitute crimes against humanity.” Based on data from well-documented human rights cases, the absolute majority of Kadyrov’s victims are Muslims. -
![Official Kremlin Website]()
Official Kremlin Website
Website of the Russian President
“…And we know that Russia has ratified a number of international treaties and conventions, under which the country must provide its citizens with fundamental freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and so on. And therefore, so many people were worried about the events that took place in Moscow: arrests and so on, all those detentions that were made by the legal authorities.”
Read more...The Kremlin’s translation of Macron’s comments omits his references to free elections in Russia and free elections in general. -
![Zakhar Prilepin]()
Zakhar Prilepin
Russian novelist, TV presenter
"By the results rarely anybody could compete with my battalion. All we had been doing was simply a pure mayhem. And this especially makes me laugh because of the attacks on me, especially the ones about how I'm a 'fake field commander.' No one, not one field commander, has got such results as I have. I can’t even talk about it, but one day the documents will surface and everybody will learn at which locations there were most human losses and that my battalion was there."
Read more...Zakhar Prilepin was deputy commander of a "battalion" formed in 2016, well after the last major combat operations in Donbas. He spent much of his time in Donetsk hosting a TV show. A former battalion leader claimed it was not a combat unit. -
![Xie Feng]()
Xie Feng
Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
“They have told blatant lies, applauded violence as 'a beautiful sight to behold…'
Read more...A Chinese official in Hong Kong directed his ire at Western politicians he claimed had “applauded violence as 'a beautiful sight to behold'.” He was citing Nancy Pelosi’s words, which did not applaud violence, but praised a peaceful candlelight vigil for the Tiananmen Square massacre. -
![Times of India]()
Times of India
Indian news outlet
“Russia has endorsed India's move of abrogating Article 370 and bifurcating the state of Jammu & Kashmir, saying the exercise was ‘carried out within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of India.’”
Read more...No reference to this subject is found in the Russian Foreign Ministry’s briefing of August 9, the date cited in the article. No such quote can be found on the foreign ministry’s website, and ministry has not responded to a question on the quote. -
![RIA Novosti]()
RIA Novosti
Russian state news agency
"On August 15, Norway offered help in the rescue operation. The offer was accepted by the Ministry of Defense."
Read more...Nineteen years after the Kursk submarine disaster, Russian state media present a misleading chronicle of the events -- omitting key facts deemed damaging to Vladimir Putin’s reputation. -
![Rossiya-24]()
Rossiya-24
Russian State TV broadcaster
“It was a concert: An ugly action in the center of Moscow.”
Read more...Russian state TV ran a hit piece on a recent opposition rally, claiming it was cooked up abroad by Russia’s enemies while the attendees were primarily interested in music. That report fits into a Kremlin narrative, seeking to neuter protests which have brought thousands to the streets of Moscow. -
![Nikolai Patrushev]()
Nikolai Patrushev
Russian Security Council Secretary
"I am unable to mention a single instance [of a violation] or piece of evidence they [the US] presented to us. There has been nothing of the sort."
Read more...The U.S. has raised Russia’s INF violations in more than 30 bilateral meetings over the past six years. Russian military commanders have inadvertently disclosed that the Novator 9M729 is capable of exceeding the 500 km threshold of the INF Treaty. -
![Embassy of the Russian Federation in London]()
Embassy of the Russian Federation in London
Official Twitter feed
“Sanctions and accusations are poor substitute for evidence. And the latter lacks utterly.”
Read more...Following additional U.S. sanctions on Russia over the March 2018 Novichok poisoning, Russia's U.K. embassy claimed there is no proof linking Moscow to the attack. However, the presence of Russian GRU officers near the Skripals’ Salisbury home and other evidence points to the Kremlin's culpability. -
![Maria Zakharova]()
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
“A division of the State Department of the United States -- and, directly, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow -- published the itinerary of the so-called walk that lay ahead on Saturday.”
Read more...The U.S. State Department routinely publishes warnings to U.S. citizens about demonstrations in foreign cities, especially if there is a danger of clashes with law enforcement. -
![Russian Embassy in South Africa Twitter Account]()
Russian Embassy in South Africa Twitter Account
Official Russian Foreign Ministry social media account
“Thought police is already here - @twitter suspends account of the Russian Embassy in #Syria (!) after it posted factual criticism of the #WhiteHelmets, quoted @mod_russia data. Wasn't verified account yet - only proves "ordinary" accounts not allowed to have differing opinions”
Read more...Twitter did not say why it banned the account in question. However, the Twitter accounts of a number of Russian embassies have repeatedly disseminated false information about the White Helmets. -
![Alexey Martynov]()
Alexey Martynov
Director of the International Institute of Newly-Established States
“And so, the attempt to organize mass unrest in Moscow through provocations to elicit a extremely harsh police reaction have failed.”
Read more...After protests against a ban on opposition candidates in Moscow’s upcoming municipal elections turned violent, a pro-Kremlin pundit claimed that the protesters had tried to provoke a harsh police response. But journalists and rights organizations say the police crackdown was swift and unprovoked.
