0630GMT/April 29 2025
SUPPORT FOR NORTH KOREA: The Russia-North Korea Mutal Assistance Pact that allowed Vladimir Putin to ask Kim Jung-Un for military support to expel Ukrainian soldiers from the Kursk region means exactly that, said Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman. In other words, if North Korea is attacked it can call on Russian military support. (COMMENT: This is how conflict spreads. A conflict between North Korea and the US or one of its allies could pull in Russia.) Peskov was talking after Putin had publicly said "thank you" to Kim for his military support.
NORTH KOREAN MILITARY: Russia's Ministry of Defence on Monday released a video for the first time of North Korean soldiers training ahead of combat missions in the Kursk region. (NOTE: This is rare. The Kremlin has acknowledged North Korean military support but has not previously released videos or photos.)
CEASEFIRE: Vladimir Putin ordered a three-day ceasefire in the war in Ukraine around May 9 to mark the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany. (COMMENT: This is the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory, a day that Putin has turned into his biggest propaganda point of the year. He will win plaudits for his supposed humanity in ordering the ceasefire but Putin is dragging his feet on signing a peace deal in Ukraine. Ukraine responded by asking for a 30-day ceasefire.)
KREMLIN PROPAGANDA: Marches of the Immortal Regiment, a key piece of Kremlin propaganda to celebrate Russia's VE Day on May 9, will be held in half of Russian cities as security improves, officials said. This includes St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, where 150,000 people are expected to attend. It's unclear whether Moscow's Immortal Regiment parade will be online or offline. (COMMENT: This is good news for the Kremlin which views these marches of hundreds of thousands of people carrying placards of Soviet soldiers as a unifying force. Cities near the border with Ukraine will keep their Immortal Regiment "marches" online for now.)
TEACHER'S SALARIES: Low salaries for teachers in Russia were brought into focus on Monday when Valentina Matviyenko, chairwoman of Russia's upper house of parliament, demanded that the Ministry of Education do something about it. She said that in the Moscow area, a pizza delivery man earns 130,000 roubles/month ($1,500) compared to a junior teacher's 25,000 roubles ($300) salary. (COMMENT: These figures highlight the systematic fissures in Russia's economy. State employees such as teachers and doctors simply don't earn a decent salary, creating corruption. This discrepancy is even worse during periods of high inflation, such as now.)
TOURISM INCREASE: Hotel bookings for the start of May in Russia are up by around 20% compared to the same period in 2024, the online booking agency Ostrovok reported. It said that the overseas market for Russian tourists is opening up once again but that hotels inside Russia still make up 70% of the bookings. There has also been a rebound in tourists booking trips to Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. These dropped in 2023 when Ukraine intensified its missile attacks on the peninsula and pledged to recapture it. (COMMENT: There are a couple of insights to be taken away here. The first is that if Russians are increasing spending on holidays, the 'feel good' factor of cash dumps in regions generated by oversized salaries for workers in munitions factories and soldiers is still flowing. The second is that as Russia rehabilitates, a rise in flights to Asia and the Middle East has increased overseas tourist options for Russians.