0651GMT/ Russia news
PEACE TALKS: Vladimir Putin has sent a low-ranking delegation to the Istanbul peace talks with Ukraine. There had been speculation that Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, would lead the Russian delegation or that Putin himself would turn up but instead, Vladimir Medinsky will head the Russian delegation. He is a former Russian culture minister and is a top aide to Putin. (COMMENT: This is a sign that the Kremlin has no interest in making these talks in Istanbul a success. Medinsky led failed peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey in 2022. This is not-so-subtle messaging from the Kremlin.) (NOTE: Reports from Istanbul on Thursday morning said that a plane carrying the Russian delegation has arrived.) (NOTE: Russia's stock market fell by 2% when the composition of the delegation was announced. Russian investors had been hoping for an end to the war, or at least movement towards the end, but they realise that this is beyond this delegation.)
BALTIC STANDOFF: Pro-war Russian military bloggers reported on Wednesday that the Estonian Navy had tried, and failed, to board a tanker in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday that they suspected was part of the Kremlin's "shadow fleet". They published a video shot from inside the cabin of the Jaguar, which was flying under a Gabon flag, showing what appears to be Estonian naval boats approaching. Estonia's Navy later said it had not attempted to board the tanker after its crew refused to cooperate and had instead accompanied the ship into Russian waters. (NOTE: There were also reports of a Russian fighter jet scrambling to the Baltic Sea. This incident shows the high tension in the region.)
AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION ABADONNED: The Kremlin on Wednesday scrapped a programme to produce a light aircraft substitute for the Soviet Union's AN-2 because of massive cost overruns. Yuri Trutnev, a deputy PM, said that the Baikal programme, which started in 2019, was now running at three times the expected cost. Instead, he said that Russia should "re-motorise the AN-2". (COMMENT: This will irritate Putin who has personally ordered the Baikal programme to "succeed". The cost overruns are in part a result of sanctions by the West on Russia.)
UNREST IN DAGESTAN: A court in Russia's southern Stavropol region sentenced four Dagestani men to prison for 10 years for taking part in a riot at Makhachkala airport in November 2023. A mob of an estimated 1,500 men stormed the airport looking for "Jews to lynch" because a flight from Israel had reportedly flown to Dagestan. Israel had launched its invasion of Gaza a few weeks earlier. Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim region on the Caspian Sea. (COMMENT: The scenes of a mob roaming around Makhachkala airport as terrified passengers sheltered on parked planes highlighted the Kremlin's tenuous control of the restive region.)
PRISON FOR ELECTION WATCHDOG CHIEF: Grigory Melkonyants, chairman of the Golos Russian election watchdog, was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison for working for an "undesirable" organisation. He has been in pre-trial detention since his arrest in August 2023. (COMMENT: This is another sham trial in Russia and another assault on free speech and democracy. The Kremlin particularly hated Golos, Russia's only independent election watchdog, as it regularly and vocally criticised Russian elections.)
DRONE PRODUCTION: Russia's embassy in Nigeria denied allegations in local media that Russia was luring young women students to Russia and then forcing them to produce drones. (COMMENT: This is rare Russian comment on these allegations and shows how sensitive the Russian PR machine is in Africa, where it has worked hard to build up influence. The AP news agency reported in 2024 that around 200 African women were working at the Alabuga drone production plant in Kazan. It reported that Russian officials effectively trafficked them under false pretences and forced them to work in the drone factory. The ruse to lure workers from Africa highlights just how desperate Russia is for more workers in its arms industry. It's important to keep this in context, though, as the practice of luring workers from Africa to Russia doesn't appear to be widespread.)
PUBLISHER ARREST: Police in Moscow raided Eksmo, Russia's biggest privately-owned publishing house, on Wednesday and arrested its distribution director and 10 other staff for promoting LGBT propaganda. (NOTE: Russia outlawed so-called LGBT propaganda in 2023 as part of the Kremlin's drive to differentiate Russia from the West. This is one of the most high-profile arrests around the ban. The Kremlin banned a comic book published by Eksmo in 2023 that had been illustrated by a Ukrainian artist.)
ECONOMY: Potato imports into Russia have increased by 350% this year, the Kremlin's food watchdog reported on Wednesday. Prices for potatoes have soared because of a poor harvest in 2024 and rising production costs. (COMMENT: The Kremlin is worried about food price rises and has rushed to buy imports to suppress prices.)