0725GMT//Optimism in Russia ahead of Trump-Putin meeting; North Korean labourers treated as slaves in Russia
OPTIMISM AHEAD OF TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING: Russia's main TV channels have told viewers to "plan for the end of the Special Military Operation" ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska on Friday. Newspapers have been couching their commentary, though, clearly unsure what to expect ahead of the meeting. (COMMENT: The Kremlin uses its propaganda channels to send messages to ordinary Russians. This doesn't mean absolute peace in Ukraine is the likely outcome of the meeting, but it does mean that the Kremlin sees this meeting as a stepping stone towards ending the war.)
STOCK MARKET RISES: Russia's stock market has gained more than 8% since a meeting between Trump and Putin was announced last Thursday. Traders told Russian media that they hoped the meeting would "de-escalate" the war in Ukraine and may lead to easing US sanctions on Russia. (COMMENT: The Russian stock market reflects public aspirations.)
SOVIET AWARD FOR US MAN KILLED FIGHTING FOR RUSSIA: Vladimir Putin sent a Soviet-era state award to a CIA deputy director in honour of her son, who was killed fighting for the Russian army against Ukraine in the Donetsk region last year. According to reports, Putin sent Julianne Gallina the award via Steve Witkoff, Trump's personal envoy, who visited the Kremlin last week. Gallina's 21-year-old son, Michael, was killed in April 2024. (COMMENT: This looks like trouble-making and stirring by Putin, preying on the grief of a family mourning the death of a son.)
NORTH KOREAN SLAVES: Thousands of North Korean labourers are working in "slave-like" conditions in Russia, the BBC has reported after interviewing South Korean intelligence officers and six North Koreans who have escaped Russia. (COMMENT: Russia has imported up to 50,000 labourers from North Korea since the start of the year to plug workforce gaps in its agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The six North Korean labourers told the BBC they were made to work for 18 hours per day, with no days off, building high-rise apartment blocks. They were housed in squalid conditions and paid virtually nothing.)
CASH WITHDRAWALS: Russians increased the amount of cash they withdrew from banks in June and July to cope with frequent internet blackouts that blocked online payments, Russia's Central Bank said on Monday. (COMMENT: Regions across Russia have increased internet blackouts to fend off Ukrainian drone strikes. The blackouts have complicated life across Russia. Some food couriers and taxi companies have switched their booking systems to SMS.)
BANKING CRISIS: VTB, Russia's second largest lender, is struggling under a growing pile of bad debt, Bloomberg News quoted insiders as saying. It said that earnings on loans had fallen as consumers and companies missed payments. VTB has denied the reports. (COMMENT: Senior Kremlin-linked economists and banking insiders have been warning of a debt crisis in Russia for several months because of high interest rates and a weak economy.)
MICRO-CREDIT LOANS: Russians are turning to micro-credit loans to pay for utilities and basic consumer products, the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper has reported. (COMMENT: This trend is linked to increased inflation, tightening loan rules and high interest rates.)
NEWS MATRIX:
A rise in cash withdrawals because of increased internet blackouts in Russia is both important and surprising as it highlights problems in the economy.
The Memo has been reporting for several months that North Korean labourers are being used as slaves in Russia, so a BBC report confirming this is unsurprising. It is still important, though.
It's also not a surprise that the Russian stock market has risen ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting. It is, though, an important indicator of Russian traders' expectations.
News that Putin sent a Soviet-era award to the mother of a US man killed fighting for Russia last year is, frankly, a sickening surprise. The mother is a deputy director at the CIA and the award feels like a gloat, a poke in the eye.