0835GMT//Kadyrov's son marries wearing $18m diamond watch; vital Kremlin relations with Azerbaijan fracture

KADYROV'S SON MARRIES: Adam Kadyrov, the thuggish youngest son of Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, has married. Reports in Russian media said that the 17-year-old married a woman called Medni at his "ancestral village" in Chechnya over the weekend. Typically brash photographs of Adam Kadyrov posing in a green Mercedes SUV waving a gold pistol and firing it into the air were published. Vladimir Putin sent his congratulations. (COMMENT: This is very much a coming-of-age process for Adam Kadyrov who is being groomed to take over from his father. In the traditional Islamic world of Chechnya, it may make it easier for Adam Kadyrov to take over now that he is married. Adam Kadyrov is disliked and distrusted by many mainstream Russian officials and commentators and his marriage received no positive coverage in mainstream Russian media. Instead, Russian media poked fun at Adam Kadyrov by publishing a photo of him at his wedding wearing a diamond-encrusted watch which is apparently valued at $18 million.)

RELATIONS WITH AZERBAIJAN: Russia's already tense relations with Azerbaijan have taken another hit after Russian police killed two Azerbaijani nationals and injured several more during raids in Yekaterinburg on Friday linked to unsolved murders committed in 2001, 2010 and 2011. In response to the raids and deaths, Azerbaijan cancelled a planned visit by Russia's deputy PM Alexey Overchuk and planned Russian cultural events. (COMMENT: Relations with Azerbaijan are important to the Kremlin because it has become an important waystation for its North-South trade route to markets in India – vital since the West slapped sanctions on Russia. Last year, Putin personally travelled to Baku for dinner with Azerbaijani Pes. Ilham Aliyev to thank him for his help. But relations between Russia and Azerbaijan have collapsed since air defence systems around Grozny shot down an Azerbaijani passenger jet on Christmas day, killing 38 people. Since then Azerbaijan has accused Russia of spying and cyberattacks.)

DELAYED MISSILE SHIPMENTS: Russia has delayed shipments of S-400 missiles to India for three years, media has reported, because the Kremlin needs them for its war with Ukraine. Rosoboronexport, the Kremlin's weapons sales unit, was supposed to deliver the missiles by 2024. (COMMENT: India was the biggest purchaser of Russian military equipment before the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in 2022 but has since signed deals with other countries. Analysts have said that this is because Russian equipment didn't initially perform particularly well in Ukraine and also because of delays in fulfilling orders. This is important to the Kremlin because its arms sales were a significant import revenue. Not any more.)

MI6'S GIFT TO KREMLIN PROPAGANDA: The grandfather of Blaise Metreveli, the incoming head of MI6, has been revealed to be a Ukrainian Nazi who signed documents to his German commanders with "Heil Hitler" and killed Jews. (COMMENT: This was reported by the Daily Mail at the end of last week but readers of The Memo will already have known of Metreveli's Ukrainian links. Russian media has been talking it up since her appointment was announced, although the details were vague. Although Metreveli never met her grandfather this is still a gift for the Kremlin's propaganda department. It has already planted stories in mainstream Russian newspapers describing how this is "proof" that Western intelligence is now run by Ukrainian Nazis.)

PEACE TALKS STALL: Putin said on Friday that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine had stalled because each side had "two absolutely contradictory memorandums". He made the statement during a press conference at the end of a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union in Minsk. (COMMENT: The Russia-Ukraine peace process certainly appears to have stalled because the US has been distracted by its bombing raids against Iran.)

DEFENCE SPENDING: Putin also acknowledged after the Eurasian Economic Union, perhaps for the first time, that his massive defence spending for his war in Ukraine was driving up inflation and forcing up interest rates. (COMMENT: He promised to cut military spending but, frankly, this is unlikely. Instead, Putin wants to signal to Russian businesses that he is listening to them, even if he has no real intention of winding down his war in Ukraine.)

TAX RISES: Putin has ordered the Kremlin to draw up plans to raise taxes on small and medium-sized businesses to plug gaps in Russia's budget, media has reported. A reduction in the threshold that businesses start paying VAT is likely to be the driver of increased tax receipts. (COMMENT: Russia is typically a low-tax economy. The Kremlin does have headroom to increase taxes but this is a last resort and will trigger frustration. The importance of these tax reforms is highlighted by Putin appointing his PM, Mikhail Mishustin, to personally oversee the project.)

ATTACK ON UKRAINE: Russia launched one of its largest drone and missile strikes of the war against Ukraine on Sunday night. The strike came as a Russian think tank said that Russian drone production had increased by 17% in May. (COMMENT: Military analysts have said that Russia may be able to produce 5,000 attack drones per month. At the start of the war in Ukraine, it was barely producing any drones. )

REACTION TO PROTESTS IN BELGRADE: On anti-government protests that erupted in Belgrade on Sunday, Russian newspapers are framing them as a potential "Serbian Maidan". (COMMENT: This means that Kremlin propagandists are already spinning the protests as being funded by Western intelligence groups. The Kremlin has relied on Serbia to be a strong ally inside Europe. Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia's president, attended Putin's military parade in Moscow, in May.)

STALIN BUST ATTACKED: In Bashkaria, a region in Siberia, vandals reportedly threw red paint over a new bust of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. (COMMENT: This is a rare attack on the renewed cult of Stalin that the Kremlin has ordered and linked to its war in Ukraine. The reaction was also insightful as the local Communist party called the attack offensive towards Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.)

NEWS MATRIX:

I've rated the story of Adam Kadyrov getting married wearing an $18 million watch as neither overly important nor unimportant. Wearing an expensive watch shows the corruption in the Chechen system, but is in itself not that important. Adam Kadyrov getting married is potentially a stepping stone to taking over from his father. Putin ordering tax rises shows the problems that the Russian economy is facing and rows with Azerbaijan are important diplomatic headaches for the Kremlin.