Page 24 - RusRPTApr19

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution assessing the current state of EU-Russia political relations on March 12, which stepped up the harsh rhetoric against Russia and underlined the need for energy independence that could pose risks to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. While the full text of the resolution has not been published, the press-release notes that "EU should stand ready to adopt further sanctions against Russia, especially those targeting individuals". On the energy side, the MEPs reiterated the concern that the Nord Stream-2 pipeline could reinforce the EU‘s dependence on Russian gas supplies and threaten the EU internal market. Analysts surveyed by Vedomosti daily believe that the resolution carries no immediate danger to Nord Stream. The pipeline could be directly challenged only by the amendments on the European Gas Directive curbing the capacity of the pipeline, as well as harsher US sanctions.
Minister of Economy Maxim Oreshkin was booed in the Russian Duma
during a speech on the 12 national projects. The Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin caused a stir by interrupting and postponing the monthly address by Oreshkin, urging him to "present the concrete steps [of economic development]" rather than the "general overview and analysis of the situation". Volodin also reminded Oreshkin, while the minister was still on stage, that no information on the realisation of the national projects and state support programs announced by the President Vladimir Putin almost a year ago in May. Political analysts surveyed by RBC business portal note that a public clash with Oreshkin could show the drive of Volodin, a former long-time aide to Putin, to strengthen the role of the parliament in the Kremlin-government axis.
Russian lawmakers passed the second reading of a bill that will make it illegal to post “fake news” on the Internet on March 6. The final vote tally was 327 deputies in favor, 42 deputies opposed. The State Duma is now expected to pass the third and final reading of the legislation, send it to the Federation Council before President Putin will sign it into law. The bill will impose fines on offenders across the Internet — formally registered digital mass media outlets and ordinary websites alike — but special procedures written into the legislation target only online news organizations. The new restrictions will not apply to newspapers, television networks, radio stations, or online news aggregators. Individuals who spread “fake news” will also face fines of up to 400,000 rubles (around $6,000 at the current exchange rate).
Imposition of the sanctions on Russia’s GAZ carmaker that belongs to billionaire and Kremlin insider Oleg Deripaska have been delayed by four months to July 6, 2019, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department (USTD) said on March 6. By the deadline of July 6 the US residents would have to divest or transfer debt, equity, or other holdings in GAZ. The OFAC did not specify the reasons for the delay. Notably, the same day Volkswagen said it could not buy a stake in GAZ due to continuous US sanctions, suspending the talks.
2.8 Polls & Sociology
According to Rosstat, Russia’s population was 146.8mn at the end of 2018. However, the figure includes the 2.3mn people of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The Russian population shrank by 0.1% last year. There were 1.6mn births and 1.8mn deaths. Russia’s
24 RUSSIA Country Report April 2019 www.intellinews.com