Page 25 - RusRPTOct21

2.9 Politics - misc
For the first time since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, it held elections on the territory of the disputed peninsula. According to the Atlantic Council, the elections have been a source of contention between Russia and the international community. OSCE election observers refused to monitor the polls in Crimea, and the US and EU condemned them on September 18 as both illegal and illegitimate. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland announced the illegality of the Russian parliamentary elections in occupied Crimea, and also condemned the large-scale provision of Russian passports to Ukrainian citizens, and the organization of electronic voting in Donbas. Turkey also does not recognize the results of the Russian parliamentary elections, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on its website.
The Kremlin has extended Russia’s regional governor terms making it possible for them to stay in office for longer than the current two terms,ut has also made it easier for the presidential administration to sack them. The newly re-elected Duma introduced the bill on September 27 that will in effect increase the Kremlin’s direct control over the regional governors that have become increasingly important to the Kremlin’s ability to control events on the ground in Russia’s far flung regions.
2.10 Polls & Sociology
A majority of Russians Believe that their country is isolated on the world stage, according to an independent poll published on September 9. Russia has made global headlines in recent years for its strained relations with the West over a litany of disagreements, from alleged election meddling and espionage to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and the eastern Ukraine conflict. According to the independent Levada Center polling agency, 57% of Russian respondents say their country is isolated internationally compared to 38% who hold the opposite view.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expects trade turnover between Russia and Kazakhstan to reach a record level of $20bny the end of this year. "The cooperation between our countries is truly extensive, diversified and mutually beneficial," he said at a plenary session of the Russian-Kazakh transregional cooperation forum on Thursday. This first of all concerns the trade and investment area, the president noted. "In particular,bilateral trade turnover rose by 34% in seven months of this year to $14bn, according to our data. Mutual trade is expected to hit the record level of $20bny the end of the year," he said.
25 RUSSIA Country Report October 2021 www.intellinews.com