Page 42 - RusRPTJul23

Russia in all single-mandate constituencies in the latest elections to the State Duma, even when offline results saw opposition figures heading for victory. However, the Kremlin is not letting Sobyanin build up too much momentum, in fact, the plan seems to be to make him leave the campaign politically weakened. The presidential administration does not need any more politically strong figures; they can only detract from the polling figures of Vladimir Putin"
The combined wealth of Russia’s billionaires increased by $17.6bn in January–May, according to the Bloomberg billionaires Index (BBI). The index is calculated using capitalization and the financial reports of the companies owned by the businessmen.
On June 4, there were protests to commemorate the birthday of Alexei Navalny in numerous cities across Russia. According to OVD-Info, more than 120 people were arrested, with about half of those arrests taking place in Moscow. However, there were also protests (and arrests) in at least 27 other cities across the country, from Kaliningrad to Khabarovsk. The fact that the protests took place at all is notable after the ramped-up repression of the past year. In light of this, it is interesting to look at recent political developments in two cities where, prior to his 2020 poisoning, Navalny’s campaign was particularly successful.
On June 5, an explosion occurred on the Tolyatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline near the village of Masyutovka in Kharkiv. On video footage posted on social media, white smoke can be seen billowing from the pipeline into the surrounding forest. In a familiar back-and-forth, Russian and Ukrainian officials have each accused the other side of the attack. The Russian defence Ministry released a statement blaming “a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group,” while the Ukrainian governor of the region, Oleg Sinehubov, said that Russian troops fired missiles at the pipeline. President Zelensky denied Ukrainian responsibility for the attack, but told reporters that this stretch of the pipeline was in a “grey zone” in between Russian and Ukrainian territory, making it susceptible to the “consequences of war.”
The Tolyatti-Odesa pipeline has not been in operation since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is the world’s longest ammonia pipeline, running more than 1,500 miles from the Russian city of Togliatti to three Black Sea ports in southern and western Ukraine. When it was operating, it shipped 2.8 million tons of ammonia every year. Despite the fact that the pipeline is not currently in operation, it still has economic significance to Russia. Resuming Russian fertiliser exports was one of Russia’s main conditions for their participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the deal allowing Ukrainian grain to safely leave the Black Sea. Ammonia is a key ingredient in fertiliser production, so Ukraine agreed to allow passage of ammonia through the Tolyatti-Odesa pipeline in exchange for Russia’s cooperation. Statements by Russian officials now suggest that the attackjeopardizes the renewal of the deal, which is set to expire on July 17.
42 RUSSIA Country Report July 2023 www.intellinews.com