Moscow Facing Growing Problems with Its Icebreaker Fleet, Allowing China and Other Countries to Gain Advantages on the Northern Sea Route

Russian Citizens Among Those Involved in Crocus City Hall Terrorist Attack, Chikhanchin Says

  Staunton, July 18 – As is its custom, the Kremlin has sought to place the blame for the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in Moscow last spring on foreigners, but  now Yury Chikhanchin, the head of the Russian financial intelligence service says, it has become clear that Russian citizens were among those involved.

            He says that it would have been impossible for the terrorists to achieve their goals without such support, but his acknowledgement made during a presentation to Russia’s Federation Council undercuts the Kremlin’s messages (tass.ru/proisshestviya/21371177 and newizv.ru/news/2024-07-16/glava-finrazvedki-rf-k-teraktu-v-krokuse-prichastny-ochen-mnogie-rossiyane-431925).

            More than that, Chikhchancin’s conclusion means that within the Russian leadership, there is a growing awareness that Moscow is threatened not just by foreigners but by Russian citizens, a recognition that may lead to even harsher repression against the population of that country.

Moscow Facing Growing Problems with Its Icebreaker Fleet, Allowing China and Other Countries to Gain Advantages on the Northern Sea Route

            Staunton, July 18 – Russia is keeping its icebreakers in service long after they were slated to be retired because it has been forced to delay or cancel programs for building new ones as a result of the West’s sanctions regime; and those trends are sparking fears of disaster on the one hand and allowing China and other countries to gain on Russia in this sector.

            Russia’s problems are longstanding and intensifying, experts say, and call into question Putin’s plans for the development of the Northern Sea Route (ridl.io/ru/arkticheskaya-ekonomika-rossii-na-fone-vojny/ and ispionline.it/en/publication/moscows-arctic-projects-amidst-the-war-sanctions-lng-projects-icebreakers-and-the-northern-sea-route-178452).

            Moreover, while Russia retains a large lead over other countries in terms of the number of icebreakers, a lead that Russian experts believe will allow Moscow to continue to dominate the icebreaker balance (rosbalt.ru/news/2024-07-15/zapad-pugayut-boevye-ledokoly-stroyaschiesya-v-peterburge-5139174), other countries are actively developing their fleets.

            Among those doing so now are Canada, Finland, the US and China (trtrussian.com/novosti/kanada-vstupaet-v-borbu-za-arktiku-18183924, thebarentsobserver.com/en/2024/07/finland-canada-us-and-build-icebreakers-arctic and thebarentsobserver.com/en/arctic/2024/07/china-commissions-new-icebreaker).

            Building such ships takes from three to eight years, although China has been on an accelerated schedule; and thus the real crisis for Russia lies ahead, although the problems in its shipyards and with its aging fleet are such that there is almost no chance that Moscow will lose its dominance in this area which is critical for control of Arctic seaways.

Organized Crime has Risen in Russia Dramatically Since Start of Putin’s War in Ukraine and will Increase Still More with Return of Veterans, Statistics and Experts Say

            Staunton, July 18 – The number of crimes committed by organized criminal groups in Russia during the first five months of 2024 was 76 percent higher (to a total of 16,900 cases) than during the same period a year earlier, the interior ministry reports, with experts saying this is the result of Putin’s war in Ukraine and will increase still further as veterans return home.

            These figures and the predictions of Russian experts continue a trend which began when the war started, according to the We Can Explain telegram channel which also notes that ever more of these crimes are being committed by people with guns, another trend linked with the war and making combatting such crimes harder (t.me/mozhemobyasnit/18408).

            According to one retired interior ministry expert, the illegal trafficking in guns has risen astronomically, with guns of various kinds now being freely traded in some regions of the country, typically among veterans of the war in Ukraine who have become accustomed to using guns to settle all things.

            If Moscow doesn’t address this problem and work on the rehabilitation of veterans, Vladimir Zherebenkov, a Moscow lawyer says, then there will be a continuing rise in the number of organized criminal groups and armed criminals just as there were after all earlier Russian military actions.