From the editor
Vladimir Putin seems genuinely concerned about the spread of coronavirus, but it’s hard to tell if he thinks the virus or Alexei Navalny is the bigger threat. He probably didn’t count on Navalny surviving novichok poisoning, getting evacuated to Germany and recovering so fast, to taunt him again via his increasingly popular Instagram account. Putin’s spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that Navalny is welcome to return to Russia whenever he likes, but the sudden seizure of his flat and bank accounts tell a different story and look like a desperate attempt to deter him.
After gaining enormous publicity for his announcement that Russia was registering a coronavirus vaccine, Putin’s tone has changed to a more realistic one, acknowledging that the pandemic is far from over. Russia is experiencing a second wave in synch with countries in Western Europe, although so far daily numbers being reported officially are considerably lower than those of France and Spain. Whatever the Kremlin decides to admit or hide, the virus very much exists and Russia, like the rest of us, can expect a challenging autumn and winter.
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Navalny discharged from hospital
Alexei Navalny has been discharged from the Charité hospital in Berlin just over a month after he collapsed on a plane from novichok poisoning. “The attending physicians consider a full recovery possible based on the previous course and the current condition of the patient. Any long-term consequences of the severe poisoning can only be assessed later,” the hospital said in a statement.
Alexei Navalny described how his wife’s love helped him recover
Navalny has posted on Instagram several times commenting on his recovery and Putin’s claims about the poisoning. After being discharged he posted a picture of himself sitting on a bench in a park and said that he had wanted to see trees first of all. He said that he will need physiotherapy to restore his movement and balance, and that he is unable to stand on one leg or throw a ball with his left arm. In a post with a picture of him sitting with his wife Yulia, Navalny said her love saved his life and he was helped by her presence even when he was confused after waking up from his coma.
In another post accompanied a picture of himself showing his tracheotomy scar, Navalny commented sarcastically about Putin’s phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, in which Putin reportedly said that Navalny had faked illness before, could have taken the novichok deliberately, and is just a “troublemaker on the internet”. “I cooked the novichok in my kitchen. Quietly sipped it from a flask on the plane. Fell into a coma… But Putin outplayed me. You can’t fool him that easily. I ended up in a coma for 18 days, like an idiot, but didn’t get what I wanted,” Navalny wrote.
The Kremlin continues to dish out propaganda about the poisoning, including claiming that all of Russia’s stocks of novichok have been destroyed, and even that Russia and the Soviet Union never even manufactured novichok. Navalny has demanded that the clothes he was wearing when he was poisoned be returned to him so that they can be checked for traces of novichok. The Kremlin insists there are none on them. Navalny’s flat in Moscow has also been seized and his accounts have been frozen by bailiffs claiming they were acting in response to an order to pay over $1 million in a lawsuit won against him by a catering company owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Putin calls for more mask-wearing
Putin has admitted that the coronavirus crisis is not over and has urged regional governors to tell people to follow the rules on wearing masks. “Of course this isn’t always comfortable for people, but getting sick is worse!” he said in a teleconference. Russia has been reporting over 6,000 cases a day since September 19, after hitting a low of 4,676 on August 26. Yesterday Russia reported 6,595 new cases, 1,050 of which were in Moscow, and 149 deaths. Today the number was up to 7,212 new cases – 1,560 in Moscow - and 108 more deaths.
TV host Mikhail Borisov, 71, died from coronavirus recently, soon after becoming ill while on set. MP Vakha Agayev, 67, from the Communist Party, also died from the virus in hospital. Moscow authorities have warned people aged 65 and over and those with serious conditions to minimise their social contacts. Meanwhile Novosibirsk schools switched 54 classes to distance learning due to outbreaks. The Russian economy also continues to struggle, with the rouble weakening to 77 to the dollar and briefly over 90 to the euro.
FinCEN files expose oligarch activities
Several Russian oligarchs feature in reports based on the FinCEN files of US financial documents obtained by journalists. The documents highlight transactions that were flagged as suspicious by US authorities. Putin’s close friend Arkady Rotenberg, who was sanctioned by the US over the annexation of Crimea, reportedly moved £60 million via Barclays Bank in London between 2012 and 2016, using a company called Advantage Alliance.
Russian businessman and Senator Suleiman Kerimov – also sanctioned by the US - sent $8 million to Vladimir Chernukhin in 2016 using a British Virgin Islands company. Chernukhin is the husband of Lyubov Chernukhin, a British citizen who has donated £1.7 million to the Conservative Party for unknown reasons.
Another oligarch close to Putin, Roman Abramovich, donated £74 million to the Elad Israeli settler group and held secret investments in footballers who do not play for the club he owns, Chelsea, according to the FinCEN files.
Navalny was not poisoned, it's fake. Navalny an agent of the Kremlin.
Proof: The Kremlin successfully kills everyone if it wants to do so.
This article promotes false information and contributes to the strengthening of the Kremlin's malicious agents in Europe.