On Saturday, Boris Misnik, a former deputy of the State Duma of the II convocation, coordinator of the Yabloko party’s political committee, died at the age of 83.
In the Telegram channel, the press service of the party reports that Boris Misnik left after a serious and prolonged illness.
Misnik was also a participant in the Constitutional Conference in 1993, and since 2001 he has been a member of the governing bodies of Yabloko.
Yabloko recalled that in 1993 Misnik was, he was a deputy of the State Duma of the second convocation, since 2001 he was a member of the governing bodies of the party: in particular, since 2008 he has been the permanent coordinator of its political committee. In the State Duma from 1998 until the end of his term he headed the Committee on problems of the North and the Far East.
The Reuters news agency announced the date of the talks between the Presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.
“Biden and Putin will hold a video call on Tuesday, December 7,” the message says, citing a White House representative.
The White House also reported that the main topic of conversation will be Ukraine. In addition, the leaders will discuss other topics.
The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry, in turn, confirmed to the RIA News agency that the conversation will take place on Tuesday. According to him, the communication between Putin and Biden is scheduled for the evening of December 7.
“The leaders of the Russian Federation and the United States themselves will determine the time necessary for the conversation,” Peskov added.
The monument to Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky was unveiled on December 4 in Moscow, at the building of the Ministry of Defense on Frunzenskaya Embankment. The ceremony was attended by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Assistant to the President of Russia, Chairman of the Russian Military Historical Society Vladimir Medinsky. “The Stavka trusted him with the most responsible sections of the front,” Shoigu said of Vasilevsky. “… He possessed indomitable energy, deep strategic thinking, was able to defeat the enemy with the least losses and in a short time.”
Shoigu laid a bouquet of red roses at the foot of the monument.
The military commander is depicted in a field uniform, with a greatcoat draped over his shoulder, at a desk over maps of military operations. According to the sculptor’s plan, the lamp on the marshal’s desk lights up at nightfall and illuminates the maps of the Manchurian operation. The authors of the project are a group of sculptors and architects Studios of military artists named after M.B.Grekov.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan has changed the export brand of Turkey by his decree, according to the government gazette Resmi Gazete. This is necessary to increase the recognition of Turkish products abroad.
Now Turkish products will not be branded Made in Turkey, but Made in Türkiye. It is noted that the latter option most fully reflects the culture and values of the Turkish people. In addition, from December 4, all official documents of the country will use one word Türkiye – instead of Turkey, Turkei and Turkie.
It is worth noting that the word Turkey in English has another meaning – turkey. It was these animals that Turkey was represented in various caricatures in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Jan Ziegler, a columnist for the Czech edition of Forum 24, suggested that the authorities repeat the events of 1919 and give shelter to those Russians who are fleeing from the policies of President Vladimir Putin. According to the author, these Russians are mentally close to Europeans and can bring a lot of benefits to the Czech Republic.
“In 1919, Czechoslovakia decided to help Russian refugees who fled from the Bolshevik terror in their country,” Ziegler recalled in his article, adding that tens of thousands of Russians took advantage of this opportunity at that time.
The author calls on the Czechs to be proud of that act, because the country gave the opportunity for a new life to those Russians who could not live under the communist dictatorship. At the same time, Ziegler drew attention to the fact that educated Russians came to the country at that time, who brought benefits.
Russian Russian Russian Russian schools were working in Prague at that time, there were Russian scientific societies, Russian performances were given, concerts of outstanding Russian performers, exhibitions of Russian artists were held,” the article notes.
The author emphasizes that history repeats itself, and the Czech Republic could now become a home for those Russians who “do not want to live in modern, almost dictatorial Russia.”
According to Ziegler, there are no mass shootings in Russia today, as during the red terror, but the Kremlin is “tightening the screws”, the opposition is outside the law, its leaders cannot run, and people are “imprisoned for the slightest disagreement with the ruling regime in Moscow.”
The author emphasizes that the Czech Republic can offer these people to become their second homeland. “These Russians belong to a close civilizational area. They are close to us in terms of language. They are talented, hardworking, know how to behave, and they will be a great advantage for our country,” Ziegler writes.
.At the same time, he suggests careful selection so that instead of engineers, writers and artists from Russia, bandits do not come to the Czech Republic.
President Joe Biden promised the day before during a conversation with journalists to make it “very, very difficult” for Russian President Vladimir Putin to take military action against Ukraine. At the same time, according to a source in the US administration, US intelligence has determined that Russia is planning a possible military offensive in early 2022.
According to the AP news agency, according to new intelligence data, the Russians plan to deploy about 175,000 troops for the operation in Ukraine. As an unnamed representative of the Biden administration noted, almost half of this group has already been deployed at various points near the border with Ukraine. The plans envisage the relocation of 100 battalion tactical groups along with armored vehicles, artillery and equipment.
He added that the main requirement that Russia puts forward to the United States is guarantees that Ukraine will never join the NATO bloc.
Biden himself, answering a question about the conclusions of American intelligence, noted: “We have been aware of Russia’s actions for a long time, and I expect that we will have a long discussion with Putin.”
At the same time, American experts note that the Ukrainian army is better armed and prepared today than in previous years. The meeting with her, as well as the sanctions that will be imposed by the West, will cause serious damage to the Russian economy if Moscow starts hostilities against Kiev.
“We need to think not about income, but about people’s lives”
Vladimir Putin demanded to bring to justice the owners and managers of mines who neglect the safety of people in pursuit of profit. “They need to be asked harshly according to the law,” the president said at a meeting on the situation in the Kuzbass coal industry. The GDP stated that it wants to understand in detail the causes of the accident at Listvyazhnaya, as well as to check how the instructions of 2010, designed to prevent such disasters, were fulfilled.
11 years ago, 91 people died in the Raspadskaya mine, but in the end there were no culprits.
Photo: kremlin.ru
In the early 2000s, when Vladimir Putin first became president, accidents at mines were a regular occurrence. The largest occurred in 2007 and 2010, when 149 and 91 people died, respectively.
11 years ago, GDP personally came to Kemerovo – watched the progress of the rescue operation at the Raspadskaya mine, held a meeting and communicated with relatives. As a result of this visit, a list of instructions and a number of decisions appeared, which, as the miners themselves admit, led to significant changes in the industry. In particular, the safety regulations were revised and the law onmandatory degassing of coal mines. But people still had a sediment – no one suffered the punishment for the mass death of miners. In 2020, the criminal case against the leaders of Raspadskaya was closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. And here is a new accident with the same picture – an explosion of a methane-fuel mixture, a lack of oxygen, the impossibility for trapped miners to quickly leave the place of emergency.
“Today we will conduct an audit of how the decisions taken 11 years ago after the severe accident at Raspadskaya were implemented. At that time, it was about systematic work to ensure safety at coal mining enterprises. We need to analyze all these issues,” Vladimir Putin said at the meeting. He said that he had heard reports from subordinates that all orders dated 2010 had been fulfilled. “We need to see if this is true. What exactly has been done and how,” the GDP stressed.
Also during the meeting, which for the most part was held in closed mode, it was planned to find out all the causes and circumstances of the tragedy at the Listvyazhnaya mine. According to preliminary data, the accident there occurred due to a number of violations of safety regulations. “Those who, in pursuit of profit or for some other reason, ignore, neglect the safety of people, expose them to mortal risk, should be asked according to the law, harshly,” Putin said, noting that in addition to compliance with safety regulations, owners and managers of mines should be responsible for the proper condition of equipment and individual means of rescue.
The owner of Listvyazhnaya is an entrepreneur who occupies the 177th place in the Forbes list. Supervisory authorities constantly had complaints about this mine: in 2021 alone, Rostechnadzor revealed more than 900 violations and suspended the company’s work nine times for the most egregious of them. “Mining work is associated with increased danger, but it is unacceptable to abuse and exploit the courage of people,” the president said.
Putin demanded that the regional authorities pay close attention to the families and relatives of the victims and “understand in detail in each case” what kind of help is needed. Also, according to him, it is necessary to organize an inspection of all mines in the region for compliance with safety regulations and serviceability of equipment.
The governor of the Kemerovo region, Sergey Tsivilev, reported that he arrives at the scene of the tragedy every morning and will do so until all the miners are raised. Now 38 people remain in the mine. Due to the high content of gorenje products, rescue operations were suspended for several days, but resumed on December 2 – two more people were lifted to the ground.
According to the governor, the payment of monetary compensation to the families of the dead and injured has already begun. However, 4 families refused to receive death certificates until they saw the bodies of their relatives. They will receive payments as the rescue operation progresses. (Unfortunately, it is not always possible to find and raise all the dead. For example, 10 people remain buried in the rubble of Raspadskaya 11 years after the accident).
Putin suggested that due to the peculiarities of the formation of earnings, miners themselves may neglect safety requirements – part of the remuneration in the coal industry is directly tied to the amount of raw materials extracted. “They need to feed their families, so they take risks,” the president said, demanding that the component dependent on production be excluded from the payment. “It is no longer possible to think about the income of owners, including export ones. We need to think about people’s lives,” the GDP stressed.
Putin angrily hit the table at a meeting on the Listvyaznoy mine
American analyst Maria Snegovaya expressed a version of Ukraine’s ”loss” of Crimea. She believes that everything happened because Kiev wanted to join the European Union too much. An employee of the Atlantic Council shared her opinion in an article in the National Interest magazine.
Snegovaya is sure that for the last seven years, the “red line outlined by Russia” has nothing to do with Ukraine’s desire to join NATO. At the same time, the expert believes that Moscow does not consider the option of independent existence of Ukraine at all. And if earlier the interaction of neighbors with the Alliance did not bother the Russian authorities in any way, now even the purchase of new military equipment has become annoying.
Snegovaya also holds the opinion that in the future “the Kremlin’s appetites will only grow.” And the evidence of this, the expert believes, is the tightening of military units to the border of Ukraine. At the same time, the emphasis is placed on the fact that military units are being transferred secretly, and Moscow’s rhetoric is becoming more and more aggressive.
Ukraine remains on the diplomatic path of resolving the conflict in the Donbas. This was stated by the country’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. He added that Kiev is “ready for any format of negotiations.” At the same time, the diplomat insists that Russia must also demonstrate its readiness.
At the same time, the trilateral contact group is not ready to return to face-to-face meetings in Minsk. For the next year, or even two, all meetings have been transferred to an online format due to the pandemic.
In the spring of this year, the Ukrainian side insisted that it was necessary to change the negotiating country after the pandemic. The representative of Kiev, Leonid Kravchuk, offered to postpone the meetings to Poland.
Ukraine considers Belarus an undemocratic country. Such a statement followed after the presidential elections in 2020. Then Lukashenka won, but the Belarusian opposition believes that the election results were falsified. According to Ukrainians, Alexander Lukashenko is an illegitimate president. Kiev has stated that it will call the “father” only by name, without specifying the position.
The head of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that a referendum on the new Constitution of the republic should be held in February 2022. At the same time, Lukashenko did not rule out early presidential elections, in which he himself may take part. However, the draft Constitution itself has not yet been published, it is going to be done before the New Year. We found out how realistic Lukashenka’s plan is and what consequences it may have.
Photo: president.gov.by
According to the Belarusian politician, the publication of the draft Constitution may take from two weeks to one month. The document will be submitted to a referendum on the 20th of 2022, unless, as Lukashenka put it, “a war begins.”
Lukashenka says that the positions of the parliament and the government will be strengthened in the new Constitution, in addition, a new institution will be prescribed in the Basic Law — the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly. However, a strong presidential power will remain in the country, the acting head of Belarus assures. Moreover, he has not yet decided himself whether he will be re-elected to the presidency, but he knows for sure that he is not going to leave big politics.
One of the likely places of Lukashenka’s work after the adoption of the new Constitution, the media often call the post of chairman of the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly (VNS). To take this position, you do not need to go through a universal direct and secret ballot. It’s enough for pre-selected representatives of the largest in the country to vote for youtrade unions, social movements, parliament and the government. At the same time, it is expected that under the new Constitution, the National Assembly will be able to recall judges, impeach the president, determine the key directions of the country’s foreign and domestic policy and cancel decisions of other authorities if they contradict the “national interests of the country.”
The experts interviewed by MK believe that it is the immense breadth of the powers of the National Assembly that has become an obstacle on the way to a general discussion of the future Constitution.
Former candidate for President of Belarus Tatiana Korotkevich She told MK that the topic of Constitutional reform is discussed only on TV, while the mood in society itself is not at all conducive to voting. “Initially, it was assumed that in the new Constitution the powers of the president would be redistributed in favor of the parliament and the government, but this did not happen. Instead, they are trying to divide the powers between the president and the National Assembly, which will consist of 3 thousand people and will take over the functions of the legislative and executive branches of government. No one knows how it will work,” says Korotkevich.
But the main disappointment of Belarusians, according to the ex-presidential candidate, was that the referendum on the Constitution will not be a referendum on the issue of keeping Lukashenka in power. He’s going to stay in politics anyway, which completely devalues the vote.
“So far we only know the approximate date of the referendum — the 20th of February 2022. Technically, this is possible, because according to the rules, a month should be allocated for the discussion of the bill. We don’t know anything else yet, this creates a completely absurd situation. Many Belarusians do not even understand why this referendum is needed and do not want to participate in it, although state media claim that 70-80% of citizens are ready to vote for the new Constitution. And this is despite the fact that no one has seen her yet,” Belarusian political scientist Valery Karbalevich told MK.
At the same time, according to the expert, there may be two reasons why the draft Constitution is constantly postponed. “Firstly, the Kremlin may be dissatisfied with the new Constitution, and Lukashenka has to reckon with the position of Russia, which is actually his only ally. Maybe he specifically decided to declare recognition of the Crimea,to appease Moscow,” says Karbalevich. – Secondly, Lukashenka may not have decided himself who he will be under the new Constitution. On the one hand, he wants to lead the National Assembly, taking with him the presidential powers, but at the same time he does not want to weaken the presidential power. It is very difficult to get out of this mutually exclusive dilemma.”
Other Belarusian political scientist Dmitry Bolkunets He recalled that the topic of the referendum in Belarus has been discussed for a long time, but it became most acute after the start of mass protests in August 2022. “Initially, the authorities promised to hold a referendum in February-March 2021. At the same time, Russia inclines Lukashenka to a referendum, and he himself does not need it. Lukashenka either does not see the political crisis, or does not want to notice it,” Bolkunets told MK.
The political scientist noted that after the adoption of the new Constitution, Lukashenka can arrange early presidential elections, and he will leave for the National Assembly, where he will have even more powers than in his previous post. In this sense, Belarusians may have a short relief and even hope for reforms, but they will not last long.
“If Lukashenka makes himself king, a dangerous situation of dual power may arise in Belarus,” Bolkunets warns. Moreover, he assumes that pro-government experts and officials also think so, therefore they are slow to develop a new Constitution. “Lukashenka wants to form a regime that will combine the features of the DPRK and Iran. No one knows how to do this so that the state does not collapse,” says Bolkunets.
