This Week's Highlights:

• “Trying to contain China … is by definition impossible,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week, adding that Russian-Chinese ties are “an allied relationship in the full sense.” He also revealed that Russia is “now helping our Chinese partners to develop an early warning system.” This indicates that China has overtaken India when it comes to Russia’s willingness to share or lease key defense technologies to other countries. (Russia Matters, 10.03.19)
• Ukraine has provisionally agreed to hold local elections in Donbas once all armed formations leave the area and control is regained over the border with Russia, RFE/RL reports. Once the regions hold elections that are deemed to be free and fair by the OSCE they would receive self-governing status, according to a formula proposed in 2016 by Germany’s then Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (now the country’s president) to achieve progress in implementation of the Minsk agreements..
• Kurt Volker has resigned as the special U.S. envoy to Ukraine after becoming embroiled in a controversy over President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold military aid to Kyiv, according to RFE/RL. He appeared before Democratic-led congressional committees as part of an impeachment probe into Trump on Oct. 3. During the nearly 10-hour deposition, Volker provided a batch of text messages revealing that senior State Department officials felt Trump would not agree to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unless the latter promised to investigate the energy company that employed the son of Joe Biden, The Washington Post reports.   
• The U.S. State Department has approved $39.2 million worth of military equipment to Ukraine, including 150 Javelin missiles, U.S. media report. Meanwhile, long-term comprehensive military education and training programs constitute less than 1 percent of American security assistance to Ukraine, according to an estimate by  U.S. National Defense University professor Mariya Omelicheva.
• In previously unreported remarks Trump told two senior Russian diplomats, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and then Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that he was unconcerned about Moscow's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election because the United States did the same in other countries, according to “three former officials with knowledge of the matter” cited by The Washington Post.
• Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is looking to take his country into the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union, Russian Senate speaker Valentina Matviyenko said on Oct. 2, bne Intellinews reports. Meanwhile, Singapore has signed several components of a free-trade agreement with the EEU, according to the CNA news network.
• Russia’s Center for Social and Labor Rights presented a report called “How Russians Protest” that says 434 protests took place across Russia from April to June with only Chukotka and Chechnya unaffected, Kommersant quoted the report and its authors as saying.
• Russia jails more people than any other European country, according to the All-Russia Civil Forum civic monitor, The Moscow Times reports.

I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda

Nuclear security and safety:

• Denis Baykov, an employee of the Federal Nuclear Center in Sarov, was fined 450,000 rubles, the equivalent of $7,000, for using a supercomputer inside this secretive nuclear facility to mine for bitcoin cryptocurrency. Two additional staff members, Andrei Rybkin and Andrei Shatokhin, are still facing legal action. (Newsweek, 10.01.19)

North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said Oct. 3 U.S. President Donald Trump deserves credit for engaging diplomatically with North Korea, a decision which he said shows Trump's “courage and ability to take outside-the-box steps,” and opens the door to a peaceful settlement on the Korean peninsula. (CNCNews, 10.04.19)
• On Sept. 27 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York for talks that included the situation in the Korean Peninsula, Afghanistan and Ukraine, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Lavrov said Pompeo expressed readiness to discuss an extension to the New START treaty despite the collapse of the INF Treaty. (RFE/RL, 09.27.19)
• Russian border guards have detained 87 North Korean poachers and 11 small vessels in waters in the Sea of Japan which Moscow considers its own exclusive economic zone, Interfax said on Oct. 1. (Reuters, 10.01.19)
• The North Korean missile that landed in Japanese waters on Oct. 2 offered another stark reminder of the threat posed to Japan. The ballistic missile launched early Oct. 2 was the first to splash down in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 miles off its coast, in nearly two years. (New York Times, 10.02.19)

Iran’s nuclear program and related issues:

• Iranian President Hassan Rohani has said Iran supports a plan by European powers to bolster a nuclear deal from which the U.S. withdrew last year. (RFE/RL, 10.02.19)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin says that U.S. intelligence agencies have yet to give Saudi Arabia proof that Iran was involved in attacks on the country’s oil industry. (RFE/RL, 10.02.19)
• Russian journalist Yulia Yuzik has been detained in Iran, her relatives, colleagues and an official at the Russian Embassy in Tehran say. Yuzik's ex-husband, journalist Boris Voitsekhovsky, told RFE/RL she was accused of spying for Israel. Russia’s foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador on Oct. 4 over Yuzik’s detention. (RFE/RL, 10.04.19, Reuters, 10.04.19)

New Cold War/saber rattling:

• No significant developments.

Military issues, including NATO-Russia relations:

• No significant developments.

Missile defense:

• No significant developments.

Nuclear arms control:

• No significant developments.

Counter-terrorism:

• Russia’s so-called power agencies prevented four terrorist attacks in Voronezh, Tula, Vladimir and Tambov in the past eight months, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said in Tula on Oct. 4, according to Gazeta.ru. (Russia Matters, 10.04.19)

Conflict in Syria:

• Large-scale combat operation in Syria are over but the ultimate solution to the problem can be reached through political settlement, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Valdai Club on Oct. 3. Putin said Russia’s operation in Syria has helped to prevent the return of hundreds, if not thousands, of “armed cuthroats” to Russia. (TASS, 10.03.19, Russia Matters, 10.03.19)
• In New York last week, the U.N. finally announced that the moribund international political process for Syria had been revived—with plans to establish a committee to review Syria’s constitution. It is arguably the biggest achievement for U.N. diplomacy on Syria since member states agreed a resolution on talks in 2015. (Financial Times, 09.29.19)

Cyber security:

• Analysts at cybersecurity firm DeviceLock found personal information relating to up to 60 million Sberbank credit card holders for sale on the black market. They were able to analyze the data of around 200 supposed customers—provided to them by the seller—and verified their authenticity. (The Moscow Times, 10.03.19)

Elections interference:

• Washington has imposed sanctions on several entities and people associated with the Internet Research Agency and its financier, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in connection with Russian interference in U.S. elections. The new sanctions cover three legal entities registered in the Seychelles and six Russian citizens. (RFE/RL, 10.01.19)
• U.S. President Donald Trump told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that he was unconcerned about Moscow's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election because the U.S. did the same in other countries. (The Washington Post, 09.28.18)
• The U.S. federal government warned state election officials Oct. 3 it suspects Russia may focus on voter suppression as a means to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. The joint FBI and Department of Homeland Security document is titled "Russia May Try to Discourage Voter Turnout and Suppressing Votes in 2020 US Election." (CNN, 10.03.19)
• U.S. President Donald Trump appealed to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for help with an investigation that the U.S. president hoped would discredit Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The revelation intensifies pressure on Trump, who is facing an impeachment inquiry. (Financial Times, 09.30.19)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin says it is "laughable" to think that Moscow will attempt to meddle in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. "It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad." (CNN, 10.03.19, RFE/RL, 10.02.19)

Energy exports:

• The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could be delayed by several months if Denmark fails to issue its permit for the project and the pipeline has to bypass Danish waters, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Oct. 4. (Reuters, 10.04.19)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he is ready to offer Ukraine a temporary contract for the transit of natural gas if talks fail before the current one with Moscow expires on Jan. 1. Speaking at the sidelines of an energy forum in Moscow on Oct. 2, Putin said he was prepared to sign a transit agreement under European law if Kyiv succeeds in implementing the European energy package by the end of the year. (RFE/RL, 10.03.19)

Bilateral economic ties:

• No significant developments.

Other bilateral issues:

• The White House restricted access to the transcripts of telephone calls U.S. President Donald Trump held with the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia, providing an expanded list of targets for Congressional investigators pursuing an impeachment inquiry into the president. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would not mind if his phone calls with Trump were published and that, because of his intelligence background, he always assumed that his words could potentially be published whenever he speaks. (Financial Times, 09.28.19, The Moscow Times, 09.30.19, Reuters, 10.02.19) 
• The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Moscow, Jon Huntsman, has called on the Russian government to "immediately release" Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen being held on espionage charges that he denies. (RFE/RL, 10.02.19)
• A Russian court has frozen more than 55 million rubles in assets belonging to U.S. private equity executive Michael Calvey, in criminal proceedings that have cast a pall over Russia’s investment community. (Financial Times, 10.04.19)
• The FBI appears to be recruiting Russians living in and around the U.S. capital with awkwardly worded and grammatically incorrect Russian-language Facebook ads. (The Moscow Times, 10.03.19)

II. Russia’s domestic news

Politics, economy and energy:

• More than 20,000 Russians took to the streets of Moscow on Sept. 29 to demand the release of protesters jailed over the summer in what Kremlin critics say is a campaign to stifle dissent. Fourteen people are facing up to eight years behind bars over this summer’s wave of rallies for fair elections. (The Moscow Times, 09.30.19)
• Russia’s Center for Social and Labor Rights presented a report “How Russians Protest,” which covers the second quarter of 2019. According to the report, 434 protests took place across Russian regions from April to June with only Chukotka and Chechnya unaffected, Kommersant quoted the report and its authors as saying. Of the 434 protests, 130 were of political character, according to the report. (Russia Matters, 10.03.19)
• Only 10.3 million people in Russia can be fully considered as members of the middle class, according to Moscow’s Higher School of Economics. The 7 percent “core” of Russia’s middle class earns an average of 47,000 rubles a month ($723), with over half living in large towns and cities. (The Moscow Times, 10.04.19)
• The Labor Ministry has sent the Russian government a report outlining the pros and cons of introducing a four-day work week as discussions around shortening the work week have become increasingly widespread. (The Moscow Times, 10.01.19)
• Alcohol consumption in Russia has fallen 43 percent from 2003 to 2016, a key factor in the country's rapid rise in life expectancy, the World Health Organization said Oct. 1. Russians now consume the equivalent of 11-12 liters worth of pure ethanol a year. (The Moscow Times, 10.01.19)
• Business activity in Russia’s services sector expanded strongly to 53.6 in September, offsetting the crash of manufacturing from 49.1 in August to 46.3 in September. (bne IntelliNews, 10.03.19)
• The number of cashless transactions in Russia soared 30-fold from 5.8 to 172 on average per person between 2010 and 2018. (bne IntelliNews, 10.03.19)
• Russia’s lower chamber of parliament plans to vote on legislation that could allow dual citizenship for foreigners wanting to become Russian citizens. (The Moscow Times, 10.01.19)
• Siberia has warmed up faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. Scientists say the planet's warming must not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius—but Siberia's temperatures have already spiked far beyond that. (The Washington Post, 10.03.19)

Defense and aerospace:

• The sequence of certain Russian military exercises conducted simultaneously indicates, among other things, that Russia takes into account the possibility that it could have to handle two fronts at the same time, according to a chapter written by Isabelle Facon, senior research fellow at Fon­dation pour la Recherche, for a September 2019 volume on the Russian military. (Russia Matters, 09.29.19)
•  “By 2022, Russia will have 3 IC/SLBM production plants. Votkinsk is capable of producing 40-50 RS-24/RS-26/Bulavas per year. Krasnoyarsk built more than 4,000 SLBMs over 30 years (about 133 per year) and is capable of producing 10-30 Sarmats per year. Khrunichev would be capable of producing 10-30 SS-31s per year, for a total of approximately 60-110 IC/SLBMs per year,” according to former U.S. Army Officer James R. Howe’s estimates in a September 2019 volume on the Russian military.  (Russia Matters, 09.29.19)
• Russia's military has published video showing its test launch of the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk base in the Arkhangelsk region. (The Moscow Times, 10.01.19)
• State military shipping company Oboronlogistika has made 11 shipments to the Arctic archipelago of Novaya Zemlya and other parts of the region so far this year as part of its exclusive delivery agreement with the Defense Ministry. About 30,000 tons of goods were delivered, the company said. In 2018, the company's total delivery volume amounted to 11,000 tons. (Barents Observer, 10.02.19)

Security, law-enforcement and justice:

• Russia jails more people than any other European country, according to a report published by the All-Russia Civil Forum civic monitor. More than 543,000 people were held in Russian prisons or detention centers in 2018, the report published Oct. 3 said. (The Moscow Times, 10.04.19)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired the chief of Russia’s prison service, Gennady Kornienko, Vedomosti reported on Oct. 3. (Russia Matters, 10.03.19)

III. Foreign affairs, trade and investment

Russia’s general foreign policy and relations with “far abroad” countries:

• Between 10 and 35 Russian mercenaries may have died while fighting in Libya’s civil war that has plunged the oil-producing nation into crisis, the Meduza news website has reported, citing unnamed colleagues and veterans. Meanwhile, a reporting crew from Russia’s state-run First Channel television, unintentionally or not, provided further evidence about the activities of Russia’s Wagner private military company in the Central African Republic. (The Moscow Times, 10.03.19, RFE/RL, 10.01.19)
• Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has hailed his country's relations with Cuba, saying they have a "brilliant" future as he arrived in Havana for a two-day visit. (RFE/RL, 10.03.19)
• Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte used his second visit to Russia as an opportunity to again criticize the U.S. for being critical of his war on drugs, as he sought greater defense ties with Moscow. (Bloomberg, 10.04.19)
• Atommash, part of the Volgodonsk branch of Russia's AEM Technology, has completed manufacturing the upper part of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for unit one of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. (World Nuclear News, 10.01.19)
• Russia’s parliament has invited Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to address young Russians concerned about the environment. (The Moscow Times, 10.01.19)

China:

• Russia is “now helping our Chinese partners to develop an early warning system,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Valdai Club on Oct. 3. Putin’s revelation indicates that China has overtaken India when it comes to Russia’s willingness to share or lease key defense technologies. Russia is leasing an atomic submarine to India. Russia has also previously worked with India on the development of a fifth generation fighter and the two countries have actually developed a cruise missile based primarily on Russian technologies. However, Russia’s assistance in development of China’s early warning systems trumps the cooperation with India, as it directly affects China’s retaliatory strike capabilities in a nuclear conflict. (Russia Matters, 10.03.19)
• “As for trying to contain China, I think that this is by definition impossible,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Valdai Club on Oct. 3. “This is an allied relationship in the full sense,” he said of Russian-Chinese relations. “At the same time, and I want to emphasize that, we are not friends against anyone or work together against anyone,” he said of Russia and China, according to the Kremlin’s transcript of his remarks. (Russia Matters, 10.03.19)
• Seventy-one percent of Russian respondents told Pew they view China positively, while only 18 percent said they view China negatively, according to its survey published Sept. 30. American, Swedish and Japanese respondents had the least amount of good will toward China at 26 percent, 25 percent and 14 percent each, decreasing from 2018. (The Moscow Times, 10.03.19)

Ukraine:

• Ukraine has provisionally agreed to hold local elections in the occupied territories of Donbass once all armed formations leave the area and control is regained over about 400 kilometers of borderland with Russia. The occupied regions would receive self-governing status once they hold elections that are deemed to be free and fair by the OSCE, according to the plan proposed by Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “If we want elections under Ukrainian law, we understand the border should be ours,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a news conference in Kyiv. Elections can’t be held if “any troops” remain in the disputed regions, he said. Moscow had demanded Kyiv agree to the Steinmeier formula before it would consent to four-way peace talks with Ukraine, Germany and France. The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the conditions were "now in place”  for holding talks soon under the Normandy format in Paris. (RFE/RL, 10.01.19, Bloomberg, 10.01.19. RFE/RL, 10.02.19)
• A recent poll by the Kyiv-based Rating Group said two-thirds of respondents were unable to rate the Steinmeier Formula, while 23 percent opposed the idea and 18 percent supported it. (RFE/RL, 10.02.19)
• The Kremlin has said it is interested in an "all for all" prisoner exchange with Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "certain work is being done in that direction." (RFE/RL, 10.04.19)
• Kurt Volker has resigned as the special U.S. envoy to Ukraine, days after he became embroiled in a controversy over U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold military aid to Kyiv. He then appeared before Democratic-led congressional committees as part of an impeachment probe into Trump on Oct. 3. During the nearly 10-hour deposition, Volker said he had warned Trump's personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani that Giuliani was receiving untrustworthy information from Ukrainian political figures about former vice president Joe Biden and his son. He also provided a batch of text messages exchanged by senior State Department officials. (RFE/RL, 09.27.19, New York Times, 10.04.19, The Washington Post, 10.04.19)   
  • The texts reveal that senior State Department officials felt Trump would not agree to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unless Zelenskiy promised to investigate the energy company that employed the son of 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden—and did so publicly. (The Washington Post, 10.04.19)
  • William Taylor, the top American diplomat in Ukraine, repeatedly raised concerns with colleagues about the White House's decision to withhold $391 million in security aid from Ukraine, describing it as a ''crazy'' plan to withhold security assistance ''for help with a political campaign,'' according to texts.. (New York Times, 10.04.19)
  • Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the EU, insisted that Trump's decision to withhold nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine was not a quid pro quo—as diplomat William Taylor had feared, according to the text messages. Sondland also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to give "advice" about how to "navigate" Trump's demands, a whistleblower reported. (The Washington Post, 10.04.19)
• U.S. President Donald Trump has described the Ukraine-related impeachment inquiry launched against him as "the greatest scam in the history of American politics." Trump then also asserted an “absolute right” to investigate corruption, which he said includes reaching out to foreign countries for assistance, and suggested that he might sue House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (RFE/RL, 09.29.19, The Washington Post,10.04.19)
• Ukraine's new chief prosecutor Ruslan Ryaboshapka said Oct. 4 his office will conduct an "audit" of an investigation into Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company that had recruited Hunter Biden for its board. A criminal probe of the company was closed in 2016, and U.S. President Donald Trump has alleged it was because of pressure by Hunter Biden's father, then-Vice President Joe Biden. Trump has insisted that Ukraine open a new investigation. (The Washington Post, 10.04.19)
• European and U.S. officials pressed Ukraine to sack Viktor Shokin, the country’s former prosecutor-general, months before Joe Biden personally intervened to force his removal, people involved in the talks said. (Financial Times, 10.03.19)
• U.S. President Donald Trump instructed U.S. Vice President Mike Pence not to attend the inauguration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in May, officials said. Months later, Trump used Pence to tell Zelenskiy that U.S. aid was still being withheld while demanding more aggressive action on corruption, officials said. (The Washington Post, 10.03.19)
• U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has confirmed he was on a telephone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that has spurred an impeachment inquiry against Trump. (RFE/RL, 10.02.19)
• The whistleblower at the center of the impeachment investigation of U.S. President Donald Trump will testify in the House "very soon," the Democrat leading the probe said Sept. 29. The whistleblower, whose identity hasn't been made public, is a man who works for the CIA. (Wall Street Journal, 09.29.19)
• U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the removal of the ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch after months of complaints from allies outside the administration, including his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, that she was undermining him abroad and obstructing efforts to persuade Kyiv to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, according to people familiar with the matter. Yovanovitch will appear before Democratic-led congressional committees as part of an impeachment probe into Trump on Oct. 11. (RFE/RL, 10.02.19, Wall Street Journal, 10.03.19)
• Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani in recent months has consulted several times with Paul Manafort through the federal prisoner's lawyer in pursuit of information about a disputed ledger that would bolster his theory that the real story of 2016 is not Russian interference to elect Trump, but Ukrainian efforts to support Hillary Clinton. (The Washington Post, 10.03.19)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had not seen any evidence of Trump pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the reconstructed transcript of the conversation released by the White House. (Reuters, 10.02.19)
• The U.S. State Department has approved $39.2 million worth of military equipment to Ukraine. The deal approved on Oct. 3 includes 150 Javelin missiles and 10 launch units and adds to the 210 missiles and 37 launchers that Ukraine bought from the U.S. in April 2018. (RFE/RL, 10.03.19)
• Long-term comprehensive military education and training programs constitute less than 1 percent of American security assistance to Ukraine, according to an estimate by U.S. National Defense University professor Mariya Omelicheva published by PONARS. (Russia Matters, 09.30.19)
• A delegation from the International Monetary Fund left Ukraine Sept. 27 without announcing a lending agreement. The IMF mission issued a glum statement on Sept. 27, noting ''shortcomings in the legal framework, pervasive corruption and large parts of the economy dominated by inefficient state-owned enterprises or by oligarchs.'' The statement also included a dry reference to worries about influence over government by Ihor Kolomoisky. (New York Times, 09.28.19)
• Ukraine plans to liquidate over 1,000 inefficient state companies and to sell hundreds more to private investors. The goal is to reduce the state’s share in the economy to 5 percent by 2024. The World Bank and IMF currently project economic growth this year to not surpass 3 percent. (RFE/RL, 10.01.19, Ukraine Business News, 09.30.19)
• International ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) updated Ukraine’s long-term foreign currency score to B from B- on Sept. 27. (bne Intellinews, 09.29.19)
• Oleksiy Danilov, a former member of parliament and ex-governor of the easternmost Luhansk region, has been appointed secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council. (RFE/RL, 10.03.19)

Russia’s other post-Soviet neighbors:

• Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is looking to take his country into the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Singapore on Oct. 1 signed several components of a free trade agreement with the EEU during this organization’s summit in Yerevan. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who also participated at the EEU summit, on Oct. 1 called for forming a special task force for joint investment.  (bne IntelliNews, 10.03.19, CNA, 10.01.19, Tehran Times, 10.01.19)
• Belarus believes that its ally Russia’s terms of integration are “unacceptable,” its foreign minister has said following media reports that the two countries plan to form an economic confederacy in the next two years. Kommersant reported that the countries plan to unify their customs and energy policies by 2021 and establish a single tax code, civil code and list of foreign trade rules by 2022. (The Moscow Times, 10.01.19)
• NATO's top decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, has traveled to Georgia for a two-day visit including a meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission with Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. (RFE/RL, 10.03.19)
• Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has fired Interior Minister Isgender Mulikov amid allegations of abuse of power and corruption. Mammetkhan Chakiyev, a deputy chair of the cabinet, was appointed as Mulikov's replacement.  (RFE/RL, 10.02.19)

IV. Quoteworthy

• “It’s not that hard to empathize with Putin,” Lucy Prebble said of her latest play “A Very Expensive Poison,” about the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. “What I’m using when I think about Putin is I’m using the part of myself that wants to control the narrative. There’s a part of an authoritarian which is an author, literally. That’s what Putin is doing in the play: he’s trying to wrestle control, to tell the story he wants us to see. And that’s the writer’s job.” (Financial Times, 09.27.19)