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Russia is fully committed to the fight against “American domination” in the world and the “anti-Russian activities” of foreign states. Furthermore, he will use the military if necessary to “deter and prevent” aggression against himself and his allies. Incidentally take Russia presidency of the UN Security Council for a month starting this weekend.
The threatening words are at the heart of the new 42-page, 76-point foreign policy that Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed during a session of his own Security Council on Friday. The document describes Russia as “one of the centers of global development” and a “massive Eurasian and Euro-Pacific power” that “plays a unique role” in maintaining the balance of power in the world and the “development peace of mankind”. The document also indicates that Russia will now make its foreign policy dependent on how it is treated by other states.
spy case
The presentation of the document comes amid a week of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington. On Wednesday, 31-year-old American journalist Evan Gershkovich became a correspondent for The Wall Street Journalarrested by the Russian FSB secret service in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of spying for the United States.
Born in the United States to Russian parents, Gershkovich has worked in Russia for various media since 2017. He reportedly investigated the Russian mercenary Wagner Army in Yekaterinburg. According to the Meduza news site, the journalist had also traveled to the nearby town of Nizhny Tagil, where there is a defense complex. In a statement, the FSB wrote that Gershkovich was “collecting secret state information about the activities of the Russian military-industrial complex on the instructions of the US government.”
On Thursday, Gershkovich was transferred to Moscow and brought before the Lefortovo court, where he pleaded not guilty. By court order, he will remain in detention for at least two months.
Intimidate journalists
Although much is still unclear, Russia appears to want to pressure both the US government and Western correspondents in Moscow with the arrest. Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov’s statement on Thursday that Gershkovich had been caught “in the act” fueled speculation that the Kremlin may have authorized the arrest. Few people hope that Gershkovich will soon be freed or that the charges will be clearer.
In Russia, espionage trials are held behind closed doors, acquittals are rare. A swap could possibly happen in the long run, as happened last year when American basketball star Brittney Griner was swapped for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday it was still “too early” to think about it.
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The United States takes the issue seriously. A White House spokesman called the charges “ridiculous” and “unacceptable” on Thursday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned “the Kremlin’s continued efforts to intimidate, suppress and punish journalists and activists”. The shock was also great in journalistic circles this week. “It’s the Kremlin’s way of intimidating Western journalists still reporting in Russia,” said Jeanne Cavelier of Reporters Without Borders. She said she feared Russia could turn into an “information black hole” if Western journalists could no longer report safely from the country.
The latest American journalist accused of spying by Russia is Nicholas Daniloff. He was briefly arrested in 1986 in response to the arrest of a Russian spy in the United States. In 2020, former US Marine Paul Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison for spying for the United States. Whelan, who, like Gershkovich, is being held in Lefortovo prison in Moscow, maintains his innocence.
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