The Power Vertical Podcast at CEPA
On Monday June 8, the Moscow mayor announced “a radical weakening of the self-isolation regime” imposed to combat covid-19.
The Russian capital would be opening back up for business. And oh by the way, on June 24, there will be a Victory Day parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. And a week after that, on July 1, there will be a referendum on constitutional changes that would keep Vladimir Putin in power until 2036.
Russia’s mad dash to reopen had little to do with medical data — there are still thousands of covid-19 cases being reported every day and now top half a million. It has everything to do with the political calendar. And Sobyanin was on board for the big win.
Until he wasn’t. Just three days later, on Thursday June 11, Sobyanin urged Muscovites to stay home, to avoid mass gatherings including the Victory Day parade.
Listen to the Power Vertical Podcast as Brian Whitmore is joined by Maria Snegovaya and Donald N. Jensen to discuss what happened in Moscow and what does it mean.
Photo: By Deensel under CC BY 2.0. 
WP Post Author
Brian Whitmore is Director of the Russia Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Before joining CEPA he was Senior Russia Analyst at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He also worked as a foreign correspondent for The Boston Globe in Moscow and Prague; as a graduate instructor in the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of South Carolina; and as a visiting lecturer in the History Faculty at Mechnikov National University in Odessa, Ukraine and the International Relations Faculty at St. Petersburg State University.
June 12, 2020
The Power Vertical is a CEPA podcast covering the Kremlin for Kremlin watchers. All opinions are those of the guests and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.
