Just to re-up ICYMI, here's that YouTube video of Grad rockets being fired -- apparently by pro-Russian militants -- from next to apartment blocks in Donetsk.
Interesting headline on a column in Russian state's latest international media venture, the Sputnik "counterpropaganda" news agency:
If you aren't familiar with Sputnik, here's correspondent Daisy Sindelar's recent item that pretty much sums them up:
Five Things The Kremlin's New Media Agency Thinks The West Should Fear About Itself
One of the most pressing questions that arises in a currency crisis like Russia's -- and whose answer (along with surging oil prices) helped Russia rebound from its 1998 ruble meltdown -- is whether there are significant domestic sectors that can benefit from devaluation. Which invites the question:
QUIZ: What Does Russia Make?
It will come as no real surprise to those who have seriously considered investing in Russia, but the seemingly mercurial -- or worse yet, politically targeted -- application of the law highlights a very real economic obstacle for Russia that goes far deeper than any Western sanctions:
The case puts into relief the unpredictable business environment in Russia, where thousands of people have ended up in jail as the result of business disputes or raids by business rivals. Even seemingly petty crimes are routinely used to keep people in Russian prisons for months or even years.
It is difficult to determine who is right and who wrong in the murky property dispute. But Zaltsman's treatment, advocates say, is excessive by any standard: "The fact that he was jailed for a broken window — this is cruel and sadly typical of Russia," said Yana Yakovleva, founder of the advocacy group Business Solidarity. Moscow police and investigators refused to comment on the Zaltsman case.
Zaltsman, who has dual Russian and U.S. citizenship, was accused of hooliganism — the same charge leveled against members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot, landing them in a remote prison camp. If convicted, he could be imprisoned for up to seven years.