(C) Meduza This story was originally published by Meduza and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Real Russia. Today. Thursday, June 6, 2024 — Meduza [1] [] Date: 2024-06-07 The destruction of the dam at Ukraine’s Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant on the morning of June 6, 2023, caused the flooding of about 80 towns and villages in the country’s Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other for the collapse and the resulting humanitarian and environmental disaster (though the dam has been controlled by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion). In addition to inundating communities downstream from the facility, the dam’s breach caused catastrophic shallowing further upstream, devastating communities in the Zaporizhzhia region that used to rely on fishing and river transport for their livelihoods. For Meduza, Ukrainian photographer Pavel Korchagin traveled to the region to capture the way its landscape has changed in the year since the dam burst. Russia’s top economic officials joined a panel at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Thursday a delivered rare public criticism of the federal government’s ongoing seizures of major enterprises. The heads of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, the Finance Ministry, Anton Siluanov, and the Economic Development Ministry, Maxim Reshetnikov, discussed the nationalization of pasta manufacturer “Makfa” and the “Solikamsk Magnesium Plant.” State Duma Budget and Taxes Committee Chairman Andrey Makarov moderated the panel and raised pointed questions about the two recent nationalizations, asking if it’s possible even to talk about respect for private property rights and an independent judiciary if both majority and minority shareholders can be so easily dispossessed. Siluanov first tried to defend the nationalizations, pointing out that the government plans to offload these assets, not manage the companies itself. Nabiullina fired back that the issue concerns investor confidence and the violation of shareholders’ rights, not what the state plans to do with their property. She added that the Central Bank has filed a lawsuit to protect “the minority shareholders” (presumably referring to the appeal against the seizure of minority shares in Solikamsk Magnesium Plant). Reshetnikov said this case would be a “litmus test” for Russian institutions that have come under new “demands and requirements” (since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine). He warned that Russia would be forced to develop a series of nuanced new laws to protect property rights if the court rules against the Central Bank. Siluanov agreed that Russia’s investment climate relies on respect for property rights and said, “We hope the court will review the matter and reach a balanced decision.” Journalists at Agentstvo Media report that Maxim Oreshkin, a deputy chief of staff in the Putin administration, was also a panelist but said nothing of substance during the conversation. In its summary of SPIEF’s main economic session, journalists at The Bell highlighted Maxim Oreshkin’s comment that Russia’s sovereignty relies on three pillars: (1) modernizing its armed forces, (2) education and culture, and (3) the economy in terms of technology, the workforce, and finances. When asked why he prioritized the economy last on his list, Oreshkin said, “There can be no successful economy without a successful army.” The Bell also pointed out that it fell to Oreshkin to defend the federal government’s recently announced tax hikes (for example, he cited the policy’s “well-thought-out system of deductions in exchange for investments”) after Elvira Nabiullina said tersely that she hasn’t changed her mind about higher taxes on businesses being “counterproductive.” 👨‍👧‍👧 Putin’s daughters are on the SPIEF program Journalist Farida Rustamova notes that two of Vladimir Putin’s daughters are listed as speakers at this year’s St. Petersburg Economic Forum: Maria Vorontsova, a member of the Russian Association for the Promotion of Science Presidium, and Katerina Tikhonova, the CEO of Innopraktika. Tikhonova is discussing the role of the defense industry in the development of Russia’s “technological sovereignty” (appearing virtually on a panel moderated by propagandist Vladimir Solovyov), and Vorontsova is scheduled to attend a session on biotechnology, moderated by presidential aide Andrei Fursenko. (This will be Vorontsova’s first time as a panelist at the forum, while Tikhonova joined a panel in 2021.) ⚖️ Human rights groups call on ICC to investigate ‘criminal hate speech’ by ‘six top Russian propagandists’ The International Federation for Human Rights has named six “top Russian propagandists” (including former President Dmitry Medvedev) in a lawsuit with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, alleging that they “have committed the Crime Against Humanity of Persecution against Ukrainians in the form of hate speech.” The legal submission, filed jointly with the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and the Center for Civil Liberties, seeks to expose “the criminal nature of hate speech” and “highlight the role of hate speech in the commission of other international crimes committed in Ukraine and to compel the ICC to investigate these speech acts further.” The submission names Medvedev, pundits Vladimir Solovyov, Dmitry Kiselyov, and Sergey Mardan, Russia Today chief Margarita Simonyan, and the Kremlin’s media czar, Alexey Gromov. We got The Beet. Don’t miss Meduza’s weekly newsletter (separate from the one you’re reading here)! 🚨 Murder motivated by jealousy: Man shot dead in Moscow, state investigators dismiss earlier reports of contract killing Man shot dead in Moscow, state investigators dismiss earlier reports of contract killing 📽️ More conservative censorship coming to Russia’s movie business: Russia’s Culture Ministry plans to draft legislation to deny distribution licenses to films that don’t conform to “traditional values.” Dmitry Davidenko, the head of the ministry’s Cinematography and Digital Development Department, complained specifically about Sarik Andreasyan’s miniseries about Viktor Mokhov, who kidnapped two teenage girls, kept them in a basement, and raped them for almost four years. Russia’s Culture Ministry plans to draft legislation to deny distribution licenses to films that don’t conform to “traditional values.” Dmitry Davidenko, the head of the ministry’s Cinematography and Digital Development Department, complained specifically about Sarik Andreasyan’s miniseries about Viktor Mokhov, who kidnapped two teenage girls, kept them in a basement, and raped them for almost four years. 📦 The old blanket king of Russia’s Army: Journalists at Mediazona learned that more than 37,900 boxes of old blankets were mailed to a single soldier named Kirill Gontarenko in a charity drive for the military in late 2023 that bizarrely addressed thousands of parcels to one man. Journalists at Mediazona learned that more than 37,900 boxes of old blankets were mailed to a single soldier named Kirill Gontarenko in a charity drive for the military in late 2023 that bizarrely addressed thousands of parcels to one man. 🇫🇷 Calling all Frenchmen: An advertisement has been posted at a bus stop near the French embassy in Moscow calling on French soldiers fighting in Ukraine to surrender. “Frenchmen, don’t repeat your ancestors’ mistakes — their fate is well known,” followed by a photo of Nazi collaborator and commander of a French unit of the Waffen-SS, Edgar Puaud, with the caption: “These Frenchmen already fought against Russia on the side of the Nazis.” Meanwhile, officials in Paris reportedly suspect Russian intelligence agents of involvement in the fake coffins placed near the Eiffel Tower with the inscription: “French Soldiers of Ukraine.” An advertisement has been posted at a bus stop near the French embassy in Moscow calling on French soldiers fighting in Ukraine to surrender. “Frenchmen, don’t repeat your ancestors’ mistakes — their fate is well known,” followed by a photo of Nazi collaborator and commander of a French unit of the Waffen-SS, Edgar Puaud, with the caption: “These Frenchmen already fought against Russia on the side of the Nazis.” Meanwhile, officials in Paris reportedly suspect Russian intelligence agents of involvement in the fake coffins placed near the Eiffel Tower with the inscription: “French Soldiers of Ukraine.” 🇫🇷 Another military-spying case in Russia: Police in Moscow arrested a French national on Thursday on suspicion of collecting information about Russian military activities. The Switzerland-based Center for Humanitarian Dialog later identified the man as its adviser, Laurent Vinatier. "We are working to get more details of the circumstances and to secure Laurent's release," a spokesman told reporters. Police in Moscow arrested a French national on Thursday on suspicion of collecting information about Russian military activities. The Switzerland-based Center for Humanitarian Dialog later identified the man as its adviser, Laurent Vinatier. "We are working to get more details of the circumstances and to secure Laurent's release," a spokesman told reporters. 🏒 It takes one to know one: The head coach of St. Petersburg’s SKA hockey team, Roman Rotenberg, declared on Thursday that Russia must battle the effects of “privileged kids” using money to advance in sports. (Rotenberg is the son of billionaire Boris Rotenberg and the nephew of billionaire Arkady Rotenberg.) No country can be free without independent media. 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