Incredible scenes across Russia—from Tomsk to Chelyabinsk to Ulan-Ude to St. Petersburg—of crowds in the tens of thousands (or more?) coming out to protest the arrest of Alexei Navalny. Here’s Moscow’s Pushkin Square just 20 min after the start of the protest in Russia’s capital.
I'm also told that Pompeo has ordered an internal investigation into the matter, beginning with interns and employees leaving the State Department this week and next ahead of the transition to the Biden administration. buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
The int’l secretary for the violent Ukrainian far-right Azov movement has been granted a fellowship in Vienna. Here’s my 2018 interview with her, which shows her connections to US white supremacists & European neo-nazis. She said Azov has global ambitions. rferl.org/a/azov-ukraine…
To put it another way, @IWM_Vienna has accepted as a fellow a top ideological figure from what the @StateDept deemed a “nationalist hate group” who has extensive neo-nazi ties and is actively trying to connect likeminded hate groups to form alliances and infiltrate governments.
The post about Olena Semenyaka, the far-right Azov movement’s international secretary described above, has been removed and @IWM_Vienna is reconsidering. Still, it would be good to know how she slipped by fellowship decision makers.
US Attorney Michael Sherwin said during a news briefing Thursday that materials were stolen from the Capitol during the riot. “We have to identify what was done, mitigate that, and it could have potential national security equities.” buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
"If I was sitting in the rezidentura, the [Russian] Embassy, whether I was the SVR or GRU, I would immediately be thinking, OK, well there are these things that are out in the wild," @MarkGaleotti said of the stolen material. buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
A 2012 recording of former Belarusian KGB chief suggests President Alexander Lukashenko sanctioned assassinations of opponents abroad. Specifically mentioned is Belarus-born journalist Pavel Sheremet, who was killed by a car bomb in central Kyiv, Ukraine, in July 2016.
Tape doesn't prove Belarus killed Sheremet but adds new wrinkle to unsolved case & weight to one of 3 "tracks" of investigation: organized & carried out by Russians; ...Ukrainians; ...Belarusians. Details about how KGB wanted Sheremet killed also similar to what really happened.
Ukraine arrested and is currently trying 3 suspects in Kyiv for Sheremet's murder. All have denied involvement and much of Ukrainian civil society has sided with them. Legal experts also say authorities' case is built upon weak evidence. I wrote about it: cpj.org/2020/09/doubts…