(EDM) The paramount news in Moscow last week was the United States Department of the Treasury’s release of the long-expected report on senior Russian political figures and oligarchs—the so-called “Kremlin List” (see EDM, February 1). The list was mandated by the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), signed by President Donald Trump last August. Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to shrug off the naming of 114 officials from his administration and the government; whereas the prevalent feeling among the 96 listed Russian oligarchs was relief (RBC, January 30). The longer-than-expected Kremlin List appears to have been compiled so superficially as to be all but meaningless. In a peculiar way, the publication of this report coincided with a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which canceled the doping ban for 28 Russian athletes imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This action by the CAS had the effect of restoring Russia as the medal tally winner of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, an outcome greeted with great fanfare in the Russian media (Novaya Gazeta, February 1). […]
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