Photo Digest
In this digest, Ascolta presents a comprehensive analysis of key political, economic and social developments in Russia that have a direct impact on both the country’s domestic processes and international relations. We take an in-depth look at how Russian government decisions, economic developments and public sentiment are shaping the political agenda and affecting domestic stability.
Special attention is paid to the consequences of these events for Russia’s foreign policy, its relations with key international players, and possible changes in the global geopolitical landscape.
This Content Is Only For Subscribers
OFFICIAL EVENT OVERVIEW
- President of the Russian Federation

As expected, the entire last week was devoted to the BRICS summit, which was held in Kazan on October 22-24. Previously, Ascolta repeatedly drew attention to the fact that it was this event that the Russian president began positioning as “the most important one in the current year” as early as 2023. Certainly, the presence of a significant number of world leaders, the public formation of a new agenda for states representing half of the world’s population, and the demonstration of a unified anti-Western position demonstrated that Russia is not as isolated as has been commonly said in recent years. However, the outcome of the summit was still assessed by many observers as not as bright as expected.
Vladimir Putin began his working week with talks with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, who arrived in Moscow the previous evening and had time to have an informal dinner with Putin. It is important to note that this meeting for the leaders of the two countries was already the third for the last six months. According to official information, one of the key topics of conversation was the issue of further UAE mediation between Moscow and Kiev in humanitarian issues. The two presidents also took part in the opening of the Sheikha Fatema Bint Mubarak Center for International Cooperation with the UAE in Education at the Primakov Gymnasium in Moscow Region.
On October 22, upon his arrival in Kazan, Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff. The parties discussed the financing of projects within the BRICS framework, as well as the prospects for further expansion of the organization. Despite the expectations of many observers, the issue of creating a single BRICS currency was not discussed in the public part of the meeting. However, this topic was not raised during the summit at all.
Also, before the summit’s official opening ceremony, Vladimir Putin held separate meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Egyptian President Abdelfattah Sisi.
On Wednesday, October 23, the Russian president continued his communication with the leaders of the summit’s participating countries. In particular, meetings were held with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. On the same day, the BRICS summit sessions were held in both the narrow and broad sessions, which focused on topical issues of the global agenda, interaction in politics and security, economy and humanitarian sphere. At the evening reception on the occasion of the BRICS summit, Vladimir Putin delivered a solemn speech, in particular, stating that “the BRICS states stand in solidarity for intensified cooperation on the world stage on the basis of the key principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and jointly strive to contribute in every possible way to the formation of a just multipolar world order with the decisive participation of the countries of the Global South and East in the systems of international governance”.
On Thursday, October 24, Vladimir Putin held a big press conference. Since it was there that the main statements on the results of the summit were made, below are the main theses of the Russian president:
- “This year we have already worked in a renewed, expanded composition, and Russia, as chair of the association, did everything possible to ensure that the new members of the organization joined our family as quickly and organically as possible. And in my opinion, we have succeeded in doing so.
- “The summit endorsed the BRICS Kazan Declaration, which summarized the discussions that took place. In our view, it is a comprehensive conceptual document with a positive and forward-looking agenda. It is important that it reaffirms the commitment of all our states to building a more democratic, inclusive and multipolar world order based on international law and the UN Charter, and sets out a common determination to counter the practice of illegitimate sanctions and attempts to undermine traditional moral values.
- “In Kazan, we confirmed that BRICS is not a closed format, it is open to everyone who shares BRICS values, and its members are ready to work on finding joint solutions without dictates from outside or attempts to impose only some narrow approaches on anyone.”
- “As for SWIFT and some alternatives: we have not created, we are not creating any alternatives for anyone, but nevertheless the issue is very important today, and one of the key problems is the problem of settlements. That is why we are going the way of using national currencies, it is well known”.
- “Everyone is determined to see the conflict [with Ukraine] end as quickly as possible and preferably by peaceful means. You know that the People’s Republic of China and Brazil launched an initiative at the General Assembly in New York. Many BRICS member countries support these initiatives, and we in turn are grateful to our partners for showing attention to this conflict and seeking ways to resolve it.”
- “As for our relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: as you know, I think our Strategic Partnership Treaty has just been ratified today. There is Article 4, and we have never doubted that the North Korean leadership takes our agreements seriously. But what we will do and how we will do it is up to us, within the framework of this article.
- “What have the world’s leading economies done? They have abused their exclusive position in world finance – both the dollar and the euro. They have printed and swept, like a vacuum cleaner, the most essential goods off the market. They consume more, you consume more than you produce and earn. Is that fair? We believe it is not, and we want to change this situation. This is what we are doing in BRICS.
- “As for the negotiations with Ukraine, I have already spoken about it many times. We are grateful to the President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who once gave us a platform for negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation. During this negotiation process in late 2022, we came to a possible document, a draft peace agreement, the Ukrainian delegation initialed it, which means that everything suited it, and then suddenly it refused.
Following the press conference, Vladimir Putin also held separate meetings with President Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos, President Mahmoud Abbas of the State of Palestine, President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Ghazouani of Mauritania, President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora of Bolivia, Prime Minister Pham Minh Tinh of Vietnam, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The latter meeting caused a special resonance, as earlier Gutteres refused to attend the “peace summit” organized by Ukraine, while arriving in Kazan to participate in the BRICS summit and meet Putin in person. Gutteres himself argued that this summit was attended by states that unite half of the world’s population. At the same time, the next day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied Gutteresh a visit to Kiev.
The Russian president extended his stay in Kazan until October 25. Before flying to Moscow, he had time to meet with President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik and discuss the current political situation in the Republic. On his return to Moscow, Putin met with the head of the Federal Customs Service, Valery Pikalyov, and also took part in the traditional meeting with members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. In the introductory part, Putin noted that the topic of the meeting this time concerned work with the closest partners in the southern direction. It is also known that the main speaker on the topic was the director of the Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov. According to Ascolta, the topic of the meeting concerned the parliamentary elections in Georgia, which took place on October 26.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

As in the case of the presidential vertical, the main diplomatic efforts of the Russian Foreign Ministry were focused on the BRICS summit. In particular, Sergey Lavrov was seen at all public events in Kazan. At the same time, it is worth paying attention to a number of other events that may have further implications for Russia’s foreign policy activities.
- On Monday, October 21, an interview of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper was published. In it, he stated that “BRICS does not force anyone to sacrifice anything” (citing Germany as an example, where all residents are forced to give money to help Ukraine). Lavrov also noted that “the United States does not want to give up the reins of power that it had after World War II through the Bretton Woods institutions, through the role assigned to the dollar in the international monetary system, even after the system of free exchange of the dollar for gold was abolished.” Speaking about Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Minister said that “the UN Charter is not only about territorial integrity. Much earlier than territorial integrity is mentioned, this document speaks about the right of nations to self-determination. This principle was the legal basis of the decolonization process.
- On the results of the presidential election in Moldova, which took place on October 20, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made an official comment. “According to the results of the vote counting at this stage, we can conclude that the voting results for the Moldovan leadership and their Western sponsors are disappointing. The project of integration of the country into the European Union promoted by them has not received unambiguous support. The majority of citizens living in the republic itself, in fact, rejected it. A slight margin was ensured by the maximum mobilization of voters residing in Western Europe and North America and by the unprecedented restriction of voting opportunities in Russia. The same applies to the distribution of votes received by the incumbent head of state… Moldovans see what is really hidden behind the facade of the idea of Moldova’s membership in the European Union and understand the true intentions of the West with regard to their country. Its ultimate goal is to turn the republic into a sovereignty-deprived Russophobic appendage of NATO, to erase the national identity of Moldovans, their language, culture and history, to impose neoliberal values alien to Moldovan society, and to completely sever ties with Russia. The people of Moldova said “no” to this.
- On Tuesday, October 22, the Ambassador of Germany in Moscow was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and strongly protested against the establishment of a regional headquarters of the NATO maritime command on the basis of the headquarters of the German Navy in the East German Rostock on the initiative of Berlin. In the official statement of the Russian side it is said that “it was pointed out to the FRG Ambassador that this step of the FRG ruling circles was a continuation of the course of creeping revision of the results of the Second World War and militarization of the country. There is a flagrant violation of the spirit and letter of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with respect to Germany of September 12, 1990 (“Treaty 2+4″), in accordance with the provisions of para. 3, Article 5 of which it is obliged to prevent the deployment and deployment of foreign troops on the territory of the former GDR”. The Russian Foreign Ministry also demanded immediate and exhaustive explanations from Berlin.
- On October 22-23, the ninth meeting of the High-Level Working Group on the Caspian Sea (HLWG) was held in Astana. The parties continued discussing the methodology for establishing direct baselines in the Caspian Sea. Within the framework of the meeting, the parties reviewed cooperation in the Caspian Sea, discussed preparations for the next meeting of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states in Turkmenistan, as well as the progress of the negotiation process on draft five-party documents.
- On Wednesday, October 23, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, on the air of the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” program, Sergey Lavrov commented on the possibility of agreements between Moscow and Kiev on stopping attacks on energy facilities, which Vladimir Zelensky had earlier announced: “No. He is the one who recalls some previous exchanges when he initiated something similar to what you are talking about. After that, there was an invasion of the Kursk region. It is already clear to everyone what his steps are – “towards peace” and what they actually are. There was a “peace formula”, then a “victory plan”. This means not peace. It’s victory for some and defeat for others. As I was told, he has now come up with some new “initiative” to follow up the “victory plan,” which was largely rejected by the West. The new “plan” concerns measures that Ukraine itself is committed to undertake: to develop its defense industry and something like that. This is not serious. It reads like a not very entertaining comic book”.
- On the same day, Mikhail Bogdanov, special representative of the Russian president for the Middle East and Africa, held a meeting with Moussa Abu-Marzouk, deputy chairman of the Hamas Politburo. According to official data, during the meeting they discussed the current military and political situation in the Gaza Strip with an emphasis on the humanitarian crisis, which has reached catastrophic proportions. At the same time, the Russian side paid special attention to the problem of the speedy release of hostages from among Russian citizens.
- On Saturday, October 26, Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov. In particular, due to changes in working schedules, they agreed to postpone Lavrov’s visit to Tashkent planned for October 28-29 to a later date.
- Government of the Russian Federation

The Russian government worked in a regular mode last week. Below are the key events worth paying attention to:
- On Monday, October 21, Russian-Kyrgyz negotiations took place in Moscow: Mikhail Mishustin held talks with the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan – Head of the Administration of the President of Kyrgyzstan Akylbek Zhaparov. During the talks it was noted that for the first eight months of this year trade turnover increased by 16%. The share of the ruble in mutual settlements has reached almost 90%. And we, of course, would like to maintain this trend to ensure stable and predictable conditions for doing business. The sides also discussed the results of the implementation of the government’s economic cooperation program for 2022-2026.
- On Tuesday, October 22, Mikhail Mishustin held a strategic session on the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. During the session, Mishustin noted that currently the world’s largest free economic zone and three territories of advanced development operate in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. With the support of the state, almost a thousand projects are being implemented with investments of about 2 trillion rubles, and this is only private investments. Tens of thousands of new jobs are also being created. “The Far North is an extreme living environment. And the President has repeatedly set the task to maximize the pace of implementation of current and prospective tasks, to provide people, organizations with all necessary goods, services, materials, as well as to expand industrial, communal, social infrastructure” – said Mishustin.
- On the same day, Mishustin held a meeting with Dmitry Mezentsev, State Secretary of the Union State. The parties discussed the priority tasks of deepening Russian-Belarusian integration in the Union State in the context of preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Union State. It was also noted that priority attention will be paid to the implementation of the Main Directions for the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State for 2024-2026, approved by the Supreme State Council of the Union State on January 6, 2024.
- On Wednesday, October 23, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak held a working meeting with Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Tinh on the margins of the BRICS summit in Kazan. The parties discussed cooperation in the fuel and energy sector, nuclear power and renewable energy, cooperation in the agricultural sector, tourism, finance and banking, as well as in education, scientific and technical cooperation and culture. It is known that Russia plans to build a joint nuclear science and technology center in Vietnam, and a feasibility study of the project is currently underway.
- On Thursday, October 24, the traditional meeting of the Government of the Russian Federation was held. The main agenda included issues on improving the system of social assistance to pensioners, on support for temporarily suspended enterprises in border regions, on subsidies to regions for the construction of water supply systems.
OVERVIEW OF REASONABLE AND IMPORTANT EVENTS

- North Korean troops in Russia
One of the most high-profile topics of last week was the discussion of the participation of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine. Back in early October, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that several thousand DPRK troops had been transferred to the Russian Far East region for further training and dispatch to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. However, until recently, this information was not confirmed by either the Pentagon or NATO. The only party that supported the information of the Defense Ministry’s GSD was South Korea. At the same time, on October 15, Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma a draft ratification of the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and the DPRK, which was signed on June 19, during the Russian president’s visit to Pyongyang. On the same day, Volodymyr Zelensky said that North Korea had “practically joined” Russia’s war against Ukraine.
At the same time, on Monday, October 21, Putin’s press secretary Dmitriy Peskov called the information about sending North Korean military personnel to Ukraine on the Russian side “contradictory information”, adding that the cooperation between Russia and the DPRK “is not directed against third countries”. It is noteworthy that on October 22, a photo appeared online in which Russian and DPRK flags were seen in one of Ukraine’s occupied settlements. However, most observers called this photo fake. On the same day, the DPRK at the UN meeting called “groundless rumors” the statements of South Korea and Ukraine about sending their troops to participate in the war on the side of the Russian Federation. Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, called South Korea and Ukraine “untamed dogs bred by the United States.”
At the same time, already on Wednesday, October 23, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the first time confirmed the possibility of the presence of DPRK troops on the territory of the Russian Federation: “There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia. What exactly are they doing? That remains to be seen. That’s something we need to look into.” A few hours later, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said at a briefing that the United States had information about the arrival of 3,000 North Korean troops in Russia.
On Thursday, October 24, the Russian State Duma ratified the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Russia and the DPRK. Western media immediately claimed that this document has a secret clause that allows sending DPRK soldiers to Russia. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that there are no secret annexes to the treaty. On the same day, this situation was first commented on by Putin, which, in fact, confirmed the rumors of the presence of DPRK troops on Russian territory: “Pictures [of Korean soldiers on the territory] are a serious thing, if there are pictures, they reflect something. But I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it was not Russia’s actions that led to the escalation in Ukraine, but the coup d’état of 2014, supported primarily by the United States,” Putin said during a press conference following the BRICS summit.
Following Putin, North Korea said that sending its soldiers to Russia was in line with international law. At the same time, they still do not confirm the fact of sending the soldiers to Russia. “I think that if there was what the world media are buzzing about, it would be in accordance with international law,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Jong-gyu said.
It is currently believed that as early as Monday, October 28, the DPRK military may appear in the Kursk Region of the Russian Federation to reinforce the positions of the Russian army. Western media and experts are still cautious about their further deployment to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, although Ukrainian officials are actively discussing this scenario.
- Russia plans to classify government work in case of martial law
On Tuesday, October 22, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation prepared amendments to the constitutional law “On Martial Law”, which will expand the measures applicable under martial law. One of the key proposals is the possibility of restricting access to information about the activities of federal, regional and local authorities. At the moment, martial law is not in effect in Russia. But from October 19, 2022 (in the legal field of the Russian Federation) it is in force in the territories temporarily occupied by Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions of Ukraine.
- Detention of Anatoly Yanovsky, ex-assistant to the head of the AP Anatoly Yanovsky
On Friday, October 25, Anatoly Yanovsky was detained by FSB officers in Moscow. He is suspected of involvement in machinations in the coal industry. Yanovsky held the post of Deputy Minister of Energy from 2008 to 2021. From 2004 to 2008 he was Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation. In 2021, he moved to the presidential administration, where he supervised the commission on the fuel and energy sector as assistant to the head of the administration. He is currently working as First Vice President of the Academy of Mining Sciences.
It is noteworthy that Yanovsky was considered a member of Sergey Kirienko’s team, and his detention was, in fact, the second significant detention from the team of the first deputy head of the AP after the arrest of Senator Savelyev. Ascolta’s sources note that Yanovsky was allegedly one of the most influential figures in the Russian energy sector. At one time he was involved in changing the management of Lukoil. It is also noted that Yanovsky’s problems began after the appointment of Sergey Tsivilev, with whom he has a long-standing war, to the Ministry of Energy.
If this information is confirmed and the case against Yanovsky continues, we can speak of an intensified hardware struggle involving several Kremlin towers at once. In fact, this is an attempt by the notional Chemezov group to reduce the influence of Sergei Kiriyenko, who is considered close to the Kovalchuk group.
RESULTS OF THE WEEK: ANALYTICAL REVIEW BY ASCOLTA

Last week Russia reaped the informational benefits of the BRICS summit in Kazan. From the point of view of the Russian leadership, the main outcome of the summit was the demonstration of the fact that Russia demonstrated the virtual absence of blockade by the international community. Special emphasis was placed on the visit of UN Secretary-General Gutteres to Kazan: his presence was evidence that Russia is not a pariah country.
Many decisions of the BRICS summit are recognized as really important (in Russia they have already been called “historic”). First, it concerns the transformation of the Sino-Brazilian position on the war in Ukraine into the position of the BRICS and the “Global South” – the South insists on negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The rest of the wording is rather vague. Second, the expansion of BRICS and the new hierarchy within BRICS. Third, the first step towards the creation of BRICS’ own currency and its own payment system. Fourth, these are important steps toward reconciliation between India and China (a week after the summit ended, the withdrawal of troops began on the most dangerous part of the India-China border).
During the summit, Putin held a number of important meetings, the most important of which is a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to Ascolta, the parties agreed to organize Putin’s visit to the Middle Kingdom in early 2025. They also discussed controversial issues of cooperation in the financial and energy spheres. Putin was reportedly satisfied with the outcome of the talks.
At the same time, it can be stated that Putin’s final press conference did not provide any new meanings. Russia, like the rest of the world, is waiting for the U.S. presidential election to be over in order to start working out a strategy of interaction with the new leadership of the United States. According to Ascolta, Moscow has already developed three action plans – in case Trump wins, in case Harris wins, and in case of a sharp confrontation between Republican and Democratic supporters. The last option is the most preferable from Russia’s point of view. In second place is Trump’s arrival, as it will be associated with attempts to negotiate agreements between the US and Russia (which has already been announced by vice-presidential candidate Vance) and with trade wars between the US and the EU (in this case, the EU risks becoming a “trophy” for Russia). The third option (Harris) is the least preferable from Russia’s point of view, which is why they are preparing for it with special care, not excluding the fact that in the next four years Russia will have to face a direct clash with NATO.
A very important moment was the publication of the memoirs of former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan. The very publication of the memoirs, as well as the timing of the book’s release, indicates that the idea of a “soft compromise” with Moscow exists in the United States. The author gives very accurate and sometimes complimentary characterizations of many people in Putin’s entourage, and the memoirs themselves are written under the unarticulated slogan “Understand Russia.
In terms of personnel, it is important to emphasize the fact that Yuri Ushakov, a presidential aide, has appeared in the media, indicating that he retains influence over the decision-making process (many experts had prophesied Ushakov’s imminent resignation due to his age and low efficiency). The extension of the powers of Bastrykin, the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, after he had reached the limit of his civil service tenure indicates that Putin intends to retain the influence of the main members of his team in the near future and does not intend to announce high-profile resignations.
But the detention of Anatoly Yanovsky indicates that some pressure groups (in particular, the Kovalchuk’s and Kirienko’s) may considerably moderate their appetites – they will be forced to reckon with the interests of the emerging “Family”, which by the end of Putin’s term will be the main informal institution of power responsible for a painless transit – in order to avoid wars and competition between “Kremlin bathhouses”.