Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Korrespondent] 20:55 Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is finally ready for real meetings, we need to find a format, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
20:35 A "1000 for 1000" prisoner exchange is being prepared and should be carried out, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening video address.
19.56 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that yesterday and today Ukraine refrained from long-range actions.
"In the future, we will react in the same mirror image, and if the Russians decide to return to a full-scale war, our sanctions for this will be immediate and tangible. Distance is becoming less and less important - we have shown this with our long-range capability. Ukraine always behaves clearly and honestly in this regard," he added.
18.58 Berlin is not thrilled with the Kremlin's idea to appoint former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as the EU's chief envoy in talks with Russia on peace in Ukraine. Reuters reports this with reference to an unnamed German government official. Commenting on the Russian dictator's statement, an unnamed Reuters source said the Kremlin's proposal was not convincing, as Moscow had not backed down from its maximalist demands. According to him, the first test of Russia's ability to negotiate will be Moscow's willingness to extend the three-day ceasefire that is currently in place.
18.40 As of March 31, 2026, 4.33 million people who left Ukraine due to the war had temporary protection status in the European Union. Compared to the end of February, the number of people under temporary protection decreased by 68,980 people or 1.6%. This was reported by Eurostat.
17:35 The General Staff announced the enemy's violation of the ceasefire. There have been 60 attacks by the Russian army on the front, and heavy fighting is ongoing in several directions, the command reported.
16.40 56% of surveyed citizens of the aggressor country of Russia would like foreign companies to return to the Russian market. This was reported on May 10 by the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) of Ukraine, citing research data from the "Group 7/89" association. Young people are especially eager for this - among those surveyed aged 18–29, 84% are. The older generation is less interested in the return of foreign companies.
The isolation has hit Russia’s technology and industrial sectors hardest. After the exit of giants like Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, Autodesk, and others, the Russian software market has found itself in a state of artificial isolation, explains SZR. This has led to higher prices and lower competition, and a situation where businesses are forced to either adapt to limited choices or seek complex workarounds.
15.52 The Russians showed off their new Geran-5 cruise missile-drone for the first time during the parade on May 9. According to analysts from Defense Express, the footage of the missile was likely taken from a launch pad located in the Oryol region.
The Geran-5 has already been compared online with the Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo or the German V-1. At the same time, compared to the Flamingo, the Russian Geran-5 has smaller dimensions, a significantly smaller warhead (90 kg versus the 1-ton warhead of the FP-5) and a three-times shorter range - 1,000 km.
14.54 Despite the declared ceasefire, Russian troops hit a car with an FPV drone in the Mykolaiv district. Two people were injured - a 68-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman, who were hospitalized.
14.35 After several incidents with drones, Ukraine wants to send its experts to the Baltic countries to strengthen air safety and has already contacted the Estonian embassy on this issue.
"Of course, all this needs clarification and explanation... For the Ukrainian side, the easiest way to keep its drones away from our territory is to have more effective control over its activities," said Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stressed that Tallinn supports Ukraine's right to attack Russian targets, but the authorities are concerned about the risks to NATO territory. According to him, there is a danger that Russia could intercept Ukrainian drones and redirect them towards the Baltic states.
The defense ministers of Estonia and Ukraine last spoke a week ago, when a drone briefly entered Estonian airspace. According to Pevkur, all the measures discussed earlier were discussed again.
14.22 In Russia, censorship is no longer hidden, but openly demonstrated: the so-called "blackout" has appeared in books - the physical crossing out of fragments of text. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
"Censorship in the Russian book industry after the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine has taken on a systemic and unprecedented character, transforming not only the market but also the very nature of the text as a cultural product," the intelligence agency noted.
If earlier in Russia, state intervention was limited to selective bans or pressure on individual authors, now it is a large-scale infrastructure of control that covers the entire book publishing cycle: from manuscript to store shelf.
A key feature of the new reality was the emergence of the so-called "blackout" - the physical crossing out of fragments of text. Now it has become a visual symbol of censorship, which is no longer hidden, but openly demonstrated. As a result, the reader receives not a coherent work, but a fragmented one.
Any mention of war, criticism of Russian aggression, LGBTQ+ themes, emigration, decolonial discourse, descriptions related to drugs or suicide have been banned or heavily moderated in Russia. As a result, thousands of books are being checked, labeled, or withdrawn from sale. Censorship is applied regardless of when the work was written; even classics of world literature are being so-called purified through new translations or reprints.
13:33 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with President of Finland Alexander Stubb.
The leaders coordinated positions ahead of this week's meetings and talks. Zelensky noted that it is important that interaction in Europe remains strong, and now there are new prospects for cooperation.
The presidents also discussed the state of diplomatic work with the United States and between Europeans. Zelensky noted that it is felt that the cumulative effect of sanctions on Russia and other forms of pressure is producing the necessary results.
11.55 Russian troops attacked a rescue vehicle in the Myrivska community in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which was traveling to provide assistance to the local population. While driving to the scene, the Russians purposefully attacked the fire and rescue vehicle.
The driver, a 23-year-old rescuer, was injured in the drone strike. He was taken to the hospital.
11.21 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should personally call Russian dictator Vladimir Putin if he is interested in talks to end the war, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said after a visit to Moscow.
The politician noted that in the Russian capital he delivered a message to Putin from Zelensky.
"He (Zelensky - ed.) told me in Armenia, during our personal meeting, that he was ready to meet with Vladimir Putin in any format," the Prime Minister of Slovakia said.
Fico publicly announced the response given by the head of the Kremlin to the message of the Ukrainian president.
"If the Ukrainian president is interested in a meeting, he should contact his Russian counterpart by phone," the Slovak prime minister said.
10.25 In Kharkiv, six people required medical attention after a Russian drone struck a nine-story apartment building, including three children: two 8-year-old boys and a 10-year-old boy. All victims were diagnosed with acute stress reactions.
09.32 Over the past 24 hours, despite the declared ceasefire, 147 combat clashes were recorded. Russian troops used 7,704 kamikaze drones and carried out 2,021 attacks on settlements and positions of our troops, including 12 from multiple launch rocket systems. The missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces hit six enemy artillery systems.
08.37 On the night of May 10, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 27 Shahed, Gerber, Italmas attack UAVs and Parody-type simulator drones.
The attack was repelled by electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Air defense forces shot down/suppressed 27 Russian Shahed, Gerber, Italmas UAVs and Parody simulator drones. No hits were recorded.
08.24 A 3-year-old child was injured as a result of Russian drone strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russian troops attacked two districts of the region with drones. In the Nikopol region, the Russians struck Nikopol and the Marhanets community. In the Synelnyky district, they struck the Ukrainian and Bogyniv communities. Infrastructure was damaged. A 3-year-old girl was injured.
07.49 ATESH guerrillas carried out a successful sabotage operation behind the Russian army's rear. Agents destroyed an electric locomotive in the Lipetsk region of the Russian Federation, disrupting the transfer of military cargo to the Sumy direction.
"Such locomotives are used to deliver ammunition, fuel, weapons, and heavy equipment from deep inside the country to areas of active combat operations. Disruption of the operation of even one such unit significantly complicates the supply of forward units and slows down the transfer of reserves," the ATES said.
The decommissioned electric locomotive will no longer be able to participate in the transportation of military trains.
07.22 From February 24, 2022 to May 10, 2026, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine amounted to approximately 1,341,110 people (+840 per day).
06.01 Russia, despite loud statements about the "memory of generations" and the scale of the celebration on May 9, has allocated minimal funds to direct participants in World War II. According to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, this year federal payments for veterans of World War II amount to only 10 thousand rubles. In total, there are about seven thousand such veterans left in Russia, and a modest 70 million rubles have been allocated for their support. At the same time, the costs of organizing festive events and parades significantly exceed the indicated amounts.
01.32 Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized Armenia, warning official Yerevan about the "unacceptability" of a course towards European integration without coordination with the Kremlin. He threatened that such a policy could lead to a scenario similar to the events in Ukraine in 2014, implying a Russian armed invasion.
00.27 Russian ruler Vladimir Putin expressed his readiness to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outside Moscow, "in a third country." According to him, such a meeting should be final and aimed at signing an agreement, not holding negotiations to end the war. At the same time, he expressed his wish that the EU negotiations would be represented by a person who "has not said anything nasty" about Russia. Putin named former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, his longtime friend and former chairman of the board of directors of Nord Stream 2 AG, as a possible candidate.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Korrespondent] There have been 60 attacks by the Russian army on the front, and heavy fighting is ongoing in several directions, the command reported.
Since the beginning of the day, 60 attacks by the Russian army have taken place on the front. The most intense fighting continues in the Pokrovsky direction, where the invaders are trying to break through the Ukrainian defenses. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Artillery shelling of border areas continues. Today, the settlements of Korenyoks, Novovasylivka, Rogozin, Yastrubshchyna, Budky, Atynske, Neskuchne, Bachivsk, Luzhky, Volfyne, and Iskryskivshchyna in Sumy Oblast were hit, the command noted.
One of the nine clashes that took place today is ongoing in the North-Slobozhansk and Kursk directions. In addition, the enemy carried out 41 attacks on settlements and positions of our troops, ten of which were carried out using multiple launch rocket systems.
In the South Slobozhansky direction, the enemy stormed the positions of our units eight times in the areas of the settlements of Zelene, Starytsia, Petro-Ivanivka, Myrove, Symynivka, and Krasne Pershe. One clash is still ongoing.
The enemy did not conduct offensive operations in the Kupyansk, Kramatorsk, Orikhiv and Prydniprovsk directions today.
In the Lyman direction today, the enemy launched five assaults in the areas of the settlements of Zarichne, Lyman, Stavky, and Ozerne.
In the Slavyansk direction, the Defense Forces successfully repelled two attempts by the invaders to advance in the areas of the settlements of Rai-Oleksandrivka and Riznykivka.
In the Kostyantynivka direction, the invaders carried out five attacks near Kostyantynivka, Pleshchiivka, Stepanivka, and Ivano-Frankivsk. One clash is ongoing.
In the Pokrovsky direction, since the beginning of the day, the invaders have tried 24 times to push our soldiers out of the occupied positions in the areas of the settlements of Rodynske, Hryshyne, Kotlyne, Udachne, Molodetske, Muravka, Novopidhorodne and in the direction of the settlements of Hannivka, Myrne, Serhiivka, and Novooleksandrivka. One clash is still ongoing.
In the Oleksandrivka direction, our defenders successfully stopped an enemy attack in the area of the settlement of Oleksandrovgrad.
In the Hulyaipil direction, the Defense Forces successfully repelled nine enemy attacks in the areas of the settlements of Rybne, Dobropillya, Zaliznychne, Olenokostyantynivka, and Hulyaipilske.
There are currently no significant changes in the situation in other areas. No enemy attempts to advance have been recorded. Ukrainian troops are exhausting the enemy along the entire line of combat contact and in the rear.
It was previously reported that a 3-year-old child was injured during the ceasefire as a result of Russian drone strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
In Kharkiv on May 9, five people were injured, including two 8-year-old boys, when a Russian drone hit the technical floor of a nine-story building
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[NewsFront] 21:04 Distinguished servicemen of the 110th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Center group were presented with state awards (Donetsk People's Republic) 20:02 Soldiers from the 11th Army Corps of the Sever group landscaped the area around the mass grave of Soviet soldiers who died in battle in 1943. (Belgorod Region)
19:50 Sumy direction. Successes of the Russian Armed Forces. 10.05
During the ceasefire, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the positions of units of the Sever group in the Sumy region.
In response, the Russian Armed Forces launched attacks on soldiers and equipment of the mechanized and motorized infantry brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the vicinity of Komarovka, Andreevka, and Malaya Korchakovka.
17:56 PM In the Odessa region, TCC employees were stabbed. The incident occurred in the village of Dubinovo during an identity check.
Two military commissars were injured. A 43-year-old TCC employee was hospitalized in serious condition with three stab wounds to the chest, one of which was penetrating. Another 40-year-old TCC employee later sought medical attention with a chest wound.
About a week ago, Russian intelligence officers discovered the location of an enemy observation post in a forest near the village of Alisovka (Dergachevsky District). FPV drone operators immediately targeted the target and killed the enemy soldier, according to video.
16:30 The Russian Investigative Committee will investigate crimes committed by Ukrainian armed groups against civilians in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
15:43 Over the past 24 hours, the enemy again attacked civilian settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region. One person was injured.
In the Chernigov Municipal District, near the village of Dolhe, a drone attack damaged one car and two trucks, causing a fire. There were no injuries.
In the Vasilievsky Municipal District, on the Skelki-Vasilyevka road, a man born in 1982 was injured in an attack and is receiving outpatient medical care.
14:53 On May 9-10, two civilians in the Kherson region were injured as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
A man born in 1964 was injured in shelling in the village of Gornostayevka. He was hospitalized at the Genichesk Central District Hospital with a mine blast injury and multiple shrapnel wounds.
In the village of Kairy in the Gornostaevsky District, a man born in 1985 was injured as a result of shelling. He was taken to the Genichesk Central District Hospital with a mine blast injury, multiple shrapnel wounds, and severe injuries.
Shelling and drone strikes damaged residential buildings in Bogdanovka, Dmitrovka, Kliny, and Radenske, administrative buildings in Kostogryziv and Kliny, a warehouse in Starolukyanivka, and the Kostogryzivka school building. A power line was also damaged in Bogdanovka.
14:11 The village of Novaya Tavolzhanka in the Shebekinsky District was hit by Ukrainian Armed Forces drone strikes. A soldier from the Orlan unit was wounded.
When the drone was shot down and detonated, the man suffered a mine blast injury and a minor non-penetrating chest wound. His fellow soldiers took him to the Shebekinskaya Central District Hospital, where medics provided him with all necessary care.
Two drone strikes in the village damaged a service minibus and a passenger car. Another strike also damaged a private home.
13:23 Footage of border guards in action: destruction of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' sound-measuring system.
12:25 Summary of the Russian Ministry of Defense on the progress of the special military operation (as of May 10, 2026)
In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, during the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory, from midnight on May 8, all groups of Russian troops in the special military operation zone will continue to strictly observe the ceasefire and remain at previously occupied lines and positions.
Despite the declared ceasefire, Ukrainian armed forces carried out strikes using drones and artillery against positions of our troops, as well as civilian targets in the Republic of Crimea, Belgorod, Kursk, Kaluga, Rostov regions, and Krasnodar Krai.
Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out 676 attacks on Ukrainian troop positions using artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, mortars, and tanks. They also carried out 6,331 strikes using unmanned aerial vehicles. Ukrainian forces launched eight attacks on Russian positions.
In total, 16,071 ceasefire violations were recorded in the special military operation zone.
Under these conditions, the Russian Armed Forces responded in kind to the ceasefire violations. They launched retaliatory strikes against multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), artillery, and mortar firing positions. They also targeted command posts and drone launch sites.
During the retaliatory strikes, units of the North group of forces destroyed the manpower and equipment of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Andreevka and Malaya Korchakovka in the Sumy region.
In the Khar'kov region, formations of the mechanized and motorized infantry brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the territorial defense brigade were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Vovchanskie Khutora, Veterinary and Pokalyanoye in the Khar'kov region.
The enemy lost up to 80 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, five vehicles, a multiple launch rocket system, two anti-aircraft missile systems, and three electronic warfare stations.
Units of the "West" force group, during retaliatory strikes, defeated units of the mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the village of Mayaki in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 60 servicemen, a tank, 21 vehicles, a Western-made field artillery gun, and seven electronic warfare stations.
In response to enemy fire attacks, units of the Southern Group of Forces inflicted losses on the manpower and equipment of two mechanized and a mountain assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Piskunovka, Rai-Aleksandrovka, Tikhonovka and Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost more than 60 servicemen, two armored combat vehicles and 13 cars.
Units of the Center group of forces repelled eight attacks by units of two mechanized brigades, an airmobile brigade, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, and three National Guard brigades in the areas of the settlements of Toretskoye, Torskoye, Kucherov Yar, Kutuzovka, Novy Donbas, Belitskoye, Rodinskoye, and Novoaleksandrivka of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The Ukrainian armed forces lost more than 290 servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, 11 cars, and two artillery pieces.
In response to enemy fire attacks, units of the Vostok group of forces inflicted losses on the manpower and equipment of the assault brigade and assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Rozovka and Vozdvizhevka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The enemy lost up to 230 servicemen, three armored combat vehicles and ten cars.
In response to a ceasefire violation, units of the Dnepr group of forces defeated formations of the mechanized and mountain assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Novoandriivka, Malye Shcherbaki and Zaporozhets in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Up to 15 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen and ten vehicles were destroyed.
12:09 Servicemen from the 29th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Vostok group built an Orthodox prayer house underground in the rear area of the SVO zone.
11:01 Stormtroopers of the 29th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Vostok group laid a wreath and flowers at the pedestal with the T-34 tank in liberated Volnovakha.
Military police servicemen from the Sever group honored the memory of the heroes at the Battle of Kursk memorial complex.
09:45 Sappers from the Center group are using an “ electromagnetic gun” to clear mines from liberated cities in the DPR.
09:31 The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to terrorize the civilian infrastructure of the left bank of the Kherson region.
06:00 In the SVO zone, fighters of the 589th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 27th Guards Motorized Rifle Division of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army of the Center group were awarded.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Dmitry Gubin
[REGNUM] One hundred twenty years ago, on May 10 (April 27, Old Style), 1906, the First State Duma began its work by order of Emperor Nicholas II. This first attempt at popular representation in the Russian Empire proved, if not entirely disastrous, then at least quite instructive.
The educated public had long awaited the emergence of a representative body in Russia. Since 1861, the country had been undergoing reforms that affected literally all of the sovereign's subjects. The abolition of serfdom, a new system of zemstvo self-government, the introduction of jury trials, which allowed wealthy peasants to participate, and universal military service (instead of conscription)—all of this changed the face of the empire.
Even freedom of movement within the country was guaranteed for the majority of the population. But the new system proved incomplete.
FROZEN EMPIRE
In the Romanov "fiefdom," which amounted to one-sixth of the world's landmass, there was no representative body or legal parties (except for the Grand Duchy of Finland). Conservatives and liberals limited themselves to club meetings, while leftists engaged in illegal activities, escalating into terror against the Narodnaya Volya (People's Will) and, from 1901, the Socialist Revolutionary Party.
On the other hand, censorship (necessary to maintain public peace) remained essentially non-centralized and was under the jurisdiction of provincial officials.
During the reigns of Alexander II and Alexander III, many issues accumulated that had long required a solution: land, labor, and national (especially Polish and Jewish).
The number of literate people in the empire grew: from less than 10% of men who could read (the proportion among women was even lower) in the mid-19th century to about 30% of literate “males” by the end of the century.
The raznochintsy environment—which emerged as a phenomenon during the era of the Great Reforms and developed in the 1870s–90s—was reinforced by writers and publicists in the opinion that the bureaucracy was incapable of solving the country’s problems on its own, without taking into account the demands of all classes.
Those "with broad views" (often not radicals, but well-intentioned ones) quoted Count Leo Tolstoy, who wrote in an 1893 article that "for the greatest and most important changes in the life of humanity to occur," neither workers' unions nor, especially, revolutions with barricades are needed, but only a "change in public opinion." And this is only possible if each individual "says what they really think"—and can convey this opinion to the authorities.
But in St. Petersburg, they obviously believed that the zemstvo’s participation in the establishment of schools and hospitals, which was granted by Alexander the Liberator, was quite sufficient.
The Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev (who exerted ideological influence on Alexander III and Nicholas II at the beginning of his reign), believed that parliamentarism on the model of Europe and the North American States not only was not suitable for the Russian Empire, but also, in principle, could not be a true representation of the people.
Pobedonostsev wrote in his article “The Great Lie of Our Time” (1884):
“Elections in no way express the will of the voters.
The people's representatives are not at all constrained by the views and opinions of the voters, but are guided by their own arbitrary discretion or calculation, taking into account the tactics of the opposing party.
The ministers are in reality autocratic; and they rather force Parliament than Parliament rules them."
But, the Chief Prosecutor believed, European cabinets of ministers do not act according to the will of their nations, but as instruments of competing powerful figures (lobby groups, as they would say today), who order policy.
It is understandable why Nicholas II, in his first public speech—an address to the Zemstvo deputations in the Winter Palace in January 1895—emphasized:
"Recently, voices have been heard in some zemstvo assemblies of people carried away by senseless dreams of zemstvo representatives' participation in internal governance. Let everyone know that I, devoting all my efforts to the good of the people, will protect the principles of autocracy."
THE LOGIC OF EVOLUTION
Economically, the empire was on the rise. From 1895 to 1897, Finance Minister Count Sergei Witte implemented an effective monetary reform, establishing the ruble on the gold standard (making the empire more attractive to foreign investment). At the same time, protectionist measures supported Russian manufacturers, and railways made the country more connected.
According to the American economist and historian Paul Gregory, from the early 1880s to the early 1910s, the gross national product in Russia grew by 3.2%, while in the German Empire during the same period it grew by 2.9% (the Romanov Empire was second only to the United States with its 3.5%).
Industrial and financial circles increasingly demanded political representation for themselves—and, ideally, “responsible government” (responsible to parliament, and therefore to lobby groups).
Moderate leftists believed that only a parliamentary tribune could protect and expand workers' rights. True, by the turn of the century, workers' real wages had risen: while in the 1870s a worker in the capital earned around 15 rubles a month, by 1900 it was no less than 21 rubles.
But, on the other hand, up to 70% of wages went toward housing and food. And benefits like shorter working hours, disability insurance, hospitals, and workers' dormitories were a matter of employers' goodwill, not guaranteed by law.
The logic of economic and labor relations development led the Russian Empire along the same path as the German and Austro-Hungarian empires—toward a functioning representative government (where even social democrats sit) under a strong monarch.
But external events accelerated the process of transformation, and the development of Russian parliamentarism suffered a false start.
TWO FORCE MAJEURE CIRCUMSTANCES
The first "black swan"—an unpredictable event with serious consequences—was the Russo-Japanese War, or more precisely, its course and conclusion. The campaign was n't as catastrophic as the democratic press portrayed, but the media impact of the failures at Mukden and Tsushima was decidedly negative: the "tsarist regime" lost to a less-than-powerful adversary.
The Treaty of Portsmouth, in fact a successful diplomatic compromise with less than ideal starting points, seemed to cement this defeat.
The head of the Committee of Ministers, and then the Council of Ministers, Sergei Witte, was given the nickname “Count Polusakhalinsky” (the count’s financial policies were no longer mentioned).
The second “black swan” occurred on January 9, 1905, when a workers’ demonstration in St. Petersburg was shot at.
Objective problems, coupled with government mistakes and the support of radicals from external enemies, led to the first Russian revolution.
The terror of the Socialist Revolutionaries and anarchists, and the Social Democratic "expropriations" became commonplace incidents. Meanwhile, up to 9,000 people died in terrorist attacks and clashes between 1905 and 1907.
Strikes at factories and burning of estates, pogroms in the Pale of Settlement and massacres in Transcaucasia became a daily backdrop.
Harsh measures taken by Interior Minister and then Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin curbed the wave of violence at a relatively low cost. In 1906–1907, during the operation of military courts, 683 terrorists and riot organizers were executed (out of 1,102 death sentences).
But this was an urgent intervention. The problems that had triggered the revolution required serious "therapy."
After the All-Russian political strike put forward political demands, Nicholas II, at Witte's instigation, decided on a compromise.
In a manifesto issued on October 17 (30), 1905, the Emperor announced that subjects were granted freedom of speech, conscience, and assembly with unions, and that the State Duma should be convened to pass laws.
How the Duma would be elected remained a mystery, which was clarified by the end of the year.
HOW AND WHO WAS ELECTED
Elections to the first Russian parliament were neither direct nor equal. Voters were divided into curiae and censuses, meaning people were divided by their means and background.
Urban voters in the capitals and 24 large cities enjoyed the right to cast ballots in two stages.
Voters elected electors, and electors from all curias, meeting in the provincial capital, elected members of the Duma. To vote, one had to meet strict criteria at least a year before the election.
A landowner had to have from 100 to 650 dessiatines
… a former Russian unit of area equal to 2.7 acres…
of land, depending on the area, and real estate worth at least 15 thousand rubles.
A city deputy had to be a property owner, a commercial or industrial establishment owner, a tenant, or an employee. This, incidentally, was a significant advance. Before city council elections, tenants were not allowed, and potential city council members (deputies) were required to present real estate worth at least 1,000 rubles.
A peasant without a home could not stand for election, and a worker could only stand for election from an enterprise that employed at least 50 male workers.
There were also categories of the population that were deprived of voting rights: foreign nationals, persons under 25 years of age, women, students, active military personnel, and “wandering aliens.”
As well as governors, vice-governors, mayors and their assistants, police officers, employees at their place of service (in a neighboring or remote province they could vote).
By the opening of the Duma sessions, 480 out of 524 deputies had been elected.
The seats in the meeting hall of the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg were distributed as follows: Constitutional Democrats (Cadets) - 176, the Union of October 17 - 16, the left-wing Labor Group - 98, the RSDLP (Mensheviks) - 18, and 63 - autonomists-foreigners.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Excluding the national outskirts, the voter (with all the restrictions) gave his vote to the liberals (the slightly more left-wing Cadets and the slightly more right-wing Octobrists) and the socialists – the Trudoviks
…a democratic socialist party..
and Mensheviks.
It even resembled the English Parliament (as it had become in the 1930s), with Conservatives, Liberals, and the Labour Party. But that's only at first glance.
The transition from autocracy to a virtually constitutional monarchy (but without a constitution) was painful, and most importantly, too rapid. The politicians who "leapfrogged" from salons and secret circles to the halls of the Tauride Palace were unprepared. The voters, who were required to navigate the complexities of ideologies and programs (peasants were particularly challenged), were unprepared. The authorities were also unprepared.
The government did not develop or submit any bills, and the majority of deputies were so opposed to the government (the Cadets were as much enemies of the autocracy as the RSDLP) that they were unable to engage in any dialogue with the prime minister and his subordinates.
"The Duma expressed the contemporary public mood in its most extreme forms. In times of social unrest, the most revolutionary parties always rise to the top," stated Octobrist deputy and history professor Vladimir Gerye. Lawyer Vladimir Kuzmin-Karavayev put it more succinctly: "The members of the Duma are unanimous in everything concerning denial."
In practice, however, things sometimes got a bit silly. Academician Maxim Kovalevsky, a member of the Democratic Reform Group, regularly took the floor to explain to his colleagues what the bills were about and what certain terms meant.
Pickpocketing occurred in the meeting room and behind the scenes: some “creators of democratic reforms” took wallets from others.
But most importantly, it was impossible to establish a cooperative relationship between the Duma and the Prime Minister. No agreement could be reached with either the moderate liberal Witte, or, even less so, with the conservative Ivan Goremykin who replaced him.
At some point, Nicholas II's patience ran out, and on July 9 (22), 1906, he dissolved the Duma. The deputies, arriving for their next session, found the text of the Tsar's decree posted on the closed doors of the Tauride Palace.
The same situation then repeated itself with the next convocation, which lasted less than six months, from February to June 1907. Then, Prime Minister Stolypin received information from police agents about anti-government agitation among soldiers and the involvement of several RSDLP deputies.
It was only on the third attempt, in November 1907, that Russian parliamentarism finally began to function. It lasted less than ten years—first, World War I (accompanied by domestic political tensions), and then the two catastrophes of 1917 exposed the fragility of the hastily erected edifice.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The United States has reached an agreement to release five people from prison in Russia and Belarus. This was announced by US President Donald Trump on May 10.
"We just secured the release of three Polish and two Moldovan prisoners from Belarusian and Russian custody," the White House chief wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also thanked Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for his cooperation and friendship.
At the end of April, Belarus and Poland conducted a five-for-five detainee exchange at the border. This occurred following lengthy, closed-door negotiations between the Belarusian KGB and the Polish intelligence agency, initiated at the behest of Lukashenko, who also personally participated in discussing the details of the exchange. Furthermore, intelligence agencies from seven countries participated in the process.
Previously, Lukashenko, as part of an agreement with the US, pardoned a number of people convicted of espionage, terrorism, and extremism. In March, Trump thanked his Belarusian counterpart for releasing more than 500 people over the course of 10 months. In response, the US lifted sanctions on several Belarusian companies.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
