Former Jordan PM calls to dissolve PA, Abbas' resignation

April 13, 2018

The former Prime Minister of Jordan, Taher Al-Masri, has called for the Palestinian Authority to be dissolved and for its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, to resign.

Al-Masri explained during a seminar held yesterday at the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies in Al-Bireh, central West Bank, that dissolving the Palestinian Authority or Abbas’ resignation are the most feasible option for the Palestinians.

He warned of the increasing dangers facing Jerusalem by the Israeli Judaisation plans and called to strengthen the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their unity “especially in light of the decline of the Arab position regarding the Palestinian cause”.

He also called to make every effort to end Palestinian division and achieve reconciliation.

The Jordanian official praised the Marches of Return in Gaza and called for their expansion to include other parts of Palestine.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180413-former-jordan-pm-calls-to-dissolve-pa-abbas-resignation/.

10,000 protest Trump in Edinburgh; UK police seek paraglider

July 14, 2018

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — From the capital of Edinburgh to seaside golf resorts, thousands in Scotland staged colorful, peaceful protests against Donald Trump on Saturday as the U.S. president played golf at one of his luxury retreats.

Trump and his wife, Melania, are spending the weekend out of the spotlight at his Scottish golf resort at Turnberry, on the western coast, ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday.

On the beach outside the resort, a dozen demonstrators staged a "protest picnic," chanting "Trump is a racist! Trump is a liar!" as hotel guests played golf just 100 meters (yards) away. A line of police, some on horseback, separated the protesters from the golf course. Snipers were also perched atop a nearby tower overlooking the vast property.

Police were still trying to find a paraglider who breached a no-fly zone Friday night and flew a Greenpeace protest banner over the resort. The glider carried a banner reading "Trump: Well Below Par" to protest his environmental and immigration policies. Greenpeace, in a statement, claimed the protest forced the president to take cover, saying "as the glider appears overhead, the president can be seen making for the entrance, breaking into a trot."

The environmental group said it had told police about the stunt 10 minutes before the glider arrived. Detective Inspector Stephen McCulloch said the protester breached a no-fly zone over Turnberry hotel, committing a criminal offence.

On the eastern side of Scotland, dozens of others protested Saturday outside Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen. One woman climbed onto a wall surrounding the golf resort but was helped down by police.

A much larger demonstration was staged in Edinburgh, where 10,000 people weaved through the capital's streets in an anti-Trump protest as amused tourists looked on and motorists beeped their horns in support. A choir, a bagpiper, a tambourine band and poetry readings added to the carnival spirit.

Protesters launched into the sky a 20-foot (6-meter) tall blimp depicting Trump as an angry orange baby holding a phone for tweeting. The same "Baby Donald" balloon flew Friday over anti-Trump protests in London, where thousands crammed the streets of the British capital to vent their anger over Trump's first official visit to Britain.

One protester in Edinburgh, posing as Spider-Man, carried a placard reminding the president that "with power comes responsibility." "I came to Edinburgh with my daughter to show her it's important to stand up against men like Trump," said Caroline Blake, 31, a beautician with her 4-year-old daughter. "Anybody who thinks it's OK to grab women and talk about them like Trump does isn't fit to be a president of anything."

Jonathon Shafi of the group Scotland Against Trump said he wanted to show solidarity with Americans against Trump. "It's not acceptable that a president talks about grabbing women, separates children from their families and gives encouragement to fascist, racists, misogynists and homophobes," he said. "We are not anti-American, just against Trump and his divisive regime."

Some walking by viewed the demonstration as a waste of time. "I don't see the point," said Beth Anderson, 43, an office administrator from Edinburgh. "What Trump does and says in America is a matter for the Americans. They say he hates women and is racist, but we've got people like that here too."

But others say it was important to send a message — even if it never reaches Trump himself. "I don't think anything gets the message across to Trump, but I hope demonstrations like these encourage people in the States to fight the Trump regime," said Eli Roth, a 56-year-old from California who is living in Edinburgh. "We need to show that there are people outside America who care about what is happening and that Trump has a global impact."

Sylvia Hui contributed from London.

Food sent to migrants off Sicily as Italy awaits EU offers

July 15, 2018

ROME (AP) — Another day's worth of food and beverages was sent Sunday to a pair of military ships off Sicily as Italy waited for more European nations to pledge to take a share of the hundreds of migrants on board before allowing the asylum-seekers to step off onto Italian soil.

Germany agreed to accept 50 of the migrants, following similar offers by fellow European Union members France and Malta extended Saturday. The prime minister of the Czech Republic rebuffed the appeal, calling the distribution plan a "road to hell."

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has vowed to prohibit further disembarking in Italy of migrants who were rescued while crossing the Mediterranean Sea unless the burden is shared by other EU countries.

Salvini, who leads the right-wing League party in Italy's populist coalition government, told reporters Sunday the "aim was for brotherly re-distribution" of the 450 rescued passengers on the two military ships.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte contacted fellow EU nation leaders Saturday, asking them to take some of the rescued migrants. But Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis tweeted that his country "won't take any migrants," dismissing Italy's approach as a "road to hell" that would encourage more migrant smuggling.

While campaigning for Italy's March election, Salvini praised the hard-line stance on immigration taken by several eastern European countries, among them the Czech Republic. The same intransigence is being experienced by the Italian government.

Italy's Conte insisted the "solidarity" strategy was working, citing the offers from France, Malta and Germany. "This is the solidarity and responsibility that we have always sought from Europe," the premier said on Facebook. He added that Italy would "continue on this path, with firmness and in respect of human rights."

More than 600,000 migrants were rescued in the central Mediterranean and brought to Italian territory in the last few years. Many were economic migrants ineligible for asylum. Since their home countries often don't facilitate repatriation, Italy has been left to shelter many of them, although thousands have slipped out of Italy to seek work or relatives in northern Europe.

Finding takers for all of the asylum-seekers on the military ships waiting off Sicily, in the grips of a heat wave, could be a long process. Baby food, milk and juice were among the provisions being delivered Sunday so the people aboard will have necessities for another 24 hours.

A fishing boat, launched Friday from Libya by human traffickers and crowded with some 450 migrants, sailed to tiny Linosa island off Sicily, passing through both Libya's and Malta's search-and-rescue areas.

Off sparsely populated Linosa, a vessel for European border agency Frontex and an Italian border police boat took aboard the migrants and brought them to waters outside the Sicilian port of Pozzallo. By late Sunday afternoon, passengers suffering from dehydration, pregnant women and some babies, including a newborn a few days old, had been taken ashore in Pozzallo. Italian media said a woman weighing 35 kilos (77 pounds) after months of malnourishment in Libya was among them.

Sky TG24 TV reported that many of the rescued passengers originally are from Eritrea. In offering to take in 50 migrants, the German government cited the context of "ongoing talks about greater bilateral cooperation on asylum."

According to EU figures, Germany received almost 1 million asylum applications in 2016 and 2017, the most of any bloc members. Italy came in second with about 250,000. The number of migrants arriving in Italy so far this year is down about 80 percent compared to 2017. Salvini has vowed to stop all arrivals except for war refugees and people in a few other select categories, such as pregnant women or young children.

Frank Jordans from Berlin and Karel Janicek from Prague contributed.

Finnish brewery creates quirky beer for Trump-Putin summit

July 14, 2018

HELSINKI (AP) — A small Finnish craft brewery is paying a humorous tribute to the Helsinki summit. RPS Brewing has issued a limited-edition lager depicting cartoon U.S. and Russian presidents on its label, with text for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin saying "Let's Settle This Like Adults" and "Making Lager Great Again."

The beer has been in high demand since it hit the shelves nationwide a few days ago and the whole 10,000-bottle lot had been sold out ahead of Monday's summit. Samples have also been delivered to the U.S. and Russian embassies in Helsinki.

CEO Samuli Huuhtanen told The Associated Press on Saturday that "a couple of good beers can help any negotiations," especially if followed by a visit to a Finnish sauna.

Ethiopian, Eritrean leaders at concert for diplomatic thaw

July 15, 2018

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — At least 25,000 Ethiopians are at a concert where new, reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afweki are expected to celebrate the new friendship between their neighboring countries.

The concert on Sunday highlights the end of years of hostility between the two arch-foes in East Africa, who fought a bloody border war from 1998 to 2000. The antagonism ended last month when Ethiopia accepted a peace deal originally signed in 2000.

Eritrea's longtime leader arrived in Ethiopia on Saturday, his first visit in 22 years. Isaias is reciprocating the Ethiopian leader's trip to Eritrea last Sunday. Isaias was greeted by Ethiopia's Abiy in a red carpet welcome. People danced at the airport when Isaias arrived and Addis Ababa residents lined main streets to see Isaias' motorcade.

Near the airport, some residents chanted songs criticizing the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, which used to be Ethiopian ruling coalition's strongest political party until Abiy came to power at the beginning of April.

The thaw with Eritrea began when the 42-year-old Abiy announced in June that Ethiopia would fully accept the 2000 peace deal that ended the two-year border war which killed tens of thousands and separated families. The decision, which hands some key disputed border areas to Eritrea, was Abiy's boldest move yet in a wave of reforms in which he aims to end anti-government protests in Africa's second most populous country, which has 100 million people.

The of the state of war between the two countries has been praised by the United States and the United Nations. The U.N. Security Council called it a "historic and significant development with far-reaching positive consequences for the Horn of Africa and beyond."

The Eritrean leader is expected to re-open his country's embassy in Addis on Monday. On Saturday Isaias visited an Ethiopian industrial park in southern Ethiopia. Tiny Eritrea, with a population of about 5 million, is located on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and across the Red Sea from the Arabian Peninsula. It has been ruled by Isaias since it gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, after years of rebel warfare. In recent years, many Eritreans have fled to Europe, Israel and African nations to avoid military conscription and what human rights groups say is harsh rule.

Israel launches widest Gaza daytime assault since 2014 war

July 14, 2018

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military carried out its largest daytime airstrike campaign in Gaza since the 2014 war Saturday as Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel, threatening to spark a wider conflagration after weeks of tensions along the volatile border.

No casualties or major damage was reported on either side, and Israel said it was focused on hitting military targets and was warning Gaza civilians to keep their distance from certain sites. But it still marked a significant flare-up after a long period of a generally low-level, simmering conflict.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the latest Israeli sortie, the third of the day, struck some 40 Hamas targets including tunnels, logistical centers and a Hamas battalion headquarters. He said the escalation was the result of the sustained Hamas rocket attacks, its fomenting of violence along the border and its campaign of launching incendiary kites and balloons that have devastated Israeli farmlands and nature reserves.

"Our message to Hamas is that we can and will enhance the intensity of our effort if needed," he said. "What Hamas is doing is pushing them ever closer to the edge of the abyss ... Hamas will have to understand that there is a price to be paid."

Israel has been warning Hamas in recent weeks that while it has no interest in engaging in the kind of conflict that led to the sides fighting three wars over the past decade, it would not tolerate Gaza militants' continued efforts to breach the border and its campaign to devastate Israeli border communities with incendiary attacks.

On Friday, thousands of Palestinians gathered near the Gaza border for their near-weekly protest. A 15-year-old Palestinian who tried to climb over the fence into Israel was shot dead. Later the military said an Israeli officer was moderately wounded by a grenade thrown at him.

Gaza's health ministry said Saturday that a 20-year-old struck by gunfire Friday during the protests in the southern Gaza Strip had also died of his wounds. The Islamic militant group Hamas that rules Gaza has led border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. The demonstrations have been fueled in large part by pervasive despair caused by the blockade, which has caused widespread economic hardship.

Over 130, mostly unarmed, Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since protests began on March 30. Israel says it is defending its sovereign border and accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers. Most recently, it has been struggling to cope with the widespread fires caused by the incendiary kites and balloons floating over the border.

In a statement, the military said Hamas' activities "violate Israeli sovereignty, endanger Israeli civilians and sabotage Israel's humanitarian efforts that aim to help Gazan civilians." Sirens wailed overnight and throughout the day Saturday in southern Israel as waves of rockets and mortars were launched from Gaza amid the airstrikes. Israel said at least six of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system.

In a relatively rare admission, Hamas said it fired the rockets to deter Israel from further action. Most of the recent rockets from Gaza have been fired by smaller factions but Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said it was an "immediate response" that was meant to "deliver the message."

Israel said more than 30 rockets and mortars were fired early in the day with fresh barrages resuming each time it attacked. As a precaution, the military shut down a nearby beach. The military said its jets targeted two Hamas tunnels as well as other military compounds, including those involved in the production of the kites and balloons. Tit said the Hamas battalion headquarters in northern Gaza was completely destroyed.

No refuge from politics but France victory a fitting climax

July 16, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — Kylian Mbappe high-fived a political protester who invaded the field during the World Cup final. French President Emmanuel Macron leapt out of his seat in a VVIP area that included a leader charged with genocide. And Vladimir Putin was drenched in a sudden downpour as the trophy was handed over to the victorious French team.

This year's World Cup was never going to be a refuge from politics when it was being staged in Putin's Russia, but the players did their best to keep the tournament for themselves. A final with six goals — France beat Croatia 4-2 on Sunday — was a fitting climax to a month that produced some of the most enthralling matches in World Cup history.

The lasting images will be of pure elation as the France players leapt into the crowd to collect flags, then crashed Didier Deschamps' post-match news conference, dancing on the table and spraying champagne and water on the coach.

"Sorry," Deschamps said. "They're young and they're happy." No need to apologize. This young squad earned its right to go wild. Particularly Mbappe, a 19-year-old forward whose career trajectory should move into a stratosphere occupied for so long by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The old guard went home early; another failed challenge for World Cup titles by Portugal and Argentina. Mbappe flies home with a winners' medal.

It's not just about his composure on the ball, and eye for goal. Just look at the coolness early in the second half dealing with a member of the Pussy Riot activist group which protests against what they consider to be Putin's repressive regime: A double-high five. Nothing fazes the guy who became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pele in 1958.

"I've always been ready, mentally, to do beautiful things," Mbappe said. "I'm free and, most of all, I enjoy it." Not only Mbappe. Benjamin Pavard, a 22-year-old defender, will be hot property in the upcoming transfer window. Raphael Varane has also been at the heart of the defense that didn't concede a goal in four of seven games in Russia. The starring role by Paul Pogba, who scored the decisive third goal on Sunday, was a riposte to critics of his contribution at Manchester United.

"These kids, they play like it's a pick-up game," said 32-year-old France defender Adil Rami, who was on the bench for the entire tournament. In so many ways, France lifting the trophy was one shred of order in this month of so much disruption. And it wasn't just about the often-confusing use of video review on its World Cup debut. Set-pieces are back in vogue, accounting for 73 of the 169 goals, including Mario Mandzukic's own-goal from Antoine Griezmann's free kick that gave France an early lead in the final.

Germany's title defense disintegrated in the group stage. Spain, in turmoil from the start, was sent home in the round of 16, signaling the end of the tiki-taka tactics behind the country's title run in 2010. No longer is it all about keeping hold of the ball.

"The teams with the highest level of possession were all punished by fast forwards," Deschamps said. "When you defend, you are guaranteed to have two or three opportunities on the counterattack." Croatia bulldozed its way into the final in a sure sign of the establishment being disrupted. The gritty resolve was always evident in the final. Even at 4-1, the Croats didn't give up on their first shot at a major soccer title, but they finally ran out of steam after three straight extra-time matches.

"I have never lived through such a World Cup," Deschamps said. "There was a leveling at the top. And the small teams on paper arrived really well prepared athletically. My memory was that great football nations would have some difficulty and then they would grow stronger."

Only France did, reasserting the World Cup's status at the pinnacle of soccer over the increasingly-predictable club competitions across Europe. Even Russia, the lowest-ranked team at the tournament, managed to reach the quarterfinals.

"You have to believe it's possible and many things have to fall into place," Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said after his country's first final. "You have to follow those dreams and ambitions and then maybe one day it will come true."

Maybe one day politicians will not try to hog the limelight at a sporting event as they did at the Luzhniki Stadium and across Russia. FIFA allowed one of the coveted seats to be given to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Another went to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been described as Europe's last dictator.

But there was some payback from Mother Nature. By delaying the trophy presentation, leaving Croatia's despondent players waiting even longer to depart the field, the storm clouds gathered. The downpour soaked the dignitaries.

That shouldn't be a problem when the World Cup heads to the desert nation of Qatar four years from now, when France will hope to defend its title and the smaller nations will have been given hope by Croatia.

"Talent is not sufficient," Deschamps said before departing to rejoin the victory celebrations. "What makes the difference is psychological."

Pussy Riot upstages Putin with protest that halts World Cup

July 15, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — Protest group Pussy Riot, long a thorn in Vladimir Putin's side, claimed responsibility Sunday for four people who brought the World Cup final to a brief halt by running onto the field dressed in police uniforms as the Russian president and a global audience watched.

Stewards tackled the three women and one man who charged onto the field simultaneously in the 52nd minute of one of the world's most viewed sporting events. Croatia defender Dejan Lovren pushed the man, helping a steward to detain him, and suggested the incident put Croatia off its game. The team was 2-1 down when the protest happened, and eventually lost 4-2.

"I really was mad because we'd been playing at that moment in good shape," he said. "We'd been playing good football and then some interruption came. I just lost my head and I grabbed the guy and I wished I could throw him away from the stadium."

Before being hauled away, one of the women reached the center of the field and shared a double high-five with France forward Kylian Mbappe. "Hello everyone from the Luzhniki field, it's great here," the heavily political punk performance group said on Twitter , and released a statement calling for the freeing of political prisoners, an end to "illegal arrests" of protesters and to "allow political competition" in Russia.

The four were charged with violation of spectators' rights and illegal wearing of law enforcement symbols and could face penalties of up to 11,500 rubles ($185) or 160 hours of community service, the Interfax news agency reported.

Pussy Riot's statement also referenced the case of Oleg Sentsov, a vocal opponent of Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, who was sentenced in 2015 to 20 years for conspiracy to commit terror acts. He denies the charges and has been on a hunger strike since mid-May.

The group said the police uniforms symbolized how Russian police's actions fall short of their "heavenly" depiction in literature and called for reforms. It wasn't clear if they used the uniforms as a ruse to enter Luzhniki Stadium amid tight security, and the group couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

"The citizens in question were taken to the local police station," the Moscow branch of the Russian Interior Ministry said, without providing further details. A video circulated on Russian social media after the match appeared to show two of the protesters, still in police uniforms, being harshly interrogated at a police station. The Internet TV channel Dozhd identified one of them as Pyotr Verzilov, one of the group's most prominent members.

Under barking queries from a man off camera, Verzilov says, "I am for Russia, just like you — if you are for Russia." "I sometimes wish it was 1937," the man off screen says, referring to the year in which Stalinist purges were at their height.

Pussy Riot rose to global prominence after several balaclava-covered female members sang a raucous song denouncing Putin in Moscow's main cathedral. Two of them, including Verzilov's wife, served nearly two years in prison for the protest.

Putin was watching the game alongside his French and Croatian counterparts and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, among other dignitaries. Pussy Riot was previously known for wearing brightly colored balaclavas, though those who protested Sunday did so with their faces uncovered. The group posted a second statement later with three women, one wearing a pink balaclava, reading a statement acknowledging police had relaxed somewhat during the tournament but calling for greater restrictions on their powers .

"The World Cup has shown very well how well Russian policemen can behave," one of the unmasked women said in the video. "But what will happen when it ends?" FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The protest was briefly shown on international TV broadcasts, even though FIFA policy is usually to cut away when fans and others run onto the field.

Russia on a high as World Cup wraps; Putin's problems remain

July 15, 2018

MOSCOW (AP) — Despite a national wave of elation from the World Cup that bathed Russia in a rosy light, President Vladimir Putin will face some challenges in extending the post-soccer glow at home and abroad.

Well-organized, festive and friendly, the World Cup has shown off a welcoming and modern Russia in sharp contrast to common biases abroad that cast the country as dour, devious and a bit backward. Putin is likely to try to leverage that Monday when he holds a summit in Finland with U.S. President Donald Trump, and there have been strong signs the American side will be receptive. When national security adviser John Bolton was in Moscow last month to arrange the summit, he told Putin he looked forward to "learning how you've handled the World Cup so successfully."

That admiration may not extend far enough to affect the larger questions at issue in the summit, including Russia's annexation of Crimea and involvement in a separatist conflict in Ukraine, allegations that Russia flagrantly meddled in the 2016 US presidential election and Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement, among other troubles.

The summit's prospects were further clouded Friday by the U.S. indictment of 12 alleged Russian military intelligence agents for sophisticated hacking in the 2016 election. "There is some marginal benefit for Putin to having played host to a successful sporting competition that had a largely positive and apolitical tone ... (but) this does not give Putin any special advantage going into Monday's summit meeting," said Matthew Rojansky, a Russia analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Putin kept a relatively low profile for the tournament, attending only Russia's opener against Saudi Arabia and Sunday's final at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, even skipping the home team's upset win over Spain in the knockout stage at the same venue.

Putin has seen his ratings fall significantly since the June 15 start of the World Cup. The state-run polling agency Foundation for Public Opinion found that the percentage of Russians who express moderate or strong distrust of Putin rose from 20 percent in the week before the tournament started to 32 percent last week.

The startling rise appears comes as the government pushes a proposal to raise the eligibility age for state pensions from 60 to 65 for men and from 55 to 63 for women. The proposal was sent to the parliament the day before the World Cup opened in what many believed was a gambit to minimize public dismay.

But "the World Cup wasn't able to deflect the population from the pension reform," the business newspaper Vedomosti wrote pointedly. The Kremlin is worried that the issue could seriously reduce support for pro-government candidates in regional elections this fall, the newspaper reported.

Politics aside, the tournament has been a huge boost for Russians' self-esteem. State TV broadcasts have devoted substantial time to reporting how foreign fans were impressed with the locals' friendliness and helpfulness. One broadcast even trilled about visitors' pleasure in travelling "platskartny" — the notoriously claustrophobic, 54-bed dormitory cars on Russian passenger rail routes: "Hundreds of thousands of foreign fans have discovered the romance of Russian trains."

Along with the unambiguous good cheer, the World Cup also benefited from what didn't happen. There weren't any major facilities foul-ups, security was diligent but less intimidating than at the Sochi Olympics, and no protesters were whipped by soldiers as happened in an infamous incident on the fringes of the Winter Games.

Police were even unusually low-key about World Cup partying that turned a central Moscow street into a nightly fest. Although foreign news accounts ahead of the event warned about the dangers of Russian soccer hooligans, little trouble was reported, in part because Russia had cracked down on hooligans ahead of the tournament.

"Many stereotypes about Russia simply collapsed. People saw that Russia is a hospitable country, kindly disposed toward those who come to us," Putin said last week. "The Western press said that half-animals live here," state TV presenter Dmitry Kiselev noted acidly in his weekly news magazine show, echoing officials' chronic complaint that the country is afflicted by atavistic "Russophobia."

"The important result of the championship is that we are looking at ourselves in the reflection of the delighted eyes" of foreign visitors, he wrote, adding his voice to what seems to be a consensus. "Russians, the football fans of the world have learned, do not just drink vodka, wear fur caps with red stars and play the balalaika or lead a bear on a rope," wrote Andrei Kolsenikov of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

But while the last four weeks of soccer and celebration have boosted Russians' view of themselves, Kolsenikov dismissed the idea that there would be any practical effect. "As a result of the World Cup," he wrote, "Russians will not become more free, the police will not stay friendly, and the regime will be no less authoritarian."