CNN: Putin Is Trying To Hide "Black August"

Russia has been engulfed by political and social crises.

For several decades now, Russia has been experiencing dramatic crises at the end of summer, which is why this month is often referred to as “Black August,” according to an analysis by journalist Nathan Khodja for CNN (translation - “Unián”).

He recalled the August events of the past few decades. In particular, the failed coup attempt in the late Soviet Union, when radical communists tried to oust Mikhail Gorbachev from his post as head of the USSR.

Ultimately, this led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. In August 1998, a financial crisis began in Russia, triggering a default and the collapse of the ruble. And in August 1999, the Second Chechen War began, which “brought to the highest offices a previously unknown politician, the former KGB officer Putin.” Under Putin, in August 2008, Russia went to war with Georgia and occupied Ossetia and Abkhazia.

In the context of the war with Ukraine, he writes, this summer is shaping up to be bleak for Putin’s Russia: the occupying forces’ progress is negligible, and factories and warehouses are burning with increasing frequency in Russia. And gas lines and rumors of a new wave of mobilization are causing discontent among ordinary citizens. In his address—which appeared confident on the surface—Putin even acknowledged the damage caused by Ukrainian attacks on warehouses. But he tried to downplay its significance and promised to rebuild them at the government’s expense.

Does this mean that this August has also become a “black” month for Russia, the author wonders. He cites the views of Russian opposition figures who acknowledge that Russia is in crisis due to fuel shortages, a plummeting currency, and the upcoming elections against this backdrop.

Interestingly, a popular tabloid, in its astrology section, listed August as the month in which a lunar eclipse is expected during the phase of the planet Pluto, which is associated with disasters.

The author also noted that this month, an opposition Russian politician from the Yabloko party—the only party to advocate for peace—Lev Schlossberg was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The reason was his activities promoting peace with Ukraine. He concludes that Putin continues to stifle the opposition, and is doing so more openly following the death in prison of Alexei Navalny, who was poisoned with “Novichok”—also in August, in 2020.

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