Overview
- In a rare rebuke, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov told parliament that failure to change course could trigger unrest on the scale of the 1917 revolution.
- He voiced support for Vladimir Putin yet blamed the government, the central bank and the ruling party, and he mocked officials for listening to a Monaco-based influencer, a jab at blogger Victoria Bonja.
- Recent data point to strain, with Putin reporting a 1.8% GDP drop in January and February, the central bank warning of worsening conditions, and a Kremlin-linked poll putting trust in Putin at 71%.
- Oil revenue faces fresh pressure after Ukrainian drone strikes on ports and refineries, with reports that April output fell by roughly 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day.
- Sweden’s military intelligence chief Thomas Nilson said Russia is living on borrowed time financially, warning of a looming disaster as the war keeps driving up costs.