Russia: Liberal Minister Ulyukaev arrested

The criminal case has been launched against Alexey Ulyukaev, Russian Minister of Economic Development.  Russian law enforcement officials have accused Ulyukaev of corruption deals. Moreover, the Minister was arrested red-handed when receiving the next bribe.

Despite the fact that representatives of security agencies claim that the minister was in the development of the FSB more than a year, his arrest is likely due to the fact that against the background of Trump’s victory and his future policy, Russia has also begun large-scale operations against neoliberalism and its representatives. Most likely, this step was made to save the image on the world stage.

American experts share a similar point of view. Per Anders Åslund, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council said in his twitter: «Ulyukaev arrest is a major political change. Wake up all Moscow correspondents! Putin calls Trump, leading systemic liberal arrested».

He also added: «Ulyukaev's arrest is a major qualitative change in Russian politics, similar to the murder of Boris Nemtsov. Wake up!».

In addition, Japan is seriously concerned about the arrest of the Minister, which connecting this event with the failure of Putin's talks on « the peace agreement» (about transferring islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge).  Vladimir Putin, in contrast to Japanese PM, does not tie the economic cooperation with the question of the disputed territories.