The Real Russia. Today.

Kremlin pollster insults millions of Russians; Moscow entertains new mobile phone restrictions; and Russia extends its anti-sanctions against Western food imports

Respecting your political opponents is for losers. Valery Fedorov, the head of the state-owned VTsIOM polling agency, said in a television interview on Thursday that 15 percent of Russians make up the unpatriotic “shit” who regularly criticize Vladimir Putin. “These are the people who have no love for our Russia. These are the people who have no desire to make it better. These are the people who are always ready to criticize and protest, whether they have a reason or not,” Fedorov said, arguing that young people make up on a fifth of the recent anti-corruption protests. He blamed the media for exaggerating the presence of youths in this movement. Story in English

Context: Earlier in June, pro-Kremlin pundit Vladimir Solovyov said during a live radio broadcast that the anti-corruption demonstrators who attended an unsanctioned protest in central Moscow on June 12 represented “two-percent shits,” presumably referring to the “Two Percent” Theory proposed by political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky, who has argued for the past decade that it would take only a minority of the Russian population — just 2 percent of the people — to form a “counter-elite” and effect major political reforms.

Ukraine will pay for its Eurovision disorganization. The European Broadcasting Union will impose a “substantial fine” on Ukraine for failing to meet its obligations as the host of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. Specifically, the EBU cites Ukraine’s poor cooperation with the contest’s steering committee, delays in the competition’s organization, and damage to the contest’s “brand reputation.” Story in Russian

Context: Kiev refused to allow Russia’s 2017 Eurovision contestant, Yulia Samoylova, to travel to Ukraine to compete in the show, on the grounds that Samoylova visited Russian-occupied Crimea in 2015 without the permission of the Ukrainian government. As a result, Russia refused to participate in Eurovision this year and did not broadcast the show on television.

Too soon for an RBC obituary? Russian energy and tech magnate Grigory Berezkin says he has bought RBC, the popular business news channel and website, to help build his media business on mobile. But RBC’s history of angering the rich and powerful may come at the cost of his own iPhone. “The investigations are what’s interesting,” Berezkin said after the deal was done on June 16. “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just throw my phone in the Moskva river.” Story by Financial Times

Curious moves by Russian officials

• A “senseless” assault on the news media? Mikhail Fedotov, the head of Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council, has criticized an initiative now gaining momentum in the parliament, where lawmakers have proposed applying the country’s “foreign agent” laws to foreign-funded mass media outlets operating in Russia. On Wednesday, Fedotov called the idea “senseless,” arguing that Russia’s federal censor already collects extensive data on media outlets’ foreign funding. Story in Russian
• Beefing up cell phone regulations. A lawmaker in Russia’s Federation Council has drafted an amendment to the second reading of draft legislation that would require mobile phone operators to deny service to users who provide false information about themselves when purchasing their SIM cards. The companies would be forced to re-verify all clients registered by SIM card distributors through a government portal and other “information systems,” and customers would only receive service after this process was completed. The law’s proponents say anonymous SIM cards complicate the fight against terrorism and encourage vendors to sell the cards illegally at train stations, subway stations, and other crowded areas. Story in Russian
• An endless cycle with no future. Russia is extending its food-embargo “anti-sanctions” against Western countries for another year, to the end of December 2018, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced on Thursday. Medvedev said the government is acting to defend Russia’s national interests and to protect the country’s agricultural industry. Commenting on the European Union’s recent decision to extend its economic sanctions against Russia, Medvedev said, “The cycle of mutual economic restrictions has no future.” Story in Russian
• Shut up, dummies. Officials in a town outside Moscow are at the center of a scandal this, after the deputy director for the regional healthcare department told a disgruntled crowd of locals that she has a higher IQ than they do. Residents of Sobinka, in the Vladimir region outside Moscow, were invited to a public assembly on Wednesday, where they were told to expect an open discussion about local healthcare problems. Instead, angry residents say they had to sit through a lecture about the government’s healthcare successes. Story in English

Yours, Meduza