The fallout from the Skripal attack
A year ago the Russian ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in the English city of Salisbury with the chemical nerve agent novichok. Moscow refutes any involvement in the attempted murder even though it has been proven that Russian agents were in the city on the day the poisoning occurred. It wasn't just the former agent and his daughter who suffered as a result of the poisoning, commentators conclude.
Moscow just joking around
The Russians have turned the whole Skripal affair into a joke at the expense of the British in order to shirk responsibility, Vedomosti observes:
“One can't actually say that Moscow is celebrating the anniversary only with new jokes. The Russian embassy in London recently published a report on the case and its consequences pointing to inconsistencies in the British version of the events in Salisbury and posing serious questions to the national authorities. But it is only available in English. At home the Russians continue to discuss the case with diplomatic street humour. ... Moscow's attempts to turn the poisoning into a joke reflect its efforts to discredit those who think differently and avoid an objective discussion of the circumstances of the case. ”
Russia poisoned itself in Salisbury
Since the Skripal case the Russian leadership clearly has the feeling that it can do as it pleases, criticises philosophy professor Vera Afanasyeva in a Facebook post published by newsru.com:
“Since the poisoning the government has pushed through the pension reform, raised taxes, passed laws limiting freedom - all in an uncaring, cynical and ruthless manner. ... This year has been marked not only by scandalous behaviour, insolence and lies but also by unprofessional conduct: it became clear that when it comes to occupational fitness the Russian elite is as different from the Soviet leadership as the two oafs Petrov and Boshirov are from [journalist and agent] Richard Sorge. The poison smeared on a door in Salisbury has destroyed the last remnants of respect in our society.”