Ten major topics of 2015

Continuing conflict and economic crisis in Ukraine, falling oil prices and ruble volatility, conflict in Syria and Russian military operation, crisis in Russia-Turkey relations, Russian A321 aircraft crash in Egypt and Paris terror attacks, refugee crisis in Europe, FIFA corruption scandal and doping scandal in Russian athletics, Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov's murder in downtown Moscow and Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris...

We have chosen what seems to be the key events and developments we'll remember the outgoing year by.

Ukrainian crisis

Oil price fall and Russian currency fluctuations

Syrian crisis

Turkish crisis

Russian A321 crash in Egypt

Paris terror attacks

Refugee crisis in Europe

Sport scandals

Boris Nemtsov's murder

Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris

Ukrainian crisis

The conflict in Ukraine unfortunately saw its further development in 2015 despite the numerous consistent efforts world powers have been taking to settle it. On February 12, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising senior representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the European security watchdog OSCE signed a 13-point Package of Measures to fulfil the September 2014 Minsk peace agreements. The package was agreed with the leaders of the Normandy Four, namely Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine. The ceasefire envisaged by the agreements was violated regularly. The deal also stipulated weaponry withdrawal. However, the recent reports by the OSCE said the weaponry wasn’t moved very far, and the situation remains quite unstable. The official UN death toll of the conflict has risen to at least 9,098, with another 20,732 injured.

While the hostilities in east Ukraine have been subsiding in the last few months, the economic crisis in the country  has been worsening.

Ukraine’s economic crisis

First of all, it refers to non-payment of Kiev’s foreign debt. In mid-December, Ukraine imposed moratorium on payment of the Russian debt. In December 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych reached an agreement that Moscow would extend a $15 billion loan to Kiev. Under the deal, $3 bln worth of bonds were listed on the Irish Stock Exchange on December 20, 2013 and bought by Russia from its National Welfare Fund. Later on, Ukraine tried to challenge the loan’s status and reduce it to that of commercial credits subject to restructuring. Russia objected to this approach. However its suggestion that this loan be restructured under reliable Western guarantees was ignored.

In November 2015, Putin said Russia was ready to restructure Ukraine’s debt in case the United States, the European Union or any big international financial institute gave its guarantees to Russia. No guarantees have been issued.

Now, Moscow warns that in case Kiev fails to repay its debt in due time, i.e. by the end of the outgoing year, it will go to law.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund on December 8 lifted the ban on crediting countries with overdue sovereign debts. Russia voted against this decision, saying it is politicized. As a matter of fact, this step means that the IMF can continue the implementation of its anti-crisis program for Ukraine even in the event Kiev falls into arrears with repayment of its debts to Russia.

On December 17, the IMF board recognized the official status of Russia’s loan to Ukraine.

Starting 2016, Ukraine is entering its Association agreement with the EU. Russia has reacted to the move in advance by securing itself and canceling the free trade zone agreement it used to have with Kiev. As Russian officials have reportedly stated, Ukraine can’t  take part in two free trade zones concurrently — the one with the European Union and the one within the Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS). According to the Russian president, however, Moscow will continue attempts to settle relations in the framework of EU-Russia-Ukraine trilateral talks.

Blockade of Crimea

The year also saw activation of Crimean Tatar activists that left for Ukraine after Crimea’s reunification with Russia. First of all, in September, activists led by Verkhovna Rada deputy Mustafa Dzhemilev, leader of Crimean Tatars in Ukraine Refat Chubarov and members of the Rights Sector (extremist group outlawed in Russia) launched Crimea’s food blockade refusing to let trucks with cargoes through border checkpoints. Then on November 20, two towers of electric power transmission lines supplying electricity from Ukraine to Crimea were blown up in the Kherson Region. As a result, Crimea faced serious shortage of electric energy. The situation was complicated after anti-Russian activists, engaged in the so-called blockade of Crimea, prevented repair crews from restoring energy supplies. Russia in response stepped up its effort to lay a high-voltage electric power cable to Crimea from mainland Russia across the Kerch Strait. The Russian president issued instructions to energize the second line of the power bridge to Crimea in 2016.

Oil price fall and Russian currency fluctuations

The year has seen a great fall in oil prices which, together with other unfavorable circumstances resulted in significant fluctuations of Russia’s national currency, the ruble. The oil prices have been fluctuating as well, with a definite trend of falling. The year started with a price of $56 per barrel of Brent crude. There was a rise to almost $61 per barrel in late February and a hike to almost $67 in May. After that, the downward trend was more or less consistent with a fall to $36-$37 per barrel in late December.

Several factors affected the oil price. Experts mark the role of the market war between Persian Gulf countries and the US. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries are trying to keep their share of the market by raising production.

There’s also the influence of illegal oil trade on the part of the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia).

The fall can also have been affected by the settlement of the Iranian nuclear program issue

Russian ruble against US dollar in 2015

 As of January 1, 2015, the Russian Central Bank set the dollar rate of 56.24 rubles (the ruble had fallen by 72.2% against the US dollar since the beginning of 2014). On January 13, the first day after the end of the New Year holidays, due to the continuing fall in oil prices on the world market, the Russian Central Bank set the dollar exchange rate at the level of 62.73 rubles (increase of 11.53%), followed by the Russian currency continuing its fall in price. On January 24 the ruble slightly rose in value (dollar fell from 65.40 to 63.39 rubles - by 3.07%), but on January 27 the ruble continued to fall (to 65.59 rubles per dollar).

In late January, the Russian Central Bank lowered its key rate from 17% to 15%, which became a reason for another weakening period of the Russian currency.

The peak of the decline of the ruble in early 2015 fell on February 3, when the Russian Central Bank set the dollar rate of 69.66 rubles (the cost of the US dollar increased by 23.86% since the beginning of the year). After a slight decrease, by February 6 the rate grew again (up to 68.61 rubles per dollar), but after that began to steadily decreased.

Russia’s ruble exchange rate has declined by 15 kopecks and stood at 70.4 per US dollar at Moscow Stock Exchange in the morning. On December 14, the Russian ruble reached the rate of 71 per 1 US dollar for the second time this year. This rate, however, is not a record as on 16 December last year 1 US dollar cost more than 80 rubles. The devaluation of the Russian ruble started in the second half of 2014 when the Russian currency crashed against the US dollar by 2.2 times in June-December.

Ruble strengthens in spring and summer of 2015

The Russian currency began to strengthen against the US dollar on February 21 (from 62.13 to 61.72 rubles per dollar, increasing by 0.65%). On March 7, the dollar for the first time after the New Year holidays fell below 60 rubles: the dollar exchange rate against the ruble fell from 61.84 to 59.99. On April 17, the dollar fell below 50 rubles - to 49.67 rubles.

The peak of the ruble strengthening in 2015 took place in April and May. On May 20, the US dollar rate stood at 49.18 rubles (falling by 12.5% since the beginning of the year). The Russian Central Bank explained the ruble strengthening by the stabilization of world oil prices, by the end of the peak in external debt payments, increasing the key rate, more uniform sales of foreign exchange earnings by exporters, as well as the development of the instruments for monetary refinancing.

On May 14, 2015, the Russian Central Bank for the first time since the summer of 2014 began to buy foreign currency on the domestic market (on average - 200 mln dollars and euro daily). In total before July 28 the regulator bought 10 bln dollars and euro, and then stopped interventions.

In late May - early June, due to the instability of the situation in Ukraine, foreign currencies increased in price. Starting from June 27 the dollar returned to the level above 50 rubles - to 50.32 rubles.

New drop in August and December

Since the beginning of June until mid-July, oil prices were stable. Dollar rested at the level of 52-55 rubles. However, the subsequent drop in oil prices caused by the investors' fears of its excess supply in the market, as well as instability in the stock markets and the devaluation of the Chinese yuan on August 11, led to a decline in the cost of the Russian currency. On August 13, the Russian Central Bank set the dollar above 65 rubles (65.02 rubles per dollar).

A sharp drop in the ruble exchange rate happened on August 24 after a decline in the cost of Brent crude oil to less than $50 a barrel. For the first time since December 2014, the dollar exchange rate exceeded 71 rubles, increasing by 44.3% or 21.82 rubles from the minimum value in spring. As of August 25, 2015, the Russian Central Bank set the dollar at around 70.75 rubles - for the first time in the history of the official rate of the Russian Central Bank exceeded 70 rubles.

The dollar stayed at the level above 70 rubles only one day - it was followed by a correction. In September-November, the US currency has stabilized at the level of 65-67 rubles, in mid-October it even fell to a level of 61.1 rubles (on October 10, 13, 17, and 20). The ruble resumed its decline on December 3 due to another drop in oil prices, below $40 per barrel.

 Year’s biggest fluctuations

The lowest rate of the US dollar in 2015 was registered on May 20 (49.18 rubles per dollar). The highest - on December 30 (73,14 rubles per dollar). Except for the depreciation of the ruble at the opening of trading after the New Year’s holidays in 2015 the largest daily decline in the official exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar was recorded on February 6 (4.83%, or 3.16 rubles) and April 22 (4, 76%, or 2.45 rubles). At the same time, the Russian currency saw the biggest rise against the dollar on April 24 (3.83%, or 2.05 rubles) and on February 7 (3.74%, or 2.57 rubles).

Syrian crisis

Russia’s Aerospace Force started delivering strikes in Syria at facilities of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist groups (both banned in Russia) on September 30, 2015. The air group initially comprised over 50 aircraft and helicopters, including Sukhoi Su-24M, Su-25SM and state-of-the-art Su-34 aircraft. They were redeployed to the Khmeimim airbase in the province of Latakia. On October 7, Moscow also involved the Russian Navy in the military operation. Four missile ships of the Caspian Flotilla fired 26 Kalibr cruise missiles (NATO codename Sizzler) at militants’ facilities in Syria.

Moscow increases air grouping in Syria

In mid-November, after an alleged terrorist attack on Russian passenger jet that fell in Egypt killing 224 people on board, Moscow increased the number of aircraft taking part in the operation in Syria by several dozen and involved strategic bombers in the strikes as well. Targets of the Russian aircraft include terrorists’ gasoline tankers and oil refineries. Russia’s aircraft have made thousands of sorties since the start of the operation in Syria, with over a hundred of them performed by long-range aircraft.

Incident on Turkish border

On November 24, a Turkish F-16 fighter brought down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber involved in Moscow’s military operation against the Islamic State (a terrorist group outlawed in Russia).  Ankara claimed the warplane violated the Turkey’s airspace. The Russian Defense Ministry said the warplane was flying over Syrian territory without violating Turkey’s airspace. The Russian president referred to the attack as a “stab in Russia’s back” and promised that the move would cause response action from Russia. Moscow deployed new S-400 air defense systems in Syria in order to protect the warplanes involved in the military operation and started arming the fighters intended to provide air support to bombers and attack aircraft in Syria with air-to-air missiles.

Other coalitions

Russia is however not the only country conducting airstrikes on terrorist targets in Syria. Besides, there’s the coalition led by the United States and another one, formed by Saudi Arabia in mid-December and bringing together 34 countries, including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Bahrain, Turkey, Tunisia, Sudan, Somalia, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Egypt, Nigeria and Yemen. The US-led coalition has agreed on safety of flights above Syria while the Saudi Arabia-led coalition hasn’t resorted to any actions yet. Russian experts told TASS that the coalition was formed to torpedo the Vienna-based Syrian settlement process. Moscow calls to create a single international coalition against terrorists but the efforts taken haven’t brought the desirable result yet.

Russia’s military operation and the Syrian conflict

Moscow has repeatedly been accused of conducting airstrikes at Syria’s opposition forces instead of Islamic State terrorist targets. The most recent accusation came from Ankara. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that out of the 4,198 sorties made by Russia over the past time, only 191 were directed against IS. Russia has in its turn repeatedly denied such statements. Moreover, the Russian air group has recently been providing air support to the Free Syrian Army, an opposition force also fighting against the Islamic State. The fight against terrorists in the Syrian territory is just the first phase of the settlement process of the Syrian conflict. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, a significant step was fixing the reached agreements in the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 of December 18 that contains a phased plan for a political settlement of the Syrian conflict on the basis of preserving the country’s unity and territorial integrity and confirmation of the key principle - Syria’s future must be determined by the Syrians themselves.
 

Turkish crisis

The outgoing year saw what seems to be the start of a severe crisis in the relations of Russia and Turkey. The situation deteriorated after an incident on November 24 when a Turkish F-16 fighter brought down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber, which, Ankara alleges, violated the country’s airspace near the Syrian border. The Russian Defense Ministry said the warplane was flying over Syrian territory and had never violated Turkey’s airspace. The Russian president referred to the attack as a “stab in Russia’s back” and promised that the move would cause response action from Russia.

What happened first was that Russia deployed new S-400 air defense systems in Syria in order to protect the warplanes involved in the military operation against the Islamic State (terrorist group outlawed in Russia) in Syria’s airspace. Russia also started arming the fighters intended to provide air support to bombers and attack aircraft in Syria with air-to-air missiles.

Then, in late November, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on “special economic measures” against Turkey. Under the decree, Russia banned or restricted imports of certain Turkish goods, including vegetables and fruits. Moscow suspended the visa-free travel agreement with Turkey and banned charter flights between Russia and Turkey. Besides, travel agencies were advised against selling holiday packages to Turkey, a popular tourist destination for Russians.

However, it’s evident that the crisis is going to evolve. First of all, the Russian president announced in early December that Turkey deserved a harsher response than “tomato bans,” meaning economic restrictions on imports of Turkish foods. Then, in late December, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich made it clear that Moscow was set on expanding the economic sanctions against Turkey. Shortly after, Vladimir Putin signed a decree introducing changes to the first document on introducing economic restrictions against Turkey. According to that renewed decree, Russian sanctions in the form of ban on works within the territory of Russia cover not only Turkish companies themselves but also firms controlled by Turkish nationals.

 

Russian A321 crash in Egypt

On October 31, the A321 aircraft of Russian airline Kogalymavia flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St.Petersburg crashed about half an hour after departure, 100 km south of the provincial capital of North Sinai town of El Arish near the village of El Hasna. There were 217 passengers and seven crew members on board, all of them died. This crash became the largest in the history of the Russian aviation.

On November 6, the Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed with recommendations of the National Anti-terrorist Committee to suspend air service with Egypt until the causes of the A321 crash were identified. All Russian commercial air companies suspended regular, transit and chartered flights to Egypt from 20:00 Moscow time on November 6. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said back then flights to Egypt would be suspended until proper level of security was ensured. Putin also issued instructions to help Russians vacationing in Egypt return home. By that day, about 80,000 Russian were vacationing in Egypt.

According , one of Russia’s leading travel operators, Alexander Butrin, losses of Russia’s tourism industry following the suspension of flights to popular Egyptian resorts were estimated at five billion rubles ($77.5 million) per month as of November 11.

It might take months or even years to issue a final report on the crash on the Russian A321 passenger jet in Egypt’s Sinai, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said in an interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

He noted that the investigation was being carried out by an international commission. "It includes specialists from Egypt, Ireland, France, Germany, Russia and other countries," he said. "Only this commission can take a final decision. It is a long process to prepare an official report. Sometimes, it takes months and even years."

On November 17, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, head of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov said that the crash had been caused by a terrorist act.

According to him, the traces of a foreign-made explosive were found in the airliner debris and the passengers’ belongings.

"In the estimates of our specialists, a self-made explosive device with its power of up to 1 kilogram in TNT equivalent went off aboard the airliner, due to which the plane broke up in the air and this explains the spread of the plane's fuselage parts over a large distance," the Federal Security Service chief said.

Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s department for new challenges and threats Ilya Rogachev said in an interview with the Kommersant daily that the terror act on board Russia’s A321 airliner might have been the revenge on Russia for its fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization (banned in Russia).

However, Egypt’s civil aviation ministry for its part later reported that the investigators found no evidence indicating that the Russian aircraft had crashed because of a terror attack. ""The technical investigative committee has so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action," the ministry said in a statement.

Egypt’s authorities have permitted Russian specialists to take part in control procedures at the country’s airports.

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Russia does not have information on concrete organizers and perpetrators of a terror attack on the Russian A321 plane, however, no doubt they are linked to international terrorism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that those guilty of the terrorist act on board the Russian A321 airliner in Egypt would be found and punished. 

"The murder of our nationals in Sinai is among the bloodiest crimes as to the number of casualties," he said. "We will not be wiping tears away from our souls and our hearts. This will stay with us forever," Putin continued.

"But this will not prevent us from finding and punishing the criminals," Putin pledged.

"We must be doing this without limitations period, and know each of them by name. We will be searching them everywhere, no matter where they hide. We will find them in any point of the globe and they will be punished," the president stressed.

Paris terror attacks

A series of terror attacks rocked Paris on November 6 with shootings, bomb blasts and hostage taking. Hostages were taken at the Bataclan concert hall where 1,500 people gathered for a rock concert and almost simultaneously three suicide bombers blew themselves up next to the Stade de France stadium where a football match between French and German national teams was in the full swing. Besides, terrorists opened fire at people in popular nightlife spots - cafes, bars and restaurants crowded at that time. The death toll reached 129; another 352 were injured.

A state of emergency was immediately introduced in France, the borders were closed, and French President Francois Hollande even cancelled his participation in the Group of 20 summit, which took place November 16 in Turkey. The French authorities sent their 1,500-strong unit of servicemen to ensure security in Paris, the Elysee Palace said after an extraordinary ministerial conference led by the president.

Agence France Presse reported citing sources close to investigation that eight participants of the terrorist attacks were killed. Four attackers died in the Bataclan hall: three activated suicide belts, and one was liquidated by law enforcers. Three suicide bombers activated their belts near the Stade de France stadium. Another terrorist blew himself up near Bataclan, sources said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered deep condolences in connection with "a series of monstrous terrorist attacks in Paris" and sent words of solidarity to French President Francois Hollande and the entire French people.

"This tragedy is another proof of the barbarian nature of terrorism, which challenges the human civilization. Clearly, for effective fighting this evil, the entire international community should unite efforts," Putin said in the telegram. "I would like to confirm the Russian side is ready for most close cooperation with the French counterparts in investigating into the crime in Paris. I hope the initiators and executors will receive deserved punishments," the Russian leader said in a telegram to Hollande.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called events taking place in Paris monstrous, saying that Russia was sharing the anguish of the French.

No tolerance is possible to terrorists, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with the US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The UN Security Council decisively condemned the terrorist attacks in Paris and called for bringing those responsible for them to account. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the series of attacks in the French capital.

Head of the Russian North Caucasus Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov wrote in his Instagram he was confident the terrorist attacks in France were organized by the Islamic State [IS] terrorist group outlawed in Russia.

Later, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari said the its reconnaissance service received information about terror attacks being prepared in several countries, including France, the US and Iran, and all of them have been notified.

Following the Paris attacks, the largest national antiterrorism operation was carried out in Belgium with sixteen people detained and one injured.

Refugee crisis in Europe

The aggravation of conflicts in a number of Middle East and African countries in 2015 drove thousands of people to flee their homes to seek shelter in Europe. As of September 2015, more than 378,000 illegal migrants have arrived in Europe. About 2,800 migrants died while trying to get there (due to capsizing of overloaded vessels crossing the Mediterranean, for example). As many as 121,000 refugees have arrived in Italy and about 309,400 - in Greece. Up to 5,000 migrants a day were getting into the European Union via Macedonia and Serbia. They were amassing at the borders of Austria, Hungary and Germany. The latter, which had already received about 400,000 refugees, was the first among the Schengen zone states to impose passport control at the border.

The European Commission suggested quotas for 160,000 migrants be imposed on each European Union member states. Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and the Baltic countries were against such quotas. Experts said the migrant flow to the European Union might exceed one million by the end of the year.

According to Serbian Ambassador to Russia Slavenko Terzic, a total of 140,000 refugees have gone through Serbia from May to September 2015.

Hungarian Prime Minister blamed "the European Union’s short-sighted policy" for the crisis.

In former Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov's words, "The problem with refugees could have been predicted and prevented in advance. This problem should have been considered when the war broke out in Iraq. The solution should have been discussed from the beginning of the Arab Spring".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the situation in the Mediterranean regarding the refugess "shame for all humankind."

The Russian Federal Migration Service official said the absence of normal and effective regulation of the problem was the root cause behind Europe’s refugee crisis. "The EU countries are failing to agree on how they should act," Yekaterina Yegorova emphasized. According to her, an attempt to erect walls on the borders with European countries was showing the impotence and inefficiency of their migration policies.

On September 24, 2015, the EU countries reached an agreement on relocating 120,000 refugees. The decision drew objections from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary, with Finland abstaining from the vote.

Addressing the 70th UN General Assembly session in New York on September 28, the Russian president Vladimir Putin called the refugee crisis "a new great, bitter migration of peoples."

On September, 30, the G7 countries jointly with their counterparts in Europe and the Persian Gulf have agreed to allocate to the UN humanitarian organizations $1.8 billion for assistance to refugees.

According to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the problem of refugees has another origin than just the Syria crisis. "All the problems in that region - either refugees or a terror threat - are connected with destruction of states," he said.

Participants in the summit of the European Union, which took place in Brussels on October 15-16, adopted a joint plan of actions with Turkey on tackling the migration, empowering the European agency Frontex with the right of returning migrants to their native countries.

According to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, 5,500 asylum seekers have entered Norway since August this year by using the so-called "Arctic route" lying via Moscow, Murmansk and Nikel village. Up to a thousand refugees, predominantly from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, entered Norway’s polar Finnmark province from Russia’s northern Murmansk region daily in October-November 2015. Late in November, the Norwegian Justice Ministry instructed the Directorate of Immigration to give serious consideration to asylum applications from migrants who were arriving from the territory of neighbouring Russia.

Both Norwegian and Russian border guards started subjecting the identity papers of all people who were approaching the state border to more rigid and scrutinizing checks. They also notified them that they were unlikely to get an asylum in Norway.

The Norwegian authorities believe that those innovations helped halting the refugee flows, which Norway’s little-populated northern regions were unable to cope with.

Border guards at the Storskog border station have not registered a single asylum seeker since November 30.

The outgoing year was marked with two major scandals in the world of sports.

FIFA corruption scandal

An unprecedented corruption scandal flared up in FIFA in the morning of May 27, one day before the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich, as seven of the organization’s high-ranking officials were arrested in Switzerland on bribery, money laundering and corruption charges. The scandal involved two separate criminal proceedings.

Firstly, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York was conducting a criminal investigation into the awarding of media, marketing and sponsorship rights for soccer tournaments in the United States and Latin America. Secondly, the Swiss Office of the Attorney General was conducting a criminal investigation into the selection of Russia as the host country for the 2018 World Cup and Qatar as the host country for 2022.

On top of all, shortly after FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced his plans to resign on June 2, some media reports informed that the FIFA chief was being investigated by the FBI and US prosecutors as part of the corruption case in the organization.

Blatter, 79, was reelected for his fifth consecutive four-year presidential term on May 29, when his only rival Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan pulled out after the first round of vote. However, addressing a news conference in Zurich on June 2, Blatter said he decided to lay down his mandate at FIFA extraordinary elective Congress.

In September, Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini were both suspended from their posts as part of the investigation into corruption allegations against them. Among a number of corruption allegations, Blatter is suspected of a disloyal payment of 2 million Swiss francs to UEFA President Platini in February 2011.

The Russian Sports minister Vitaly Mutko said that neither of them deserved it. "Both of the executives did a lot for the development of the world football. Solid reasons are required to ban from football for eight years," he noted.

On December, 21 both FIFA and UEFA presidents were banned for eight years by FIFA's Ethics Committee from all international football activities. Blatter and Platini deny any wrongdoing and plan to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Later on, Sepp Blatter announced that he is leaving football.

Doping scandal in Russian athletics

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission delivered on November 9 a report on its investigation into doping abuse allegations involving Russian athletes and recommended that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) suspend all athletes of the All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF) from participation in international competitions.

This could deprive domestic athletes of the chance to take part in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. If the ARAF is disqualified, the IAAF will set conditions under which the Russian athletics federation will be able to take part in events under IAAF auspices again.

It also recommended on November 9 to ban for life five Russian athletes and five coaches over their involvement in doping abuse violations as well as to strip the Moscow anti-doping laboratory of its license and fire its director Grigory Rodchenkov in connection with numerous violations of anti-doping regulations.

The report claims former ARAF President Valentin Balakhnichev took bribes from athletes for covering up positive doping tests.

The IAAF Council on November 13 considered unconvincing the ARAF report on anti-doping efforts and ruled by the overwhelming majority of votes that the ARAF’s membership in the international organization should be suspended.

"Some time ago I received a notification saying that the WADA [Independent] Commission intended to publish its findings of the inspection it held since last year’s December in regard to Russian field and track athletes. I was asked to suspend all those involved in something illegal," Mutko said.

"I asked a logical question in response: Misters, based on what you want me to ban athletes? Fabricated wiretap recordings are not the proof. The initial cause to launch the investigation was a film of [German] television channel ARD. It alleged that an overwhelming majority of Russian medalists and winners of major tournaments over the past ten years had suspicious doping samples. What a massive allegation!" he said.

The WADA Independent Commission’s report was based on German TV channel ARD’s two-part documentary, entitled Geheimsache Doping (Secret Doping Case), which claimed that Russian athletes systematically took banned substances on instructions from their coaches.

The central characters in the documentary were Russian athlete Yulia Stepanova nd her husband Vitaly - former employee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), who accused the ARAF of being involved in doping distribution among athletes.

Mutko said Stepanoiva, who was herself found guilty of violating anti-doping regulations, could have been interested in collecting damaging information.

"Yulia Stepanova (Rusanova by maiden name), who was enlisted in the Russian athletics national team and whom we suspended for doping abuse, started working for WADA three years ago. Now she lives in Germany and, as far as we know, is waiting for Canada residence permit. I always trying to think well of people but there is a term "stool pigeon" in the anti-doping code," he said.

"Mrs. Stepanova assures that nobody hired her and she did everything on of her own initiative. But can you imagine a person paying own money to purchase cutting-edge eavesdropping and video surveillance equipment, which can be stealthily planted into a ladies handbag or any other personal belonging?" Mutko said.

"The question is why all this of specialized equipment was needed? It turned that that it was needed all that time to secretly record everything that was going on the Russian national team. Stepanova would ask coaches questions from a questionnaire somebody worked out of her and would engage her teammates in the so-called warm-hearted conversations. But in reality she would induce girls into confessions about their alleged use of doping and other prohibited substances," he said.

"Then some sort of specialists listened to the recordings and the tapes went further to ARD. The Germans made a two-part film. It appears to be documentary, but in reality it turned out to be a science-fiction with elements of a thriller. It gives an impression that Russia is rotten in doping abuse bordering on the government-authorized level and that I personally invite athletes to my office and manipulate them here. Understand?" Mutko said.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said November 9 commenting on the WADA Independent Commission’s report that allegations against Russian sportsmen over the massive use of doping performance enhancing drugs were groundless and not backed up by evidence so far.

The Russian Sports Ministry, in turn, advised WADA to focus on real facts during the investigation against Russian athletes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in June his deep disappointment with the rise of positive doping cases registered among Russian athletes and called to enhance the fight against the abuse of performance enhancing drugs.

Putin said at a meeting with athletes in Sochi on November 11 that it is necessary to fight doping in sports.

Richard Pound, the head of the WADA Independent Commission told a news conference on November 9 that the delivered report was only the first part and the final text of the investigation’s findings would be published by the end of the year.

The WADA Independent Commission was set up and began its work earlier following a series of German documentaries on the alleged mass use of performance enhancing drugs among Russia’s track and field athletes.

In December 2014 German TV Channel ARD aired a series of documentaries on alleged doping abuse in Russian sports. The ARD’s two-part documentary, entitled Geheimsache Doping (Secret Doping Case), claimed that Russian athletes systematically took banned substances on instructions from their coaches.

On August 1 this year ARD released another documentary "Doping - Top Secret: The Shadowy World of Athletics." The film claimed that ARD and British newspaper The Sunday Times had obtained a leaked database belonging to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which contained more than 12,000 blood tests from around 5,000 athletes in the years 2001 to 2012.

ARD further alleged that a third of medals (146, including 55 golds) in endurance events at the Olympics and World Championships between 2001 and 2012 were won by athletes who have recorded suspicious tests but none of these athletes have been stripped of their medals.

The Sunday Times also alleged that Russian athletes suspected of doping abuse had won 80% of medals for their country at Olympic Games and World Championships between 2001 and 2012.

Boris Nemtsov's murder

Russian opposition leader and state figure, deputy of a regional legislature, Boris Nemtsov, was shot dead in downtown Moscow overnight to February 28. The murder shocked the whole world with major state leaders expressing their condolences. The Russian society reacted with a march of thousands of people in downtown Moscow on March 1. Supporters of the slain politician later placed an improvised "Nemtsov Bridge" sign at the murder scene but it was later removed along with piles of flowers that people brought there. However, people continued bringing flowers to the scene of the tragedy.

Despite the fact the Nemtsov was a prominent public and political figure, the court refused to recognize the murder to be a political one. Some of Russian opposition figures, in particular, Ilya Yashin, claim that the murder may have been connected with a report the slain politician was working at. The report said that Russia was allegedly directly involved in the hostilities in east Ukraine. However, when asked to comment, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said he wasn’t familiar with the report.

Suspects

Zaur Dadayev, Shadid Gubashev, Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, Anzor Gubashev and Khamzat Bakhayev were soon arrested on suspicion of involvement in the case. In late December, charges were brought against four of them, with one still pending. It has already been reported that the suspects will be tried by a court of jury.

As for the organizer of the murder, investigators suspect Ruslan Mukhudinov. Russia’s Investigative Committee believes that Ruslan Mukhudinov has illegally left Russia under false documents. The lawyer of Zhanna Nemtsova, the victim’s daughter, has stated that she would also like charges brought against Ruslan Geremeyev.

Zhanna Nemtsova also wants the investigators to question Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. The court refused to question the official but Nemtsova filed a complaint against the decision.The complaint says that Kadyrov personally knew the suspects in the Nemtsov murder case, Zaur Dadayev and Beslan Shavanov, another suspect that blew himself up during the detention in Grozny.

The Russian president has repeatedly said that the perpetrators will be found and held accountable for the murder. “This is a disgraceful chapter of our contemporary history and that the criminals must be found, identified and punished," Putin said once answering a question about the murder. 

Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris

A series of deadly terrorist attacks rocked Paris in the very first days of 2015 when masked gunmen assaulted an office of the Paris-based satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 7 and then took hostages.  

Seventeen people were killed in the French capital and its neighbourhoods.  Among them were ten journalists from the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, three policemen and four visitors of a kosher grocery store.

The terrorist attack raised the question of tolerance and the freedom of press. Days after the attacks, millions of people around the world took part in solidarity rallies. 

However, solidarity with the victims was not the only reaction to the tragedy. Thus, a rally took part in Russia's Chechen Republic capital city, Grozny, against caricature cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammad. A huge crowd of more than one million gathered at the call of the republic’s head, Ramzan Kadyrov. Moscow authorities have turned down Islamic activists’ request for permission to call a rally by 100,000 in the center of Moscow on January 25. The mufti of Moscow’s Muslim Board, Albir Krganov, said good prayer was the true believer’s real means of showing one’s feelings.

Russia’s Muslim community is estimated at 10 million to 20 million. According to the 2002 population census, “ethnic Muslims”, in other words, people traditionally professing Islam, account for a majority of the population in seven constituent territories of Russia: Ingushetia (98%), Chechnya (96%), Dagestan (94%), Kabardino-Balkaria (70%), Karachay-Cherkessia (63%), Bashkortostan (54.5%) and Tatarstan (54%).

The topic of media freedom with regard to satirical caricature magazines was raised again when Charlie Hebdo published a cartoon devoted to the crash of the Russian jet A321 in the Sinai Peninsula that took the lives of 224 people.

Russian officials reacted with statements calling the magazin "an accomplice of ISIL [the former name of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia]"