Fatshimetrie —
As President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration continues to surprise with key appointments for his upcoming administration, Russians are seeking to understand the choices and the implications they might have for Moscow.
Russian state media devoted the final days of their well-produced talk shows to informing the Russian people about what they should think of the incoming administration — particularly what it might mean for Russians and the war in Ukraine.
Evgeny Popov, a well-known face on Russian state television and a representative of the Duma, used his show, co-hosted with his wife, to criticize Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser.
Waltz has expressed reservations about continued congressional support for Ukraine and is a proponent of a Ukraine peace plan, but has not ruled out pressuring Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin to force him to negotiate. Waltz also described Russia as “a gas station with nuclear weapons” in a Nov. 4 interview with NPR.
Popov was quick to point out the potential threat to Moscow: “(Waltz) at the Republican convention proposed deploying more American drones to the Black Sea and touted how Trump threatened to bomb, as he put it, ‘Putin’s Kremlin.’ It’s called the Russophobic dream team or the American dream team.”
Across the floor, Popov’s wife Olga Skabeeva was a bit more supportive of the nomination of former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. Gabbard had “clarified the reason for Russia’s special operation in Ukraine,” Skabeeva said, praising Gabbard’s criticism of U.S. support for kyiv.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Moscow, Fatshimetrie’s respondents were largely uninformed about the incoming administration — except for Elon Musk, who has been named the future head of a new Department of Government Efficiency along with Vivek Ramaswamy.
Tatiyana, wrapped in her matching pink beanie and scarf, told Fatshimetrie that Elon Musk “is an example for the future of the planet. He is doing a lot to improve our planet, and this is the right development. That’s why we wish him prosperity and all the best.”
Elena, who was walking with her daughter, said of Musk: “Everything he has done is very interesting, and the fact that he has such ideas is also, in principle, good for development in general.”
The tech mogul’s status as a super-rich maverick who bought X, formerly Twitter, and wants to send civilians into space makes him more familiar to Russians than nominees for other top jobs..
Asked how they viewed the incoming administration and future relations between former adversaries, people were somewhat divided.
“Sergey told Fatshimetrie: “Trump said ‘I will do everything for America,’ but he didn’t say a word about Russia.”
Vladimir Kostyukevich, meanwhile, said Trump makes a good impression as a politician, citing his age and apparent energy – a dig perhaps at outgoing President Joe Biden.
On the sensitive issue of Ukraine, invaded on Putin’s orders in February 2022, those who spoke to Fatshimetrie expressed a desire for the war to end, but many were unsure how Trump could achieve that.
Elena said: “I don’t know how Donald Trump can solve this. But I would really like this to be resolved as soon as possible and as peacefully as possible, through negotiations, and not through the actions that are taking place now.”
Tatiyana, for her part, hoped for peace and spoke warmly about Ukraine, recalling the ties that unite the two nations.
“That’s a good question. Ukraine is our brotherly nation. It has always been like that. And despite the fact that relations are so complicated now, we still love Ukraine as before, they are our brothers, our relatives,” she said.
And Kostyukevich hoped even more: “I don’t know if Trump will stick to his line. But I hope that there will be a good agreement between Russia and Ukraine. And in general, to put an end to all this madness that is happening in the world, well, in Israel, Palestine and Ukraine-Russia,” he said.