Russia plans to deploy thousands of Cossacks to guard the World Cup, but the traditional paramilitary groups face criticism for their strident nationalism and attacks on protesters.
On Sunday, May 13, 2018, Don Cossacks practice on the bank of the Don River near the World Cup stadium before the Russian premier league soccer match between Rostov and Ural, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
During a parade Tuesday under the hot sun of southern Russia, a politician and a police chief lectured assembled Cossacks on how to "keep order" and remain polite with foreign fans, before a priest sprinkled their ranks with holy water. They'll patrol alongside police during the World Cup in Rostov-on-Don, two Cossacks to each cop.
"They are taught in the art of war from childhood, they obey their elders and serve the motherland," Cossack elder Igor Barannikov told The Associated Press. During the World Cup, "we will help in any way to prevent any attempt at destabilization."
(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Authorities hope Cossacks will protect fans while adding local color. Some will wear traditional fur hats, and a group of stunt riders will perform on horseback. Cossacks generally can't arrest or fine people, but some are notorious for using excessive force.
Men in Cossack uniforms used their fists and traditional whips to attack Russians protesting against President Vladimir Putin last month in central Moscow. Police did little to stop them. At the Sochi Olympics in 2014, Cossacks whipped members of the punk protest group Pussy Riot.
Barannikov said his Cossacks would be tolerant of outsiders.
"We are happy to welcome everyone here regardless of their ethnic background and faith, regardless of their gender," he said. "We are happy for all our guests and we ask them to respect and keep to the traditions of the region and the country they are visiting."
Cossacks are often hostile to LGBT rights. Barannikov told Radio Free Europe this week that his Cossacks would report same-sex couples to police if they saw them kissing during the World Cup. His group didn't respond to AP requests to clarify the comments.
Cossacks were historically a mix between colonists and a military caste on the Russian Empire's south and eastern frontiers. After decades of Soviet persecution, groups claiming to be Cossacks have multiplied under Putin, often with government funding.
While some Cossacks trace their ancestry back to the paramilitary groups broken up by the Soviet Union after the Russian Civil War, others have more tenuous links. Recent years have seen government-backed "Cossack" groups spring up in World Cup host cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, far from traditional heartlands. Some have gone to fight with Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Cossacks' legal status varies. Some groups are official police auxiliaries but others are essentially costumed social clubs. There's little oversight for Cossacks who work with police if they face accusations of using excessive force, typically against migrants or opposition activists.
Modern Cossacks' image as Christian warriors fighting for a strong Russian state isn't always backed up by history.
Cossacks crushed protests against the czars in the early 20th century, but led several earlier rebellions when they felt their autonomy was under threat.
They sometimes allied with Muslim ethnic groups against czarist forces, while many Kalmyks — members of an ethnically Mongolian minority who mostly follow Buddhism — lived as Cossacks and were widely accepted as such until the 20th century.
In Rostov-on-Don, Cossack official Sergei Strogonov said his patrolmen are learning English phrases to talk with fans.
"We're preparing for it so we don't end up humiliating ourselves. We're learning standard phrases of greeting so that the Cossack patrol can sort things out and provide the necessary help to any foreign citizen," he said. "We want our foreign guests to have only positive memories of us both as a people and as patriots of our country, and as people who love order."
Tesla's stock tumbled below $150 per share, giving up all of the gains made over the past year as the electric vehicle maker reels from falling sales and steep discounts intended to lure more buyers.
Shares in the Elon Musk-owned company slid nearly 4% in intraday trading Thursday, in what now stands as the third worst week for the stock in 2024, a year that has been dismal for Tesla investors. The Austin, Texas company's shares are down 12.4% this week and more than 39% this year.
Shares of Tesla Inc. last traded at the $150 level in January 2023.
It's also been a bad year for employees. Tesla said Monday that it was cutting 10% of its staff globally, about 14,000 jobs. The next day, Tesla announced it would try to re-instate Musk's $56 billion pay package that was rejected by a Delaware judge in January, who said that the arrangement was dictated by Musk and was the product of sham negotiations with directors who were not independent of him.
At the time of the Delaware court ruling, Musk’s package was worth more than $55.8 billion, but the stock slide has cut that to $44.9 billion at the close of trading on Friday, according to a company filing this week.
Tesla shares hit an all-time intraday high of $415.50 in November of 2021, adjusted for a 3-for-1 stock split that took effect in August 2022.
Tesla sales fell sharply last quarter as competition increased worldwide, electric vehicle sales growth slowed, and price cuts failed to draw more buyers. The company said it delivered 386,810 vehicles from January through March, nearly 9% below the 423,000 it sold in the same quarter of last year.
Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush who has been very bullish on Tesla’s stock, called the first quarter sales numbers an “unmitigated disaster."
“For Musk, this is a fork in the road time to get Tesla through this turbulent period otherwise dark days could be ahead,” Ives wrote this week.
Yet on Thursday, Deutsche Bank joined other industry analysts in voicing concern over Musk's big bet on autonomous vehicles as it stripped the company of its “buy” rating, citing Tesla’s “change of strategic priority to Robotaxi.”
Wall Street expects that Tesla will report a decline in first quarter earnings next week and many are wondering if there’s any near-term catalyst for growth that would end Tesla’s stock slide. Industry analysts were expecting a new small electric vehicle for the masses that would cost around $25,000, the Model 2, but there were reports last week that Musk was scrapping that project.
Musk disputed the reports, but wrote on X, the social media platform that he owns, that Tesla would unveil a robotaxi at an event on Aug. 8.
Uncertainty over the release of a cheaper vehicle from Tesla has altered the equation for analysts like Deutche Bank's Emmanuel Rosner.
Such a delay would tie Tesla's future more closely to “cracking the code on full driverless autonomy, which represents a significant technological, regulatory and operational challenge. We view Tesla’s shift as thesis-changing,” Rosner wrote.
Since last year, Tesla has cut prices as much as $20,000 on some models as it faced increasing competition and slowing demand.
Other automakers also have had to cut electric vehicle production and reduce prices to move EVs off dealership lots. Ford, for instance, cut production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup, and lopped up to $8,100 off the price of the Mustang Mach E electric SUV in order to sell 2023 models.
U.S. electric vehicle sales growth slowed to 3.3% in the first quarter of the year, far below the 47% increase that fueled record sales and a 7.6% market share last year. Sales of new vehicles overall grew 5.1%, and the EV market share declined to 7.15%.
In addition to massive job cuts this week, Tesla this week announced the departure of two high-placed executives.
Andrew Baglino, Tesla’s senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, is leaving after 18 years with the company.
Rohan Patel, senior global director of public policy and business development and eight-year Tesla veteran, is also departing.
FILE - Drivers charge their Teslas in Santa Ana, Calif., on March 20, 2024. After reporting dismal first-quarter sales, Tesla is planning to lay off about a tenth of its workforce as it tries to cut costs, multiple media outlets reported Monday.(Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP, File)
FILE - An 2023 Model X sits outside a Tesla dealership on June 18, 2023, in Englewood, Colo. After reporting dismal first-quarter sales, Tesla is planning to lay off about a tenth of its workforce as it tries to cut costs, multiple media outlets reported Monday. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
FILE - Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves the Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars after a visit in Gruenheide near Berlin, Germany, on March 13, 2024. Elon Musk will ask Tesla shareholders to reinstate the compensation package that was rejected by a judge in Delaware this year and to move the electric carmaker’s corporate home from Delaware to Texas. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
FILE - The Tesla logo is displayed at the company's store in Cherry Creek Mall, Feb. 9, 2019, in Denver. Tesla's stock tumbled below $150 per share Thursday, April 18, 2024, giving up all of the gains made over the past year as the electric vehicle maker reels from falling sales and steep discounts intended to lure more buyers. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
