Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Russia’s Health Ministry will limit the distribution of abortion-inducing pills in pharmacies, in the country’s latest move to clamp down on abortion access. Misoprostol and mifepristone have been added to the ministry’s list of medications subject to subject-quantitative registration (PKU), according to its decree published Tuesday. The ministry’s order will come into effect on Sept. […]

Russian-born physicist Alexei Ekimov on Wednesday won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside French-born Moungi Bawendi and American scientist Louis Brus for their research on tiny particles known as quantum dots. The trio succeeded in producing these tiny fluorescent semiconductors that “now spread their light from televisions and LED lamps, and can also guide surgeons […]

Senior Russian, United States and European Union diplomats met in secret on the eve of Azerbaijan’s lightning campaign to retake the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kremlin confirmed Wednesday. Politico Europe reported Wednesday that U.S.-EU-Russia talks on pressuring Baku to end its nine-month blockade of Karabakh took place on Sept. 17 in Istanbul.  Two days later, Azerbaijan’s […]

Siberian political figures have slammed the chief editor of the state-run RT news outlet for her calls to drop a nuclear bomb over Siberia as a way of sending a message to the West.  RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan proposed detonating a thermonuclear device “on our own territory, somewhere over Siberia,” claiming that there would be no […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Kyrgyzstan next week, authorities in the Central Asian country said Wednesday, his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him. Putin has not left Russia since the Hague-based court issued the warrant in March over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to […]

General Sergei Surovikin said he continues to serve Russia amid reports of his dismissal from the Defense Ministry after Yevegny Prigozhin’s failed mutiny in late June, the Noviye Izvestia news outlet reported Tuesday. Surovikin, long considered the main intermediary between the Wagner mercenary outfit and the Russian Defense Ministry, disappeared from public view after Wagner chief Yevgeny […]

Police in the republic of Chechnya’s capital have refused to open a criminal case against regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s son over his assault of a Russian teenager on video, the Baza Telegram channel reported Wednesday, citing internal police documents. Adam Kadyrov, 15, was shown last month kicking and punching Nikita Zhuravel, 19, who was arrested in the southern […]

Ukraine said Wednesday it struck a Russian anti-aircraft system in the border region of Belgorod overnight, as Kyiv’s attacks on Russian-controlled territory intensify. Since Kyiv launched its counteroffensive in June, Russian regions bordering Ukraine have accused the Ukrainian army of almost daily drone strikes and shelling. An unnamed source in the Ukrainian Security Service source […]

A Russian court sentenced Marina Ovsyannikova, the former state journalist who on live television protested the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, to eight-and-a-half years in prison in absentia, media reported Wednesday. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court convicted Ovsyannikova, who is currently living outside of Russia, of spreading “false information” about the Russian army over her anti-war picket […]

Publicly available records have revealed the hidden locations of Russia’s military and intelligence agencies across the country, the independent investigative outlet Dossier Center reported. According to Russian law, it is illegal to share any information about military, intelligence and other areas where public disclosure could harm national security. But Dossier said it had found properties […]

A landfill in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region caught fire on Tuesday, sending potentially hazardous smoke over surrounding residential areas, activists and media reported. In a video posted online by a local activist group, large clouds of brownish-gray smoke could be seen billowing over fields and houses near the landfill, which is located outside the village of Poltavskaya. […]

Russia’s branch of the global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said Tuesday it has relaunched operations from abroad after being labeled “undesirable” by the authorities. Transparency Russia was forced to dissolve itself earlier this year after being added to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office’s list of “undesirable” organizations. “The experience and knowledge in the field of anti-corruption […]

Russia’s Investigative Committee on Tuesday opened a criminal case against a former Wagner fighter and convict over the killing of two women in a Siberian village. Denis Stepanov is accused of setting fire to a home in the village Yermakovkoye, located in Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk region, resulting in the deaths of a 68-year-old homeowner and a 35-year-old woman, according to […]

The Kremlin plans to announce President Vladimir Putin’s campaign for a fifth presidential term at an economic exposition next month, according to reports citing Russian officials and Kremlin insiders. Putin may use his upcoming visit to the “Russia” expo — which will see regions and cities showcase their economic successes amid international sanctions — to […]

Russia’s currency briefly fell past 100 against the dollar on Tuesday, continuing to weaken on signs that the country’s economy is facing slower growth and higher inflation amid the war in Ukraine. The psychological threshold of 100 against the dollar raises the prospect of weaker spending power for Russians, who are forced to pay more […]

Russian authorities on Tuesday placed Oleksiy Arestovych, the former adviser to Ukraine’s president, on their wanted list in connection with unspecified criminal charges. Arestovych resigned from his position as presidential aide in January over controversial comments he made about a deadly Russian airstrike in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Russia’s Interior Ministry database lists […]

Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said Tuesday that the dramatic crash of its Luna-25 Moon lander last month was likely caused by an error in the craft’s propulsion system. The lunar mission, Russia’s first in nearly 50 years, was meant to mark the country’s return to independent Moon exploration. But despite the lander’s successful entry into […]

Updated to add the Kremlin’s reaction. Armenian lawmakers voted Tuesday for their country to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move that is likely to provoke outrage from Moscow, the South Caucasus nation’s longtime ally. The Kremlin criticized the decision by Armenia’s parliament to move towards joining the Hague-based court, which has issued an arrest […]

Warsaw and Kyiv announced on Tuesday they had agreed to speed up the transit of Ukrainian cereal exports through Poland to third countries, a first step in resolving their “grain war.” The three-nation agreement between Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania means that Ukrainian grain exports — destined for markets in Africa and the Middle East in […]

Russia’s Investigative Committee said Tuesday it would press charges against four senior Ukrainian military officials over drone strikes on Russian territory. Moscow leveled the terrorism charges against Kyiv’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk, navy commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa and Serhiy Burdenyuk, commander of the 383rd unmanned aviation brigade. “It has also been established […]

Ukraine on Monday reacted angrily to a social media post by billionaire Elon Musk that made fun of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s repeated calls for Western military and financial aid to fight Russian forces. Musk has provided Ukraine with Starlink satellite services that have been vital to the Ukrainian army, but some have criticized his statements […]

Moscow last month experienced its hottest September in 176 years, scientists from the Meteorological Observatory at Moscow State University (MGU) have said, marking the third-warmest September since records began. The average temperature in the Russian capital this September reached 15.5 degrees Celsius, surpassing the historic average of 12.2 C by over three degrees. Temperatures climbed higher only in […]

Japan has cut off a lucrative $2-billion backchannel for used-car exports to Russia, Reuters reported Monday, citing trade data and market participants. Japan, the world’s leading used-car exporter, initially banned the export of luxury vehicles and heavy trucks to Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine last year. In August, Tokyo expanded the ban to include new […]

Moscow said Monday that Western fatigue over the war in Ukraine “will grow,” as the future of Washington’s support for Kyiv hangs in the balance following a decision by the U.S. Congress to drop additional aid to the war-torn country. A compromise struck between American lawmakers over the weekend left out fresh funding for Ukraine […]

A Ukrainian soldier who captured a Russian T-72 tank with mechanical problems filmed himself calling the tank’s manufacturer in Russia for technical support. The soldier, who goes by the callsign “Kochevnik,” called two people said to be senior figures at the Uralvagonzavod tank manufactory in Nizhny Tagil, as shown in a video published by the Telegram channel Ukrainian Militant. “[The […]

Russia’s first-ever climate litigation case is currently moving through the European Court of Human Rights as activists make a last-ditch attempt to challenge the president and the government for failing to meet global climate goals. The case, brought by Russia’s oldest independent human rights organization the Moscow Helsinki Group, along with the environmental group Ecodefense […]

A bust of Josef Stalin has appeared at a memorial site dedicated to victims of Soviet political repression, the regional media outlet 7×7 reported. Stalin’s bust could be seen alongside new statues of his predecessor Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet secret police, Felix Dzerzhinsky, and Politburo member Mikhail Kalinin, who in 1940 signed orders to […]

The European Union signaled its long-term support for Ukraine on Monday as its foreign ministers convened in Kyiv for a historic first gathering outside the bloc’s borders. The meeting came as disagreements grow among EU members over support for Ukraine and as Kyiv’s forces make limited gains in a high-stakes counteroffensive against Russian troops. “We […]

ST. PETERSBURG — Dozens of people gathered at Yevgeny Prigozhin’s grave site on Sunday to pay tribute to the late Russian mercenary chief on the 40th day since his death in a mysterious plane crash. According to Orthodox Christian tradition, the souls of the deceased remain on Earth for 40 days before finding their eternal […]

Russia was targeted by another wave of Ukrainian drones and shelling on Sunday, wounding three people and forcing an airport to divert flights, officials said. Since Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in early June, Russian regions have accused Kyiv’s armed forces of almost daily drone strikes and shelling on civilian targets. “On Sunday morning, the armed […]

The flood of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh dwindled to a trickle Saturday as Armenia said nearly the entire population of the breakaway territory had already fled since Azerbaijan seized back control. An AFP journalist at the Kornidzor crossing into Armenia saw only several ambulances arrive as border guards said they were waiting for a final few […]

The Kremlin has launched a sweeping propaganda campaign to convince young Russians that their country has built the world’s most free and fair elections since President Vladimir Putin came to power, officials have told The Moscow Times. In an unprecedented move, Russian authorities on Monday held a nationwide school lesson marking the 30th anniversary of […]

President Vladimir Putin on Friday said that Russian prisoners who died in Ukraine had redeemed themselves in the eyes of society. To boost regular troops fighting in Ukraine, the army and mercenary group Wagner have extensively recruited from Russian penal colonies. “They are dead,” Putin said during a televised meeting, referring to prisoners who died […]

Russia’s military will enlist 130,000 young men for compulsory service this fall, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Combined with the 147,000 men drafted during the spring draft, Russia’s Defense Ministry will field 277,000 conscripts in 2023. From Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, Russia’s military will be allowed to call up men […]

Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at the Paris Paralympics in 2024 under a neutral flag after officials voted against an outright ban. A majority of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on Friday allowed Russian athletes to compete “in an individual and neutral capacity” without national flags, colors or emblems. Russia has been suspended […]

Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag at the Paris Paralympics in 2024 after officials on Friday voted against an outright ban. A majority of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted to allow Russian athletes to compete “in an individual and neutral capacity” without national flags, colors or emblems. The decision […]

Russian state television showed footage of northern Poland during a report on the Russian city of Kaliningrad, local media said Friday. A Rossiya 1 news program that aired Thursday reported on President Vladimir Putin’s meeting on the development of the Kaliningrad region, a western exclave that borders Lithuania and Poland. “The region remains competitive in the face […]

Diana Akue has been on her guard lately. The Gabonese doctoral economics student in the city of Yekaterinburg avoids going out at night and exercises greater caution around strangers than she used to.  As a black woman living in Russia for the past nine years, Akue has faced her share of discrimination — from being […]

The U.K. on Friday announced new sanctions against almost a dozen senior Russian officials and the country’s election commission over “sham” elections held in occupied Ukrainian territory this month and last year. The move takes the number of individuals and entities sanctioned by Britain in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly 20 months ago to more […]

Russia hosted Taliban leaders for talks on regional security Friday as it seeks to forge ties with Afghanistan’s new rulers and assert itself as a major power in the region. Since U.S. forces pulled out of Kabul in August 2021, Russia and China have taken advantage of the vacuum, holding talks with the Taliban despite […]

President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree allowing for the sale of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo’s Russian operations.  Intesa, Italy’s largest bank, stopped new financing to corporate Russian clients and fresh investments in Russian assets after Moscow invaded Ukraine last year. In a “special decision” dated Thursday, Putin exempted Intesa from his 2022 ban […]

The Russian military will not mobilize reserves as it gears up for an annual call-up of young men for compulsory military service, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday. “There are no plans for additional mobilization measures,” deputy head of the military’s mobilization department, Rear Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, said in a briefing.   The fall military call-up will […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has tasked a former aide of late Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to oversee volunteer fighter units in Ukraine, according to a Kremlin statement on Friday. “At the last meeting, we talked about you overseeing the formation of volunteer units that can carry out various tasks, first and foremost, of course, in […]

A missile that killed two people in a Polish village in November, raising fears of a dangerous spike in the Ukraine conflict, belonged to Kyiv’s forces, Warsaw said Thursday. Two workers at a grain drying facility died in the blast in Przewodow, some six kilometers (four miles) from the Ukrainian border, raising fears of an […]

Kazakhstan’s leader said Thursday his country would not help Russia circumvent Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, amid suspicions that Moscow is still receiving vital goods via Central Asian nations. “Kazakhstan has unambiguously stated that it will follow the sanctions regime,” said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev following talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf […]

School students in Russia’s Far East have come out in support of their gym teacher after he was suspended for beating one of their classmates, media reported Thursday. Valery Baulin was suspended from his position at a school in Vladivostok after a video posted on social media showed him punching and choking a 12-year-old student during class. A […]

Finland’s Supreme Court has ordered a Russian asylum seeker to return his two children to their mother in Russia despite their fears of being viewed as “traitors,” Finnish media reported Wednesday. According to the Helsingin Sanomat daily, the father applied for asylum on behalf of himself and his children — aged 10 and 12 — after […]

Moscow on Thursday said Armenians fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijani’s takeover of the region had nothing to fear, an apparent rejection of Armenia’s claims of ethnic cleansing in the disputed territory. “It’s difficult to say who is to blame [for the exodus], there is no direct reason for such actions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “People […]