Day: March 7, 2019
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The Troika Laundromat Explained. And How Russia is Dealing with Returning Islamic State Brides
This week on From Russia With News, we discuss the explosive Troika Laundromat investigation with Paul Radu, the executive director of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which revealed the scheme. We’ll also talk to Guardian correspondent Andrew Roth on why the return of hundreds of women and children from Iraq and Syria has…
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Abramovich Forced to Sell Stake in Russian TV Channel Over Israeli Citizenship
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has sold off his shares in Russia’s state-run Channel One television network due to his recently acquired Israeli citizenship, the shares’ buyer told Interfax on Thursday. Russian law prohibits foreign citizens from owning more than 20 percent of a media company, putting Abramovich in violation of the law when he acquired…
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Gazprom starts building thermal power plant in Serbia
Background The construction of the Pancevo TPP is carried out jointly by the Gazprom Energoholding Group and NIS a.d. Novi Sad (part of the Gazprom Neft Group). In June 2015, the companies signed a shareholders agreement to form a joint venture, Serbskaya Generaciya d.o.o. Novi Sad. The share of the Gazprom Energoholding Group in this company is 51 per cent and that of NIS a.d. Novi Sad is 49 per…
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Russia Passes Legislation Banning ‘Disrespect’ of Authorities and ‘Fake News’
Russian lawmakers pushed through a package of bills Thursday seeking to punish internet users and journalists for disrespecting the authorities and spreading fake news. Observers have argued that the highly contentious legislation introduced in December could lead to mass arrests due to its loose wording. Free speech and internet activists are scheduled to protest against…
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Two American Mormons Detained in Russia, Will be Deported — Reports
Two U.S. Mormons detained in Russia for violating immigration law and reportedly charged with teaching English without a license are set to be deported from Russia, local media said on Thursday. The two men, identified as David Gaaga and Kole Brodowski, were detained in southern Russia region late last week, U.S. media reported Wednesday. Both…
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Russian Military Intercepts U.S. Spy Plane Over Baltic Waters
Russia’s Defense Ministry released footage Wednesday of its fighter jet intercepting a U.S. reconnaissance plane over neutral waters near its western border. The video shows a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker approaching and shadowing a U.S. Air Force RC-135 plane over the Baltic Sea. With tensions on the rise, Russia and NATO countries have increasingly scrambled…
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Russia Compromised 600 Foreign Spies in 2018, Putin Says
Russian counterintelligence exposed hundreds of foreign spies in 2018, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. “[Counterintelligence agencies] conducted successful special operations to cut short the activities of 129 career officers and 465 agents of foreign intelligence service,” Putin said at a board meeting of the Federal Security Service (FSB). At the annual meeting, Putin urged FSB…
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WADA to Begin Assessing Russian Doping Data
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Wednesday it has completed a painstaking process of uploading doping data mined from a tainted Moscow laboratory and will start assessing the information to ensure it is complete and authentic. Obtaining, uploading and authenticating the data has been a massive undertaking requiring WADA to construct a virtual Moscow…
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Prosecutors Evaluating Dutch Ties to Alleged Russian Money Laundering
Prosecutors in the Netherlands said on Wednesday they are evaluating signs of Dutch involvement in a money laundering network which is alleged by a report this week to have channelled billions of euros from Russia. Shares in Dutch banks ING and ABN Amro fell after a report by a collective of European news outlets called the Organised Crime and…
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Female Naval Cadets Say Russia Not Ready for Women in Combat Roles
Alina Politika is one of 42 female cadets attending the naval academy in Russia‘s Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, but she knows she is unlikely to ever step onto the captain’s bridge of a battleship. Politka’s diploma and military rank after graduation won’t differ from those of male cadets, but the Russian navy does not accept women as commanding officers — a situation she…
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For The Kremlin, Ukrainian Election a Choice Between Lesser of Three Evils
Before Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatists in east Ukraine, Moscow had a Ukrainian president who did much of what it wanted. Now, as Ukraine readies to elect a new leader, none of the main candidates look that enticing to Russia. Viktor Yanukovich, the last Moscow-friendly Ukrainian president, was toppled by protests in 2014 and fled to Russia, and…