Month: March 2019

The Russian military has confirmed that three of its soldiers were killed in an ambush in Syria late last month. A total of 112 Russian soldiers were killed in the three years since Moscow intervened in the Syrian civil war in support of government forces, a Russian lawmaker estimated in September 2018. Media reports place the…

The first Russian to be prosecuted under a new law that bans encouraging young people to attend unauthorized rallies was found guilty on Monday. Under the law that President Vladimir Putin signed in December, adults face fines and up to 15 days in jail for involving minors in protests. The law was introduced after opposition…

Russia’s youth affairs agency has become the sixth national agency with the authority to block websites deemed harmful to young people. To date, Russia’s Interior Ministry, consumer protection agency, tax service, alcohol regulator and media watchdog Roskomnadzor have had the right to block websites without a court order. A Russian government decree has added the Federal…

Russia sent home nearly two-thirds of some 30,000 North Koreans working there during 2018, according to unpublished reports by Moscow to the United Nations Security Council. The one-page report, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, was submitted to the council’s North Korea sanctions committee in compliance with a 2017 resolution that demanded the repatriation of all North…

Most Russians are concerned about environmental pollution, according to a recent survey conducted by Moscow’s Higher School of Economics (HSE). Environmental issues have taken center stage at protest rallies in Russia over the past year, with citizens drawing attention to concerns including landfills, air pollution and a proposed water bottling plant at Lake Baikal. The HSE survey…

Monday marked the first anniversary of the deadly Winter Cherry mall fire in Russia’s Siberian city of Kemerovo. The March 25, 2018, tragedy claimed the lives of 37 children and 23 adults. Hundreds of people paid tribute to the victims of the fire over the weekend, with many unable to hold back tears.

A fifth-grade teacher in the city of Barnaul in western Siberia has been forced to abandon her post over photos showing her in a New Year’s dress, the sibreal.org news website reported Monday. Language and literature teacher Tatyana Kuvshinnikova uploaded photos of herself in the dress to social media in December. She was pressured by…

Russia’s private S7 Space corporation plans to scrap a deal with a Ukrainian rocket maker on the construction of carrier rockets for its Sea Launch floating launch platform, Russian media reported. S7, Russia’s largest private airline, promised to resurrect Sea Launch when it purchased the suspended project in 2016. Ukraine’s Yuzhmash manufacturer was to build…

When Lydia Kondrashova’s husband died in 1994, her pension wasn’t enough to keep her afloat. So she left her longtime home in southern Russia to move in with her youngest daughter in Mytishchi, a Moscow suburb. Two decades later, however, the arrangement had run its course. The elderly woman needed more attention with each passing…

Russian officials have claimed vindication in reacting to the news that a U.S. probe into Russian election meddling had found no evidence of collusion between U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign and Moscow. Trump was accused of coordinating with the Kremlin to win the 2016 U.S. presidential election after members of his team reportedly met with Russians who offered compromising…

As the world’s fourth-largest wild cat and a native of the Americas, the sight of a leashed puma in a coat on a snowy Moscow weekend would surprise even the most open-minded park-goer. Irma the puma, however, is as domesticated and well-behaved as any house cat, according to her owners, Marina and Sergey. Retired from…

Russia sent two planes with dozens of soldiers and military advisers to Venezuela’s capital of Caracas over the weekend amid growing tensions in the South American country, an anonymous Venezuelan official has said. Venezuela’s political crisis escalated on Sunday when opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president in January, called on his supporters…

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election did not find that President Donald Trump committed a crime but also does not exonerate him, according to a summary of Mueller’s findings released on Sunday. Mueller, who spent nearly two years investigating allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump defeat…

A Russian national has been detained in Indonesia after attempting to smuggle a drugged orangutan out of the country in his suitcase, local media reported Saturday. The animal was found sleeping in a basket in the man’s luggage as he passed through security at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on Friday night. “The Russian deliberately used…

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was baffled by Poland’s refusal to invite a Russian delegation to a commemoration ceremony marking 80 years since the start of World War II. An aide to the Polish president said this week that Russia has not been invited to the September ceremony because of its annexation of Crimea and…

A feminist activist in Russia’s Far East was questioned by police over her art project on body positivity which they deemed “pornographic,” the sibreal.org news website reported Friday. Activist Yulia Tsvetkova’s illustrations were part of a project called “Women are Not Dolls,” which aims to promote body positivity among young women. The images show women…

A Russian court has ordered several publications to remove news linking a lawmaker to a convicted mafia boss, Russian media have reported. State Duma deputy Andrei Skoch sued five outlets in December demanding they delete allegations that he had raised funds for the release of criminal boss Young Shakro and his associate. Forbes Russia named Skoch…

Business ombudsman Boris Titov has appealed to federal prosecutors over a group of Russian businessmen currently being held in pre-trial detention. Russia’s business community has expressed growing concern over the pre-trial detention of U.S. investor Michael Calvey, who has been held on embezzlement charges since Feb. 14. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called on prosecutors to stop the…

Russian race walker Alexandr Ivanov has been disqualified for three years for doping and is set to be stripped of his gold medal at the 2013 world championships in Moscow, the Russian athletics federation said on Friday. Ivanov will lose all the medals he won between June 2012 and August 2014, the federation said. He…

Russian race walker Alexandr Ivanov has been disqualified for three years for doping and is set to be stripped of his gold medal at the 2013 world championships in Moscow, the Russian athletics federation said on Friday. Ivanov will lose all the medals he won between June 2012 and August 2014, the federation said. He…

Pyotr Verzilov looks tanned and energized as he orders a pot of green tea in a central Moscow cafe.   “The irony is, I feel much better now than before the poisoning,” says the Pussy Riot activist and publisher of the online investigative news site Mediazona. Verzilov was rushed to a Moscow hospital on Sept.…

The mysterious death of former Russian presidential aide and media tycoon Mikhail Lesin in Washington may have been a murder, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) news outlet has reported. Lesin was found dead in a Washington hotel room in November 2015, from what was ruled to be accidental blunt-force trauma. Before losing favor with…

Attackers on a motorcycle threw a hand grenade at the Russian consulate in Athens early on Friday, causing no injuries and slight damage, police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the early morning attack on the consulate in the Athens suburb of Chalandri. Police had cordoned off the area. The device exploded…

Russia will supply gas to Hungary in 2020, regardless of agreements on gas transit between Moscow and Kiev, the RBC news website reported on Friday.   The transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine expires at the end of this year and a new agreement has not yet been negotiated. “Today, the CEO of Gazprom and…

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that a change in the status of the Golan Heights would be a direct violation of United Nations decisions, RIA news agency said in a report citing ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. She was commenting on a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump, who tweeted on Thursday it was time…

The creator of an anti-women community on Russian social media has had his hate speech conviction overturned, media reported Thursday. Blogger Vladislav Pozdnyakov received a two-year suspended sentence last December for inciting hatred toward women. His “Male State” page on the Vkontakte social network that espouses nationalism and patriarchy boasted more than 150,000 members before…

This week on From Russia With News, we discuss the shock resignation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev with Joanna Lillis, a journalist in Kazakhstan and author of the acclaimed book on the country: “Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan.” We’ll also talk to journalist Marc Bennetts about the trial of Gaylen Grandstaff, an…

Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) is well positioned to compete with North American projects to reach new markets in Asia and the Atlantic Basin, global commodities information provider S&P Global Platts quoted a Shell executive as saying. LNG is a fuel that has been cooled to liquid form so it takes up less volume and…

Russia’s lumber, wildlife and water resources have a combined worth of 6 trillion rubles ($94.2 billion), the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has estimated. The Russian economy is heavily reliant on exports of its resources. Last week, the ministry said that the combined worth of its oil, gas and other natural resources as of 2017…

Corruption in Russia’s military has quadrupled to 7 billion rubles ($109.8 million) last year, the top federal military prosecutor said on Thursday. Russia ranks among the world’s most corrupt countries in international ratings, with corruption-related crimes costing an estimated $2.5 billion in damages between 2014 and 2017. Observers have said that anti-graft campaigns under President Vladimir Putin’s rule have brought little progress. “The crimes in…

The Kremlin on Thursday said that flights by U.S. nuclear-capable B-52 strategic bombers across the Baltic Sea’s neutral waters near Russia‘s borders created tension in the region. Russia‘s Defense Ministry said earlier on Thursday that it had scrambled fighter jets to intercept a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber after it began flying toward Russia‘s borders. “In general, I…

Average life expectancy in Russia has reached 73 years, a top health official said on Thursday. Russia plans to spend 1.7 trillion rubles ($26.68 billion) on dramatically improving health care to accomplish President Vladimir Putin’s goal of raising life expectancy to 78 years by the time his term ends in 2024. Average life expectancy rose…

Average life expectancy in Russia has reached 73 years, a top health official said on Thursday. Russia plans to spend 1.7 trillion rubles ($26.68 billion) on dramatically improving health care to accomplish President Vladimir Putin’s goal of raising life expectancy to 78 years by the time his term ends in 2024. Average life expectancy rose…

A majority of Russians think a controversial new set of laws will effectively reduce the spread of false information online, according to a state-run survey published on Wednesday. This week, President Vladimir Putin signed into law legislation that will fine online media for spreading “fake news” and punish those who exhibit “blatant disrespect” to the…

An aging leader steps down as president but keeps a firm grip on the reins of power. For many in the Kremlin, the choreographed events unfolding in neighboring Kazakhstan are a model for Russian President Vladimir Putin to consider. Unlike his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev, however, nobody’s certain Putin could pull off a transfer of…

Russia has wrapped up construction of its first rail bridge to China, connecting the two countries across the Amur River, Russian media reported on Thursday. Construction of the 2,200-meter bridge between Nizhneleninskoye in Russia and Tongjiang city in China began in 2014, underscoring Russia’s Eastern pivot amid deteriorating ties with the West. China completed construction…

Russia’s parliament has created a task force to assess damages to Crimea during its more than two decades as part of Ukraine. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, incurring economic sanctions and international isolation. Moscow calls the annexation of the Black Sea peninsula a reunification with its historical territory. “We will analyze the…

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday signed a decree broadening sanctions against Russian companies and citizens to include aluminum and power producer En+ Group and several other Russian firms. Kiev imposed sanctions against some Russian firms and individuals in response to Russia‘s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its support for a pro-Moscow insurgency the east of Ukraine. Wednesday’s…

President Vladimir Putin has replaced three more governors ahead of regional elections later this year as low ratings for the ruling United Russia party risk upsetting its hold on power. Sixteen regions are scheduled to elect new governors on Sept. 8 this year. Putin replaced 10 leaders in Oct. 2018 after an unpopular government move…

It’s not all smiles for Russia as it slips down the global happiness rankings for a third consecutive year, according to an annual UN report published on Wednesday. The World Happiness Report ranks 156 countries by variables that support well-being, including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity and absence of corruption.…

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to the new acting president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, hours after he was named the new leader of the Central Asian country. Tokayev was sworn in as Kazakhstan’s president on Wednesday, a day after Putin’s close ally Nursultan Nazarbayev unexpectedly resigned after three decades in power. Kazakhstan…

Russian prison guards may soon be required to apologize to inmates for violating their rights, new regulations drafted by the federal penitentiary system show. Last year, the Federal Prison Service (FSIN) launched nationwide inspections at its facilities in the wake of leaked videos showing guards torturing inmates at a prison in the Yaroslavl region. The…

President Vladimir Putin has kicked off the full-scale development of one of Russia’s largest proven gas fields in the Yamal peninsula, the Kremlin reported on Wednesday. The Kharasaveyskoye gas field is located in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district, a key gas-producing region in an economy that heavily relies on gas exports. This month, Russia’s Natural Resources…

This article appeared in our special “Russia in 2019” print issue. The road to “New Life” is bumpy. Only recently opened, the entrance to the apartment complex in Belgorod, a provincial city on the border with Ukraine, has yet to be paved. Already, though, young mothers can be seen pushing strollers along bike paths as their toddlers scramble over Danish playground…