Month: December 2019

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

A Russian banker awaiting trial on organized crime charges has taken out a full-page newspaper ad to give a New Year’s Eve warning to businesspeople that they too could face a similar fate. Alexander Popov’s message in the Vedomosti business daily Wednesday comes as Russian authorities consider limiting the use of organized-crime laws in corporate…

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved legislation on Wednesday that would impose sanctions on Russia, but there was no indication of when the full Senate might vote on the measure that one sponsor called the sanctions bill “from hell.” The vote was 17-5 to advance the bill in the Republican-controlled committee. All five “no”…

A five-year-old girl born in Russia is the world’s third-richest YouTube blogger, Forbes reported Wednesday. Anastasia Radzinskaya earned an estimated $18 million between June 2018-June 2019, according to the business magazine. The native of the southern Russian city of Krasnodar who moved to Florida last year has a combined 107 million subscribers across six YouTube…

Residents of Moscow are wondering where winter has gone as the highest December temperatures for 133 years deprive the Russian capital of its customary covering of snow. “This is not our winter,” said pensioner Ludmila Biryukova. “It came from somewhere else.” At a time when snow often blankets the streets and icicles hang from buildings, the temperature…

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin gave an annual report to municipal lawmakers Wednesday. Sobyanin faced several challenges this year, including mass protests against the exclusion of opposition candidates from the Moscow City Duma election and against plans to ship waste to outlying regions. Here’s a selection of quotes from Sobyanin’s two-hour report, which included answers to…

Donald Trump on Wednesday became the third U.S. president to be impeached as the House of Representatives formally charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in a historic step that will inflame partisan tensions across a deeply divided America. The Democratic-led House’s passage of two articles of impeachment on a mostly party-line…

Russia’s Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov hosted 150 military attaches from the diplomatic missions of 70 countries Tuesday. During his speech, Gerasimov discussed Russia’s military arms and strategies. Here are some of his key quotes: Putin’s weapons — Peresvet laser system “Since the beginning of December, the Peresvet laser…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Russian officials have seized nearly $96 million worth of opioids at a Moscow airport this month that were bound for Tajikistan as part of a United Nations HIV response program. The 1.2 metric tons of mislabeled methadone with a black-market value of 6 billion rubles ($95.8 million) arrived at Vnukovo Airport from Germany in early…

The shores of Balaklava Bay in Russian-annexed Crimea became unexpectedly swarmed with aurelia jellyfish this month, photos posted online show. News of the jelly invasion quickly spread across the internet, with photos gaining thousands of likes on Instagram. Social media users said that the bay has turned into a “kissel coast,” comparing the waters to…

The substance that brought one of Russia’s longest oil pipelines to a halt in April was carbon tetrachloride, a lethal chemical meant to be tightly controlled by an international agreement, according to the results of three separate, undisclosed tests seen by Reuters. A summary of the results of a test carried out for Russia’s Ministry…

Russia and Syria have unveiled a series of commercial and relief projects in Syria as Moscow looks to solidify its foothold in the war-torn country. Russia has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an eight-year civil war and has waged an air campaign in his support in 2015. Here are five projects Russian Deputy Prime…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Moscow city authorities will consider trash incineration to be a form of recycling, according to the city’s trash reform plan for 2020-2029 published Monday. Moscow’s practice of exporting its waste to surrounding regions has riled Russian citizens over the past year, while nationwide trash reforms threaten to shut down garbage collectors in several regions. The…

Russia’s gender equality has become worse compared to that of other countries since last year, according to the Global Gender Gap Index ranking published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Monday. Published annually since 2006, the Global Gender Gap Index tracks the equality of men and women in 153 countries in four categories: economic…

A Russian woman jailed in the United States for working as a foreign agent and deported to Moscow has been hired by Russia’s state-funded RT television as a host for an online show that mocks the opposition, the station said on Tuesday. Maria Butina, 31, pleaded guilty in a U.S. court last December to one…

A Russian spy ship is conducting “unsafe” and “erratic” maneuvers off the coast of the southeastern United States, CNN reported Tuesday. The Viktor Leonov SSV-175, part of the Vishnya class of intelligence ships, has reportedly patrolled international waters off the eastern coast of the U.S. every year since 2014.  The Viktor Leonov’s return this year…

U.S. businessman Mikayel Israyelyan has bought a majority stake in New York-based Russian-language television network RTVI from its Russian owner and plans to expand it in the United States, the channel said on Tuesday. The sale marks the first time the network, one of the biggest Russian-language broadcasters outside of Russia, will be majority owned…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

The share of Russians who view the United States positively has more than doubled in the past year and a half, according to an independent Levada Center polling agency survey published Tuesday. Only 20% of Russians polled by Levada in May 2018 said they viewed the U.S. favorably. That year, they named the U.S. as…

Syria’s parliament has approved contracts for oil exploration with two Russian companies in an effort to boost production hit by more than eight years of war and Western sanctions. State news agency SANA said the deals cover exploration and production in three blocs, including an oilfield in northeast Syria and a gas field north of…

Sanctions have helped reduce income inequality in Russia, a new study looking into the effects of both Western sanctions against Russia and Russia’s own counter-sanctions has said. The U.S. and EU imposed sanctions against Russia in 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine. In response, Russia…

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to still use Microsoft’s discontinued Windows XP operating system, the Open Media news website reported Monday after examining photographs of his desktop. Microsoft stopped releasing security updates for Windows XP and Office 2003, with occasional exceptions, in April 2014. Russian officials are technically banned from using foreign software as Moscow…

China and Russia on Monday proposed the U.N. Security Council lift a ban on North Korean exporting statues, seafood and textiles, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters, in a move Russia said is aimed at encouraging talks between Washington and Pyongyang. The draft also called for a ban to be lifted on North…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that increases fines for news media or their employees designated as “foreign agents” Monday. The new fines come two weeks after Putin signed another piece of legislation allowing authorities to label individual journalists and bloggers “foreign agents.” Starting Feb. 1, 2020, any individual who distributes information online…

A series of censorship scandals rocked Russia’s television landscape in the past week. Here’s a look at the three high-profile cases where words, episodes or entire shows were taken down from Russian television screens: “Servant of the People” The Gazprom-owned TNT entertainment channel pulled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s political satire “Servant of the People” off…

A lot has happened in 2019 — nowhere moreso than in Russia, where geopolitical drama, civil unrest, natural disasters and more played out across the country. As we approach 2020, here’s a look at the stories and events that shaped the narrative across Russia this year: Summer of discontent This summer saw a nearly unprecedented…

Authorities in Russia have registered one of the first transgender marriages in a country that positions itself as a bastion of traditional family values. Erika Askarova and Viktor Manuilin’s otherwise ordinary wedding made national headlines after the two posted photographs from the registry office in the city of Kazan on Dec. 12. Askarova, 30, and…

Russia’s third-largest internet company Rambler wants a record 180 billion rubles ($2.87 billion) in compensation from Amazon’s streaming giant Twitch over illegal streams, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday, the second high-profile action Rambler has taken against a U.S. tech company in less than a week. The lawsuit follows raids on popular web hosting software…

Russia is proposing to move toward ending the ban on selling so-called blood diamonds from the Central African Republic, a former French colony that’s struck recent military and commercial ties with Moscow, amid resistance from the U.S. and Europe. The CAR, which is mired in civil conflict, should be granted a “road map” outlining the…

The city of Moscow spent nearly as much money on urban renewal over the past decade as the rest of the country combined, the Vedomosti business daily reported Friday.  Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin made urbaniztion a top priority when he took office in 2010. In 2015, Sobyanin launched the Moya Ulitsa (My Street)  initiative, which…

Russia is developing nuclear weapons that the United States does not yet have, a senior officer of the force that oversees the U.S. nuclear arsenal was cited by the state-run TASS news agency as saying Friday. U.S. Strategic Command deputy commander Vice Adm. Dave Kriete spoke to reporters as the U.S. tested a missile that…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has secured a majority in a landslide election victory, results showed on Friday. In addition to leading Britain through its withdrawal from the European Union, Johnson will be tasked with navigating British-Russian relations, which have been fraught since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and a former Russian spy…

Russia’s natural population decline will set an 11-year record this year as the country’s demographic crisis shows no signs of letting up, the RBC news website reported Friday.  Russia’s overall population totaled 146.7 million in January-September 2019, the State Statistics Service Rosstat said in a report last week. While migrant inflows had offset its natural…

Painted in the Russia’s flag’s tricolor, the new Arktika sailed out to the Gulf of Finland on Thursday for a two-day test voyage. During sea trials, the icebreaker will test its ballast system, navigation equipment, anchors and electric installations as well as maneuvering characteristics, Rosatomflot informs. Arktika is the lead vessel in the new class…

Russian lawmakers tasked with weeding out foreign interference have endorsed penalties for Russian nationals who attend “undesirable” NGO courses abroad, the country’s parliament said Thursday. The lower-house State Duma formed a special commission on foreign meddling in Russia after mass anti-government rallies rocked Moscow this summer. Since then, it has accused foreign news outlets, U.S.…

A Russian court jailed a Jehovah’s Witness adherent for six years on Friday after finding him guilty of extremist activity, part of a crackdown on the group that human rights activists say violates religious freedom. A court in Penza, around 350 miles (563 kilometers) southeast of Moscow, said in a statement it had jailed Vladimir Alushkin,…

Yegor Zhukov was tired of giving interviews. So instead of using the main entrance to an event in his honor, where a television crew was waiting for him, he slipped past a security guard and headed for a side door. He didn’t go unnoticed. “Please, young man, follow the rules,” the guard ordered, running after…

Ukrainian police have detained five people, including a pediatric surgeon and a rock musician, over the killing of an investigative journalist in a car bomb in July 2016, law enforcement officials said on Thursday. Briefing journalists alongside President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the officials said the motive for killing 44-year-old Pavel Sheremet, a Belarussian, was to destabilize…