Month: February 2020

An elite apartment registered under Queen Elizabeth II’s name is up for sale in central Moscow, the online tabloid 7days.ru reported Tuesday. “Her Majesty the Queen, who rules over Canada” is listed as the owner of at least four low-rise block apartments overlooking Christ the Savior Cathedral, Russian media reported last year. The properties belong…

Police in the central Russian city of Penza detained and allegedly pressured a group of activists who had come to support jailed members of an anti-fascist group, Russian media reported Tuesday.  Seven members of the group Set — Russian for “Network” — were sentenced to up to 18 years on terrorism charges in Penza on…

A Dubai appeal court has dismissed a freezing order on a $436 million superyacht belonging to a Russian billionaire at the center of one of the world’s costliest divorce battles, according to a copy of the final ruling reviewed by Reuters. But it is still not clear whether superyacht M.V. Luna, impounded in 2018, will…

Vladimir Putin’s surprise firing of Russia’s government and unveiling of constitutional changes that would weaken the presidency may only be Plan B for retaining power after his final term ends in 2024. In the month before Putin’s Jan. 15 announcement, he’d pushed hard to convince his longer-serving counterpart in Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, to revive a…

Facebook on Wednesday said it had suspended a network of accounts used by Russian military intelligence to seed false narratives online targeting Ukraine and other countries in Eastern Europe. “Although the people behind this network attempted to conceal their identities and coordination, our investigation found links to Russian military intelligence services,” Facebook said in a…

A former department head of Russia’s prison service has died by suicide in court, media outlets reported Wednesday. Viktor Sviridov, who was attending his sentencing on extortion charges during his time as head of the Federal Prison Service’s transport department, did not survive the attempt to take his own life. The court had reportedly sentenced…

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 Kremlin on Wednesday accused Turkey of flouting agreements it had made with Russia to neutralize militants in the Syrian province of Idlib and said militant attacks on Syrian and Russian forces in the region were continuing. The Kremlin made its comments after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his country’s military would strike Russian-backed Syrian…

Update: The chief sanitary doctor at the Botkinskaya clinic has filed a lawsuit against Ilyina, the state-run TASS news agency reported Thursday. After two days of solitary confinement, freedom tasted sweet to Alla Ilyina. The 32-year old housewife had been quarantined in St. Petersburg’s Botkinskaya clinic since she went for a check-up after returning from…

A Russian submarine officer in Syria has been discharged for drinking and cursing at President Vladimir Putin’s portrait, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday. Captain lieutenant Oleg Lavrenchuk was said to have consumed alcohol with five other service members in June 2019 after finding out that their tour in Syria would be extended. Lavrenchuk initially…

Portugal has frozen the bank accounts of Africa’s richest woman Isabel dos Santos, who claims Russian citizenship by birth and is suspected of fraud in her native Angola. Dos Santos, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $2 billion, was born in Azerbaijan 46 years ago when it was still part of the Soviet Union. The…

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has ordered some of the country’s major internet companies to give it continuous access to their systems, The Bell investigative website reported late on Tuesday, citing three sources at the firms. It said the measure would affect a string of Russian internet services that have been added to a list…

Russia has reported its first two cases of coronavirus and said the infected people were Chinese citizens who had been isolated. As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 1,000 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry points along its…

Public trust in President Vladimir Putin has nearly halved in two years, according to the independent Levada Center’s survey published Wednesday. Only 35% of Russian respondents said they trust Putin in January 2020, Levada said. Putin’s trust rating stood at 59% in November 2017. “The decline began long ago,” Levada chief Lev Gudkov told the…

Russia will tap its National Wealth Fund (NWF) to buy the central bank’s stake in Sberbank, ending years of debate about potential conflicts of interest arising from the central bank controlling the country’s top lender. The sale at market price, discussed at Russia’s top-level since late last year, will also help fund social pledges made…

Russia discharged a Chinese national from hospital in the Siberian city of Chita on Wednesday after he recovered from a coronavirus infection, local authorities said. He was the second of Russia‘s two confirmed cases of coronavirus to recover. The other patient, also a Chinese national, was said by authorities on Tuesday to have recovered and been released…

Four aspiring astronauts from India have embarked on a 12-month training program in Russia, Russia’s space launch service provider announced Monday. They are expected to go into orbit on board the three-person Gaganyaan spacecraft sometime in late 2021 or mid-2022. The mission — which is set to be India’s first manned space flight — was estimated…

It was late November in St. Petersburg, and, like many residents of the frigid northern city as winter set in, Taisiya Sheremet caught a cold. But for the 17-year-old cystic fibrosis patient, common colds don’t get better in a few days. Because the disease primarily affects the respiratory system, a sniffle can lead to a…

Russian presidents could be made senators for life when they leave office under a proposed reform, a senior lawmaker said on Tuesday, a status that would give them immunity from prosecution. The initiative, drawn up by a government commission, follows sweeping changes to Russia‘s political system proposed last month by President Vladimir Putin. Putin’s proposals, which…

A couple from Russia’s western exclave of Kaliningrad is on trial for treason over the appearance of a secret agent in their wedding photographs, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. Baltic affairs expert Antonina Zimina and her husband Konstantin Antonets were arrested in 2018 on suspicion of sharing secret information with neighboring Latvia’s intelligence agencies,…

New senior appointments in Moscow and Kiev on Tuesday pointed towards a tentative thaw in ties, after the Ukrainian president’s new chief of staff offered guarded praise for the man put in charge of the Ukraine file in the Kremlin. While there was no indication whether the timing of the announcements was intentional, the simultaneous…

On Monday, seven members of a Russian anti-fascist activist group were jailed for up to 18 years on terrorism charges in a case that observers have compared to a Soviet-era show trial.The members of the group Set — Russian for “Network” — were detained in the city of Penza in 2017. Investigators claimed they were…

A popular Russian television host and Instagram blogger faces extremism charges over her posts criticizing President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to encourage population growth without addressing economic hardship, the online tabloid Super reported Monday. Alyona Vodonayeva sparked controversy in December for urging low-income Russians not to give birth to “slaves to this state.” She doubled down…

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that all attacks on Russian and Syrian government forces in Syria’s Idlib province should stop and that agreements it had struck with Turkey on the conflict had to be upheld. Moscow made its comments, which underscore rising tensions over Syria between Russia and Turkey, after Syrian government forces took control…

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 providers experienced slow connections and disruptions during test runs last fall for compliance with Russia’s so-called internet isolation law, according to the providers’ report to the government cited by the RBC news website Monday. At least one provider in Russia’s Urals Federal District said it was unable to block the popular messaging app Telegram,…

A pair of Russian satellites appear to be following an American satellite in an “unusual and disturbing” manner, the head of the United States’ newly formed Space Force has said. Gen. John Raymond’s statement marks the Space Force’s first public confrontation leveled at an adversary in the increasingly competitive space domain, Time magazine reported Monday. His…

Russia has reported its first two cases of coronavirus and said the infected people were Chinese citizens who had been isolated. As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 1,000 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry points along its…

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…

Police in Moscow have detained a prankster over a video showing imitated coronavirus seizures on a crowded metro car, authorities told Interfax on Monday. A video attributed to blogger “Kara.prank” depicted a passenger in a face mask collapsing and convulsing as fellow passengers scrambled out of the wagon at the next stop. The video disappeared…

Russian authorities have quarantined a Chinese diplomat as a safety precaution against the coronavirus outbreak, Interfax reported on Monday. Consul General Cui Shaochun arrived in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on Thursday to take up his new post but was told to stay at home for two weeks, Russian Foreign Ministry official Alexander Kharlov was…

Russia has scrapped highly criticized restrictions on its scientists a year after issuing them, the Education and Science Ministry’s newly appointed chief was quoted as saying Monday. The February 2019 order that was made public months later had advised government-affiliated scientists to seek formal approval before meeting foreign colleagues and to bring companions to such meetings.…

Russia has reported its first two cases of coronavirus and said the infected people were Chinese citizens who had been isolated. As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 900 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry points along its…

Controversial Canadian author and academic Jordan Peterson has been treated for addiction to anti-anxiety medication in Russia, his daughter has said. Peterson rose to fame in conservative circles in 2016 for opposing what calls “radical political correctness authoritarianism,” and his polarizing stances have drawn widespread controversy. He is estimated to have authored 50 books, including…

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…

President Vladimir Putin’s senior adviser on climate change has called for Russia to take urgent action toward climate change, including taking more substantive steps to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday, Ruslan Edelgeriev said Russia failed to achieve Putin’s goal of reducing the share of fossil fuels…

A court in central Russia has jailed members of an anti-fascist activist group for up to 18 years on terrorism charges, the Mediazona news website reported Monday. Seven members of the group Set — Russian for “Network” — were detained in the city of Penza along with four other members in St. Petersburg in 2017.…

Two Russian children have been killed in a head-on speedboat collision in the Thai resort island of Phuket, authorities said Monday. The Phuket News outlet, citing a tourism police official, identified the victims as a 12-year-old boy and six-year-old girl. Russia’s Embassy in Thailand said one of the hospitals that treated the injured had confirmed…

A Boeing 737 airliner with 94 people on board made a hard landing in northwestern Russia on Sunday, carrier UTair said, but no one was badly hurt. It said the airliner, arriving at Usinsk airport in the Komi Republic about 1,500 kilometers from Moscow, made the hard landing because of wind shear — a sudden change of wind…

It’s a refurbished Soviet-style sanatorium, but there are no visitors, staff wear decontamination suits and riot police stand guard outside in temperatures of around minus 15 degrees Celsius. In the fenced-off complex in Siberia, 144 people have been put in quarantine under close observation for two weeks after the Russian military evacuated them this week…

A Moscow jury has acquitted a man accused of killing a gay man last year, the LGBT rights group Stimul reported Thursday. Security cameras captured 40-year-old Roman Yedalov’s stabbing death near central Moscow’s Kursky train station in June 2019. His boyfriend Yevgeny Yefimov, who survived the attack, recounted that the suspect had shouted homophobic slurs. …

A Moscow activist campaign is encouraging people to protect their privacy by covering their faces in bright, bold designs.  Police-controlled facial recognition technology has been expanding in Moscow’s wide-reaching surveillance network since 2017. While law enforcement says the technology helps catch wanted criminals, critics have spoken out against what they say is non-consensual identification and…

Foreign students will be able to work without obtaining a permit while studying in Russia under a new law President Vladimir Putin signed Thursday. Currently, international students are only allowed to work without a permit if the job is at their state-accredited university and they work in their free time or during the holidays. Foreign…

Russia’s Central Bank has cut interest rates for the sixth time in a row as it continues to respond to slower-than-expected inflation. Russia’s key rate will fall to 6% on Monday from its current level of 6.25%, the Bank said Friday. The latest decision, taken at a meeting of the Bank’s governing board in Moscow,…

Russia’s new prime minister earned more than $35 million from his two-year spell at Russian investment group UFG, his former colleagues have said, addressing questions which have been raised over how Mikhail Mishustin and his family came to obtain millions of dollars worth of assets. Mishustin worked at UFG between 2008-2010, in between his roles…

A group of men and women attacked an investigative journalist and a human rights lawyer in Russia’s republic of Chechnya overnight, the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper which employs the journalist said Friday. Yelena Milashina and lawyer Marina Dubrovina arrived in the Chechen capital of Grozny to attend the trial of a disabled blogger who was…

Russian lawmakers expect to vote on legislation that would allow dual Russian citizenship for foreigners as soon as this month, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday. Under current Russian law, foreigners wishing to become Russian citizens must first renounce their other citizenships. Authors of the bill expect the new amendments relaxing these rules to help…

A civilian aircraft with 172 passengers on board made an emergency landing at the Russia-controlled Khmeimim airbase early Thursday after Syria’s air defense nearly hit it, Russia’s Defense Ministry was reported to have said. The Syrian air defense was trying to repulse an Israeli attack near Damascus, Interfax said Friday. Syria’s defense ministry said earlier…

Russia has reported its first two cases of coronavirus and said the infected people were Chinese citizens who had been isolated. As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 400 people in China continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry points…

Russia has returned 26 children of Islamic State fighters from Syria, the state-run TASS news agency reported Friday. Russia has worked to bring back women and children linked to Russians who fought for the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq under a program led by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday denounced U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela, criticizing U.S. “provocations” and attempts to create what he called a pretext for military intervention. Lavrov’s censure of Washington, on a low-profile visit to Mexico, came at an awkward time for the host nation. Mexico’s government has been going out of its…

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…