Day: December 8, 2020

Russian lawmakers on Tuesday passed in its first reading controversial draft legislation including an expansion of who can be labeled a “foreign agent” amid an unrelenting clampdown on dissent. Lawmakers in Russia’s lower-house State Duma last month tabled legislation that would give authorities sweeping powers to designate individuals as foreign agents and further limit public gatherings…

Russia’s second city St. Petersburg registered a record number of virus deaths on Tuesday as authorities warned of an imminent lockdown and shuttered restaurants for the New Year’s holidays. St. Petersburg — one of Russia’s most popular tourist destinations — is struggling with a major health crisis, with hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus patients but residents flouting…

Recipients of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine should abstain from alcohol for nearly two months before and after immunization, the head of Russia’s consumer safety watchdog said Tuesday. Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova’s instructions follow Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova’s recommendations to avoid alcohol and immunosuppressants for 42 days because the two-shot vaccine is administered with…

Russia has confirmed 2,515,009 cases of coronavirus and 44,159 deaths. Dec. 9: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 26,097 coronavirus cases and 562 deaths Tuesday. More than 50% of Russia’s medics have no plans to vaccinate against the coronavirus, according to the result of the Russian Federation Medics Network poll published by VTimes Monday. Over 21% percent…

Russia has launched a mass vaccination campaign against the coronavirus with its own vaccine, putting doctors, social workers and teachers in the top priority group. The Sputnik V vaccine’s developers have said the jab is 95% effective based on interim data from its Phase 3 clinical trials, which are still underway as the large-scale vaccination…

President Vladimir Putin has signed bills into law elevating a low-profile advisory body known as the State Council, criminalizing secession and prioritizing the Russian Constitution over international law. Putin approved the set of laws on Tuesday, 160 days after Russian voters overwhelmingly approved constitutional reforms that pave the way for him to extend his 20-year…

As climate experts sound the alarm over record temperatures in Russia’s Arctic, the Christmas season is unlikely to be much different than the preceding months. According to Russian meteorological service Roshydromet, the extraordinary Arctic heat of November was followed by temperature records in a number of places across the Russian north on the first day of…

The United States has added Russia to its special watchlist of countries that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations” of religious freedom, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Monday.  Russia appears on the U.S. watchlist alongside Comoros, Cuba and Nicaragua.  It’s not the first time the U.S. has raised concerns over…

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the poisoning of Russia’s main opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a phone conversation Monday, a German cabinet representative told the state-run TASS news agency.  Navalny has recovered in Berlin after being poisoned with what Western governments say was the deadly Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok in…

Moscow clinics are distributing coronavirus vaccines to anyone who registers without giving priority to high-risk groups in contradiction to officials’ orders, the Meduza news website reported Tuesday. Moscow kick-started Russia’s nationwide vaccination drive over the weekend, with Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reporting that 2,000 volunteers have so far received the first of two Sputnik V jabs…