Year: 2020

When police moved in to arrest Vladimir Vorontsov in May, they didn’t bother to knock. Instead, two commando teams stormed the former policeman’s top-floor apartment in southeast Moscow at around 7:00 a.m., one abseiling down the high-rise while the other broke down the door. “Our daughter thinks that bandits came and took daddy away,” Aleksandra…

Russia and India could sign contracts for the sale of 33 fighter jets soon as New Delhi deals with heightened tensions with China and Pakistan, Interfax reported Thursday. India’s defense ministry said it has approved procurement of 21 Mig-29 for nearly $1 billion and 12 Su-30MKI for $1.4 billion. It has also approved an upgrade…

Extra public holidays introduced by the Russian government for the delayed Victory Day parade and the constitutional referendum could have cost the Russian economy more than $5 billion, analysts told The Moscow Times. The additional hit from the Kremlin-backed shutdowns comes as Russia’s economy is already set for a sharp recession and two years of…

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday thanked Russians after a nationwide vote approved controversial constitutional reforms that allow him to extend his rule until 2036. “Thank you very much for your support and trust,” Putin said in televised remarks after an announcement from Russia’s election commission that nearly 78% of voters had supported the amendments to the…

The early release of the first Jehovah’s Witness to be jailed for extremism in Russia has been put on hold after prosecutors appealed the court ruling, the religious organization said Wednesday. Danish national Dennis Christensen was granted early release last week when a district court ordered him to pay a fine of 400,000 rubles ($5,800)…

Russia’s aviation authority has extended its ban on international flights until Aug. 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the RBC news website reported and a Vnukovo Airport source confirmed to The Moscow Times on condition of anonymity. The country closed its borders and grounded most international flights in late March to slow the spread of…

Russia has confirmed 661,165 cases of coronavirus and 9,683 deaths. July 2: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has extended Russia’s ban on international flights until Aug. 1 due to the coronavirus, the RBC news website reported and a source at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport confirmed to The Moscow Times. Russia is not…

President Vladimir Putin thanked Russians on Thursday for voting in favour of controversial amendments to the constitution that could extend his grip on power, as the opposition and Western leaders voiced criticism over suspected poll violations. Russia’s Central Elections Commission announced early Thursday that nearly 78% of voters had cast their ballot in favor of…

Mongolia has quarantined its western region near the border with Russia after identifying two suspected cases of the black plague linked to the consumption of marmot meat, health officials said Wednesday. Lab tests confirmed that two unidentified individuals had contracted the “marmot plague” in the region of Khovd, Mongolia’s National Center for Zoonotic Disease (NCZD)…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions lifted lockdown restrictions ahead of a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    Critics have cast doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting…

Russians have overwhelmingly backed constitutional reforms that will allow President Vladimir Putin to extend his rule, the Central Elections Commission said Thursday. With all votes counted, the CEC said 77.92% of voters had backed the reforms, with turnout of about 65%. Only one region, the Nenets autonomous district in Russia’s Arctic, registered a majority of…

Russians overwhelmingly approved a package of constitutional changes in a nationwide vote, partial results showed Wednesday, allowing President Vladimir Putin to potentially extend his two-decade rule until 2036. With almost 30% of polling stations reporting after the end of seven days of voting, 74% of voters had supported the reforms, the central election commission said.…

The final day of Russia’s week-long vote on overhauling its Constitution is ending with no surprises. Vladimir Putin, who was first elected president in 2000, has been all but handed the opportunity to remain in office until 2036. If that happens, the former KGB officer will overtake Josef Stalin as the country’s longest-serving leader. In…

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow hung a rainbow flag, the symbol of the LGBT community, from its front facade last week in honor of Pride month. The flag is not often displayed in public in Russia due to a controversial law that prohibits “homosexual propaganda toward minors” and persistent anti-LGBT attitudes across the country. Despite…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday denounced the United States for imposing new sanctions on Syria’s regime during the coronavirus pandemic. “Despite the call from the UN secretary general for easing the pressure of sanctions under pandemic conditions, Washington like Brussels decided to prolong measures against Syria,” Putin said during a televised meeting with his…

Nearly three-quarters of Russian voters have backed constitutional changes that pave the way for extending President Vladimir Putin’s rule until 2036, according to the Russian election commission’s preliminary results released Wednesday afternoon. Polling stations have closed in the Russian Far East as the rest of the country continues voting for or against the package of…

As regions across Russia have ended their coronavirus lockdowns and reopened businesses, life is slowly returning to normal across much of the country. Although safety guidelines like masks and social distancing are still in place in many cities, Russians are ready to get out and enjoy the summer while it lasts. Here’s a look at…

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has called for the election of Vladimir Putin as Russia’s president for life ahead of a nationwide vote that could allow Putin to stay in power for another 12 years. Millions of Russians are voting on more than 200 constitutional amendments, one of which clears the term limits of sitting or…

Russians are set to approve constitutional reforms on Wednesday denounced by critics as a maneuver to allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in the Kremlin for life. The changes were passed weeks ago by Russia’s parliament and copies of the new Constitution are already on sale in bookshops, but Putin says a nationwide vote ending Wednesday…

U.S. officials have intercepted data showing financial transfers between a Russian military spy unit and Taliban-linked accounts, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing three unnamed officials familiar with the intelligence. The alleged intercepts bolstered U.S. intelligence conclusions, also reported by the NYT, that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill American troops in…

Russia has confirmed 654,405 cases of coronavirus and 9,536 deaths. July 1: 3 things you need to know today Russia is holding a nationwide vote on constitutional reforms despite the coronavirus. If passed, the amendments would allow President Vladimir Putin to extend his rule until 2036 by resetting his term limits. Russia is not among the 15 countries whose citizens…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia prepares to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…

Latvia on Tuesday banned a number of Russia’s RT television channels from being distributed in the Baltic state because of international sanctions against the head of the Russian state television network. Latvia’s media watchdog, the National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP), notably banned RT’s main English-language broadcast service, its Spanish and Arabic counterparts, the RT Documentary channel,…

Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin became the first person to vote online from the International Space Station on Tuesday, the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos announced. The 51-year-old cosmonaut, who came aboard the ISS in April, cast his ballot as part of a weeklong vote to approve constitutional reforms that could extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule, Roscosmos…

Russian journalist and photographer David Frenkel was injured in an attack at a St. Petersburg polling station during Russia’s vote on controversial constitutional reforms, the Mediazona news website where he works reported Tuesday. Video footage showed Frenkel screaming in pain as two police officers knocked him to the ground in a crowded hallway after a…

The Russian Arctic set record temperatures in June that sparked abnormal tundra fires, the head of Russia’s weather service said Tuesday, blaming climate change for the “fantastical” anomalies. Russia’s northern territories, including parts of the republic of Sakha which borders the Arctic Ocean, have faced a heat wave in recent weeks, and villages in the…

There have been 647,849 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 9,320 deaths. June 30: 3 things you need to know today Russia is not among the 15 countries whose citizens can enter the European Union when it re-opens its borders Wednesday due to Russia’s coronavirus response. Russia could be added later to the EU’s list…

Russian officials have blasted a New York Times report on alleged Russian bounties offered to Taliban-linked militants in exchange for killing American troops in Afghanistan. Since the story first broke Friday, several American and British media outlets have reported on the U.S. intelligence conclusion that Russia offered cash incentives for dead U.S. troops in Afghanistan.…

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday urged Russians to take part in a nationwide vote on constitutional reforms to ensure “stability, security and prosperity.” In a televised address before the week-long ballot ends on Wednesday, Putin said Russians should vote for the country “we want to pass on to our children” but made no mention of…

An American teacher who spent almost two years in a Russian jail for buying a cleaning product containing a banned chemical has flown back to the United States, ABC News has reported. Gaylen Grandstaff, 55, who with his Russian wife had taught English in Russia since 2011, was arrested in June 2017 in Moscow on…

An oil spill north of Moscow has caused a 1,000-fold increase in pollution levels at a reservoir that supplies water to Russia’s capital, the Federal Water Resources Agency said Monday. The agency, Rosvodoresursy, said it first discovered petroleum products on June 25 in a river that flows into the Khimki Reservoir 15 kilometers northwest of…

As countries across Europe gradually ease their coronavirus restrictions, photos of near empty city centers usually awash with tourists at this time of year have flashed across social media.  While not as prone to summer influxes as the likes of Rome, Prague or Barcelona, Moscow is still being affected by the global travel crash. Russia’s…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia prepares to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…

Serbia’s defense chief who was scheduled to attend Russia’s massive World War II parade in Moscow last week has been diagnosed with coronavirus, the Serbian government has said. Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin went into self-isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, Serbia’s defense ministry said in a statement Saturday. He visited Serbian troops in Moscow last…

Russian lawmakers have passed legislation that will allow foreign tourists from 53 countries to visit Russia with an electronic visa starting next year, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. Russia has previously introduced simplified e-visas for visitors to St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and the Far East. While Russia closed its borders and stopped issuing visas to…

Russia’s Arctic has been hit by three separate environmental disasters linked to mining giant Norilsk Nickel in the span of a month. The company, headed by metals tycoon Vladimir Potanin, has been accused of attempting to cover up the scale of the damage. Here’s an overview of what has happened: Diesel spill, May 29  More…

There have been 641,156 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 9,166 deaths. June 29: 3 things you need to know today A second wave of coronavirus could hit major cities in European Russia as soon as two weeks from now, Mikhail Shchelkanov, who heads the Far Eastern Federal University’s school of biomedicine, told Ura.ru. The virus could…

A slight increase in radioactivity over Scandinavia this month may have spread from the direction of western Russia, Dutch authorities said, but later stressed that they have not identified a country of origin. The Associated Press cited the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) as saying Friday that the spike could be traced to Russia.…

Russian state pollster VTsIOM on Monday published an exit poll showing a vast majority of Russians backing proposed constitutional reforms, days before the end of voting. Some 76% of respondents voted for the package of amendments, which range from better pensions and minimum wages to a reset of term limits that would allow President Vladimir…

Forest fires in Siberia have grown at least threefold amid a record-breaking heatwave in the region, according to Russia’s agency for aerial forest fire management Aviales. The figures state that 1.37 million hectares (3.4 million acres) were burning in areas unreachable to firefighters as of midnight Monday.  This is mighty river Kolyma covered with smoke…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia prepares to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…

A Russian mining giant behind an enormous Arctic fuel spill last month said Sunday it had suspended workers at a metals plant who were responsible for pumping wastewater into nearby tundra. Norilsk Nickel cited a “flagrant violation of operating rules” in a statement announcing it had suspended employees responsible for dumping wastewater from a dangerously…

U.S. President Donald Trump denied Sunday he had been briefed on intelligence that reportedly showed Russia had offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. In a pair of early morning tweets, Trump angrily slammed the report by The New York Times as “Probably just another phony Times hit job, just like their failed Russia Hoax.”…

Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel said on Sunday it had stopped the discharge of wastewater from one of its Arctic facilities, one month after an unprecedented fuel leak nearby sparked a state of emergency. The incident occurred at the Talnakh enrichment plant near the Arctic city of Norilsk, the company said, when liquids used to…

There have been 634,437 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 9,073 deaths. June 28: 3 things you need to know today About 20% of Moscow residents have coronavirus immunity, deputy mayor Anastasia Rakova said Friday, citing a new study. Russia’s flagship carrier Aeroflot has been secretly flying passengers abroad for nearly a month despite state-mandated grounded flights…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that…

U.S. warplanes intercepted four Russian reconnaissance aircraft near Alaska on Saturday, U.S. commanders said. The Russian Tu-142’s came within 65 nautical miles south of Alaska’s Aleutian island chain and “loitered” in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) for eight hours. But they stayed in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian airspace,…