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A Russian passenger onboard the quarantined Diamond Princess ship has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, marking the first infection of a Russian citizen, Russia’s Embassy in Japan said Monday. The Diamond Princess cruise ship, owned by Carnival, has been quarantined since arriving in Yokohama, Japan on Feb. 3, after a man who disembarked in…

A Russian court has ordered Alla Ilyina to be placed back into coronavirus quarantine days after she escaped from a hospital in St. Petersburg. Ilyina, 32, was placed under a 14-day quarantine in St. Petersburg’s Botkinskaya clinic earlier this month after returning from China’s Hainan resort island with symptoms of a possible coronavirus infection. She…

Russian scientists, teachers and other groups of professionals have signed open letters in support of seven young men who were jailed last week on what they call fabricated charges of terrorism. A court in the central Russian city of Penza last Monday sentenced the seven members of an anti-fascist group called Set to prison terms between…

An outspoken Russian priest has sparked public ire for comparing common-law wives to “prostitutes.” Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov, who has raised eyebrows in the past for calling abortions “worse than the Holocaust” and comparing today’s young men to “scrawny chickens,” said recently that Russian women “don’t know what marriage is.” “They don’t want to say ‘I’m a…

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 1,700 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry points along its 4,200-kilometer border and suspending e-visas and work visas for Chinese nationals.  Russia reported its first two cases of coronavirus and said…

A Russian dissident artist who published screenshots of sexual images that forced President Emmanuel Macron’s candidate for Paris City Hall to pull out of the race was arrested in the French capital on Saturday, the prosecutor’s office said. Benjamin Griveaux, one of Macron’s closest lieutenants, abandoned his bid to become mayor of Paris on Friday after…

Turkey has fulfilled its responsibilities in the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib in line with its de-escalation agreements with Russia and Iran, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Saturday, after violence spiked in recent weeks. Turkey and Russia, which back opposing sides in the conflict, agreed in 2018 to set up a de-escalation zone in…

When Russia evacuated its citizens from the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak this month, it flew more than 140 people from China to a quarantine clinic in the Siberian city of Tyumen.  Isolated from the rest of the world until they’re confirmed to be infection-free, these people have taken to social media to stay connected…

Russia said on Friday it had asked Canada to hand over case files on a 95-year-old former Nazi death squad member living in Canada to help Moscow with an investigation into the mass murder of children at a Soviet orphanage in 1942. Helmut Oberlander, who was born in Ukraine and became a German citizen during…

A Jehovah’s Witness from the Siberian city of Chita has claimed he was tortured by local police on Monday during a mass crackdown on believers in the region, Russian investigative news site The Insider reported Friday.  Lawyer Artur Ganin told the outlet his client Vadim Kutsenko was taken to a local forest by police, where…

A close ally of French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday pulled out of next month’s race to become mayor of Paris after a Russian dissident artist said the candidate had sent sexual images to a woman who was not his wife. Artist Pyotr Pavlensky published screenshots of an online chat between Benjamin Griveaux and the…

Some 41% of men in Russia consider the fact that they retire five years later than women to be discrimination, while only 28% of female respondents share this opinion, according to a Superjob.ru survey. Russia’s pension reform, which started in 2019, is gradually increasing the retirement age and indexing pensions. Last year, Russian women could…

The United States believes that sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska laundered money for President Vladimir Putin, The Financial Times reported Friday, citing a U.S. Treasury letter to Deripaska’s lawyers explaining the sanctions. The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Deripaska and two dozen other tycoons and officials in April 2018 in retaliation for what it called…

The number of Russians who believe Russia was responsible for the downing of the MH17 has increased five-fold to 10% from 2% in 2015, according to a new study from the independent Levada Center pollster.  The poll, conducted together with the Dutch University of Leiden, also showed that 60% of Russians believe Ukraine was behind…

Police in Russia are investigating news outlets BBC Russian, Radio Liberty and Meduza after lawmakers accused them of promoting drug use, Interfax reported Thursday. Ten foreign NGOs allegedly recruit activists to promote the decriminalization of drugs and the three outlets “actively cover” their rallies, State Duma deputy Vasily Piskaryov said at a session on foreign…

Russian and Ukrainian attitudes toward each other have worsened in less than half a year, a joint study by the independent Levada Center pollster and the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) said Thursday. The latest survey showed 42% of Russians having a “good” or “very good” opinion of Ukraine; while 49% of Ukrainians had…

Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey, Alexei Yerkhov, faces threats over the Moscow-backed military campaign in Syria, the envoy said in an interview Thursday, four years after his predecessor’s assassination. Yerkhov’s predecessor Andrei Karlov was shot dead by an off-duty policeman at the opening of an Ankara exhibition in December 2016. Russia and Turkey support opposing sides…

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia would not legalize gay marriage as long as he was in the Kremlin. He made clear he would not allow the traditional notion of mother and father to be subverted by what he called “parent number 1” and “parent number 2”. “As far as ‘parent number 1’ and ‘parent number…

Protesters in Russia are twice as likely to receive real prison time for violence against law enforcement authorities than those tried for the same crime under different circumstances, the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported Thursday. Novaya Gazeta compared nearly 12,000 assault sentences in 2016-2019 with the 57 sentences handed down to protesters over their role…

A court in southern Russia has sentenced a scientist to seven and a half years in prison for treason, the state-run TASS news agency reported Thursday. Alexei Temirev, a Doctor of Technical Sciences from the city of Novocherkassk, was detained in July 2018 and his case files were classified. Investigators accused him of sending state…

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…

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 coronavirus epidemic continues its rapid spread worldwide, Russian pranksters have been staging coronavirus scares in public places, pretending to have virus-induced seizures and even dressing up in hazmat suits to detain ‘sick’ people. One man caused panic on the Moscow metro on Feb. 2 when he collapsed on the floor of a metro…

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 Russia prepares to mark the 75th anniversary of the World War II victory, President Vladimir Putin is stepping up his defense of Josef Stalin and digging in against calls to open up secret archives on the Soviet state’s killing of millions of its own citizens. People in places such as Butovo where more than…

Russia on Wednesday accused Turkey of flouting agreements it had made with Moscow on Syria and of aggravating the situation in Idlib where Syrian forces have made gains in their campaign to eliminate the last insurgent bastion in a nine-year war. That offensive has fueled violence in Idlib, in northwest Syria and bordering Turkey, forcing…

Russian forces have mediated an armed conflict between pro-regime and U.S. troops in northeastern Syria, the Russian military said Wednesday following a deadly incident. U.S. soldiers killed one person in Syria’s Hasakah region after their vehicles were stopped at a checkpoint, according to Syrian and Turkish media. The shooting was reportedly followed by U.S. airstrikes…

The Netherlands refused a request by Moscow to consider allowing Russia to prosecute three Russian nationals identified as suspects in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the Dutch justice minister revealed on Wednesday. The first court hearing in the Dutch case against the three Russian suspects and one Ukrainian is scheduled for March 9. If the case…

A Russian court on Wednesday released three men who were taken into custody last year in an embezzlement case against the Baring Vostok private equity group, placing them under house arrest instead, the RIA news agency reported. The men, including two Baring Vostok executives, were detained a year ago along with their colleagues, U.S. investor…

A swimming pool in southern Russia that banned women has been ordered to reverse its decision, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday. The prosecutor’s office in the majority Muslim republic of Dagestan ruled that the Anzhi Arena’s actions were illegal and a violation of human rights, although it stopped short of calling the ban discrimination.…

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…