Author Archives: admin

Russian Opposition Politician Navalny Released From Jail

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was released on Friday after 30 days in prison, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter. Navalny, a prominent Kremlin critic, was jailed on charges of violating Russia’s protest laws after he called for people to demonstrate in central Moscow over the exclusion of opposition candidates from a local election…

Kremlin Jabs at Trump’s Greenland Purchase Idea

Russia doesn’t “shop” for foreign territories, the Kremlin has said in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s idea to buy the resource-rich Danish territory of Greenland. Trump, who built his career as a real estate mogul, has mused openly in recent days about a U.S. purchase of Greenland, raising eyebrows in Europe and the U.S.…

Wildfires Have Cost Russia $100M in 2019, Forestry Authority Says

Russia’s forest authority estimates that forest fires across Siberia and other regions have cost approximately 7 billion rubles ($106 million) so far this year, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency has reported. More than 200 fires are burning across an area of 1.1 million hectares of the country, almost 1 million of which cover remote…

Pro-Kremlin Activists Storm NGO Protest Forum, Saying: ‘We Don’t Want Maidan in Russia’

Members of two infamous pro-Kremlin groups have stormed a human rights NGO’s seminar on how to deal with law enforcement at protests, saying they don’t want a repeat of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution in Russia.  Two fringe nationalist groups called the National Liberation Movement (NOD) and SERB are known for attacks on opposition activists and…

Russian Doctors Rattled by Radiation Exposure Told to ‘Get to Work’ After Explosion

Doctors who treated victims of radiation after a deadly explosion in northern Russia were told to “get to work” after raising concerns of exposure, Russian media have reported, citing medical personnel involved in treating the victims. A rocket engine blast killed at least five people and injured six on a platform off the coast of the…

Russia Says U.S. Missile Deployments in Asia Would Be a Threat

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that a possible U.S. deployment of missiles in the Asia-Pacific region would pose a threat to international security. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said earlier this month that he was in favor of placing ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia relatively soon. “U.S. actions are creating a threat for international…

European Union Is Against Russia’s Return to G7 Talks, Official Says

The European Union is against making any unconditional invitation to Russia to let it rejoin talks among the G7 world leaders, a senior official with the bloc said of an idea floated by U.S. President Donald Trump. The seven leaders of the world’s advanced industrialized countries are due to meet in the French resort of…

Putin Plays Down Moscow Protests, Blames Opposition for ‘Falsification’

Russian opposition members were banned from running for Moscow’s legislature because they had submitted “falsified” signatures, President Vladimir Putin has said, playing down the election protests that rocked the capital this summer. Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated in central Moscow since mid-July in support of the opposition candidates. Authorities barred the candidates from…

1 in 5 Russians Believe They Can Influence the Government, Poll Says

One in five Russians believe that they can affect their government’s decision-making processes, according to a new poll that sociologists link to growing public discontent with the authorities in Russia. Over the past year, Russia has seen protests against unpopular moves by the authorities, including President Vladimir Putin’s pension reforms that will delay many workers’…

Russian Chess Legend Karpov Unable to Get U.S. Visa, His Friend Says

Russian chess grandmaster Anatoly Karpov has been unable for several months to obtain a visa to travel to the United States, his friend, the owner of a chess academy in New York who invited him to teach a summer camp there, said on Wednesday. Karpov, 68, considered one of the greatest chess players of the…

Trash Discovery Shows Turkey Eyes Putin’s Anti-Sanctions Network

Russia and Turkey held urgent talks in July on connecting Turkish companies and lenders to the Russian central bank’s alternative to the SWIFT financial messaging system. The two sides met soon after Turkey risked the threat of U.S. sanctions by taking delivery of a Russian S-400 air-defense missile system, snubbing demands by the Trump administration to cancel…

Russian Officials Condemn Police Violence During Moscow Protests

A senior Russian official and an industrial magnate with close Kremlin ties have spoken out this week against police violence in Moscow’s largest protests in years. Critics have said the authorities used excessive force while detaining hundreds of people who rallied this summer in support of fair local elections. The Kremlin said individual cases of…

Tens of Thousands Flee Russian-Led Attack on Syrian Opposition Enclave

Ten of thousands of people have fled to Syria’s border with Turkey in the last few days as a Syrian army advance pushed further into the opposition’s last major stronghold, residents, rights groups and opposition sources said on Wednesday. They left Maarat al-Numan, a city in Idlib province that has been a sanctuary for families…

Trump Calls to Allow Russia to Join G7, Moscow Responds With Skepticism

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday it would be appropriate to let Russia join the G7 group of advanced industrialized countries. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump noted his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, had wanted Russia out of what used to be the G8 “because Putin outsmarted him.” “But I think it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in.…

Russian Police Face Prison Time for Refusing to Break Up Ingushetia Protests

Thirteen police officers in Russia’s republic of Ingushetia will stand trial for refusing to disperse protesters during clashes over a contentious land-swap deal, the MBKh Media news website has reported. Protests held this spring to demand a public vote on the border agreement with neighboring Chechnya turned violent when armed security forces tried to disperse them.…

Russia Reports New Case of African Swine Fever in Its Far East

Russia has detected new cases of African swine fever (AFS) in the Amur region near its border with China, local authorities said on Wednesday. ASF-infected pigs were found at two private farms in the village of Volkovo near Blagoveshchensk, the local administration said on its website. The ASF virus is a highly contagious fever among…

Russian Official Calls Siberian Flood Victims ‘Bums,’ Sparking Backlash – Reports

A Russian regional official has caused controversy for allegedly comparing victims of this summer’s historic Siberian floods to animals in a leaked audio file she claims was faked. The comments allegedly made by Irina Alashkevich, the Irkutsk regional administration’s spokeswoman, come a month after another regional official ignited backlash for insulting the victims of flood-hit areas. Over…

Russian Tycoons Forsake Western Sports Teams as Asians Step Up

Another year, and another Russian billionaire relinquishes ownership of a professional sports club. The latest to do so is Mikhail Prokhorov, who’s selling his stake in the Brooklyn Nets and its arena for a record $3.5 billion to Joe Tsai, the Taiwan-born executive vice chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Last August, Alisher Usmanov sold his 30%…

Russian Oil Exports to U.S. Soar to 6-Year High

Russia’s oil and petroleum sales to the United States have reached six-year highs, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data analyzed by the RBC news website. The U.S. imported 61.75 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia in January-May 2019, up from 56 million barrels in January-May 2018. Russia’s Federal Customs Service,…

Russia Is ‘Deeply European,’ France’s Macron Says in Russian

Russia is a European country, French President Emmanuel Macron has said following talks with President Vladimir Putin. Macron hosted Putin in France on Monday, where the French leader played up efforts “to tie Russia and Europe back together” and underscored his belief that “Europe stretches from Lisbon to Vladivostok.”  “Russia is a very deeply European…

Keeping the Khachaturyan Sisters’ Case Alive

On a dreary Sunday afternoon in northeast Moscow, over 800 people came out to support three young sisters who have been charged with the murder of their father.   Among an audience of varied genders and ages, some came to support the sisters, others for the bands scheduled to perform. The audience brought in 176,600 rubles…

Russia’s Recon Drone Takes Off as Military Touts 24-Hour Flight Time

The Russian military has unveiled footage of a reconnaissance drone, which it claims can fly for over 24 hours, performing its first flight. Previous reporting has suggested that Russia’s long-endurance armed drone project had been beset by cost overruns and delays. Russia’s Altius-U boasts an “entire spectrum of reconnaissance tasks using optical, radio and radar…

Most Russians Don’t Believe in a Better Future – State Poll

A majority of Russians believe that conditions in their country make it hard to plan for the long-term future, according to a state-funded survey published on Tuesday. Russians have been affected by five years of Western sanctions and dropping oil prices, with real incomes shrinking and almost 21 million people in the country living below the poverty line.…

Russia Fines CNN Broadcaster for Volume Violations

Russia’s federal anti-monopoly service FAS said on Tuesday it fined a media group that broadcasts CNN International in Russia 200,000 rubles ($3,000) for breaking volume regulations in its programming.

The fine was imposed on Monday, FAS said on its website.