Author Archives: admin

Germany’s Deutsche Welle Snubs Russian Duma’s Foreign Meddling Panel

German media outlet Deutsche Welle has turned down an invitation to attend Russian lawmakers’ hearings on alleged foreign interference over this summer’s anti-government protests, saying its journalism standards make such meddling impossible. Weeks of demonstrations over elections for the Moscow city legislature have become the biggest sustained protest movement in Russia since 2011-2013. The Foreign…

Bulgaria Condemns Russian Exhibit Lauding WWII ‘Liberation’ of Eastern Europe

Bulgaria lambasted a World War II exhibition organized by the Russian Embassy marking “the liberation of Eastern Europe from Nazism,” saying the region had instead been subjected to a half-century of repression by “Soviet army bayonets.” In a statement, the Foreign Ministry of Bulgaria — which for decades a Soviet satellite in Eastern Europe but now…

Moscow Protesters Sentenced in ‘New Bolotnaya’ Case

Russian authorities have begun handing jail sentences to activists on protest-related charges after they took to the streets in support of fair elections this summer. The Investigative Committee opened criminal proceedings following the July 27 opposition protest and placed 14 suspects of what it called mass civil unrest in pre-trial detention. Charges of mass civil unrest carry a…

Russian Fighter Jet Crashes, Both Pilots Found Dead

Two pilots’ bodies have been found a day after their Su-25 fighter jet had crashed during a training flight in southern Russia, rescue services told newswires Wednesday. Searches had been underway since Tuesday afternoon for the two pilots, who had ejected from the Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack jet in the Stavropol region, Interfax cited the…

Russian Nuclear Blast Debris Is Still Emitting Radiation, Reports Say

Journalists in northern Russia have measured high levels of radiation near two abandoned boats that were brought ashore following last month’s mysterious accident during a test at a military site that has raised international concerns and safety fears. Five nuclear engineers and two Defense Ministry employees were killed after a liquid propulsion system exploded on…

Russia Open to Private Companies Developing Energy-Rich Arctic Shelf, Minister Says

Russia’s natural resources and environment minister said on Wednesday he supported allowing private oil and gas companies to work on the Arctic shelf. Speaking to reporters at an economic forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, the minister, Dmitry Kobylkin, said he supported “any decision linked to an increase in investment in projects…

City Where Chernobyl Was Filmed Fears Real-Life Nuclear Disaster

Its streets helped form the backdrop for this year’s hit TV show Chernobyl, which depicted a deadly explosion at the Soviet-era nuclear plant in 1986. Now, the Baltic city of Vilnius is preparing for its own potential real-life atomic catastrophe. The Lithuanian capital is on edge over the imminent opening of a nuclear-power facility just…

North Caucasus Brochure Tells Women to ‘Defer’ to Men

Authorities in Russia’s predominantly Muslim republic of Ingushetia have issued a brochure for the new school year instructing women to “defer” to men no matter their age. The brochure “promoting the Ingush people’s traditional values” includes visual depictions of the “Ingush code of conduct” and is printed in Russian and Ingush as well as English.…

Russia Charges U.S. Student With Drug Possession Over Medical Marijuana

A New York-based film student has been charged with drug possession in St. Petersburg for allegedly bringing medical marijuana into the country.  Russia bans the circulation of drugs including marijuana and other cannabinoids, whose use is legalized in certain U.S. states and European countries. U.S. citizen Audrey Elizabeth Lorber was allegedly found in possession of…

Russian Fighter Jet Crashes, Pilots’ Fate Unknown

A Su-25 fighter jet crashed during a training flight in southern Russia, news agencies reported Tuesday, citing the Defense Ministry. Searches are underway for the two pilots who had ejected from the Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack jet in the Stavropol region, Interfax cited the Defense Ministry as saying. The plane reportedly crashed in a deserted…

Russia Shuts Down Radioactive Kindergarten in Siberia

A kindergarten in a coal-mining region of Siberia has been temporarily shut down after an inspection uncovered high levels of the radioactive gas radon. Humans cannot see, smell or taste radon, a gas that causes cancer. It is created from the natural decay of uranium in soil and rocks and can seep into homes through…

Moscow Couples Keep Parental Rights After Bringing Children to Protests

Two Russian couples have gotten away with a warning after authorities had threatened to strip them of parental rights over their young children for taking them to unauthorized anti-Kremlin rallies in Moscow. The two couples faced losing custody after being filmed with their children at what the authorities said were unauthorized rallies in support of…

Russian Blogger Jailed for 5 Years Over ‘Hateful’ Tweet

A Russian blogger has been sentenced to five years in jail for a tweet that the authorities said advocated violence against the children of law enforcement officers at the height of this summer’s opposition protests in Moscow. Thousands took to the streets and hundreds were detained, sometimes violently, on July 27 during unauthorized demonstrations in…

Most Russians Don’t Believe ‘Western Meddling’ Is to Blame for Moscow Protests, Poll Says

A majority of Russians don’t believe in the authorities’ claim that Western powers are to blame for election protests in Moscow this summer, according to the independent Levada Center polling agency. Weeks of demonstrations over elections for the city legislature have turned into the biggest sustained protest movement in Russia since 2011-2013. Russia has accused the…

Jeans Retailer Becomes First Major Russian Brand to Feature Hijab-Wearing Model

One of Russia’s 200 most successful private companies has become the first major brand to feature a model wearing a hijab, an Islamic headscarf, in one of its advertisements. Russia has had a conflicted relationship with allowing Muslim girls and women to wear headscarves. In 2017, a village school in Russia’s predominantly Muslim republic of…

Russian Opposition Activist Sobol Detained Following Moscow Protest

Russian opposition activist Lyubov Sobol, an ally of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, was detained by police on Monday after a weekend protest in Moscow, Navalny’s spokeswoman said on Twitter. A few thousand Russians took to the streets of Moscow on Saturday to demand free elections to the capital’s city legislature on Sept. 8, defying a…

Surviving Moscow as a Refugee DJ From Zimbabwe

Moscow hosted a new dance party last week featuring a line-up composed exclusively of refugees who are DJs. The Civic Assistance Committee, a Russian NGO that helps migrants in Moscow, hosted the event.

Meet Simba, a DJ from Zimbabwe, as he shares the difficulties and hopes of life in Russia’s capital.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Rips New Space Center

A series of corruption scandals, cost overruns and mishaps at Russia’s new Vostochny Cosmodrome have brought long-simmering questions about the leadership of the country’s space agency into public view. “The situation is unacceptable for everyone, including the construction of the first stage and the second stage” of the space center, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov…

‘Create a New Society’: Russian Lawmakers Order Gene-Editing Tech

Russian lawmakers have ordered a study on assisted human reproduction, including a cutting-edge and controversial gene-editing technology that would create a “new type of society.” New gene-editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 have made it possible to rearrange the genetic code much more precisely and at lower costs than before. A Chinese scientist caused outrage last…

Kremlin Critic Khodorkovsky Wants Film to Open West’s Eyes About Putin’s Russia

Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky hopes a new documentary film about his life chronicling his journey from being Russia’s richest man to an exiled dissident will open the West’s eyes to the nature of modern Russia. The film, “Citizen K,” was made by Oscar-winning U.S. filmmaker Alex Gibney and premiered at the Venice Film festival this…

Iran Says It Welcomes Russian Proposal For Security in Gulf

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Monday after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Tehran welcomed a Russian proposal for ensuring security in the Gulf.

Iran and Russia’s energy ministers were also holding talks in Moscow on Monday, Lavrov told reporters at a joint news conference with Zarif. 

Tensions Are Flaring Between Georgia and Russia-Backed South Ossetia. Here’s What’s Happened

The international community has called for restraint as Georgia warned of a “serious confrontation” with the Russian-backed breakaway territory of South Ossetia last week. Only Moscow and a handful of other states have recognized the independence of South Ossetia after Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war over the region in August 2008. Russian troops…

Crimea Invites Iran to Use Its Ports as a U.S. Sanctions Workaround – Official

Crimea has offered Iran access to its ports as a way for Tehran to avoid Western sanctions on oil exports, a senior official in the annexed region’s Kremlin-backed administration told Russian media. Iran is increasingly looking for alternative trade routes to skirt tensions in the Persian Gulf brought on by U.S. sanctions. The OPEC member’s…

Trying to Maintain Momentum as Election Approaches, Moscow Protests Again

On the last official day of summer in Russia, several thousand people in Moscow turned out for what has become the flavor of the season: the Saturday protest.  But the turnout was lower and the mood subdued compared with previous demonstrations in this year’s summer of discontent, which saw as many as 50,000 people at…

Thousands of Russians Rally to Demand Free Elections

Thousands of Russians took to the streets of central Moscow on Saturday to demand free elections to the capital’s city legislature on Sept. 8, defying a ban which has been enforced with violent detentions during previous protests. Weeks of demonstrations over elections for the city legislature have turned into the biggest sustained protest movement in…

Reliving the Highlights of Summer 2019 in Russia

Russian students are preparing for Sept. 1, which marks the beginning of the school year and the onset of fall. But with summer barely behind us, we’re not ready to let the season go just yet. The past three months have been tumultuous ones for Russia. It seemed like the country was simultaneously burning, drowning…

Reliving the News Highlights of Summer 2019 in Russia (in Pictures)

Sept. 1 in Russia marks the beginning of the school year for Russian students and the unofficial start of fall. But with summer barely behind us, we’re not ready to let the season go just yet. The past three months have been tumultuous ones for Russia. It seemed like the country was simultaneously burning, drowning…

98% of Moscow’s Shawarma Joints Are Unsanitary, Consumer Watchdog Says

Ninety-eight percent of Moscow’s popular shawarma restaurants do not comply with Russian food hygiene standards, according to the city consumer protection watchdog. Last year, a Federal Consumer Protection Service (Rospotrebnadzor) inspection uncovered foodborne bacterial pathogens in a majority of the 252 shawarma spots in Moscow.  This year, health violations were uncovered in 65 of 66…

Russia Buys Up Foreign Plastic Waste as Its Own Plastic Goes to Landfills

Russia is ramping up its imports of plastic waste year after year as its lack of a national waste sorting system leaves recycling plants lacking enough raw materials, the RBC news website has reported. Russia generated over 7.2 billion tons of household and industrial waste in 2018, almost 315,000 tons of which were imported, according…

‘Magical Rescue’: Drug Bust Marriage Proposals Take Russia by Storm

As far as marriage proposal pranks go, Russia is a torchbearer of the extreme and the unsparing. One such proposal — with armed men ambushing a couple and turning up fake drugs with an engagement ring inside — went viral and made international headlines this summer. The scenes of initial horror that turned into hysterical…

Russia Rebuffs International Concern Over Environment on Northern Sea Route

The development of the Northern Sea Route appeared on the agenda in the Foreign Ministry’s latest weekly press conference after several foreign leaders reportedly commented on the environment in the region. Among them was French President Emmanuel Macron, who was called upon to protect Arctic nature in a meeting with business leaders. According to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Macron had…

Russian ATMs Accept Fake Bills, Reports Say

At least 40,000 ATMs in Russia operated by at least four major banks accept counterfeit bills, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in theft, according to the Kommersant business daily. The issue reportedly affects 40,000 ATMs made by a single manufacturer, the U.S.-based NCR Corp, out of the 135,000 ATMs that accept cash in…

Russia’s Mystery Nuclear Explosion Occurred During Missile Recovery at Sea — Reports

The mysterious explosion in northern Russia that caused a spike in radiation levels happened during a mission to salvage a nuclear-powered cruise missile from the bottom of the sea, media have cited a U.S. intelligence assessment as saying. Five nuclear engineers were killed in a liquid propulsion system blast at Russia’s naval missile test facility,…

Ukrainian President’s Office Says No Prisoner Swap With Russia Yet

Update: The prisoner exchange will not happen Friday and a final date hasn’t yet been determined, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s security service (SBU) told Ukrainian media. She added that the process is going according to plan. The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday said no prisoner swap had taken place with Russia yet and the process was ongoing,…

Russia Stages Large-Scale Military Exercises With Mongolia

The Russian military has unveiled footage of large-scale exercises in Mongolia with a slick production value of shooting helicopters and firing rocket launchers. The 11th annual Russian-Mongolian drills, the Selenga-2019, took place from Aug. 15-24 and involved 1,400 troops from both countries this year.  Online viewers were treated to videos of GRAD truck-mounted multiple rocket…

Russian Isolation Would Be Europe’s ‘Profound Error,’ France’s Macron Says

Pushing Russia further into isolation would be a “profound error” by Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron has said in his latest overture toward the country that has been under Western sanctions since annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Macron played up efforts to “tie Russia and Europe back together” when he hosted President Vladimir Putin…

Jay Ross, Former Managing Editor of The Moscow Times, Dies at 85

The Moscow Times recently learned that one of the first managing editors of the newspaper, Jay Ross, passed away at the age of 85. Julian “Jay” Ross was born in San Mateo, California, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. Over his long career in journalism, he was the sports editor and deputy managing…

Russia Spreads Influence in Africa Using Nuclear Power – Reports

Russia is working to win influence in at least 10 African states with high-cost nuclear technology that for the most part does not suit their needs, researchers and NGOs have told The Guardian newspaper. With booming exports, nuclear energy is one example of Russia’s increasing presence in Africa in recent years. Elsewhere, a businessman known…

Pro-Kremlin Activists Disrupt ‘Coming Out of the Closet’ Play in Moscow

Pro-Kremlin activists have for the second time in a week stormed a private event in Moscow, this time wreaking havoc at an LGBT play in Moscow on Wednesday evening. Members of the fringe NOD and SERB nationalist groups, known for attacks on opposition activists and art exhibits, most recently disrupted a seminar on how to…

Opposition Figure Sobol Attacked Outside Moscow Apartment

Russian opposition activist Lyubov Sobol has been attacked with an unknown liquid outside her Moscow apartment, the activist said on Thursday. Sobol emerged as the de facto leader of this summer’s Moscow protest movement to demand fair local elections after several of her fellow opposition candidates were jailed on protest-related charges. Following a two-week lapse…

Ice on Russia’s Northern Sea Route Has Disappeared, Opening Up Arctic Shipping Lanes

The Arctic shortcut that connects Asia and Europe is open and ice-free and shipping appears smooth, including for vessels without ice class standards. The last pieces of frozen water vanished in mid-August and data shows that the whole route is now free of ice. This includes the East Siberian Sea, a region that normally has…

Russia’s ‘Shadow Economy’ Is Nearly 13% of GDP, Reports Say

More than $175 billion had circulated in Russia’s shadow economy in 2017, according to the latest available official data analyzed by the RBC news website on Thursday. Russia’s State Statistics Service (Rosstat) defines the shadow economy as off-the-books salaries, unofficial employment and informal sales, but not criminal activity. Financial authorities say the shadow economy’s share…

Jailed Ukrainian Filmmaker Sentsov Moved to Moscow Ahead of Rumored Exchange, Media Reports

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov has been moved from a jail in northern Russia to Moscow ahead of a rumored prisoner exchange with Kiev, Russian news agencies reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources. Sentsov, 43, is serving a 20-year sentence at a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle on charges of terrorism, which the filmmaker has…