Last Soviet Leader Steps Down. And the Story of an American Teacher Detained for ‘Drug Smuggling’

This week on From Russia With News, we discuss the shock resignation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev with Joanna Lillis, a journalist in Kazakhstan and author of the acclaimed book on the country: “Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan.” We’ll also talk to journalist Marc Bennetts about the trial of Gaylen Grandstaff, an…

Cooperation in Field of Back-End is Subject of German-Russian Dialogue

On March 18, 2019, in Berlin, Germany, a seminar “Perspectives for German-Russian Nuclear Safety Science Cooperation” took place.  The seminar was organized under the auspices of German Eastern Business Association with participation of TENEX. The Russian delegation comprising representatives of ROSATOM State Corporation, TENEX, JSC “Science and Innovations”, FSUE “National Operator for Radioactive Waste Management”,…

Gazprom and Lukoil discuss implementation of General Agreement on Strategic Partnership

Background Gazprom and LUKOIL are bound by the 2014–2024 General Agreement on Strategic Partnership, pursuant to which, among other things, LUKOIL supplies gas into Gazprom’s gas transmission system. In October 2015, Gazprom’s Sosnogorsk GPP started to receive associated petroleum gas from the northern group of fields developed by LUKOIL-Komi. Prior to the start of those deliveries, Gazprom and LUKOIL implemented a joint project for rearranging…

Corruption in Russia’s Military Quadrupled in 2018, Prosecutors Say

Corruption in Russia’s military has quadrupled to 7 billion rubles ($109.8 million) last year, the top federal military prosecutor said on Thursday. Russia ranks among the world’s most corrupt countries in international ratings, with corruption-related crimes costing an estimated $2.5 billion in damages between 2014 and 2017. Observers have said that anti-graft campaigns under President Vladimir Putin’s rule have brought little progress. “The crimes in…

A New Look at the Last Tsar

Last year, the 100th anniversary of the execution of the last members of the Romanov dynasty passed in Russia without much official attention. The exception was in Yekaterinburg, where the family was killed and where thousands of pilgrims gathered to mark the day of their murder. But in Moscow the State Historical Museum has been…

Kremlin Accuses U.S. of Stoking Tensions by Flying Bombers Near Its Borders

The Kremlin on Thursday said that flights by U.S. nuclear-capable B-52 strategic bombers across the Baltic Sea’s neutral waters near Russia‘s borders created tension in the region. Russia‘s Defense Ministry said earlier on Thursday that it had scrambled fighter jets to intercept a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber after it began flying toward Russia‘s borders. “In general, I…

Ukraine Targets Russia’s En+ With New Sanctions

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday signed a decree broadening sanctions against Russian companies and citizens to include aluminum and power producer En+ Group and several other Russian firms. Kiev imposed sanctions against some Russian firms and individuals in response to Russia‘s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its support for a pro-Moscow insurgency the east of Ukraine. Wednesday’s…