A Moscow court has sentenced a former anti-corruption official in the Interior Ministry to 13 years in prison after finding him guilty of large-scale bribery and obstruction of justice. Dmitry Zakharchenko, who served as deputy head of the Interior Ministry’s economic security and anti-corruption office, was arrested in September 2016 on bribery and abuse of…
A Russian court has granted early release to Oyub Titiyev, a prominent human rights leader in Russia’s republic of Chechnya, Interfax reported Monday. Titiyev, who runs the office of the Memorial Human Rights Center in the southern Russian region, was sentenced to four years in a penal settlement in March after he was found guilty…
Three of Russia’s leading newspapers coordinated with each other to publish almost identical front pages Monday in solidarity with arrested investigative journalist Ivan Golunov. The move is unprecedented in Russia. Vedomosti, RBC and Kommersant’s front page headlines all read “I/We Are Ivan Golunov,” and the accompanying stories asked for a detailed investigation into the actions…
Russian police uncovered around $3 million worth of stolen diamonds, and over $2.5 million in cash, at the homes of a criminal ring operating inside state-controlled diamond producer Alrosa, authorities said on Monday. Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds in carat terms, confirmed that security services had uncovered an ongoing diamond theft ring…
It’s possible that mistakes were made during last week’s arrest of prominent investigative reporter Ivan Golunov on large-scale drug trafficking charges, the Kremlin has said. Anti-corruption journalist Golunov was detained and formally charged in a case that has drawn international attention to Russia’s media climate. The Interior Ministry on Friday published nine photos that it…
“The Spy and the Traitor” by Ben Macintyre is meticulously researched history narrated by a natural storyteller. Macintyre, a columnist and associate editor of The Times, is the author of ten books about 20th century wars, espionage, spies and a variety of strange and colorful characters. His grasp of the arcane world — and lingo…
Kazakhstan‘s interim president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the chosen successor of veteran ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev who retains sweeping powers, has won a snap presidential election with nearly 71 percent of the vote, according to early results on Monday. Nazarbayev, who ruled oil producer Kazakhstan for almost three decades, handpicked the 66-year-old career diplomat as his successor when…
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Monday it welcomed the formation of a ruling coalition and government in Moldova, and hoped to restore good relations between Moscow and Chisinau. It also said it hoped the situation in Moldova‘s capital would stabilise soon after Russia’s ally, President Igor Dodon, was temporarily relieved of his duties by a…
The arrest of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov on drug charges last week has led to an outpouring of support from Russia’s journalists and civil society activists. His colleagues have said they believe the evidence against him was fabricated as punishment for his investigations. Golunov is a correspondent for the Meduza news website who is best-known…
An aide to opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been detained on the same day he was set to be released from jail for organizing nationwide protests last year against an unpopular government decision to raise the pension age. Leonid Volkov could now stay in prison until September 9, the Mediazona online news site reported, citing…
A senior American banker once secretly awarded a shareholding in powerful Moscow investment bank Renaissance Capital to one of Vladimir Putin’s closest friends and brokered meetings for the friend with top U.S. foreign policy officials a decade ago, emails show. The American banker, Robert Foresman, currently vice chairman at UBS investment bank in New York,…
Three of Russia’s leading newspapers published identical front pages Monday in solidarity with investigative journalist Ivan Golunov. The move by the Kommersant, RBC and Vedomosti newspapers is unprecedented in Russia. The newspapers, whose front pages read “I/We Are Ivan Golunov,” asked for a detailed investigation into the actions of the police officers involved in Golunov’s…