LGBT Israelis Barred from Adopting Russian Children

Israel and Russia have signed a new adoption agreement that will effectively block LGBT Israelis from adopting Russian children, Israel’s Channel 12 news outlet reported Wednesday.  Russia banned adoption by LGBT couples and individuals from countries that allow gay marriage in 2013. Israel has been complying with this law through a de facto arrangement in the…

Syrian Army Retreats After Idlib Attack, Russia Says

Syrian state media said militants launched a major attack on government forces in Idlib on Thursday that Russia‘s Defense Ministry said killed up to 40 Syrian soldiers, though the account was disputed by a rebel official and war monitor. Idlib is the last rebel-held swathe of territory in the country and hundreds of thousands of people…

Putin Opens Leningrad Siege Memorial in Jerusalem

Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurated a new monument in Jerusalem dedicated to the defenders and victims of the Siege of Leningrad on Thursday. More than 800,000 people died during the Nazi encirclement of Leningrad — now called St. Petersburg — from starvation, disease and bombardment, making it one of the most devastating episodes of World…

Putin to Revive Russia’s ‘Great Wall’

President Vladimir Putin has hinted that he could help reconstruct Russia’s version of the Great Wall of China during a stopover in the country’s central Lipetsk region, the Znak.com news website reported Wednesday. A local archeologist had urged Putin to spearhead reconstruction of the Belgorod fortified line, which was built in the 17th century to…

The Poet and the Lady: Voznesensky and Kennedy

“The Poet and the Lady” is an exhibition devoted to the unlikely friendship between the Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky and American First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. The exhibition is at the Voznesensky Center, a relatively new addition to the Moscow museum scene, which has the mission of not just telling the story of Andrei Voznesensky, but…

Popular Russian Stand-Up Comic Flees Russia After Police Probe

Update: Dolgopolov has fled Russia pending further information about the police probe, human rights lawyer Leonid Solovyov told the MBKh news website Thursday. “We can’t say where he went yet,” Solovyov said, citing security reasons. Dolgopolov warned his Instagram followers that his late Wednesday performance in Moscow was canceled. Police near Moscow have put out a…