Crimea’s Capital Faces Water Shortage, Plans Daily Shutoffs

The capital of Russian-annexed Crimea is facing a water shortage with enough supply to last 100 days, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday, citing regional and local officials. Crimea received 85% of its water from Ukraine’s Dnieper River via the North Crimean Canal until 2014, when Russia annexed the peninsula and Ukrainian authorities blocked the…

Russian Energy Exports to U.S. Set 8-Year Record in October

Russia’s energy exports to the United States have reached an eight-year high in October 2019, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data cited by the RBC news website Thursday. Russia exported 20.9 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products to the U.S. in October 2019, the highest one-month total since November 2011. Russia also…

Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral Undergoes Restoration

Since the 15th century, the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral has been the main church of the land, where first grand princes were crowned, then tsars, and finally emperors and empresses. It was also the church where Metropolitans and Patriarchs were enthroned, and where they were interred. The church was built 1475-1479 under Grand Prince Ivan III…

Russia Proposes Internet Ecosystem to Protect Users From ‘Foreign Influence’ – Report

Russia’s state-controlled telecommunications provider is proposing a 260-billion-ruble ($4.1 billion) online ecosystem to “protect users from foreign influence,” the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday. Rostelecom’s so-called roadmap reportedly envisions the creation of state-run messengers, gaming services, browsers and operating systems. The telecom provider’s ambitious proposal also includes state-controlled content recommendation systems and speech and gesture…

Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes Up in Russia, Watchdog Says

The number of hate crimes against members of Russia’s LGBT community increased in 2019, according to an annual report by the prominent SOVA Center nonprofit, which tracks xenophobia and racism in the country. At the same time, the SOVA Center noted Tuesday that the number of crimes against ethnic and religious minorities, as well as…

Moscow Outlines $231Bln Plan for Arctic Oil Development

A new $231 billion tax regime for the Russian Arctic is to provide for an unprecedented wave of investments in icy drilling. The new legislation was hammered through the government on Jan. 30. It will give national oil companies incentives for major investments in Arctic oil, the country’s new Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says. “These…

Eleven Centuries of Russian Patterns, Now Online

Russia has become home to the world’s largest digital archive of decorative patterns.  The archive, Ornamika.ru, was launched by Maria Loleyt, a former project manager and marketing expert. It contains more than 7,000 authentic decorative patterns created by the national groups that have lived in Russia, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Empire. The ornamental…

Gazprom Transgaz Nizhny Novgorod wins prize at international talent competition

Background Gazprom Transgaz Nizhny Novgorod is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom that delivers natural gas to 15 regions in the Volga and Central Federal Districts of the Russian Federation. The company’s gas transmission system is composed of trunklines stretching for over 13,000 kilometers. Gazprom Transgaz Nizhny Novgorod operates 54 compressor workshops, 284 gas compressor units, 371 gas distribution stations, 2 mobile CNG refuelers, and 4 gas refueling modules located at gas…

Siberian Shaman Files Complaint With European Rights Court

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Russia Ordered to Pay $1M to Police Brutality Victims

Fifty Russian citizens have been awarded compensation totaling more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) for police brutality and illegal searches, according to four European human rights court rulings issued Tuesday. Russia paid more than 600 million rubles ($9.5 million) to its citizens in compliance with European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings in 2019,…

“Peasant” Breaks Russian Box Office

“Peasant” has become the highest-grossing domestic film in the history of Russian cinema.  Directed by Klim Shipenko, the comedy has raked in over 3 billion rubles (roughly 45.5 million USD). Only the 2009 Hollywood blockbuster “Avatar” grossed more in Russia.  The film is about a spoiled rich boy who is sent back in time to…

Russia Sentences 2 ‘Extremist’ Jehovah’s Witnesses

Two Jehovah’s Witnesses have been convicted of extremism in Russia’s Far East, the group said Tuesday amid what activists say is an escalating crackdown on the religious group. The ruling to hand the two worshippers in the Khabarovsk region a two-year suspended sentence comes after Russia’s Supreme Court declared the Jehovah’s Witnesses an “extremist” organization…

‘Crimea Is Lost,’ Pompeo Reportedly Tells Ukraine

Update: According to a journalist who spoke to prominent Ukrainian anti-corruption worker Yelena Tregub, the NV news website misquoted Pompeo. “When the international community sees Crimea as lost, it’s important to keep the issue and fate of Crimean Tatars in public eye and the U.S. plays a role in this,” BuzzFeed journalist Christopher Miller quoted Tregub as…

Russia Plans S-400 Deliveries to India in 2021

Russia plans to start deliveries of its S-400 air defense system to India late next year, a Russian official said Wednesday of the arms deal that risks landing Delhi under U.S. sanctions. India, the largest purchaser of Russian military hardware, agreed on the roughly $5 billion deal in 2018. The U.S. has said countries trading…

Russian Priests Should Stop Blessing Nukes, Church Proposal Says

Russian priests should refrain from the practice of blessing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction that can inflict indiscriminate loss of life, according to new guidelines being discussed by the Russian Orthodox Church. During two decades in power, President Vladimir Putin has aligned himself with the Orthodox Church, which has also developed closer ties…

Board of Directors reviews annual General Shareholders Meeting related issues

Release February 4, 2020, 17:00 General Shareholders Meeting to be held on June 26, 2020, in St. Petersburg. Lists of nominees approved for Board of Directors and Audit Commission. The Company’s Board of Directors resolved to hold the annual General Shareholders Meeting of Gazprom on June 26, 2020, in St. Petersburg. The list of persons entitled to participate in the Shareholders Meeting will be drawn up on the basis of Gazprom’s Register of Shareholders at the end…

Sociologist Teodor Shanin Dies at 89

Teodor Shanin, a renowned scholar and president of the Moscow School for the Social and Economic Sciences  — “Shaninka” —  died on Tuesday in Moscow.  Shanin, 89, was credited as the originator of peasant studies, a field which combines sociology, economics, history, and other academic disciplines to form a comprehensive understanding of modern peasant lives. …

Russia to Quarantine Citizens Evacuated From China’s Wuhan

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Turkey Says Russia Must Restrain Syrian Forces in Idlib

Turkey urged Russia on Tuesday to rein in Syrian government forces in the northwestern province of Idlib, a day after eight Turkish personnel were killed in an attack Ankara blamed on Russian-backed Syrian troops. The two countries back opposing sides in the war, with Russia supporting President Bashar al-Assad and Turkey backing rebels who once…

Cat Yoga Brings Muscovites Closer to Zen

Now that January is over and the New Year’s resolutions have worn off, it’s harder than ever to find the motivation to stay active. Luckily, an anti-cafe in central Moscow has come up with a way to tackle the problem. As everyone knows, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is easier when you have a partner —…

Dali’s Magic Art in Moscow

“Salvador Dali: Magic Art” at Manege Central Exhibition Hall is the first comprehensive exhibition of the famous Spaniard in Russia. The Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg and “The Link of Times” Foundation (both belong to billionaire Viktor Vekselberg) brought to Moscow more than 180 works from different periods of Dali’s life — not just his…

4 Russian Special Forces Officers Killed in Syria – Reports

At least four members of Russia’s special forces have been killed in Syria on Saturday, the investigative website Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), which monitors Russian military activity, has reported. Makeshift memorials said that the four FSB Special Operations Center officers were killed on the same day “while performing special tasks in the Syrian Arab Republic,”…

Russia Combats the Coronavirus, in Photos

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Russian Cities See Hottest January in Recorded History

Update: January temperatures across all of Russia were the second-hottest in the country’s recorded history, the Federal Meteorological Service said Wednesday. Scores of cities across Russia including Moscow and St. Petersburg have experienced the hottest January in their recorded histories, an official at Russia’s meteorological center said Monday. The latest record comes after 2019 was declared…

Russia Experiences Hottest January in Recorded History

Scores of cities across Russia including Moscow and St. Petersburg have experienced the hottest January in their recorded histories, an official at Russia’s meteorological center said Monday. The latest record comes after 2019 was declared the hottest year on record in Russia. Moscow and some parts of Russia have been reeling from an unusually warm…

U.S. Blocks Russian Convoy in Syria, Reports Say

U.S. troops have again blocked Russian military convoys in northeastern Syria, the latest in a series of standoffs as the powers vie for control of the oil-rich region, the Voice of America (VOA) broadcaster reported Friday. Russian and U.S. forces have faced off in Syria’s Hasakah region, an area rich in oil fields, several times…

Coronavirus Update: Russia Acts to Curb Spread

Russia reported its first two cases of coronavirus on Friday and said the infected people were Chinese citizens who had been isolated. As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 360 people in China continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry…

‘The Experiment: Georgia’s Forgotten Revolution 1918-1921’

In January Eric Lee came to Moscow to present the Russian translation of his book, “The Experiment: Georgia’s Forgotten Revolution 1918-1921.” This followed the Georgian translation that was released the previous year. At Memorial International, Lee discussed his book with Russian and Georgian scholars, many of whom knew virtually nothing about the history he reported.…