Rights campaigners are urging the Russian government to consider releasing some pre-trial detainees and prisoners held in the country’s packed jails, warning of the “devastating consequences” of the coronavirus pandemic. More than half a million people are held in Russia’s notoriously crowded prisons in what is the European continent’s largest prison population. In a letter Tuesday…
Many of us have heard of Sergei Bondarchuk’s sweeping adaptation of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” but few of us have watched it in its (admittedly enormous) entirety. With the days of quarantine stretching out before us, what better way to spend 7 hours than indulging in one of the most groundbreaking feats of Soviet cinematography? …
The truth is in the eye of the beholder. Italians who have received extensive coverage in Russian state media for playing the Russian anthem or waving the Russian flag in gratitude to Moscow’s coronavirus aid have either family or financial connections to Russia, BBC Russia reported Tuesday. Critics have argued that the package of decontamination…
The head of Moscow’s main coronavirus hospital who met with President Vladimir Putin a week ago has tested positive, he said Tuesday, as the Kremlin announced the Russian leader’s health was fine. Last Tuesday Denis Protsenko met with the Russian leader who inspected the Kommunarka hospital while wearing a bright yellow hazmat suit. But the…
This week more than 80 units of military hardware rolled out of their compounds in the Kola Peninsula to participate in exercises, the Northern Fleet informs. The exercises involved motorized infantry units of the Northern Fleet’s Arctic Brigade, and included military equipment such as self-propelled Gvozdika howitzers, the Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system, and MTLB armored transport…
As many as 300 Central Asian migrants hoping to return home from Russia because of the coronavirus pandemic were kicked out of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport overnight, according to reports on social media Tuesday. Migrant workers from Central Asia have been stranded in unsanitary conditions at Moscow’s four international airports for weeks after airlines canceled flights…
Authorities in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi have imposed strict measures to keep tourists away from the city as locals expressed concern that visitors could bring an outbreak of the coronavirus with them. President Vladimir Putin declared a nationwide paid holiday from March 28 to April 5 in a move to tackle the coronavirus…
As Russia’s battle against the coronavirus steps up with strict quarantines being rolled out across major cities, a new report has shown that six in 10 Russians have no savings at all. Otkritie Bank found that only 36% of Russians have a financial cushion, with the rest reporting no savings whatsoever. The findings raise concerns…
Last week St. Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov asked Russians to stay out of the city. “Movie theaters, theaters and other venues are closed. There is nothing to do here,” he said on March 21 during his visit to the coronavirus information center in St. Petersburg. Despite his warnings and quarantine measures, street life last week…
The call came just after 9 pm on a Monday, as Nataliya Kharitonova was heading into one of her two textile factories to take stock of supplies. Kharitonova, 40, founded Tekstil Komi 18 years ago in Syktyvkar, the capital city of the republic of Komi in Russia’s northwest. The company produces household linens — pillows,…
The Russian economy has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, and the breakdown of the OPEC+ oil production pact between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The turmoil has shocked traders around the world and resulted in sharp volatility on the Russian stock markets and swings in the value of the ruble — both of which are…
Russia and other countries have sent medical aid to the United States, the hardest-hit country in the deadly coronavirus outbreak, U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday. Russia previously sent decontamination units and military medical staff to coronavirus-hit Italy, raising questions over whether the move was an attempt at a publicity coup at home and abroad…
As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 37,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the pandemic and prevent its spread within the country. There have been 1,836 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and nine deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia…