Watch ‘Yevgeny Onegin’ on Stage in Novosibirsk

Timofei Kulyabin is one of Russia’s most celebrated young theater directors, and his version of Alexander Pushkin’s verse “Yevgeny Onegin” has been equally celebrated – with sell-out performaces and two Golden Mask Awards, Russia’s highest theater prize.  Kulyabin’s “Onegin” is set in today’s world – albeit a very sparsely inhabited and decorated world – and…

Russia Passes Dual Citizenship Law, Hoping to Add 10M Citizens

Russian lawmakers from both houses of parliament have passed legislation Friday allowing dual Russian citizenship for foreigners, sending it to President Vladimir Putin’s desk less than two weeks after introducing it. Lawmakers have described the amendments to Russia’s citizenship law, which among other steps strike down a requirement to renounce one’s existing citizenship, as “revolutionary.”…

Russia Approves Unproven Malaria Drug to Treat Coronavirus

The Russian government has authorized hospitals to treat coronavirus patients with the untested malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which studies have linked to potentially deadly side effects. Thursday’s decree instructs Russia’s national medical cardiology research center to distribute 68,600 packs of hydroxychloroquine donated by a Shanghai pharmaceutical company to hospitals across Russia for free. More than a…

Nobel Literature Laureate Alexievich Backs 5G Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory

Svetlana Alexievich, the Belarussian winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature, has suggested that there might be a link between wireless 5G technology and the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Though no evidence exists to suggest a link between 5G and Covid-19, Alexievich told the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarussian service that “scientists aren’t fully…

Dozens of Russian Cadets Involved With WWII Parade Rehearsals Infected With Coronavirus: Reports

Nearly 50 cadets and instructors involved in rehearsals for Russia’s now-postponed Victory Day parade have been infected with the coronavirus, the Baza Telegram channel reported Friday. Rear Adm. Anatoly Minakov, the head of St. Petersburg’s elite Nakhimov Naval School, confirmed to local media that he’s been hospitalized in Moscow with a fever awaiting test results. …