Month: May 2020

The number of new cases has been steadily dropping and authorities have begun easing lockdown measures in some parts of the country. Restrictions have been eased in many areas though hard-hit Moscow remains on a strict lockdown until at least the end of May. On Monday, President Vladimir Putin made a rare lockdown appearance in…

There have been 362,342 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 3,807 deaths. May 26: 3 things you need to know today Russia confirmed 8,915 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 362,342. President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to hold its landmark parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory…

A military helicopter crashed Tuesday at an airport in Russia’s remote eastern Chukotka region, killing all four people on board, the governor said. The helicopter of the Russian Defense Ministry went down in the main airport in Chukotka near Anadyr, which has mixed military and civilian use. “There were three crew members and one technician on…

Russia’s veteran international striker Pavel Pogrebnyak has been hospitalized with the coronavirus, his wife and lifestyle guru Maria Shatalova said Monday. Pogrebnyak’s current team, FC Ural Yekaterinburg, had said that the 36-year-old had mild Covid-19 symptoms and was “feeling good” when it announced Friday that he fell ill.  Shatalova said earlier that she believes her…

Forces backing Libya’s unity government said Monday that hundreds of Russian mercenaries fighting for their rival, military commander Khalifa Haftar, had been evacuated from combat zones south of the capital Tripoli. The claim comes after a series of setbacks for Haftar’s year-long offensive to seize the capital from the UN-recognized Government of National Accord. “An…

A makeup artist in eastern Moscow has been seeing clients despite testing positive for the coronavirus, Russian media reported last week. Irina Subbotina began working from home in late March when President Vladimir Putin declared a nationwide “non-working period” to slow the spread of Covid-19, the Baza Telegram channel said. She tested positive for the…

Russian prosecutors on Monday demanded 18 years in prison for a former U.S. marine facing espionage charges, his lawyer said, as the high-profile trial that has strained ties with Washington drew to a close. Paul Whelan’s lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told reporters that the prosecutor had requested 18 years “in a harsh regime colony” for his…

A provincial leader outside Moscow was heard telling his subordinates to alter his region’s coronavirus data in an audio recording leaked Monday that he later confirmed to be authentic. The Lipetsk region, which has a population of 1.1 million, had reported 1,696 total cases and five deaths from Covid-19 as of Monday, less than half…

Authorities in Russia have opened an investigation into a street party that saw dozens gather in the center of Novosibirsk despite an anti-coronavirus lockdown in the Siberian city. The local investigative committee said it was launching the probe after photos and videos were posted online of young Russians dancing as music played from loudspeakers in…

Western Siberia is experiencing abnormally high May temperatures, with some areas above the Arctic Circle breaking record-highs, The Siberian Times and The Washington Post reported last week. Weather experts say temperatures in the region have been between 3 degrees Celsius and 6 degrees Celsius above average since January. The trend picks up from 2019, which…

The strongman leader of Russia’s southern Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, was receiving treatment for a suspected coronavirus infection, news agencies reported Thursday citing sources, though his aides did not confirm it. One of Russia’s most high-profile virus cases, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, returned to work this week after receiving treatment for the illness in hospital. Overall, 118,798…

There have been 353,427 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 3,633 deaths. May 25: 3 things you need to know today Putin congratulated Muslims across Russia on the Eid al-Fitr holiday, a feast marking the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan, calling for charitable donations “under current conditions of a spreading dangerous disease.” Authorities in Moscow…

As the deadly coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Russia has gradually become the world’s second most-infected country. There have been 335,882 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 3,388 deaths. May 24: 3 things you need to know today 1. Russia confirmed 8,599 new coronavirus infections Sunday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 344,481. Russia has…

The strongman leader of Russia’s southern Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, was receiving treatment for a suspected coronavirus infection, news agencies reported Thursday citing sources, though his aides did not confirm it. One of Russia’s most high-profile virus cases, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, returned to work this week after receiving treatment for the illness in hospital. Overall, 107,936…

As the deadly coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Russia has gradually become the world’s second most-infected country. There have been 335,882 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 3,388 deaths. May 23: 3 things you need to know today 1. Russia confirmed 9,434 new coronavirus infections Friday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 335,882. Russia has the second-highest…

The strongman leader of Russia’s southern Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, was receiving treatment for a suspected coronavirus infection, news agencies reported Thursday citing sources, though his aides did not confirm it. One of Russia’s most high-profile virus cases, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, returned to work this week after receiving treatment for the illness in hospital. Overall, 107,936…

The U.K. has reiterated calls for the release of Yury Dmitriyev, a Russian historian who discovered Stalin-era mass graves and is currently being held in pre-trial detention on charges many say are politically motivated. Dmitriyev, 64, is the head of the Karelian branch of Memorial, an independent NGO that researches Soviet political repression and human…

The Open Skies Treaty, which the United States plans to quit, was agreed just after the Cold War to allow signatories to avoid nasty surprises by monitoring rival militaries. It was signed in 1992 and came into force in 2002, allowing 35 countries — including the United States and Russia — to fly unarmed surveillance…

President Vladimir Putin warned Friday that a second wave of the coronavirus epidemic could hit Russia this fall as he noted that the country’s current outbreak is stabilizing. Russia appears to have flattened the curve with fewer than 10,000 new Covid-19 cases reported each day for the past week, totaling 326,448 infections since the first…

Russia is expected to register a spike in mortality for the month of May, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said on Friday, as the country battles a coronavirus outbreak. “There will be a significant mortality increase in May” despite doctors trying to “save the maximum number of patients,” Golikova said, without referring specifically to deaths…

One out of seven healthy Russians may have been infected with the coronavirus, according to a Moscow-based private lab analysis of voluntary testing published Friday. Out of more than 40,000 people tested between Monday and Thursday in most Russian regions, the Invitro lab said 14% had antibodies. Nearly half of Invitro’s tests were submitted in…

As the deadly coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Russia has gradually become the world’s second most-infected country. There have been 326,448 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 3,249 deaths. May 22: 3 things you need to know today 1. Russia confirmed 8,894 new coronavirus infections Friday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 326,448. Russia has the…

President Vladimir Putin submitted legislation Thursday adding patriotism and war history to Russia’s education law. Putin’s amendments seek to add “a sense of patriotism and citizenship, respect for the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland and the achievements of the Fatherland’s heroes” to the law’s current definition of upbringing. His proposals, which need votes…

On April 20, around 2,000 protesters gathered in Freedom Square in the heart of Vladikavkaz, the sleepy capital of Russia’s mountainous North Caucasus republic of North Ossetia.  Flouting the self-isolation regime imposed weeks before to combat the tiny autonomous region’s escalating coronavirus outbreak, demonstrators reeled off their demands: an end to lockdown, emergency financial support,…

The Russian developers of a coronavirus vaccine have developed immunity to the infection after self-administering it, Interfax reported Friday. Scientists at the Gamalei Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology “aren’t so much testing as protecting themselves to continue working,” its head Alexander Ginzburg told the news agency. “Everyone’s alive, healthy and happy,” Ginzburg said when…

One in three Russian doctors who treat coronavirus patients have been told to change how they report cases, according to a survey cited by the Meduza news website Thursday amid questions over Russia’s low Covid-19 death toll. The survey on the Russian app “Doctor’s Handbook” involved 509 medics, Meduza reported. More than one-third of the…

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who was on Thursday reportedly being treated for coronavirus in Moscow, went from rebel fighter to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fearsome enforcer, bringing his war-scarred region to heel with an iron-fisted rule. He has taken a characteristically high-handed approach to the coronavirus, calling doctors in the region who complained of a…

The strongman leader of Russia’s southern Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, was receiving treatment for a suspected coronavirus infection, news agencies reported Thursday citing sources, though his aides did not confirm it. One of Russia’s most high-profile virus cases, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, returned to work this week after receiving treatment for the illness in hospital. Overall, 99,825…

Washington’s departure from the Open Skies arms control treaty would be a blow to European security, a Russian deputy foreign minister said Thursday, after President Donald Trump announced the United States will withdraw. “The withdrawal by the U.S. from this treaty would be not only a blow to the foundation of European security … but…

A U.S. military plane carrying dozens of donated American ventilators touched down in Moscow Thursday, with the precious cargo ready to be sent to a hospital treating coronavirus patients. The 50 ventilators are “the first part of a humanitarian donation of a total of 200 much-needed U.S.-manufactured ventilators to Russia,” valued at $5.6 million, the U.S.…

Russian oil giant Rosneft has launched a 43 billion ruble ($610 million) lawsuit against Russian business website RBC over the outlet’s coverage of the company’s disposal of its Venezeulean assets. The dispute concerns an article RBC published on May 14 detailing the mechanism by which Rosneft, which is majority owned by the Russian government, transferred…

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been hospitalized in Moscow with a suspected coronavirus infection, Interfax reported Thursday, citing an anonymous source in Moscow’s medical services. Kadyrov, 43, was reportedly flown to the Russian capital Wednesday, a few days after reporting flu-like symptoms, the Baza Telegram channel reported earlier Thursday. Chechen doctors recommended that Kadyrov seek treatment…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday bestowed a 65th birthday honor on Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, his loyal ally in the Syria conflict and companion on wilderness trips. Putin sent Shoigu birthday greetings and signed a decree awarding him one of Russia’s highest decorations, the “For Merit to the Fatherland” medal in the first degree. Previous…

As the deadly coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Russia has gradually become the world’s second most-infected country. There have been 317,554 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 3,099 deaths. May 21: 3 things you need to know today 1. Russia confirmed 8,849 new coronavirus infections Thursday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 317,554. Russia now has…

HBO has aired a trailer for its upcoming documentary on the anti-gay crackdown in Russia’s republic of Chechnya that was produced using groundbreaking face-swapping technology to protect the safety of its subjects. Oscar-nominated American director David France’s documentary “Welcome to Chechnya” traces attempts by a Moscow-based LGBT association to exfiltrate gay Chechens to safety. Russian…

Before 136 employees of the distribution center for the popular Krasnoe & Beloe discount liquor chain in central Russia’s Sverdlovsk region tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, the region was set to relax its quarantine restrictions. The region had taken its cue from President Vladimir Putin, who last week announced a plan for Russia…

Update: The Moscow health department has denied plans to quarantine Muscovites with positive antibody test results. The proposal has been rejected and appeared online by mistake, an unnamed participant at the May 12 clinical council told the Business FM radio station. Moscow authorities could place people who test positive for coronavirus antibodies into a two-week quarantine as part…

A Russian Culture Ministry-linked organization sent a $47 million package labeled “Fabergé Russia” to Panama three weeks after the United States placed sanctions on known Fabergé enthusiast Viktor Vekselberg, the investigative outlet The Intercept reported Wednesday. Russia’s State Museum and Exhibition Center ROSIZO shipped the package on April 28, 2018, to a Vekselberg-owned company in…

In the depths of the Siberian taiga a group of around a hundred people in white robes stand around a statue of an angel topped with a cross inside a circle. They sing and clasp each other’s hands, an unnerving scene in a world where millions are being forced to practice social distancing and self-isolation…

Russian rights campaigners are urging the prosecution of relatives of a nine-year-old girl who was subjected to a genital cutting operation as well as management of the clinic which performed the procedure. Russia does not have a specific law banning female genital mutilation (FGM) and a fully fledged probe into the case would be a…