Day: August 17, 2020
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Norway Arrests Man Suspected of Spying for Russia
Norway’s intelligence service said Monday its agents had arrested a Norwegian man suspected of passing sensitive information to Russia. “The man is formally suspected of providing information to a foreign country that could damage fundamental national interests,” the PST intelligence agency wrote on Twitter. A PST official later confirmed the country in question was Russia.…
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Mexican President Says Will Get Russian Vaccine if Effective
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that he would be among the first to receive a Russian coronavirus vaccine if it is shown to be effective. Russia’s announcement last week that it was the first in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine was met with caution from Western scientists who said it…
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Meet the Rescued Animals at Moscow’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Shelter
In a large park about two hours outside Moscow, hundreds of wild animals and birds live, rest and play — but this is no zoo. Covering four hectares of land, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center rehabilitates rescued animals in a calm, quiet environment with the goal of releasing them back into the wild or bringing them…
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Rosneft Holds Second Hydrogeology Research to Practice Conference
Rosneft has held the 2nd research to practice conference on water supply issues (hydrogeology) in Izhevsk.
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Belarus Workers Chant ‘Leave’ at Lukashenko as Anger Mounts Over Vote
Workers at a state-run factory confronted Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko with chants of “Leave!” on Monday as pressure built on the strongman to step down over a disputed election. Employees at several factories and state television walked off the job after a historic protest on Sunday brought tens of thousands to the streets. In footage…
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Russia Outlaws Children’s Criminal Underground Movement
Russia has blacklisted a popular informal movement that pushes youngsters into the criminal underground as an extremist organization, Interfax reported Monday. AUE (“Arestantsky. Uklad. Edin,” or “Prison. Order. Universal”) is based on prison culture and consists mostly of children and teenagers ruled indirectly by adult criminals. Authorities warn that AUE “poses a real threat to…
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Russia Summons Netherlands Diplomat Over Spying Accusations
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said it had summoned the Dutch charge d’affaires in Moscow to protest over what it said was spying on Russia’s military attache in the Netherlands. Russia “strongly protested” to the Dutch diplomat after the discovery of “spy equipment” in the official car of the Russian military attache in the Netherlands,…
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Belarus: a Week of Post-Electoral Turmoil
A crushing re-election victory for Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in disputed polls followed by anti-government protests seeking to oust him, here is a recap of a week of drama in the ex-Soviet country. Vote sparks violence On Aug. 9, 2020, Lukashenko, 65, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, runs for a…
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Mining at ‘Sacred’ Russian Hill Halted After Protests, Clashes
The head of a central Russian region has suspended all works at a limestone production site on a “sacred” natural landmark after violent clashes broke out between environmental activists and security personnel over the weekend. Protests broke out at Kushtau hill in the republic of Bashkortostan earlier in August when the Bashkir Soda Company (BSK)…
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Kazakhstan: Troubled Nazarbayev Grandson Dies Aged 29
Aisultan Nazarbayev, a grandson of Kazakhstan’s former president, has died in London after years of battling drug addiction. The 29-year-old’s struggle to regain mental health had played out in acutely public fashion in recent years as he repeatedly took to social media to level increasingly outrageous allegations against his own family and other elite figures.…
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On and Off the Trans-Siberian Train: The Coin Collector
Vitaly, 42 years old I was born and live in Reutov, Moscow region. I collect coins. At five I found my first coin while playing in a sandbox in kindergarten. I remember seeing it for the first time: five zlotis with a hole inside, in a doughnut shape. Somebody must have worn it on a…
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Belarus State TV Workers Join Anti-Lukashenko Strike
Belarusian state television and radio workers walked off the job Monday, becoming the latest public employees to support the opposition in calling for new elections after last week’s official results showed a landslide victory for strongman President Alexander Lukashenko. The unprecedented show of resistance comes after several state television presenters resigned last week in protest…
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Russia Approaches 930K Coronavirus Cases
The highest number of new cases were in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russia’s fatality rate has remained low compared to other badly-hit countries, raising speculation that Moscow could be underreporting figures. Russian authorities began easing anti-virus measures in June ahead of a massive World War II military parade in Moscow and a nationwide vote on…
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Belarus Vote Challenger Tikhanovskaya Says Ready to Be ‘National Leader’
The main challenger in Belarus’s disputed presidential election said Monday that she was ready to take over the country’s leadership after a wave of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. “I did not want to be a politician. But fate decreed that I’d find myself on the frontline of a confrontation against arbitrary rule and injustice,” Svetlana…