Secret Lukashenko Inauguration Triggers Fresh Belarus Clashes

Belarus police fired tear gas and arrested more than 150 protesters on Wednesday after the secret inauguration of President Alexander Lukashenko triggered new demonstrations and fresh condemnation in the West. Several thousand protesters, many carrying the red-and white opposition flag, took to the streets of the capital Minsk and other cities following a surprise announcement…

Bulgaria Expels Two Russian Diplomats for Spying

Bulgaria has expelled two Russian diplomats accused of spying on the military, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The pair were given 72 hours to leave the EU country, a former Russian ally during Soviet times, after the Bulgarian public prosecutor alleged they had been seeking out classified information on military modernization plans since 2016.…

U.S. Sanctions Russian Tycoon’s Central Africa Business

The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned associates and businesses connected with a wealthy financier close to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Moscow’s security service. Eight people and seven entities related to Yevgeniy Prigozhin and the Federal Security Service (FSB) were targeted in the sanctions, which Treasury said in a statement were aimed at…

Lady Gaga’s New Video Is an Ode to a Soviet Film Classic

The best of both worlds: Lady Gaga released the music video for her new single “911” — and it’s filled with references to the classic Soviet Armenian film “The Color of Pomegranates.” The 1969 film by acclaimed director Sergei Parajanov depicts the life of an 18th-century Armenian poet, focusing on visually intricate and symbolic scenes rather…

RT Trolls Trump With Post-Election Job Offer

The Kremlin-funded RT broadcaster leaned into its reputation as a U.S. election bogeyman with an ad offering President Donald Trump a job as “special host” if he loses the 2020 race.  RT used deepfake technology to transport Trump 44 days into the future, where he takes up Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to become RT’s…

Russia’s Nuclear Imports Likely Larger Than Declared – Greenpeace

A series of nuclear byproduct shipments to Russia from Germany is likely importing more than officially declared, Greenpeace Russia said Tuesday.  European enrichment firm Urenco resumed exports of uranium hexafluoride, a byproduct known as “tails,” last year after a 10-year pause initiated by Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom. The shipments have sparked outcry from environmental…

Food Fests From East and West

All throughout the quarantine period, our friends and neighbors at the Hyatt Regency Petrovsky Park kept us well-fed with weekend deliveries of delicious foreign cuisine. They are continuing the tradition of enticing international food and drink. Only now, we can get out of the house and go to them. Singaporean Cuisine Festival The first special…

Alexey Miller: Gazprom to become one of major players in global helium market

September 23, 2020, 14:30 Photos Amur GPP will increase the Company’s helium production by 13 times. Construction readiness of the helium hub near Vladivostok is above 70 per cent. Contract has been signed for the delivery of LNG-powered freight trucks to carry helium. A presentation of a helium production and marketing project that forms part of Gazprom’s Eastern Gas Program took place today at the Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg.…

6 Convicts Tunnel Out of Russian Prison

Six convicted criminals in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan have escaped from prison by digging a tunnel, authorities said Wednesday.  Wardens discovered the tunnel during a routine inspection around midnight and found out after a roll call that they were six prisoners short, the regional prison service said in a statement. Images shared on social media…

Putin Vaunts Russian Coronavirus Vaccine at UN

President Vladimir Putin in a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday boasted of Russia’s creation of the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, though it has not completed large-scale clinical trials. Putin in a video address to the General Assembly said that Russia was open to partnership with other countries over “the first vaccine in the…