Armenia Prime Minister Says Turkey Behind ‘War’ in Karabakh

Turkey’s “full support” motivated its ally Azerbaijan to reignite fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Tuesday in an interview with AFP, calling the escalating conflict a “war against terrorism”. “While it is true that the leadership of Azerbaijan has been actively promoting bellicose rhetoric for the last 15 years,…

‘The People Captured Power Themselves’: Kyrgyzstan Cleans Up After Night of Chaos

BISHKEK — Store owners in Kyrgyzstan’s capital spent Monday emptying their premises of stock and boarding up the facades. The day after disputed parliamentary elections triggered widespread protests, they wanted to avoid the looting they’d seen in previous revolutions in 2005 and 2010.      By Tuesday the Central Asian nation’s Central Electoral Commission had canceled the…

From Moscow to St. Petersburg By Bicycle

It takes just four hours to get to St. Petersburg from Moscow by high-speed train, a couple more hours by car, but what about 16 days by bike? Twelve volunteers, mainly Muscovites, finished their 1,100-kilometer expedition at the Hermitage museum last Sunday. This trip wasn’t the first one in Russia’s cycling movement, but has a…

Kyrgyzstan Cancels Election Result After Night of Chaos

Kyrgyzstan’s electoral body said Tuesday it was canceling the results of a disputed parliamentary vote that plunged the Central Asian nation into violence and political chaos. The ex-Soviet nation’s Central Electoral Commission said in a statement that it had “invalidated the election results” which saw parties close to pro-Russian President Sooronbay Jeenbekov score big wins…

Russia Probes Child Torture Reports at Seized Monastery

Russian investigators have opened a criminal case into the alleged torture of children living at a monastery in central Russia that has been under the control of an excommunicated, coronavirus-denying priest since June.  Dozens of children live in the Sredneuralsk women’s monastery near Yekaterinburg, which was captured by its spiritual leader Father Sergei Romanov after…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Oct. 6

Russia has confirmed 1,237,504 cases of coronavirus and 21,663 deaths. Oct. 6: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 11,615 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 1,237,504. Tuesday’s increase is just 41 fewer than the country’s highest daily total of 11,656 which was recorded on May 11. The Russian capital re-opened two temporary…

Russia Expands Second Virus Vaccine’s Volunteer Pool Sixfold

Russia’s second candidate vaccine against the coronavirus will be tested on six times the original number of volunteers as part of final clinical trials for safety and effectiveness, health authorities said Monday. The government is expected to approve the peptide-based EpiVacCorona vaccine developed by a Siberian-based biotechnology company on or around Oct. 15. It completed…

Kyrgyz Protesters Take Government House, Free Ex-Leader After Post-Vote Clashes

Protesters seized Kyrgyzstan’s seat of government and freed a jailed former president on Tuesday after demonstrations against an election marred by vote-buying accusations spiralled into violent clashes with police. Opposition supporters hit the streets of the capital Bishkek the previous evening to demand the resignation of pro-Russian President Sooronbay Jeenbekov and a re-run of Sunday’s…