Russia Fines Pussy Riot Activists for Hanging Pride Flags

Russian courts on Monday fined two Pussy Riot activists for hanging rainbow flags on several government buildings last month to mark President Vladimir Putin’s birthday. On Oct. 7 — Putin’s 68th birthday — members of the anti-Kremlin punk group draped the flags associated with LGBT pride on buildings in Moscow including Russia’s Supreme Court and the…

Russian New Music Gets a Reboot

A man dressed in all black mimes scrambled Brodsky verses while a cellist rakes her instrument with plastic wedges…thundering drum beats are inspired by the latest protests in Belarus… musicians in virtual reality goggles clatter on mechanical typewriters. These are just some of the images and sounds that the audience at “Russian Music 2.0” was…

Russia Plans Biometric Database for Citizens, Foreigners – TASS

Russia plans to create a national biometric database to identify both citizens and foreign nationals via face recognition and fingerprints, state media reported Sunday. Russia’s Interior Ministry told the state-run TASS news agency it plans to develop the centralized biometric database in 2021-23. The database will allow the authorities to identify individuals or bodies through…

Russia Confirms Record 25K Coronavirus Cases

Russia has confirmed more than 25,000 new coronavirus infections in a single day for the first time since the pandemic hit earlier this year. Health officials reported 25,173 new infections across Russia’s 85 regions Monday, bringing the national total to 2,114,502 cases. The country surpassed 2 million cases three days ago. Over 23% of those…