Month: December 2020

The son of a Russian oligarch lost $50 million in day trading while studying at university in the U.K., it emerged this week. Temur Akhmedov said the staggering losses were bankrolled by his father, Russian-Azeri billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov. After some initial success trading on the stock market, Temur hit a losing streak and started pouring…

The Russian Navy will participate in joint exercises alongside NATO members for the first time in 10 years, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing the Black Sea Fleet. The Aman-2021 multinational exercises will take place in February off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan. In addition to Russia, the exercises will also feature ships…

In one of the most famous tales from St. Petersburg — Nikolai Gogol’s “The Nose” — Major Kovalyov wakes up one day to find his nose has disappeared from his face. He learns that the anthropomorphic nose has developed a life of its own, eventually even surpassing him in rank. Now, another St. Petersburg man…

Authorities in southern Russia say they will deploy uniformed Cossacks alongside police officers on New Year’s Eve to enforce a ban on mass celebrations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Krasnodar region Governor Venyamin Kondratyev called off Christmas and New Year celebrations to slow the spread of Covid-19 as the popular domestic tourism destination saw record-breaking…

Belarus will suspend departures from its ground borders due to the coronavirus situation, a government decree published Thursday says.  Starting Dec. 20, Belarus will prohibit its citizens as well as foreigners with permanent or temporary residency to cross the border via automobile checkpoints, simplified checkpoints, checkpoints at railway stations or in river ports. Departures may…

Russian Communist Party members distributed anti-vaccination leaflets in Moscow falsely claiming there is no coronavirus pandemic, the Podyom Telegram news channel reported Wednesday. The leaflets, reportedly handed out to protesters outside the Moscow Mayor’s Office, called Covid-19 vaccination the “rebirth of fascism” and equated the jab to weapons of mass destruction. According to Podyom, they…

The trial of two Russian men, accused of launching a savage attack on an English football supporter during Euro 2016 that left him in a wheelchair, continued Wednesday with the defense presenting video evidence.  Pavel Kossov and Mikhail Ivkine, both 34, are accused of beating 55-year-old Andrew Bache, who suffered brain injuries in the violence…

The Kremlin on Wednesday sounded the alarm over the theft of sensitive equipment from a secretive “doomsday plane” designed for the country’s top command in event of a nuclear attack. The Interior Ministry said police in the southern city of Taganrog had been alerted that 1 million rubles ($13,600) worth of equipment was stolen from an…

Russia has denied a Turkish newspaper report that Turkey won’t purchase Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Russia’s state-run TASS news agency on Wednesday cited Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca telling the Habertürk newspaper that the vaccine had failed to obtain a license in Turkey. TASS later quoted a source in the Russian Direct Investment Fund as…

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called on Iran to show “maximum responsibility” in preserving a 2015 major nuclear deal with global powers. Earlier this week Iran announced that it intends to install advanced centrifuges in its main nuclear enrichment plant in Natanz, raising concerns from the governments of France, Germany and the UK. The European…

The Russian space agency said on Wednesday it planned to offer the Sputnik coronavirus vaccine to cosmonauts but insisted that the vaccination would be done on a voluntary basis. Last week Russia launched its mass vaccination program using Sputnik V, which has been named after a Soviet-era satellite. Developers say it is 95 percent effective based on…

The Russian-language version of Google posted its end-of-year video summarizing its top searches and main events in 2020. Spoiler alert: it’s as depressing as you think.  The search engine’s annual tradition took a dark turn this year with the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Arctic fuel spill in Norilsk, mass death of sea…

Russia has signed an agreement with Sudan to build a naval base on the country’s Red Sea coast, in Moscow’s latest push into Africa as it seeks to renew its geopolitical clout. The deal, published on the Russian government’s website Tuesday, will see Moscow establish a “logistical support center” in Port Sudan where “repairs and resupply…

Police in France have taken into custody five Chechens suspected of having been in contact with the Chechen refugee who beheaded a history teacher this fall, the French press reported Tuesday. At least 14 people are being prosecuted in connection with Samuel Paty’s killing, with five of them indicted for pointing out him out to 18-year-old…

Lawmakers in Russia’s lower house of parliament have voted to approve legislation that would give former presidents lifetime immunity from prosecution.  The proposal is a part of a larger set of constitutional reforms announced by President Vladimir Putin which Russians approved in a nationwide vote this summer. Those reforms also include a provision that would…

Russia has announced a ban on imports of tomatoes from Azerbaijan beginning Thursday, in a damaging move for a key export that analysts tied to fallout from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor on Tuesday announced the embargo beginning December 10 to protect against harmful substances detected in several recent shipments. It said the ban…

A Russian national’s arrest on suspicion of espionage in Denmark is a mistake, Russia’s Embassy in Copenhagen told Interfax on Wednesday. The unnamed Russian citizen is suspected of providing information about Danish energy technology to Russia’s intelligence service, Reuters quoted Danish public prosecutors earlier in the day. “The Russian Embassy in Denmark considers the arrest…

Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, the last Defense Minister of the Soviet Union and a Marshal of Aviation, has died at age 78, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday.  The state-run TASS news agency reported, citing unnamed medical sources, that Shaposhnikov had died as a result of Covid-19. According to the Mash Telegram channel, Shaposhnikov was…

A dozen dead endangered seals have been found washed up on the shores of the Caspian Sea in southern Russia. Footage shared from the republic of Dagestan last week showed Caspian seal carcasses lying motionless on the beach. Rescuer Ziyavdin Nikamogamedov said he had encountered at least 17 dead mammals in the dirty waters following…

Russia’s Yandex has started using its self-driving robot to deliver fast food orders, the company announced Wednesday. The small six-wheeled autonomous robot — dubbed Yandex Rover — has started delivering orders from Yandex’s food delivery service, Yandex Eats, to customers in one of Moscow’s central business districts.  Just like a human courier, after an order…

Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine only requires patients to avoid drinking alcohol for six days, not 42 as previously recommended, its developer said Wednesday. Health officials overseeing Russia’s Covid-19 response urged Sputnik V recipients earlier to abstain from alcohol for nearly two months while taking the two-shot vaccine. Alexander Gintsburg, who heads the state-run Gamaleya…

The Kremlin has spoken out against attempts to justify the beheading of a French teacher by a Chechen refugee following a Chechen state television segment that cast the killer in a sympathetic light. Abdulakh Anzorov, 18, was shot dead by French police on Oct. 16 after decapitating history teacher Samuel Paty, who had displayed Prophet…

Record-setting wildfires in far northeastern Russia in 2020 are linked to extreme weather changes in the warming Arctic, a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Tuesday. Uncontrolled forest fires within the Arctic Circle have set records this year for both their cumulative number and the amount of CO2 emissions. The extent of…

Russian lawmakers on Tuesday passed in its first reading controversial draft legislation including an expansion of who can be labeled a “foreign agent” amid an unrelenting clampdown on dissent. Lawmakers in Russia’s lower-house State Duma last month tabled legislation that would give authorities sweeping powers to designate individuals as foreign agents and further limit public gatherings…

Russia’s second city St. Petersburg registered a record number of virus deaths on Tuesday as authorities warned of an imminent lockdown and shuttered restaurants for the New Year’s holidays. St. Petersburg — one of Russia’s most popular tourist destinations — is struggling with a major health crisis, with hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus patients but residents flouting…

Recipients of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine should abstain from alcohol for nearly two months before and after immunization, the head of Russia’s consumer safety watchdog said Tuesday. Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova’s instructions follow Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova’s recommendations to avoid alcohol and immunosuppressants for 42 days because the two-shot vaccine is administered with…

Russia has confirmed 2,515,009 cases of coronavirus and 44,159 deaths. Dec. 9: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 26,097 coronavirus cases and 562 deaths Tuesday. More than 50% of Russia’s medics have no plans to vaccinate against the coronavirus, according to the result of the Russian Federation Medics Network poll published by VTimes Monday. Over 21% percent…

Russia has launched a mass vaccination campaign against the coronavirus with its own vaccine, putting doctors, social workers and teachers in the top priority group. The Sputnik V vaccine’s developers have said the jab is 95% effective based on interim data from its Phase 3 clinical trials, which are still underway as the large-scale vaccination…

President Vladimir Putin has signed bills into law elevating a low-profile advisory body known as the State Council, criminalizing secession and prioritizing the Russian Constitution over international law. Putin approved the set of laws on Tuesday, 160 days after Russian voters overwhelmingly approved constitutional reforms that pave the way for him to extend his 20-year…

As climate experts sound the alarm over record temperatures in Russia’s Arctic, the Christmas season is unlikely to be much different than the preceding months. According to Russian meteorological service Roshydromet, the extraordinary Arctic heat of November was followed by temperature records in a number of places across the Russian north on the first day of…

The United States has added Russia to its special watchlist of countries that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations” of religious freedom, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Monday.  Russia appears on the U.S. watchlist alongside Comoros, Cuba and Nicaragua.  It’s not the first time the U.S. has raised concerns over…

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the poisoning of Russia’s main opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a phone conversation Monday, a German cabinet representative told the state-run TASS news agency.  Navalny has recovered in Berlin after being poisoned with what Western governments say was the deadly Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok in…

Moscow clinics are distributing coronavirus vaccines to anyone who registers without giving priority to high-risk groups in contradiction to officials’ orders, the Meduza news website reported Tuesday. Moscow kick-started Russia’s nationwide vaccination drive over the weekend, with Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reporting that 2,000 volunteers have so far received the first of two Sputnik V jabs…

A French court on Monday sentenced a Russian to five years in prison for money laundering, but cleared him of an original charge of defrauding nearly 200 people using ransomware. Prosecutors had said that Alexander Vinnik sent emails to his targets masquerading as invoices, whose attached document, when opened, activated malware that shut down the…

Russia is looking to expand its military power in Kaliningrad by adding a new division that includes motorized rifle, artillery and tank regiments amid NATO buildup along the border with Russia’s Baltic exclave, a naval admiral said Monday. Admiral Alexander Nosatov, the commander of Russia’s Baltic Fleet, accused the Western military bloc of deploying an…

A Turkish court on Monday ordered the release of two Russian journalists detained in Istanbul after they were accused of filming near a facility manufacturing drones without authorization, an official said. Journalist Alexei Petrushko and cameraman Ivan Malyshkin from Kremlin-friendly NTV channel were arrested by police in Istanbul on Thursday morning. A Turkish foreign ministry…

Estonia has installed a barbed-wire fence along an 8-kilometer section of its border with Russia in the first installment of its three-year border infrastructure project, media in the Baltic country reported Monday. Estonia began construction of border infrastructure stretching 23.5 kilometers from the Estonian-Latvian-Russian meeting point to the Luhamaa border crossing further north in July. In…

President Vladimir Putin’s former son-in-law purchased $380 million worth of shares in Russia’s top petrochemicals company for $100 after marrying the president’s daughter, according to a report by the iStories investigative outlet. Kirill Shamalov acquired 3.8% of petrochemicals producer Sibur through a web of offshore companies months after marrying Katerina Tikhonova in February 2013, iStories reported,…

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said on Monday the Kremlin hopes that two Russian journalists detained in Turkey will be released as soon as possible. Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russian diplomats were in contact with Turkish representatives to secure the release of two journalists working with Kremlin-friendly NTV channel “in the near future.” “We hope through…

The Russian Orthodox Church has warned worshippers against performing exorcisms at home, saying that casting out demons should be left to members of the clergy. Metropolitan Hilarion, who heads the church’s Department of External Relations, made the comments in reaction to a viral video showing parents attempting to expel a demon from their 10-year-old son…

The United States exercises World War II “revisionism” by classifying Russian visa-seekers born on a disputed island chain in the Far East as Japanese nationals, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. Russians born on the islands of Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashiri and Etorofu have been required to name Japan as their birthplace to receive permanent residency known…

Anatoly Chubais has been named President Vladimir Putin’s new point man on sustainable development and coordination with international organizations after stepping down as Rusnano CEO last week.  “Anatoly Borisovich Chubais will be appointed as special representative to the President of the Russian Federation for relations with international organizations to achieve sustainable development goals,” said the…

Update: Murashko’s words on restricting travel between regions were taken out of context and he had only been discussing travel restrictions in a general sense, a Health Ministry official told the RBC news website. “The Russian Health Ministry does not propose the introduction of any additional restrictions on the movement of citizens across the territory of…

Opposition protesters in Belarus rallied Sunday in the latest of nearly four months of demonstrations against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko. Social media videos showed small groups of protesters gathered in courtyards as others marched through the capital Minsk with the opposition red and white flags. In contrast to mass Sunday protests that have…

Russia has confirmed 2,460,770 cases of coronavirus and 43,141 deaths. Dec. 7: What you need to know today Russia confirmed a new record of 29,039 coronavirus cases and 457 deaths Sunday. The maximum price of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will be set at 1,942 rubles ($26), the state-run Interfax news agency reported Saturday, citing a top health official. Russian…

The United States is asking Germany and the EU to halt construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline linking Russia to Europe, which Washington sees as a “political tool” of the Kremlin, a top envoy said in a German newspaper interview on Saturday. “Now is the time for Germany and the EU to impose…

Moscow on Saturday began vaccinating workers at high risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus at newly opened clinics across the city.  Health officials said they had opened 70 coronavirus vaccine centers in the Russian capital that would initially offer jabs for health, education and social workers.  “Citizens from the main risk groups who in…

This week’s news that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden had chosen Jennifer Psaki as his administration’s press secretary sparked a flurry of excitement on Russian state media and social media alike. “We are looking forward to Jen’s return,” said Vladimir Solovyev, a controversial host on the state-run Rossia 1 broadcaster and one of Russia’s main spin…

Russia has confirmed 2,402,949 cases of coronavirus and 42,176 deaths. Dec. 5: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 27,403 coronavirus cases and 569 deaths Friday. Kazakhstan will start producing Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine from Dec. 22, the country’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Friday.  Ukraine won’t be purchasing Russia’s coronavirus vaccine due to its questionable efficacy, Ukraine’s…

Moscow’s teachers, doctors and social workers are signing up at a rate of 1,000 per hour for the Russian capital’s coronavirus vaccination drive that kicks off Saturday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said. Online vaccination bookings for high-risk groups opened in the Russian capital Friday after President Vladimir Putin ordered large-scale nationwide immunization — hours after…