Soviet Classic Turns 50 at GUM AutoRally

This weekend, Muscovites got the chance to witness the best of the Soviet Union’s automobile legacy as 100 Zhiguli sedans raced in the annual GUM AutoRally on Saturday. This year’s event marked 50 years since the release of Zhiguli’s first model, VAZ-2101, commonly known as ‘Kopeyka’ (named after the smallest ruble coin, the kopek). Here’s…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Sept. 15

Russia has confirmed 1,073,849 cases of coronavirus and 18,785 deaths. Sept 15: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 5,529 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 1,073,849. Russian health officials have proposed depriving medics of promised coronavirus payouts if they refuse to vaccinate against the infection, the Medvestnik medical news website has reported. …

Russia Considers Stripping Coronavirus Bonuses From Medics Who Refuse Vaccine – Reports

Russian health officials have proposed depriving medics of promised coronavirus payouts if they refuse to vaccinate against the infection, the Medvestnik medical news website has reported.  President Vladimir Putin this spring promised monthly bonuses ranging from $300 to $1,000 for doctors and other medical professionals treating Covid-19 patients. Russian doctors have since reported being underpaid…

Belarus Opposition Leader Criticizes Putin’s Talks With ‘Usurper’ Lukashenko

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskya has criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to hold talks with “usurper” Alexander Lukashenko rather than the Belarusian people. Tikhanovskaya’s statement comes ahead of one-on-one talks between Putin and Lukashenko in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday. The talks follow a month of mass protests that broke out…

Putin Backs Lukashenko’s ‘Eventual Succession’ in Belarus – Bloomberg

Russian President Vladimir Putin will encourage steps toward an “eventual succession” in Belarus but will not accept the opposition coming to power through street protests, Bloomberg reported Sunday. Moscow doesn’t trust embattled Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko but is “determined” not to see protesters topple his rule, Bloomberg cited five unnamed sources close to the Kremlin…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Sept. 13

Russia has confirmed 1,062,811 cases of coronavirus and 18,578 deaths. Sept 13: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 5,449 new coronavirus infections Sunday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 1,062,811. Nearly half of Russians say they will never vaccinate against the coronavirus regardless of its country of production, according to a survey cited by the RBC…

‘The Girl From the Hermitage’

Tens of thousands of nameless older women inhabit St. Petersburg, picking their way amongst the pockmarked sidewalks and treacherous cobblestones, dressed in clean but shabby clothes, their shoulders stooped with decades of carrying heavy burdens.  They are as integral to the city as the elaborate facades and the noonday gun from Peter and Paul Fortress,…

Gazprom ramping up capacities of Chayandinskoye field

September 11, 2020, 19:20 The Gazprom Management Committee took note of the information about the implementation of major investment projects. In the east of Russia, the systematic expansion of production capacities continues at the Chayandinskoye field in Yakutia. In 2020, it is planned to bring onstream 103 gas wells, a gas pre-treatment unit (GPTU-2), and a membrane unit for helium concentrate extraction. Moreover, capacity increase will be finished at the operating comprehensive gas treatment unit…

Gazprom Management Committee endorses revised investment program and budget for 2020

September 11, 2020, 18:55 Gazprom’s overall amount of investments for 2020: RUB 922.489 billion. Gazprom’s borrowings for 2020: RUB 501.287 billion. Final investment program and budget to be approved by Gazprom Board of Directors. The Gazprom Management Committee endorsed the revised drafts of the investment program and budget (financial plan) for 2020. As per the revised investment program for 2020, the overall amount of investments will stand…

Russia Plans Fingerprinting, eCards for Foreigners in Latest Immigration Reforms

Russia plans to require long-staying foreigners to submit fingerprints and carry electronic migration cards as part of the country’s wide-ranging immigration reforms, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday. The Interior Ministry has drafted legislation requiring foreigners who intend to stay in Russia for more than 30 days to submit their fingerprints and other personal data,…

Russia and Belarus discuss cooperation in gas sector

September 11, 2020, 14:20 A working meeting of Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, with Vladimir Semashko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Russian Federation, and Viktor Karankevich, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Belarus, took place today in St. Petersburg. The parties reviewed current and prospective issues related to cooperation in the gas sector. Background The contracts between…

10th Energy of Victories national sports journalism festival contest launched

September 11, 2020, 10:00 Gazprom, the Russian Olympic Committee, and the Federation of Sports Journalists of Russia announce the start of the 10th anniversary edition of the Energy of Victories national sports journalism festival contest for Russian-language mass media based in Russia and abroad. The primary goals of the contest are to promote the Olympic movement, sports, and healthy living, as well as to improve the quality of sports…

Microsoft Thwarts Russian, Chinese Hackers Targeting US Presidential Campaigns

Microsoft said Thursday it detected and thwarted cyberattacks in recent weeks from China and Russia targeting US presidential campaign staff. The attackers have been targeting staff from the campaigns of President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Microsoft said in a security blog. “In recent weeks, Microsoft has detected cyberattacks targeting people and organizations involved in…

Russia Denies Claims of ‘Highly Improbable’ Coronavirus Vaccine Results

Russia has pushed back against claims its published research into a Covid-19 vaccine included “highly improbable” and “statistically unlikely” results. A group of scientists and doctors published an open letter to Russia’s Gamaleya research center, which is leading the Sputnik V vaccine’s development, and renowned British medical journal The Lancet on Wednesday outlining a number…

Detained Belarus Opposition Leader Says She Was Threatened With ‘Dismemberment’

Maria Kolesnikova, the last member of a trio of women opposition leaders remaining in Belarus, alleged Thursday that security forces threatened her life as she was being detained on charges of attempting to seize power. Kolesnikova went missing Monday after witnesses described seeing masked men forcing her into a minibus in central Minsk. Investigators confirmed…

Campaigner for Kremlin Critic Navalny Beaten Up

Unidentified attackers beat up an activist campaigning for hospitalized Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, his colleagues said Thursday. Alexei Baraboshkin, the local coordinator for Navalny, was “assaulted by unknown attackers” late Wednesday after receiving threats for several weeks, his campaign office wrote on Telegram. It posted a picture of…

Navalny Recovering From ‘Deadlier, Slower-Acting’ Novichok Variant – Reports

Leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a new, deadlier variant of military-grade nerve agent Novichok, the German weekly Die Zeit reported Wednesday. Hours after the Die Zeit report, The Insider news website reported, citing anonymous sources, that Navalny, 44, has almost completely recovered after falling violently ill on a flight in Siberia on Aug.…

Whistleblower: White House Stifled Reporting on Russian Election Interference

A senior US intelligence official said the White House ordered him to stop reporting on Russian election interference and highlight Chinese and Iran meddling instead, according to a whistleblower complaint revealed Wednesday. Offering explosive evidence to support Democratic allegations that President Donald Trump has manipulated intelligence to support his reelection effort, Department of Homeland Security…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Sept. 9

Russia has confirmed 1,041,007 cases of coronavirus and 18,135 deaths. Sept. 9: What you need to know today Russia has launched Phase 3 trials of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to determine the jab’s long-term safety and effectiveness, authorities said Wednesday. A group of prominent scientists and doctors has questioned the published results of the vaccine’s initial trials. Russia’s…

Unknown People Try to Enter Belarus Nobel Laureate Alexievich’s Apartment Amid Opposition Arrests

Belarusian Nobel Literature Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich said unknown people tried to enter her apartment on Wednesday amid an intensifying crackdown by President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime over a disputed election. Alexievich, 72, is now the last free leading member of the Belarusian opposition’s Coordination Council still in the country after masked men detained lawyer Maxim…

‘Don’t Give In to Lies,’ Belarus Opposition Leader Tells Russians

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya urged Russians on Wednesday to resist what she called state media efforts to smear her country’s post-election protests as anti-Russian. Tikhanovskaya, 37, made the comments a day after President Alexander Lukashenko’s interview with Russian state media, where he warned that “if Belarus collapses today, Russia will be next.” Moscow has been…