Year: 2020

Transportation authorities plan to install bike lanes along the roadway that encircles central Moscow, deputy mayor Maxim Liksutov said Monday as the Russian capital looks to use the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to drastically reshape its transportation system. The Mayor’s Office announced plans last month to “help residents form new habits” like walking and…

Russia on Tuesday urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to show restraint after a deadly escalation in fighting along their shared border. “We are deeply concerned about the exchange of fire on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Moscow was calling on “both sides to show restraint.” The ex-Soviet Caucasus nations have…

The editor-in-chief of the MBKh Media news website announced his resignation Monday amid the latest spate of sexual harassment allegations to hit Russia’s independent media sector.  Sergei Prostakov was among several high-ranking media and banking executives to face claims of sexual assault, harassment and rape posted on Twitter by former employees and interns this week. …

The Belarussian central electoral commission on Tuesday refused to register the imprisoned main rival to President Alexander Lukashenko as a candidate for the country’s presidential election in August. A new wave of opposition candidates are seeking to unseat the 65-year-old strongman leader of the authoritarian ex-Soviet state that borders the European Union. Lukashenko, a former…

Russia has confirmed 739,947 cases of coronavirus and 11,614 deaths. July 14: 3 things you need to know today Russia will no longer require foreigners without coronavirus to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival as the country looks to begin reopening to international travelers in the midst of the pandemic, according to a decree published Monday.  More than 200…

At least three Russian soldiers on a joint Russian-Turkish patrol in northwest Syria have been injured in a car bomb explosion, media reported and the Russian military confirmed Tuesday. Footage shared by local reporters showed the blast on a single-lane road as military vehicles passed nearby in the insurgent region of Idlib. “Three Russian soldiers…

Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel faced pressure from a key shareholder on Tuesday to overhaul management after disasters including a massive Arctic fuel spill that sparked a state of emergency. Aluminum producer Rusal, which owns 28% in Norilsk Nickel, said it was “seriously concerned” over recent environmental accidents in the Russian Arctic and called for…

A Moscow municipal lawmaker has accused officials of corruption after discovering a contract price written in disappearing ink.  Cheryomushki District councillor Yelena Selkova posted a video of herself holding a lighter next to the contract. Within seconds, the 2.6 million ruble ($37,500) figure can be seen vanishing from the paper. “Let’s check the price,” Communist…

Russia will no longer require foreigners without coronavirus to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival as the country looks to begin reopening to international travel in the midst of the pandemic, according to a decree published Monday.  Starting Wednesday, those arriving in Russia will need to present English or Russian-language proof that they have tested…

Russia has confirmed 733,699 cases of coronavirus and 11,439 deaths. July 13: 3 things you need to know today Turkish Airlines will resume flights between Turkey and six Russian cities starting Aug. 1, the airline said on its website Wednesday. According to its website, Turkish Airlines will fly to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don. Russian authorities…

Kremlin pool reporters have recorded a rare video address in support of a colleague who was indicted on charges of treason Monday. Ivan Safronov, 30, was arrested last week, two months after he left his decade-long journalism career and became a media adviser to Russia’s space chief. He faces up to 20 years in prison…

Protesters in Russia’s Far East rallied again Monday in support of a popular regional governor arrested on murder charges, as a Kremlin envoy looked to ease tensions. Several hundred supporters of governor Sergei Furgal demonstrated in the center of the city of Khabarovsk, chanting “Furgal!” and “Freedom!” as passing cars honked their horns in support.…

Russia said Monday that Turkey’s decision to turn the iconic Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque was the country’s own business. Turkey’s move followed a court decision last week revoking the museum status of the UNESCO World Heritage site, and has triggered a global outcry. “We proceed from the fact that this is a…

Russian scientists said Monday they hope the world’s first coronavirus vaccine will be distributed to patients as soon as next month after a medical university in Moscow said it completed clinical trials using human volunteers. The Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University launched clinical trials of the potential Covid-19 vaccine on 38 paid volunteers in…

Russian prosecutors have backtracked on their position to drop murder charges against three teenage sisters accused of killing their abusive father, lawyers told news agencies Sunday. Prosecutors late last year ordered investigators to drop the charges against Krestina, Angelina and Maria Khachaturyan, who admitted to killing their father in July 2018 after he subjected them…

An ultraconservative, coronavirus-denying priest who was defrocked after capturing a convent in central Russia has called on President Vladimir Putin to give up his powers or face a “spiritual war.” Father Sergei was found guilty of breaking his monastic vows by an ecclesiastical court earlier in July. He seized the Sredneuralsk women’s monastery near Yekaterinburg after…

Starting July 13, Moscow will no longer require people to wear masks outdoors as the number of new coronavirus cases has dwindled in the Russian capital in recent weeks. Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions…

Around 45 metric tons of aviation fuel have leaked from a depressurized pipeline operated by Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel’s Norilsktransgaz, the latest leak to hit the fast-warming Arctic region since 21,000 tons of diesel leaked from a Nornickel plant in late May. According to Norilsktransgaz, the July 12 leak near the village of Tukhard…

Hundreds of people joined a second day of protest on Sunday in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk over the arrest of a popular governor accused of ordering the murders of several businessmen.  Sergei Furgal, 50, was detained Thursday and has been ordered to remain in pre-trial custody for two months over the crimes…

Russia has confirmed 727,162 cases of coronavirus and 11,335 deaths. July 12: 3 things you need to know today Russia will begin negotiations with other countries to restart international flights from July 15, deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova said Friday. Flights will be permitted to a specific list of countries where cases of the coronavirus do not exceed 40 per…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions lifted lockdown restrictions ahead of a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    Critics have cast doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting…

Russia’s forest service said there were nearly 300 wildfires blazing across the vast country’s northern wilderness on Saturday, as it attempted to contain them with methods including explosives and cloud seeding. Freakishly warm weather across large swathes of Siberia since January, combined with low soil moisture, have contributed to a resurgence of wildfires that devastated…

Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk on Saturday in support of a popular local governor arrested this week for allegedly ordering several murders. A court in Moscow on Friday ruled to hold 50-year-old Sergei Furgal for two months pending trial for the murders of several businessmen 15 years…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions lifted lockdown restrictions ahead of a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    Critics have cast doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting…

Russia has confirmed 720,547 cases of coronavirus and 11,205 deaths. July 11: 3 things you need to know today Russia will begin negotiations with other countries to restart international flights from July 15, deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova said Friday. Flights will be permitted to a specific list of countries where cases of the coronavirus do not exceed…

Russia’s state statistics agency on Friday said at least 7,444 people died in May due to the coronavirus, a figure more than double that previously reported by the country’s health officials. Russia came in for criticism in May when it was reporting very few deaths in comparison to other European countries. Officials attributed the low…

Russia will begin negotiations with other countries to restart international flights from July 15, deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova said Friday.  Flights will be permitted to countries where cases of the coronavirus do not exceed 40 per 100,000 people, where the average daily increase in new cases over the last 14 days is no higher…

Russia has confirmed 713,936 cases of coronavirus and 11,017 deaths. July 10: 3 things you need to know today Russia will begin negotiations with other countries to restart international flights from July 15, deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova said Friday. Flights will be permitted to a specific list of countries where cases of the coronavirus do not exceed 40…

A Russian court on Friday fined a LGBT activist 75,000 rubles ($1,053) over “propaganda” drawings of gay families aimed at influencing minors. A magistrate’s court in the far eastern city of Komsomolsk-On-Amur fined activist and artist Yulia Tsvetkova over social media posts of drawings, she told AFP. One, called “A family is where love is,”…

A Moscow court on Friday ordered the governor of a Far Eastern region held for two months ahead of his trial on murder charges that sparked outrage from his party. The head of Khabarovsk, Sergei Furgal, 50, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of ordering the murder of several businessmen 15 years ago. A judge…

The Dutch government is taking Russia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Analysts say countries very rarely bring lawsuits against other countries in the Strasbourg-based court, with only 24 so-called “inter-state applications” filed in its nearly 70-year history.  “Achieving justice…

A Siberian health official has been fired after controversial photographs went viral showing alleged coronavirus victims in body bags, regional authorities said Thursday. A pro-Kremlin tabloid published photographs Monday showing a room full of black bags that it claimed proved a higher than reported Covid-19 death toll in the Tomsk region. The regional crisis center…

Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg saw a 10-year spike in deaths in June, official data said Thursday as questions persist over relatively low coronavirus deaths compared to other hard-hit countries. St. Petersburg, which began gradually lifting Covid-19 restrictions in early June, officially confirmed 987 deaths from coronavirus last month.  A total of 7,106 people…

Kazakhstan on Friday denied a claim by China’s embassy that a pneumonia outbreak more deadly than the novel coronavirus is rampaging through the Central Asian country.  In an alert for Chinese citizens posted on the embassy’s website Thursday, Beijing warned of a disease with “a mortality rate far higher than Covid-19.” The statement said the pneumonia…

Four Jehovah’s Witnesses have been detained on charges of extremism in southern Russia, investigators said Thursday amid an ongoing crackdown against the religious organization. The unnamed worshippers aged between 38 and 47 were alleged to be the “elders” of a group that has continued to meet in the southern city of Astrakhan since Russia banned…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions lifted lockdown restrictions ahead of a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    Critics have cast doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting…

The week since Russia adopted constitutional changes has been marked by a series of high-profile arrests and sentences for activists, journalists and government officials. Here’s a look at some of the near-daily arrests, raids and other cases since the new Russian Constitution came into force following a week-long vote that ended on July 1. Broken…

Russian health officials have recommended restarting international flights to 13 countries, including nine members of the European Union and China, the RBC news website reported Thursday. The list compiled by Russia’s consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor includes Britain and Germany and is apparently part of phase one of resuming flights during the coronavirus pandemic. The Netherlands,…

Foreign intelligence agencies are behind the string of killings on European soil of Chechen nationals who criticized the Russian region’s ruling elite, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said Thursday. Kadyrov put forward the theory after the body of his reported “personal foe” Mamikhan Umarov, 43, was found in the Austrian capital Vienna on Saturday. Two ethnic…

Russia has confirmed 707,301 cases of coronavirus and 10,843 deaths. July 8: 3 things you need to know today Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that wearing masks will no longer be required outdoors from July 13 as the number of new coronavirus cases has dwindled in the Russian capital in recent weeks. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has…

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Thursday that wearing masks will no longer be required outdoors from July 13 as the number of new coronavirus cases has dwindled in the Russian capital in recent weeks. “A mandatory mask regimen on the streets will be lifted,” Sobyanin said in his blog. Masks are still required in stores,…

Police in Moscow have raided the homes of several opposition activists and city council members planning protests against Russia’s newly adopted constitution, the opposition MBKh Media news website reported early Thursday. Authorities detained Andrei Pivovarov, a high-ranking member of exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s Open Russia pro-democracy movement, Interfax reported later in the day. Pivovarov’s colleague…

A Russian bid to get the United Nations to reduce cross-border humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria was voted down by the Security Council Wednesday, an official said. Authorization for the aid, which comes through two crossing points on the Turkish border — at Bab al-Salam, which leads to the Aleppo region, and Bab al-Hawa, which…

Mining giant Nornickel on Wednesday said it was contesting a fine imposed by the Russian authorities over a massive oil spill in the Arctic that sparked a state of emergency. Nornickel “disputes the amount of environmental damage caused by the diesel leak” calculated by the Russian environmental watchdog, Rosprirodnadzor, the company said in a statement. …

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions lifted lockdown restrictions ahead of a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    Critics have cast doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting…

A sitting Russian governor has been detained on suspicion of organizing murders in the early 2000s, investigators said early Thursday. Sergei Furgal, 50, is a former timber and scrap metal metal merchant and member of the far-right Liberal Democratic Party, which has the third-most seats in the Russian parliament. Furgal handed a rare defeat to…

Lithuania’s media watchdog on Wednesday banned Russian broadcaster RT, echoing a move by neighbor Latvia, after it found a key figure at the station was on an EU sanctions list. Lithuania’s LRTK media regulator said the television station previously known as Russia Today was controlled by Dmitry Kiselyov. Regarded by critics as Russia’s chief spin…