Year: 2020

Separatists in southern Yemen have seized 64 billion riyals ($255 million) in banknotes that Russia had printed for the country’s central bank, Moscow confirmed Wednesday. Forces loyal to a council that declared self-rule in southern Yemen’s port of Aden in April commandeered the cash convoy leaving the port, Reuters cited Yemen’s central bank as saying…

Kazakhstan’s ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev has tested positive for coronavirus, his press service announced Thursday. Nazarbayev, 79, stepped down last year after almost 30 years in power in the oil-rich Central Asian nation, retaining key security council and party leader positions while handpicking a loyalist as his successor. As a former Soviet republic, Kazakhstan maintains close ties…

A potentially massive online vote-buying campaign is unfolding ahead of Russia’s vote on constitutional amendments that would allow President Vladimir Putin to rule until 2036, the independent Dozhd news channel reported Wednesday. Russians will begin voting next Thursday, ahead of the July 1 nationwide vote, on a set of constitutional amendments that include social guarantees…

Moscow experienced its hottest June 17 in more than a century after temperatures hit 31.1 degrees Celsius Wednesday. Russia’s Hydrometeorology Center said that beat the previous record of 30.8 C set on the same day in 1892, Interfax reported. The scorching temperature hit at 4 p.m. in the capital. Temperatures in Moscow will drop below…

Russia has finished clearing fuel from the surface of a river hit by a massive diesel spill in the Arctic region, but the full clean-up could take years, officials said Wednesday. After more than 700 people were deployed to clear the pollution, officials said the operation had removed the main spill from the surface of…

Moscow experienced its hottest June 17 in more than half a century after temperatures hit 29.6 degrees Celsius Wednesday. Russia’s Hydrometeorology Center said that beat the previous record of 29.4 C set on the same day in 1956, Interfax reported. It added that Wednesday’s temperatures were still on track to break a 128-year record of…

U.S. fighter jets intercepted four Russian nuclear-capable bombers off the coast of Alaska for the second time in a week, the Russian military said Wednesday. The U.S. scrambled F-22 Raptors to escort the four Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bombers during their flight near the Bering Strait, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported. The Tu-95MS bombers…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday Moscow welcomed contacts between its close allies India and China after a deadly border confrontation. President Vladimir Putin has close ties with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian premier Narendra Modi, who has talked of a “special chemistry” with the Russian strongman.  Lavrov said at a press…

Special disinfection tunnels have been installed at President Vladimir Putin’s residence outside Moscow and at the Kremlin to protect him from the coronavirus, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Wednesday. A number of figures in Putin’s circle of contacts have been diagnosed with Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, including Peskov and the chief doctor…

During a Monday morning meeting, Alexander Ostrov, the governor of the Zabaykalsky Krai region in Russia’s Far East, gave a grim forecast for the coronavirus pandemic. “The situation is getting worse,” he said. “The number of infected people is growing.” On Sunday, Zabaykalsky Krai had reached a high for new daily infections of 89. Then,…

There have been 553,301 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,478 deaths. June 17: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s second-largest city St. Petersburg had the highest coronavirus mortality rate among all Russian cities in the month of April, according to a new analysis of official data. As of Wednesday, 20 cities had canceled…

The brother of the American sentenced by a Russian court to 16 years in prison for espionage said Tuesday he believes Moscow wants to exchange him for a notorious arms dealer or Russian diplomatic properties shuttered by Washington. David Whelan, the brother of Paul Whelan, the ex-Marine given the stiff prison sentence on Monday, said…

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 are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that…

A prominent Russian Orthodox priest who was barred from preaching for his anti-coronavirus views has laid siege to a women’s monastery, the 66.ru news website reported Tuesday.  Religious authorities barred Father Sergei, the ultraconservative spiritual leader of the Sredneuralsk women’s monastery in central Russia, from public ministry in April for disobeying orders to follow health…

Russian bookstores have already started selling copies of the country’s amended Constitution even though a public vote to approve it won’t happen until July 1, the RBC news website reported Tuesday. The constitutional amendments, in addition to adding social guarantees to Russia’s basic law, reset Putin’s four previous terms as president, allowing him two additional…

A key witness in a multimillion-dollar criminal fraud case involving prominent theater director Kirill Serebrennikov has claimed that investigators obtained her testimony under duress, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. Serebrennikov is suspected of embezzling 133 million rubles ($1.9 million) in a case that his supporters have criticized as politically motivated. The artistic director of…

Hundreds of Azerbaijanis who have been unable to cross the Russian border to go home because of the coronavirus have blocked a highway and clashed with police, investigators said Tuesday. Russia’s Investigative Committee said about 400 people “used violence” against police and border guards as they were “displeased with the organization of their crossing” into…

More than 43,000 Russian schools will be equipped with facial recognition cameras ominously named “Orwell,” the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday. The state technology firm Rusnano’s Orwell platform is described as a image-recognition monitoring system that uses computer vision algorithms. It will be integrated with face recognition developed by NTechLab, a subsidiary of Russian President…

Russia on Tuesday vowed to stand by its ally Iran and resist attempts to promote an anti-Iranian agenda amid tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the comments during a visit to Moscow by his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, as Iran sought to fend off criticism over granting access to sites where…

Georgia has arrested a Russian national suspected of being hired to kill a journalist who insulted President Vladimir Putin live on air, with the would-be victim’s boss claiming that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov ordered the killing. Television host Giorgi Gabunia ignited backlash last summer when he opened his broadcast with a minute of graphic vulgarity…

The Kremlin on Tuesday called for restraint following a sharp escalation in tensions after North Korea blew up a liaison office near its border with South Korea.   “This is a concern, we urge all parties to show restraint,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Russia would be closely monitoring the situation.  The…

Violence involving young Chechens rocked France’s eastern city of Dijon over the weekend. French police were deployed late Monday to restore order following the unrest, which was blamed on the local Chechen community seeking vengeance for an assault on a teenager. Here is a brief look at the origins of the conflict as well as…

There have been 545,458 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,284 deaths. June 16: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s second-largest city St. Petersburg had the highest coronavirus mortality rate among all Russian cities in the month of April, according to a new analysis of official data. Three more Russian cities, Penza, Chelyabinsk…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on Tuesday, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…

Russia’s second-largest city St. Petersburg had the highest coronavirus mortality rate among all Russian cities in the month of April, according to a new analysis of official data. St. Petersburg recorded 200 deaths where Covid-19 was a direct cause or “had a significant impact” on the person’s death in April, state statistics agency Rosstat said…

Russian gas giant Gazprom will reimburse Poland’s PGNiG to the tune of $1.5 billion by July 1 for overcharging it for its supplies for years, the Polish company said on Monday following a court battle. On March 30, state-owned PGNiG won a case against Gazprom over its long-term contract for gas imports at an international…

Senior editors at Russia’s leading business newspaper quit Monday in protest against what they say is censorship under new ownership, as a months-long dispute between journalists and management came to a head. Vedomosti is one of the last major independent newspapers in Russia, where journalists are increasingly squeezed by curbs on press freedoms and pressure…

Senior editors at Russia’s leading business newspaper quit en masse Monday in protest against what they say is censorship under new management as a long-running dispute between journalists and management came to a head. Vedomosti is one of the few remaining independent news outlets in Russia, where journalists are increasingly squeezed by curbs on press freedoms and…

French police said Monday that dozens of reinforcements were being sent to the eastern city of Dijon after it was rocked by a weekend of unrest blamed on Chechens seeking vengeance for an assault on a teenager. Police sources said the unrest was sparked by an attack on a 16-year-old member of the Chechen community…

A Russian scientist has been charged with treason on allegations of passing state secrets to China, Reuters reported Monday. Valery Mitko, 78, president of the Arctic Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, faces up to 20 years in prison, his lawyer Ivan Pavlov was cited as saying. Pavlov said his client read lectures in China using…

There have been 537,210 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,091 deaths. June 15: 3 things you need to know today Russia more than doubled its official coronavirus death toll for April to 2,712 after changing how it classifies fatalities. Three more Russian cities, Penza, Chelyabinsk and Yakutsk, have canceled plans to hold Victory Day…

Russia could send Paul Whelan home to the United States as part of an exchange with Russian prisoners held in the U.S., officials and lawyers said after Whelan’s sentencing Monday. Whelan, a former Marine who also holds British, Canadian and Irish passports, was sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony for espionage in a…

Russia consecrated a massive new Orthodox cathedral dedicated to the country’s Armed Forces on Sunday. The grand ceremony featured Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and other top officials. The cathedral drew controversy during the building stage for initial plans, which were…

Moscow’s Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center has sparked controversy with a job posting for a bartender that listed “Slavic appearance” as one of its requirements. The museum, a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art complex that opened in 2012, blamed an HR contractor for violating its principles and said it has terminated its contract with the company. “I’m inclined to think…

Russia on Monday expelled two Czech diplomats, retaliating over the expulsion of two of its own embassy workers from Prague this month over a fake story about a poisoning plot. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Czech envoy Vitezslav Pivonka and informed him that “two employees of the Czech Embassy in Moscow are declared personas non-gratae,”…

Russian officials have urged hotels to ban unmarried couples from checking in as a way of preventing the spread of coronavirus, the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported Saturday. Hotels would be required to “explain” why unmarried couples end up in the same room, said the state consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor.  “The onus of obtaining proof…

A Russian court on Monday sentenced former U.S. marine Paul Whelan to 16 years in a penal colony for espionage in a verdict that has outraged Washington. Moscow City Court found Whelan guilty of receiving classified information as he stood in the dock with a sign that read “Sham trial!” and pleaded for U.S. President Donald…

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the U.S. anti-racism protests were a sign of deep crises in the country, criticizing the protests for sparking violence, and raising questions over Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Russian leader stressed he supported black Americans’ struggle for equality, calling this “a long-standing problem of the…

There have been 529,964 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 6,948 deaths. June 14: 3 things you need to know today Russia more than doubled its official coronavirus death toll for April to 2,712 after changing how it classifies fatalities. Almost 60% more people in Moscow have died in May than the city’s average…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on Tuesday, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…

Russia on Saturday more than doubled its official coronavirus death toll for April to 2,712 after changing how it classifies fatalities. Officials warned that May’s death toll was likely to be even worse in Russia, which has the world’s third largest number of cases with 520,129. The country reported 8,706 new cases on Saturday after…

There have been 520,129 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 6,829 deaths. June 13: 3 things you need to know today Moscow ended its self-isolation orders — including its digital pass system and schedule system for taking walks outside — on June 9, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. The city has also released a schedule of…

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on Tuesday, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…

On June 12 1990 Russia became an independent nation with the declaration of state sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Since 1992, over 145 million Russians have celebrated the day as National Russia Day, enjoying festivities and concerts across the nation. With 180 nationalities and 11 different timezones, Russia is truly one of…