Year: 2020

Russia‘s top economic officials have canceled keynote speeches they were due to make at the country’s first economic forum of 2020, an updated schedule showed on Thursday, a day after the government quit amid plans for a constitutional shakeup. President Vladimir Putin proposed changes on Wednesday that would give him scope to extend his grip…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

An unnamed shooter has opened fire inside a courthouse in the Siberian mining city of Novokuznetsk, killing a bailiff and injuring a witness, authorities said Thursday. The 45-year-old shooter armed with a rifle critically wounded a 45-year-old bailiff and a 43-year-old female witness inside a Novokuznetsk magistrates’ court, regional investigators said in a statement. The…

Russia‘s ruling party on Thursday unanimously backed President Vladimir Putin’s surprise choice for prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, a man with almost no political profile. Mishustin’s elevation is part of a sweeping shake-up of the political system announced by Putin on Wednesday, which led to the resignation of Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister along with his…

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has ceded power as head of the southern Russian region due to a “temporary disability,” according to a decree on the regional government’s website dated Monday. Kadyrov, 43, announced a similar brief transfer of power in February 2019, later explaining that he was recovering from a common cold.  “I entrust the…

For over an hour, President Vladimir Putin’s annual state-of-the-nation speech on Wednesday sounded just like those that had come before it.  As in previous years, Putin proposed measures for encouraging Russians to have more children, tackling poverty levels and stimulating economic growth.  And, not for the first time, Prime Minister Dmitry Medevev had trouble staying…

Mikhail Mishustin, President Vladimir Putin’s surprise choice to become Russia‘s prime minister, is a tax chief with almost no political profile who analysts say could be a “technocratic placeholder.” The Kremlin-dominated lower house of parliament, which rarely opposes Putin on important issues, is due to decide whether to approve Mishustin on Thursday. Mishustin, 53, has been…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday formally put forward Mikhail Mishustin, the little-known head of Russia‘s Federal Tax Service, to be Russia‘s new prime minister, the Kremlin said. Putin submitted his candidacy to the Russian parliament for approval after Mishustin agreed to be put forward for the role, the Kremlin said. Russia‘s government resigned unexpectedly earlier on Wednesday…

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed constitutional changes on Wednesday that would give him scope to extend his grip on power after leaving the presidency, and picked a new prime minister after Dmitry Medvedev and his cabinet stepped down. Most importantly, Putin suggested diminishing the powers of the presidency and beefing up those of the prime…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

President Vladimir Putin turned an eye toward Russia’s domestic affairs in his annual state-of-the-nation speech Wednesday, outlining proposals for fixing the country’s political, economic and social problems. Addressing both houses of parliament, the Federal Assembly, at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall, Putin discussed Russia’s demographic crisis, the poverty level and Russia’s defense. In addition to…

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday proposed a nationwide vote on sweeping constitutional changes that would shift power from the presidency to parliament and the prime minister, a move that could allow him to extend his rule after leaving the Kremlin. In power as either president or prime minister since 1999, Putin, 67, is due to…

The United States may be using a “climate weapon” to cause an unseasonably warm winter in Russia, a lawmaker has claimed in an interview with the Govorit Moskva radio station Tuesday. Weather experts say the anomaly in Moscow and parts of Russia this winter was caused by an atmospheric front from the Atlantic Ocean. “I’m…

The Russian car market is braced for a turbulent year ahead, as a leading business association warns sales are likely to drop and more manufacturers could give up on Russia altogether. Sales of new cars dropped by 2.3% in 2019 to around 1.76 million units, and will fall by a further 2.1% in 2020, the…

Russia does not plan to exchange a U.S.-Israeli backpacker jailed on drug charges ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Israel this month, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Naama Issachar, 27, was sentenced to seven and a half years for drug smuggling after airport authorities found less than 10 grams of hashish in her…

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday Moscow has been urging Gulf countries to consider a common security mechanism for the region and it was time the world got rid of unilateral measures such as sanctions. “We have been suggesting to the Gulf countries to think about collective security mechanisms … starting with confidence-building…

Khalifa Haftar was expecting the Kremlin red carpet. Instead he was cooped up in a Russian Foreign Ministry reception building hoping for an audience with Vladimir Putin. In the end, the Libyan military commander lost patience and stormed out. Hours later, he left Moscow in his Dassault Falcon corporate jet bound for the Jordanian capital, Amman. When the…

Russia will not set uniform size and weight rules for flying pets after an overweight cat snuck into a plane’s cabin captured the nation’s heart, the Transportation Ministry has said in a letter cited by the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper Tuesday. Russia’s union of passengers asked the ministry to set the rules after national flag carrier…

Russia’s lower house of parliament has prepared a wide-reaching amnesty bill intended to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The end of the Great Patriotic War, as World War II is known in Russia, is still celebrated as the country’s most important public holiday every May…

When Alexei Voronenkov’s 70-year-old mother passed away, he paid to have her brain frozen and stored in the hope breakthroughs in science will one day be able to bring her back to life. It is one of 71 brains and human cadavers — which Russian company KrioRus calls its “patients” — floating in liquid nitrogen…

Authorities in Russia are investigating a Nigerian criminal network that allegedly forced women into prostitution after they arrived visa-free during Russia’s football World Cup in 2018, the state-run TASS news agency reported Monday. Two Nigerians were arrested in October 2018 and charged with human trafficking after selling one victim to a police officer posing as…

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian businessman who spent nearly a decade in prison in Russia on what he said were politically motivated charges by the Kremlin, won a second victory at Europe’s top human rights court. The Russian trial judge’s refusal to “allow the defense to examine prosecution and defense witnesses and to submit important expert…

A Siberian shaman has called on supporters from around the world to join his third attempt to cast President Vladimir Putin out of power this spring. Alexander Gabyshev was detained twice last year while hiking toward Moscow to expel Putin from the Kremlin. Activists say authorities suspect Gabyshev of inciting extremism, a criminal charge that…

More than 50,000 Muscovites have been evacuated in 2020 so far in the latest wave of bomb threats after more than 1 million evacuations last year, Interfax reported Tuesday. The New Year’s holidays provided a brief respite from the bomb hoaxes which have intermittently plagued Russia since late 2017. A record 1.1 million have been…

Russian military hackers tried to steal emails from the Ukrainian energy firm where Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic U.S. presidential contender Joe Biden, had a seat on the board, an American cybersecurity firm said on Monday. Energy company Burisma Holdings was at the center of attempts by President Donald Trump last July to pressure…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Libya’s warring leaders made some progress at indirect peace talks in Moscow on Monday but failed to agree on an unconditional and open-ended ceasefire. In talks that lasted about eight hours, mediators Russia and Turkey urged the rivals to sign a binding truce to end a nine-month-old war and pave the way for a settlement that would…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Three Russian journalists investigating a secretive Kremlin-linked military group in the Central African Republic (CAR) were killed in a robbery attempt, a senior Russian investigator said in an interview with the Kommersant business daily Monday. Kirill Radchenko, Alexander Rastorguyev and Orkhan Dzhemal were shot and killed on July 30, 2018, while investigating the activities of…

Boris Rotenberg, a Russian businessman under U.S. sanctions over the Ukraine conflict due to his close ties with President Vladimir Putin, on Monday lost a discrimination lawsuit he filed in a Finnish court against four Nordic banks. “Helsinki District Court has rejected Boris Rotenberg’s complaint over the right to banking services and damages for discrimination,” the…

An opposition activist in Russia’s republic of Tatarstan has been placed under arrest for a YouTube video showing a mock trial and “execution” of senior Russian figures, the Mediazona news website reported. Karim Yamadayev’s controversial video depicts him playing a judge and sentencing two stand-ins, who wear signs reading the names of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

The leader of Georgia’s breakaway province of Abkhazia has resigned following days of protests contesting his victory in an election held last fall. After protesters stormed the government headquarters Thursday, Abkhazia’s lawmakers voted for President Raul Khadzhimba’s ouster and its supreme court reversed its earlier decision that upheld his re-election in September. Khadzhimba had led…

Moscow State University is in discussions with Syria to open a branch in Damascus, the state-run TASS news agency reported Sunday, citing the university’s rector. Viktor Sadovnichy’s remarks confirm reports last week that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has allocated land in the Syrian capital to build a Russian university. As Syrian government forces reclaimed the…

Russia and its allies halted air strikes in Syria’s Idlib region on Sunday as a ceasefire agreed with Turkey came into force, residents, rebels and respondents said, although few were optimistic the truce would hold. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Idlib province in recent weeks as Russian jets and Syrian artillery pounded towns and villages…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

The Supreme Court of breakaway Georgian region Abkhazia on Friday overturned a presidential election that had returned the incumbent but triggered rowdy protests. The isolated region, which broke away from Georgia after the Soviet Union collapsed, saw protesters on Thursday break into government headquarters to demand the exit of local president Raul Khajimba, who was…

Iran said on Saturday its military had shot down a Ukrainian plane killing all 176 aboard in a “disastrous mistake”, saying air defenses were fired in error while on alert after Iranian missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq. Iran had denied for days after Wednesday’s crash that it had brought down the airliner, although…

Annexed Crimea plans to open first direct international flights to Armenia this spring, a senior lawmaker in the region’s Moscow-backed parliament told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency Friday. The Simferopol-Yerevan route will launch in March, marking the first international flight to the Crimean peninsula since Moscow seized it from Ukraine in 2014, said the…

Russian authorities have ramped up the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country in the past 12 months, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday. The religious group estimates that 313 people have been charged or convicted since Russia’s Supreme Court banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses as an “extremist” organization in 2017.  Eighteen worshippers were convicted in…

Since the late 1980s, Memorial has engaged in investigations of Soviet political repression. That work is becoming increasingly complicated. The organization has been repeatedly fined by Russian authorities for violations of the country’s so-called foreign agent law. The latest fine was issued on Dec. 9 as Memorial lost a case in Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court.…

Russia‘s first plan to adapt to climate change is a tardy but much-needed acknowledgement of the risks and opportunities presented by global warming, although it lacks concrete action to address the increasingly evident threats, analysts said. The document, published this month on a government website, said climate change would have a significant and growing influence…

A Russian national has been sentenced to seven years in German prison for selling sensitive military technology and chemicals to Russia, the Deutsche Welle broadcaster reported Thursday. Authorities detained the man, identified as Vladimir D., in December 2018 and his trial began in November 2019. German prosecutors accused the defendant, who reportedly lived in Germany…

An Iranian missile likely accidentally brought down a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 aboard, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday. The Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev from Tehran crashed Wednesday, hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two U.S. military bases in Iraq. The U.S. government believes Iran…

Iraq has resumed talks with Russia to buy its S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, a senior Iraqi lawmaker told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency following the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander and Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes there.  Meanwhile, firebrand lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky urged Iran to buy Russia’s advanced S-400 missile systems in the…

Canada said on Thursday that a surface-to-air missile brought down a Ukrainian airliner in Tehran, while the Ukrainian government said it was investigating reports of debris from a Russian-made Tor-M1 missile. The Tor, also called the SA-15 Gauntlet by NATO, is a short-range “point defense” system that integrates the missile launcher and radar into a single…

A Russian conscript who shot dead eight fellow soldiers at his army base last year said on Thursday he had been left with no other course of action after conscripts turned his life into a living “hell.” Ramil Shamsutdinov opened fire on servicemen at a military facility in the Far East region of Zabaikalsk on Oct.…

A Ukraine airliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people aboard, was likely brought down by an Iranian missile, Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said on Thursday, citing intelligence from Canadian and other sources. Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa that the destruction of the airliner “may well have been unintentional.” The flight was on…

A local legislature appealed on Thursday to the leader of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia to stand down as crowds of demonstrators were contesting election results, Russian state media reported. The state-run TASS news agency said 19 lawmakers voted for the president’s resignation, four cast their vote against it, while one abstained from the voting.…

A Russian court has ruled to demolish the landfill at the heart of a year-long battle over Moscow’s waste, marking a major victory for regional activists who actively opposed its construction, news outlets reported Thursday. Local authorities in northern Russia’s Arkhangelsk region sued the company constructing the landfill at the Shiyes train station in February…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday oversaw military exercises from a naval vessel in the Black Sea near Crimea, including the test launch of a hypersonic air-launched Kinzhal missile, the Kremlin said. A pair of MiG-31K interceptor jets test fired the Kinzhal (Dagger) missile at a target on a military test site, the Kremlin said.…

Russian academic journals have retracted more than 850 papers after an Academy of Sciences (RAS) commission probe into questionable publication practices, the commission said this week. The commission had asked 541 journals last year to retract 2,528 academic articles suspected of unethical publication practices. These include plagiarism, self-plagiarism or “obscure authorship,” an instance when an…

Ukraine wants to scour the crash site of its airliner for possible Russian-made missile debris, officials said Thursday as an initial report by Iranian investigators said the plane had been on fire immediately before it crashed. All 176 people died onboard the Kiev-bound Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800 when it crashed six minutes after taking…

Russian airlines are continuing to operate flights to Tehran and fly over Iranian airspace following the crash of a Boeing 737 Ukrainian International Airlines flight Wednesday that killed 176 passengers and crew. Russia’s national airline Aeroflot completed a round trip from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport to the Iranian capital just hours after a handful of other…