Russia Starts Mass Vaccinations in Cosmonaut Center

Russia’s cosmonaut training center said Tuesday it has begun vaccinating employees against the coronavirus ahead of future space missions. The press service of the Yuri Gagarin Training Centre told AFP that around 40 of its nearly 1,500 employees had received the first dose of Russia’s homemade coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V.  Named after famous Soviet cosmonaut…

Russia Seeks to Jail Navalny

Russia’s prison authority has asked to replace Alexei Navalny’s suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case with a real prison term, the Kremlin critic said Tuesday, a signal that he could be imprisoned if he returns to Russia following his poisoning. Navalny, 44, is currently in rehabilitation in Germany following what European scientists called poisoning…

Siberian Shaman Seeks to Oust Putin in Horseback Crusade

A Siberian shaman whose attempts to trek to Moscow and expel President Vladimir Putin from power ended in his arrest has announced his latest cross-country crusade, this time on horseback. Authorities in Russia’s Far East republic of Sakha declared Alexander Gabyshev mentally ill and placed him in involuntary confinement for attempting to journey to Moscow…

Electricity and power from the ROSATOM’s Kochubeyevskaya Wind Farm have entered the wholesale market

In December 2020, ROSATOM commissioned the largest wind farm in Russia. Since January this year, the Kochubeyevskaya Wind Farm has been supplying electricity and power to the Wholesale Electricity and Power Market and has become the second completed project of NovaWind JSC (the Rosatom’s division responsible for wind energy projects), and the largest operating wind…

Resignation of Yakutsk’s First Female Mayor Raises Questions About Russia’s Ruling Party

Sardana Avksentiyeva was never a typical Russian mayor. In her two-and-a-half-year stint running Yakutsk, a remote, Far Eastern city of 300,000, the 48-year-old political independent rose to national prominence as her populist style, savvy social media use and unorthodox policy positions marked her out from the often uncharismatic technocrats who govern most Russian cities. However,…

Russian Activists Announce End to 2-Year Landfill Protests

Russian eco-activists will end more than two years of protests against a controversial garbage dump that would have seen tons of waste shipped from Moscow to northern Russia after its construction was halted. Russians nationwide have protested against plans to ship Moscow’s trash to remote regions since fall 2018 over environmental concerns, with a massive…

A New Kind of Theater Beats the Coronavirus Blues

In 2020 the independent Pop-Up Theater celebrated its five-year anniversary. Its founder and stage director Semyon Alexandrovsky told The Moscow Times that it began when his wife and producer Anastasia Kim was pregnant. He decided to spend more time at home and turned down offers to perform on tour. In his free time, he and…

Telegram Downloads Soar as Trump Supporters Deplatformed

Encrypted messaging app Telegram has become the second-most downloaded app in the United States after President Donald Trump and his supporters were deplatformed in the wake of last week’s deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday. Telegram’s downloads rose as Twitter and Facebook banned Trump while Google and Apple removed conservative…

Algeria, Palestine Greenlight Russia’s Coronavirus Vaccine

Algeria and the State of Palestine have approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund marketing the jab announced this week. Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriyev said that the countries are the first African and Middle Eastern nations to issue emergency-use authorization approvals.  Dmitriyev said deliveries to Palestine,…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Jan. 12

Russia has confirmed 3,448,203 cases of coronavirus and 62,804 deaths. Jan. 12: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 22,934 new coronavirus cases and 531 deaths. Russia has extended its suspension of flights with Britain through Feb. 1 due to Britain’s surge in new infections linked to a new strain of Covid-19 believed to be more infectious.…