Putin Orders Mass Coronavirus Vaccination Next Week

President Vladimir Putin has on Wednesday ordered the mass vaccination of Russians against coronavirus amid reports of a slower-than-expected initial rollout. Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova, who is in charge of Russia’s Covid-19 response efforts, said the mass vaccination will begin on Monday. “We need to move from large-scale to mass vaccination,” Putin said at…

Russia Probes Circus Over Monkey, Goats in Nazi Garb

Russian prosecutors have opened a probe into a state-run circus that featured a monkey in a Nazi uniform and two goats displaying swastikas during a Christmas performance. The prosecutor’s office for the Udmurtia region said in a statement it was checking after images emerged on social media of “animals dressed in blankets with Nazi symbols”…

In Photos: How Russians Celebrate the Winter Holidays

Independent journalism isn’t dead. You can help keep it alive. The Moscow Times’ team of journalists has been first with the big stories on the coronavirus crisis in Russia since day one. Our exclusives and on-the-ground reporting are being read and shared by many high-profile journalists. We wouldn’t be able to produce this crucial journalism…

Putin Aide-Turned-Critic Probed for U.S. Election Conspiracy Blog

A libertarian U.S. think tank is investigating a former aide-turned-critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin for a blog post containing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and last week’s assault on the U.S. Capitol, Politico reported Tuesday. Cato Institute fellow Andrei Illarionov claimed in a Russian-language LiveJournal entry Friday that rioters who stormed the legislative…

Navalny Announces Return to Russia Despite Prison Threat

Opposition figure Alexei Navalny will fly back to Russia on Sunday despite the threat of imprisonment upon his return, the Kremlin critic announced on Wednesday.  Navalny, 44, has been recovering in Germany following what western scientists determined to be poisoning by the Novichok nerve agent in August. He vowed to return to Russia after making…