Russia Files for Sputnik Vaccine Registration in EU

Russian authorities have applied for registration of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in the European Union, the country’s sovereign wealth fund financing the jab said Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said the application with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was lodged on Tuesday. “It is an important milestone,” he added.…

Chechnya Kills Militant Tied to IS, Deadly Moscow Attacks

Chechnya’s strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov said Wednesday that police had killed Aslan Byutukayev, alleged leader of the Islamic State group in the volatile republic and mastermind of deadly attacks in Moscow. Byutukayev, also known as Amir Khamzat, was designated in 2016 as a “global terrorist” by the U.S. State Department, which said he had become…

Russia Says Better Ties With U.S. Up to Biden

The Kremlin said Wednesday that any improvement in Moscow’s tense relationship with Washington would depend on Joe Biden when he enters the White House. The United States recently blamed Kremlin-backed hackers for a massive cyberattack that breached government institutions, adding to a long list of grievances plaguing ties between the former Cold War rivals. “Russia…

Kremlin Calls Navalny’s Viral Putin Palace Report ‘Nonsense’

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s viral video investigation into President Vladimir Putin’s alleged palace is “a bunch of nonsense,” the Kremlin said Wednesday. Navalny released an extensive exposé into a lavish $1.35 billion Black Sea estate Tuesday after Russian authorities jailed him upon his return from Germany, where he was hospitalized for what Western scientists…

Russia Sees Lowest Foreign Investment Since 1994

Russia received its lowest level of foreign investment last year since the mid-1990s, data released by the Central Bank on Tuesday showed. Net inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) came in at just $1.4 billion in 2020, as the economic fallout from the pandemic, travel restrictions and a slump in global energy prices heaped pressure…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Jan. 20

Russia has confirmed 3,633,952 cases of coronavirus and 67,220 deaths. Jan. 20: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 21,152 new coronavirus cases and 597 deaths. The Russian Direct Investment Fund has applied for authorization of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in the European Union, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday. The European Medicines Agency (EMA)…

Biden State Pick Calls For Extending New START With Russia

Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, said Tuesday the incoming administration would seek to extend New START, the last U.S. arms pact with Russia, which expires February 5. “I think we’re going to seek an extension,” Blinken said in response to a question at his Senate confirmation hearing. “I know we…

Kremlin Dismisses Calls to Free Navalny, Warns Against Protests

The Kremlin on Tuesday dismissed Western demands to release Russia’s most prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying his calls for mass protests over his arrest were “troubling”. Legal pressure is ramping up against President Vladimir Putin’s best-known domestic critic, who is due in court on defamation charges on Wednesday, as his allies in Russia call…

Putin Takes Icy Dip in Orthodox Christian Ritual

Russian President Vladimir Putin took a dip in freezing water on Tuesday to mark the Orthodox Christian feast of the Epiphany.  Video shared by Kremlin pool reporters from the state-run RIA Novosti news agency showed Putin wading into the water in blue swimming trunks and dunking three times while crossing himself before hastily exiting the…

Could Navalny’s Detention Derail His Movement?

The arrest and detention for thirty days of prominent opposition activist Alexei Navalny is threatening to upend Russian politics in an already fraught year that will include parliamentary elections in September.  Since rising to prominence for his anti-Kremlin activism, Navalny — who was poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok in August last year and had…

Russia Launches Mass Coronavirus Vaccination Campaign

Russia launched a mass coronavirus vaccination campaign on Monday in a bid to end its outbreak without reimposing a new nationwide lockdown. Residents of the far eastern city of Vladivostok queued to receive the country’s homemade Sputnik V jab early Monday after President Vladimir Putin last week tasked officials with making it available to the country’s…

Russia Jails Math Grad Student for Attack on Ruling Party

Russian math graduate student and self-described anarchist Azat Miftakhov was sentenced to six years in prison Monday after almost two years in detention on hooliganism charges his supporters say are politically motivated. Miftakhov, 27, was initially detained in February 2019 on accusations of bomb-making, but was later held for breaking the office window of Russia’s…

Russia Expels Two Dutch Diplomats in Tit-for-Tat Move

Moscow said Monday it was expelling two Dutch diplomats from the country in response to a “provocative” decision by the Netherlands in December to remove two Russian embassy staff over spying allegations. Moscow summoned Dutch charge d’affaires Joost Reintjes, the foreign ministry said in a statement, telling him that two Dutch diplomats had two weeks…

Chaos as Poisoned Opposition Figure Navalny Comes Home

Chief Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny returned to Russia from Germany Sunday and was immediately detained. The 44-year-old opposition leader flew back to Moscow after spending several months in Germany recovering from a poisoning attack that he said was carried out on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. Amid heavy police presence, hundreds of his supporters…

Gazprom confirms compliance of its quality management and process safety management systems with international standards

Background Gazprom developed and successfully implemented a corporate Quality Management System. The QMS is aimed at further improving the Company’s performance and efficiency. The system covers business processes in such areas as natural gas, condensate and oil production, transportation, storage and processing, as well as in other fields. The ISO 9001:2015 standard is based on such principles as, inter alia, customer focus, motivation and engagement…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Jan. 18

Russia has confirmed 3,591,066 cases of coronavirus and 66,037 deaths. Jan. 18: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 22,857 new coronavirus cases and 471 deaths. Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan is set to become the first region to introduce immunity passports for residents with Covid-19 antibodies starting February, Bashkortostan Governor Radiy Khabirov announced Monday.   Russia’s Sputnik V…

Free Navalny, Western Leaders Tell Russia

World leaders have called on Russia to release prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who was detained minutes after he landed in Moscow following five months of recovery from nerve agent poisoning in Germany. Below is a selection of international reactions to Navalny’s detention at Sheremetyevo International Airport passport control late Sunday. — U.S. Secretary of…

As it Happened: Navalny Returns to Russia

Chief Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny returned to Russia from Germany today and was immediately detained. The 44-year-old opposition leader flew back to Moscow after spending several months in Germany recovering from a poisoning attack that he said was carried out on the orders of President Vladimir Putin.  Follow the latest developments on the Navalny return…

Alexei Navalny: Russia’s Charismatic Anti-Putin Campaigner

A charismatic anti-corruption campaigner, Alexei Navalny has been Russia’s leading opposition politician for around a decade, determined to challenge Vladimir Putin’s grip on power despite frequent prison stays and harm to his health. The Yale-educated 44-year-old lawyer — who has said he will return to Russia from Germany on Sunday after treatment there for a…

Kremlin Foe Navalny Faces Arrest as Flies Back to Russia

Arch Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny returns to Russia from Germany on Sunday, facing imminent arrest after authorities warned they would detain him for violating a sentence over alleged fraud. The 44-year-old opposition leader is flying back to Moscow after spending several months in Germany recovering from a poisoning attack that he said was carried out…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Jan. 16

Russia has confirmed 3,544,623 cases of coronavirus and 65,058 deaths. Jan. 16: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 24,092 new coronavirus cases and 590 deaths. Russia’s Sputnik V and EpiVacCorona coronavirus vaccines are not available or in short supply in 42 of the country’s regions, a report from the Peterburgskaya Politica think tank suggests. Health care…

The Open Skies Treaty: NATO’s Eyes Over Russia

The Open Skies Treaty, which Russia says it is leaving after the U.S. quit last year, was agreed just after the Cold War to allow signatories to avoid nasty surprises by monitoring rival militaries. Moscow and Washington had long accused each other of breaching its terms, and President Donald Trump formally pulled the U.S. out last November.…

Russia Intends to Give Election Advice to U.S.

Russia’s top lawmaker said Thursday he is considering sending election advice to the United States following the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump who dispute his loss. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, was among numerous Russian politicians who called the U.S. electoral system “archaic” and…

Russia Says Leaving Open Skies Military Treaty

Russia’s foreign ministry said Friday it is leaving the Open Skies treaty, a post-Cold War defense accord that allows its signatories to carry out unarmed surveillance flights over each other’s territories.  Citing “lack of progress” on maintaining the functioning of the treaty after the United States withdrew from it last year, the ministry said in…

Most Russians Still Mistrust Coronavirus Vaccine – Poll

Russians are still overwhelmingly unwilling to take the coronavirus vaccine as the national vaccination drive gains steam, the RBC news website reported Friday, citing poll results. The Superjob.ru job board’s survey taken this month showed 60% of Russian respondents opposing the vaccine compared with 40% favoring it, according to RBC. Opponents cited mistrust of the…