Day: February 4, 2021
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Biden Says No More U.S. ‘Rolling Over’ to Russia
President Joe Biden said Thursday the United States will no longer be “rolling over in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions” and demanded release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In toughly worded remarks pivoting from his predecessor Donald Trump’s muted approach to Moscow, Biden warned of “advancing authoritarianism” in China and Russia. The speech…
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Navalny’s Team Announces No More Protests Until Spring
Alexei Navalny’s supporters will stop staging protests demanding his release until at least this spring, a key aide of the imprisoned Kremlin critic said Thursday. Leonid Volkov, head of Navalny’s regional network of campaign-style offices, announced he would not be calling supporters to take to the streets for a third successive weekend of protests across…
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Top U.S. Diplomat Raises Navalny, Jailed Americans With Russia
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced concern over jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny and imprisoned Americans in a telephone call Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly voiced alarm over Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic whose doctors say he was poisoned and who was promptly detained…
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Navalny Urges Supporters to Fight For Freedom in First Post After Sentencing
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny called on his supporters Thursday to fight fear and free Russia from “a handful of thieves in power,” in his first detailed comments since being ordered to serve out a prison sentence. The 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner, who was jailed Tuesday on old embezzlement charges, wrote on Instagram that the authorities could…
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Yves Rocher Rebuffs Criticism Over Role in Navalny Affair
French cosmetics company Yves Rocher dismissed Thursday as unjustified criticism against it over its role in a 2014 fraud trial against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. A Russian court found Navalny guilty in 2014 of defrauding the Russian subsidiary of Yves Rocher in a ruling later declared “arbitrary” by the European Court of Human Rights. Navalny…
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Dissatisfaction With Putin Surges Among Young Russians – Levada Poll
Almost half of young people in Russia disapprove of President Vladimir Putin’s performance, according to a poll by the independent Levada Center published Thursday. Some 46% of Russians aged 18-24 said they did not approve of Putin — a sharp rise from the 31% who said the same last year. The results are the latest…
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Outcry Over Navalny Crackdown as Top EU Envoy Heads to Moscow
An outcry grew in Russia Thursday over a crackdown on protesters, as EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visits the country under pressure to confront Moscow over the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny. Borrell’s three-day visit to Russia beginning Thursday — the first by a top EU envoy since 2017 — comes during a period of…
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‘No Repressions’ Against Pro-Navalny Protesters, Kremlin Says
There has been “no repression” against Russians detained while protesting in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin said Thursday amid mounting criticism of the harsh law enforcement tactics used against peaceful demonstrators. Independent monitors estimate that more than 10,000 people and dozens of journalists have been detained nationwide during the protests on…
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Volunteer Centre Opened in Nyagan with Rosneft Support
A volunteer centre at the youth centre in Nyagan has been opened with the support of RN-Nyaganneftegaz, a subsidiary of Rosneft.
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‘Everything Will Be Fine’: Russians Share Selfies in Red to Support Yulia Navalnaya
Thousands of Russians are posting photos of themselves in red clothing to social media in a show of support for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia Navalnaya. During her husband’s court hearing Tuesday, Navalnaya was seen crying while the judge read out the verdict to convert his suspended sentence of 3.5 years…
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Mediazona Editor Held in Overcrowded Cell After Mass Navalny Arrests
The jailed editor-in-chief of the independent Mediazona news website has been placed in an overcrowded cell amid reports of detention centers overflowing after mass arrests at rallies in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, his Twitter account said Thursday. Sergei Smirnov was jailed for 25 days Wednesday for retweeting a joke about his resemblance…
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EU Sends Top Envoy to Moscow as Navalny Controversy Grows
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell jets to Moscow on Thursday under pressure to confront the Kremlin over the jailing of Alexei Navalny and a crackdown on protesters. The visit — the first to Russia by a top EU envoy since 2017 — has drawn criticism from some European capitals worried Moscow will spin it as evidence…