Germany: New Russia Sanctions ‘Cannot Be Ruled Out’

Germany warned Wednesday that Russia may face further EU sanctions over the jailing of opposition figure Alexei Navalny. “After this ruling, there will now also be talks among EU partners. Further sanctions cannot be ruled out,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert. The ruling against the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner is “far off from constitutional…

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Bans 3 Pro-Russia TV Channels

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has banned three pro-Russian television channels in a move the presidency said was aimed at staving off Kremlin propaganda.  Kiev says it has become a regular target of Russian misinformation since 2014, when Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, a conflict that has claimed more than…

Director Kirill Serebrennikov Fired From Gogol Center

The Moscow city department of culture announced on Wednesday that they would not be renewing Kirill Serebrennikov’s contract as the director of the Gogol Center theater. The previous day, on the theater’s eighth “birthday,” Serebrennikov had described some of the plans for 2021, which included not only theatrical productions but other artistic projects. His contract…

Mexico Authorizes Russia’s Sputnik V Virus Vaccine

Mexico on Tuesday approved Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in the country, one of the worst hit by the pandemic, following the release of positive trial results. The move is a boost to the Latin American nation’s efforts to keep its immunization program on track in the face of limited supplies from other…

U.S., French Investors Plead Not Guilty in Moscow Fraud Trial

A prominent U.S. investor and French banker denied they were guilty of embezzlement Tuesday, on the opening day of a trial in Moscow that has rattled Russia’s business community. Michael Calvey, the 53-year-old founder of Russia-based investment fund Baring Vostok, was arrested along with French banker Philippe Delpal in February 2019 and accused of defrauding…

Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine 91.6% Effective: Lancet Study

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective against symptomatic Covid-19, according to results published in The Lancet on Tuesday that independent experts said allayed transparency concerns over the jab, which Moscow is already rolling out. Sputnik V — named after the Soviet-era satellite — was approved in Russia months before results from its final-stage clinical…

Moscow Court Starts Trial in Case of U.S., French Investors

A prominent US investor and French banker went on trial in Moscow on Tuesday nearly two years after they were arrested on embezzlement charges that rattled Russia’s business community. Michael Calvey, the 53-year-old founder of the Russia-based investment fund Baring Vostok, was arrested along with French banker Philippe Delpal and several associates in February 2019…

As It’s Happening: Navalny in Court

A Moscow court is beginning a hearing Tuesday on whether jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, whose arrest has triggered mass protests, should face years in prison. Navalny, 44, was detained on Jan. 17 when he returned to Moscow from Berlin, where he had spent months recovering from a near-fatal poisoning attack in August he blames…

3 Things to Know About Navalny’s 2014 Fraud Case

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been placed in custody until Feb. 15 for allegedly violating the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence on fraud charges. On Tuesday, a court will deliberate over whether the 44-year-old anti-graft campaigner’s suspended sentence should be converted to prison time. Here are three things to know about the case: Yves…

Severstal supplies complex delivery of large-diameter pipes to Bulgaria

February 2, 2021 PAO Severstal, one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and steel-related mining companies, has supplied a multi-product (package) order of large-diameter pipes (LDP) to Bulgaria. The pipes were ordered for Bulgartransgaz’s Novaya Provadia compressor station project, which is currently under construction by the company Glavbolgarstroy AD. The LDPs are coated in…

Ukraine Separatists Roll Out Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine

Breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists began a vaccine drive with Russia’s Sputnik V jab, officials said Monday, as the government in Kiev struggled to secure alternative doses. The supply of Sputnik V to separatist authorities is Russia’s latest show of support for the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics, which have been locked in…

Russian Bomber Low-Passes U.S. Destroyer in Black Sea

A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 frontline bomber has conducted a low pass over the United States Navy’s guided-missile destroyer in the Black Sea, the U.S. Sixth Fleet reported Monday.  The USS Donald Cook has been stationed in neutral waters “to ensure security and stability in the region” as part of an operation under a NATO mandate,…

Navalny Fund’s Calls for U.S. Sanctions Confirms ‘Foreign Agent’ Status, Kremlin Says

Calls for targeted U.S. sanctions against several dozen Russian business and political elites by jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) confirms its status as a foreign agent, the Kremlin said Monday.   On Jan. 30, FBK executive director Vladimir Ashurkov shared a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden listing individuals — many of whom…

In Photos: Navalny Protests Sweep Moscow Despite Crackdown

Thousands of Muscovites protested in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny for a second weekend despite an unprecedented crackdown against the opposition in the days prior and a lockdown imposed by the authorities across central Moscow. Unable to gather at the planned protest point in front of the Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters, protesters…

Russian Prosecutors Back Prison Time for Navalny

Russian prosecutors have supported handing opposition leader Alexei Navalny a prison sentence of up to 3.5 years in a high-profile trial that starts Tuesday. Navalny was swiftly detained upon his Jan. 17 return to Russia from Germany, as Russia’s prison service accused him of violating his probation in a 2014 fraud conviction by failing to…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Feb. 1

Russia has confirmed 3,868,087 cases of coronavirus and 73,619 deaths. Feb. 1: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 17,648 new coronavirus cases and 437 deaths. Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev got vaccinated against the coronavirus two months ago, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency quoted Medvedev as saying. Russia’s former Prime Minister did…