Month: February 2021
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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…
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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…
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Russia, Turkey Open Joint Military Center in Azerbaijan
Turkey and Russia have opened a joint military facility in Azerbaijan to help monitor the ceasefire with Armenia, a stark indicator of the shifting geopolitics in the region. The center formally opened on Jan. 30, near the village of Giyameddinli in the Aghdam region. Staffed by an equal number of Russian and Turkish troops — 60 on…
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In Photos: Russia Cracks Down on Navalny Protesters Following Prison Ruling
Russians in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities took to the streets Tuesday in protest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny being sentenced to 2.8 years in prison. Despite hundreds of riot police stationed throughout central Moscow and St. Petersburg warning people not to stage unauthorized protests, thousands of Navalny’s supporters rallied in spontaneous groups throughout…
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Rosneft Introduces Modern Digital Services for Fuel Customers
The Achinsk Refinery has become the first among Rosneft Oil Company’s refineries to introduce QR codes on quality certificates for petroleum products.
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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…
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‘Pure Cowardice’: World Leaders React to Navalny’s Imprisonment
The sentencing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to prison on Tuesday sparked swift condemnation from the West. A Moscow court sentenced the fierce Kremlin critic to two years and eight months in a prison colony over alleged parole violations while recovering in Germany from a near-fatal poisoning he blames on President Vladimir Putin. His…
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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…
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As It Happened: Navalny Sentenced to 2 Years and 8 Months in Penal Colony
A Moscow court sentenced Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to two years and eight months in a penal colony, defying tens of thousands of his supporters who had rallied in his support since his return to Russia and Western governments who had urged for his immediate release. Navalny, 44, was detained on Jan. 17 when he…
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Poisoned Putin Critic Navalny Gets Almost 3 Years in Prison Colony
A Moscow court on Tuesday sentenced Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to two years and eight months in a prison colony, after his arrest last month prompted tens of thousands to rally in his support across the country. The 44-year-old anti-corruption activist was convicted of violating a 2014 suspended sentence for fraud by missing probation…
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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…
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Navalny’s Poisoning Could Have Been ‘Staged’ by West, Says Russian Foreign Minister
The Russian government suspects the poisoning attack on Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny could have been “staged” by the West since it still hasn’t received evidence from Germany, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference Tuesday. Lavrov’s comments come as Navalny faces years in prison for allegedly violating his probation while recovering in…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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Russia Is ‘Ready’ to Disconnect from Global Internet, Medvedev Says
Russia is “legally and technologically” ready to disconnect from the global internet if needed, former President Dmitry Medvedev told Interfax Monday. Russian authorities have long flirted with the notion of tougher restrictions and control over the internet on Russian territory. While the country’s “sovereign internet” law passed in 2019 gives Russia the ability to cut…
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True Beliefs and Opportunism: Navalny’s Tangled Political Development
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who has channeled the frustrations of Russians over the past two weeks to rally tens of thousands to protests across the country, has been on a complex ideological journey throughout his two decades in Russian politics. Over the course of his political career the 44-year-old activist has been described as…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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France Urges Germany to Scrap Russia Gas Pipeline Over Navalny
France on Monday urged Germany to scrap a major gas pipeline project with Russia in protest over the detention in Moscow of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. “We have always said we have the greatest doubts on this project in this context,” European Affairs minister Clement Beaune told France Inter radio. Asked specifically if France wanted Berlin to…
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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…