Month: March 2021

Russia’s ambassador to the United States landed in Moscow on Sunday after being recalled for emergency consultations over the worst crisis in relations with the United States in years. U.S. President Joe Biden on television earlier this week called the Russian leader a “killer” spurring a terse quip from Vladimir Putin who responded that, “it…

Russia has confirmed 4,456,869 cases of coronavirus and 95,030 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. According to figures published by state statistics agency Rosstat, Russia’s real coronavirus death toll stands at 131,118, with the virus present in another 69,314 deaths. March 21: What you need to know today Russia on Sunday confirmed 9,299 new coronavirus cases…

The United States sentenced a Russian and a North Macedonian on Friday to prison for their roles in a vast cybercrime operation. Sergey Medvedev, 33, of Russia and Marko Leopard, 31, of North Macedonia, were sentenced to ten and five years respectively, according to a Justice Department statement. Both had previously pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy in…

Russian police on Friday raided the Moscow offices of an opposition movement and media outlet backed by exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky in the latest move against the former oligarch, the groups said. The raids on Open Russia and MBKh Media came after police last weekend arrested around 200 opposition politicians and municipal councillors at…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized U.S. leader Joe Biden’s remarks describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “killer,” the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported Friday.   Biden ignited a diplomatic crisis with Moscow on Wednesday when he answered “I do” after being asked in an ABC News interview if he thinks Putin is a “killer,”…

Bulgarian prosecutors on Friday said six people had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia, including several defense ministry officials in the EU and NATO member state. The officials are accused of passing classified information to the head of the alleged spy ring, an ex-intelligence officer. His wife, who has joint Russian-Bulgarian nationality, “played…

Russia’s Central Bank said Friday it has raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2018 as rising inflation and food prices forced a shift toward tightening its monetary policy. The benchmark was raised to 4.5% from a record low of 4.25%, the bank said in a statement. It marks the first rate…

The developer of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said Friday it had signed a partnership with an India-based drugmaker for the production of 200 million doses of the two-dose jab.  The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which backed the development of Sputnik V, said in a statement it had partnered with Stelis Biopharma “to produce and…

Russia has deployed all six of its Black Sea Fleet submarines as NATO drills kicked off in the area, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday. “All Black Sea Fleet submarines are performing their tasks outside their bases,” said Vice-Admiral Igor Osipov, the fleet’s commander-in-chief.  “None of the submarines are at their base,” RIA…

Mexican authorities have seized a shipment of purported Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines from a private airplane bound for Honduras, which Russia says were fake doses. The batch of 1,155 vials containing the equivalent of 5,775 doses was hidden inside two coolers aboard the plane at an airport in the southern state of Campeche, the customs…

Russian scientists have prevented a repeat of last year’s oil spill disaster near the Arctic city of Norilsk using satellite data, the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences said Thursday. The May 2020 leak of 21,000 tons of diesel from a fuel tank is described as the Arctic’s worst ecological disaster and has…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called on U.S. President Joe Biden to hold virtual talks after the American leader described him as a “killer.” Speaking on the sidelines of an event marking seven years since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Putin invited Biden to hold a “live-broadcast” or “online” discussion in the coming days.  “I…

Mediators in Moscow on Thursday urged the Taliban not to launch a spring offensive, as international efforts for a peace deal intensify ahead of a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. The conference in Moscow came as part of intensifying negotiations between the Afghan government, the Taliban and the United States to negotiate…

A Moscow court has extended the house arrest of four prominent activists and supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny into the summer, the Mediazona and OVD-Info police-monitoring websites reported Thursday. Ten Navalny supporters are accused of “inciting mass violations” of coronavirus restrictions by calling on supporters nationwide to protest his jailing in late January and…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired back at his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden’s assertion that he is a “killer” by saying “It takes one to know one.” Biden set off a storm of condemnation from Moscow on Wednesday when he agreed with the assessment that Putin is a “killer” in an ABC News interview, adding that…

Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Thursday urged Belarusians to vote online to support her call for international negotiations with President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. Tikhanovskaya said the first results of the vote through the website belarus2020.org/home would be announced next Thursday, the anniversary of Belarus’s independence declaration in 1918. “Each of you knows that our country is in…

Russia said Thursday U.S. President Joe Biden had no interest in improving ties with Russia after he referred to Vladimir Putin as a “killer,” sparking the biggest crisis in years between the former Cold War rivals. Russia’s relationship with the West has eroded over a spate of disagreements, but relations plunged to new depths Wednesday…

Russia plans to cut state funding for the green energy sector by nearly a quarter, or 22%, the Kommersant business daily reported Thursday.  The government’s budget for its 2025-2035 renewables program will be cut from 400 billion rubles ($5.4 billion) to 313 billion rubles ($4.3 billion), unnamed sources told Kommersant, citing a March 11 meeting…

The G7 group of leading economic powers said on Thursday it would not accept Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, in a statement marking seven years since the takeover. “We unequivocally denounce Russia’s temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol. Russia’s attempts to legitimize it are not, and will…

Russia’s ambassador in the United States will depart Washington Saturday for urgent consultations in Moscow, the embassy said, warning that bilateral ties were on the brink of “collapse.” Moscow’s strained relationship with Washington hit a new low Wednesday when Russia called back its ambassador over comments made by U.S. President Joe Biden who likened his Russian counterpart…

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday appealed to European regulatory authorities to approve Russia’s Sputnik V and other safe coronavirus vaccines as soon as possible. With Sputnik V under review by the EU’s medicines regulator, reports suggested this week that EU officials are considering launching negotiations to buy doses from Russia. The vaccine’s developers announced…

Chechen officials and members of the public are calling for the investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta to be banned after it reported on extrajudicial killings in the southern Russian region. The chorus of outrage grew after Novaya Gazeta on Monday published an ex-police officer’s eyewitness account of the torture and execution of 13 detainees in 2017.…

Russia said Wednesday it had summoned its Washington ambassador to Moscow for consultations on its ties with the United States, but stressed it wanted to prevent an “irreversible deterioration” in relations. The announcement from the Russian Foreign Ministry came after U.S. President Joe Biden said Russia would “pay a price” for meddling in U.S. elections…

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the U.S.S.R., believes that the country’s collapse was a violation of “the will of the people” and a referendum to preserve the Soviet system was “necessary and just,” he told Interfax on Wednesday. “The destruction of the Soviet Union was nothing more than a violation of the will of…

Russian lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill that bans insults against World War II veterans, with offenders facing possible sentences of up to five years in jail.  The move came after a judge last month ruled that jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny was guilty of defaming a World War II veteran who was among a…

U.S. President Joe Biden has agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “killer,” adding that he will “pay” for interfering in the 2020 presidential election in an ABC News interview that aired Wednesday. His pre-taped remarks aired after the U.S. intelligence community’s first assessment of foreign interference in the campaign. The report said Putin likely…

The Kremlin said Wednesday it regretted the UK’s decision to increase its nuclear arsenal, after Britain unveiled plans to bolster its stockpile from 180 warheads to 260 by the end of the decade.  Britain on Tuesday published a document outlining a recalibration of its foreign policy that included the announcement to grow its nuclear arsenal,…

Russian passport holders from separatist-held eastern Ukraine could be allowed to vote in this September’s legislative elections, a lawmaker told Interfax on Tuesday.  “They are citizens of the Russian Federation who have gained all the rights and, accordingly, [can] participate in elections. That’s why Russia is obliged to give them the opportunity to express their…

Russian internet activists fear the state’s slowdown of Twitter traffic could be the thin end of the wedge in a push toward Chinese-style censorship.  While the U.S.-based microblogging service never made it big in Russia — used by only 3% of the population and a minnow compared with YouTube and Instagram — its targeting is…

Russia will attempt to insert itself into a faltering Afghanistan peace process Thursday when it hosts a conference that has drawn high-level delegations from the Taliban and Afghan government — as well as representation from Washington, Pakistan and China. The United States is supposed to complete a withdrawal of all its troops from Afghanistan by…

Russian security officers have detained an alleged Islamic State supporter who was plotting a terrorist attack in southern Russia, the state-run TASS news agency reported Wednesday.  The unnamed suspect, a native of Central Asia, is accused of planning a terrorist attack at a shopping mall in the republic of Adygeya’s capital of Maykop, TASS cited…

Russia has demanded that Twitter delete the independent news website MBKh Media’s account for allegedly publishing an “undesirable” organization’s materials, the outlet said Wednesday. The reported demand comes a day after Russia’s state communications regulator Roskomnadzor threatened to block Twitter itself for failing to delete tweets containing child pornography, suicide and drug use.  MBKh said…

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely authorized influence operations against then-President Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent Joe Biden during the 2020 election campaign, the U.S. intelligence community said in its first assessment on the matter Tuesday. Biden defeated Republican Trump in November, and Putin was one of the only world leaders to wait until the Electoral College certified his…

A group of high-profile Hollywood celebrities has signed a letter calling on the Russian government to halt the prosecution of punk protest group Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina and Ludmila Shtein, entertainment news site Deadline reported on Tuesday.  The activists face up to two years in prison for Instagram posts demanding the release of political…

The share of Russians who say they’re not interested in politics has reached its highest level of the modern era, a survey by the independent Levada Center polling agency said Tuesday.  According to the poll, nearly one-third of Russians, or 27%, said they are not interested in politics at all, compared to 12% of Russians…

Russian freediver Alexei Molchanov claimed to have set a new Guinness World Record on Tuesday after plunging 80 meters in the icy waters of Lake Baikal in Siberia. Clad in blue diving gear, Molchanov dropped into a hole in the Baikal ice before coming back up smiling, winking and forming the OK sign with his…

Russia will block Twitter within a month if it fails to delete banned content, authorities told state media Tuesday. Vadim Subbotin, the deputy chief of Russia’s state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, issued the warning a week after the country began slowing down the social media platform’s speed over the dispute. The agency acted amid tensions with western…

While Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine has already been authorized by over 50 countries worldwide, it has yet to make its way into one of the world’s largest markets, the European Union.  On March 8, an official at the EU’s medicines regulator was quick to dismiss the idea of granting emergency authorization for Russia’s vaccine,…

Apple has agreed to pre-install Russian apps on all its devices activated within the country starting April 1, the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday.  The Russian-developed software will include messengers, internet browsers, antivirus software, email, food delivery and taxi-hailing apps, Vedomosti reported.  According to the agreement, all users who turn on an Apple device purchased…

Russian journalists in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk have started airing “silent broadcasts” as a way to avoid prosecution, the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty news outlet reported Monday. The live-streams of protests without commentary follow the detentions of several journalists in recent months for “participation in unsanctioned rallies,” RFE/RL’s Siberian affiliate Sibir.Realii reported. …

Moscow has accused the United States of targeting its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine by pressuring Brazil to reject it, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund that markets the jab worldwide said Monday. An annual U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report published in January said officials had worked to dissuade Latin American countries from accepting aid from…

A court in southern Russia’s republic of Dagestan has ruled a mother of three unfit for custody due to her “immoral” tattoos and piercings, according to media reports. The summer 2020 ruling against Nina Tseretilova is based on Instagram posts submitted by her ex-husband during their custody battle, the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid reported Friday. “It…

A more contagious strain of the coronavirus first discovered in South Africa has been detected in Russia, the country’s health authorities said Tuesday. The officials said two people have been found to have the variant out of over 8,000 tests conducted among Russians arriving from abroad and those with atypical presentations of the disease.  According…