Russian Police Search Navalny’s Apartment, HQ – Aides

Russian law enforcement officers have searched Alexei Navalny’s Moscow apartment, his team’s headquarters and the apartments of his allies, the jailed opposition leader’s aides said Wednesday. The searches come ahead of a second round of nationwide unauthorized rallies calling for Navalny’s release planned for Jan. 31. Last Saturday, tens of thousands of Russians in over 120 towns…

Twitter, Facebook Block ‘Putin’s Chef’ Over Transphobic Comments

Twitter and Facebook have blocked the accounts of powerful Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, his Concord catering company said Wednesday. The accounts belonging to Prigozhin, who is known as “Putin’s chef” because of his close ties to the Russian president, were blocked “without explanation,” Concord’s press service wrote on VKontakte. The company said it believed Prigozhin’s…

Anti-Putin Snowman Protest Leads to Russian Activist’s Detention

An activist in northern Russia has been detained for organizing a “mass rally” against President Vladimir Putin using snowmen she built, a fellow activist said Wednesday. A photo shared by Arkhangelsk activist Andrei Borovikov shows four snowmen holding up anti-Putin placards. One of them references the billion-dollar palace that jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny claimed belongs…

Russia’s FSB Says Protects ‘Putin’s Palace’ From NATO Intelligence

Russia’s security forces only established a no-fly zone around President Vladimir Putin’s alleged palace due to increased intelligence collection activity by NATO members, the security services told the RBC news website Wednesday. Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s recent viral investigative video alleges that the high-security Black Sea estate enjoys presidential-level protection from the Federal Security Service…

G7 Foreign Ministers Condemn Navalny Arrest

The G7 group of nations Tuesday condemned the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, calling his detention “politically motivated” in a statement. The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the U.S. said Navalny’s detention was “deplorable” and called for his “immediate and unconditional release.”  “Russia is bound by its…

Gazprom and TMK discuss innovative pipe solutions for field development

January 26, 2021, 19:30 A working meeting took place between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Dmitry Pumpyansky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TMK. The parties discussed the state and prospects of their cooperation. It was noted that over the course of 2020, amid the restrictions imposed to fight the spread of the coronavirus, pipes for Gazprom were produced and shipped…

98 kilometers built within Power of Siberia gas pipeline’s section between Kovyktinskoye and Chayandinskoye fields

January 26, 2021, 17:00 Oleg Aksyutin, Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee – Head of Department at Gazprom, and Igor Kobzev, Governor of the Irkutsk Region, had an extended meeting in Irkutsk today. The meeting reviewed, among other things, the ongoing efforts for creating the Irkutsk gas production center. It was noted that the work to prepare the Kovyktinskoye field – the basis for the Irkutsk center –…

Iran Approves Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine

Iran has approved Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday, in a win for Moscow as it aims to bolster its geopolitical clout. Iran, which is fighting the Middle East’s deadliest outbreak, has said it will only rely on vaccines made by Russia, India or China, while also working to produce…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Jan. 26

Russia has confirmed 3,756,931 cases of coronavirus and 70,482 deaths. Jan. 26: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 18,241 new coronavirus cases and 564 deaths. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) will supply Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to Malaysia, the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday citing Russian ambassador to Malaysia Nail Latypov.  Mexico agreed…

Putin Seeks to Ban Nazi-Soviet Comparisons

President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s lower-house speaker to draft a legal ban on comparisons between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, according to a Kremlin statement published Saturday. Putin instructed State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin to draft by July 1 amendments to Russia’s law cementing Soviet victory over Nazi Germany that would “prohibit publicly…

Biden Says ‘Mutual Self-Interest’ With Russia Key Despite Navalny Arrest

President Joe Biden said Monday he is “very concerned” by Moscow’s crackdown on opposition leader Alexei Navalny and other actions, but said the United States and Russia need to cooperate on nuclear arms control. Speaking after mass arrests of people demonstrating across Russia this weekend against President Vladimir Putin and the jailing of Navalny, Biden said he was “very…

McKinsey Chief Admits Email Banning Staff From Navalny Rally Incorrectly Reflected Policy

The managing partner of U.S consultancy McKinsey & Company’s Moscow office has messaged his staff “clarifying” an earlier email banning them from attending an unsanctioned protest for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.  “Some of you have raised concerns about my email to the office yesterday. I admit that the Firm’s policy was incorrectly reflected in…

Billion-Dollar Palace in Navalny Investigation ‘Doesn’t Belong to Me,’ Putin Says

President Vladimir Putin denied ownership of a $1.3 billion seaside palace in his first public reaction to jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s viral video investigation that helped spark nationwide protests. Navalny’s feature-length video, which alleges that Putin’s inner circle had funded the lavish property through an elaborate corruption scheme, has racked up 86 million views…

World Reacts to Navalny Protests

Western powers were quick to condemn Russia’s use of force during Saturday’s nationwide rallies in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, with European leaders calling for tighter sanctions on Moscow. While some leaders criticized what they called harsh tactics by Russian police, others backed economic measures to target Russian corporations and officials. Russian officials,…

Copycat IKEA Meatballs

In 1703, Tsar Peter I captured in the Swedish fortress of Nyen, which guarded access to the River Neva. It was one of the ambitious Russian tsar’s early successes in the Great Northern War (1702 – 1721) in which Russia ultimately smashed Swedish hegemony. On the banks of the Neva, Peter began construction of a…

Gazprom and Hungary expanding cooperation in gas sector

January 22, 2021, 19:10 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, took place today via a video call. The parties discussed the state and prospects of their cooperation in the gas sector. Specifically, attention was paid to Russian gas supplies. In 2020, Hungary imported 8.6 billion cubic meters of gas.…

Social Media Platforms Delete Russian Posts Promoting Navalny Protests – State Censor

Social media platforms are taking down Russians’ calls to protest in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny over the government’s claims that they illegally incite minors to attend unauthorized rallies. Navalny was detained and jailed for a month shortly after returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been hospitalized with what Western scientists…

Gazprom and LUKOIL discuss ongoing efforts to create joint venture

Background Gazprom and LUKOIL are bound by the 2014–2024 General Agreement on Strategic Partnership, pursuant to which, among other things, LUKOIL supplies gas into Gazprom’s gas transmission system. The Vaneyvisskoye and Layavozhskoye fields are located to the east of Naryan-Mar in the Nenets Autonomous Area. The two fields have the aggregate recoverable reserves of 27.4 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons and 225.3 billion…

Gazoprovod Soyuz Vostok company registered in Mongolia

January 22, 2021, 15:25 A special-purpose vehicle named Gazoprovod Soyuz Vostok was registered in Mongolia. The company was established with the purpose of performing design and survey works and conducting a feasibility study regarding the construction project for a gas trunkline to supply Russian gas across Mongolia to China. “With the Soyuz Vostok gas pipeline, Russia’s Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline will extend…