Latvia Removes Controversial Soviet Monument

Latvia on Thursday took down a Soviet-era monument in Riga following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite protests from the Baltic state’s ethnic Russian minority to keep it.  Demolition machinery was used to remove the 79-meter World War II memorial, which has become a rallying point for Kremlin supporters in Latvia, according to an AFP journalist at…

Putin Orders Increase in Russian Army Size to Over 2M

President Vladimir Putin ordered the expansion of the Russian military Thursday as Moscow struggles to fulfill its objectives in Ukraine six months after the invasion of its pro-Western neighbor. As part of the changes, the total number of military and civilian staff in the Russian Armed Forces will increase from 1.9 million to nearly 2.04…

Russia’s AvtoVaz Tops Moscow Car Sales in Decade-First

Russia’s largest carmaker AvtoVaz regained its top sales spot in the Russian capital last month for the first time in more than a decade, according to market researcher Autostat. The car market in Russia has been cleared of most competition after Western and Asian automakers suspended operations after the invasion of Ukraine or faced supply shortages…

Prominent Human Rights Activist Assaulted in Russia

A prominent Russian human rights activist and member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s human rights council has been hospitalized after an attacker attempted to stab him in the throat with broken glass.  “Igor Kalyapin was attacked by an unknown assailant in the Nizhny Novgorod region on Wednesday night,” the presidential human rights council said in a…