Day: October 7, 2022
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Russia Labels Star Rapper Oxxxymiron a ‘Foreign Agent’
Russia on Friday labeled superstar rapper Oxxxymiron, popular among young Russians, a “foreign agent,” according to the interior ministry’s website. Oxxxymiron, the stage name of 37-year-old Miron Fyodorov, has called the Kremlin’s Ukraine offensive a “catastrophe and a crime.” His name was added to a register of “foreign agents” — a term used to crack…
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Гойда! They Shouted. Say What?
Гойда: let’s go (maim and kill) Last Friday there was a big event on Red Square in Moscow to celebrate (sic) the new Russian regions (sic), i.e., Ukrainian land annexed (on paper) by Russia. One of the headliners was Ivan Okhlobystin, an actor-cum-Orthodox-priest-cum-political-rabblerouser, who got the crowd worked up shouting what he described as старорусское…
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St. Petersburg Scraps New Year’s Celebrations to Buy Supplies for Mobilized Soldiers
Authorities in St. Petersburg have called off the city’s official New Year’s and Christmas celebrations and plan to reallocate the funds to the Russian military, the city government announced Friday. The move comes amid widespread reports of newly mobilized Russian soldiers lacking equipment, uniforms and medical supplies. Russia’s second-largest city will scrap all its traditional…
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10 Bolshoi Dancers Suspended for Tashkent Performance
Ten top dancers at the Bolshoi Theater have been suspended for a month after performing at a gala in Uzbekistan, Russian media reported this week. The dancers, including stars such as Vladislav Lantratov and Yevgenia Obraztsova, were flown to Tashkent by the Foundation for the Development of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan. Dancers regularly perform…
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Dutch Arrest Man for Allegedly Selling Microchips to Russia
Dutch authorities have arrested a man on suspicion of selling microchips to Russia in breach of sanctions imposed by the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, officials said on Friday. The microchips, sold to companies and other bodies in Russia, could be used for military purposes, the Dutch financial and fiscal crime investigation service (FIOD) said. The 55-year-old…
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Charges Dropped in Russia’s First Criminal Draft-Dodging Case
Prosecutors in the southern Russian city of Penza dropped all charges in what would have been the first criminal case for evading Moscow’s “partial” mobilization, human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov said Friday. “The Prosecutor’s Office…recognized the decision to initiate [criminal] proceedings as illegal,” Chikov wrote on his Telegram channel. “The suspect received the right to…
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UN Rights Council to Monitor Russia in Historic Move
The UN Human Rights Council on Friday agreed to monitor the rights situation in Russia, marking the first-ever resolution focused on violations inside the country. The 47-member top UN rights body accepted the draft text presented by all European Union countries with the exception of Hungary, with 17 nations voting in favor of appointing a…
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Frozen Fish and Limitless Cabbage: How Russia is Motivating Draftees
When even money and patriotism are insufficient to inspire Russians to sign up to fight in Ukraine, it’s time to bring out the big guns such as food staples. At least three Russian regions are promising to reward the families of new recruits with livestock, fish and vegetables since President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilization…
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Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian Rights Defenders Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian human rights champions. Russia’s Memorial group, Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties and jailed Belarusian rights activist Ales Bialiatski share this year’s prestigious award. “They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and the…
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‘God Put You in Power’: Russian Orthodox Leader Tells Putin on 70th Birthday
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill said Friday that Vladimir Putin’s reign over Russia had been mandated by God, congratulating the Kremlin chief on his 70th birthday. “God put you in power so that you could perform a service of special importance and of great responsibility for the fate of the country…
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Putin Confronted by Kremlin Insider Over Ukraine, U.S. Intel Reportedly Tells Biden
An unnamed member of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle has directly confronted him over mistakes and mismanagement of the war in Ukraine, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing U.S. intelligence. The insider’s confrontation and identity were reportedly included in U.S. President Joe Biden’s daily intelligence briefing and shared with other U.S. officials. The individual’s identity could…
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Muted Festivities for Putin’s 70th Birthday Amid War, International Isolation
Russian President Vladimir Putin will mark his 70th birthday Friday with little fanfare as the war in Ukraine, which has killed tens of thousands and plunged Russia into economic and international isolation, continues to rage. In past years, Putin has celebrated by taking foreign trips, hiking in Siberia with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu or playing…
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Moscow Fumes Over ‘Monster’ Zelensky’s Preemptive Strike Calls
Russian officials voiced anger over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s remarks Thursday on preventive strikes that his spokesman later said had been misinterpreted. Zelensky appealed for the international community to “do preemptive strikes” instead of “waiting for Russian nuclear strikes” when asked about NATO’s role in the conflict in an address to an Australian think tank.…
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Russians Land in Alaska to Seek Asylum: U.S. Authorities
Two Russians who landed in a remote part of rural Alaska are seeking asylum in the United States, politicians in the far northern state said Thursday. The pair landed just weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an unpopular mobilization of citizens in a bid to turn the tide on his faltering invasion of Ukraine.…