Russia’s Embassy in Oslo criticized what it called Norway’s “spy mania” on Wednesday, a day after the Scandinavian country announced the arrest of a suspected Russian sleeper agent. The Norwegian counter-intelligence service PST on Tuesday said it had arrested a Russian so-called “illegal” agent masquerading as a Brazilian researcher at the University of Tromso, in…
Nobody can accuse Adam Curtis of lacking ambition in his new BBC series “Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone.” In a harrowing seven-hour viewing experience made up entirely of archival footage, the British filmmaker attempts to recreate the atmosphere of the Soviet Union’s final years and Russia’s brief experiment with democracy. While not as broad in scope as…
Nobody can accuse Adam Curtis of lacking ambition in his new BBC series “Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone.” In a harrowing seven-hour viewing experience made up entirely of archival footage, the British filmmaker attempts to recreate the atmosphere of the Soviet Union’s final years and Russia’s brief experiment with democracy. While not as broad in scope as…
Russian media figure Ksenia Sobchak has fled Russia after authorities raided her villa outside Moscow in connection with an extortion case which she dismissed as government pressure on her media group, AFP and state-run media reported Wednesday. Agents searched Sobchak’s property in the Moscow region village of Gorki-8, according to the 112 Telegram channel, which…
Russian authorities have raided television presenter Ksenia Sobchak’s villa outside Moscow in connection with the arrest of an executive in her media holding, while Sobchak herself appeared to have fled the country, state-run media reported Wednesday. Agents searched Sobchak’s property in the Moscow region village of Gorki-8, according to the 112 Telegram channel, which is…
President Vladimir Putin oversaw training exercises of Russia’s strategic nuclear deterrence forces on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. State television aired footage of Putin overseeing the drills in the Barents Sea in the Arctic and the Kamchatka peninsula in the Far East from a control room. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin in televised remarks that the drills…
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday reiterated claims that Ukraine is preparing a provocation using a “dirty bomb” in a video call with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, according to Moscow’s Defense Ministry. “The situation in Ukraine was discussed. Army General Sergei Shoigu conveyed to his Chinese counterpart concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine…
Students at Russian universities will be required to attend mandatory lectures on state ideology from next year, Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous Kremlin-linked sources. The lecture content is to be developed under the close supervision of the Kremlin’s first deputy chief of staff Sergei Kiriyenko and will aim to teach…
Norway and Russia have reached a deal on fishing quotas for 2023, Oslo said, a rare sign of understanding amid heightened tensions over the war in Ukraine. Since 1976 — when a first deal was drawn up during the Cold War — NATO member Norway and Russia have agreed on catch quotas in the Barents Sea which is home…
Authorities in Norway have arrested a suspected Russian spy who claimed to be a Brazilian national, Norwegian television reported Tuesday. The university researcher, who has not been officially named, is at least the 10th suspected Russian national detained in Norway this month, most of whom were arrested in the vicinity of key strategic objects. The…
German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is expected to sell its Russian assets to a local investor, the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry said Wednesday, becoming the latest automaker to exit since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine. “Mercedes-Benz intends to sell its shares in Russian subsidiaries to a local investor,” Avtodom, the ministry said in a Telegram statement.…
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov continued his anti-Ukrainian tirade late Tuesday with territorial claims beyond captured regions in what he characterized as Russia’s “jihad” against pro-Western Ukraine. “Our territory is not Zaporizhzhia, not Kherson. Our territory is Odesa, Kiyv, Kharkiv. Every region and Ukraine as a whole is our Russian territory,” Kadyrov said in a video…