Team Navalny, Investigative Media Launch App to Dodge Russian Ban

Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s team has joined four Russian and foreign investigative outlets in launching a smartphone app aimed at bypassing unprecedented restrictions on Russians’ access to independent media. Dubbed “Samizdat” in a nod to the bootleg handwritten publications that were circulated to circumvent Soviet censorship, the app features investigative reports from Team Navalny,…

Russia Quietly Inspecting Soviet-Era Bomb Shelters Nationwide – Bloomberg

Russian authorities have quietly launched inspections, repairs and cleanups of bomb shelters nationwide that have laid dormant since the end of the Cold War, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the efforts. The unannounced campaign for state workers to check Soviet-era basement shelters in apartment buildings, schools and government offices alongside other protected…

Australia Blames Russian Hackers for Medical Data Theft

Russian hackers carried out a cyberattack on a major Australian healthcare company that breached the data of 9.7 million people, including the country’s prime minister, police said Friday. The hackers started leaking the data this week after Medibank, the country’s largest health insurer, refused to pay a $9.7 million (Aus$15 million) ransom. Australian Federal Police…

U.S. Downgrades Russia from ‘Market Economy’ Status

The United States has stripped Russia of its classification as a “market economy” and downgraded it to a non-market country, the Commerce Department was quoted as saying Thursday. The move, based on findings of “extensive” government involvement in the Russian economy, could raise tariffs for Russian imports, which are already limited by sanctions and trade…