Putin Promotes Donetsk Official to Be Omsk Region Governor

Russian President Vladimir Putin has for the second time appointed an official serving in one of the Russian-installed administrations in occupied Ukrainian territories to head one of Russia’s regions where gubernatorial elections are due to place later this year.  Putin named Vitaly Khotsenko, who was appointed prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic last year,…

Beloved Russian Actress Resigns From Moscow Theater Over War Criticism

Celebrated Soviet and Russian actress Liya Akhedzhakova has resigned from the Moscow theater where she has worked for 46 years following her outspoken criticism of the war in Ukraine, Novaya Gazeta reported on Thursday.  Moscow’s Sovremennik Theater effectively ended the actress’s decades-long career at the theater in February when it canceled a production of “The Gin Game”…

Russian Film Distributor Develops Homegrown Alternative to IMAX

A major Russian film distributor said it had developed an alternative to the high-resolution, large-format cinematic experience IMAX, the Vedomosti business daily reported Thursday. The IMAX Corporation, a Canadian company that produces entertainment technology, left Russia in June as part of the backlash against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by Western firms. The company has since banned screenings…

NovaWind and Primus Advanced Technologies Ltd. (Myanmar) signed an agreement for cooperation on wind energy projects

NovaWind (ROSATOM’s wind power division) and Primus Advanced Technologies Ltd. signed an agreement on fixing the top-level “roadmap” for cooperation on wind farm construction projects. The document was signed by NovaWind CEO Grigoriy Nazarov and Primus Advanced Technologies CEO Kyaw Hla Win.  The agreement envisions a partnership to construct a 172 MW wind farm. “We…

Russia Arrests WSJ Journalist on Spying Allegations

Updated with details of arrest.  Russia on Thursday arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges in a major escalation of the Kremlin’s wartime crackdown on independent journalism.  After being detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, Gershkovich was formally arrested by a Moscow court in a hearing held behind closed doors. Russia’s…