Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been returned to solitary confinement for the 13th time since he began serving his nine-year prison sentence last year, his team said on Twitter on Tuesday. Tweeting on Navalny’s behalf, the Kremlin critic’s press secretary said that he had been sent back to solitary confinement as punishment for…
Moscow began exporting fuel products to Iran by rail for the first time earlier this year after its main purchasers stopped importing Russian fuel in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing three industry sources and export data. Now both subject to strict Western sanctions, Russia and Iran have increasingly…
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Russia’s imprisonment of American journalist Evan Gershkovich on spying charges “out of bounds.” Biden, who made the comments as he departed Washington for a trip to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, also told reporters that The Wall Street Journal correspondent’s jailing was “totally illegal.” The U.S.…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its 2023 economic growth forecast for Russia on Tuesday, predicting that deficit-fueled government spending would help counteract the growing costs of its war in Ukraine. But the Russian invasion is expected to have a significant impact over the medium term, with the IMF predicting the Russian economy would be…
Russian authorities have opened three criminal investigations into the work of Roman Ivanov, a journalist from the Moscow region working for the RusNews website, RusNews reported Tuesday, citing a criminal investigator. The criminal investigations are believed to be linked to posts written by Ivanov on his Telegram channel, which has some 1,600 subscribers. Police started searching…
Ukrainian forces have for months been holding at bay a grueling Russian offensive in battered towns and heavily shelled trenches spanning the eastern front line. But now, with the Kremlin’s forces running out of steam after making only incremental gains over the winter onslaught, Ukraine is preparing to hit back. “If our senior military staff…
The head of Russia’s FSB security service on Tuesday accused Ukraine and the West of recruiting young Russians to stage armed attacks in their home country. The accusation by security chief Alexander Bortnikov comes a week after President Vladimir Putin accused the West of having helped Kyiv stage “terror attacks” in Russia while Moscow pursues…
Russian authorities on Tuesday banned the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum (CSF), an organization created to foster cooperation between Russian and European NGOs, as an “undesirable” organization. The Prosecutor General’s Office said the Berlin-based organization’s activities, which include conferences it organizes and information it publishes, have a common aim of “discrediting the leadership of the Russian Federation.”…
On Tuesday the State Prosecutor’s Office in Russia received a petition to declare actress Liya Akhezhakova a foreign agent and charge her with several crimes, including treason, Current Time and other media announced. Vitaly Borodin, the head of a non-governmental organization called The Federal Security and Anti-Corruption Foundation sent a missive to Igor Krasnov, denouncing…
A meeting was held between Alexey Likhachev, Director General of State Atomiс Energy Corporation ROSATOM, and Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary. The parties discussed further steps in the implementation of the Paks-2 NPP construction project, as well as other aspects of multifaceted cooperation in the nuclear sector. At present, general…
Russian lawmakers voted Tuesday in favor of changes to the country’s military conscription rules that would make it easier to summon recruits and stop them from fleeing the country. The new bill comes amid ongoing speculation that authorities could announce a second mobilization drive aimed at boosting Russia’s flagging campaign in Ukraine. Russia’s “partial” mobilization…
Russian lawmakers voted Tuesday in favor of changes to the country’s military conscription rules that would make it easier to summon recruits and stop them from fleeing the country. The new bill comes amid ongoing speculation that authorities could announce a second mobilization drive aimed at boosting Russia’s flagging campaign in Ukraine. Russia’s “partial” mobilization…
A powerful volcanic eruption in Russia’s Kamchatka region has spewed massive plums of ash across a large swathe of the region, blanketing a nearby village and disrupting air traffic, media reported Tuesday. Monitors in the far-flung peninsula issued an aviation “code red” after the Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka’s eastern range released an ash cloud that drifted…
The number of young workers in Russia has dropped to one of its lowest levels in the country’s post-Soviet history, the RBC news website reported Tuesday, citing research based on official statistics by the Finexpertiza consulting firm. Working citizens under the age of 35 in the Russian labor market totaled 21.5 million in December, accounting…
The leaked classified U.S. documents that rocked Washington and its allies this week have provided a rare glimpse into the Defense Department’s intelligence on Russia’s offensive on Ukraine. The leak raises concerns that Russia could change its methods of communication to conceal its planning and try to ferret out human confidential sources that formed the…
The United States on Monday officially determined that Russia had wrongfully detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and urged his immediate release, stepping up pressure on his behalf. The formal decision by the State Department on Gershkovich, who was taken into custody on March 29, was unusually swift and indicated the seriousness attached by…