Day: May 23, 2023

  • In Photos: Russian Communists Organize Red Square Induction for Young Pioneers

    In Photos: Russian Communists Organize Red Square Induction for Young Pioneers

    Thousands of schoolchildren gathered on Red Square wearing red hats and neckerchiefs Sunday as Russia’s Communist Party inducted new members of the Pioneers, the party’s youth organization during the U.S.S.R. In an opening address, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov thanked parents and teachers for their loyalty to the “glorious traditions of the great Soviet era.”…

  • Russian Energy Giant Gazprom Posts Big Drop in Profit

    Russian Energy Giant Gazprom Posts Big Drop in Profit

    Russian energy giant Gazprom, whose gas exports have plummeted in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, said Tuesday its net profit fell by 41% last year due to a tax increase. The company reported a profit of 1.2 trillion rubles ($15 billion) for 2022, down from 2.1 trillion rubles in the previous year. In a…

  • Russia Extends Arrest of U.S. Journalist Gershkovich By 3 Months

    Russia Extends Arrest of U.S. Journalist Gershkovich By 3 Months

    A Moscow court has extended the pre-trial detention of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months, the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday. The Lefortovo District Court granted the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) request to extend Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention until Aug. 30 in a closed-door hearing, TASS reported. Gershkovich, a United States…

  • Russia Condemns ‘Illogical’ U.S. Aircraft Carrier Visit to Norway

    Russia Condemns ‘Illogical’ U.S. Aircraft Carrier Visit to Norway

    Russia’s Embassy in Norway on Tuesday harshly criticized a planned visit by a U.S. aircraft carrier to Oslo as an “illogical and harmful” show of force. The 337-meter (1,106-foot) USS General Ford is scheduled to dock in the Norwegian capital this week. “There are no issues in the North that require a military solution, nor…

  • Russian Lawmakers Greenlight Expansions for Border Guards to Seize Passports

    Russian Lawmakers Greenlight Expansions for Border Guards to Seize Passports

    Russian lawmakers swiftly approved amendments Tuesday that would expand border guards’ power to seize the passports of Russians traveling outside the country. According to the legislation introduced by the government and approved by the lower-house State Duma in just a single day, border guards will be able to confiscate passports from Russian citizens who are…

  • How Are Pro-Kremlin Figures Responding to the Belgorod Incursion?

    How Are Pro-Kremlin Figures Responding to the Belgorod Incursion?

    This week’s incursion into Russia’s western Belgorod region sparked mixed reactions from prominent pro-Kremlin voices. The armed incursion, the most serious since the beginning of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine last year, prompted the Kremlin to express “deep concern” and the evacuation of nine villages in the Belgorod region. Ukrainian officials denied involvement as two anti-Kremlin…

  • Russian Man Fined for Zelensky Dream Faces New Fine for ‘Discrediting’ Army

    Russian Man Fined for Zelensky Dream Faces New Fine for ‘Discrediting’ Army

    A Russian man has fined a local man for “discrediting” the country’s military, the fourth time he has been convicted for the same offense since December. Ivan Losev, from the Siberian city of Chita, had been fined in February 2023 for speaking to the press about a fine he had previously received for sharing a…

  • Activists Map Deported Ukrainian Children in Russia

    Activists Map Deported Ukrainian Children in Russia

    A group of activists said it has mapped more than 250 locations inside Russia where Ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Kyiv says more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since its February 2022 invasion, with many believed to have been placed in institutions and foster…

  • ‘Dragon’s Teeth,’ Hedgehogs and Minefields: How Russia Is Preparing to Defend Occupied Ukrainian Areas

    ‘Dragon’s Teeth,’ Hedgehogs and Minefields: How Russia Is Preparing to Defend Occupied Ukrainian Areas

    Russian troops have spent the past six months constructing extensive defensive fortifications aimed at preventing Ukraine from launching its widely anticipated counteroffensive and liberating its occupied territories.  However, analysts warn that the effectiveness of these defenses will largely depend on Russian troops’ ability to repel the Ukrainian armed forces’ assault. Lines of defense Satellite images…

  • Russia to Allow ‘Extremist’ Maps Showing Pre-Occupation Ukraine – Reports

    Russia to Allow ‘Extremist’ Maps Showing Pre-Occupation Ukraine – Reports

    Russia’s government has introduced legislative changes that would not punish mapmakers for displaying occupied territories as Ukrainian regions before their capture by Russian forces, the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday. Russia’s lower house of parliament passed the original draft bill in December imposing up to 15 days of jail or fines of up to 1…

  • Russian PM in China for Talks With Xi, Business Forum

    Russian PM in China for Talks With Xi, Business Forum

    Russia’s prime minister on Tuesday hailed economic ties with China during a visit in which he will meet with President Xi Jinping and ink a series of trade deals. The two nations have in recent years ramped up economic and diplomatic cooperation, with ties growing closer since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine despite Beijing’s insistence it…