Russian Police Force Lost 5K Personnel in July, Interior Minister Says

As many as 5,000 law enforcement employees left their jobs at Russia’s Interior Ministry in July, the police body’s head announced Thursday.  “The personnel shortage is very large. I would even call it critical,” Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev was cited as saying at an internal ministry meeting by Interfax.  The Interior Ministry encompasses an array of agencies…

‘Absolutely Inadequate’: Russian Activists Pressure Authorities on Loosened Air Quality Rules

Activists from several Russian regions have called on the government to explain its move to raise limits for the concentrations of harmful pollutants in the air. A number of Russian cities have long been plagued with air pollution problems, particularly industrial cities such as Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Norilsk and Krasnoyarsk. They are among the 12 cities…

Residents Block City Center in Protest Over Power Outages in Russia’s Dagestan

Residents of Makhachkala in southern Russia’s republic of Dagestan late Wednesday barricaded the city center following three days of blackouts. Locals blocked traffic with wooden pallets, which police officers were seen taking away later in the evening, as shown in footage shared by the state broadcaster “Dagestan.” “Three days without electricity! We’re choking!” shouted one…

Russia Labels War Monitor Conflict Intelligence Team ‘Undesirable’

Russian authorities on Thursday designated the independent investigative organization Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), which conducts open-source investigations of the Russian military, an “undesirable organization.” The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office accused CIT of publishing the personal details of Russian soldiers “which were later used to discredit” the Russian military. Discrediting the Russian Armed Forces’ actions abroad has…