‘Increased’ Threat From Russia Against Critical Infrastructure – Finland

The threat of Russian operations against Finland’s critical infrastructure “has increased” since the country joined NATO, the Finnish intelligence service said Thursday as Helsinki investigates potential sabotage of its natural gas pipeline. “The threat of espionage and influencing operations against critical infrastructure has increased,” Antti Pelttari, the director of the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo), told…

400 Russians Seek Evacuation From Besieged Gaza Strip

Around 400 Russian nationals are seeking to evacuate the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military continues to bombard the coastal enclave in retaliation to Hamas’ surprise attack, Russia’s diplomatic mission in Palestine said Thursday. Alia Zaripova, the spokeswoman for Russia’s representative mission in Ramallah, said Moscow was working to evacuate its citizens from the besieged territory,…

Russian Bishop Known as ‘Putin’s Confessor’ Named Head of Crimea Diocese

Russia’s Orthodox Church on Wednesday appointed a bishop who is reputed to be President Vladimir Putin’s spiritual adviser to head the diocese of annexed Crimea. The church’s governing body published a ruling transferring Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) from the Diocese of Pskov and Porkhov, which he has headed since 2018, to the Crimean Diocese. Metropolitan Tikhon was filmed…

Russian Court Fines Memorial Co-Chair for ‘Discrediting’ Army

A Russian court on Wednesday fined veteran rights campaigner Oleg Orlov 150,000 rubles ($1,500) for “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces. Orlov, who serves as co-chair of the Memorial human rights group, was found guilty of repeatedly  “discrediting” Russia’s military over his public opposition to the war in Ukraine. Under wartime censorship laws, the charges can carry…

Rosatom and the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund signed a letter of intent for the implementation of the wind power plant construction project

JSC NovaWind (wind power division of Rosatom) and the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund signed an agreement to develop and implement an investment project for the construction of a wind power plant in the Issyk-Kul region of the Kyrgyz Republic. The installed capacity of the planned wind power plant will be 100 MW. “Rosatom is interested in…

5 Injured in Moscow Metro Collision

Updated with new injury count.  A train operator and at least four other people were injured when two metro cars collided in southeastern Moscow early Wednesday, according to local authorities and state media. “A train without passengers was being transferred to the depot when it rolled into a train waiting at the Pechatniki metro station,”…

Putin Expresses Concern Over ‘Catastrophic Increase’ in Israel-Gaza Death Toll

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday voiced concern over the “catastrophic increase” in the number of civilians killed since fighting between Israel and the Hamas militant group erupted over the weekend.  During a telephone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “emphasis was placed on the sharply worsening situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone,” the…

European Football Body UEFA Upholds Russian Youth Team Ban

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has ruled to keep Russia’s Under-17 team banned from international competitions following backlash from some of the organization’s members, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. UEFA and the world football authority FIFA banned Russian clubs and national teams from competitions days after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Last month, UEFA…

Pro-Russia Japanese MP Resigns From Party Over Moscow Trip

A pro-Russia Japanese lawmaker left his opposition party Tuesday after facing criticism for making a surprise visit to Moscow and declaring his support for Russia in its war against Ukraine.  Muneo Suzuki, a former parliamentary vice-minister of foreign affairs, submitted a letter of resignation to the center-right opposition Japan Innovation Party, the party’s secretary-general Fumitake…

Russian Court Upholds U.S. Journalist Gershkovich’s Extended Detention

A Moscow court has rejected Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s appeal against the extension of his pre-trial detention on widely criticized spying charges, Interfax reported Tuesday. Gershkovich, 32, a U.S. citizen and former Moscow Times journalist, was in August ordered to stay in pre-trial detention until Nov. 30. He challenged that ruling, having lost two…

Sanctioned Russian Billionaire Fridman Returns to Moscow, Intends to Move to Israel – Reports

Updated to add details from the Financial Times’ report. Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman has left Britain and intends to move to Israel, the RBC news website reported Monday, citing an unidentified source familiar with the matter. Alfa Group, the investment conglomerate which Fridman co-founded, confirmed this information to RBC. “The businessman is currently in Moscow…

Russia Charges Ex-Lawyer Novikov for Fighting With Ukraine Army

Russia has charged prominent Russian lawyer Ilya Novikov in absentia for joining the Ukrainian military, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said Monday. Novikov left Russia after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and joined the Ukrainian territorial defense forces, according to the FSB’s statement. It said that Novikov “underwent military training, participates in combat operations and is engaged in…

Russian Defense Minister Inspects Factory for Advanced Missiles

Russia’s Defense minister Sergei Shoigu inspected a military factory producing the Sarmat intercontinental missile, saying it would soon be ready for use, his ministry posted on Telegram Saturday. The Sarmat is capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads and is among Russia’s next-generation missiles which Putin has described as “invincible.” The Russian Defense Ministry posted footage…

Russia Calls for ‘Immediate Ceasefire’ in Gaza

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday called for Israeli and Palestinian forces to stop armed hostilities after attacks launched by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel. “We call on the Palestinian and Israeli sides to immediately ceasefire, renounce violence, show the necessary restraint,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Zakharova called the parties to set…

A Short History of Russian Salads

We can’t live without salads; they are an essential part of our everyday life. Their names, so utterly familiar in Russia, sound strange to foreigners. We have salad Olivier; vinaigrette salad (not dressing); “herring under a fur coat” (really); a spring salad called “Mimosa” that is not a flower or a drink; and even a…

Russia Revises Yandex Partition Terms Over Founder’s Anti-War Stance – Reports

The Russian government has lowered the payout offered in the restructuring of tech giant Yandex following anti-war statements made by the company’s co-founder, Russian media reported Friday.  Sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine have forced Yandex, once the crown jewel of Russia’s tech sector, to split into two new companies, with one overseeing its operations…

Hate Speech, Part One

Шовинист: chauvinist Long before the war began in 2022, I’d been tracking the linguistic dehumanization of Ukrainians practiced by some Russian speakers. At first I was mostly tracking bloggers and young people; lately I’ve been listening and reading Russian media figures, leaders, public figures and even religious figures and academics. Other folks are following this…