A Moscow court sentenced Oscar-nominated film producer Alexander Rodnyansky to eight-and-a-half years jail in absentia on Monday for spreading “fake” information about the Russian army. Rodnyansky, 63, was born in Kyiv but spent most of his career in Russia, producing dozens of TV series and movies there including Oscar-nominated crime drama “Leviathan.” He left the…
A group of Ukraine war veterans joined protesters in Western Siberia’s Tyumen region over the weekend, accusing local officials of unlawfully seizing their homes amid a road construction dispute. Around 50 protesters, including five men dressed in military uniforms, gathered in the city of Tyumen on Saturday to protest what they claim to be a violation of…
CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldovans woke up to the news that the country’s referendum on joining the European Union was likely to pass by a razor-thin margin after a dramatic day of voting in Sunday’s presidential election that is set to determine whether the country pursues Western integration or pivots back toward Russia’s orbit. Pre-election polls…
A group of coal miners in Siberia’s Kemerovo region said Monday that they were launching a hunger strike after their employer failed to pay them millions of rubles in wages. At least 12 workers signed a petition announcing the hunger strike that is expected to last until they receive 46 million rubles ($478,000) in unpaid…
The imprisoned mother of a prominent critic of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been sent to the hospital to undergo medical treatment after her lawyer petitioned the authorities to allow her to receive care due to her declining health. Zarema Musaeva, the mother of activist Abubakar Yangulbaev and the wife of a retired federal judge,…
When the annual BRICS economic bloc summit opens Tuesday in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan, Moscow will be pulling out all the stops to project the alliance as a rapidly expanding geopolitical counterweight to the West. President Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov has already hailed the summit as “the largest foreign policy…
A non-profit organization providing mental health and legal support services to LGBTQ+ people in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg announced Monday that it would shut down after coming under “anti-queer pressure.” The organization, called Lupta, was created in April 2023 as a support center for people facing discrimination over their sexual identity after its predecessor, the…
Authorities in Moscow claimed Monday that the narrow margin in Moldova’s constitutional referendum on EU membership “raises questions,” while also rejecting Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s accusations of Russian interference in Sunday’s presidential election. After nearly 99% of the votes were counted in a referendum that asked Moldovans whether to insert a clause into the constitution…
Alexei Navalny’s widow said she plans to run for president of Russia after Vladimir Putin leaves office and free and fair elections in the country become possible. “My goal is to bring about change in the country. If I return to Russia, I will run for president,” Yulia Navalnya told the BBC in an interview…
A group of Russian warships arrived in Myanmar to join maritime exercises with the military junta’s navy, state media in the Southeast Asia country reported Monday. The Global New Light of Myanmar said four corvettes and a logistics vessel from Russia’s Pacific Fleet arrived at Thilawa port in Yangon on Sunday “to join the second…
South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador in Seoul on Monday in protest over claims that Pyongyang sent thousands of soldiers to fight in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the troop deployments. Around 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers have been stationed in Russia, according…