Yulia Navalnaya Arrested in Absentia on ‘Extremism’ Charges

A Moscow court has arrested exiled opposition figure Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, in absentia on charges of “participating in an extremist organization.” Navalnaya announced that she would continue Navalny’s work shortly after his death in an Arctic prison in February. Russian authorities designated Navalny’s activist network, including the disbanded Anti-Corruption…

Russia to Release Indian Nationals Recruited for Ukraine War After Modi’s Visit – FM

Recast with Indian foreign minister’s comments. Russia has agreed to discharge Indian nationals from its military after Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue with President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow this week, India’s foreign minister said Tuesday. Modi had “strongly raised the issue of early discharge of Indian nationals who have been…

Georgia’s EU Accession Frozen, Says Brussels’ Envoy to Tbilisi

The European Union has halted Georgia’s accession talks amid strained ties over Tbilisi’s controversial “foreign influence” law, the bloc’s top diplomat in the South Caucasus country said Tuesday. “Regrettably, Georgia’s EU accession process is stopped for now — this has been decided by EU leaders during the last European Council,” said EU Ambassador to Tbilisi Pawel…

Kremlin Says Will Follow NATO Summit Closely

A Kremlin spokesman on Tuesday said that Russia will follow closely a NATO summit about to open in Washington, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other world leaders. Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, told journalists that Moscow would follow “with the greatest attention… the rhetoric at the talks and the decisions that…

FSB Claims to Foil Ukrainian, NATO Attempt to Hijack Strategic Bomber

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Monday it had prevented an attempt by Ukraine to hijack a missile-carrying strategic bomber. In the process, the FSB claimed it gained intelligence to help Russia’s military strike Ukrainian territory. “The FSB has stopped another Ukrainian special services attempt to carry out an operation to hijack the Tu-22M3 long-range strategic…

Sacred Slavic Sausage Through the Ages

For Russians, kolbasa — the word for any kind of ground meat product, from cold cuts to breakfast sausage to the kind of sausage you throw on the grill — is an iconic and even sacred dish. It’s no longer a secret that a half-century ago it defined everything for Russians: social status, leisure activities…

Russian Wrestlers Reject Olympics Invitation

Russian wrestlers who were given permission to participate in this summer’s Olympic Games have rejected the invitation, the Russian Wrestling Federation said Saturday. After initially barring Russian athletes from the Games over Moscow’s war on Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has moved to allow a handful of Russian athletes to take part under a neutral…

Russia Says Captured Village in East Ukraine

Russia on Saturday said its forces had captured a village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, as Moscow continues to advance slowly across the battlefield. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its troops “liberated the village of Sokil,” around 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Donetsk city, the capital of the region by the same name that Moscow…

Russian Strikes Kill 4, Wound 23 in East Ukraine

Russian attacks killed four and wounded nearly two dozen others in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine on Friday, regional officials said. Moscow has centered its firepower on the industrial region, which it claims to have annexed and has been partially controlled by Kremlin-backed forces since 2014. Regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said a 32-year-old woman…

Jailed Kremlin Critic Kara-Murza Transferred to Prison Hospital, Lawyers Denied Access

Jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza has been transferred to a prison hospital and his lawyers were denied access to their client, his wife said Friday. Kara-Murza, 42, suffers from health problems that his wife Evgenia and lawyers say are directly related to alleged attempts to poison him. Russian authorities have refused to investigate the incidents in 2015…

Russian University Launches ‘Social Rating’ Platform

Russia’s State Social University (RSSU) has launched a “social rating” platform that claims to build a person’s “social portrait” with possible applications in future government policies. Named “We,” the platform promises to determine a user’s comparative “social status” based on a survey that includes questions about income, family status, benefits, creditworthiness, criminal record, lifestyle and…

YouTube Bans Pro-War Russian Artists

Video-sharing website YouTube blocked the channels of several Russian singers and artists who support the country’s war in Ukraine on Thursday, following an appeal from the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK). The accounts of singers Yaroslav Dronov (who goes by Shaman) and Polina Gagarina were among those suspended.  “My YouTube channel was blocked because…

Moscow Scraps Paper Ballots in Favor of Online Voting

Election officials in Moscow have scrapped paper ballots in favor of online voting at an upcoming vote for the Russian capital’s legislative assembly, state news agencies reported Thursday. Watchdogs and researchers say Russia’s opaque online voting system enables electoral fraud by making independent monitoring impossible. Moscow’s election commission voted 12-1 to make electronic voting the default way…

Russia Forces Apple to Remove VPNs From App Store

At least two VPN services said Thursday that Russian authorities have successfully forced Apple to delete their applications from its App Store in Russia. Identically worded messages from Apple’s app review team to Red Shield VPN and Le VPN state that their applications will be removed “per demand from Roskomnadzor.” Roskomnadzor is Russia’s state media…

Kremlin Officials Wishing for a Trump Victory — While Claiming Otherwise

Russia’s leadership is following the U.S. presidential campaign in private with excitement and interest — and are rooting for their favorite candidate, Donald Trump, to win, three government and presidential administration officials, three Foreign Ministry officials, former officials and two sources from Russia’s business elite told The Moscow Times. Officials in the Kremlin, the government…

Ukraine, ‘Russian Legion’ Claim April Arson Attack on Kaliningrad Warship

Ukraine’s military intelligence and a pro-Kyiv paramilitary unit composed of Russian nationals claimed responsibility for damaging a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea region of Kaliningrad. In April, Ukraine’s military intelligence published a video of the Serpukhov guided missile corvette, stationed in the Kaliningrad region city of Baltiysk, catching fire from the inside. At the time it…