Belarus Briefing | Nov. 9

Belarus has seen weekly mass protests against the disputed presidential re-election of Alexander Lukashenko for nearly three months. On Monday, exiled Belarusian opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for a national strike after the deadline she set for Lukashenko to resign and free all political prisoners expired the previous day. Here’s more of the latest news…

Russian Orthodox Church Backs Banning ‘Offensive’ Religious Cartoons

All cartoons that offend religious believers should be banned, a senior Russian Orthodox Church cleric has said following the killing of a French teacher by a Chechen refugee last month. Metropolitan Hilarion, who heads the church’s Department of External Relations, told state television Saturday that cartoons depicting the founders of major religions in an offensive light “don’t…

Russia Won’t Congratulate Biden on U.S. Election Victory Before Official Results – Kremlin

Russia will not yet recognize Joe Biden as President-elect of the United States, the Kremlin said Monday as world leaders rushed to congratulate the Democratic Party challenger after U.S. television networks declared him the winner. “We believe it’s correct to wait for the official results of the elections to be announced,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov…

Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing | Nov. 7

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan — now in its sixth week — shows little sign of easing after three ceasefires have fallen apart, and could be approaching a decisive moment as heavy clashes are reported near a key town. Nagorno-Karabakh and areas under control of Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, before the conflict resumed in…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 6

Russia has confirmed 1,733,440 cases of coronavirus and 29,887 deaths. Nov. 6: What you need to know today Russia has confirmed the record-breaking number of 20,582 new coronavirus cases and 378 deaths.  Chinese authorities suspended entry for Russians with valid visas and residence permits because of Russia’s spike in coronavirus cases, the Chinese Embassy in Moscow announced Thursday.  Russia has recorded…

Laboratory for COVID-19 testing opens in Ukhta with support from Gazprom

News from projects and regions November 6, 2020, 15:20 On November 5, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratory was opened at the Ukhta City Outpatient Clinic. The laboratory will increase the number of tests for the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) performed in the region and reduce the waiting time for their results. Before the launch of this facility, laboratories of this kind…

Belarus Briefing | Nov. 6

Belarus has seen weekly mass protests against the disputed presidential re-election of Alexander Lukashenko for nearly three months. On Monday, exiled Belarusian opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for a national strike after the deadline she set for Lukashenko to resign and free all political prisoners expired the previous day. Here’s more of the latest news…

‘Crucified Jesus’ Detained Outside Moscow FSB Headquarters

A Russian activist has been detained for staging a half-naked crucifixion stunt outside the Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters in central Moscow, witnesses reported late Thursday. Pavel Krisevich replicated the crucifixion of Jesus Christ while other activists in raincoats labeled “FSB” doused the surrounding area with a harmless burning liquid and scattered folders signifying criminal…

OSCE Condemns Belarus Torture, Calls for Fresh Presidential Vote

A report from the OSCE election-monitoring organization published on Thursday condemned “massive” rights abuses and torture in Belarus and called for a re-run of the country’s August presidential polls in which President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory. The first major independent report into the election and subsequent crackdown by authorities said human rights abuses “were found…

Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing | Nov. 5

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan — now in its sixth week — shows little sign of easing after both sides accused the other of breaking an agreement not to target residential and civilian areas with missile strikes. Nagorno-Karabakh and areas under control of Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, before the conflict resumed in September 2020.…

Russia Moves to Grant Ex-Presidents Lifetime Immunity From Prosecution

Russian lawmakers submitted legislation Thursday that would grant former presidents lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution under President Vladimir Putin’s constitutional reforms, Interfax reported. Under current laws, presidents cannot be held criminally or administratively liable for crimes committed while serving their terms. A parliamentary working group assessing Putin’s constitutional reforms proposed earlier this year to extend…

The first power unit of the Belarus NPP has been connected to the unified power grid of the Republic of Belarus

On November 3, at 12:03 pm, the first Belarus NPP GenIII+ power unit (its General Designer and General Contractor being the ROSATOM’s Engineering Division) equipped with a VVER-1200 reactor was synchronized with the grid for the first time and delivered the first kilowatt-hours of electricity to the unified power grid of the Republic of Belarus.…

Muscovites Send a Message of Peace and Tolerance on National Unity Day

On Wednesday, Russians celebrated the country’s newest holiday, National Unity Day. Originally established to commemorate Moscow’s liberation from the Polish-Lithuanian occupation in 1612, it now also aims to promote ethnic and religious tolerance among the country’s diverse population. Though 15 years have passed since Nov. 4 was first marked as a public holiday, the date…

Belarus Briefing | Nov. 4

Belarus has seen weekly mass protests against the disputed presidential re-election of Alexander Lukashenko for nearly three months. On Monday, exiled Belarusian opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for a national strike after the deadline she set for Lukashenko to resign and free all political prisoners expired the previous day. Here’s more of the latest news…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 5

Russia has confirmed 1,693,454 cases of coronavirus and 29,217 deaths. Nov. 4: What you need to know today Russia has confirmed the record-breaking number of 19,768 new coronavirus cases and 389 deaths.  Russia is set to miss the self-imposed coronavirus vaccination timeline, information obtained by the business news website The Bell suggests. While the authorities have vowed to vaccinate…

Russia Not on Track for Mass Coronavirus Vaccination by Year-End – The Bell

Russia will likely miss its self-imposed timeline for mass vaccination against the coronavirus because of insufficient production capacity, the business news website The Bell reported Tuesday. Authorities have vowed to vaccinate a sizable part of Russia’s population by the end of 2020, but developers are reportedly facing issues with scalability and quality control. As a…

IAEA experts studying the preliminary safety report of the Paks II project (Hungary)

The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has sent the preliminary safety report of the Paks II project to independent international experts for consideration, through the International Atomic Energy Agency. The implementation license application of the Paks II project is based on the preliminary safety report. Paks II. Zrt, the Hungarian client in the Paks II Nuclear…