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As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

A prison in Siberia reported disturbances at a high-security penal colony Friday, while local campaigners called the incident a full-blown riot and posted images of fire on the premises. Russia’s penal service said inmates at the No 15 penal colony in Angarsk “attacked a guard” while others cut themselves with glass from broken surveillance cameras.…

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Friday spoke with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump for the third time in two weeks, discussing the coronavirus pandemic and global oil prices. Putin earlier told the U.S.-Russian crew aboard the International Space Station that the ISS is “an example of an effective partnership of our countries” as the world fights…

Russia said it would launch a criminal investigation on Friday after Czech officials removed a statue of a Soviet-era general in Prague.  The bronze statue of Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev was taken down last week to make way for a World War II memorial, prompting the Russian embassy to protest. City officials in the Czech…

Update: In a statement Friday, Sobyanin confirmed that Moscow will gradually introduce a digital pass system to enforce lockdown rules starting April 14. The first stage will introduce passes for trips to work, the second stage will introduce them for other trips and the third stage will introduce them for trips within the region. Moscow Mayor…

Poland held a scaled-back memorial on Friday for the air crash that killed president Lech Kaczynski and dozens of others in Russia a decade ago, amid a lockdown to control coronavirus. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called for a show of unity similar to that which brought the country together in 2010 to help get through the…

Moscow’s health department has warned the city’s clinics that many coronavirus tests return false negative results, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday. A new study this week placed the accuracy of Russia’s Covid-19 tests at 70% to 80%, with the rest being false negatives. Medical experts have raised concerns about the quality of testing in…

Moscow’s hospitals and ambulance service are working at peak capacity after a sharp rise in those hospitalized with serious coronavirus complications, a senior city official said Friday. The densely populated capital with more than 12 million residents has the largest outbreak in Russia, with 7,822 confirmed coronavirus cases out of a national total of almost…

At least 170 doctors and patients at a hospital in central Russia have tested positive for coronavirus in preliminary tests, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday. The Kuvatov Republic Clinical Hospital, the main hospital in the city of Ufa, was placed under strict lockdown on Monday after at least five doctors and two…

Moscow’s indefinite coronavirus lockdown has left the city’s vulnerable homeless population with an impossible choice — find shelter or risk paying steep fines, while facing the danger of becoming infected with a potentially deadly disease.   In many European countries, where the coronavirus has hit hard, spaces including hotels, office buildings and gymnasiums have been converted…

A detention center east of Moscow has been placed under lockdown after the alleged death of one of its inspectors, the Mash Telegram channel reported Friday. The republic of Marii-El, some 700 kilometers east of Moscow, is Russia’s 12th most-affected region with 63 confirmed coronavirus cases. Authorities reported Marii-El’s first death Thursday, identifying the patient…

Moscow has not yet reached the peak of its coronavirus epidemic, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Friday as the Russian capital saw yet another record surge in infections over the past 24 hours. Russia is currently the world’s 17th-most affected country with 11,917 officially reported coronavirus cases as of Friday. Moscow accounts for two-thirds of all…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 95,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 11,917 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 94 deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia as of April 10.…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

The Russian economy has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, and the breakdown of the OPEC+ oil production pact between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The turmoil has shocked traders around the world and resulted in sharp volatility on the Russian stock markets and swings in the value of the ruble. The latest on the markets,…

A family in central Russia tried to wait out the coronavirus pandemic in the woods until they were forcefully returned home, police in the Sverdlovsk region said Thursday. A relative tipped off the authorities Monday that her brother, his wife and their three children had been gone for more than 24 hours. The family’s patriarch…

Russia on Thursday launched a probe into three World War II-era atrocities in areas occupied by Nazi forces. The investigation was opened following findings in historical archives about killings in several locations in southern Russia’s Rostov region, including Zmiyovskaya Balka, a village where “no less than 27,000 people” were shot by firing squad. The massacres…

A three-man crew docked successfully at the International Space Station Thursday, leaving behind a planet overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic. Russian space agency Roscosmos said the Soyuz MS-16 capsule “docked successfully” in a statement on its website. Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos and NASA’s Chris Cassidy reached the ISS at 1413 GMT, just over…

A funeral home in central Russia is offering to stream funerals online for free to help clients maintain social distancing during the deadly coronavirus pandemic, local media reported Wednesday. Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan, located 1,400 kilometers east of Moscow, has confirmed 22 of the country’s more than 10,000 coronavirus cases as of Thursday. Like many…

Moscow is planning to track foreign tourists’ movements through smartphone geolocation for coronavirus prevention after Russia reopens its national borders, the Kommersant business daily reported Thursday. Russia shut its borders indefinitely last month as its number of Covid-19 cases began growing exponentially, with more than 10,000 confirmed infections and 76 deaths as of Thursday. Moscow,…

Authorities in Moscow have begun issuing digital QR code passes to employees of city-funded media and large companies, as well as volunteers, despite pledges not to enforce the coronavirus lockdown with the technology, BBC Russia reported Thursday. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ruled out using QR codes to police people’s movements during the monthlong lockdown as long…

On March 21, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article by a group of doctors who had for weeks been treating coronavirus patients in the small city of Bergamo in northern Italy, the European epicenter of the pandemic. “We are learning that hospitals might be the main Covid-19 carriers,” the Italian doctors wrote.…

A three-man crew blasted off to the International Space Station on Thursday, leaving behind a planet overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic. Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency and NASA’s Chris Cassidy launched at 8:05 a.m. GMT from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where Covid-19 has caused changes to pre-launch protocol.  The crew told…

A fire that tore through a Moscow home for the elderly late Wednesday has killed four and put at least six people in the hospital with injuries, authorities said. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, said either an electrical short-circuit or a faulty boiler has likely caused the fire. Its Moscow branch opened a…

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 88,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the pandemic and prevent its spread within the country. There have been 8,672 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 63 deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia as…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

The Russian economy has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, and the breakdown of the OPEC+ oil production pact between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The turmoil has shocked traders around the world and resulted in sharp volatility on the Russian stock markets and swings in the value of the ruble. The latest on the markets,…

President Vladimir Putin has announced a new aid package to doctors battling the coronavirus pandemic and ordered support for small businesses suffering under his paid “non-working” month in his third public address in as many weeks. Here’s a brief look at what he discussed during Wednesday’s televised meeting with regional governors and other officials: Frontline…

A leading endocrinologist who praised President Vladimir Putin’s efforts in combating the deadly coronavirus pandemic Tuesday was a onetime research adviser to Putin’s rumored daughter, according to Russian media. Ivan Dedov, president of the Health Ministry’s national endocrinology center and one of nine experts invited to consult Putin on the virus Tuesday, commended Putin for…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Local authorities across Russia are facing criticism for distributing rotten food to low-income children being homeschooled during the coronavirus lockdown. The angry parents of children qualified to receive free school meals took to social media to share their government-issued rations, exposing the economic divide between wealthier and poorer Russian regions. Here’s a brief look at…

A grey-haired Muscovite speaks via video link from his flat. Diagnosed with the coronavirus late last month, he tells a doctor he doesn’t feel too bad but is still wheezing. This is a consultation via Moscow’s new telemedicine center, where doctors treat those who have tested positive but are well enough to stay at home.…

Prices for staple foods spiked across Russia in March, the latest figures from national statistics office Rosstat showed, as people rushed to stockpile and the value of the ruble fell because of the coronavirus outbreak.  Sugar prices rose by at least 16% in 23 Russian regions, while tomatoes were up 15%, garlic 9% and lemons…

A suspected drug dealer dressed as a food deliveryman has been detained with 500 grams of marijuana in quarantined Moscow, Russia’s National Guard said Tuesday. National Guard officers stopped the 37-year-old for a document check at a park that the authorities closed down due to the coronavirus outbreak.  “The perpetrator used a uniform of one…

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 82,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the pandemic and prevent its spread within the country. There have been 8,672 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 63 deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia as…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

The Russian economy has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, and the breakdown of the OPEC+ oil production pact between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The turmoil has shocked traders around the world and resulted in sharp volatility on the Russian stock markets and swings in the value of the ruble. The latest on the markets,…

A Russian satirist said Tuesday he had become the target of a criminal probe over spreading false information after he joked the coronavirus had been created in a secret Siberian lab. “Friends, a criminal case has been opened against me over yesterday’s humorous video in which I’m mocking a conspiracy theory about the coronavirus originating in…

The head of a top Russian research center told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that his lab was ready to start human trials of experimental coronavirus vaccines in June. Rinat Maksyutov, head of the Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Center, said his facility proposed first-phase clinical trials of three vaccines from June 29, on 180 volunteers.…

Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has denounced U.S. President Donald Trump’s order allowing commercial lunar mining and the extraction of other resources in space, appearing to liken the policy to colonialism. Trump signed an executive order Monday establishing a U.S. policy which allows “commercial exploration, recovery and use of resources in outer space.” The Encouraging International…

Authorities have detained a group of shooting-sport enthusiasts in Far East Russia on charges of terrorism under the guise of testing its alleged leader for coronavirus, Russian media reported Monday. The Federal Security Service (FSB) raided the three suspects’ homes in the Sakhalin region over the weekend and a court placed them in pre-trial detention…

In Buryatia, a Russian region that shares a border with Mongolia, the entire region knows exactly when the coronavirus appeared and who patient “number one” was. Vadim Bredny, the rich owner of a popular retail store chain and a deputy in the city council of Ulan-Ude, flew in from Moscow on March 12. Eight days…

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday wished British Prime Minister Boris Johnson a speedy recovery from the coronavirus, saying his “optimism and sense of humor” would help him get better. “I would like to express my sincere support at this difficult moment for you,” the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying in a message to Johnson. “I…

Russia bribed football officials for the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday in the first explicit accusations of wrongdoing following years of suspicion. FIFA has been dogged by claims of corruption since 2010, when the global football governing body voted to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups…

Yevgeny Prigozhin, a sanctioned catering magnate with close ties to President Vladimir Putin, has sued opposition activist Lyubov Sobol for libel over her claims that he ordered a poisoning attack on her husband. Prigozhin is seeking Sobol and the pro-Putin religious television channel Tsargrad to retract her remarks made on the air last summer. Sobol’s…

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 74,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to tackle the pandemic and prevent its spread within the country. There have been 7,497 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 58 deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia as…

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…