Rosneft Joins Russia’s Gene-Editing Tech Program

Russia’s oil giant Rosneft and the Russian government will join forces to develop gene-editing technology, according to a government decree published Wednesday. The deal, which President Vladimir Putin ordered in December, aims to accelerate Russia’s $1.6 billion program to create 30 new varieties of genetically modified crops and animals by 2027.  Rosneft is tasked with…

U.S. Witness to Implicate ‘Putin’s Chef’ Prigozhin in Election Meddling – Politico

A secret witness will implicate Kremlin-linked catering magnate Yevgeny Prigozhin in plans to influence elections abroad at a trial next month, Politico reported Wednesday, citing a U.S. prosecutor. The St. Petersburg-based Concord Management and Consulting firm goes on trial in the United States in April after it was charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S.…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | March 4

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 3,000 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry points along its 4,200-kilometer border with China and temporarily banning Chinese citizens from entering the country.  Russia reported its first two cases of coronavirus…

Putin’s Spending Boost Won’t Be Enough To Lift Russians Out of Poverty, Audit Chamber Warns

President Vladimir Putin’s new package of social spending initiatives will not be enough to hit the country’s ambitious poverty-reduction targets, a government watchdog has said. In its assessment of the government’s spending plans for the next few years, the Audit Chamber said the package of new measures, such as higher allowances for new mothers to…

Russia’s Yandex.Taxi Admits to Sharing Riders’ Location With Police

Russian tech giant Yandex’s taxi service shares passengers’ ride history with law enforcement authorities, according to the testimony of an ex-policeman on trial for wrongfully detaining an investigative journalist. Igor Lyakhovets was among the several police officers who had arrested journalist Ivan Golunov on drug charges in June 2019. An unprecedented public outcry led to…

Opposition Leader Navalny Says Bank Accounts Frozen

Russia’s main opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Tuesday that authorities had frozen all of his bank accounts and those of his family, including his elderly parents. “All accounts have been blocked,” Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner who has emerged as President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, said on Twitter.  His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh told AFP that…

Russia Sends 4th Warship to Syria Amid Turkey Tensions

The Russian Navy has dispatched a fourth warship to Syria’s Mediterranean coast as tensions over the northwestern province of Idlib spiral with Turkey, amateur ship spotters reported Monday. The large landing ship Novocherkassk was photographed crossing Turkey’s busy Bosphorus strait days after Russia sent two warships equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles toward the Syrian coast.…

Severstal discloses 2020 evirometal ivestmet pla

March 3, 2020 PAO Severstal, one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and steel-related mining companies, announces its plans to invest plan approximately 1.1 billion roubles in environmental projects in 2020. The investment will cover a full environmental refurbishment programme at Severstal’s main assets to further reduce the Group’s environmental impact. 671 million roubles…

Latvia Arrests Spy Working for Russia

Latvia said Monday a citizen thought to be working for Russia has been arrested for trying to recruit a secret service officer to spy for Moscow. “The agent… contacted the Latvian officer to try to recruit him into handing over classified material that could then be used by Russia’s secret services against Latvia but the agent has been…

On This Day in 1931 Mikhail Gorbachev Was Born

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the U.S.S.R., celebrates his 89th birthday today. He is best-known for his policy of reforming the Soviet political and economic system (“perestroika”), as well as for his expansions of freedom of speech and press (“glasnost”). Abroad, he is remembered for his efforts to withdraw the Soviet Union from its…

March Art and Culture in the Russian Capitals

The two capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg, are hosting some must-see events in March that should appeal to every taste, be it a predeliction for contemporary feminist body decoration or fin de siècle sensibilities. Here are our picks for Moscow. Golden Mask: Feb.-April Golden Mask is Russia’s largest festival devoted to theater, which plays an…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | March 2

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 3,000 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry points along its 4,200-kilometer border with China and temporarily banning Chinese citizens from entering the country.  Russia reported its first two cases of coronavirus…

Russian, Turkish Foreign Ministers Discuss Improving Working Relations

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Chavushoglu agreed on the need to create a “favorable atmosphere” to improve working relations between their countries, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday. “The ministers have declared in favour of the adoption of measures to create a favourable atmosphere that will facilitate the effectiveness of…