Rosneft Supports Whale Research
World Whale and Dolphin Day is celebrated annually on 23 July
‘Worse Than a Monkey With a Grenade’: Russian State TV Reacts to Biden’s Withdrawal, Harris’s Presidential Bid
Russian state-run TV channels mocked the United States presidential election after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s new nominee. Vladimir Solovyov, the host of a popular evening talk show broadcast on the Rossiya 1 channel and one of the Kremlin’s most loyal…
Indonesia Seeks to Buy Russian Oil for the First Time in Decade – Reuters
Indonesia’s state-owned oil and natural gas corporation Pertamina is looking to purchase Russian oil for the first time in more than a decade, Reuters reported on Monday, citing three anonymous traders familiar with the matter. As Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia stepped back from buying Russian oil following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but the country…
All Yabloko Candidates Barred From Running in St. Petersburg Local Elections
Election authorities in St. Petersburg have rejected all candidates from the liberal opposition party Yabloko who had sought to run in the city’s upcoming municipal elections, the local news outlet Bumaga reported on Monday. Yabloko spokesman Dmitry Anisimov told Bumaga that all 83 members who filed paperwork to run for municipal council seats in September were…
Russia Sentences U.S.-Russian Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to 6.5 Years in Prison – AP
A court in the republic of Tatarstan has sentenced Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to six-and-a-half years in prison for spreading “fakes” about the army, the Associated Press reported on Monday, citing court records and a court spokeswoman. Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was arrested in October of last…
Russian Supreme Court Upholds Navalny’s 19-Year ‘Extremism’ Sentence
Russia’s Supreme Court has upheld a 19-year prison sentence for Alexei Navalny, state media reported on Monday, more than five months after the opposition activist died in an Arctic prison. In a closed-door hearing held on July 2, the court rejected an appeal by Navalny’s defense team against a nearly two-decade sentence for creating an…
Russian Spending on Cemetery Expansion Triples Since Ukraine Invasion
Читайте русскую версию здесь. Russian regions’ spending on cemetery expansion projects was nearly three times higher during the first two years of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine than it was during the two years prior, The Moscow Times has found. According to data from the official state procurement portal, Russia’s regions spent more than 225…
Russian State Media Says France Rejected Olympic Accreditation Request
Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti said Monday that French authorities rejected accreditation requests for its journalist to cover the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, which are set to kick off later this week. Five RIA Novosti sports correspondents received identical letters on Sunday informing them that the event organizer, for reasons unknown, had not…
Liquor Store in Southern Russia Explodes
A gas explosion ripped through storefronts in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region, injuring at least four people, investigators said Monday. “Building structures collapsed in the city of Apsheronsk as a result of the explosion of a gas-air mixture early this morning,” Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement. Videos published by independent…
Russia’s FSB Says Dismantled Explosives Smuggling Channel From Italy, Germany
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced Monday that it dismantled a channel for smuggling explosives and detonators into St. Petersburg from Europe, allegedly intended for carrying out terrorist attacks. “The terrorist weapons were transported in several packages in stages from Italy and Germany and were hidden in spare car parts,” the law enforcement agency said…
Kremlin Says Watching U.S. Election After Biden’s Exit, But Focused on Ukraine War
Updated with Peskov’s comments on Monday. The Kremlin said late Sunday that it would continue to follow the 2024 U.S. presidential election after President Joe Biden made a surprise announcement to withdraw from the race, but otherwise stressed that Moscow’s main priority is progress in its ongoing war against Ukraine. “The [U.S.] election is still four…
Rosneft Continues Research under the Tamura Biodiversity Conservation Programme
A Rosneft scientific expedition to study the wild reindeer in the western part of Taymyr has left from Norilsk
Stalin Bust Beheaded With Sledgehammer in Russian Park
An unknown man wielding a sledgehammer has decapitated a statue honoring Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in a city near Moscow, Russian state media reported. Video taken in the city of Zvenigorod showed the suspect staggering around the statue before knocking its head off in what appeared to be one swoop and walking away. “On Saturday,…
Russia Says Captured Two Villages in East Ukraine
Russia said Sunday that its forces had captured two frontline villages in Ukraine, Andriivka in the eastern Luhansk region and Pishchane in the northeast Kharkiv region. The two villages are less than 20 kilometers from each other on a section of the frontline where Moscow has made grinding advances in recent weeks. Russian army units…
Russia Says Intercepted U.S. Bomber Planes Over Arctic
Russia said Sunday that it scrambled fighter jets to prevent two U.S. strategic bomber planes from crossing its border over the Barents Sea in the Arctic. The U.S. military routinely carries out flights over international waters, operations that it says are conducted in neutral airspace and in accordance with international law. But Moscow has responded…
Olympic Chiefs Say Russian Disinformation Inevitable Ahead of Paris Games
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Saturday it was resigned to the Paris Games being targeted by disinformation attacks following recent incidents blamed on Russia. IOC spokesman Mark Adams said he believed a campaign against the Paris Olympics was already under way as final preparations for the sports spectacular entered the home stretch. “Clearly there…
Before the Bagel There Were Baranki and Apple Jelly
As soon as our compatriots hear the word “baranka” — a hard round bread roll — they immediately begin to hum the famous song “Golden Domed Moscow” where “candy and baranki are like swan sleighs…” It’s good that Putin’s patriots don’t know the awful truth: this anthem of the old Russia we lost is set…
Two Killed in Overnight Strikes on Ukraine
At least two people were killed and four wounded in a Russian airstrike overnight on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, the regional prosecutor said Saturday. “Around 3:15 in the morning the enemy launched a missile attack on the town of Barvinkove, in Izyum district,” the prosecutor said in a statement. The prosecuted said two men aged…
Russia Shot Down 26 Ukrainian Drones in Rostov Region – Governor
Russia shot down 26 Ukrainian drones overnight in the southern Rostov region, several hundred kilometers from the front line, the regional governor said Saturday. “Last night, air defense forces intercepted and destroyed a total of 26 UAVs in Rostov region. There were no casualties as a result of the attack,” Governor Vasily Golubev posted on…
A Priest, a Pianist and a Spy: Russia’s Latest “Foreign Agent” Designations
Authorities in Russia on Friday designated a Grammy-winning pianist, a priest who helps Ukrainian refugees and a former Soviet spy as “foreign agents,” the latest update to Moscow’s burgeoning list of individuals it deems as enemies of the state. Hundreds of cultural figures, journalists, businesspeople, as well as news outlets and organizations, have been branded “foreign…
Pro-War Singer Shaman to Stage Protest Concert Outside U.S. Embassy in Moscow
Russian pop star Shaman announced that he plans to stage a concert outside the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Friday evening in response to major Western streaming platforms removing his songs. “As you know, America blocked my YouTube channel simply because I’m Russian and I’m ready to answer back,” Shaman, whose real name is Yaroslav Dronov,…
Moscow Court Shuts Down Popular Music Festival
A Moscow court has ordered the “liquidation” of Russia’s popular Grushinsky music festival, an event that has been held annually in the southern Samara region since 1968. The court’s decision follows an earlier announcement by the festival’s organizers, who said they would be forced to cancel this year’s event due to “possible risks… in the…
Russian Attacks in Southern Ukraine Kill 2
Russian attacks killed two people in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region on Friday, a day after Kyiv acknowledged its foothold on the left bank of the Dnipro River was mostly destroyed. Ukraine managed to establish a small bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnipro River that cuts through the Kherson region last year in an attempt…
Police Launch Probe After Russian Lawmaker Attacked
Russian investigators said Friday that they have launched a criminal probe into “attempted murder” following an assault on a federal lawmaker. Mikhail Matveyev, a Communist Party member of Russia’s lower-house State Duma, said Thursday he had been attacked by “migrants” while attempting to stop them from harassing a passerby in the southern city of Samara.…
Rosneft Contributes To Improving Road Safety
Orenburgneft (part of the Rosneft production complex) organized the Best in Profession professional skills competition among employees of transport enterprises in the Orenburg region
Russia Boasts That Sanctions Helped It Avoid Global Microsoft Outage
Russia’s Digital Communications Ministry said Friday that airlines and banks in the country did not appear to have been impacted by a widespread Microsoft outage that has disrupted flights and business across the globe, touting Moscow’s measures against Western sanctions as a shield from the digital disarray. The international travel industry, as well as some…
North Korea’s Kim Hosts Russian Military Delegation After Putin Visit
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted a Russian military delegation led by Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko to discuss the “importance and necessity” of bilateral defense cooperation, state media said Friday. Thursday’s meeting in Pyongyang came roughly a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the North Korean capital, during which the two…
FSB Says Foiled Attempted Bomb Attack in Southern Russia
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Friday that it thwarted an attempted terrorist attack at a bus station in the southern Stavropol region. The law enforcement agency said it detained a man who had purchased supplies to make an improvised explosive device, which he allegedly stored in a garage in the city of Yessentuki. Authorities…
Exiled Russian Artist Philippenzo: ‘I Turned My Cell into a Creative Studio’
Читаете русскую версию здесь. Artist Philippenzo wants you to refer to him as such — as a pseudonym. “I don’t like it when the media are like policemen and use passport data that has nothing to do with my art,” he says. In his home country, Philippenzo is being prosecuted under Article 214.2 of the…
Russia Sentences Evan Gershkovich to 16 Years in Prison on Spying Charges
Updated with sentencing, Smirnov’s comments, White House statement. A judge in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region on Friday sentenced Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison on spying charges, a forgone conclusion in a closed trial that has been condemned as a sham by Washington and the journalist’s employer. “The court finds Evan Gershkovich…
Russia Jails Protester for 5 Years Over Bashkortostan Unrest
A Russian court on Thursday sentenced a man to five years in prison over rare opposition protests in the Urals republic of Bashkortostan. A court in the city of Orsk said in a statement that a 50-year-old man had been found guilty of “participating in mass unrest” and “violence against law enforcement officers” in the…
Alexey Likhachev, Director General of ROSATOM, and Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy of Türkiye, discussed cooperation
A business meeting between Alexey Likhachev, Director General of ROSATOM, and Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Türkiye, took place in Istanbul. The parties discussed the implementation status of the largest joint Russian and Turkish project for today – Akkuyu NPP, as well as the potential prospects for expansion of cooperation. “As…
Ukrainian Sanctions Halt Lukoil Deliveries to Slovakia, Hungary – Reports
Oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia from Russian oil giant Lukoil have come to a halt due to Ukrainian sanctions, media reported Thursday. Restrictions signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month effectively banned Russia’s second-largest oil producer Lukoil from using Ukraine as a transit hub. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said late Tuesday that Lukoil…
Russia Bans Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Authorities in Russia on Thursday added the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to the country’s list of “undesirable” organizations. While the listing does not specify why the organization was added, it does cite a decision by Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office from July 1 to designate Carnegie as “undesirable.” It was not immediately clear what specific…
Moscow ‘Not Ruling Out’ Nuclear Deployment Amid U.S. Plans for Weapons in Germany
Russia may make a new deployment of nuclear weapons in response to U.S. plans to station missiles in Germany, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday. “I’m not ruling out any options,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the state-run Interfax news agency. “Considering the combined capabilities of NATO member countries, we must calibrate…
Russia Jails Ex-U.S. Soldier for 13 Years on Drugs Charges
A former U.S. paratrooper and rock musician detained in Russia more than a year ago on drug charges was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Thursday, the Moscow court system’s press service said. Michael Travis Leake, who fronted the Moscow-based rock band Lovi Noch, was detained in June 2023 after prosecutors accused him of…
Russia Bans Ruble Toilet Paper
A Moscow court has banned the sale of toilet paper with printed patterns of 1,000-ruble bills, the independent news website Vyorstka reported Thursday, citing the court’s ruling. The decorative toilet paper was deemed to “offend religious feelings” since the 1,000-ruble banknote depicts Yaroslav the Wise, an 11th-century Kyivan Rus’ prince who was made a saint…
Art Museum in St. Petersburg Charged With ‘Nazi Propaganda’
The Erarta contemporary art museum in St. Petersburg is facing administrative charges for displaying a painting that the authorities claim contains “Nazi symbols,” a spokesperson for the city’s court system said Thursday. An administrative case against the museum was brought before the Vasilevsky District Court, which is in the same neighborhood where Erarta is located,…
Rosneft and the Krasnoyarsk Krai Ministry of Education To Create a New System of Personnel Training for the Region’s Oil Industry
Rosneft’s subsidiaries in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Krai Ministry of Education signed an Agreement on the creation of educational and production clusters «Transport. Logistics» and «Fuel and Energy Complex» in the region as part of the implementation of the Federal Project «Professionalitet»
U.S. Jails Russian Businessman for Smuggling Military-Grade Electronics
The United States has handed a three-year prison sentence to a Russian businessman who admitted to smuggling military-grade electronics to Russia, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday. Maxim Marchenko, who lived and operated several companies in Hong Kong, was arrested in September and pleaded guilty to smuggling and money laundering in a New York court…
Russian Court Bans Euthanasia of Stray Animals Unless They Threaten Humans
Russia’s Constitutional Court has banned the euthanasia of stray animals unless they pose a direct threat to humans, state media reported Thursday. “Killing animals without owners is an extraordinary measure, which is justified only when others cannot ensure an adequate level of protection of a person, their rights and freedoms and public safety,” Russia’s Constitutional…
Prominent Russian Muslim Cleric Gets Into Hot Water Over ‘Wife-Beating Guidance’
Timur Kamaev, a prominent Imam from Russia’s republic of Tatarstan, found himself at the center of a nationwide scandal this week after releasing a video in which he appears to instruct believers on the proper ways to beat one’s wife. Released on Monday as a part of the Tea With Hazrat podcast series, the original…
Gershkovich’s Closed Espionage Trial Resumes in Russia’s Yekaterinburg
Updated with AFP report. The espionage trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich resumed on Thursday morning behind closed doors in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, local media reported. The hearing was originally set to resume on Aug. 13, but Gershkovich’s defense lawyers had requested the date be moved up. Thursday’s hearing is closed…
Russia Says Destroyed Dozens of Ukrainian Drones in Annexed Crimea
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday morning that it had downed dozens of Ukrainian aerial and waterborne drones targeting the annexed Crimean peninsula in an overnight attack. “Air defense systems on duty destroyed and intercepted 33 aerial drones over… Crimea,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that forces “in the Black Sea destroyed 10…
Putin Warns of Blackouts From ‘Uncontrolled’ Crypto Mining
President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that unregulated cryptocurrency mining risks overloading Russia’s electrical grid and causing widespread power outages. “An uncontrolled increase in electricity consumption for mining cryptocurrencies can lead to power shortages in certain regions,” Putin told senior government officials at a meeting focused on the economy. Russia’s Energy Ministry estimates that crypto mining consumes…
Lithuania Bans Cars With Belarusian Plates
Lithuania will no longer allow passenger vehicles with Belarusian license plates to enter the country, the Baltic nation’s customs agency announced on Wednesday. The ban, which takes effect Thursday, applies to passenger cars “regardless of the nationality of their owner or driver,” the agency said. An exception will be made until Aug. 16 for Belarusian…
Married Couple Killed in Ukrainian Drone Strike on Russia’s Belgorod Region
A young couple was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike while driving in southwestern Russia’s Belgorod region, Russian authorities said Wednesday. Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the latest attack took place in the village of Tserkovny, less than 10 kilometers from the border with northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. “As a result of a car fire,…
On the Kharkiv Front, Ukrainian Soldiers Are Galvanized by Thwarted Russian Offensive, Western Arms
In a forest in the Kharkiv region, Commander Vyacheslav walks briskly, his eyes fixed on the sky. The radio on his shoulder crackles: “The sky is clear, no more drones, we can go.” The men of one Territorial Defense Brigade of Kharkiv have come to locate a Ukrainian tank destroyed earlier by a Russian drone…
Kremlin Dismisses Claims That Kharkiv Offensive Failed
The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that its ground offensive on northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region had failed, coming a day after Russian officials said they would seal off border villages to protect civilians from Ukrainian shelling. Russia launched a surprise assault into the Kharkiv region in early May in a bid to push Ukrainian forces…
Russia, Ukraine Swap 190 Prisoners of War
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 190 captured soldiers as part of a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Defense Ministry announced Wednesday. “As a result of a negotiation process, 95 Russian servicemen … have been returned,” the ministry wrote on Telegram, adding that 95 Ukrainian soldiers had also been released. Ukraine’s human…
Ex-Vedomosti Chief Editor Andrei Shmarov Dies at 69
Russian media executive Andrei Shmarov, whose short stint as editor-in-chief of the business daily Vedomosti was marred by censorship scandals, has died at the age of 69, the newspaper said Wednesday, citing a family friend. Vedomosti did not name the cause of Shmarov’s death, but anonymously run Telegram news channels with links to Russia’s law…
Around 650K Russian Wartime Emigres Remain Abroad – The Bell
Around 650,000 Russians have left the country and not returned since Moscow launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to a new report by the independent business news outlet The Bell, citing migration data from dozens of countries. Russia saw two waves of outward migration in 2022 — one initially after the start…
Explainer: Does Russia Plan to Ban Islamic Veiling?
Last month’s deadly attacks on Orthodox churches and synagogues in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have renewed the debate over introducing a nationwide legal ban on the niqab, a full-face veil worn by some Muslim women. The debate was triggered by a report that one of the armed assailants had planned to escape from…
Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Exiled Journalist Andrei Zakharov
Authorities in Russia have issued an arrest warrant for exiled investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov, the independent news website Mediazona reported Wednesday, citing the Interior Ministry’s database of wanted persons. The database does not specify what criminal charges Zakharov faces, but Mediazona noted that he was previously charged with failing to comply with Russia’s “foreign agent” labeling…
‘We Are Still Fighting for Justice’: MH17 Victims’ Families Solemn on 10th Anniversary of Tragedy
Piet Ploeg lost his brother Alex, his brother’s wife Edith and their son Robert while they were traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in 2014. They were among the passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 when it was shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 people on board. The remains…
Power Restored at Russian Nuclear Plant After Widespread Outages
Updated with restrictions in Krasnodar. Power was restored across southern Russia early Wednesday after a malfunction at a major nuclear plant the day before led to sweeping outages and emergency restrictions across the region. A power unit at the Rostov nuclear plant automatically shut down on Tuesday afternoon due to a “false alarm” in the…
Russia To Limit Access to 14 Border Villages Over Ukraine Shelling
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine said Tuesday that public access to 14 border villages will be restricted due to constant bombardment. The announcement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a May ground offensive on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region that he said was intended to create a buffer zone to protect the…
Russia Cancels Passport of Anti-War Student Who Fled Country
A university student who fled Russia last year to evade prosecution for criticizing the war in Ukraine said Monday that the Russian authorities canceled her internal passport. “I’m not worried since I didn’t have any rights before anyway,” Olesya Krivtsova wrote in a Telegram post announcing her passport cancelation. “The only thing that’s worrying is…
Rebranded Yandex Launches AI Venture in Europe After Russia Exit
The Dutch holding company that split from Russian tech giant Yandex after the West introduced sanctions over the war in Ukraine announced Tuesday that it was relaunching as an artificial intelligence venture in Europe. “Today we are launching Nebius Group, a tech company that aims to become a leading European provider of infrastructure and services…
Finland Adopts Law Restricting Asylum Seekers on Russian Border
Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Tuesday signed a controversial law allowing the country’s border guards to refuse entry to asylum seekers who cross over from Russia. The Nordic country’s right-wing government had for months argued that new legal tools were needed to combat an uptick in asylum seekers from Russia, which in mid-December prompted the…