With the world on edge over rising tensions in the Middle East, one leader seems unfazed: Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The Russian president arrived in Damascus on Tuesday in just his second visit to Syria since the start of the country’s civil war nearly nine years ago. The timing is significant. The U.S. and its allies…
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has accused lawmakers who seek to re-criminalize domestic abuse of “borrowing” the draft law, as well as the concept of domestic violence, from abroad. Russia scrapped criminal punishments for first-time domestic abuse offenses in 2017. A series of high-profile murder and domestic violence cases has pushed lawmakers to begin work toward…
Vladimir Putin met Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, the Russian leader’s second trip to Syria since Moscow intervened decisively on the Syrian president’s behalf in the country’s civil war. The visit comes at a time of heightened regional tension — Assad’s other main military ally, Iran, has said it will retaliate against the United States…
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…
At least eight migrants have been killed in a greenhouse fire southeast of Moscow, emergency officials told Interfax on Tuesday. The blaze broke out in the Moscow region district of Ramenskoye and spread across an area of 240 square meters in the early hours of the day, authorities said. A statement on the Emergency Situations…
A St. Petersburg clinic that is run and partly owned by people with ties to President Vladimir Putin has provided medical treatment to Russian mercenaries injured abroad, according to three people with knowledge of military contractors being treated, a clinic employee, a reporter’s witness account and company records. The previously unreported medical treatment for private military…
Two Russian sailors have been captured by pirates off the coast of Nigeria, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday, citing the Russian Embassy in Abuja. The two Russian crew members of the Ambika oil dredger were abducted by unidentified armed men on Jan. 2 alongside a third crew member from India, Nigeria’s Premium…
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…
Archeologists have for the first time discovered three generations of ancient Amazon women warriors buried in a single tomb around 2,500 years ago in present-day Russia. Experts say the women warriors, who belonged to a nomadic people that dominated Eurasia called the Scythians, may have inspired the Amazons depicted in Greek mythology. A Russian Academy…
Russian state lender VTB has filed a lawsuit in Britain’s High Court against a Mozambican government company it lent hefty sums to as part of a project now at the center of a $2 billion debt scandal, an online court filing shows. The filing, dated Dec. 23, names as defendants the Mozambique state and Mozambique…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Russia on Jan. 11 for talks with President Vladimir Putin on the crisis triggered by the killing of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike, the Kremlin press service said. The Kremlin said Merkel is traveling to Russia at Putin’s invitation and that the two leaders also plan…
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…
Russia’s government has published a plan of action that outlines 29 broad measures to both mitigate damage and take advantage of opportunities created by climate change. Climate change is warming Russia at a faster rate than the rest of the world, the country’s environment ministry said last summer. Economists have predicted that Russia stands to…
Regional issues took center stage in Russia in 2019 — from trash protests in the north to contested elections in the Far East, from border disputes in the North Caucasus to the effects of climate change in Siberia. As Russians increasingly turn their attention to local problems, independent media organizations have stepped in to provide…
BEVERLY HILLS–The victor was “Chernobyl” at the 77th annual Golden Globe awards as it bested its competitors in the best limited series or motion picture made for television category. Its writer and creator Craig Mazin accepted the Globe before an audience of film and television stars at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Sunday night. Stellan Skarsgard…
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 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…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron expressed their concerns in a phonecall over the U.S. killing of Iran’s Major-General Qassem Soleimani, according to a statement on the Kremlin’s website Friday evening. The U.S. early on Friday killed Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force and architect of Iran’s spreading military influence…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron expressed their concerns in a phone call over the U.S. killing of Iran’s Major-General Qassem Soleimani, according to a statement on the Kremlin’s website Friday evening. The U.S. early on Friday killed Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force and architect of Iran’s spreading military…
Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev has called the U.S. killing of a key Iranian military commander “the worst-case scenario,” and said he believed that Iranian retribution “will not take long,” while Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the world is now “confronted with a new reality.” The U.S. early on Friday killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of…
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…
Russia has halted oil supplies to refineries in Belarus, the Belarusian state energy firm said on Friday, amid a new contract dispute that is also threatening large Russian oil deliveries to Western Europe crossing the country. Belarus’s state firm Belneftekhim said deliveries had been halted as of Jan. 1. Two trading sources told Reuters Russian oil transit to…
Eight months after simplifying the procedure of acquiring a Russian passport for residents of Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, Russia announced that it has granted over 196,000 citizenships to Ukrainians. The figures came from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Russian TASS news agency reported on Jan. 1. Moscow says it is protecting the Russian-speaking…
Popular Russian video blogger Nastya Ivleyeva asked Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at his end-of-year press conference in early December if the new sovereign internet law will lead to YouTube being banned in the country. “I think you understand how I will answer that question,” said Medvedev, chuckling. “The purpose of the law is to keep…
Russia’s crude oil and condensate output hit a post-Soviet high last year even as it curbed production under an agreement with OPEC. The 11th consecutive year of output growth underscores the reality of Russia’s cooperation with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Despite being one of the architects of the original 2016 deal, Moscow has…
In 2019, the Russian nuclear power plants (affiliate companies of the Rosenergoatom Joint-Stock Company) set a new electric power output record – over 208.784 billion kilowatt-hours, which means they have grown their joint production and exceeded their previous record of 2018 (204.275 billion kWh) by over 4.5 billion kWh. The FAS assignment for 2019…
Turkey‘s parliament on Thursday passed a bill that allows troop deployment to Libya, Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop said, paving the way for increased military cooperation despite criticism from opposition lawmakers. Sentop said the legislation passed with an 325-184 vote in the parliament, where President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party and its nationalist allies hold a…
Quickfire agreements on energy and the Kremlin-backed war that erupted after Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea show Ukraine and Russia can increasingly look past their differences to strike deals. The natural-gas pact agreed late Monday, which ended fears of disruptions to European Union supplies, comes a day after the former allies’ second prisoner swap in four months.…
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has approved the country’s development plan for its Northern Sea Route. The document, which has been in the making for some time, was signed by Medvedev on Dec. 21 and published on the government website on Dec. 30. It was considered to be of great importance that it was approved…
Clean Russian athletes should be allowed to compete in individual events at this year’s Tokyo Games under the banner of “Independent Olympic Participants,” historian Bill Mallon suggests. It is a designation used for athletes from Yugoslavia in 1992, and one that Mallon thinks offers a good road map of how to issue Russia a meaningful punishment without imposing…
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a police traffic post in the capital of Russia’s republic of Ingushetia in the North Caucasus on New Year’s Eve, the Site Intelligence Group reported. Two men reportedly drove into a policeman manning the post in Magas before attacking his colleagues with knives. One law…
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 state-controlled news agency Sputnik said Wednesday that it is closing its bureau in Tallinn after nearly three dozen of its employees resigned saying they were facing pressure from the Estonian local authorities. Sputnik published a statement on Jan. 1 saying 35 of its staff in Estonia had terminated their labor contracts and resigned,…
Russian bankers ended 2019 as the most pessimistic executives in the Russian corporate world, a recent survey of Russia’s top firms, found. With inflation and interest rates coming down, Russia’s businesses in little need of corporate loans, and new regulations to tighten the consumer loan market coming into force — more than one in every…
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 Ministry of Culture has named 2020 as the year of Memory and Glory, and also dedicated it to the 150th anniversary of the birth of writer Ivan Bunin; the year of traditional crafts; the year of intellectual property and inventiveness, and the year of fathers. How these themes will be brought to life…
Release December 31, 2019, 22:00 A working meeting of Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, with Vladimir Semashko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Russian Federation, and Viktor Karankevich, Belarusian Minister of Energy, took place today in Moscow. The parties discussed in detail the issues related to cooperation in the gas sector from 2020 onward. Alexey Miller and Vladimir…
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…
Background Gazprom Armenia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, is focused on natural gas supplies to the Armenian market. In addition, the company transports, stores, distributes and sells natural gas, as well as upgrades and expands the gas transmission system and underground gas storage facilities in the Republic of Armenia. The contract between Gazprom Export and Gazprom Armenia for the supplies of up to 2.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per…
A St. Petersburg court has ruled to keep two suspects in a thwarted New Year’s attack who were arrested on a U.S. tip in custody until trial, the court said Monday. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said that “information from American partners” helped it detain two Russians on Dec. 27 on suspicion of plotting attacks…
Forget the past A law canceling more than 20,000 pieces of Soviet legislation becomes active, the Vedomosti business daily reported. On Sept. 11, 2019 Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed an order saying that laws adopted in the U.S.S.R. should cease to be effective from the beginning of 2020. “We need to cancel the laws…
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A new dispute over oil could be brewing between Russia and Belarus as Russian suppliers divert large volumes of crude to domestic ports in lieu of a deal on 2020 deliveries between the two countries, according to six industry sources. Moscow and Minsk have had several oil and gas rows over the past decade in what has been…
Authorities raided homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in northern Russia as part of a criminal probe into extremism against the banned religious organization, investigators said in a statement Monday. Russia banned the Christian denomination known for door-to-door preaching, close Bible study and rejection of military service and blood transfusions in 2017. Rights groups have condemned the…
It was Olga Bulayeva’s birthday and, as custom dictates, she was in for a surprise. “A little gift for the office manager on her birthday — overnight work screwing a door back into place,” she captioned a tweet on Thursday of a video depicting a shower of sparks. This door is not just any door.…
Britain considered granting Russia partial membership in NATO 25 years ago, according to declassified National Archives documents cited by British media Tuesday. NATO, a U.S.-led Western military alliance created to provide collective security against the Soviet Union, suspended relations with Russia in response to Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Russia…
Painted lacquer boxes are one of Russia’s most typical crafts, found in rows on vendors’ tables next to the matryoshka dolls and wooden toys. You might think of them as another mass-produced souvenir for the tourists — but you’d be wrong. These boxes with miniature paintings of landscapes, fairy tales and scenes from Russian literature…
Russian and Ukrainian companies signed a final five-year agreement safeguarding Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine, Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday night. The deal, which came just 24 hours before the current agreement expires on Tuesday, averted a potential Russian gas-flow interruption to Europe and helped Moscow avoid…
December 30, 2019 “Following five days of continuous bilateral negotiations, final decisions and arrangements have been reached in Vienna. At the same time, a whole set of agreements and contracts has been signed, and one can fairly say that these arrangements represent a major package deal that has restored the balance between the interests of the parties. These documents are coming into…
Release December 30, 2019, 23:55 Pursuant to the Protocol of December 20, 2019, Gazprom, Naftogaz of Ukraine, Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine signed a package of documents providing for Russian gas transit across Ukraine to continue beyond December 31, 2019. Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine concluded an irrevocable settlement agreement stipulating that all outstanding arbitration and judicial claims…
On December 29, the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service (Rostechnadzor) issued a second additional service life extension license for Unit 4 of Novovoronezh NPP for 13 years. Thus, the unit will serve for 60 years instead of thirty years as designed. Over 40 events, including those to improve safety, were carried out to…
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 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 X session of the Joint Coordination Committee on the Project of Unit 2 modernization and life extension at Armenian NPP took place in Moscow on 26 December. The representatives of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, Haykakan Atomayin Electrakayan JSC (Armenian NPP), Armatom Scientific Research Institute JSC, Rosatom…
A Russian court has declared the country’s richest woman a fugitive over her failure to appear in a criminal libel case, the RBC news website has reported. Yelena Baturina, former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov’s widow, was reportedly sued by her brother’s financial manager this fall. She is alleged to have defamed the manager in an…
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 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 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…
If there’s one phrase that encapsulates the changes in St. Petersburg in 2019 it’s this: “St. Petersburg is back on Russia’s agenda.” The slogan is being promoted by the city’s new governor Alexander Beglov — a close Kremlin ally — and it implies that Russia’s second largest city will receive greater financial and political benefits…
Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east completed a large-scale prisoner swap on Sunday after bussing scores of detainees in the five-year conflict to an exchange point in the breakaway Donbass region. The swap should help build confidence between the two sides, who are wrangling over how to implement a peace deal after…