2019 has been a busy year for Russia abroad. For one, the country has continued to cultivate its ties with new partners — including the 43 African leaders who attended the first Russia-Africa forum in Sochi in October — while sparring with major powers like the U.S. (ending a historic Cold War arms treaty). While…
Russia on Tuesday released five Japanese fishing boats detained last week near Russian-controlled islands claimed by Japan, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, adding that all crew members are in good health. The boats were fishing for octopus near the disputed islands when they were detained by Russian ships on Dec. 17. “The five…
Russia completed a series of tests on Monday checking that its internet services could function if the country were to get cut off from the worldwide web, Deputy Communications Minister Alexei Sokolov said. The tests, conducted over the course of several days on specially designated networks, follow Russia’s controversial “sovereign internet” law enacted last month,…
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be completed in a matter of months and U.S. sanctions imposed on the project last week would not be “catastrophic”. Russia’s new gas transit deal with Ukraine would also mollify the impact on Russian gas supplies of U.S. sanctions…
A Turkish delegation was in Russia on Monday for talks on Syria, following reports that Russian-backed attacks there were forcing tens of thousands more Syrians to flee towards Turkey. Turkey already hosts about 3.7 million Syrians — the world’s biggest refugee population. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday it could not handle a new influx and…
A Russian fifth-generation stealth fighter jet has crashed during tests in the country’s Far East, news agencies reported Tuesday. The incident occurred days before Russia’s Aerospace Forces were due to receive their first serial-produced Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet. Its developer Sukhoi plans to deliver a total of 67 fifth-generation Su-57s to the Russian Aerospace Forces…
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…
President Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s first direct train to Crimea on Monday, opening railway service along a now-completed $4 billion bridge that links continental Russia to the annexed peninsula. Dozens of Western countries targeted Russia with economic sanctions over its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 following an unrecognized referendum. The…
A special forces unit demonstrated its melee combat skills to elementary school students in central Russia last week, sparking outrage among parents, a local television station has reported. Prison service guards wearing helmets and bearing shields showed fifth-graders how to club an imaginary enemy at a school auditorium in the Chelyabinsk region town of Zlatoust,…
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 year in domestic affairs came to a close just like the year before: with a surprise protest in Russia’s far north, hundreds of kilometers away from the country’s beating political heart of Moscow. In Kotlas, a town in the Arkhangelsk region with a population of 60,000, several thousand people came out at the beginning…
Rosneft Oil Company and Equinor ASA, the shareholders of SevKomNeftegaz LLC, approved the decision to commence the first stage of full-field development of North-Komsomolskoye field.
Five years ago, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina’s decision to let the ruble trade freely faced a gut-wrenching test. An oil-price collapse and international sanctions had put the currency into a nosedive that even a 650 basis-point rate hike couldn’t immediately halt. Fast-forward half a decade and the picture in Russian markets couldn’t look more…
Greece will extradite a Russian man suspected of having laundered billions of dollars in the digital currency bitcoin to France, the justice minister decided on Friday, court officials said. Alexander Vinnik, the alleged mastermind of a $4 billion bitcoin laundering ring, is one of seven Russians arrested or indicted worldwide this year on U.S. cybercrime…
The agency noted, among other things, that PhosAgro’s Baa3 rating reflects the Company’s significant global market presence and focus on premium-priced value-added complex fertilizers; strong margins through the cycle, underpinned by its high-quality mining resources, self-sufficiency in key raw materials, and access to low-cost sulphur and natural gas; and balanced financial policy and public commitment…
The United States is “very concerned” about the intensification of the conflict in Libya, with a rising number of reported Russian mercenaries supporting Khalifa Haftar’s forces on the ground turning the conflict into a bloodier one, a senior State Department official said on Saturday. The United States continues to recognize the Government of National Accord (GNA)…
Russia and Ukraine announced terms of a new gas transit deal on Saturday, under which Moscow will supply Europe for at least another five years via its former Soviet neighbor and pay a $2.9 billion settlement to Kiev to end a legal dispute. The deal is a major breakthrough for both countries, which have been seeking to resolve…
Alpha Conde of Guinea had a favor to ask Vladimir Putin when the two presidents met at the inaugural Russia-Africa summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in October. “I would like, if possible, to spend most of our meeting in a one-in-one format because I have things to say to you that are…
Russian-backed Syrian forces have gained ground after a week-long renewed assault against the last opposition enclave in Syria’s northwest, the biggest such push in more than three months that has prompted a large civilian exodus, witnesses and residents said on Sunday. The wide-scale offensive led by intense aerial strikes on civilian areas in rural southeastern…
December 21, 2019, 17:25 Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee: “In line with the Protocol on gas cooperation, Gazprom and Naftogaz will sign an agreement to settle their mutual claims under the existing contracts, thereby restoring the balance between the interests of the parties. According to the settlement agreement, no new claims shall be filed, the pending arbitration and legal claims shall…
Release December 21, 2019, 17:20 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Li Yong, Vice President of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), took place today in St. Petersburg. The parties discussed their potential areas of cooperation. Information Directorate, Gazprom Related news
Philipp Gorbachev is one of the first Russian electronic artists who became popular in the West. At the age of 30 he was at the peak of success, making a good living off his music. But one day he realized it wasn’t enough. “I felt a need to live in a state of prayer,” he…
A Moscow court on Friday slapped climate change activist Arshak Makichyan with a six-day sentence for participating in an unsanctioned picket in Moscow. Makichyan, 24, was reportedly detained in Moscow hours after returning from a trip to Madrid, Spain, where he spoke at the COP 25 UN Climate Change Conference together with climate activist Greta…
A court in Russia has sentenced a Tajik man to 22 years in maximum-security prison for orchestrating an attempted bombing of a high-speed train between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Interfax reported Friday. The court found that Emom Burkhonov had played a role in derailing a Sapsan train in 2017 by placing a metal device on…
Every year the center of Moscow turns into an enchanted holiday village, with tunnels of light, forests of decorated pine trees, streetlights transformed into chandeliers, and streets cleared of cars and filled with people. Music and the scent of hot mulled wine and holiday treats waft through the air. This year the festival runs from…
Russia has opened recruitment centers for a new military force in northeastern Syria aimed at replacing U.S.-backed Kurdish groups that neighboring Turkey views as terrorists, the Voice of America broadcaster reported Thursday. Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies launched a cross-border offensive against the Kurdish militia after President Donald Trump pulled U.S. forces from the…
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey will not stay silent over Russian-backed mercenaries supporting Khalifa Haftar in Libya, as Moscow voiced concerns over possible Turkish military deployment to Libya in support of Haftar’s enemies. Turkey has backed Libya’s internationally recognized government led by Fayez al-Serraj and the two sides signed a security agreement…
Russia on Friday honored two members of the British “Cambridge Five” spy ring who passed information to the Soviet Union with a memorial plaque and a tribute from the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service. The plaque, unveiled on the day Russia celebrates the work of its security services, was dedicated to Guy Burgess and…
Russia’s FSB security service on Friday searched the home of a man named by Russian media as the prime suspect in a rare shooting incident near the FSB’s central Moscow headquarters, neighbors said. A gunman opened fire on the FSB’s main building in Moscow on Thursday evening, killing at least one FSB employee and wounding…
Russian state energy company Gazprom is planning to construct a giant petrochemical plant in Bovanenkovo, the company’s hub on the Yamal Peninsula. It will be able to produce about 3 million tons of plastics products polyethylene and polypropylene per year, several sources in the company told Vedomosti business daily. If built, the plant will be the northernmost…
Visit Palace Square On Dec. 22 Grandfather Frost makes his first stop on the holiday train in St. Petersburg, where he lights the enormous tree on Palace Square that is both the symbol and the heart of the holiday season. On New Year’s Eve, the square is filled with music, special events, a light show…
A court in Moscow has upheld U.S.-Israeli tourist Naama Issachar’s seven-and-a-half year prison sentence on drugs charges Thursday in a case that has strained ties between Russia and Israel. Naama Issachar, 25, was found guilty of drug possession and smuggling last month. Moscow airport authorities had found 9.6 grams of cannabis in Issachar’s luggage during her…
Donald Trump’s administration has slammed a new package of tough anti-Russia sanctions advanced by U.S. lawmakers earlier this week, The Daily Beast reported Thursday, citing a leaked letter from a State Department official. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved draft legislation Wednesday that would impose new sanctions against Russia’s banking, energy and ship-building sectors…
President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he was open to the possibility of altering Russia’s Constitution to limit the number of presidential terms anyone can serve. “Your humble servant served two terms consecutively, then left his post, but with the constitutional right to return to the post of president again, because these two terms were not…
Prominent African-American ballet dancer Misty Copeland’s criticism of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow for its use of blackface has prompted a heated online debate and a strong rebuke from the world of Russian ballet. Copeland, who in 2015 became the American Ballet Theater’s first black female principal ballerina, highlighted “the reality of the ballet world”…
Russia will carry out tests on Monday on the reliability of its domestic internet infrastructure in the event that the country is disconnected from the worldwide web, the communications ministry said. The threat testing will take place in stages on Dec. 23 and will not affect regular internet users, the ministry said on Thursday. Russia enacted a…
Russian President Vladimir Putin sidestepped a question about the identities of his two daughters at his annual end-of-year news conference on Thursday. Named sources have told Reuters — but later retracted their statements — that one of Putin‘s adult daughters is Katerina Tikhonova, who runs publicly funded projects and takes part in competitive rock’n’roll dancing. Media have identified Putin‘s…
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 gunman opened fire at Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters in central Moscow on Thursday evening, killing one officer and wounding five others, including one civilian. An unverified video depicted officers exchanging gunfire and appearing to kill the alleged shooter behind a column. Other videos showed the FSB building being sprayed with gunfire and…
The son of Russian spies who was born in Canada and was stripped of his citizenship after his parents were arrested for espionage in the United States is a Canadian national, the country’s top court ruled on Thursday. Canada’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld an earlier federal court ruling that said a 2014 administrative decision to strip…
The molten core catcher or the so-called ‘melt trap’ has been installed at its design position under the reactor vault of the 2nd power block of Kursk NPP that is being constructed following the VVER-TOI project. ‘A molten core catcher is a unique development of the Russian nuclear power experts and one of the key…
At least one person has been killed in a shooting in downtown Moscow on Thursday evening, state media have reported. An unidentified gunman opened fire near the entrance of the Federal Security Services (FSB) building before being killed in a shootout, RIA cited an FSB spokesperson as saying. One FSB officer was killed at the…
19th December, 2019, Pevek, Russia – The floating power unit (FPU) Akademik Lomonosov has been connected to the grid, generating electricity for the first time in the isolated Chaun-Bilibino network in Pevek, Chukotka, Russia’s Far East. This happened after the Russian regulator Rostekhnadzor issued an operations permit, as well as permission to connect to the…
Russian President Vladimir Putin held his 15th annual end-of-year press conference at the World Trade Center in Moscow on Thursday. Almost 1,900 journalists, including reporters from the UK, Turkey, Ukraine and Estonia, were accredited to attend the event, meaning almost 2,000 questions had been prepared in advance. Of course, there wasn’t enough time for the…
President Vladimir Putin held his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday, answering questions from state media and independent journalists on an array of topics related to Russia’s domestic and foreign policy. Here are the highlights from the marathon presser that lasted four hours and 19 minutes: On constitutional term limits for the presidency: — “One…
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…
Citizen of the Year – Danila Beglets By Kirill Martynov Danila Beglets is a political prisoner in the so-called Moscow protest cases. However, unlike most politicians, Beglets is not fighting for power. He is not interested in elections and he is neither an activist nor famous. He is an ordinary person who was walking along…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was open to the possibility of altering Russia‘s constitution, including proposals to increase parliament’s power and to limit the number of presidential terms anyone can serve. The issue of constitutional change in Russia is watched closely amid speculation about Putin’s own political ambitions. In power as either president or prime…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that U.S. Democrats had impeached President Donald Trump for “fabricated” reasons in order to reverse his 2016 election victory. Putin, speaking at his annual year-end news conference, said he expected Trump to survive the proceedings and stay in office. The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday 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…
A Russian banker awaiting trial on organized crime charges has taken out a full-page newspaper ad to give a New Year’s Eve warning to businesspeople that they too could face a similar fate. Alexander Popov’s message in the Vedomosti business daily Wednesday comes as Russian authorities consider limiting the use of organized-crime laws in corporate…
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved legislation on Wednesday that would impose sanctions on Russia, but there was no indication of when the full Senate might vote on the measure that one sponsor called the sanctions bill “from hell.” The vote was 17-5 to advance the bill in the Republican-controlled committee. All five “no”…
A five-year-old girl born in Russia is the world’s third-richest YouTube blogger, Forbes reported Wednesday. Anastasia Radzinskaya earned an estimated $18 million between June 2018-June 2019, according to the business magazine. The native of the southern Russian city of Krasnodar who moved to Florida last year has a combined 107 million subscribers across six YouTube…
Residents of Moscow are wondering where winter has gone as the highest December temperatures for 133 years deprive the Russian capital of its customary covering of snow. “This is not our winter,” said pensioner Ludmila Biryukova. “It came from somewhere else.” At a time when snow often blankets the streets and icicles hang from buildings, the temperature…
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin gave an annual report to municipal lawmakers Wednesday. Sobyanin faced several challenges this year, including mass protests against the exclusion of opposition candidates from the Moscow City Duma election and against plans to ship waste to outlying regions. Here’s a selection of quotes from Sobyanin’s two-hour report, which included answers to…
Donald Trump on Wednesday became the third U.S. president to be impeached as the House of Representatives formally charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in a historic step that will inflame partisan tensions across a deeply divided America. The Democratic-led House’s passage of two articles of impeachment on a mostly party-line…
News from projects and regions December 18, 2019, 19:00 Photos On December 17, the first practical session of the Secrets of Beauty and Creativity museum workshop for children with disabilities was held in Saratov. The training course consisting of 10 classes was developed by the Radishchev State Art Museum with support from Gazprom Transgaz Saratov. The workshop group includes 10 pupils aged 9 to…
Background Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, develops seven fields, including four gas fields, two gas and condensate fields, and one oil, gas and condensate field. The company’s facilities, among them three gas production sites and three gas production directorates, are located in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, Kamchatka, and Yakutia. Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk takes part in the state-run Eastern…
Russia’s Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov hosted 150 military attaches from the diplomatic missions of 70 countries Tuesday. During his speech, Gerasimov discussed Russia’s military arms and strategies. Here are some of his key quotes: Putin’s weapons — Peresvet laser system “Since the beginning of December, the Peresvet laser…
Verkhnechonskneftegaz, an enterprise of the upstream complex of Rosneft Oil Company, has implemented an associated petroleum gas (APG) efficient utilisation project.