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The death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny in a remote Arctic prison last week has dominated headlines and put a spotlight on the brutality of Russia’s penitentiary system. The U.S. State Department in its 2022 Human Rights Practices report described conditions in Russia’s prisons as “harsh and life-threatening,” noting that inmates are systematically abused by…

Navalny Mourners Handed Military Summonses – Reports

Several mourners detained at makeshift memorials to the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny have been handed military summonses in St. Petersburg, local media reported Wednesday. Police have arrested hundreds of people across Russia for laying flowers at memorials in the days since Navalny died at a remote Arctic prison. At least six mourners in St.…

Danone Seeks to Sell Russian Operations to Chechen-Linked Businessman – FT

The French food maker Danone plans to sell its Russian assets to a businessman linked to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing private documents it had seen and anonymous sources familiar with the situation. Kadyrov’s nephew Yakub Zakriev, 33, became the head of Danone’s Russian subsidiary in July 2023 after the Kremlin ordered its…

EU Targets Chinese Firms, North Korea in New Sanctions Against Russia

The EU on Wednesday agreed to ban exports to three Chinese firms and blacklist North Korea’s Defense Minister in new sanctions set to coincide with the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The fresh round of sanctions — the 13th since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion — targets some two hundred officials and entities…

Pro-War Russian Blogger Commits Suicide – Reports

Prominent pro-war blogger and Russian soldier Andrei Morozov has reportedly committed suicide after upsetting his commanders for disclosing high military casualties in Moscow’s recent capture of the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka. Morozov, known by his call sign “Murz,” regularly criticized Russia’s military and political leadership on his Telegram channel over shortages of weapons, bureaucratic inefficiencies…

Ukraine Denies Losing Dnipro Bridgehead as Moscow Touts Successes

Ukraine’s army on Wednesday denied Russian claims that it had lost a key bridgehead on the Dnipro River frontline that has faced fierce attacks since Russia lost it. Russia’s defense minister said Tuesday that Moscow’s forces had retaken the village of Krynky, seized by Ukrainian troops last year. Russia has stepped up its offensive ahead…

Russia, Venezuela To Boost Cooperation in Energy, Including Nuclear

Anti-American allies Russia and Venezuela vowed to boost cooperation in oil and gas production and the “peaceful use of nuclear energy” at a meeting of foreign ministers in Caracas Tuesday. Russia’s Sergei Lavrov arrived in Venezuela late Monday from Cuba as part of a Latin American tour as Moscow seeks new diplomatic and trading partners…

Devoted Wife, ‘First Lady of the Opposition’ and Now Emerging Politician: Who Is Yulia Navalnaya?

“I will continue the work of Alexei Navalny. I will continue to fight for our country.” That was the message Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya delivered in a video address viewed by millions on Monday after the death of her husband, one of the Kremlin’s most fearless opponents, in prison. For many anti-Kremlin Russians still mourning…

Mystery Surrounds Death of Russian Helicopter Deserter

The death of a Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine with a military helicopter was shrouded in mystery Tuesday, with Spanish authorities refusing to say if a bullet-riddled body found was his. Maxim Kuzminov flew his Mi-8 helicopter into Ukraine in August in a brazen operation, saying he opposed Russia’s military offensive. Ukraine’s GUR military…

Russia Says Reclaimed Ukraine Bridgehead on Dnipro’s Left Bank

Russia on Tuesday claimed a new military success in Ukraine ahead of the second anniversary of its offensive, while President Vladimir Putin mocked what he called Kyiv’s “flight” from the frontline town of Avdiivka. The eastern Ukraine front has been frozen for months, but Moscow has been bolstered by its capture of Avdiivka last week,…

Pro-Ukraine Russian Fighters Say Planned to Free Navalny From Prison

The Russian Volunteer Corps, a far-right military unit fighting alongside the Ukrainian army against Russian forces, said Tuesday that it had planned to free the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny from prison and bring him to Ukraine. The anti-Kremlin military outfit claimed it sought to “fight off” a prison convoy that in December transferred Navalny from…

Navalny’s 5 Biggest Investigations

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in prison Friday, was known worldwide for his investigations into high-level corruption that regularly drew the ire of Russian officials. In the early years of his anti-corruption crusade, he posted his investigations on LiveJournal and ran a few other websites devoted to uncovering graft and other government failures. In…

Russia Labels Radio Liberty ‘Undesirable’

Russia authorities have designated the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) news outlet as an “undesirable” organization. The outlet appeared in the Justice Ministry’s database of “undesirable” organizations on Tuesday, making it the latest news organization to be blacklisted in Russia amid a sweeping crackdown on independent journalism that has dramatically intensified since Moscow invaded Ukraine…

Britain Charges Ex-Head of Annexed Sevastopol With Breaching Sanctions

MoscowBy admin February 20, 2024 Leave a comment

A London court has charged the former Moscow-installed head of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea with violating sanctions and money laundering, BBC Russian reported Tuesday. Dmitry Ovsyannikov was appointed as the governor of Crimea’s largest city in 2016, around two years after the Kremlin invaded and subsequently annexed the Ukrainian peninsula. He stepped down from the industry and trade ministry in…

Vatrushka: The Ancient Russian Pastry That Wasn’t

Vatrushki are one of the most popular and delicious little treats made of dough. They are made with different fillings — jam, fruit puree, or jelly — but the most popular are filled with sweet pot cheese. Everyone knows vatrushki. But the history of Russian cuisine is tricky, and it constantly breaks all our stereotypes about the…

A new polyclinic opened in the suburbs of Ufa with support from Bashneft

A modern polyclinic opened in the suburbs of Ufa, built with the support of Bashneft (part of Rosneft) under the Cooperation Agreement between Rosneft and the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Russia Designates U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham as ‘Terrorist’

Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham to its list of “extremists and terrorists.” Russia’s Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for Graham in May after Russia’s Investigative Committee chairman Alexander Bastrykin ordered criminal charges to be pressed against him. “A video circulating online shows U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham saying during a…

Yulia Navalnaya’s X Account Briefly Suspended

Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, briefly suspended the account of Alexei Navalny’s widow just one day after she launched it as part of an announcement that she will continue her late husband’s work. Yulia Navalnaya had said Monday that she planned to “continue the fight” for Russia following Navalny’s death in an Arctic prison, which she blamed…

European Countries Summon Russian Diplomats Over Navalny Death

A host of European Union governments Monday summoned Russian diplomats following the prison death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands were among those saying Monday they had summoned diplomats from Russian embassies. London had done the same Friday evening. Navalny’s death in a remote prison in the Arctic,…

Kremlin Pushes to Extinguish Grieving for Navalny as Election Nears

The Kremlin is working to suppress memorials for the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a bid to prevent his death from spoiling President Vladimir Putin’s expected re-election next month. Authorities are using harsh detentions of Navalny’s grieving supporters and censorship to prevent acts of mourning from turning into political protests, sources in the Russian…

Russian State Media Stays Silent or Cynical in Coverage of Navalny’s Death

Russian state media has largely avoided giving airtime to the news of Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny’s death in an Arctic prison. While Navalny’s death on Friday dominated global headlines, Russian state television limited its coverage to brief news segments — or airing statements that Moscow did not benefit from Navalny’s death and speculation about its…

EU Vows To Hold Putin Accountable at Navalny Widow Meeting

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Monday pledged that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be held to account for Alexei Navalny’s death after he met the opposition leader and Kremlin foe’s widow. Navalny’s death in an Arctic prison last week has shocked Russia’s exiled opposition which — along with the West — pointed the finger…

Russian Investigators to Hold Navalny’s Body for 2-Week ‘Chemical Exam’

Russian investigators told the family and lawyers of Alexei Navalny that they will not hand over his body for at least another two weeks as they conduct a “chemical examination” to determine the cause of his death, the late activist’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Monday. “We understand clearly that they won’t show his body afterward and…

Russia Returns 11 Children to Ukraine After Qatari Mediation

Eleven Ukrainian children left Russia for Ukraine on Monday to be reunited with their families, the latest transfer between the warring sides under a Qatari-mediated scheme. “This is the largest group of children in our family reunification activities, which we’re carrying out on behalf of the Russian president,” Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights Maria Lvova-Belova wrote…

Rosneft supports the Festival of Indigenous Peoples’ Culture of the North of the Tyumen Region

The Festival of Indigenous Culture was held in the Tyumen Region with the support of RN-Uvatneftegaz (part of Rosneft’s oil and gas production complex).

Russian Tattoo Artist Charged With Offending Religious Believers – Reports

A St. Petersburg tattoo artist has been charged with offending religious believers with her tattoos of Jesus Christ and other Christian symbols deemed “blasphemous,” the Fontanka news website has reported. Daria Krichker, 24, whose tattoos depict cats and anime characters alongside religious imagery, was detained at Pulkovo Airport on Saturday as she was attempting to flee to Armenia to…

Ukraine Says Russia Attacking With ‘Heavy Fire’ in South

MoscowBy admin February 19, 2024 Leave a comment

Ukrainian troops are facing “heavy fire” from advancing Russian forces in the southern Zaporizhzhia region after Moscow last week made its most significant territorial gain in nine months, Ukrainian military officials said Monday. Russian forces are back on the offensive across eastern and southern Ukraine and have forced Kyiv into a hasty withdrawal from the…

Disgraced Russian Pop Star Kirkorov Returns to TV After Performing for Troops

Pop star Filipp Kirkorov has made his first TV appearance since he and other prominent Russian celebrities faced a powerful conservative backlash for attending a “nearly naked” party. In mid-December, the singer and other famous stars and bloggers sparked a major sc andal when they attended a “nearly naked” party at a Moscow nightclub, wearing only lingerie, mesh…

Moscow Claims Ukraine Poisoned Head of Occupied Luhansk Region

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday accused Kyiv of trying to poison the Kremlin-backed head of eastern Ukraine’s occupied Luhansk region Leonid Pasechnik. “Pasechnik was severely poisoned with phenolic compounds on Dec. 5, 2023,” said the head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s radiation, chemical and biological protection forces, Igor Kirillov. Phenol is a chemical compound used in…

Yulia Navalnaya: ‘I Will Continue the Work of Alexei Navalny’

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, said she will continue her late husband’s work in a video statement released Monday. “There should have been another person in my place, but this person was killed by Vladimir Putin,” Navalnaya said, referring to her husband. “I have no right to give up. I will continue the…

Russian Courts Hand Jail Terms to Dozens of Navalny Mourners

Russian courts have sentenced dozens of people detained at events commemorating Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to short jail sentences, official court announcements showed, with 154 sentenced in St. Petersburg alone. Details of rulings published by the city’s court service on Saturday and Sunday showed 154 people had been given jail time of up to 14…

Timeline: Alexei Navalny’s Final Hours

Veteran Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was declared dead by Russian prison authorities on Friday, an announcement that his team was able to confirm only a day later. His death in a remote Arctic prison remains shrouded in mystery. Russian authorities have not yet announced the official cause of the opposition politician’s passing or granted his…

Ukraine Army Accuses Russia of Shooting Two POWs

Ukraine’s army on Sunday accused Russian forces of shooting two prisoners of war and posted a grainy video shot from the air that they said showed the incident. In the video, two soldiers labelled as Ukrainians run towards another labelled as Russian in a trench. The Russian soldier then grabs them and shoots numerous times…

Yulia Navalnaya: Alexei’s Stoic Partner

Yulia Navalnaya had not seen her husband Alexei in two years when she spoke at the Munich Security Conference after news broke that he had died in his Arctic prison. With tears in her eyes, Navalnaya — by her husband’s side as he challenged President Vladimir Putin’s rule for more than a decade — took…

U.S. Envoy Visits Navalny Shrine Amid Heavy Police Curbs

The U.S. ambassador to Moscow visited a makeshift shrine to Alexei Navalny on Sunday, as Russian authorities suppressed memorials and tributes to the late opposition leader. Rights groups say police have detained over 400 people at gatherings for the politician, a leading critic of President Vladimir Putin who died in an Arctic prison Friday. Ambassador…

Putin Says Ukraine ‘Matter of Life and Death’ for Russia

Events on the battlefield in Ukraine are a matter of “life and death” for Russia that could determine its fate, President Vladimir Putin said in remarks aired Sunday. The Kremlin has repeatedly framed the almost two-year conflict as a battle for Russia’s survival in a bid to rally patriotic sentiment among its population, many apathetic…

Russia Claims ‘Full Control’ of Ukraine’s Avdiivka

Russia said Saturday it had taken “full control” of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, hours after Kyiv said it had pulled out of the former stronghold to save soldiers’ lives. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had informed President Vladimir Putin of the advance, said a defense ministry statement. Putin “congratulated our military and fighters…

Putin Hails Capture of Avdiivka as ‘Important Victory’

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday hailed his army’s capture of the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka as an “important victory,” following a hasty withdrawal by Kyiv’s forces. The capture of the town marks the most significant territorial gain for Russia’s forces since the seizure of Bakhmut last May. “The president congratulated our military and…

Navalny’s ‘Killers’ Refusing to Hand Over Body, Allies Say

Alexei Navalny’s supporters on Saturday accused Russian authorities of being “killers” who were “covering their tracks” by refusing to hand over his body, as the Kremlin stayed silent despite Western accusations and a flood of tributes to the late opposition leader. The 47-year-old Kremlin critic died in an Arctic prison on Friday after spending more…

Rage and Despair as Russia’s Exiled Opposition Mourns Navalny

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Hundreds of Russian emigres gathered in central Vilnius to mourn the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, with many expressing a mixture of anger, sorrow and helplessness. In Lithuania’s capital, a hub for exiled Russian activists, the death of Russia’s most prominent opposition figure in prison has cast a heavy shadow. According to…

Avdiivka, a Symbolic Trophy for Putin’s Russia

Ukraine’s withdrawal from the city of Avdiivka hands Vladimir Putin a major symbolic victory before Russia’s presidential election in March and exposes Kyiv’s critical shortages of weapons and soldiers. Symbol of Ukrainian resistance Avdiivka, a small industrial city in the eastern Donbas region, has been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression since 2014.…

Russia’s Opposition in Exile Calls on EU Not to Recognize Putin’s Election

A month before Russia’s presidential election, certain to be won again by President Vladimir Putin, the country’s anti-war opposition in exile admits that it is unable to influence the results but hopes the West will “do the right thing.” None of Putin’s opponents will be able to participate in the March election or organize independent…

Alexei Navalny Is Declared Dead. What Happens Next?

Russian authorities said that imprisoned opposition figure Alexei Navalny died on Friday, an announcement confirmed by his team one day later. Navalny, 47, was serving a 19-year prison sentence on extremism charges in the Arctic at the time of his death. The prison service provided little details about his death, which Navalny’s allies and supporters…

Navalny’s Body Not in Morgue Where Authorities Said It Was, Aides Say

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s body is not in the morgue where authorities said it was brought after his death, his team announced Saturday. “Alexei’s lawyer and his mother have arrived at the Salekhard morgue. It’s closed, however, the colony has assured them it’s working and Navalny’s body is there,” Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on…

Russian Priest Detained After Announcing Navalny Memorial Service

A St. Petersburg priest has been detained after he announced he would hold a memorial service for the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, his wife said on Facebook on Saturday. Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko was detained near his home as he was going to the Solovetsky Stone dedicated to Soviet victims of political repression. Later Saturday, Mikhnov-Vaitenko was…

Over 100 Detained at Memorials for Navalny in Russia

Russian police have detained more than 100 people at spontaneous memorials for deceased opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the OVD-Info rights group said Saturday. The 47-year-old Kremlin critic was serving a 19-year prison sentence in the Arctic when authorities announced his death, prompting grief among his supporters. People were seen gathering to place flowers at makeshift…

Ukraine Troops Withdraw From Frontline City Avdiivka

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the frontline city of Avdiivka to avoid being encircled, new military chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Saturday, handing Russia its biggest symbolic victory following Kyiv’s failed summer counter-offensive. Russia has been trying to capture Avdiivka for months. It is the most significant territorial gain for Russian forces since they seized the…

Russian Photographer Dmitry Markov Dies at 42

Russian photographer Dmitry Markov has died at the age of 42, local media in his hometown of Pskov said Friday, citing his friends. Markov, who relied solely on an iPhone for his photography, became famous for capturing images of everyday life in Russia and its regions. His photo of a masked riot police officer sitting…

Russia Labels Exiled Banker Tinkov ‘Foreign Agent’

Exiled banking magnate Oleg Tinkov was declared a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities Friday over his opposition to the conflict in Ukraine. The 56-year-old is best known for founding Tinkoff Bank, one of Russia’s largest lenders behind state giants Sberbank and VTB. The Justice Ministry said it added him to its foreign agents list after…

‘We Have Been Robbed of Hope’: Russians Lay Flowers at Monuments, Embassies for Navalny

Supporters of Alexei Navalny are laying flowers in Russia and at Russian embassies around the world after the jailed Kremlin critic was announced dead by the Russian prison service on Friday. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, hundreds of people gathered at monuments dedicated to Soviet victims of political repression to show their respect for the…

Alexei Navalny’s Last Weeks in an Arctic Prison

Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, spent his final weeks in a penal colony above the Arctic Circle. His 19-year prison sentence was widely condemned by rights groups and in the West as punishment for daring to cross President Vladimir Putin. Through messages passed through his lawyers, he posted regularly on social media in…

Russian Duma Speaker Blames U.S., EU for Navalny’s Death

The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament has claimed without evidence Friday that U.S. and EU leaders were responsible for the death of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. “Washington and Brussels are to blame for Navalny’s death,” Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on the Telegram messaging app hours after prison authorities in the Russian Arctic announced Navalny’s…

Putin Refused to Say Navalny’s Name. Here’s What He Called Him Instead

Anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, whose death was announced by Russian officials on Friday, was one of the Kremlin’s most outspoken domestic critics for more than a decade. Despite numerous arrests and efforts to hinder his activities, Navalny, 47, remained one of the most popular opposition figures in Russia and a thorn in the Kremlin’s side.…

Alexei Navalny, Putin Foe and Political Prisoner, Dead at 47

MoscowBy admin February 16, 2024 Leave a comment

Alexei Anatolievich Navalny, the most prominent opposition politician of the late Putin era, died in prison on Friday, according to the Yamalo-Nenets branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN). He was 47. At the time of his death, Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on charges widely seen as politically motivated in a high-security prison…

Thank the Persians for the Bazaar

Сарай: shed All languages borrow words from other languages. Most of the time we borrow words for things or actions that we didn’t have in our own country/culture/language. This includes a lot of food, drink, handy phrases, or objects like expresso, borshch, tsar, ciao, or sushi. Sometimes it’s just a word the borrowers like, even if…

‘Putin Must Be Held Accountable,’ Yulia Navalnaya Says After Navalny Announced Dead

Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, said all those responsible for the death of her husband “will be held accountable.” Navalny, 47, was serving a lengthy prison term when he was announced dead by Russian prison authorities on Friday. His team said it could not confirm the prison service’s announcement until his…

Pro-Kremlin Party Orders Lawmakers to Ignore Navalny’s Death – Agentstvo

The pro-Kremlin party United Russia has ordered lawmakers to avoid commenting on the death of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the investigative news outlet Agentstvo reported Friday. Deputies in the lower-house State Duma were reportedly told they should “keep strictly in line with the Federal Prison Service’s version [or] better to refrain from commenting at…

Russia’s Central Bank Holds Rates Amid High Inflation

Russia’s Central Bank held its key interest rate unchanged at 16% on Friday, warning price rises and intense labor shortages were a lingering threat to the country’s heavily militarized economy. The bank hiked rates in a series of moves last year as it battled high inflation and a volatile currency amid the Kremlin’s dramatic increase…

‘Blood on Putin’s Hands’: First Reactions to Alexei Navalny’s Death