Russia’s food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has partially lifted an import ban on bananas from Ecuador, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday. Moscow said earlier this month it was suspending authorizations for five Ecuadorian banana exporters due to the detection of pests. Thirteen other exporters were later added to the ban, importers told The Moscow Times’…
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has died in jail, Russian prison authorities announced Friday. “The inmate A.A. Navalny started to feel unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness at correctional facility No. 3 on Feb. 16,” the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district prison service said. “Medical staff arrived immediately, an ambulance was called. None of the resuscitation…
“I would want to come back to a free Yakutia,” Sargylana Kondakova says when asked about returning to her home region. “I would like for it to be an independent state, of course, but it is even more important for me to see that our people have a free conscience, free mind and a free…
Activists in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan have confirmed the passing of a local man who faced criminal investigation over the mass protests that erupted in the republic last month, the SOTA media outlet reported Thursday. Minniyar Bayguskarov, 65, was buried in his native village of Kaskinovo in the region’s southwestern Kugarchinsky district on Tuesday, according to local…
Prisoners, homeless people and other socially disadvantaged individuals made up the majority of military recruits in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk over the past year, a local assemblyman has said. “Over the last year our contract soldiers were mostly alcoholics, homeless people, derelicts, prisoners and others,” the local news website ngs24.ru quoted Krasnoyarsk city council member Vyacheslav Dyukov as…
Orenburgneft, Rosneft’s largest producing asset in the Volga Region, saved over 60 million kWh of electricity in 2023, which amounts to over 219 million rubles in the monetary equivalent.
The commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been sacked after Ukraine said it had destroyed another Russian warship, according to unconfirmed reports by pro-war bloggers. Ukrainian military intelligence said Wednesday its naval drones attacked and sank the Caesar Kunikov landing ship off the coast of the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula. Rybar, an influential Telegram channel…
Moscow on Thursday said U.S. reports it was planning to launch a nuclear weapon into space were “malicious,” “unfounded” and a White House ploy to try to pass a stalled Ukrainian aid package. Citing unnamed official sources, U.S. media reported Wednesday evening that Washington believed Russia was advancing plans to deploy a space-based nuclear weapon.…
Ukraine has rushed soldiers to the embattled eastern town of Avdiivka, surrounded on three sides by Russian forces, where the military said the situation was “extremely critical.” While the two sides staged new missile attacks on each other, Russian forces have laid siege to Avdiivka in the eastern Donetsk region since last year and its…
At least seven people have been killed in missile strikes on the city of Belgorod in southwestern Russia, the country’s Health Ministry said Thursday. The Health Ministry confirmed seven deaths and said 18 people were injured. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a one-year-old girl was among those killed. Images of the aftermath showed a blown-out shopping center and…
Russia on Thursday launched a supply rocket to the International Space Station, one of the rare Russia-U.S. projects kept alive since Russia’s offensive against Ukraine. A Soyuz-2 rocket carrying the Progress MS-26 cargo ship was launched at the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, Russia’s space agency said on its Telegram channel, showing a video of…
A Russian court has overturned orders to deport Afghan journalist and activist Kobra Hassani, who feared for her life under the Taliban’s rule. Hassani, 27, was among a group of 12 Afghan nationals who were detained near a St. Petersburg port in May 2022 on suspicion of attempting to illegally flee to Europe. On Tuesday, a St.…
A night-time Ukrainian drone attack set ablaze a Russian oil depot in the Kursk region near the frontier between the two countries, Russian authorities said Thursday. Regional governor Roman Starovoit said on social media that there were no casualties, appealing to the local population to remain “calm.” “Following a Ukrainian drone attack in the Kursk…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he was grateful to controversial right-wing U.S. talk show host Tucker Carlson for his interview last week and “intermediary” role with the West. Former Fox News star Carlson released a two-hour interview with Putin in Moscow last Thursday, just ahead of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s offensive in…
Russian President Vladimir Putin described U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Wednesday as more “predictable” than Donald Trump, but said the Kremlin was prepared to work with whoever wins November’s election. Asked by a journalist who Russia would like to see win in the likely contest between the Democratic incumbent and Republican frontrunner Trump, Putin said:…
Inflation in Russia held at elevated levels in January, data published Wednesday showed, as soaring government spending on the military offensive in Ukraine pushes prices higher. The Kremlin’s sweeping militarization of Russia’s economy has helped confound predictions that the campaign could trigger an economic collapse, but has led to rising prices across the country. Annual…
Russian art critic Nina Moleva has died at age 98, bequeathing a mysterious collection of works she claimed to be worth $2 billion to President Vladimir Putin. “Nina Mikhailovna Moleva — writer, outstanding scholar of history and art, journalist and war veteran — passed away on Feb. 11,” Russia’s Culture Ministry told Interfax on Wednesday. Moleva…
Russian biologists have discovered microplastics in the intestines of common wasps, with its concentration increasing since 2019, Tomsk State University said Wednesday. “In contrast to well-studied marine and freshwater ecosystems, the occurrence of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems remains virtually unchecked,” said Anastasia Simakova, head of the invertebrate department at Tomsk State University’s Biological Institute. “Preliminary…
While much of the world is celebrating Valentine’s Day with cards, chocolates and flowers, some in Russia have seized on current geopolitical tensions to undermine the romantic holiday and paint it as an example of Western “excess.” Soon after being disqualified from the presidential election, Communists of Russia party chairman Sergei Malinkovich urged lawmakers to “launch a legislative…
The Kremlin on Wednesday denied a report by Reuters that President Vladimir Putin had proposed a ceasefire in Ukraine to the United States. Citing three anonymous Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions, the news agency said Putin offered to “freeze the conflict at the current lines” in 2023. The United States reportedly rejected Putin’s offer, which…
Moscow has suspended annual payments to the Arctic Council until its work resumes in full, Russia’s Foreign Ministry told state media Wednesday. The United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in March 2022 suspended participation in the Arctic Council over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia’s annual contributions to the Arctic Council’s budget have been suspended…
Ukraine said Wednesday it had destroyed another Russian warship in the Black Sea, a key battleground of the nearly two-year war where Kyiv’s campaign has been building momentum. While the frontline on land has remained static for over a year, Ukraine claims to have put Russia on the defensive in the Black Sea, an area…
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a law that allows authorities to confiscate the assets of individuals convicted of “discrediting” and spreading “fake news” about the military. The wartime legislation also allows seizing money and other valuables from those found guilty of inciting “extremist” activity and calling for “anti-Russian” sanctions. The law does not appear…
A German tourist has been arrested in St. Petersburg on drug smuggling charges after he brought gummy bear edibles on a flight to Russia, the Federal Customs Service (FTS) said Tuesday. The man was detained at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport after a customs inspector noticed inside of his backpack “a rigid plastic bag with the…
A court in Finland has jailed a Russian nationalist fighter Yan Petrovsky for violating EU sanctions by entering the country under an alias, the Finnish broadcaster Yle reported Tuesday. Petrovsky was detained in July on separate charges of committing terrorism in Ukraine. Yle reports that he was able to cross the border into Finland in…
Authorities in the Russian city of Vologda announced Tuesday that a local movie theater will screen U.S. conservative pundit Tucker Carlson’s interview with President Vladimir Putin. “This [interview] took place last week but it’s still being discussed all over the world,” Vologda Mayor Sergei Voropanov wrote on the messaging app Telegram. “But not every Vologda…
A Moscow court on Tuesday sentenced a 65-year-old American man to 21 years in prison for sexually abusing his sons when they lived in the United States. “The Savyolovsky court of Moscow sentenced 65-year-old U.S. citizen David Thomas Barnes to 21 years in a penal colony, finding him guilty of sexually abusing his own children,”…
Russian strikes killed five people across Ukraine on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said. The governor of northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said three people were killed in his region, which borders Russia and has seen increased attacks in recent months. Syniehubov said a 61-year-old woman was killed when Russian forces shelled the city of Vovchansk,…
Pop star Filipp Kirkorov traveled to occupied Ukraine to perform for Russian soldiers two months after his attendance at a scandalous “nearly naked” party put a dent in his career, media reported Tuesday. Independent news outlets speculated that Kirkorov made the rare trip as an act of repentance days after his name appeared on a list of…
The Kremlin confirmed Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin will not take the stage to debate his rivals in Russia’s March presidential election. “Everyone can see Putin’s statements on all aspects of Russians’ lives on a virtually daily basis,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added that Putin “fundamentally differs” from all other candidates because…
Two trains collided in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region late Monday, with law enforcement officials saying one of the drivers involved in the crash was likely intoxicated. “A medical screening showed the locomotive driver had alcohol in his bloodstream,” the transportation unit of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement. The law enforcement…
Updated to include Peskov’s, Zakharova’s remarks. Russia has issued an arrest warrant for Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the independent news website Mediazona reported Tuesday, marking the country’s first-ever criminal case against an acting head of a foreign government. Kallas appeared on Russia’s wanted list after she spoke in favor of dismantling a Soviet-era monument in…
A Russian court of appeals has sentenced prominent anti-war sociologist and Marxist theorist Boris Kagarlitsky to five years in prison, his lawyer told reporters on Tuesday. In December, Kagarlitsky was ordered by a Moscow military court to pay 600,000 rubles ($6,600) for “justifying terrorism,” charges which he denied. Prosecutors appealed the lower court’s decision to fine…
Finland’s President-elect Alexander Stubb said Monday his country will not maintain high-level ties with Russia until the Kremlin ends its war in Ukraine. Relations between Moscow and Helsinki have sharply deteriorated since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, prompting Finland to drop decades of military non-alignment and join NATO. “We do not have a political relationship…
Russia is gaining the advantage in the war in Ukraine, owing to its greater number of troops and arms supplied by China, North Korea and other countries, Norway’s intelligence service warned on Monday. Presenting its annual risk report along with other Norwegian security services, the head of the military intelligence unit Nils Andreas Stensones said…
Russian lawmakers on Monday introduced a bill that would expand current legislation on “undesirable” organizations to include state-sponsored entities in addition to non-governmental organizations. Since launching their “undesirable” list in 2015 to crack down on foreign-funded NGOs, Russian authorities have expanded the law to target independent news outlets, human rights groups, environmental organizations and educational institutions. Vasily Piskarev,…
“The Master and Margarita” was only released less than a month ago but it has already become one of the highest grossing and most talked about films in Russia in recent years. In the first weekend alone the film amassed almost half a billion rubles. The film is based on the eponymous novel by Mikhail…
Pro-peace presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin announced Monday that he has filed two lawsuits with Russia’s Supreme Court challenging the decision by election authorities to bar him from running in the March presidential race. Russa’s Central Election Commission (CEC) voted unanimously Thursday to disqualify Nadezhdin over alleged errors in thousands of signatures endorsing his candidacy. “Real…
Ukrainian military intelligence claims that Russian forces in occupied areas of the country are using Starlink satellite technology to communicate. The GUR said Sunday that they had intercepted radio transmissions from the Donetsk region in which Russian soldiers discussed using Starlink terminals. Activated after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Starlink satellite internet replaced conventional internet…
Russia has added 18 British military, political and academic figures to its entry ban list in response to London’s efforts “to reduce Moscow’s influence in the international arena,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced Monday. “Russophobic British officials don’t shy away from… discrediting our country’s constitutional order and social and political processes,” the ministry said. Minister of…
Three former employees of Russian media influencer Ksenia Sobchak were sentenced to at least seven years in prison for trying to extort money from the head of state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec. Multiple criminal cases were launched in August 2022 after Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov and his aides accused the managers of several Telegram news channels of…
Officials from Russia’s state civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia have been accused of de-registering aircraft that were later used by the Ukrainian military, the pro-Kremlin tabloid Izvestia reported Monday, citing anonymous law enforcement and Transportation Ministry sources. A Transport Ministry inspection in July revealed that 59 planes and helicopters had been illegally removed from Russia’s civil…
Russian exports to Europe dropped by more than two-thirds in 2023, as the EU drastically cut its purchases of Russian oil and gas, Russia’s customs agency said Monday. EU countries halted the vast majority of their energy purchases from Russia in a bid to exert economic pressure on Moscow over its military offensive against Ukraine.…
The governor of western Russia’s Kaliningrad region blamed the 18th-century German enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant for the outbreak of war in Ukraine. “He is directly related to the military conflict in Ukraine,” Anton Alikhanov, who governs the western exclave of Kaliningrad, said Friday at a local political science forum. According to the regional news outlet FederalPress, Alikhanov…
Russia’s nearly two-year war in Ukraine is likely to continue as a drawn-out war of attrition in 2024, with neither side expected to make major territorial gains, military analysts have told The Moscow Times. The Russian army, despite its firepower and personnel advantages, lacks the resources to achieve a decisive breakthrough in Ukrainian-held areas, resulting…
Lev Rubinstein, the legend of the Moscow conceptualist movement, the inventor of a unique way of writing, died on January 14, 2024. His life seemed as endless as his long poems and ended just as abruptly as they did — mid-word, on an ellipsis. This death devastated the Russian cultural community. Let us try to…
Ukraine said it destroyed most of the 45 attack drones launched by Russia overnight, with little damage reported on Sunday morning. The announcement comes a day after authorities announced seven were killed in a Russian attack that set a petrol station ablaze in Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv. “Overnight the occupiers launched 45 attack drones… As…
Many people think that Valentine’s Day — the holiday of love — came to Russia only in the early 1990s along with Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day. Nothing of the sort! More than one hundred years ago, back in the 19th century, on February 14 girls from the Russian nobility sent Valentine cards to their…
A Russian drone attack on a gas station in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday killed seven people, including three children, local authorities said. “A whole family of 5 people died in a fire at their home, a husband and wife and their three children,” Kharkiv region Governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on the Telegram…
A Russian drone attack on a gas station in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Saturday killed seven people, including three children, local authorities said. “A whole family of 5 people died in a fire at their home, a husband and wife and their three children,” Kharkiv region Governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on the Telegram…
“She was a regular girl, just like me or anyone else,” Elena Patyaeva said of her close friend, Seda Suleimanova. The two met in St. Petersburg, where Suleimanova, 26, had fled to after relatives in her home republic of Chechnya threatened to kill her for refusing an arranged marriage. On Wednesday, human rights group NC…
There’s nothing like a good history lesson. Unless, that is, President Vladimir Putin is the person giving the lesson, and he’s using it to justify why he launched a war against Ukraine. But Putin, eager as always to don his historian cap and Kremlinsplain away the invasion, gave U.S. conservative pundit Tucker Carlson the kind…
When Tucker Carlson announced his interview with Vladimir Putin claiming that “no Western journalist had bothered” to interview the Russian president, he was immediately corrected by not only other journalists but the Kremlin itself. And when the interview was finally released, Putin spent the first 30 minutes explaining his false assertion that Russia has a…
Yekaterina Mizulina, the leader of Russia’s crackdown on anti-war artists and content creators, has been confronted by university students in the republic of Tatarstan, media outlets reported Friday, in a rare example of public backlash to her work. Videos of heated debates between Mizulina, who heads the Kremlin-aligned Safe Internet League, and Kazan Federal University (KFU) students…
Свеча: candle Here at the Word’s Worth we haven’t done a quiz for a long time. Put down your гаджеты (devices), put your books under your seat, and get out your pencils. What or who caused the great fire of 1493 in Moscow? A) a faulty chimney; B) a careless priest; C) a drunken cook;…
Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added jailed leftist activist Sergei Udaltsov to its list of “extremists and terrorists.” Udaltsov was placed in pre-trial detention last month on accusations of justifying terrorism in social media posts. He faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty. Being added to Russia’s registry of “extremists and…
Moscow on Friday refused to say whether a convicted hitman who killed a former Chechen fighter in Berlin four years ago was a Russian agent after President Vladimir Putin hinted that he wanted him freed in a three-way prisoner exchange. In an interview with conservative pundit Tucker Carlson published Thursday, Putin brought up the case…
A group of Russian tourists arrived in Pyongyang on Friday, AFP photos and video showed, the first known foreign tour group to visit nuclear-armed North Korea since before pandemic-linked border closures. Their arrival comes as Moscow and Pyongyang bolster ties, with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un making a rare overseas trip to meet President…
On late Thursday night a fire broke out in the “writers’ house” behind metro Aeroport in Moscow. According to initial reports, the fire started in one apartment on the top floor of 4 Ulitsa Chernyakhovskovo and almost immediately set the roof on fire. The fire spread across the roofs of two more houses before being…
Russian investigators said Friday they have detained a blogger on charges of “rehabilitating Nazism” after she posted an Instagram video in which she pretends to tickle a World War II monument. Investigators initially opened a criminal case against 23-year-old Alyona Agafonova in July, accusing her of “cynical and immoral acts” toward the Motherland Calls monument…