When the annual BRICS economic bloc summit opens Tuesday in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan, Moscow will be pulling out all the stops to project the alliance as a rapidly expanding geopolitical counterweight to the West. President Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov has already hailed the summit as “the largest foreign policy…
A non-profit organization providing mental health and legal support services to LGBTQ+ people in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg announced Monday that it would shut down after coming under “anti-queer pressure.” The organization, called Lupta, was created in April 2023 as a support center for people facing discrimination over their sexual identity after its predecessor, the…
Authorities in Moscow claimed Monday that the narrow margin in Moldova’s constitutional referendum on EU membership “raises questions,” while also rejecting Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s accusations of Russian interference in Sunday’s presidential election. After nearly 99% of the votes were counted in a referendum that asked Moldovans whether to insert a clause into the constitution…
Alexei Navalny’s widow said she plans to run for president of Russia after Vladimir Putin leaves office and free and fair elections in the country become possible. “My goal is to bring about change in the country. If I return to Russia, I will run for president,” Yulia Navalnya told the BBC in an interview…
A group of Russian warships arrived in Myanmar to join maritime exercises with the military junta’s navy, state media in the Southeast Asia country reported Monday. The Global New Light of Myanmar said four corvettes and a logistics vessel from Russia’s Pacific Fleet arrived at Thilawa port in Yangon on Sunday “to join the second…
South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador in Seoul on Monday in protest over claims that Pyongyang sent thousands of soldiers to fight in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the troop deployments. Around 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers have been stationed in Russia, according…
Ukraine said on Sunday it had targeted a crucial Russian explosives factory, located about 750 kilometers (470 miles) from the border, in an overnight drone attack. Kyiv has repeatedly launched drone attacks deep into Russian territory, seeking to hit energy and military sites that it says are key to supplying Moscow’s invading army. A source…
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in two and a half years on Sunday as a decision was expected regarding Vucic’s participation in the BRICS summit this week. Serbia, a European Union candidate, has refused to impose sanctions on Russia, maintaining close and friendly relations. However,…
Censorship of literature is not new in Russia. In 2010 the Russian parliament passed a law requiring age-appropriate labels on books, esssentially requiring authors to avoid controversial themes such as drugs, sex, and profanity to retain a broader readership. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in March 2022 the government published amendments to the Criminal Code,…
The U.S. State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to any foreign person or entity engaging in election interference, it said just weeks before Americans select their next president. An announcement from the department’s Rewards for Justice program specifically singled out Russian media organization Rybar LLC, which it…
North Korea’s decision to deploy thousands of soldiers to Ukraine’s front lines cements Pyongyang’s contentious military alliance with Moscow, experts told AFP, and pulls Russia deeper into Korean peninsula security. About 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers are already in Russia acclimatizing, likely to head to the front lines soon, Seoul’s spy agency said Friday, with…
Russia said Friday that it had swapped 95 Ukrainian soldiers held captive for an equal number of Russian troops in an exchange deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. “As a result of the negotiation process, 95 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said. “In return, 95…
What condiment can you put on sausages, jellied meat, pelmeni and even add to summer soup? Horseradish, of course. It is one of the main seasonings used in Russian cuisine. We don’t know when it first appeared in everyday life since it was already mentioned in our most ancient books about cooking and horticulture. It’s…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestion that Kyiv would seek nuclear weapons if it could not join NATO was a “dangerous provocation,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. The Ukrainian leader made the comments at an EU summit on Thursday, in which he said “either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, which will protect us, or we…
Russia and Ukraine said Friday they exchanged the bodies of 590 fallen soldiers in the latest publicly known swap between the two warring countries. Moscow received the remains of 89 soldiers, the RBC news website reported, citing Russian lawmaker Shamsayil Saraliyev, who is a member of a parliamentary group dedicated to Russia’s so-called “special military…
The BRICS group of countries is driving global economic growth faster than advanced Western economies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the group’s business forum on Friday. The five original members of BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — together with its four newcomers accounted for 37.4% of global GDP compared to 29.3% for…
As Moldova gears up for its presidential election and EU referendum this Sunday, President Maia Sandu is banking on both her victory and a successful EU referendum, which would mark a decisive moment in her efforts to bring Moldova into the European Union. In total, 11 candidates are vying for the presidency in the Oct.…
Latvia imposed an indefinite entry ban for pro-Kremlin designer Artemiy Lebedev and comedian Valery Ponomarenko, a month before he was due to perform in the country, Latvia’s Foreign Ministry announced Friday. Latvian authorities did not cite the specific reasons for blacklisting Lebedev and Ponomarenko, noting only that the former is “known in certain circles” and…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend this month’s BRICS summit in Russia, India’s Foreign Ministry said Friday, months after the Indian leader met with President Vladimir Putin in a meeting that drew condemnation from Ukraine. Modi’s government has longstanding ties with Moscow that have persisted despite India’s attempts to forge closer security partnerships with…
North Korea is sending “large-scale” troop deployments to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine, with 1,500 special forces already stationed in Russia’s Far East where they are undergoing training, Seoul’s intelligence agency said Friday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) released detailed satellite images of what it said was Pyongyang’s first deployment to Russia. South Korean President Yoon Suk…
Washington unveiled new sanctions Thursday targeting China-based companies linked to the production of drones that Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine. It marks the first time the U.S. sanctioned Chinese companies “directly developing and producing complete weapons systems in partnership with Russian firms,” the U.S. Treasury Department said. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said…
Russia’s agricultural safety watchdog banned the import of tomatoes, melons, wheat and other food products from neighboring Kazakhstan amid ongoing trade disputes between the two countries. “The decision was made because Kazakhstan’s competent authorities failed to take measures to ensure the phytosanitary safety of [products sent to] Russian territory,” Rosselkhoznadzor said Thursday. The watchdog said…
Authorities in southwestern Russia’s Belgorod region on Friday denied reports of Ukrainian troops launching an incursion into a village on the border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Open-source intelligence bloggers speculated earlier this week that Ukraine may have opened a “new axis” in the Belgorod region village of Zhuravlevka to cut off one of the Russian…
A cargo ship capsized off the coast of Far East Russia’s Sakhalin island, killing at least two crewmen, the state-run Interfax news agency reported Friday, citing emergency services. Earlier, Sakhalin region Governor Valery Limarenko said the Grigory Lotsov, which was loaded with crushed stone and sand, sank off the coast of Sakhalin’s Korsakovsky District. Limarenko…
Top executives of the largest nuclear companies and organizations from BRICS+ member states, including Russia, China, South Africa, Brazil, Iran, Ethiopia, and Bolivia, held the first meeting within the framework of the Nuclear Energy Platform being created. During the meeting, which took place at the Moscow Atom Museum, the participants discussed the initiative and outlined…
Russia is preparing to deploy 10,000 North Korean soldiers in the fight against Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, citing intelligence information. Zelensky has previously accused North Korea of sending troops to Russia’s army but this was the first time he gave an exact figure. An unspecified number of North Korean soldiers were already…
Russian law enforcement authorities placed the wife of opposition figure Leonid Gozman under house arrest on allegations of trafficking cultural goods from Russia to Italy, media reported Thursday. The independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, citing a court indictment, reported that the “cultural goods” listed by authorities include “kitchen and household utensils” inherited by the Gozman family…
When Ukrainian soldier Ihor Shyshko described his two years of detention in Russia alongside 72-year-old U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, three words came to mind: torture, humiliation and hunger. After being held incommunicado for two and a half years, Hubbard suddenly appeared in a Moscow court last month where he was sentenced in a closed trial…
October 17, 2024, 17:20 The Gazprom Management Committee took note of the information about the ongoing work on implementing the projects for the production and supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG). It was noted that the Company consistently reinforces its positions in this business segment in order to further increase the flexibility and reliability of consumer gas supplies. The large-scale plant within the Sakhalin II project is successfully…
October 17, 2024, 17:15 The Gazprom Management Committee took note of the information about the ongoing efforts for ensuring the technological independence of the processing complex of Gazprom. It was noted that it is an activity of strategic importance for Gazprom to develop the processing of gas and other hydrocarbons in Russia. The Company is carrying out this work with the active use of the Russian scientific and industrial potential. The newly…
Russia’s Orthodox Church plans to give pregnant women in the northwestern Tver region letters urging them to give birth instead of having an abortion. The Tver diocese announced earlier this week that a letter penned by Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashinsk will be sent out to regional prenatal centers at a time when women…
October 17, 2024, 17:05 The Gazprom Management Committee took note of the information about the operational readiness of the Gazprom Group’s facilities for peak loads expected in late 2024 – early 2025, as well as about the measures necessary to ensure uninterrupted gas supplies to consumers in the winter period. It was noted that, in 2024, the usual diagnostic and repair works at the facilities, as well as the filling of underground…
Three workers were killed after part of a gold mine collapsed in Far East Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, the head of the regional Emergency Situations Ministry said Thursday. The men were working at the Kumroch mine, located in Kamchatka’s Ust-Kamchatsky District, when one of the shafts collapsed. The site is operated by the Bystrinskaya Mining Company and…
Britain on Thursday announced its largest sanctions to date against Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers used to sidestep a Western embargo on oil exports after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The government’s latest crackdown bars 18 ships from U.K. ports and British maritime services, bringing the total number of sanctioned vessels to 43. Experts say…
Serbian authorities ordered a Russian expat involved in anti-Kremlin activist work to leave the country by the end of this week over “risks” he allegedly poses to national security, local media reported Wednesday. According to Serbian broadcaster N1, a CNN affiliate, Russian citizen Anton Bobryshev has lived in the Balkans country for eight years on…
Foreign companies seeking to leave Russia will be forced to pay a heftier “exit tax” and “voluntary contribution” to the state treasury, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Thursday, confirming earlier reporting of the planned increase. “The discount for foreigners will increase from 50% to 60%,” Siluanov, who heads a government investment commission that approves foreign…
Russia will deport more than 2,000 undocumented migrants following a recent series of police raids, the Moscow branch of Russia’s Interior Ministry announced Thursday. The weeklong raids in the Russian capital, dubbed “Operation Nelegal 2024,” uncovered more than 13,000 violations of immigration law, according to the ministry’s statement. It said more than 10,000 foreigners were…
British counterterrorism police said Thursday they were investigating how a package burst into flames at a shipping warehouse earlier this year after a similar case in Germany was blamed on Russia. The incident occurred at a DHL warehouse near Birmingham on July 22. No one was injured in the fire, which was put out by…
More than twice as many Russian tourists have visited Japan so far this year compared to 2023, according to preliminary data from the Japan National Tourism Organization published on Thursday. In the first nine months of 2024, nearly 64,000 Russians visited the East Asia island nation, while the same period last year saw just 27,070…
“Childfree propaganda is a socially dangerous phenomenon. The Americans are promoting this. Our country is vast and their [U.S.] ideology is dangerous. Under no circumstances should it be allowed to spread.” These were the words of Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, as he justified proposed legislation imposing heavy fines on…
The mayor’s office of the Siberian city of Tomsk removed makeshift memorials commemorating victims of Soviet-era repression less than a month after a group of local historians installed them. In late September, historians in Tomsk erected five wooden posts with the names and photos of 30 people who were executed and buried in the city’s…
Russian airstrikes on sites including a furniture workshop in northwest Syria killed 10 people and wounded 30 others, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late Wednesday. “The number of people killed in Idlib has risen to ten civilians including a child, due to the Russian airstrikes on Idlib countryside,” the U.K.-based war monitoring organization said,…
Moldova claimed Wednesday that authorities in Russia were planning to undermine the country’s upcoming presidential election and a referendum on joining the EU by bussing in voters to polling stations at the Moldovan Embassy in Moscow. Moldova’s Foreign Ministry said it was alarmed by reports of Russia allegedly preparing to “artificially create the impression of…
A Russian official who resigned after a federal lawmaker accused him of being in a relationship with a man has fled the country and denounced Moscow’s war against Ukraine. In April, State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein outed Denis Leontovich, an ex-employee of the Samara region’s youth policy agency, as a member of what he claimed to…
Two Russian men arrested in Poland on espionage charges went on trial Wednesday for allegedly distributing leaflets and stickers promoting the Wagner mercenary group, a Polish court said. The pair, identified by Polish counterintelligence as Alexei T. and Andrei G., were detained in August 2023 for distributing leaflets about the Wagner Group in the cities…
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has declared a “blood feud” against three federal-level lawmakers hailing from the neighboring republics of Dagestan and Ingushetia. The statement was yet another twist in the months-long dispute between Tatiana Kim, the CEO of Russia’s largest online retailer Wildberries, and her estranged husband Vladislav Bakalchuk. The Moscow Times spoke to prominent…
A man who died in police custody amid a regionwide crackdown on protesters and activists in Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan earlier this year was beaten to death by police, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Wednesday, citing an independent forensic analysis conducted at the request of his family. Rifat Dautov was among more than 80 people…
On October 16, 2024, a meeting was held between Alexey Likhachev, Director General of ROSATOM, and Aleksandar Vulin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia. During the meeting, the parties discussed the issues of expanding cooperation in the field of non-energy use of nuclear technologies, attracting Serbian companies to implement projects in third countries,…
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that Berlin wants to explore ways of ending the war in Ukraine, hinting at possible talks with Moscow, but stressing that any efforts to bring a resolution to the conflict would need to happen in cooperation with authorities in Kyiv. “Alongside clear support for Ukraine, it is time for…
Russian pro-war singer Shaman filed to trademark the phrase “Ya Russky” (“I’m Russian”) for alcoholic beverages, various household products and even sex toys, the Moskva news agency reported Wednesday, citing documents it obtained. “Ya Russky” has become Shaman’s calling card after he emerged from relative obscurity with patriotic pop songs in the wake of Russia’s…
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its forces captured two more villages in different parts of eastern Ukraine, with one of them lying just several kilometers away from the critical logistics hub of Pokrovsk. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have fled to Pokrovsk as Russia’s military wages a campaign to capture the whole of eastern Ukraine’s…
The Kremlin said Wednesday it had yet to see Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “victory plan” to end the war, but urged authorities in Kyiv to “sober up” and admit what it called a futile effort to defeat Russia. Zelensky unveiled details of the plan earlier Wednesday, telling Ukrainian lawmakers it could help the country win…
Russia’s government approved plans to reduce the country’s temporary migrant worker quota by nearly half in 2025, the state-run TASS news agency reported Wednesday, citing a government document it obtained. According to the document, Russian authorities set next year’s quota at 5,500 migrants, roughly half of this year’s quota of 10,595. The quota determines the…
Two federal lawmakers have denied ordering the assassination of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov after he declared a “blood feud” against them and a senator amid a dispute over the merger of Russia’s largest online retailer Wildberries. Last week, Kadyrov accused State Duma deputies Bekhan Barakhoyev and Rizvan Kurbanov, as well as influential billionaire and Federation…
A prominent Moscow bar owner’s business partner was arrested as part of an investigation into a car bomb attack that injured the owner and his six-year-old son this week, authorities and Russian media reported early Wednesday. CEO and co-founder of the Shaker Group, Viktor Mishachev, his son and his neighbor were hospitalized after an explosive…
Spanish authorities on Tuesday said they had arrested four people suspected of orchestrating a sanctions-busting commercial network after intercepting 13 tons of chemical products bound for Russia. The investigation began in 2022 after Western countries imposed waves of sanctions on Russia to prevent it from acquiring equipment and technologies for its war with Ukraine. Police…
Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of the late Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, announced the creation of a non-profit foundation aimed at helping Russian independent media, saying that Russian civil society lacks a “transparent and competitive” donor system. Shortly after Moscow launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian government introduced draconian wartime censorship…
The Ukrainian government has reiterated it will not renew its gas transit agreement with Russia when it expires in January 2025. The European Union is also preparing for life with even less Russian gas as it seeks to phase out Moscow’s supplies. If this gas route is lost, it may intensify Europe’s battle with Asia…
Moscow said Tuesday that a defense pact it signed with North Korea earlier this year is “unambiguous,” as tensions flared over Pyongyang’s destruction of roads leading to South Korea. North Korea blew up sections of roads and rail lines on its side of the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas on Tuesday, prompting Seoul…
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Tuesday temporarily handing over control of a major canned food maker to the Russian government. In April 2023, Putin authorized the government to seize the Russia-based assets of foreign companies from countries the Kremlin views as “unfriendly,” a move widely seen as retaliation to the West freezing around $300…