This year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), called the “Russian Davos,” culminated Friday in a plenary session with President Vladimir Putin and Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Moderating the discussion was Dmitri Simes, a conservative U.S. political scientist and historian of Soviet origin, in another reflection of how far Russia’s standing has fallen on the…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, Father’s Day, thanked all “strong and brave” soldiers fighting Russia’s invasion, and hoped all dads would eventually return from the front. “Thank you to every Ukrainian father, to every Ukrainian family for our strong and brave soldiers who defended Ukraine’s independence, and fight for the life of Ukraine!” Zelensky said…
South Africa’s president, in Russia as part of a delegation pushing for peace between Kyiv and Moscow, told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday that the fighting had to stop. His delegation put forward a set of principles that the Kremlin deemed “very difficult to implement,” a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out talks…
South Africa’s president arrived in Saint Petersburg, Russia on Saturday ahead of talks headed by an African delegation pushing for negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow even as doubts grow they will bear fruit. The African leaders are attempting to make the continent’s issues heard after it has been buffeted by economic headwinds caused by the…
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Saturday called for more tanks to be manufactured “to meet the needs of Russian forces” in Ukraine after Kyiv launched a counteroffensive with Western arms. Shoigu, who visited a military factory in western Siberia, stressed the need “to maintain the increased production of tanks” and better security features in…
Russia on Saturday said it had destroyed three drones targeting an oil refinery in the southern border region of Bryansk, as Ukraine pursues its counteroffensive against Russian forces. “Russian air defense systems repelled an overnight attack by the Ukrainian armed forces on the ‘Druzhba’ oil refinery in the district of Novozybkov,” the governor of the Bryansk region,…
Georgian food has been popular in Russia for a long time, but in the mid-1930s it was almost an official part of our cuisine. Shashlik, satsivi and kharcho were almost an obligatory attribute of Kremlin banquets, and they also appeared on menus in many restaurants. In the Soviet years, Georgian cuisine was fared better than…
Crimea’s tourism industry is braced for another lost summer as Kyiv’s accelerating counteroffensive raises fresh safety concerns on the annexed peninsula and millions of Russian vacationers are set to stay away from its Black Sea resorts for the second year running. Tourist flows to Crimea — already down by around a third in 2022 —…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, was a “disgrace” to people of his faith. “I have a lot of Jewish friends,” Putin told an annual economic forum in St. Petersburg. “They say that Zelensky is not Jewish, that he is a disgrace to the Jewish people. “I’m…
Russia’s largest private lender Sberbank has completed its exit from the European market with the sale of its Austrian subsidiary, the bank said in a statement Friday. Sberbank’s sale of Sber Vermögensverwaltungs AG in Abwicklung (formerly known as Sberbank Europe AG) comes over 15 months since Sberbank was targeted by Western sanctions in response to…
Russia’s flagship economic showcase, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), took place under the shadow of the war in Ukraine and Moscow’s resulting economic isolation for the second year in a row. With Western leaders and business executives boycotting SPIEF for a second year running, this year’s event mainly saw foreign guests from former…
День России: Russia Day At The Moscow Times we follow the Russian work and holiday schedule, even though we are all living outside Russia. It might sound daft, but it actually makes sense. First of all, we’re covering news from Russia, so we need to work when Russia works and take a break when nothing…
More than 10,000 Russian servicemen have received cash payouts for destroying or capturing Ukrainian military hardware since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday. The bonus payments — ranging from 50,000 to 300,000 rubles ($600 to $3,580) depending on the type of equipment — are reportedly transferred to the…
Members of Russia’s political elite have turned to alcohol as they cope with the growing pressures brought on by Moscow’s war in Ukraine, independent media has reported, citing anonymous sources close to the Kremlin, parliament and regional administrations. Alcohol abuse has hit new highs since March, when the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against…
President Vladimir Putin hailed Russia’s ties with the United Arab Emirates on Friday as he met the leader of the oil-rich nation, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, in St. Petersburg. “The Emirates are a very good partner,” Putin said in televised comments at the start of the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of an…
Moscow on Friday reported intense fighting near southeast Ukraine settlements that had until recently been under its control, which appeared to indicate advances by Kyiv’s forces. Russian officials — including President Vladimir Putin — have repeated that Ukraine’s long-expected counteroffensive was failing despite Kyiv claiming some gains. But the Russian army said the most…
A memorial plaque dedicated to poet Anna Akhmatova has disappeared from the former Kresty prison in St. Petersburg, which featured prominently in her most famous poem, photographer Misha Burlatsky reported Thursday. Akhmatova’s son, the writer Lev Gumilyov, had been imprisoned in Kresty, which held many political prisoners during Stalin’s Great Terror, for “leading an anti-Soviet…
A barrage of Russian missiles greeted a delegation of African leaders arriving in Kyiv on Friday as part of a mission aiming to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. The high-level diplomatic team hopes to bring to the table the voice of a continent that has badly suffered from repercussion of the Ukraine war, including by rising…
Grigoriy Nazarov, Chief Executive Officer at NovaWind (ROSATOM’s wind power division), took part in the Renewable Energy: Low Electricity Prices or Technological Sovereignty session held on June 15 at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The session brought together industry experts from the government authorities, renewable energy market players, renewable energy equipment manufacturers, and…
The Czech president’s office on Friday watered down his claim that Russians living in the West should be monitored, likening them to Japanese Americans who were interned in the United States during World War II. President Petr Pavel told U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Thursday that Russians living in Western countries should be closely…
The plenary session Role of Nuclear Industry in Technological Sovereignty Assurance and Future Technologies was held on June, 16, 2023 at the XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2023) with the support of ROSATOM. The event was attended by: Thaung Han, Minister of Electric Power of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; Mikhail Chudakov,…
A Russian general was “almost certainly” killed in a strike on a command post in southern Ukraine this week, the British Defense Ministry said Friday. Major General Sergei Goryachev would be “the first Russian general confirmed killed in Ukraine since the start of 2023,” the British military said in an intelligence update on Twitter. Goryachev is…
Updated with Peskov’s comments. Mobile internet access will be disrupted at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s keynote speech, organizers said Friday, just hours before the Russian leader is expected to arrive at the event grounds. “Internet access for mobile devices will be temporarily unavailable at the SPIEF venue……
The 2023 Pushkin House Book Prize was awarded on Thursday evening to Owen Matthews for his book “Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin’s War Against Ukraine.” Using accounts from current and former Kremlin insiders, testimony of captured Russian soldiers and on-the-ground reporting from Russia and Ukraine, Matthews — a journalist who has been covering Russia…
Prosecutors in Russia’s republic of Chechnya have requested a 5.5-year prison sentence for the mother of a prominent Chechen rights lawyer and activist, the Committee Against Torture rights group reported Thursday. Zarema Musaeva, the mother of lawyer and activist Abubakar Yangulbaev, has been charged with assaulting the authorities and fraud — accusations she strongly denies. Musaeva was violently detained…
On June 15, 2023, within the scope of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an agreement was signed between ROSATOM and TSS Group on the basic conditions for developing an energy fleet based on floating power units (FPU) with RITM-200M reactors for overseas markets. TSS Group is Russia’s largest developer and manufacturer of integrated well…
Russian authorities maintain a secret registry of nearly 900 individuals deemed to be “affiliated” with people and organizations labeled “foreign agents.” The size of the registry, which is legally closed to the public, was disclosed in a report by the State Duma’s Committee on Foreign Interference published Thursday. The committee’s report states that 861 people…
ROSATOM and the Federal Service for Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision (Rostechnadzor) signed a supplementary agreement on interaction for support of the nuclear infrastructure development in the “newcomer” foreign countries on June, 15, 2023 in St.Petersburg on the sidelines of St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Alexey Likhachev, Director General, signed the document on behalf of…
June 15 in Saint-Petersburg ROSATOM and DP World today signed an agreement to jointly develop the Eurasian logistics and container shipping along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a potential new trade route connecting Asia and Europe, which would add much-needed resilience to the global trade landscape. The signing ceremony was attended by ROSATOM Director General…
UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi on Thursday said the situation at the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine was “serious,” but was being stabilized. Grossi arrived at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant to assess potential safety risks after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, which caused huge floods and exacerbated fears for the facility’s safety.…
On June 15, on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Rusatom International Network, and the Mongolian company Dayan Deerkh Energy Ltd. signed an agreement on strategic cooperation. From the Russian side, the document was signed by the President of Rusatom International Network Vadim Titov, and from the Mongolian side the document…
Czech President Petr Pavel said Thursday that Russians living abroad in Western countries should be closely monitored by security services, given Moscow’s “aggressive war” in Ukraine. The pro-Western Czech leader said he had sympathy for Russians outside the country finding it hard to cope with the invasion. But “when there is an ongoing war, the…
Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina warned Thursday that Russia is at risk of reverting to a planned economic system as it grapples with restructuring challenges driven by soaring war expenses and unprecedented Western sanctions. “The temptation to manage economic restructuring can lead to [a situation] where we suppress private initiative [by businesses], not to…
Russia’s far-right Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) has unveiled an AI chatbot featuring the voice and personality of its longtime firebrand leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who died last year after contracting Covid-19. Zhirinovksy — known for his brash ultra-nationalist views and support of the war in Ukraine — reappeared in the form of a ghostly neural network…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday lauded his “dear friend” Xi Jinping in a message for the Chinese leader’s 70th birthday. Putin told Xi “it is difficult to overestimate the efforts you have been making to foster the comprehensive partnership” between Russia and China, which have ramped up cooperation in recent years. The two leaders have grown…
Kyiv on Thursday reported progress in its counteroffensive on the eastern and southern fronts, despite contending with strong resistance from Russian troops. The chief of the UN’s atomic watchdog arrived in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzia — home to Europe’s largest nuclear plant and one of the current fronts — to assess risks to the…
ROSATOM and the Government of Chukotka have signed an agreement to collaborate on the implementation of a small nuclear power plant project in the region based on the latest Russian SHELF-M reactor plant. The agreement was signed during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Alexei Likhachev, Director General of ROSATOM, and Vladislav Kuznetsov, Acting Governor…
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), often called the “Russian Davos,” opened Wednesday in what is predicted to be the least impressive showing in the event’s 25-year history. Russia’s annual four-day economic showcase, which had once drawn crowds of foreign investors to President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, has been boycotted by Western countries for a…
Director General of ROSATOM Alexei Likhachev took part in the Northern Sea Route: New Challenges session at SPIEF 2023. The session highlighted the new significance of the Northern Sea Route as the most important transport route connecting the vast Arctic territories of Russia, as well as the North-West and the Far East of the country.…
June 15th, within the framework of the XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum ROSATOM’s wind power division NovaWind, Ministry of Electric Power of Myanmar, and Myanmar’s company Primus Advanced Technologies Ltd. signed a memorandum to launch feasibility study for wind farms construction. The document was signed by NovaWind CEO Grigoriy Nazarov, Deputy Director General of…
Russia on Thursday blasted Australia’s decision to prohibit Russia from building a new embassy after intelligence officials warned it posed a security threat. “To our regret, Australia diligently continues to follow the path created by the authors of the Russophobic hysteria, which is now active in the countries of the collective West,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Australia…
On June 15, a memorandum of understanding was signed in St. Petersburg between JSC «Rusatom Healthcare» (part of ROSATOM) and Zeya & Associates Co., Ltd (Myanmar). The memorandum was signed during the second day of the 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum by Igor Obrubov, Director General of JSC «Rusatom Healthcare» and Zeya Mon, Chairman…
An anti-war activist has died in police custody in southern Russia after receiving death threats from law enforcement officials, his lawyer told the OVD-Info human rights monitor late Wednesday. Anatoly Berezikov, 40, was detained last month on suspicion of hanging pro-Ukrainian leaflets in the city of Rostov-on-Don, some 60 kilometers south of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.…
June 15th, within the framework of the XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum ROSATOM’s wind power division NovaWind, Ministry of Electric Power of Myanmar, and Myanmar’s Zeya & Associates signed a memorandum to launch feasibility study for a wind farm construction. The document was signed by NovaWind CEO Grigoriy Nazarov, Deputy Director General of the…
Russian forces have downed nine drones over the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, its Moscow-installed Governor Sergei Aksyonov said Thursday. “Last night and this morning, nine drones were detected above republic of Crimea territory,” Aksyonov said on Telegram. “Six devices were shot down by air-defense forces” while three others were “deactivated”…
President Vladimir Putin has signed a confidential decree giving the Russian government powers to buy Western companies at a “significant discount,” the Financial Times reported Thursday, a move likely to make it harder for them to exit the country. The Russian government would be given priority rights to buy any Western asset for sale at…
The second Pan-African exhibition and conference, Africa Health ExCon 2023, took place in Cairo, Egypt. A key event in healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors brought together some 60,000 delegates and participants from over 90 countries. The exhibition took place annually under the auspices of H.E. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Representatives from ROSATOM enterprises actively participated…
Within the framework of the XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Atomstroyexport JSC (ASE) and Rostelecom PJSC have signed an agreement on strategic partnership in the field of implementation of digital transformation projects. The document was signed by Olga Tolstunova, Vice President for Digitalization and IT of ASE JSC, and Valery Ermakov, Senior Vice…
Olga Tolstunova, Vice President for Digitalization and IT of ASE JSC, and Dr. Mohammed Saad Dwiddar, Project Manager of El-Dabaa NPP (Arab Republic of Egypt, General Designer and General Contractor is ROSATOM Engineering Division), have taken part in the International Forum “Project Management. Response to New Challenges” that is being held on June 14 in…
Russian lawmakers voted on Wednesday to ban legal or surgical sex changes, the latest in a series of conservative proposals put forward since Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine last year. Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved in its first reading the bill that bans “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a…
Nikolai Dreiden, a theater and film director, strolls along the beaches of Tel-Aviv, Israel, speaking with passion about his work and the influence of his family. He comes from a well-known lineage in the Russian theater and cinematographic world: his grandfather, Simon, was a theater critic imprisoned under Stalin, and his father, Sergei, was a…
A fire broke out Wednesday at a power plant in Russia’s southern Rostov region, with authorities denying local media reports suggesting an explosion may have been the cause. Video shared online showed large flames and plumes of black smoke rising from the Novocherkasskaya power station, located some 50 kilometers southeast of Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Donetsk…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of Mali’s junta, Colonel Assimi Goita, discussed security and economic relations between their two countries, both sides reported on Wednesday. During the phone talks, “at the initiative of the Malian side,” the two leaders paid “particular attention” to trade and economic relations, including the delivery of cereals, fertilizers…
A visit by UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi to the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine was delayed to Thursday, Russian officials said. Grossi was expected at Europe’s largest atomic plant on Wednesday to assess any impacts to the site’s safety after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. The breach of the dam, which formed…
Updated with Kremlin’s comments and Kadyrov’s denial. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov denied media reports Wednesday claiming one of his close allies had been wounded in Ukraine. “Thanks to everyone who was worried! Adam [Delimkhanov] is alive and well and not even injured,” Kadyrov said on the Telegram messaging app. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry-run Zvezda TV…
Deadly Russian missile strikes hit southern and eastern Ukraine on Wednesday as the Western-backed country’s air defenses fought back against Moscow’s intensified attacks. Russia fired four Kalibr missiles on the southern port city of Odesa from a warship in the Black Sea, Ukraine’s air force said, with air defenses shooting down three of them. One of…
A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced a former regional coordinator of jailed Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny to seven-and-a-half years in prison on charges of creating an extremist group. Lilia Chanysheva, 41, headed Navalny’s political office in the central Russian city of Ufa until it was forced to dissolve in 2021, when the authorities blacklisted…
Fewer patent applications in the field of quantum technologies were filed in Russia last year due to sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday. Quantum computing is an emerging technology that seeks to solve problems too complex for conventional computers. The number of patent applications related to quantum technologies in…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday admitted that Moscow could have more successfully readied the country’s southern regions bordering Ukraine for cross-border attacks from Ukrainian territory. His comments, made at a meeting with pro-Kremlin war bloggers and reporters, follow weeks of intensifying strikes on the Belgorod region that included an unprecedented incursion claimed by an…
The Kakhovka dam, a critical dam holding back a major water reservoir on the Dnipro River, was destroyed last Tuesday, sparking an environmental and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine’s Kherson region. Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for causing the collapse of the dam. In areas upriver from the dam in the Zaporizhzhia region, the…