Russian Prison Boss Offers Inmate Labor to Boost Military Production

Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service has offered the state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec the use of inmate labor to boost the production of military equipment for the country’s armed forces, the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant reported on Wednesday. Rostec head Sergei Chemezov, who is widely believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is said to have received a proposal from…

Russia Places Pussy Riot Co-Founder Nadya Tolokonnikova on Wanted List   

Russia’s Interior Ministry has placed Nadya Tolokonnikova, co-founder of Russian feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot, on its wanted list, independent news outlet Mediazona reported Wednesday.  Though the ministry didn’t specify which criminal offense prompted the move, the Russian authorities opened an investigation into Tolokonnikova for “insulting the religious feelings of believers” earlier…

Kremlin Forecasts ‘Long War’ With ‘Unfriendly Countries’

The Kremlin’s spokesperson predicted a long-lasting hybrid war against Russia’s Western adversaries on Wednesday after a media report revealed he had urged colleagues to brace themselves for a “forever war” three months ago. According to the report published by The Guardian on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned members of Russia’s cultural and political elite at a New…

IOC Backs Return of Russian Athletes as Individuals, No Timeline for Paris Olympics

Olympic chiefs on Tuesday recommended the return to competition of Russian and Belarusian athletes as individual neutrals, but refused to give a timeline on their potential participation at next year’s Paris Olympics. IOC president Thomas Bach said the body’s Executive Board had recommended to international federations and international sports event organizers that “athletes with a…

Belarus Blames Western ‘Pressure’ for Decision to Accept Nuclear Weapons

Belarus said on Tuesday that it felt compelled to host Russian nuclear weapons after “unprecedented” Western pressure, insisting their deployment did not violate international agreements. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, its closest ally, which drew condemnation from the West. “Belarus is forced to…

Russian Demand for Online Mysticism Courses Jumps 20-Fold

Online mysticism courses have experienced a nearly 20-fold surge in popularity among the Russian public, the Vedemosti business daily reported Tuesday, citing data provided by telecommunications companies. Analysts attribute Russians’ growing interest in mysticism to the stress and uncertainty being caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Online schools offering lessons in fortune telling, astrology, and…

Elites Allegedly Insulting Putin in Phone Call Cause Sensation in Russia

An audio recording of a telephone conversation allegedly taking place between Russian music producer Iosif Prigozhin and billionaire former senator Farhad Akhmedov continued to send shockwaves through Russia’s elites on Monday, as one media outlet publicly backed its authenticity. The unusually frank discussion between two well-connected and wealthy members of the Russian elite, supposedly a…

Kremlin Exempts Duma Deputies Visiting War Zone From Filing Tax Returns

Members of Russia’s lower house of parliament sent to visit Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine on official business are to be exempted from filing tax returns this year, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported Monday, citing two lawmakers. The news follows President Vladimir Putin’s decision last year to waive a transparency measure requiring government officials to publicly disclose…

Ice-Cold Sushi From Russia’s North

It’s not just vodka that must be ice-cold. Let’s be honest. One of the main achievements of Russian culture that Russians’ ancestors generously shared with the peoples of Siberia and the Far East was vodka. Yes, yes, of course: literacy, rifles, collective farms and radio — all that was fine, but they came later.  …

Shame That Is Cringeworthy

Патрики: Patriki, slang for the Patriarch Ponds neighborhood in Moscow I’ve gotten way behind in my youth slang. In my recent reading, I was stumped by the word падик. The phrase was about some people в падике (in the [mysterious] padik) so I knew it was a place or a structure. For a while, I…

Former Presidential Guard Jailed for 6 Years for Deserting Russian Army

A court in Siberia has sentenced a Russian citizen to six-and-a-half years in jail on charges of desertion for fleeing to neighboring Kazakhstan to avoid Russia’s mobilization drive last fall, media reported Friday. Former presidential guard officer Mikhail Zhilin, 36, sought asylum in Kazakhstan after entering the former Soviet republic illegally from Russia last fall. As a…

Russia Names Lawyer Chikov, Journalist Varlamov ‘Foreign Agents’

Russian authorities on Thursday added prominent human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov and journalist Ilya Varlamov to the country’s controversial “foreign agents” registry. Chikov and Varlamov were designated foreign agents for allegedly spreading “inaccurate information about the decisions made by public authorities,” the Justice Ministry said. Chikov, whose Telegram channel has more than 500,000 subscribers, was…

World Athletics Doping Ban on Russia Lifted, But Russians Still Suspended

World Athletics on Thursday lifted the ban on the Russian track and field federation for state-sponsored doping although its athletes remain barred from competition while Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues. The Russian federation was banned in 2015 after a damning World Anti-Doping Agency report identified “a deeply-rooted culture of doping.” For the athletics superpower to return to…

NRNU MEPhI announced enrollment of citizens of the Republic of Türkiye to study in the master’s program in Nuclear Physics and Technology

March 21, 2023, Moscow, Russia. – National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (NRNU MEPhI) announced enrollment of citizens of the Republic of Türkiye to study in the master’s program in Nuclear Physics and Technology. It is planned to enroll 25 students within the program of training qualified engineers for Akkuyu NPP, which is under construction in…

Russian Politician Katz Arrested in Absentia for Spreading ‘Fake’ News About Ukraine

Russian politician Maxim Katz has been arrested in absentia on charges of spreading “fake news” about the Russian Armed Forces, the independent Mediazona news website reported Thursday. Katz, 38, is well-known for his YouTube channel, where he discusses and criticizes Russia’s military actions in Ukraine to his more than 1.7 million subscribers. In October, Russia’s…

FSB Bans Climate Activist’s Family From Russia for Half a Century

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has banned the family of prominent Russian-Armenian climate activist and anti-war campaigner Arshak Makichyan from entering Russia for the next 50 years, he announced on social media Wednesday.    “It is a lifetime ban, even for my younger brother,” the activist tweeted. Arshak Makichyan, whose family fled the war in Nagorno-Karabakh…