Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters Senior Afghan officials warned on Monday that talks this week between Taliban militants and opposition politicians, including former President Hamid Karzai, betrayed the principles of democracy and Afghanistan’s best interests. The talks, starting on Tuesday in Moscow, come 10 days after peace negotiations between the United States and the Taliban in…
Russia has the second-lowest gasoline price in Europe, according to a study published by state media on Monday. Last year, Russian gas prices were the world’s 10th cheapest at an average 43.44 rubles per liter ($0.70), Bloomberg said in a ranking of 60 countries. Anger over rising prices forced the government to intervene to slow…
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a telegram congratulating him with the Lunar New Year. The North Korean New Year falls on Tuesday, Feb. 5 in 2019 and will be marked as “Juche 108,” celebrating the founding of the country’s isolationist state ideology in 1912. Read More On…
The Kremlin is still capable of delivering positive changes despite a struggling economy. Torzhok / Flickr (CC BY 2.0) On a Sunday morning in December, the future arrived in Torzhok, a sleepy town about 155 miles (250 kilometers) northwest of Moscow. It came in the form of an electric locomotive resembling a bright red caterpillar, chugging…
Update: Two more bodies were found in the building since the fire was put out, raising the death toll to eight people, including two children, an Investigative Committee spokesperson was cited as saying by Interfax. Eight people have died in an apartment fire on Nikitsky Bulvar in central Moscow, authorities said on Monday. Videos published online…
The percentage of Russians who say they are not willing to leave the country on a permanent basis has hit a 7-year record, according to a new survey published by the independent Levada Center. According to official data, 377,000 Russians left the country in 2017, the latest period for which figures are available and a…
The United States’ full withdrawal from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty would not herald the start of a new Cold War, the RIA news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Monday. “I don’t think we’re talking about the development of a Cold War,” Lavrov said. “A new era has begun.”…
Thousands of people across Russia on Sunday took to the streets to call for trash reform, in what has become a political flashpoint for the country. Organizers said some 26 regions took part in a nationwide demonstration titled “Russia is not a dump,” in protest of Moscow’s plan to solve a trash crisis by sending…
Russia has suspended the Cold War-era Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty after a similar move by the United States, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. “The American partners have declared that they suspend their participation in the deal, we suspend it as well,” Putin said during a televised meeting with foreign and defense ministers. The United…
Russian officials have pledged to revive missile production and said Moscow was ready to “respond militarily” to the United States suspending its compliance with the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Friday that Washington was suspending its compliance with the INF Treaty on Saturday and will withdraw from the…
In a YouTube video, opposition politician Alexei Navalny claims state workers’ salaries have remained stagnant despite assurances by the Kremlin. Alexei Navalny / Youtube Alexei Navalny’s last stint in prison gave him plenty of time to think. After serving a 30-day sentence in September for organizing protests, the opposition leader was immediately tossed behind bars…
The Soviet dream has finally died, at least for one Siberian retiree who swapped her red ID from the communist era for a maroon Russian passport. The unnamed Omsk woman lived with outdated documents for 28 years since the Soviet collapse, the regional Interior Ministry branch spokesman told state media on Friday. The 63-year-old was…
The United States said it will suspend compliance with the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia on Saturday and formally withdraw in six months if Moscow does not end its alleged violation of the pact, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday. The United States would reconsider its withdrawal if Russia, which denies violating the arms…
Life in Russian prison can bring out the artist within you. So says the prison service in Smolensk region 400 kilometers west of Moscow, which announced the results of a snow figure competition Thursday. The winning prize went to a sculpture inspired by the “The Motherland Calls” statue in Volgograd and was commended for its…
Andres Martinez Casares / Reuters The sighting of two Russian planes in Venezuela this week sparked rumors that Moscow was helping the Nicolas Maduro government ship gold reserves out of the country in an attempt to quickly raise cash. Other commentators speculated – without solid evidence –that the planes may have brought Russian mercenaries to…
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday Moscow had not yet received a message from Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who said he had sent a communication to Russia. “We have not received any messages yet. If or when we receive it, we will review it,” Peskov told reporters. He said Russia did not recognize Guaido as Venezuelan…
As the weather in European Russia fluctuates around the zero mark, snow accumulated over the past few weeks has melted (before freezing again), lining city roofs with menacing icicles. Since Wednesday, at least three people, including a 9-year-old boy, were hospitalized with injuries from falling icicles in the city of St. Petersburg alone, local media…
The share of Russians who think their country is going in the wrong direction has grown to a high of 45 percent of the population, according to a new poll published by the independent Levada Center pollster. Recent polls suggest that Putin’s approval rating has dropped to five-year lows, while a majority of Russians have…
Murtaja Lateef / EPA / TASS Zalina Gabibulayeva has had five children, four husbands and two jail sentences. All her spouses were Islamist militants who are either dead or in prison, the last two in Syria, where she was among hundreds of women stranded by the war before officials brought her back to Russia. “I…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the government in Kiev of flagrantly meddling in the life of Orthodoxy in Ukraine where a new national church has broken away from Moscow’s orbit. Speaking at a Russian Orthodox Church event attended by Patriarch Kirill in Moscow, Putin said that Russia reserved the right to defend people’s rights to…
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Thursday that Russia must compensate Georgian nationals who were rounded up and deported more than a decade ago. Russia ordered the expulsion of 4,634 Georgians between September 2006 and January 2007. Georgia said the expulsions were a deliberate policy to exact revenge for the arrests of four…
Rich Russians no longer welcome in London flock back to Moscow. vespermoscow.com Moscow real estate executives Boris Azarenko and Denis Kitaev should write the U.K. Home Office a thank-you note. Their company, luxury apartment developer Vesper, is seeing a pickup in demand from wealthy Russians, as Britain’s anti-money laundering measures block many from London, once…
The infamous troll farm at the center of a major U.S. election interference scandal has been reportedly evicted from its St. Petersburg headquarters after other tenants complained about repeated bomb threats to the building. The so-called Internet Research Agency was charged in February with running a propaganda campaign to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election.…
Russia will host the Taliban and Afghan politicians opposed to President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday, Russian and Taliban sources said, promoting its role of power broker in what a U.S. official called an attempt to “muddle” the U.S.-backed peace process. Moscow snubbed the Afghan government, sources said, to ensure the participation of the Taliban who…
The daughter of the first activist prosecuted under Russia’s law against “undesirable organizations” has reportedly died in intensive care. Anastasia Shevchenko, a coordinator for the Open Russia pro-democracy NGO, was placed under house arrest last week over violations of the 2015 law against “undesirable organizations.” Human Rights Watch called Shevchenko the first activist to be…
Russia’s state communications regulator said on Thursday that the BBC World News channel had committed “certain violations” while operating in Russia, Russian news agencies reported. Russia said last month it was launching an investigation into the BBC in response to pressure it said London was applying on a Kremlin-funded broadcaster’s operations in Britain. The regulator,…
Rauf Arashukov (Andrei Nikerichev / Moskva News Agency) The dramatic detention of Russian senator Rauf Arashukov, 32, on murder charges Wednesday has sent shockwaves throughout the country. The senator, who is the son of a high-ranking gas official, was detained by security forces during a live parliamentary session and has been charged with several crimes,…
A budding Russian blogger has been fined by police for riding a traditional carpet through the snowy streets of Nizhny Novgorod, 400 kilometers east of Moscow. Videos posted by local news outlets showed two lightly dressed young men riding the carpet attached to a car, in what appears to be an affordable local alternative to…
Russia and the United States failed to bridge their differences over a landmark Cold War-era arms treaty at last-ditch talks in Beijing, Russia’s deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies on Thursday. The impasse sets the stage for the United States to begin pulling out of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty,…
Scientists using sophisticated techniques to determine the age of bone fragments, teeth and artifacts unearthed in a Siberian cave have provided new insight into a mysterious extinct human species that may have been more advanced than previously known. Research published on Wednesday shed light on the species called Denisovans, known only from scrappy remains from…
Robert Mueller (Zhang Jun / Zuma / TASS) U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office said on Wednesday that self-proclaimed hackers in Russia stole evidence in an attempt to tarnish its investigation of a firm charged with funding a Russian propaganda campaign to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. Prosecutors said in a court filing in…
Six Russian sailors held hostage by pirates have been freed in Nigeria a month after they were captured in neighboring Benin. Authorities had said pirates kidnapped six Russian sailors of the Panama-flagged container ship MSC Mandy near Benin in West Africa on the night of Jan. 1. The armed pirates reportedly plundered 24 crew members…
A state-funded Russian film that lionises a Soviet World War II tank and its crew has become the second highest grossing home-grown production since the collapse of the Soviet Union, part of a Kremlin-backed drive to instil patriotism in young people. The Kremlin has long put the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany at the heart of a…
A teacher in the Moscow suburb of Khimki has quit her job after reportedly goading first graders into beating up their classmate during gym class. The eight-year-old was reportedly hospitalized with a concussion after his peers ganged up on him, encouraged by the teacher’s “let’s cut his foot off and eat it” comments. “He was…
The Kremlin on Wednesday claimed that Russia is not at war with Ukraine, in a response to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s recent call for a “cold peace” between the two countries. Poroshenko made the comments while launching an uphill re-election campaign on Tuesday with a promise to steer his country toward the West and join…
A Russian senator has been detained on murder charges during a live session at the Federation Council building in Moscow on Wednesday. Rauf Arashukov, 32, who represents the North Caucasus republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, was detained inside Russia’s upper chamber of parliament, Russian state media reported, citing sources present at the session. Russia’s Investigative Committee later…
A majority of Russians say they believe that a war could break out between Russia and other countries, according to a poll published Wednesday by the independent Levada Center. The fear of war among Russians has gradually subsided after the 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, when it peaked at 68 percent in…
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday he was ready to sit down for talks with the country’s opposition and open to the possibility of third countries mediating, Russia’s RIA news agency reported. RIA released his comments as the struggle for control of Venezuela intensified with the government preparing an investigation that could lead to…
The unusual arrival of a Russian passenger plane in Caracas has set social media abuzz with rumors about its mission after the Kremlin pledged to support its ally Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro against a U.S.-backed effort to drive him from office. The Boeing 777, with space for some 400 passengers and belonging to Russia’s Nordwind…
A crack has reportedly been uncovered on a Russian rocket during pre-launch preparations, a second defect in less than a year. The U.S. microsatellite startup OneWeb was scheduled to send its first satellite into orbit on a Russian launch vehicle on Feb. 19 as it arrived in French Guiana last week. It was the second hole…
Russian chess grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik, regarded as one of the strongest players in the world, announced on Tuesday he was retiring from professional competition. Kramnik, 43, made waves in 2000 when he defeated defending champion Garry Kasparov at the World Championship. Currently ranked seventh by the World Chess Federation, he became the undisputed world champion…
Russia has dropped further in an annual corruption index compiled by the Transparency International watchdog for 2018, tying with countries like Lebanon, Mexico and Papua New Guinea. Russia had consistently ranked in the bottom half of the global civil society group’s annual corruption perceptions index. Federal prosecutors said they cracked down on $27 million worth…
A school in Far East Russia is being investigated after a teacher reportedly punished students for being tardy by forcing them to sit through the rest of class in gas masks. Parents complained that a health and safety teacher made their seventh-graders wear gas masks for being late, a children’s rights official in the republic…
Russia expects Venezuela will probably have problems servicing its sovereign debt to Moscow, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister said on Tuesday, after Washington imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil firm in a move the Kremlin called illegal. The Trump administration on Monday imposed restrictions on the PDVSA oil company, aimed at curbing the OPEC member’s crude exports…
Local officials have installed giant fans to chase away air pollution in a Russian mining town that has been plagued by toxic air for months. Smog first engulfed the town of Sibai in November after suspected emissions from an abandoned copper mine, sparking protests. Local authorities began to issue medical masks and activated charcoal to…
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company amounted to illegal and open interference in the Latin American country’s domestic affairs. Moscow is assessing the impact of the sanctions on Russia and intends to use all legal mechanisms at its disposable to protect Russia’s interests in Venezuela in light of…
A senior state corporation manager has been fired after boasting about his sexual relations with junior employees during a gaming stream leaked online, Russian media reported Tuesday. A Twitch livestreaming platform video appeared on Monday purporting to show Ruslan Gorring, the deputy head of a state mineral exploration corporation, cursing out other players. The nearly…
Russia expects Venezuela will probably have problems servicing its sovereign debt to Moscow, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister said on Tuesday, after Washington imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil firm in a move the Kremlin called illegal. The Trump administration on Monday imposed restrictions on the PDVSA oil company, aimed at curbing the OPEC member’s crude exports…
The suspect in one of the most brazen art heists in recent history has confessed to having stolen prominent artist Arkhip Kuindzhi’s painting over the weekend to pay for his debts, Russian media have reported. Kuindzhi’s 1908 “Ai Petri, Crimea” was briefly stolen from Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery on Sunday before police recovered it in a…
Russia last saw major fortunes change hands via inheritance more than a century ago. Roman and Arkady Abramovich Nick Potts / FA Bobo / PIXSELL / PA Images With Vladimir Putin now in his last consecutive presidential term, post-communist Russia’s first generation of billionaires is starting to test his commitment to private property by giving…
Russia’s Justice Ministry has proposed exempting officials in “exceptional circumstances” from anti-corruption regulations in new draft legislation, following a plan set by Russian President Vladimir Putin last year. Russia ranks among the world’s most corrupt countries, with Transparency International’s annual corruption perceptions index ranking it in 138th place this year out of 180 countries. Read More Putin…
Russia’s health ministry has said that it wants to legalize the import of hashish and marijuana for research purposes, according to a recently published draft bill. Russia bans the circulation of drugs, including marijuana and other cannabinoids whose use is legalized in certain U.S. states and European countries. Hashish contains higher concentrations of the psychotropic…
A top Russian official has accused Western intelligence agencies of preparing for the possibility of civil war and the breakup of the country into separate regions. In 2017, U.S.-funded media reported on a movie about a Siberian secessionist movement spearheaded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros and the State Department. Soros and the U.S. are routinely…
Seventy-five years after the Leningrad siege ended, the city’s residents won’t be told how to remember. Daniel Kozin / MT There are no individual graves at the Piskaryovskoye Cemetery in northern St. Petersburg. So, the crowds of mourners who brought wreaths threw them in one big pile at the feet of “The Motherland,” a towering…
Alexander Avilov / Moskva News Agency Moscow was hit with its heaviest snowfall in nearly 70 years over the weekend, Russian media reported. While snow piled up on the pavements and snowplows hit the streets, many Muscovites rejoiced. The snowstorm started on Saturday morning and continued uninterrupted for some 37 hours, the weather news website Meteonovosti reported. …
The Kremlin has denied reports that private military contractors who carry out secret missions for Russia flew into Venezuela to reinforce security for its leader in the face of mass protests. Global superpowers split into two camps last week after the United States, Europe and Latin American allies backed opposition leader Juan Guaido declaring himself…
Russia’s cultural capital, St. Petersburg, has also distinguished itself as most tolerant of the LGBT community, according to the results of a recent survey. Russia banned “homosexual propaganda” among minors in 2013, leading the courts to ban gay pride events and public polling show surging anti-LGBT sentiment. In recent weeks, authorities in the North Caucasus…
A public official has been dismissed following reports that she had forced teachers to remove snow in freezing weather, authorities in the Saratov region southeast of Moscow said Monday. Reports and footage of women identified as Saratov school teachers shoveling snow into wicker bags sparked outrage across Russia over the weekend. Heavy snowfall and slow…
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday lifted sanctions on aluminum giant Rusal and other Russian firms linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska, defying a Democratic-led push in the U.S. Congress to maintain the restrictions. Earlier this month, 11 of Trump’s fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate joined Democrats in a failed effort to keep the…
Russian police have recovered a painting by prominent artist Arkhip Kuindzhi stolen from a Moscow gallery on Sunday and detained the suspected thief, TASS state news agency said on Monday, citing a police official. A 31-year-old man told police where he had hidden the painting, TASS quoted a spokeswoman for the Russian Internal Ministry, Irina Volk,…