Russia Reports 147M Population in 2021

Russia’s population in 2021 hit147.2 million, the state-owned Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily reported Monday, citing census data. The Rosstat statistics agency said Russia’s population increased 1.4% since the previous census conducted in 2010. The growth came as a result of migration – without migrants moving to Russia, the population would have recorded a significant decline.  Former…

Russia’s Lavrov Denies Putin Is Ill

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday denied speculation that President Vladimir Putin was ill, saying there were no signs pointing to any ailment. Putin’s health and private life are taboo subjects in Russia, and are almost never discussed in public. Answering a question from France’s broadcaster TF1, Russia’s top diplomat said: “I don’t think…

Leonid Slutsky Elected Leader of Russia’s Nationalist LDPR Party

Russian parliamentary deputy Leonid Slutsky was unanimously elected Friday the head of Russia’s nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR).  “I could never have guessed that I would be elected the chairman of my native party,” Slutsky told party delegates after the vote, Vedomosti newspaper reported.  Slutsky also promised to “modify” the party’s political strategy ahead of…

Russia Ready to Help Overcome Food Crisis if West Lifts Sanctions — Putin

Moscow is ready to make a “significant contribution” to averting a looming food crisis if the West lifts sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said in a telephone call with Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi. “Vladimir Putin emphasizes that the Russian Federation is ready to make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis through the…

Google Disconnects From Russian Servers Boosting Local Internet Speeds

Google has disconnected its services from Russian servers designed to boost internet speeds, the RBC news website reported Thursday. Google Global Cache (GGC) allows local providers to offer Google content, including YouTube videos, from their own networks, lowering waiting times for customers. Without GGC, Russian users would experience slower access to Google content directly from…

Putin Visits ‘Hero’ Soldiers Wounded in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday met soldiers wounded in Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine and hailed them as heroes, in the first such visit since he sent troops into the pro-Western country. Wearing a white medical coat, Putin chatted to soldiers at Moscow’s Mandryka military hospital, Rossiya-24 television channel showed. After meeting the wounded…

Moscow Lifts Covid Fines to Prop Up Falling Incomes

Moscow will stop enforcing fines for Covid-19 violations in a bid to prop up falling incomes amid rising inflation and the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Wednesday. “We’ve taken many steps to mitigate the pressure from sanctions in recent weeks,” Sobyanin wrote on his website. “There are other challenges…

Russia Simplifies Citizenship for Ukrainians in Captured Territories

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday simplifying the process of obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainians living in territories seized by Russian troops in southern and eastern Ukraine. The fast-track citizenship option comes amid speculation that Moscow could establish permanent control over areas it has captured in its three-month invasion of Ukraine.  Russia first…

Nike to Exit Russia as Resale Contracts End

U.S. sports giant Nike is set to leave Russia after declining to renew the brand’s agreements with authorized resellers within the country. Contracts between Nike and two of its largest authorized Russian retailers expire this Thursday, May 26, the Vedomosti business newspaper reported Wednesday. The sportswear label decided not to extend the contracts or sign…

Russia Says Will Monitor Moldova Ex-Leader’s Case

Moscow warned Wednesday it would “closely” monitor the treatment of a pro-Russian ex-president in Moldova who had been detained on suspicion of treason and corruption. On Tuesday, prosecutors in the Western-backed country announced the arrest of former president Igor Dodon, as the conflict in neighboring Ukraine has heightened tensions between Moscow and Chisinau. Russian Deputy…

Russia’s Imports Fall to Two-Decade Low

Western sanctions and the exit of international businesses over the war in Ukraine have caused a fall in Russia’s imports to levels not seen since the early 2000s. Russia imported between $5 billion and $10 billion worth of goods last month, according to Bank Otkritie’s research data cited Wednesday by The Moscow Times’ Russian service. Russia’s…

Putin Allies Eye Prolonged Conflict in Ukraine

Top allies of President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow was ready for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine in order to achieve the Kremlin’s goals in the pro-Western country. The hostilities, which entered their fourth month Tuesday, have killed thousands of people, displaced more than eight million, and forced more than six million refugees to…

Moscow-Held Kherson Region to ‘Ask’ for Russian Military Base

The Moscow-appointed leaders of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region will “ask” for a Russian military base, state media reported Tuesday in the latest example of Russia’s creeping grip on captured Ukrainian territories. Russian forces have installed pro-Moscow “military-civilian administrations” and introduced Russian currency, media and internet services in an effort to cement their presence in occupied areas…

Pro-Russia Separatist Leader Threatens ‘International’ Tribunal for Azovstal Defenders

Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered while defending Mariupol’s besieged Azovstal steel plant will face an “international tribunal,” the head of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) said Monday. DNR leader Denis Pushilin told Interfax that all 2,439 prisoners from the Azovstal site were currently on the separatist republic’s territory.  “We are planning to organize an international…