Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | March 3

Russia has confirmed 4,278,750 cases of coronavirus and 87,348 deaths. March 3: What you need to know today Russia on Wednesday confirmed 10,535 new coronavirus cases and 452 deaths. Health authorities in Angola, Congo and Djibouti have authorized Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, its developers confirmed Wednesday.  Around 4 million Russians have been vaccinated against the coronavirus so…

Russia Labels Navalny-Linked Doctors’ Union a ‘Foreign Agent’ – Reports

Russia has declared an independent doctors’ union linked to opposition leader Alexei Navalny a “foreign agent,” Interfax reported Wednesday. The Doctors’ Alliance headed by Navalny’s ophthalmologist Anastasia Vasilyeva rose to prominence last year for criticizing the government’s coronavirus response and distributing aid to underfunded regional doctors. Vasilyeva is currently under house arrest for calling on supporters to…

Moscow Hotel Bookings Surpass European Cities Facing Virus Restrictions

Moscow hotels have the highest occupancy rates in Europe, the Vedomosti business daily reported Wednesday, citing data from consulting company Cushman & Wakefield.  Unlike other European cities, the Russian capital has remained relatively open with only limited restrictions imposed when new coronavirus infections began to soar in the fall. Since late January, most restrictions have…

Chechen Leader Kadyrov Taps Cousin for Grozny Mayor

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has named another relative to a high-level government post in the southern Russian republic that enjoys federal subsidies while maintaining relative autonomy from Moscow, state media reported Tuesday. Kadyrov’s third cousin Khas-Magomed Kadyrov, 30, follows in the footsteps of two Kadyrov daughters in their early 20s as well as two nephews…

U.S., EU Sanction Russia Over Navalny Poisoning

The United States and the European Union have imposed new sanctions on senior Russian officials over the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, officials announced Tuesday. President Joe Biden’s first Russia sanctions since taking office in January are coordinated with EU actions against four top Russian justice and law enforcement officials. A senior U.S.…

Has Russia Beaten Boom and Bust?

A year after the coronavirus pandemic plunged the global economy into turmoil and sent stock markets tumbling, Russia has emerged as one of the world’s best performers. Russia’s economy shrank by just 3.1% in 2020 — far less than advanced economies — and could reach its pre-pandemic size within the next 12 months. The most…

UN Experts Urge Global Probe of Navalny Poisoning

Two UN human rights experts called Monday for an international investigation into the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and demanded his “immediate release” from a Russian penal colony. Agnes Callamard, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, and Irene Khan, the top expert on freedom of opinion and expression, stressed the…

Second Russian Officer Suspected of Leaking Navalny Poisoners’ Data – Kommersant

A second Russian police officer has been suspected of leaking security officers’ travel data from the day of opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s poisoning, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday.  A major media investigation in December published the names of Federal Security Service (FSB) chemical-weapons experts who it said tailed Navalny for years, including on the…

What Did Japarov Get in Russia?

In accordance with a now-established custom, Kyrgyzstan’s president performed his first foreign visit by going to Russia and paid tribute to President Vladimir Putin. The trip produced little of substance beyond mutual commitments of goodwill. That was important enough in and of itself, however, since Sadyr Japarov’s credentials with Moscow have to date not looked…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | March 1

Russia has confirmed 4,257,650 cases of coronavirus and 86,455 deaths. March 1: What you need to know today Russia on Monday confirmed 11,571 new coronavirus cases and 333 deaths. Around 4 million Russians have been vaccinated against the coronavirus so far, state-run TASS news agency reported Friday citing Russia’s Health Ministery representative.  Guatemala became the latest country to…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Feb. 27

Russia has confirmed 4,234,720 cases of coronavirus and 85,743 deaths. Feb. 27: What you need to know today Russia on Saturday confirmed 11,534 new coronavirus cases and 439 deaths. Around 4 million Russians have been vaccinated against the coronavirus so far, state-run TASS news agency reported Friday citing Russia’s Health Ministery representative.  Guatemala became the latest country to…

Biden Says U.S. Will ‘Never’ Accept ‘Aggressive’ Russia’s Crimea Annexation

President Joe Biden said Friday that the United States will “never” accept Russia’s annexation of part of Ukraine seven years ago. “The United States does not and will never recognize Russia’s purported annexation of the peninsula, and we will stand with Ukraine against Russia’s aggressive acts,” Biden said in a statement marking the anniversary of the Russian invasion…

Russia’s Booming Intensive Animal Farming ‘A Ticking Time Bomb’ for Future Viruses

As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s discovery of the world’s first cases of transmission of bird flu from animals to humans is prompting experts to warn that the country’s increasing large-scale industrial meat production could create conditions for future viruses to thrive. While the H5N8 strain of avian flu has been ravaging…

Russia Slams ‘Outrageous’ U.S. Airstrikes in Syria

Russian officials have condemned the United States’ airstrikes in Syria, accusing Washington of an “outrageous” violation of international law on Friday. U.S. President Joe Biden directed airstrikes overnight against infrastructure facilities in eastern Syria belonging to what the Pentagon said were Iran-backed militant groups, killing at least 22 people. In its statement, the Pentagon added…

Russian Pranksters Trick Amnesty Heads in Navalny ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ Call

A pair of notorious Russian pranksters duped top Amnesty International directors into saying their widely panned move to revoke jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s “prisoner of conscience” status caused damage. Amnesty was hit with widespread backlash for the decision Wednesday, with critics saying the group had caved in to a “targeted campaign” to discredit Navalny…

Moscow City Hall Develops App to ‘Replace’ Skype, Slack – RBC

Moscow authorities have developed an internal messaging app intended as a “full replacement” for workplace communication platforms like Slack, Skype and Telegram, the RBC news website reported Thursday.  The app’s appearance comes as Russia slams what it calls censorship and discrimination of government-affiliated accounts by western social media platforms. Earlier this week, President Vladimir Putin…

Moscow To Expand Metro Facial Recognition Network

Moscow authorities have allocated more than $10 million to purchase and install across the city’s sprawling metro system high-definition cameras that can recognize faces and track fast movements, Russian media reported Thursday. Russia’s capital Moscow in recent years has developed a vast network of some 100,000 facial recognition cameras, sparking concerns from activists over state…