A prominent U.S. investor and French banker denied they were guilty of embezzlement Tuesday, on the opening day of a trial in Moscow that has rattled Russia’s business community. Michael Calvey, the 53-year-old founder of Russia-based investment fund Baring Vostok, was arrested along with French banker Philippe Delpal in February 2019 and accused of defrauding…
The Russian government suspects the poisoning attack on Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny could have been “staged” by the West since it still hasn’t received evidence from Germany, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference Tuesday. Lavrov’s comments come as Navalny faces years in prison for allegedly violating his probation while recovering in…
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective against symptomatic Covid-19, according to results published in The Lancet on Tuesday that independent experts said allayed transparency concerns over the jab, which Moscow is already rolling out. Sputnik V — named after the Soviet-era satellite — was approved in Russia months before results from its final-stage clinical…
A prominent US investor and French banker went on trial in Moscow on Tuesday nearly two years after they were arrested on embezzlement charges that rattled Russia’s business community. Michael Calvey, the 53-year-old founder of the Russia-based investment fund Baring Vostok, was arrested along with French banker Philippe Delpal and several associates in February 2019…
A Moscow court is beginning a hearing Tuesday on whether jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, whose arrest has triggered mass protests, should face years in prison. Navalny, 44, was detained on Jan. 17 when he returned to Moscow from Berlin, where he had spent months recovering from a near-fatal poisoning attack in August he blames…
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been placed in custody until Feb. 15 for allegedly violating the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence on fraud charges. On Tuesday, a court will deliberate over whether the 44-year-old anti-graft campaigner’s suspended sentence should be converted to prison time. Here are three things to know about the case: Yves…
Breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists began a vaccine drive with Russia’s Sputnik V jab, officials said Monday, as the government in Kiev struggled to secure alternative doses. The supply of Sputnik V to separatist authorities is Russia’s latest show of support for the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics, which have been locked in…
A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 frontline bomber has conducted a low pass over the United States Navy’s guided-missile destroyer in the Black Sea, the U.S. Sixth Fleet reported Monday. The USS Donald Cook has been stationed in neutral waters “to ensure security and stability in the region” as part of an operation under a NATO mandate,…
Russia is “legally and technologically” ready to disconnect from the global internet if needed, former President Dmitry Medvedev told Interfax Monday. Russian authorities have long flirted with the notion of tougher restrictions and control over the internet on Russian territory. While the country’s “sovereign internet” law passed in 2019 gives Russia the ability to cut…
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who has channeled the frustrations of Russians over the past two weeks to rally tens of thousands to protests across the country, has been on a complex ideological journey throughout his two decades in Russian politics. Over the course of his political career the 44-year-old activist has been described as…
Calls for targeted U.S. sanctions against several dozen Russian business and political elites by jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) confirms its status as a foreign agent, the Kremlin said Monday. On Jan. 30, FBK executive director Vladimir Ashurkov shared a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden listing individuals — many of whom…
Thousands of Muscovites protested in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny for a second weekend despite an unprecedented crackdown against the opposition in the days prior and a lockdown imposed by the authorities across central Moscow. Unable to gather at the planned protest point in front of the Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters, protesters…
Russian prosecutors have supported handing opposition leader Alexei Navalny a prison sentence of up to 3.5 years in a high-profile trial that starts Tuesday. Navalny was swiftly detained upon his Jan. 17 return to Russia from Germany, as Russia’s prison service accused him of violating his probation in a 2014 fraud conviction by failing to…
France on Monday urged Germany to scrap a major gas pipeline project with Russia in protest over the detention in Moscow of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. “We have always said we have the greatest doubts on this project in this context,” European Affairs minister Clement Beaune told France Inter radio. Asked specifically if France wanted Berlin to…
Russia has confirmed 3,868,087 cases of coronavirus and 73,619 deaths. Feb. 1: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 17,648 new coronavirus cases and 437 deaths. Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev got vaccinated against the coronavirus two months ago, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency quoted Medvedev as saying. Russia’s former Prime Minister did…
Tens of thousands of Russians joined unsanctioned protests across the country in support of jailed opposition activist Alexei Navalny for a second consecutive weekend, despite a week of crackdowns and threats of mass arrests. Navalny was detained in mid-January on his return from Germany, where he had been recovering from a poisoning attack he blames…
Russians nationwide staged a second round of protests calling for jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s release despite a growing crackdown and threats of prosecution by the authorities. Navalny’s allies called for new protests to demand his release after tens of thousands took to the streets nationwide last Saturday in rallies that also protested Russia’s elite,…
Russians nationwide are staging a second round of protests calling for jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s release despite a growing crackdown and threats of prosecution by the authorities. Navalny’s allies called for new protests to demand his release after tens of thousands took to the streets nationwide at last Saturday’s protests, resulting in a single-day…
Blue underwear and toilet brushes, snowball barrages and snow graffiti — Russia’s protest movement in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has seen demonstrators get creative. Here’s a rundown of the unusual memes and symbols from recent anti-government rallies and what they mean. Blue underwear Since December Russian protesters have hung blue boxer shorts…
Billionaire and Vladimir Putin ally Arkady Rotenberg said Saturday he owns a Black Sea coast property that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny says costs over $1.5 billion and belongs to the Russian president. Navalny claims the 17,691 square meter mansion sits on a property 39 times the size of Monaco and features a casino along with…
Iran’s ambassador to Russia said Saturday that Tehran expects to receive the first batch of Moscow’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine by Feb. 4, state news agency IRNA reported. The news comes just days after Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced the vaccine had been approved by the Islamic republic. “A contract for the purchase…
Russia has confirmed 3,832,080 cases of coronavirus and 72,697 deaths. Jan. 30: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 19,032 new coronavirus cases and 512 deaths. All Russian universities will be allowed to resume in-person classes starting Feb. 8, according to the decree issued by Russia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education Friday. Russia resumed flights with…
The brother and aides of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were placed under house arrest on Friday ahead of new rallies, as Russian authorities warned that protesters could face charges of taking part in “mass unrest.” Moscow police also announced that on Sunday, when the fresh protests are planned, movement in the center of the…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on legislation extending a key nuclear pact between Russia and the United States by five years, the Kremlin said Friday. “Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the federal law ‘on the ratification of the extension of the agreement between Russia and the U.S.’,” the Kremlin said in a statement,…
Employees of an online retail platform in Russia’s fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg have expressed their support for President Vladimir Putin in a massive dance flashmob. In the video, which was widely distributed by pro-Kremlin media channels, hundreds of Sima Land employees march and dance in military-style uniforms to patriotic Russian pop songs like “When They…
A Kremlin-loyal news outlet has gained access to the Black Sea palace that jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny links to President Vladimir Putin, confirming his claims that the property had to be gutted and rebuilt due to design flaws. Video published by the Mash Telegram channel Friday showed its chief editor being escorted inside the…
A Russian warship has sailed out of its home berth in the Black Sea to confront a U.S. destroyer navigating the area, the Russian Navy announced Friday. The Admiral Makarov performed air defense and combat-readiness exercises “under combat training plans,” Interfax cited the Navy’s Black Sea Fleet as saying. “The frigate’s crew will next conduct…
A local resident has been detained for cooking a barbecue over an eternal flame monument to fallen World War II soldiers in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, state media reported Friday. Footage shared by the Baza Telegram channel showed the elderly man crouching over the flames with two slabs of meat attached to a…
The mysterious deaths of nine young hikers in the winter of 1959 at a remote pass in the Ural mountains has fascinated Russia for decades and spawned countless theories from aliens to a botched nuclear test. Now research published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth and Environment has added weight to a natural explanation for…
Moscow police Thursday warned Russians supporting jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny against staging protests this weekend, saying demonstrators could face criminal responsibility. Tens of thousands of people across Russia rallied last weekend in support of the 44-year-old opposition leader, who urged supporters to protest against President Vladimir Putin’s 20-year rule. The opposition plans to hold…
Russia’s population decline has set a 15-year record amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to preliminary government data cited by the RBC news website Thursday. Russia’s population totaled 146.24 million as of Jan. 1, 2021, down from 146.75 million the previous year. The 510,000-person decline is the largest since 2005, when Russia’s population dropped by 564,500…
Three Russian political parties have merged into a single party ahead of this year’s State Duma elections in September, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Thursday. The leaders of the A Just Russia, For Truth and Patriots of Russia parties signed a unification manifesto to form the new A Just Russia — For Truth…
A Moscow court has upheld opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s 30-day pretrial detention on charges of violating probation terms from a previous conviction he says was politically motivated, the Mediazona news website reported Thursday. Navalny was placed in custody until Feb. 15 upon his return from Germany, where he spent months recovering from Novichok nerve agent…
Over 3500 military personnel have started martial exercises across six regions in Russia, the state-run TASS news agency reported Thursday. “The exercise involves army control structures, communications brigades, tank, infantry, artillery, missile, air defense units,” TASS quoted the Western Military District press service as saying, adding that nuclear, chemical and biological protection troops; reconnaissance and…
A Russian court has fined Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and its Russian-language services for violating the country’s “foreign agent” law, the U.S.-funded news organization said Wednesday. Russia labeled RFE/RL and its regional affiliates as “foreign agents” in 2017 in retaliation to the U.S. requiring Kremlin-funded media to register under anti-propaganda laws. This year, RFE/RL said it…
Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s family members and allies have been detained on charges of violating coronavirus restrictions following widespread raids on their homes and offices, the head of Navalny’s anti-corruption outfit Ivan Zhdanov said early Thursday. The raids and detentions in more than 30 Moscow locations follow last weekend’s nationwide rallies demanding Navalny’s release…
Russia has confirmed 3,793,810 cases of coronavirus and 71,651 deaths. Jan. 28: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 19,138 new coronavirus cases and 575 deaths. Moscow has lifted some measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus as cases continued to recede over the past week, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Wednesday. The measures include the…
Populist Sadyr Japarov was sworn in as president of ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan Thursday, completing a remarkable transformation from prisoner to president in just a few months. Japarov, 52, was serving jail time on hostage-taking charges before being freed during a political crisis over a parliamentary vote in October, beginning a dizzying rise to the top…
A Siberian shaman has once again been committed to a mental hospital on the eve of his planned cross-country journey to expel Russian President Vladimir Putin from power, the hospital and activists said Wednesday. Alexander Gabyshev, who has been placed in a psychiatric hospital twice in the past two years, announced in January plans to…
Russia does not support expanding the Iran nuclear deal to other issues like Tehran’s regional influence should the United States decide to rejoin, Moscow’s deputy envoy to the UN said Wednesday. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal was agreed between Iran, the United States, China, Russian, Britain, France and Germany…
An elite Russian chemical weapons squad that tailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny for years before allegedly poisoning him with Novichok was involved with at least three other killings, according to a joint investigation published Wednesday. In December, CNN, the Bellingcat investigative outlet, Russia’s The Insider and Germany’s Der Spiegel used phone records, flight logs and…
Russia will fine seven social media companies for not removing pro-Navalny videos ahead of last Saturday’s nationwide protests, the country’s communications regulator said Wednesday. “Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and YouTube will be fined for non-compliance with requirements to prevent the dissemination of calls to minors to participate in unauthorized rallies,” Roskomnadzor said in…
Russian law enforcement officers have searched Alexei Navalny’s Moscow apartment, his team’s headquarters and the apartments of his allies, the jailed opposition leader’s aides said Wednesday. The searches come ahead of a second round of nationwide unauthorized rallies calling for Navalny’s release planned for Jan. 31. Last Saturday, tens of thousands of Russians in over 120 towns…
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos for the first time in more than a decade Wednesday. Speaking amid outcry in the West over the jailing of poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Putin addressed geopolitical tensions, sanctions and economic inequality, the growing power of tech giants and more. Here are the…
Twitter and Facebook have blocked the accounts of powerful Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, his Concord catering company said Wednesday. The accounts belonging to Prigozhin, who is known as “Putin’s chef” because of his close ties to the Russian president, were blocked “without explanation,” Concord’s press service wrote on VKontakte. The company said it believed Prigozhin’s…
Siberian peat fires have continued to burn after a year of record-setting wildfires in and around the Arctic Circle despite temperatures below minus 50 degrees Celsius, The Siberian Times reported Wednesday. Footage showing smoke rising from the snow in January and November offers physical evidence of the “zombie fire” phenomenon, which describes summertime blazes that…
A protester kicked by police during a weekend rally in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in St. Petersburg was hospitalized for a second time after her condition worsened, her lawyer said Wednesday. Margarita Yudina, a 54-year-old mother of three, was initially hospitalized Saturday evening after the rally before being released the next day. Her…
An activist in northern Russia has been detained for organizing a “mass rally” against President Vladimir Putin using snowmen she built, a fellow activist said Wednesday. A photo shared by Arkhangelsk activist Andrei Borovikov shows four snowmen holding up anti-Putin placards. One of them references the billion-dollar palace that jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny claimed belongs…
Hours after Russia had completed its annexation of Crimea in 2014, while he was sitting under house arrest facing a criminal trial on charges European courts would later brand politically motivated, Alexei Navalny wrote an article for the New York Times titled “How to Punish Putin.” It was the anti-Kremlin campaigner’s manifesto for the West…
The Russian parliament’s lower house on Wednesday unanimously voted to ratify an agreement to extend by five years a key nuclear pact with the United States that was set to expire next week. A total of 399 lawmakers voted in favor of extending the agreement, with no votes against or abstentions. The upper house is…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday the extension of a key nuclear pact was a positive development in reducing global tensions, as lawmakers unanimously voted to ratify the agreement to prolong New START in a rare moment of cooperation between Moscow and Washington. “No doubt it is a step in the right direction,” Putin said…
In 2020, employees of RN-Nyaganneftegaz (an enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company) planted over 280,000 seedlings of Siberian pine and Baltic pine as part of the reforestation programme.
Russia’s security forces only established a no-fly zone around President Vladimir Putin’s alleged palace due to increased intelligence collection activity by NATO members, the security services told the RBC news website Wednesday. Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s recent viral investigative video alleges that the high-security Black Sea estate enjoys presidential-level protection from the Federal Security Service…
A popular TikToker and his friends have been detained for allegedly vandalizing a Russian security services car during mass rallies in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, media reported Wednesday. Konstantin Lakeyev, 18, is suspected of attacking the car appearing to belong to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in a widely shared…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday submitted a bill to parliament that would extend by five years a key nuclear pact with the United States that was set to expire next week. The New START treaty, signed in 2010, caps to 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed by Moscow and Washington,…
Moscow has lifted work-from-home measures and restaurant curfews as coronavirus cases continued to recede over the past week, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Wednesday. Since the fall, the Russian capital had required that employers transfer 30% of their staff to remote work and bars, restaurants, clubs and other nighttime establishments to close between 11 p.m. and…
A guest speaker at a St. Petersburg teachers’ webinar has been filmed giving a lecture on what he called the “Zionist lie” of the Holocaust, the Ekho Moskvy radio station reported Tuesday. Professor Vladimir Matveyev put forward debunked theories that no gas chambers had been found in Germany after World War II and that it…
President Joe Biden signaled a tougher U.S. stance on Russia on Tuesday in his first phone call with President Vladimir Putin, raising concerns over human rights and “aggression” against Ukraine, but welcoming cooperation on a new nuclear weapons accord. The call was initiated by the White House to discuss progress on extending the New START…
The G7 group of nations Tuesday condemned the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, calling his detention “politically motivated” in a statement. The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the U.S. said Navalny’s detention was “deplorable” and called for his “immediate and unconditional release.” “Russia is bound by its…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday backed a Palestinian proposal for a Middle East peace conference, saying at the UN that it could be held at ministerial level in spring or summer. Recalling that Moscow had backed Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas’ idea for international talks in early 2021 when he first proposed it in…