Belarus Briefing | Nov. 6

Belarus has seen weekly mass protests against the disputed presidential re-election of Alexander Lukashenko for nearly three months. On Monday, exiled Belarusian opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for a national strike after the deadline she set for Lukashenko to resign and free all political prisoners expired the previous day. Here’s more of the latest news…

‘Crucified Jesus’ Detained Outside Moscow FSB Headquarters

A Russian activist has been detained for staging a half-naked crucifixion stunt outside the Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters in central Moscow, witnesses reported late Thursday. Pavel Krisevich replicated the crucifixion of Jesus Christ while other activists in raincoats labeled “FSB” doused the surrounding area with a harmless burning liquid and scattered folders signifying criminal…

Russia’s Doping Ban Decision ‘by End of Year’, Says CAS

A decision over whether to overturn Russia’s four-year ban from international sport due to state-sanctioned doping will be known “by the end of this year,” the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said Thursday. A four-day arbitration hearing between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) wrapped up after four days of…

OSCE Condemns Belarus Torture, Calls for Fresh Presidential Vote

A report from the OSCE election-monitoring organization published on Thursday condemned “massive” rights abuses and torture in Belarus and called for a re-run of the country’s August presidential polls in which President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory. The first major independent report into the election and subsequent crackdown by authorities said human rights abuses “were found…

Navalny Offices Raided, Aide Charged With Contempt

Masked men in uniforms raided the Moscow offices of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and authorities charged one of his key aides with contempt of court, multiple reports said Thursday. Footage shared by Navalny’s social media team showed the men sticking tape over security cameras and entering the separately located offices of his Anti-Corruption Foundation…

Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing | Nov. 5

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan — now in its sixth week — shows little sign of easing after both sides accused the other of breaking an agreement not to target residential and civilian areas with missile strikes. Nagorno-Karabakh and areas under control of Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, before the conflict resumed in September 2020.…

Russia Moves to Grant Ex-Presidents Lifetime Immunity From Prosecution

Russian lawmakers submitted legislation Thursday that would grant former presidents lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution under President Vladimir Putin’s constitutional reforms, Interfax reported. Under current laws, presidents cannot be held criminally or administratively liable for crimes committed while serving their terms. A parliamentary working group assessing Putin’s constitutional reforms proposed earlier this year to extend…

Coronavirus ‘Worsening’ in Moscow, Mayor Says

Moscow’s coronavirus outbreak has spread this week despite efforts to contain it, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Thursday. Sobyanin credited the Russian capital’s public transport mask mandate, working from home rule and remote learning plan for bringing down the number of new Covid-19 cases in the past two weeks. “But earlier this week the situation began…

Belarus Briefing | Nov. 4

Belarus has seen weekly mass protests against the disputed presidential re-election of Alexander Lukashenko for nearly three months. On Monday, exiled Belarusian opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for a national strike after the deadline she set for Lukashenko to resign and free all political prisoners expired the previous day. Here’s more of the latest news…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 5

Russia has confirmed 1,693,454 cases of coronavirus and 29,217 deaths. Nov. 4: What you need to know today Russia has confirmed the record-breaking number of 19,768 new coronavirus cases and 389 deaths.  Russia is set to miss the self-imposed coronavirus vaccination timeline, information obtained by the business news website The Bell suggests. While the authorities have vowed to vaccinate…

Kyrgyzstan Elects Speaker Loyal To New Leader Ahead of Vote

Kyrgyzstan’s parliament elected an ally of acting leader Sadyr Japarov as speaker Wednesday, in a move bolstering the populist politician’s position as he prepares for a January presidential election. Japarov, who was propelled to power less than two weeks after being freed from jail during political chaos that saw Sooronbay Jeenbekov resign as president, has…

Wary Armenians and Azerbaijanis Watch War From Moscow

At a bustling produce market in southwest Moscow, Azerbaijani salesman Avas’ fruit and vegetables kiosk is a few steps away from Armine’s where she sells cheese from Armenia. When Avas was 26 years old, conflict broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and he was forced to leave his home. The…

Russians Among Those Detained in Vienna Attack, Ambassador Says

Authorities in Austria have detained suspects from southwestern Russia’s North Caucasus region as part of an investigation into the deadly shooting rampage in Vienna, Russia’s ambassador in Vienna said Tuesday. The only known gunman in Monday evening’s shooting spree across Vienna that killed four people and wounded 22 was an Islamic State group supporter, Austria’s…

Belarus Launches Nuclear Plant Despite Baltic Outcry

Belarus on Tuesday launched its controversial Russia-built nuclear power station despite safety concerns from neighboring Baltic states three decades after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The launch comes as Belarus strongman president Alexander Lukashenko faces historic protests against his claim to victory in August presidential polls that Western leaders and his critics say were fraudulent. Ahead of…

Russia Blames Turkey for New Spike in Coronavirus Cases

Russia’s healthcare and consumer protection watchdog believes that most of the country’s “imported” coronavirus cases came from Turkey, Interfax has reported. “Our general monitoring showed that out of the total number of detected (imported cases) — more than 10 thousand positive tests for coronavirus, some 90%, are people who returned from Turkey,” Interfax quoted the…

Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing | Nov. 3

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan — now in its sixth week — shows little sign of easing after both sides accused the other of breaking an agreement not to target residential and civilian areas with missile strikes. The United Nations warned Monday evening those attacks “may amount to war crimes.” Nagorno-Karabakh and areas under…

Putin Calls Vienna Attack ‘Cruel and Cynical Crime’

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called the Vienna shooting a “cruel and cynical” crime in a condolences telegram to the Austrian leadership. Four people were killed in multiple shootings in Vienna on Monday evening in what Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described as a “repulsive terror attack”. In the telegram to Kurz and Austrian President…

Moldova’s Pro-EU Presidential Hopeful Wins First Round Vote

Moldova’s pro-European presidential hopeful Maia Sandu won a surprise first-round victory, a major setback for Moscow-backed incumbant Igor Dodon that suggests a tight second round later this month. The small former Soviet country voted under the watchful eye of Russia, which wants polarized Moldova to remain in its sphere of influence as several nearby Kremlin-aligned governments…

Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing | Nov. 2

Armenia and Azerbaijan failed to strike another ceasefire in talks brokered by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as Baku pledged to “fight to the end” to recapture territory which has been controlled by Armenia-backed separatists since 1994. Meanwhile, Yerevan formally opened consultations with Moscow over when Russia would come to the…

Belarus Rights Abuses Under Fire at UN

Belarus faced harsh criticism at the UN on Monday, with diplomats slamming arbitrary detentions and torture allegations in the response to months of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. During a review of Belarus’s rights record at the United Nations in Geneva, many diplomats urged Belarus authorities to halt the crackdown on demonstrators, who since August have…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 2

Russia has confirmed 1,655,038 cases of coronavirus and 28,473 deaths. Nov. 2: What you need to know today Russia has confirmed 18,257 new coronavirus cases and 238 additional deaths.  Only 36% of Russians are ready to vaccinate against Covid-19, according to the results of an independent Levada Center poll published by Russia’s Open Media news Monday. The share of Russians unwilling to…

Coronavirus Cases Spike in 40% of Russian Regions

New coronavirus cases are spiking in 40% of Russian regions, Russia’s top public health official said Monday amid reports of hospital bed, staff and drug shortages hitting far-flung areas outside Moscow. Infections are on the decline in only two regions, Anna Popova, who heads Russia’s consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said during a Covid-19 government task…

Russia Battles Four-Year Doping Ban

Russia’s attempt to overturn its four-year ban from international sport got underway in Lausanne Monday, the latest chapter of a long-running and controversial saga over state-sanctioned doping. Global anti-doping body WADA in December last year declared the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to be non-compliant after being accused of manipulating testing data. The ban meant the…

Russian Arctic Sea Fails to Freeze

Russia’s Arctic Laptev Sea has not yet frozen for the first time since records began, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Centre. The sea, which is known as the “birthplace of ice,” thawed much earlier in 2020 than in any previous year since 1979, and has not yet re-frozen as of late…

Russia’s ‘Sausage King’ Murdered With Crossbow

Masked assailants murdered Russian meat magnate Vladimir Marugov with a crossbow at his countryside estate outside Moscow in the early hours of Monday morning, Russia’s Investigative Committee reported. Marugov and his partner were in an outdoor sauna hut on the estate about 25 miles west of the capital when the attack happened. The woman managed…

Edward Snowden Aims to Become Dual U.S.-Russian Citizen

Fugitive U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden said Monday he had applied for Russian citizenship but would keep his U.S. nationality. The former American intelligence contractor, who revealed in 2013 that the U.S. government was spying on its citizens, has been living in exile in Russia since the revelations. Snowden’s tweet comes weeks after he was granted…

Moldova Elects President Under Moscow’s Gaze

Moldovans went to polls on Sunday to elect a president under the watchful eye of Moscow which wants the polarised country to remain in its orbit amid political and security crises on Russia’s borders. Polling stations opened at 0500 GMT and will close 14 hours later.  Despite its small size, politics in tiny Moldova, which is…

Azerbaijan Says No Reason for Russia to Intervene Over Karabakh

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday there was no reason for Russia to intervene in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh because Baku is not threatening Armenian territory. Fighting has been raging over Karabakh — an ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan — for more than a month and on Saturday Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked Moscow for “urgent…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 1

Russia has confirmed 1,636,781 cases of coronavirus and 28,235 deaths. Nov. 1: What you need to know today Russia has confirmed 18,665 new cases and 245 new deaths. Over 150 patients were evacuated from a coronavirus hospital on Saturday in the Ural city of Chelyabinsk following an oxygen explosion and fire.  All of Russia’s regions are currently experiencing shortages of doctors to…

How U.S. Elections Could Impact EU-Russia Relations

For several long years now, the European Union has been waging onerous trench warfare on two fronts. On the eastern front, Brussels has been in conflict with a malign Moscow since 2014: refusing to repeal sanctions against Russia, deflecting all the Kremlin’s new information attacks, and attempting to maintain a unified position among its disorderly…

Russia Pledges Help to Yerevan if Fighting Reaches Armenia

Russia said Saturday it would provide “necessary” assistance to Yerevan in its conflict with Azerbaijan if fighting reached Armenian territory after its ally requested help. Earlier Saturday Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan formally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin “urgent” consultations on security assistance in its conflict with Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.…

Russian Loses UK Libel Case Against Trump Dossier Author

A Russian technology entrepreneur on Friday lost a UK libel case against a former MI6 intelligence officer whose dossier on Donald Trump’s alleged links to Moscow played into attempts to impeach the U.S. president. Aleksej Gubarev had sued Christopher Steele for defamation for claiming he had “knowing involvement” in the hacking of Democratic party emails…

Lukashenko Warns Belarus Protesters He Will ‘Take No Prisoners’

Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko ordered his security chiefs Friday to crack down on protesters and “take no prisoners” in his grimmest warning yet after months of demonstrations. The ex-Soviet nation has witnessed mass protests since the 66-year-old authoritarian leader claimed a landslide victory in August presidential elections that critics and Western leaders say was rigged.…