Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Oct. 15

Russia has confirmed 1,354,163 cases of coronavirus and 23,491 deaths. Oct. 15: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 13,754 new Covid-19 cases Thursday, bringing its official number of cases to 1,354,163. A record 286 people have died from the virus in the past 24 hours. Starting Oct. 19, Muscovites will be required to register their phone numbers before they…

Russia Approves 2nd Coronavirus Vaccine – Putin

Russia has approved its second coronavirus vaccine, President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday as the peptide-based shot developed by a Siberian biotech company readies for large-scale trials. “Novosibirsk’s Vektor [State Virology and Biotechnology Center] has registered the second Russian coronavirus vaccine today,” Putin said via televised video conference. Putin said that Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova…

New Crew Reaches ISS in Record Time

A three-person crew successfully reached the International Space Station on Wednesday aboard a Russian rocket after the fastest ever journey from Earth of just over three hours. The mission of the Soyuz space craft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut was of immense importance to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, coming as the SpaceX…

Russian Peacekeepers Should Monitor Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire – Lavrov

Russian peacekeepers should be sent to Nagorno-Karabakh to observe a shaky Moscow-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.  Russia’s top diplomat made the proposal as new fighting erupted between the Caucasus rivals despite a truce that they reached in Moscow over the weekend.   According to the state-run RIA Novosti news…

U.S. Says ‘Agreement in Principle’ With Russia on Extending Key Nuclear Pact

The United States said Tuesday it had reached an “agreement in principle” with Russia on extending New START, the two nations’ last major nuclear accord, which is due to expire in February. President Donald Trump’s administration has been insisting without success that China enter the nuclear reduction agreement but, with U.S. elections three weeks away, signaled it…

4 Suspected Militants Killed in Chechen Counterterrorism Raid

Four militants allegedly planning a series of terrorist attacks in the republic of Chechnya have been killed in a counterterrorism raid, Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) said Tuesday. The counterterrorism operation in the Chechen capital of Grozny was ordered by regional Federal Security Service (FSB) head Igor Kochnev in order to suppress “possible terrorist acts,” the…

Russia’s Humanoid Space Robot Taken Off Twitter After Cosmonaut Spat

Russia’s humanoid space robot nicknamed FEDOR has been taken off Twitter after it insulted retired cosmonauts who criticized Russia’s space program for falling behind that of the United States. FEDOR’s social media presence came to an abrupt halt this weekend following a barrage of tweets criticizing former cosmonauts Maxim Surayev and Alexander Samokutyayev, both currently…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Oct. 13

Russia has confirmed 1,326,178 cases of coronavirus and 22,966 deaths. Oct. 12 — Russia confirmed 13,592 new Covid-19 cases, bringing its official number of cases to 1,312,310.  Oct. 11 — Russia confirmed a record 13,634 new Covid-19 cases, bringing its official number of cases to 1,298,718. Oct. 10 — Russia confirmed 12,846 new Covid-19 cases, bringing its official number of cases to 1,285,084. Oct.…

Russian Military Attempts to Disperse Syria Protesters With Helicopter Fly-Over

A Russian military transport helicopter has been filmed dispersing protesters rallying against Russia’s expansion into northeast Syria on Sunday, local independent media reported.  Dozens of residents of Ayn Diwar village near the Turkish border took to the streets to oppose the Russian forces’ fifth attempt to establish a military outpost there, according to the North…

Police break up Belarus opposition protest with water cannon, stun grenades

Police deployed water cannon and stun grenades against opposition demonstrators in Minsk Sunday after strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko raised hopes for change by meeting jailed opposition figures. Large numbers of black-clad masked police, internal troops and men in plain clothes emerged from unmarked minibuses and ran towards protesters in the capital Minsk, pulling some to…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Oct. 10

Russia has confirmed 1,285,084 cases of coronavirus and 22,454 deaths. Oct. 10: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 12,846 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, bringing its official number of cases to 1,285,084. Russia has carried out more than 500,000 coronavirus tests in a single day for the first time since the start of the pandemic, consumer protection watchdog…

Russia’s FSB Backs Kyrgyzstan Colleagues’ Efforts to ‘Prevent Total Chaos’ – Vedomosti

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) is backing its Kyrgyz colleagues in their efforts to prevent the Central Asian country gripped by political unrest from sliding into “total chaos,” the Vedomosti business daily reported Thursday.  FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov this week held phone talks with former Kyrgyz deputy national security chief Omurbek Suvanaliyev, who has claimed…

Political Crisis Erupts in Kyrgyzstan Over Disputed Election

Unrest broke out in ex-Soviet nation Kyrgyzstan on Sunday after a highly contested parliamentary election sparked protests in the capital city of Bishkek. Opposition supporters stormed the government headquarters and presidential offices and freed former president Almazbek Atambayev from jail. Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov then resigned on Tuesday, after which formerly imprisoned nationalist politician Sadyr…