Category Archives: another

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

Dutch Military Almost Sent 1,000 Troops to MH17 Crash Site – Telegraaf

An elite Dutch military unit was on hair-trigger alert to deploy to separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine to secure the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash site until a last-minute stand-down order in 2014, the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported Tuesday. The report comes one week ahead of the first hearing in a key trial of three Russian…

Moscow Metro Launches Random Temperature Checks for Coronavirus

The Moscow metro has begun random checks of passengers’ temperatures at station entrances to check for the coronavirus, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Monday as he announced a slew of measures to prevent its spread. Russia has reported a total of six coronavirus cases, among them two Chinese citizens who have since recovered. The latest patient,…

Moscow Scrambles to Contain the Coronavirus as First Case is Confirmed

Russian Jailed for 9 Years for Murdering Popular Instagram Influencer

A Russian man has been jailed for nine years for stabbing to death a popular Instagram influencer who modeled herself on Audrey Hepburn. A Moscow court on Monday convicted Maxim Gareyev for the murder of 25-year-old Yekaterina Karaglanova, a medical student whose naked body was found with more than 19 knife wounds in a suitcase…

Putin Says Protesters Welcome to ‘Get Shaved’ in Jail

Russian President Vladimir Putin mockingly suggested on Tuesday that participants in unsanctioned protests were welcome to go to prison and “get shaved.” In the latest in a series of interviews with state-run news agency TASS, Putin said opposition supporters who take part in unapproved rallies should expect to be given jail time. “If you have…

Opposition Leader Navalny Says Bank Accounts Frozen

Russia’s main opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Tuesday that authorities had frozen all of his bank accounts and those of his family, including his elderly parents. “All accounts have been blocked,” Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner who has emerged as President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, said on Twitter. His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh told AFP that…

Russia Sends 4th Warship to Syria Amid Turkey Tensions

The Russian Navy has dispatched a fourth warship to Syria’s Mediterranean coast as tensions over the northwestern province of Idlib spiral with Turkey, amateur ship spotters reported Monday. The large landing ship Novocherkassk was photographed crossing Turkey’s busy Bosphorus strait days after Russia sent two warships equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles toward the Syrian coast.…

Russian Police Turn to ‘Name Profiling’ to Spot Criminals

The Russian police force’s official gazette has interviewed an expert who claims to be able to identify criminals based on their name, birth date and other traits. Psychologist Boris Khigir claims his method, which he says is based on personal observations and statistics, has an 80% accuracy rate. Critics have questioned the reliability of criminal…

Russia Sends Punk-Rave Sensations Little Big to Eurovision

Little Big, the self-described punk-pop-rave juggernaut behind the infectious Skibidi Challenge, will represent Russia at the Eurovision song contest this spring, organizers announced Monday. The choice represents a break with Russia’s reliance on more traditional pop stars to bring home the trophy and hosting rights for the first time in more than a decade. This…

Coronavirus Alert: Russian Cossacks Told Not to Kiss Orthodox Icons

Russian Cossacks have been told by one of their leaders not to kiss icons or clerics’ hands to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The order was issued by Gennadiy Kovalev, head of the Council of Cossack Hetmans (leaders) of Russia which represents several thousand Cossacks, traditional militia units that once protected Russia‘s borderlands. Kissing icons…

Putin Proposes to Enshrine God, Heterosexual Marriage in Constitution

Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted to parliament a number of constitutional changes, including amendments that mention God and stipulate that marriage is a union of a man and woman. Putin in January unleashed a political storm by proposing an overhaul of the Constitution, the first changes to the basic law since 1993. Shortly afterward,…

Latvia Arrests Spy Working for Russia

Latvia said Monday a citizen thought to be working for Russia has been arrested for trying to recruit a secret service officer to spy for Moscow. “The agent… contacted the Latvian officer to try to recruit him into handing over classified material that could then be used by Russia’s secret services against Latvia but the agent has been…

Russia Orders New Trial in Activist’s ‘Repeat Protest’ Conviction

A Moscow court has ordered a lower court to review the four-year prison sentence of activist Konstantin Kotov, who was convicted of “multiple breaches” of Russia’s protest law, Interfax reported Monday. Kotov, 34, in September became the second person ever to be found guilty of taking part in multiple unsanctioned protests. The Moscow City Court…

Trial of Austrian Army Officer Accused of Spying for Russia Opens

The trial of a retired Austrian army colonel accused of spying for Russia for decades opened on Monday and was ordered to be held behind closed doors on national security grounds. The 71-year-old defendant, who has not been named, is accused of having provided “comprehensive information” on a range of military aspects to Moscow, above…

Russia May Have Committed War Crimes in Syria – U.N.

Russia killed civilians in air strikes in Syria last year while rebels allied to Turkey carried out murder and pillage in Kurdish areas, U.N. investigators said on Monday — actions it said could amount to war crimes by both Moscow and Ankara. A report by a U.N. commission found that Russia — the Syrian government’s main ally against rebels…

Russian Billionaire Banker Tinkov Faces Extradition to U.S. Over Taxes

Russian billionaire banker Oleg Tinkov has posted bail in London to avoid extradition to the United States on allegations of underreporting his income on his tax returns, the TCS financial group that he founded confirmed Monday. TCS said Friday that Tinkov is attending February-April court hearings in London initiated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | March 2

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 3,000 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry points along its 4,200-kilometer border with China and temporarily banning Chinese citizens from entering the country. Russia reported its first two cases of coronavirus…

Litany of Blunders: Treatment of Coronavirus Patient Highlights Russia’s Shortcomings

A Russian national who is quarantined in a Moscow hospital after recently returning from northern Italy, a hub for the coronavirus outbreak, has the coronavirus, the state-run RIA Novosti reported. The man is the first known Russian national to test positive for coronavirus while in the country. The patient, 29-year-old Moscow resident David Berov, traveled…

Russian Olympic Figure Skating Champion Sotnikova Retires

Russian Olympic figure skating champion Adelina Sotnikova has announced her retirement over health concerns, the state-run TASS news agency reported Monday. Sotnikova clinched Russia’s first-ever ladies singles gold at the Sochi Games at the age of 17 in 2014. The 23-year-old hasn’t competed since the 2015 Russian Championships. “I’m done with professional sport… because I…

Russia’s Sputnik Says Turkey Editor-in-Chief Released

Istanbul police on Sunday released the editor-in-chief of the Turkish edition of Sputnik, the Russian news website said, as tensions escalated between Ankara and Moscow. Sputnik Turkey’s editor-in-chief Mahir Boztepe was detained and taken to the Istanbul police headquarters but released a couple of hours later, the website said. The Ankara public prosecutor’s office launched…

Russian, Turkish Foreign Ministers Discuss Improving Working Relations

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Chavushoglu agreed on the need to create a “favorable atmosphere” to improve working relations between their countries, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday. “The ministers have declared in favour of the adoption of measures to create a favourable atmosphere that will facilitate the effectiveness of…

Turkey Destroys Scores of Syrian Army Targets, Says Turkish Defense Minister

Turkey said on Sunday it had destroyed air defense systems, more than 100 tanks and downed two planes belonging to the Syrian army as part of an operation it launched after an airstrike killed dozens of its soldiers last week. Tensions in northwest Syria have escalated sharply as fighting between Turkey-backed rebels and Russian-backed Syrian government…

Kiev Says Russia and Ukraine in Talks for Next Prisoner Swap in March

Ukraine said on Sunday it had held talks with the Kremlin on swapping all remaining prisoners from the conflict in east Ukraine, and the next exchange might take place later this month. Russia‘s President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy agreed in December to send prisoners home, and scores were handed over just before…

Putin Says Current Oil Prices Acceptable, Hints at OPEC Cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that current oil prices were acceptable and that Russia had the tools to react to any negative effects of the spread of the coronavirus on the global economy, but offered a chink of light to OPEC as the producer group pushes for deeper supply cuts. Putin added that he sees the…

OPEC Could Deepen Oil Supply Cuts With or Without Russia

OPEC could agree on deeper oil supply cuts this week, with or without Russia‘s support, to halt the slide in crude prices triggered by the global spread of the coronavirus, said two sources familiar with the talks. Moscow is resisting further output curbs, arguing that reduced production by the Saudi Arabia-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting…

France’s Macron Urges Turkey and Russia to Agree Ceasefire in Syria

anotherBy admin February 29, 2020

French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Russian and Turkish counterparts on Saturday to halt hostilities in Syria and agree to a lasting ceasefire, his office said. Macron told the Russian and Turkish leaders in separate phone calls that he was “deeply concerned about the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe” caused by the Syrian offensive and its allies…

‘United Dissatisfaction’: Tens of Thousands Across Russia Rally for Slain Opposition Leader

In what has become an annual Russian tradition, thousands rallied across the country on Saturday to march for Boris Nemtsov, a key opposition figure shot and killed five years ago this month on a Moscow bridge just steps from the Kremlin. While the killer has been found guilty and sentenced to prison, Nemtsov’s family and…

Three Die at Moscow Party After Dry Ice Thrown Into Pool

anotherBy admin February 29, 2020

Three people have died at a Moscow birthday party after around 30 kilograms of dry ice meant to create special effects was tipped into a pool, investigators and reports said Saturday. The party at the Moscow pool complex late Friday was to mark the birthday of Ekaterina Didenko, a popular Instagram influencer focusing on pharmaceutical…

Could Russia Go to War With Turkey in Syria?

But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin of Russia were quick to hold telephone talks and plan a summit as soon as next week in Moscow, with Russian officials striking a conciliatory tone. The two men — both leading post-imperial societies they took over in the wake of economic crises — have since 2016 forged…

Russia Reports Dramatic Rise in Rape Cases

Britain Emerges as Near-Exclusive Buyer of Russian Gold

Russia has sold nearly all its gold for 2019 to Britain, according to customs data reviewed by the RBC news website Friday. The data says that Britain bought $5.33 billion worth of Russian gold last year, or 93% of Russia’s total gold exports. Russia sold $5.74 billion worth of gold overall in 2019, according to…

Protestors Surround Russian Consulate in Istanbul After Syria Strike

Russian Arctic Shipping Up 430% in 3 Years

The volume of goods being delivered to and from ports on the Northern Sea Route has never come close to the current level. According to Nikolay Monko, the acting director of the Northern Sea Route Administration, 31.5 million tons of goods were shipped on the route in 2019. That is an increase of 56.7% over…

Putin’s Daughter Heads Elite University’s New AI Institute – Vedomosti

President Vladimir Putin’s alleged daughter will head a prestigious Moscow university’s artificial intelligence institute slated to open later in 2020, the Vedomosti business daily reported Friday. Katerina Tikhonova, 33, who is widely believed to be Putin’s younger daughter, runs the Innopraktika foundation near Moscow State University (MSU). Founded in 2012, Innopraktika is a conglomerate of…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Feb. 28

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 2,800 people continues to spread around the world, Russia has stepped up measures to tackle the health risk, including closing most entry points along its 4,200-kilometer border with China and temporarily banning Chinese citizens from entering the country. Russia reported its first two cases of coronavirus…

Russia Complains Elon Musk’s Satellites Are ‘Too Bright’

The Russian Academy of Sciences said it plans to file a complaint with the United Nations over tech billionaire Elon Musk’s high-speed internet satellites, which it says will interfere with astronomers’ work. SpaceX’s so-called Starlink constellation is a planned network of up to 30,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit that is intended to beam broadband internet…

Russia Says Putin, Erdogan Discussed Deadly Strike: Syria Update

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone Friday after an attack on Turkish troops in Syria killed at least 33 soldiers and wounded dozens of others. Russia denied involvement, but Turkey’s top defense official said Moscow, which backs the Syrian regime, knew the whereabouts of Turkish troops and that attacks on…

Russia Censors Disney’s First Openly Gay Character From ‘Onward’

Russian distributors appear to have censored Disney and Pixar’s first LGBT character from their animated film “Onward,” the Kinopoisk.ru movie website reported Wednesday. “Onward,” a fantasy-adventure that hits the big screens in Russia on March 5, introduces a cyclops police officer named Specter as the studios’ first-self identified lesbian character. Officer Specter appears in one…

Activists Evoke Stalin’s Terror in Perfume

Fewer Russians Remember Nemtsov’s Murder 5 Years On – Poll

Fewer Russians have heard of the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov five years after his death, the independent Levada Center polling agency said Friday. Nemtsov was gunned down on Feb. 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin’s walls. A gunman and four accomplices were jailed for up to 20 years in 2017, but…

Amazon Prime Snags First Russian Reality Show

Amazon Prime Video has for the first time bought the rights to a Russian reality show, the Kommersant business daily reported Thursday. “Instagrammers,” which premiered on the Gazprom Media-owned entertainment channel Pyatnitsa in 2017, follows the lives of influencers forced to do menial jobs in rural Russia. The reality show will air in March across…

Putin Inspects Russia’s Answer to Disneyland Before Grand Opening

President Vladimir Putin inspected Russia’s answer to Disneyland on Thursday, the country’s first large-scale indoor theme park which Moscow says will be the biggest of its kind in Europe when it opens on Saturday. The theme park, called “Ostrov Mechty” — or Dream Island — is built in the shape of a toy castle that…

Russia Sends Warships as Turkish Troops Killed in Syria

Russia is sending two warships equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles to the Mediterranean Sea toward the Syrian coast amid mounting tensions between Russia, Turkey and Syria over the Syrian province of Idlib, the Russian Navy said Friday. Turkey said Syrian government airstrikes killed 33 Turkish soldiers Thursday, bringing the death toll in Idlib to 54…

24-Year-Old Russian Dies After Police ‘Revive’ Him With Taser

A young man in Siberia has died after police used a taser to wake him up, a local lawmaker and the victim’s mother said nearly two weeks after the tragedy Thursday. Dmitry Kharchenko fell asleep in the back of a taxi on his way home from a nightclub on Feb. 15. The driver reportedly asked…

Moscow Targets Chinese Nationals Amid Coronavirus Fears. And the Arctic Heats Up in Record Speed

U.S. Urges Russia to Find Masterminds of Nemtsov Murder

The United States Embassy in Moscow urged Russia on Thursday to find the people who organized the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov who was gunned down near the Kremlin five years ago. Nemtsov, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critics, was killed in 2015 as he walked home across a bridge near the Kremlin’s walls.…

Moscow Rounds Up Stray Animals, Kills Rats Over Coronavirus Fears

Moscow authorities are rounding up stray animals and exterminating rats as a precaution against the new coronavirus, actions that animal rights campaigners decried as cruel and scientifically groundless. Russia has imposed an array of measures to stop the virus gaining a foothold in Russia, ranging from restrictions on flights to China and South Korea to…

U.S., Britain Double Russian Oil Purchases

The United States and Britain have more than doubled their crude oil purchases from Russia due to Iran and Venezuela sanctions, the RBC news website reported Friday, citing customs data. Russia exported more than 267 million metric tons of crude oil worth $121 billion in 2019, RBC cited Federal Customs Service data as saying. China,…

Chechen Dissident Blogger Survives Assassination Attempt in Europe

A popular Chechen opposition blogger has been hospitalized after an assassination attempt in Europe, the Chechen human rights group Vayfond and multiple news outlets reported Thursday. Tumso Abdurakhmanov fled Russia in 2015 and has attempted, so far unsuccessfully, to gain political asylum in Poland. His YouTube channel where he regularly criticizes Chechen officials, including the…

EU Considers Sanctions Against Chinese, Russian Groups Over Hacking

The European Union may target a Russian and a Chinese entity, as well as several individuals, with sanctions over cyber attacks, adding to signs of increasing alarm in the bloc over network security. Five diplomats familiar with the matter said talks on the proposed measures will begin as soon as this week, declining to name…

1 in 3 Russian Hospitals Lack Water Supply – Audit Chamber

Nearly one-third of Russia’s medical facilities lack a water supply network and more than 40% lack central heating, the Russian government’s public spending watchdog has said in its latest report on children’s health. Out of the almost 117,000 buildings inspected as of January 2019, Russia’s Audit Chamber said 41.1% had no central heating and 30.5%…

Rosneft Becomes one of the World Leaders in Drilling Geological Support

Rosneft’s drilling geological support centres provided 100% control over the well drilling support processes in the Company.

Rosneft Sells more than 200 Commercial Licenses to Oilfield Service and Oil and Gas Companies for Hydraulic Fracture Simulator RN-GRID

Rosneft Oil Company sold more than 200 commercial licenses for the use of the RN-GRID software complex, which is used to conduct all operations and engineering evaluations necessary for fracturing treatment design.

Russia Stages First Ship-Launched ‘Tsirkon’ Hypersonic Missile Test

Russia has conducted the first ship-launched firing of its new hypersonic missile called Tsirkon and plans further tests from nuclear submarines, two unnamed military sources told the state-run TASS news agency Thursday. President Vladimir Putin, who confirmed the Tsirkon’s development last year, has warned that Russia would be forced to place hypersonic nuclear missiles on…

Trump Campaign Is Suing New York Times Over Russia Opinion Piece