St. Petersburg Journalist’s Home Searched Over Exiled Colleague’s Criminal Case – Reports

A journalist for a leading St. Petersburg news website has had her home searched by police in connection with a criminal probe against prominent exiled investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov, the outlet, Fontanka.ru, reported Friday. Reporter Ksenia Klochkova was reportedly named a witness in the case against Zakharov. “The searches at Ksenia’s are allegedly part of this…

Poland Detains Suspects in Attack on Navalny Ally Volkov – Lithuanian President

Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Leonid Volkov, an exiled ally of late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, the president of Lithuania announced Friday. Volkov, who has lived in exile since Moscow banned Navalny’s groups as “extremist” organizations in 2021, was in mid-March assaulted with a hammer outside his home in Vilnius,…

Poland Detains Suspects, Alleged Organizer in Attack on Navalny Ally Volkov

Three people have been detained in Poland in connection with the March attack on Leonid Volkov, an exiled ally of late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, in Lithuania, Vilnius and Warsaw announced Friday. Volkov, who has lived in exile since Moscow banned Navalny’s groups as “extremist” organizations in 2021, was in mid-March assaulted with a hammer outside…

Kamchatka’s Glaciers Have Shrunk by 36% Since 1950 – Russian Scientists

Glaciers on Russia’s Far East Kamchatka Peninsula have shrunk by over a third since the mid-20th century, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing Russian scientists’ measurements. Known as the “land of fire and ice” because of its active volcanoes and expansive glaciers, Kamchatka is now threatened by climate change, with glacier melt accelerating this century.…

Fewer Russians Getting Married Despite State’s Encouragement to Start Families – Official Data

Russia saw a 10% drop in marriages last year despite state efforts to encourage citizens to start families, according to official data cited by the broadcaster RTVI. Around 950,000 marriages were registered in 2023 compared to 1.05 million the previous year, the outlet said, citing state statistics agency Rosstat. The year-on-year decline — which was observed…

​​Palestinian Refugees to Assemble ‘Jihad Mobiles’ for Chechen Military

Authorities in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Chechnya will train Palestinian refugees from Gaza to work at a factory that assembles assault vehicles used by Chechen fighters in Ukraine, according to local state-run media. Known as “Jihad Mobiles,” the assault vehicles assembled at the Chechenavto plant are modeled on converted off-road vehicles that Russian troops used in Syria.…

Russian Court Upholds 4-Year Sentence for Prominent Bashkir Activist

The Supreme Court of Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan has rejected activist Fayil Alsynov’s appeal against a prison sentence on charges of “inciting interethnic hatred,” his lawyer Ilnur Suyundukov announced Thursday.  Alsynov, a prominent indigenous rights defender from Turkic-majority Bashkortostan, was sentenced to four years in a penal colony in January on charges linked to his…

Top Russian Hypersonic Scientist Sentenced to 7 Years for Treason

A top Russian scientist developing hypersonic technologies has been sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of state treason, a spokeswoman for St. Petersburg’s judiciary said Thursday. Alexander Kuranov, the head of a St. Petersburg state research institute who oversaw the Soviet-era Ayaks hypersonic aircraft program, was arrested in 2021 at age 73. Investigators reportedly accused…

Russian Shelling Kills 1 in East Ukraine

Russian shelling killed one person in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Thursday, authorities said, as Moscow ramps up its assault to capture the war-battered region. Outgunned and outmanned on the battlefield, Kyiv has ceded ground to Russian forces since late last year, evacuating civilians from frontline areas amid an uptick in attacks. In Selydove, about…

Russian Shelling Kills 2 in East Ukraine

Russian shelling killed two people in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Thursday, authorities said, as Moscow ramps up its assault to capture the war-battered region. Outgunned and outmanned on the battlefield, Kyiv has ceded ground to Russian forces since late last year, evacuating hundreds of civilians from frontline areas amid an uptick in bombardment. In…

20K Rally in Georgia as MPs Advance Controversial ‘Foreign Influence’ Law

Some 20,000 protesters rallied in Georgia on Wednesday after lawmakers advanced a controversial “foreign influence” law that opponents say will undermine Tbilisi’s longstanding European aspirations. In a vote boycotted by opposition deputies, 83 lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party passed the first reading of the bill, which has been criticized as mirroring a repressive Russian…

Russia Labels 3 More Human Rights Groups ‘Undesirable’

Russia has banned the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties as “undesirable” organizations, the Justice Ministry said on Wednesday. Organizations labeled “undesirable” must cease all operations inside Russia, and it is illegal for individuals and media outlets in Russia to republish or share their content.…

Russian Peacekeepers Withdrawing From Nagorno-Karabakh, Kremlin Confirms

The Kremlin confirmed Azerbaijani media reports on Wednesday that Russian peacekeepers have started withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh after Baku’s forces seized the disputed region from Armenian separatists last year.  “Yes, that’s really true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters after the Azerbaijani news website Musavat reported on the Russian pullout Tuesday.  Unverified footage shared on Azeri-language…

Telegram’s Durov Tells Tucker Carlson That Kremlin Pressure Forced Him Out of Russia

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said he fled Russia over Kremlin pressure to share Ukrainian pro-democracy protesters’ personal data in 2013 in a rare interview with U.S. right-wing journalist Tucker Carlson. The eccentric tech CEO told Carlson that he and Telegram — one of the world’s fastest-growing messaging apps — relocated to Dubai in 2017 to avoid being…

Russian-Backed Official Survives Assassination Attempt in Occupied Ukraine, Colleague Says

A Russian-installed official in Ukraine’s occupied Zaporizhzhia region has survived an assassination attempt at his workplace, his colleague said Tuesday. Anton Yakimenko sits on Zaporizhzhia’s Moscow-backed Yakimivka district council and is a member of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party. He also heads a local affiliate of the Russian state-run grain operator GUP GZO Akimovskoye. According to…

Russia’s Orenburg Holds WWII Victory Parade Rehearsals Amid Flood Crisis

Authorities in the southern Russian city of Orenburg announced that rehearsals for the annual Victory Day parade had started on Tuesday despite unprecedented floods submerging thousands of homes and forcing scores of residents to evacuate. “Starting today, Orenburg garrison troops began training for the ceremonial passing of the parade troops dedicated to the 79th anniversary of the…

Putin Urges Restraint in Call With Iran’s Raisi

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday that any further escalation in the Middle East could have “catastrophic consequences.” “Vladimir Putin expressed the hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent a new round of confrontation [that could be] fraught with catastrophic consequences for the…

IMF Raises Russia’s Growth Forecast for 2024

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its forecast for Russia’s economic growth in 2024, as surging military spending helps shield the sanctions-battered country from an economic downturn. Russia’s economy is expected to grow 3.2% this year, up from the previous forecast of 2.6% issued in January, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook…

Russia’s Novosibirsk Bans Migrants From Working as Taxi Drivers

Russia’s Novosibirsk region has banned migrants from working as taxi drivers and selling beverages and tobacco, according to a decree signed by Governor Andrei Travnikov on Monday. The measure comes amid mounting pressure on foreign workers — mostly from Central Asian countries  —across Russia in the aftermath of last month’s deadly concert hall attack outside Moscow. The four…

Ukraine Says Strengthening Defenses in Battered Frontline Town

Ukrainian troops defending the frontline town of Chasiv Yar under relentless Russian attack have received additional drones and weaponry, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said Sunday. Syrskyi wrote on Facebook after visiting troops defending the battered town that “measures were taken to significantly strengthen the brigades with ammunition, drones and electronic…