Putin Seizes Exiled Billionaire’s Car Dealership

President Vladimir Putin has ordered the seizure of Russia’s largest car dealership from exiled former lawmaker and billionaire Sergei Petrov, a presidential decree said Thursday. Shares in the Rolf dealership will be transferred from the Cypriot company Delance Limited and Rolf Motors to Russia’s Federal Property Management Agency (Rosimushchestvo), according to the document. This appears to…

Russia Issues Arrest Warrants for Exiled Navalny Aides

Russian authorities have issued arrest warrants for two exiled associates of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the independent Mediazona news website reported Thursday. The Interior Ministry’s database of wanted persons lists investigator Maria Pevchikh and Navalny YouTube channel host Dmitry Nizovtsev, both of whom live outside Russia. The database does not indicate which criminal charges Pevchikh and…

Kazakhstan to Extradite Russian Cybersecurity Expert to Moscow After Snubbing U.S.

Kazakhstan will extradite Russian cybersecurity expert Nikita Kislitsin to face hacking and extortion charges in his home country, Moscow’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced Thursday.  Kislitsin was detained in the Central Asian country in June following an extradition request from the United States, which accused him of buying personal data obtained through the 2012 hack of the…

Putin’s 2024 Campaign Headquarters Open

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2024 campaign headquarters has opened its doors in Moscow one week after he gave an end-of-the-year marathon press conference there, state media reported Thursday. The campaign headquarters at the Gostiny Dvor venue near the Kremlin is open to visitors on weekdays during working hours, according to the news broadcaster Rossia 1. The headquarters…

Russian Deserter Decries Rampant Extortion in Military’s Convict Unit – Reports

A member of the Russian military’s Storm-Z penal unit has alleged widespread corruption among commanders in the Ukraine war, the independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported Wednesday. Officers regularly extort up to 20,000 rubles ($220) in exchange for releasing troops from so-called “punishment pits” in the ground where they are placed for various infractions, the…

Russia Refuses to Limit ‘Indefinite’ Service of Mobilized Soldiers – Opposition Member

The Russian military will not impose a one-year service limit for mobilized soldiers despite requests from the soldiers’ families, St. Petersburg opposition politician Boris Vishnevsky said Wednesday. Vishnevsky, a veteran Kremlin critic and member of the St. Petersburg legislative assembly, said his request on behalf of the soldiers’ relatives for Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to back…

Russia Jails Left-Wing Activist for ‘Extremism’ After Transfer From Kyrgyzstan

A Russian left-wing activist has been sentenced to two years in jail for “extremism” after being detained in Kyrgyzstan, the Moscow court system said late Tuesday. Alyona Krylova was among three Russian anti-war activists arrested by authorities in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, this summer. One of the activists was fined and released from…

Russian Court Finds ‘Gay Propaganda’ in Pro-War Singer’s Music Video

A Russian music channel has been fined for displaying “LGBT propaganda” by airing a music video by popular pro-war singer Nikolai Baskov, the independent Vyorstka news website reported Wednesday. Moscow’s Tagansky District Court determined that the video for Baskov’s 2012 single “Strannik” (Wanderer), which depicts an imagined orgy in the Roman Empire, contains “signs of…

Russian Lawmakers to Lose Free Gas Privileges for Driving Foreign Cars – Izvestia

Russian lawmakers will lose their free gas privileges for ignoring President Vladimir Putin’s calls to stop driving foreign cars, the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported Wednesday, citing a senior member of Russia’s lower house of parliament.  Putin ordered officials in August to support sanctions-hit domestic carmakers by giving up foreign-made vehicles. Senior State Duma officials notified executive authorities in Russia’s…

Russian Court Postpones Navalny’s Court Hearings Until ‘Whereabouts Established’

A Russian court has postponed jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s hearings until “his whereabouts are established,” his team said Monday.  The announcement comes nearly two weeks after he first went missing in Russia’s prison system, sparking alarm from his aides and supporters that his life may be in danger. Navalny’s team said last week that the 47-year-old…

Russian Soldiers Convicted of Bribing Officer to Avoid Deployment – Kommersant

Five current and former Russian soldiers have received varying sentences for bribing a superior officer in exchange for avoiding a second deployment in Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday, citing anonymous sources. The unidentified officer was reportedly investigated for accepting the bribes, but the newspaper said it was unclear whether he stood trial, adding…

Airport in Southern Russia’s Krasnodar Receives First Flight Since Start of War

An airport in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region on Friday received its first flight since closing down early last year as Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said. Rosaviatsia banned flights to 11 airports in southern and western Russia on the day President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine, as fighting along…