Sanctioned Russian Billionaire Fridman Returns to Moscow, Intends to Move to Israel – Reports

Updated to add details from the Financial Times’ report. Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman has left Britain and intends to move to Israel, the RBC news website reported Monday, citing an unidentified source familiar with the matter. Alfa Group, the investment conglomerate which Fridman co-founded, confirmed this information to RBC. “The businessman is currently in Moscow…

Russia Charges Ex-Lawyer Novikov for Fighting With Ukraine Army

Russia has charged prominent Russian lawyer Ilya Novikov in absentia for joining the Ukrainian military, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said Monday. Novikov left Russia after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and joined the Ukrainian territorial defense forces, according to the FSB’s statement. It said that Novikov “underwent military training, participates in combat operations and is engaged in…

Russian Defense Minister Inspects Factory for Advanced Missiles

Russia’s Defense minister Sergei Shoigu inspected a military factory producing the Sarmat intercontinental missile, saying it would soon be ready for use, his ministry posted on Telegram Saturday. The Sarmat is capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads and is among Russia’s next-generation missiles which Putin has described as “invincible.” The Russian Defense Ministry posted footage…

Russia Calls for ‘Immediate Ceasefire’ in Gaza

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday called for Israeli and Palestinian forces to stop armed hostilities after attacks launched by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel. “We call on the Palestinian and Israeli sides to immediately ceasefire, renounce violence, show the necessary restraint,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Zakharova called the parties to set…

Russia Revises Yandex Partition Terms Over Founder’s Anti-War Stance – Reports

The Russian government has lowered the payout offered in the restructuring of tech giant Yandex following anti-war statements made by the company’s co-founder, Russian media reported Friday.  Sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine have forced Yandex, once the crown jewel of Russia’s tech sector, to split into two new companies, with one overseeing its operations…

Russian Lawmakers to Consider De-Ratifying Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Senior Russian legislators will consider revoking the ratification of a global nuclear test ban treaty after President Vladimir Putin suggested resuming nuclear weapons tests, the parliament’s speaker said Friday. Putin said Thursday it was “theoretically possible” to de-ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) since the United States had signed but not ratified it.  Vyacheslav Volodin,…

Powerful Storm Pummels Russia’s Far East

A powerful storm flooded and knocked out power in households in Far East Russia’s Sakhalin region, authorities said Friday. Video shared on social media showed heavy rains and flooding in the region’s largest city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. More than 5,000 residents were left without electricity after emergency crews restored power for 13,500 people, according to the Sakhalin…

Explainer: What Does Russia’s Exit From the Convention on National Minorities Mean? 

President Vladimir Putin last week introduced a bill greenlighting Russia’s exit from the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM), the world’s most comprehensive legally binding treaty devoted to safeguarding the rights of minority groups.  Russia is home to representatives of as many as 193 ethnic groups who speak at least 270 languages…

Top Russian Shaman Blesses Army Fighting in Ukraine

Russia’s top shaman has given his blessing to the Kremlin’s military offensive in Ukraine, praising troops and denouncing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an “enemy,” state media reported Thursday. Shamanism, a religious practice that involves connecting with the spirit world, is prevalent across the indigenous peoples of Siberia and resurged in popularity after being heavily…

Russian Military to Drop Catering Contract With Prigozhin’s Firm – Kommersant

Russia’s military will sever its contract with the late Yevgeny Prigozhin’s food catering business and begin using the services of a competitor company, the Kommersant business daily reported Thursday. RBE Group, which had supplied Russia’s Defense Ministry with rations until being replaced by Prigozhin’s Concord Catering, will again provide food services to the army, according to…

Russia Grapples with Long-Abandoned Toxic Waste Sites

The Volga River, one of Russia’s major waterways and Europe’s longest, holds significant economic and cultural importance for Russians. Stretching over 3,500 kilometers through central and southern Russia before meeting the Caspian Sea, this vital transportation artery traverses several urban centers, including Volgograd, a city of 1 million inhabitants. Here, just 200 meters from the…

Russia Tightens Controls Over Abortion Pill Sales

Russia’s Health Ministry will limit the distribution of abortion-inducing pills in pharmacies, in the country’s latest move to clamp down on abortion access. Misoprostol and mifepristone have been added to the ministry’s list of medications subject to subject-quantitative registration (PKU), according to its decree published Tuesday. The ministry’s order will come into effect on Sept.…

Russia Confirms Secret Talks With U.S., EU on Eve of Nagorno-Karabakh War

Senior Russian, United States and European Union diplomats met in secret on the eve of Azerbaijan’s lightning campaign to retake the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kremlin confirmed Wednesday. Politico Europe reported Wednesday that U.S.-EU-Russia talks on pressuring Baku to end its nine-month blockade of Karabakh took place on Sept. 17 in Istanbul.  Two days later, Azerbaijan’s…

Sacked Russian General Says Still ‘Serves Fatherland’ – Report

General Sergei Surovikin said he continues to serve Russia amid reports of his dismissal from the Defense Ministry after Yevegny Prigozhin’s failed mutiny in late June, the Noviye Izvestia news outlet reported Tuesday. Surovikin, long considered the main intermediary between the Wagner mercenary outfit and the Russian Defense Ministry, disappeared from public view after Wagner chief Yevgeny…

Kadyrov’s Son Will Not Be Prosecuted for Beating Detained Teen – Reports

Police in the republic of Chechnya’s capital have refused to open a criminal case against regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s son over his assault of a Russian teenager on video, the Baza Telegram channel reported Wednesday, citing internal police documents. Adam Kadyrov, 15, was shown last month kicking and punching Nikita Zhuravel, 19, who was arrested in the southern…

Ukraine Says Hit Air Defense System in Russia

Ukraine said Wednesday it struck a Russian anti-aircraft system in the border region of Belgorod overnight, as Kyiv’s attacks on Russian-controlled territory intensify. Since Kyiv launched its counteroffensive in June, Russian regions bordering Ukraine have accused the Ukrainian army of almost daily drone strikes and shelling. An unnamed source in the Ukrainian Security Service source…

Russia Jails State TV Protester 8.5 Years in Absentia

A Russian court sentenced Marina Ovsyannikova, the former state journalist who on live television protested the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, to eight-and-a-half years in prison in absentia, media reported Wednesday. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court convicted Ovsyannikova, who is currently living outside of Russia, of spreading “false information” about the Russian army over her anti-war picket…

Public Records Reveal Russia’s Secret Military, Intelligence Sites – Dossier Center

Publicly available records have revealed the hidden locations of Russia’s military and intelligence agencies across the country, the independent investigative outlet Dossier Center reported. According to Russian law, it is illegal to share any information about military, intelligence and other areas where public disclosure could harm national security. But Dossier said it had found properties…

Toxic Landfill in Southern Russia Catches Fire

A landfill in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region caught fire on Tuesday, sending potentially hazardous smoke over surrounding residential areas, activists and media reported. In a video posted online by a local activist group, large clouds of brownish-gray smoke could be seen billowing over fields and houses near the landfill, which is located outside the village of Poltavskaya.…

Transparency International Russia Relaunches From Abroad

Russia’s branch of the global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said Tuesday it has relaunched operations from abroad after being labeled “undesirable” by the authorities. Transparency Russia was forced to dissolve itself earlier this year after being added to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office’s list of “undesirable” organizations. “The experience and knowledge in the field of anti-corruption…