Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that the country needed to further develop its armed forces in the face of “increased NATO activity” on its borders. “The difficult military and political situation in the world and the increased activity of NATO countries near the Russian borders require further quality development of the armed…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has received an experimental nasal coronavirus vaccine days after receiving a booster shot as authorities continue to struggle to convince people to get vaccinated. Putin said on Sunday he had had a third Covid-19 vaccine dose, noting that the injection of the one-dose Sputnik Light booster was painless. The president also volunteered to…
The Kremlin said Wednesday it opposes U.S. President Joe Biden’s “divisive” democracy summit after Russia did not appear on the list of invitees. Around 110 countries have been invited to the virtual summit, including the United States’ major Western allies, and snubbing Russia and China. The long-advertised meeting will take place online on Dec. 9…
Popular rapper Morgenshtern has left Russia after the country’s top investigator accused him of drug dealing, the Ura.ru news website reported Wednesday. Alisher Valeyev, who goes by the stage name Morgenshtern, reportedly boarded a train from the western Russian border city of Smolensk to Minsk, the capital of neighboring Belarus, with his wife and bodyguards. Earlier…
Leading Russian doctors on Wednesday invited celebrities and politicians with anti-vaccine views to visit Covid red zones in hospitals and see for themselves the dramatic effects of the pandemic. In an open letter published by state news agency TASS, 11 doctors from several cities wrote to a dozen public figures who expressed anti-vaccine views to…
The former head of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s St. Petersburg headquarters said Wednesday she has left Russia, becoming the latest opposition figure to depart the country amid a wide-reaching crackdown on dissent. Irina Fatyanova said she relocated to an unspecified country last week after the jailing of another member of Navalny’s regional political network, Liliya Chanysheva,…
Amur tiger footprints have been discovered in the northeast Siberian republic of Sakha for the first time in 50 years, a signal that the endangered species’ population is recovering, the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday. Russia’s forest protection service found the rare footprints on the right bank of the Aldan River in southeastern Sakha,…
Top generals from Russia and the United States spoke over the phone on Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said, amid Western fears that Moscow might be plotting to invade neighboring Ukraine. The ministry said in a statement that Chief of Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley discussed “current questions of…
Russian President Vladimir Putin will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan this week, days after some of the worst fighting between the Caucasus foes since last year’s war over Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Putin will hold talks with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev in Russia’s Black Sea resort of…
Former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko died in London on Nov. 23, 2006 after being poisoned by a rare radioactive compound, polonium-210. British and European investigators blamed the Kremlin for Litvinenko’s death, sparking a diplomatic conflict between Russia and the U.K. that has continued to escalate to this day. Litvinenko served in the Soviet KGB…
A passenger onboard a returning flight from Egypt to Russia is believed to have died by suicide inside the plane’s lavatory, media reported Tuesday. Flight attendants discovered the unconscious man inside the airplane toilet shortly after the S7 Airlines flight’s takeoff from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to the southwest Russian city of Samara, the regional bureau…
The United States is “escalating” the tense situation between Kiev and Moscow by sending weapons and military advisers to Ukraine, the Kremlin said Tuesday. The comments come after CNN reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the deliberations, that the Biden administration is considering sending Javelin anti-tank missiles, stinger air defense missiles and military advisers to…
Top cybersecurity entrepreneur Ilya Sachkov, who was arrested under charges of “state treason” in late September, has claimed he is innocent and asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to transfer him from jail to house arrest during the investigation. “I am neither a traitor nor a spy,” Sachkov wrote in a letter to Putin, penned from…
A court in Moscow on Tuesday began hearings into a request by prosecutors to shut down a key center of Russia’s leading rights group Memorial. Dozens of supporters of Memorial gathered in frigid weather outside the Moscow City Court for the first of two court hearings this week on efforts to shutter the group, created…
A Russian Jehovah’s witness has been acquitted of extremism for the first time since the country banned the religious group in 2017, the organization said Monday. A court in the Far East capital of Vladivostok issued the not-guilty verdict less than a month after Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that joint prayers among members of banned religious…
A Siberian region of Russia has become the first in the country to impose self-isolation rules for residents who haven’t yet been vaccinated against Covid-19. The Khanty-Mansi autonomous region 2,700 kilometers east of Moscow has instituted the restrictions in four municipalities between Monday and Dec. 5 as Russia battles its fourth and deadliest wave of the…
The United States on Monday slapped sanctions on another company involved in the controversial Russia-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline even as it stops short of more drastic steps. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States was imposing sanctions on Transadria Ltd., a shipping company linked to Russia, as well as two vessels.…
Moscow has edged out Paris and London as a popular destination for wealthy Arab tourists who are shut out of European capitals due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to industry experts. More than 108,000 tourists from the Middle East visited the Russian capital in January-September, the tourism company Mosturizm told The Moscow Times. That equals…
Russian energy giant Gazprom told Moldova Monday that it will cut off gas to the tiny country if it does not pay for deliveries under a contract agreed last month, its spokesman Sergei Kupryanov told Russian broadcaster NTV. “The deadline for current payments is November 22… today, Gazprom notified the Moldovan side that in 48…
International rights groups raised alarm over recent transfers of activists to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan from Russia as top EU diplomat Josep Borrell met foreign ministers from five Central Asian states Monday. Two activists residing outside tightly-controlled Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were reportedly deported back to their homelands from Russia, which maintains strong security ties with its…
Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service on Monday dismissed growing Western allegations that Moscow is planning an invasion of Ukraine. “The Americans are painting a frightening picture of hordes of Russian tanks that will start to crush Ukrainian cities, saying they have some ‘reliable information’ of such Russian intentions,” the SVR said in a rare statement…
Russia is losing increasing amounts of its Arctic coast each year as climate change accelerates natural erosion processes, a phenomenon that could catalyze new ecological disasters, scientists have warned. An amount of shoreline roughly the size of central Moscow now collapses into the sea every year, Stanislav Ogorodov, the head geo-ecological scientist at Moscow State…
Russians looking to indulge in their traditional winter holiday treat of red caviar will be disappointed this year as prices have hit historic highs, official figures showed Monday. With Russia battling surging inflation, state statistics agency Rosstat said the market price for one kilogram of red fish roe has surpassed the 5,000 ruble ($68) mark,…
More than 1,500 passengers were kicked off public transportation on the first day of digital Covid pass enforcement in the central Russian city of Kazan, the city’s Mayor’s Office said Monday. The republic of Tatarstan was among the first Russian regions to mandate QR code passes for access to public places as the country battles the fourth…
Nearly 1,000 passengers were kicked off public transportation during the morning rush hour on the first day of digital Covid pass enforcement in the central Russian city of Kazan, authorities said Monday. The republic of Tatarstan was among the first Russian regions to mandate QR code passes for access to public places as the country battles…
One-quarter of Russia’s World War II veterans have died during the pandemic, according to an analysis by the Vedomosti business daily published Monday. Some 312,600 veterans of what Russia calls the Great Patriotic War have died between April 2020 and October 2021, Vedomosti reported, citing Labor Ministry data. Russia’s total excess fatality count since the start of…
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Monday that the European Union was refusing to discuss the fate of 2,000 migrants wishing to go to Europe and stranded in Belarus. The West accuses Belarus of bringing in would-be migrants — mostly from the Middle East — and taking them to areas along its borders with EU members…
The United States has warned European allies that Russia is readying for a possible invasion of Ukraine “on a scale far greater than seven years ago,” Bloomberg reported Monday. Russia has been accused by the West of funding and arming pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine since the outbreak of conflict there in 2014, claims Moscow denies.…
Dozens of ships have gotten stuck in the sea ice of the Russian Arctic due to an earlier-than-expected freeze over the past week, media outlets have reported. Moscow has invested heavily in the so-called Northern Sea Route as the Arctic warms disproportionately faster than the rest of the world and opens the strategic shipping route…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday he had had a third dose of a Covid vaccine, as the country struggles with a fresh wave of the virus. “I had it two hours ago,” Putin said on state television channel Rossiya 24, assuring viewers that his booster injection of the Sputnik vaccine had been painless.…
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Sunday slammed the United States for driving “hysteria” over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, after Western countries accused Moscow of a troop build-up near the ex-Soviet country. His comments come as Western countries this week raised alarm over Russian military activity near Ukraine and Washington said it has “real…
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday warned the shadowy Russian mercenary group Wagner over involvement in Mali as he pressed for a civilian transition in the troubled country. On a visit to Senegal, Blinken said that the United States was “contributing to efforts with Mali and partners in support of stability” in the…
Poland said Saturday that Belarus has changed tactics in their border crisis by now directing smaller groups of migrants to multiple points along the European Union’s eastern frontier. Though there have been signs of the crisis easing, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said he expected the border showdown to be long drawn out. Polish border guards…
The Kremlin slammed Friday a proposal by the U.S. Congress not to recognize Vladimir Putin’s presidency beyond 2024. Congressmen Steve Cohen and Joe Wilson introduced a resolution Thursday to end the recognition of Putin as Russian president “if the autocrat remains in power” after his current term. Constitutional amendments passed last year grant Putin the ability to…
St. Petersburg’s average winter temperatures could be 4 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average by 2050, while summer temperatures will rise by 2 C, a leading scientist said Wednesday. While world leaders hope to stop global warming from surpassing 1.5 С above the pre-industrial average, St. Petersburg’s average annual temperature has risen by 1.5…
Rosneft’s Integrated Health, Safety and Environment Management System (HSE IMS) has once again conformed to the requirements of ISO 45001:2018, Occupational Health and Safety Management System, and ISO 14001:2015, Environmental Management System.
Our colleague Denis Naumchik from the RN-BashNIPIneft research institute has been awarded the Medal for Valour for saving a child.
Angarsk Petrochemical Company, an enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company’s oil refining and petrochemical complex, has started producing liquid medical oxygen, the demand for which has increased in medical facilities in the region amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Georgia’s ex-leader Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been on hunger strike for 50 days, risks death if he is not transferred from a prison hospital to a regular clinic, a doctor who examined him said Friday. The warning comes a day after Saakashvili — Georgia’s president between 2004 and 2013 — fainted and was placed in…
A Russian diaspora group in the United States said Thursday it has suspended activities over what it called FBI harassment of its members as part of an undisclosed probe into “foreign agent” law violations. The Russian Community Council of the U.S.A., which organizes events to popularize the Russian language and cultural heritage within the U.S., said 300…
A makeshift migrant camp on Belarus’ border with Poland has been cleared, Minsk said Thursday, as hundreds of Iraqis who failed to make the crossing to enter the European Union returned home. Hope for de-escalating the crisis, which has seen thousands camping in desperate conditions on the border for weeks, had been mounting in recent…
Russian police have launched a probe into a photograph of a woman flashing her buttocks in front of a church, the latest in a string of racy photos snapped outside religious landmarks, state media reported Thursday. Authorities have launched at least four cases in recent weeks against young people, mostly women, for posting sexually suggestive…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said the West is “escalating” the Ukraine conflict by holding drills in the Black Sea and flying bombers near its borders. His comments come as the U.S. accuses Moscow of a troop build-up near Ukraine. Western countries have for days raised alarm over Russian military activity near Ukraine, with…
Russia’s state-run TASS news agency will open the world’s first permanent news bureau on board the International Space Station (ISS), it reported Wednesday. Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin will report on the orbital outpost’s daily routine and “share first-hand experience” of life on the ISS, Russia’s space chief told TASS. “A special enlightenment and educational project by Roscosmos and…
The Polish army detained dozens of migrants who crossed the Belarus border and accused Belarusian special forces of masterminding the operation, as G7 foreign ministers on Thursday urged Minsk to end the migrant crisis. Around 2,000 people, mainly from the Middle East, are estimated to be living near the Poland-Belarus border in dire conditions and…
Russia has fired its Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile from a warship in the north of the country, the military said Thursday. The Admiral Gorshkov frigate has test-launched the Tsirkon several times in recent years. President Vladimir Putin has dubbed the Tsirkon and other cutting-edge weapons “invincible” as Moscow hopes to gain an edge in any arms…
The Kremlin said Thursday that Europe should not blame Russia for “all problems,” as tensions with the West simmer over Ukraine and the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border. “Russia has an interest in everybody in Europe finally coming to their senses and stopping considering Russia the culprit of all problems,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov…
The Russian military said Thursday it has resumed evacuating citizens of Russia and regional allies from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The Defense Ministry said it has deployed three military aircraft to send 36 metric tons of humanitarian aid to the local population, according to a statement carried by the RBC news website. The returning planes will transport…
Bashneft, an enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company, has allocated over 4.2 billion roubles for environmental projects in the nine months of 2021.
Russia reported a new record of 1,251 coronavirus deaths Thursday as case numbers continued declining following nationwide measures to curb the spread. Thursday’s death toll marked the second consecutive day of all-time high coronavirus fatalities, with the previous pandemic record of 1,247 deaths seen on Wednesday. That brings the country’s official Covid-19 death toll to…
Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov and his newspaper Novaya Gazeta have been fined for failing to properly label “foreign agents” mentioned in their news coverage, Russian media reported Wednesday. The fines are the latest step to enforce the country’s controversial “foreign agents” law amid what critics call an expanding crackdown on independent voices…
The United States on Monday added Russia to a blacklist of countries singled out for “egregious violations of religious freedom,” a move that comes as ties dip to their lowest ebb since the Cold War. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was designating Russia, as well as China and eight other states, as…
Russia’s role in the migrant crisis reflects conflicting goals in relations with its embattled ally Belarus, Russian and Belarusian experts told the Moscow Times this week. The EU has accused the Belarusian government of shipping Middle Eastern migrants toward Poland to force the bloc to drop sanctions imposed after the disputed victory of longtime leader…
Belarus’ oil pipeline operator has temporarily restricted oil flows to Poland for unscheduled maintenance, Warsaw said Wednesday amid an unfolding migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border. Poland’s pipeline operator PERN Group said Russia’s Transneft pipeline monopoly had informed it that “oil pumping to Poland and Germany will be slightly reduced.” “The monthly volume of raw material will…
A year and a half since the coronavirus pandemic closed borders worldwide and halted nearly all international travel, Russia is slowly reopening to other countries it deems sufficiently safe. Because Russia’s border is only open to citizens of countries with which it has resumed air travel, this has been a key issue for many foreigners living…
Russia on Wednesday welcomed direct talks held between EU and Belarus officials over a migrant crisis on the Polish border. “It is very important that contact has been made between representatives of the EU and the leadership of Belarus,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the issue with Belarus leader Alexander…
A Moscow court has fined a music video channel for “gay propaganda” after its awards show featured gender-flipping stars and what viewers said resembled a same-sex wedding, Russia’s independent Dozhd TV broadcaster reported Wednesday. Russia’s media watchdog launched a probe over the June 2021 Muz-TV music awards where TikTokers and beauty bloggers walked the red carpet…
A former U.S. Marine serving a nine-year prison term in Russia ended a hunger strike he launched to protest against alleged violations of his rights, his lawyer told AFP Wednesday. U.S. citizen Trevor Reed is serving his sentence in a penal colony some 500 kilometers southeast of Moscow after being convicted of assaulting police officers…
A Far East Russian region has become the first in the country to introduce vaccine passports for internal flights Wednesday as federal lawmakers race to mandate health passes for public transport and other areas amid a record-breaking wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Starting Dec. 1, the Khabarovsk region 8,000 kilometers east of Moscow will require digital…
Russia’s Supreme Court has banned the criminal prosecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses for joint worship, potentially putting an end to the law enforcement practice of jailing believers for prayer sessions. The ruling could also affect the 152 convictions that have not yet entered into force or are being appealed, the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia organization said…