Demand for European vacations among Russian tourists has increased slightly this month despite ongoing flight and visa difficulties due to the war in Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. European countries have tightened visa procedures for Russian nationals over the past year and have increased rejections of applications since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.…
Kyiv’s allies on Monday slammed Russia for a Security Council meeting chaired by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about protecting the United Nations charter, which Moscow itself violated by invading Ukraine. “By organizing this debate Russia is trying to portray itself as a defender of the UN charter and multilateralism. Nothing can be further from the…
Moscow on Monday expressed “serious concern” over fresh tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have been locked for decades in a deadly territorial conflict. The comments from the Foreign Ministry came a day after Azerbaijan set up a checkpoint on the only land link to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, sparking anger from Armenia. Armenia…
Russia’s Sberbank on Monday announced that it has developed a rival technology to ChatGPT, the widely popular Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence chatbot released in November. Called Gigachat, the Sberbank chatbot is said to excel among its peers — ChatGPT in particular — thanks to its excellent Russian-language comprehension as well as its ability to generate images,…
A “Ukrainian” drone has been found outside Moscow, an official said on Monday, adding this had led local authorities to call off a Victory Day parade for security reasons. Moscow has accused Ukraine of being behind a number of drone attacks on military infrastructure deep inside Russian territory. On Monday, Igor Sukhin, head of the…
Russia has expropriated 20 billion rubles ($250 million) in “voluntary contributions” into its budget from foreign businesses that have left the country in the past four and a half months, the RBC news site reported Monday. Hundreds of mostly Western companies have either fully exited or scaled back operations in Russia since it launched a full-scale…
The headline-grabbing decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last month to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges has caused nervousness among the Russian elite, according to current and former officials who spoke to The Moscow Times. While Russia formally condemned the decision, with ex-President Dmitry Medvedev even…
The chief of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his men fighting in the flashpoint eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut would kill rival soldiers and take no more prisoners. He was reacting to a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel’s posting of an alleged recording of what it said were two Ukrainians deciding to shoot a Russian prisoner…
Russian companies across a wide range of sectors are facing record staff shortages this year as the country grapples with population decline, a wartime exodus and military losses amid its offensive on Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. Employee availability hit its lowest value since record-keeping began in 1998, the newspaper said, citing a…
Over 300 foreign correspondents have called for the release of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in an open letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov published Monday. Among the signatories are journalists with decades of experience reporting from Russia, some having arrived in Moscow as far back as the early 1960s, while others…
The son of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has claimed that he fought with Russia’s Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine in a rare example of the children of senior Russian officials serving at the front. Nikolai Peskov, 33, who also uses the last name Choles after his British stepfather, is the son of veteran Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. …
Azerbaijan on Sunday set up a checkpoint on the only land link between Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, sparking an angry response from its archrival Yerevan. The move fuels tensions between the ex-Soviet Caucasus nations that fought two wars over Azerbaijan’s Armenian-majority region of Nagorno-Karabakh. “The units of the Azerbaijani Border Service established a border…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday said Moscow “will not forgive” Washington for denying U.S. visas to Russian journalists meant to accompany him on a visit to UN headquarters. “We won’t forget, we will not forgive this,” said Lavrov, who will chair several UN Security Council meetings in New York. Russia took up the presidency…
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Saturday announced the expulsion of “more than 20” German diplomats as a retaliatory measure for the “mass expulsion” of Russian embassy staff from Berlin. Maria Zakharova told state-run television Zvezda that Moscow had decided to expel “more than 20” diplomats. Her statement came shortly after her ministry denounced “another…
The arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich last month brought to light the stark reality of media freedom in Russia, which is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most perilous places for journalists. As many as 22 journalists are currently imprisoned in Russia for their work, according to data from international press freedom…
The authorities in several Russian regions are distributing digital summons to men of call-up age, according to media reports, less than a week after a radical overhaul of the country’s military draft system was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin. Previously summons had to be issued in person — making them relatively easy to…
Belarusian prosecutors on Friday requested a 10-year prison term for an opposition activist who helped coordinate mass protests against President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in 2020. Roman Protasevich, the editor of an opposition Telegram channel, was arrested in 2021 after his Ryanair flight was intercepted by a fighter jet and forced to land in Minsk. The…
Russia has appointed new commanders of both its Baltic and Pacific fleets, the state-run Interfax news agency reported Friday, citing sources. Admiral Viktor Liina, the former commander of Russia’s Baltic Fleet, will now head the country’s Pacific Fleet headquartered in the Far East port of Vladivostok, according to Interfax. Liina’s predecessor in the Pacific, admiral Sergey Avakyants,…
The lawyer who defended Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza at his trial that ended in a 25-year prison sentence this week, told The Moscow Times he fled Russia after receiving warnings that he, too, could be jailed. Vadim Prokhorov has defended a string of prominent Kremlin critics in court over the years, including Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin…
A Moscow court on Friday ordered the arrest of Christo Grozev, a top investigative journalist with open-source group Bellingcat, independent news outlet Mediazona reported. Grozev, who is not in Russia and looks set to be tried in absentia, was accused of illegally crossing the Russian border, according to Mediazona. The Friday court hearing was held…
The Kremlin attempted to sway German politicians to form an anti-war coalition as part of a broader strategy to weaken European backing for Ukraine, The Washington Post reported Friday. Citing documents dated between July and November last year that were obtained by an unidentified European intelligence service, the publication said Kremlin deputy chief of staff…
A Russian-flagged fishing vessel caught fire off the coast of South Korea, leaving four out of the 25 sailors on board dead, Russia’s state-run media reported Friday. The 769-ton boat was carrying 100 tons of fish and seafood to Russia when the fire erupted after midnight off the coast of Ulsan, 300 kilometers southeast of…
The father of a Russian smuggling suspect wanted by the United States has stepped down from his governor’s post in Siberia, a decree on the Kremlin website said Thursday. Alexander Uss, 68, was appointed by President Vladimir Putin as acting head of the Krasnoyarsk region in 2017 and elected governor in 2018. He is the…
Russia said one of its fighter jets lost ammunition over Belgorod near the Ukrainian border on Thursday, after local authorities reported a blast that injured two people and left a huge crater in the city. Russian jets have regularly flown sorties over Belgorod since the launch of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine in February 2022. On…
Russia said Thursday that it had finished snap navy drills in the Pacific, stressing its forces were ready to repel “aggression” during an armed conflict at sea. Last week Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the country’s Pacific Fleet, headquartered in the port of Vladivostok, had launched surprise combat drills as tensions rage with the West…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday pressed NATO to invite Ukraine to join the military alliance, while also calling for more shipments of fighter jets and long-range weapons. Zelensky was speaking during a visit to Kyiv by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, his first since the start of Russia’s invasion last year. Moscow views Ukraine’s…
Russia has sentenced a soldier to 10 years in prison for the near-fatal shooting of his slain brother’s commander, according to a statement by the Sevastopol Garrison Court in annexed-Crimea. Ismail Dzangiyev, 29, was convicted of shooting a platoon commander in the head whom he accused of causing his younger brother’s death, according to the…
Russia’s ultra-rich have seen their wealth swell over the past year despite punishing Western sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, according to the 2023 Forbes World’s Billionaires list published late Wednesday. The overall wealth of Russian billionaires rose from $353 billion in 2022 to $505 billion this year, with the average increase per…
The European Union does not plan to significantly expand sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, The Financial Times reported Thursday, citing unnamed EU officials. Further penalties on Russia’s economy would likely meet vetoes EU member states that “can’t live without” Russian industries like nuclear energy, according to the newspaper. “We are done,” the…
The commander of the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet has been removed from his post, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy to the Russian Far East said Thursday. The reshuffle was announced a week after the Pacific Fleet was ordered to stage surprise combat drills to repel a theoretical enemy landing. Presidential envoy Yury Trutnev said Admiral Sergei Avakyants,…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Wednesday played down the impact of U.S. sanctions on officials of their two nations. During a four-hour stopover in Managua, Lavrov met with Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who is also vice president. The issue of sanctions arose after the U.S. Treasury Department…
At least 53,000 army recruitment advertisements have appeared on the Russian social media outlet VKontakte since the beginning of March, according to a report by Novaya Gazeta Europe. The figure represents a seven-fold increase compared to Russia’s largely unsuccessful recruitment campaign for volunteer soldiers last summer, according to Novaya Gazeta Europe’s calculations. Recruitment advertisements have appeared…
Kyiv said Wednesday it had received the first shipments of the American-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system and deployed light-armored fighting vehicles sent by France as it prepares for a major counter-offensive against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. “Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine,” Ukrainian…
President Vladimir Putin’s first trip to meet his generals in Russian-occupied Ukraine publicized by the Kremlin earlier this week was an attempt to show he is in control of the military situation and compete with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to analysts. This is only the second time Putin has publicly traveled to the areas…
The Moscow City Court dismissed Wednesday an appeal against jailed Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin’s eight-and-a-half prison sentence handed down last year under Russia’s wartime censorship laws. Yashin, 39, was convicted in December for spreading “false” information about the Russian military’s alleged killing of civilians in the Kyiv suburb town of Bucha last spring. Ahead of…
Russian officials have raised concerns about excessive reliance on Chinese technologies after losing access to sophisticated components due to Western sanctions, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing European officials familiar with the document. Chips, network devices and electronics were assessed to be areas of particular vulnerability to Chinese dependence, according to the document that Bloomberg said was…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had prevented an attack on energy systems in annexed Crimea, state media reported Wednesday. An unidentified Russian-Ukrainian national was detained in the Crimean city of Kerch on suspicion of preparing to commit an act of sabotage and illegally buying and storing explosives, according to the TASS news agency. “An…
Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa early Wednesday but there were no reports of casualties, authorities said. “At night, the enemy carried out an attack by UAVs of the Shahed-136 type on the Odesa region,” Yuriy Kruk, head of the Odesa district military administration, said in a statement on Telegram.…
On a recent cold March afternoon, a handful of people gathered on a square in downtown Ulyanovsk, a midsized Russian city on the Volga River, to demand the return of direct elections for the city’s mayorship. Despite a large police presence, the gathering — which featured speeches from local activists and politicians — went ahead…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Tuesday for like-minded countries to “join forces” against the “blackmail” of Western sanctions, as the longtime diplomat continued his tour of Latin America. Discussing Russia’s war on Ukraine with counterpart Yvan Gil in Caracas, Lavrov referred to allies Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua as countries “that choose their own path.”…
The maker of Sweden’s Absolut vodka said Tuesday it was suspending all exports to Russia after calls to boycott the brand flared up in Sweden. Stephanie Durroux, chief executive of The Absolut Company, said in a statement that the company is exercising its “duty of care toward our employees and partners, we cannot expose them…
A graveyard containing scores of dead fighters from Russia’s Wagner mercenary outfit has been discovered in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, according to a report published by the independent news outlet People of Baikal. The previously unreported 53 graves are in a corner of Aleksandrovsky cemetery some 11 kilometers from regional capital Irkutsk. Each grave…
The Russian authorities have opened a fresh criminal case against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after staging a “provocation” against the politician at a penal colony where he is serving his nine-year prison sentence, his press spokesperson said Tuesday. The prison authorities, according to spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, placed a convict “with personal hygiene problems” in Navalny’s…
Russia on Tuesday canceled annual processions in remembrance of relatives who fought in World War II amid apparent security concerns linked to the fighting in Ukraine. Millions of people across Russia traditionally march in the Immortal Regiment processions on May 9, the annual holiday commemorating the end of World War II, holding placards of relatives…
The Moscow City Court rejected Tuesday an appeal against the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the first foreign journalist to be charged with espionage in Russia since the Cold War. The hearing was the first time Gershkovich has been seen in public since his arrest in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg…
Russian law enforcement authorities have detained an activist and PR expert who was among people to be interviewed by U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich before his arrest last month on disputed spying charges, the Kommersant newspaper reported Tuesday. Footage that emerged on messaging app Telegram showed Russian security officers storming Yaroslav Shirshikov’s apartment, arresting him and…
The Russian military has begun using Moscow’s vast video surveillance system to find conscripts who evade compulsory service, Moscow’s chief draft officer Maxim Loktev told state-run news agency TASS on Tuesday. “Moscow’s video surveillance systems are being used to determine a conscript’s residence,” said Loktev. He added that workplaces and educational establishments will also provide…
Updates with Agentsvo reporting on visit timing and Peskov comments. Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited occupied Ukrainian territories for the second time since launching a full-scale invasion, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Putin visited a military headquarters in Ukraine’s Kherson region in the south, as well as a Russian National Guard headquarters in the Luhansk…
Russia said Monday that it had repelled an “illegal” Ukrainian attempt to infiltrate Russian territory in the southern border region of Bryansk, 11 days after reporting a similar incident. “The intruder stepped on a mined protection line, which Russian armed forces created to prevent infiltrations of Russian territory and to ensure the security of residents…
U.S. ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she found journalist Evan Gershkovich “in good health” when meeting him in prison Monday for the first time after his arrest on spying charges. “I visited The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich today at Lefortovo Prison — the first time we’ve been permitted access to him since his wrongful detention…
The number of prisoners in penal colonies across 35 Russian regions decreased by 17,248 in 2022, according to the report released Monday by independent news outlet Mediazona. The drop, according to Mediazona, was likely the result of the recruitment of prisoners for the Wagner mercenary group. As the Mediazona report only counted prisoner numbers in…
A Russian court on Monday sentenced journalist, activist and Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison on charges of treason. But who is Kara-Murza and for what is he famous? In this short biography, we look at his family history, his entry into politics and the two apparent attempts to poison him. Family…
MOSCOW – Human rights group the Sakharov Center held its final public event Sunday before closing down its premises in the center of the Russian capital as a result of an eviction order from the local authorities. “What I’m feeling is a light sadness — wonderful people have come here and it’s a pleasure to see…
Updates with reaction to the sentencing. A Russian court sentenced opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison on charges of treason and “fake news” Monday, capping a high-profile trial of one of the country’s most defiant anti-war voices. Moscow City Court found Kara-Murza, 41, guilty of treason, “false information about the Russian army,”…
A Russian mayor wanted on fraud charges has surfaced fighting in the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, the Kommersant newspaper reported Monday. The Russian authorities accuse Rustyam Abushayev, who headed two municipalities in Far Eastern Russia’s Primorye region, of making fraudulent land deals and conducting business illegally. On Monday, Abushayev posted a video of himself…
The number of data breaches in Russia surged last year and is on course to increase further in 2023, the RBC news website reported Monday, citing data from cyber-security firms. According to Group-IB, 1.4 billion pieces of data such as names, phones, addresses and birthdays appeared online in 2022. That marks a 42-fold increase from…
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu on Sunday hailed ties with Moscow during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. “We have very strong ties. They surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War era… They are very stable,” he said in translated remarks broadcast on Russian TV. He added that Russia-China ties…
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent shock waves across the former Soviet Union, with Moscow’s traditional partners seeking allies elsewhere. Armenia, which for decades has relied on Russia for military and economic support and even hosts a Russian military base, serves as a key illustration of Moscow’s diminishing regional influence. Many in Armenia today say…
Russia on Saturday claimed advances on the northern and southern outskirts of Ukraine’s embattled city of Bakhmut, the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle of Moscow’s military campaign. Russian troops have been battling since last summer to capture the town in eastern Ukraine, which has taken on huge symbolic importance even though analysts say…
Russia shelled a block of flats in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, killing nine people, authorities said Saturday, including a two-year-old boy who was rescued from the rubble but died on his way to hospital. Friday’s strike on the quiet neighborhood came as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill that will make it…