The Russian economy has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, and fears the fresh OPEC+ oil production pact between Russia and Saudi Arabia will not be enough to address a historic fall in demand. The turmoil has shocked traders around the world and resulted in sharp volatility on the Russian stock markets and swings in…
At least 21 Russian regions have requested digital travel passes a week after coronavirus-hit Moscow enacted its system to enforce lockdown measures and slow the deadly outbreak, the Communications and Press Ministry said Wednesday. Their introduction beyond Moscow comes as health officials warn that the regions lag behind the Russian capital in new infection rates…
After years spent on submarines with Russia’s Northern Fleet, Ivan Chernyshyov is having no problem adjusting to life on coronavirus lockdown — especially as, like many Russians, the retired sailor can escape to the countryside. “It’s good here. We’ll grow carrots and strawberries and maybe even some potatoes,” the 78-year-old says, while his wife Lyudmila…
The new chief editor of Russia’s leading business newspaper Vedomosti has banned employees from publishing articles that criticize President Vladimir Putin’s proposed constitutional changes, the paper’s media editor said Wednesday in the latest report of recent censorship at the publication. Andrei Shmarov, who was named acting editor-in-chief by Vedomosti’s new owners in March, made news…
The lives of thousands of Russian patients with rare diseases are in danger because the country’s hospitals are being repurposed to address the coronavirus outbreak, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday. The government ordered health officials to allocate up to 100,000 hospital beds for Covid-19 patients, the newspaper reported earlier this month. Officials were ordered…
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
The Kremlin on Wednesday confirmed plans to hold a referendum on constitutional amendments that would enable President Vladimir Putin to extend his time in office. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the date for the vote will depend on the coronavirus pandemic. The Kremlin has “certain rough estimates” but “the new timescale will be…
In late March, as Russia’s coronavirus outbreak fanned out from Moscow to the country’s provinces, Abdurakhman Martazanov, chief mufti of Russia’s autonomous North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, started to worry. Before many Russians had grasped the reality of the pandemic facing their country, Martazanov put together a set of guidelines allowing Ingushetia’s mostly Muslim population…
The authors of Russia’s delayed domestic abuse law have asked the government to take emergency steps to protect victims during the coronavirus quarantine, the RBC news website reported Tuesday. Experts have warned that lockdown measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 would lead to even more abuse in Russia, where domestic violence has been decriminalized…
This article contains graphic content that may be disturbing to some readers. One of the men filmed beheading, dismembering and setting fire to the body of a Syrian man in 2017 is a former police officer from southern Russia, the investigative Novaya Gazeta newspaper has said six months after it first reported on the torture in…
The Arctic will likely lose its summertime ice cover by 2050 even if current levels of CO2 emissions are significantly cut, a new study published in the American Geophysical Union’s journal has warned. Climate change has reduced sea ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean in recent decades, with 2019 tying with 2012 for having the…
Russia’s officially reported numbers — which are still relatively lower than those in European countries — have sparked suspicion. Experts warn that Russia’s testing capacity is hampered by bureaucracy, while officials warn that the real number of cases is likely much higher. The majority of Russia’s cases are in Moscow. Since March 30, all of…
The Russian economy has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, and fears the fresh OPEC+ oil production pact between Russia and Saudi Arabia will not be enough to address a historic fall in demand. The turmoil has shocked traders around the world and resulted in sharp volatility on the Russian stock markets and swings in…
Russia’s opposition has called for an online protest next week to press the Kremlin for financial aid for people struggling under the coronavirus lockdown. During an online YouTube rally next Tuesday, Moscow councillors Yulia Galyamina, Ilya Azar and their allies also plan to seek an amnesty for prisoners and oppose President Vladimir Putin’s plan to…
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
A Russian urologist has died from coronavirus complications after he picked up the virus treating patients in a hospital for veterans, two of his colleagues told The Moscow Times on Tuesday. He is the first doctor in Russia known to have died after treating coronavirus patients. Maxim Starinsky, 56, died on Monday at Kommunarka hospital, Moscow’s…
Russian businesses have asked the government to suspend its enforcement of environmental regulations during the coronavirus pandemic, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) warned that existing regulations would lead to an “uncontrolled spread of the disease,” according to RSPP chief Alexander Shokhin’s April 15 letter to Prime…
A new Moscow hospital built in a little over a month to treat coronavirus patients has admitted its first 20 patients, the Moscow mayor’s office said Tuesday as the Russian capital continues to battle an onslaught of new cases. Construction of the Demikhov city clinical hospital No. 68 some 70 kilometers southwest of the city…
The Russian economy has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, and fears the fresh OPEC+ oil production pact between Russia and Saudi Arabia will not be enough to address a historic fall in demand. The turmoil has shocked traders around the world and resulted in sharp volatility on the Russian stock markets and swings in…
A number of unidentified African countries have asked Russia to assist them in the fight against coronavirus, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. The continent has reported 23,499 cases and 1,161 deaths across 54 countries as of late Monday, according to a tally by the pan-African news outlet African Arguments. African leaders and financial institutions have…
As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 170,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 52,763 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 456 deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia as of April 21.…
Russian tech giant Yandex said Monday that it will offer free coronavirus tests to everyone in Moscow as the city grapples with a rapid rise in infections. Moscow, a city of more than 12.5 million, accounts for more than half of Russia’s 52,763 coronavirus cases and 456 deaths. Yandex previously said that only Muscovites aged…
Today marks what is likely the first-ever attempt by individuals to enter Schengen Europe via the Barents Sea. The attempt occurred on Oct. 8, 2019, but first became known to the public today as the verdict from the Pechenga District Court was announced by the Murmansk region prosecutor’s office. Three Syrian citizens boarded a small motorboat in…
Russian jets have been involved in several flybys with U.S. and NATO aircraft over the Mediterranean and Baltic seas in recent days. The series of interceptions end a pause of at least six months in Russian and U.S. aircraft buzzing each other in Europe and the Mediterranean. A Russian Su-35 fighter intercepted the U.S. Navy’s…
Russia’s officially reported numbers — which are still relatively lower than those in European countries — have sparked suspicion. Experts warn that Russia’s testing capacity is hampered by bureaucracy, while officials warn that the real number of cases is likely much higher. The majority of Russia’s cases are in Moscow. Since March 30, all of…
A small elderly woman lies curled up in bedsheets with an oxygen tube in her nose, coughing as doctors cocooned in white suits care for her. In a nearby bed, an elderly man is on a ventilator. In another a woman in her 50s lies on her belly to improve her oxygen saturation. news Russian…
The Moscow City Court has ruled to reduce activist Konstantin Kotov’s four-year jail sentence for “multiple beaches” of Russia’s protest law to 18 months, while also ruling that the guilty verdict was lawful, the RBC news website reported Monday, citing the court’s press-service. The hearing was reportedly conducted without visitors and journalists because of coronavirus…
Almost one in five Russians believe that LGBT people should be “eliminated,” according to the results of a new independent Levada Center poll. The figures showed 18% of respondents giving the response, marking a slight softening in attitudes toward members of the LGBT community since 2015, when 21% advocated their “elimination.” Similarly, 32% said this…
With the support of Rosneft, a polyclinic for 330 visits per day and Intensive care unit (ICU) of the central city hospital were opened in Syzran after major repairs
The Russian military will quarantine everyone involved in rehearsals for Russia’s postponed Victory Day Parade, the Defense Ministry said Monday following reports that some participants have tested positive for the coronavirus. President Vladimir Putin postponed the landmark parade to mark the 75th anniversary of Soviet victory in World War II until later in 2020 as…
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
Russians should stop coming to Crimea during the coronavirus pandemic, its Moscow-backed leader said Monday after a surge in traffic to the annexed peninsula this weekend. Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, banned all hotels and guest houses from hosting tourists without negative Covid-19 test results until June 1. Still, regional authorities noted…
Authorities in Moscow are reportedly investigating the death of a woman on a bench outside her home on the day she was discharged after testing negative for the coronavirus. Surveillance footage shared by Russia’s REN TV broadcaster showed the woman it identified as Yelena Chuklova, 48, moving around in pain on the bench as social…
As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 160,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 47,121 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 405 deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia as of April 20.…
The Russian economy has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, and the breakdown of the OPEC+ oil production pact between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The turmoil has shocked traders around the world and resulted in sharp volatility on the Russian stock markets and swings in the value of the ruble. The latest on the markets,…
Russia’s officially reported numbers — which are still relatively lower than those in European countries — have sparked suspicion. Experts warn that Russia’s testing capacity is hampered by bureaucracy, while officials warn that the real number of cases is likely much higher. The majority of Russia’s cases are in Moscow. Since March 30, all of…
Dozens of patients and staff have been infected with the coronavirus at a psychiatric hospital in Russia’s northwestern Arkhangelsk region, leading to a sharp rise in local cases, Interfax reported Sunday, citing regional authorities. The Arkhangelsk state clinical psychiatric hospital was placed under quarantine Saturday when one of its employees was found to be infected.…
As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 160,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 42,853 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 361 deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia as of April…
Russia’s officially reported numbers — which are still relatively lower than those in European countries — have sparked suspicion. Experts warn that Russia’s testing capacity is hampered by bureaucracy, while officials warn that the real number of cases is likely much higher. The majority of Russia’s cases are in Moscow. Since March 30, all of…
As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 150,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 36,793 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 313 deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia as of April 18.…
Russia’s officially reported numbers — which are still relatively lower than those in European countries — have sparked suspicion. Experts warn that Russia’s testing capacity is hampered by bureaucracy, while officials warn that the real number of cases is likely much higher. The majority of Russia’s cases are in Moscow. Since March 30, all of…
Russian lawmakers from both houses of parliament have passed legislation Friday allowing dual Russian citizenship for foreigners, sending it to President Vladimir Putin’s desk less than two weeks after introducing it. Lawmakers have described the amendments to Russia’s citizenship law, which among other steps strike down a requirement to renounce one’s existing citizenship, as “revolutionary.”…
Two newly appointed leaders in northern Russia have said they oppose a controversial landfill whose construction set off nationwide protests against shipping Moscow’s waste to poorer regions over a year ago. Opposition to construction of the Shiyes landfill in the Arkhangelsk region as a destination for Moscow’s trash grew from a local issue in 2018…
The Russian government has authorized hospitals to treat coronavirus patients with the untested malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which studies have linked to potentially deadly side effects. Thursday’s decree instructs Russia’s national medical cardiology research center to distribute 68,600 packs of hydroxychloroquine donated by a Shanghai pharmaceutical company to hospitals across Russia for free. More than a…
Svetlana Alexievich, the Belarussian winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature, has suggested that there might be a link between wireless 5G technology and the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Though no evidence exists to suggest a link between 5G and Covid-19, Alexievich told the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarussian service that “scientists aren’t fully…
Aeroflot has suspended ticket sales for all international flights departing before August, as Russia’s coronavirus cases continue to rise at one of the fastest rates in the world. A message on the ticket search portal of Aeroflot’s website says there are no available flights for any international routes until August 1. The state-backed airline said…
Nearly 50 cadets and instructors involved in rehearsals for Russia’s now-postponed Victory Day parade have been infected with the coronavirus, the Baza Telegram channel reported Friday. Rear Adm. Anatoly Minakov, the head of St. Petersburg’s elite Nakhimov Naval School, confirmed to local media that he’s been hospitalized in Moscow with a fever awaiting test results. …
Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut on Friday made a safe return from the International Space Station to find the planet transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka touched down in central Kazakhstan at 05:16 a.m. GMT in the first returning mission since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19…
The Russian economy has been rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, and the breakdown of the OPEC+ oil production pact between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The turmoil has shocked traders around the world and resulted in sharp volatility on the Russian stock markets and swings in the value of the ruble. The latest on the markets,…
As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 145,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 32,008 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 273 deaths. MT The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia as of April 17.…
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
Moscow, the epicenter of Russia’s coronavirus outbreak, will begin treating respiratory infections as Covid-19 as the disease shows no signs of slowing down, a senior city official said Thursday. The city’s new directive comes a week after its decision to treat all pneumonia cases as potential coronavirus patients because the virus often causes pneumonia. Federal…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday rejected as counterproductive attempts to blame Beijing for delaying informing the world about the coronavirus, the Kremlin said. Putin and Xi spoke after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration berated China for not sharing data more quickly. Washington is also investigating the origins of the…
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday postponed a landmark military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of Soviet victory in World War II, as Russia struggles to contain the rapid spread of the coronavirus. The “risks associated with the epidemic, whose peak has not passed yet, are extremely high,” Putin said. “This does not give me…
Russian hospitals overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic and running low on personal protective equipment are repurposing commercial snorkel masks to safeguard medical staff and patients, following a trend in Europe. The Russian branch of the French sports equipment company Decathlon told AFP it had “blocked” sales of 6,000 masks from dozens of shops around the…
A number of Russian vendors have begun to raise drug prices by up to 15% because of the ruble’s devaluation during the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s Kommersant business daily reported Thursday. Industry experts link the price hike to manufacturers spending more on imported active ingredients and the upkeep of foreign equipment as the Russian currency has…
One-third of all coronavirus infections in a northwestern Russian region are concentrated in a crowded hostel that houses migrant workers involved in construction at an IKEA-owned shopping mall, local media reported Wednesday. The Leningrad region, which surrounds Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg, has reported 330 Covid-19 cases since the start of the outbreak. Over…
Russian President Vladimir Putin believes the global coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity for his country to work together with the United States, the Kremlin said Thursday. “President Putin believes this pandemic is the time to help each other,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, after U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered to send ventilators…
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
The independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper has deleted its investigation into the republic of Chechnya’s strict anti-coronavirus measures after Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov issued a threat to the journalist who wrote it. Kadyrov said Monday that Novaya Gazeta’s story on Chechens underreporting potential coronavirus symptoms out of fear for their safety would lead “someone” to “commit…