Moscow’s crackdown on Memorial has only intensified since the rights group won the Nobel Peace Prize last month, but its executive director says members are pushing on despite the dangers. “Of course it is very difficult,” Elena Zhemkova told AFP in an interview, stressing though that there had never been any question about whether or…
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Lobsters, crabs, crawfish… what could be further from Russian cuisine? Actually, that’s not right, if only because all kinds of European seafood have been part of Russian culinary tradition for more than 250 years. In 1766 Catherine gathered together the most prominent scientists of the time and gave them a difficult task. She demanded that…
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ST. PETERSBURG – The until-recently highly secretive Wagner mercenary organization continued to grow its public profile on Friday as it opened a new headquarters and technology center in Russia’s second city. The glass-fronted multistory building in St. Petersburg will not only function as administrative hub for the military group, whose public profile has grown as…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the remaining civilian population should be evacuated from the city of Kherson in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine as all indicators suggested the battle for the strategically key city on the Dnipro River was imminent. “Now, of course, those who live in Kherson must be removed from the zone…
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday that he had urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to use Beijing’s “influence” on Moscow to stop the war in Ukraine. “I told President [Xi] that it is important for China to use its influence on Russia,” Scholz said. “Russia must immediately stop the attacks under which the civilian…
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Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev marked Russian Unity Day on Friday with a blistering Telegram post in which he excoriated the West, Ukraine, and some of Russia’s erstwhile allies for a litany of percieved transgressions and betrayals. In a post entitled “Why our cause is just,” Medvedev used the occasion of Russian Unity Day –…
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Draft-age men who left Russia in fear of being sent to fight in Ukraine are returning home after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an end to the country’s chaotic mobilization that swept hundreds of thousands into the Armed Forces. After the initial rush to get out of the country spurred by rumors of border closures,…
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “energy terrorism” on Thursday night, after renewed strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure left some 4.5 million people without power. “Tonight, about 4.5 million consumers have been temporarily disconnected from energy consumption,” Zelensky said in his daily evening address. “The very fact that Russia is resorting to energy…
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Negotiations underway to unblock exports of fertilizer from Russia have made “important steps forward,” one of the main United Nations negotiators said on Thursday, while acknowledging that there was still a way to go. Russian grain and fertilizer exports continue to face issues over sanctions imposed after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, despite two agreements…
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Russian tech group Yandex announced on Thursday that its revenues continued to climb during the third quarter, despite Russia being under Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. The company’s revenues rose 46% compared to the third quarter of last year, reaching 113.2 billion rubles ($2.1 billion). Yandex – often dubbed “Russia’s Google” – employs around…
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Russia summoned the UK ambassador to Moscow to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday and warned London of “dangerous consequences” after accusing it of helping Kyiv carry out an attack on Moscow’s Black Sea fleet in Crimea last week. “Such confrontational actions of the English carry a threat of escalation of the situation and could lead…
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In the remote waters of the Arctic Ocean above Russia’s Far East mainland lies Wrangel Island — a rugged, mountainous stretch of land that remains barely touched by human life. The 91st-largest island in the world, Wrangel Island covers an area roughly the size of Crete and is under UNESCO protection. As the island is…
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The Russian-installed head of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, announced the completion of the latest in a series of prisoner swaps between Moscow and Kyiv on Thursday. According to Pushilin, 107 captured troops on both sides were swapped in what was the second prisoner exchange between the warring militaries in just over a week. …
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The Russian flag hanging in front of the regional administration in Ukraine’s occupied Kherson region has been taken down, pro-Russian Telegram channels said Thursday. “I drove up to the building of the former government of the Kherson region; I confirm that there is no [Russian] flag over it,” pro-Kremlin war correspondent Alexander Kots said on…
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Grain ships left Ukraine’s ports on Thursday, a day after Russia rejoined an international agreement to guarantee their safe passage through the Black Sea. But Russia said it had yet to decide whether to extend the grain deal beyond Nov. 19 — the renewal date set in the agreement. “Before making a decision on an…
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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday called on Russia to reinstate the death penalty for those suspected of wartime sabotage. “We can overcome the moratorium on the death penalty, if necessary, within the framework of the current Constitution,” Medvedev wrote on his Telegram messaging app channel. “It’s a matter of choosing the means to…
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The Russian authorities in annexed Crimea said Thursday they are considering nationalizing Ukrainian-owned property on the peninsula, including an $800,000 apartment owned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A commission is currently compiling a list of properties owned by “unfriendly” foreign individuals and states that could be subject to nationalization, Vladimir Konstantinov, the head of Crimea’s…
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Russia on Wednesday rejoined a deal to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea but Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Moscow could pull out of the agreement again. The revival of an agreement aimed at easing fears of global food insecurity came just as Washington warned it was “increasingly concerned” that Moscow could use…
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Russia said Wednesday that the world’s “top priority” should be to avoid a clash of nuclear powers, stressing it could lead to “catastrophic consequences.” “We are firmly convinced that in the current difficult and turbulent situation — a consequence of irresponsible and shameless actions aimed at undermining our national security — the top priority is…
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The Dutch firm that owns Russian telecoms operator Vimpelcom will sell its Russian operations, the company announced Wednesday, reportedly due to the growing complications of Western sanctions. Vimpelcom, which operates popular Russian phone and internet provider Beeline, has been owned by Netherlands-based multinational Veon, formerly Vimpelcom Ltd., since 2009. Veon is now “conducting a competitive…
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More than 100 mobilized Russian men have gone on strike at their training center in central Russia to protest their lack of payment. The men, who hail from the republic of Chuvashia, said they still haven’t received the promised sum of 195,000 rubles ($3,170) and refuse to fight in Ukraine until they are paid. “They…
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Moscow will “in the near future” summon the British ambassador to hand over “evidence” of its claim that the U.K. helped orchestrate an attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. Russia has claimed U.K. “specialists” helped Kyiv launch a drone attack on the fleet in Moscow-annexed Crimea at…
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Russian military officials recently met to talk about the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing U.S. intelligence. Washington learned last month of the conversations, which did not include Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the newspaper. U.S. officials did not disclose the possible scenarios in which…
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Poland has started construction of a barrier along its border with Russia amid Warsaw’s concerns that Moscow could orchestrate a migrant crisis on the European Union’s frontiers, Russian state media reported Wednesday. A senior official in Poland’s ruling party disclosed plans last week to erect a barrier on the border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region after…
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Nikita moved to his family’s summer cottage outside the Russian capital to lie low after President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial” mobilization for the war in Ukraine. Although Putin said earlier this week that mobilization was over, Nikita told The Moscow Times that he has no plans yet to return to his normal life in…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered to allow visa-free travel from countries regardless of their visa policies toward Russian citizens. A Kremlin decree dated Oct. 30 instructs Putin’s cabinet to facilitate visa-free tourism, business, educational, sports and cultural travel even if these countries require visas for Russians to visit. Ukraine, for example, introduced visa requirements…
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North Korea and Russia have resumed cross-border railway trade, ending a two-year hiatus caused by Covid-19 border restrictions, media reported Wednesday. Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that the first freight train carrying 30 thoroughbred horses has departed for the country’s only border crossing with North Korea, Khasan-Tumangang. Russian federal customs service data viewed by The…
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At least 100 mobilized Russians have been killed on and off the battlefield since President Vladimir Putin announced his chaotic military call-up last month, according to an analysis of confirmed deaths by independent media published Tuesday. One in five of the mobilized men were said to have died before deployment due to alcohol, drugs, physical…
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Russian occupation authorities announced Tuesday the movement of further large numbers of people from Ukraine’s Kherson region amid a counteroffensive by Kyiv, which has already seen 70,000 people flee. “I decided to extend the evacuation zone by 15 kilometers (nine miles) from Dnipro,” pro-Moscow governor Vladimir Saldo said in a Telegram video. “Measures for forced…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday that he wanted “real guarantees” from Kyiv before potentially rejoining the grain deal. In a phone call, Putin told Erdogan that Russia sought “real guarantees from Kyiv about the strict observance of the Istanbul agreement, in particular about not using the humanitarian corridor…
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A Russian court on Tuesday fined Wikipedia 2 million roubles ($32,600) over articles related to Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. A Moscow-based group that supports projects by Wikipedia’s owner Wikimedia said it was fined by Moscow’s Tagansky district court for refusing to remove two articles related to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. Vladimir Medeiko, director of…
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Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said Tuesday that he had been placed in solitary confinement for the seventh time in several months. The opposition figure, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence on charges of fraud, parole violations and contempt of court, said that he had just been released from his most recent spell in…
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The Victory Museum, one of the largest museums of military history in Russia, has announced it will ring in the New Year by hosting a series of patriotic, World War II-themed games for children. The game, called Protect New Year, will require its participants between 6 and 12 years old to “overcome dark forces” that have…
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The Kremlin on Tuesday accused Britain of “directing and coordinating” explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. “Our intelligence services have data indicating that British military specialists were directing and coordinating the attack,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “There is evidence that Britain is involved in sabotage, in a terrorist attack on vital energy…
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A group of activists has occupied the multimillion-dollar Amsterdam home of EU-sanctioned Russian tech tycoon Arkady Volozh, Dutch media reported Monday. Volozh, 58, is the co-founder and former CEO of tech giant Yandex, Russia’s equivalent of Google. He stepped down in June after the European Union sanctioned him in its response to Moscow’s invasion of…
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Russian occupation authorities in southern Ukraine said Tuesday that tens of thousands more people would be evacuated from the Kherson region amid Kyiv’s counteroffensive. The Russian-installed leader of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said some 70,000 people along a 15-kilometer (10-mile) stretch of the left bank of the Dnipro River would be moved deeper into…
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Moldova has expelled a Russian diplomat after debris from a Russian missile shot down by Ukrainian air defenses landed on the northern tip of the country’s territory. Ukraine said it was subjected to a “massive” wave of missile strikes Monday, with more than 50 cruise missiles launched at targets across the country including Kyiv’s power and…
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Russia’s “partial” mobilization drive is over, President Vladimir Putin said late Monday in an apparent attempt to ease concerns that the Russian military would attempt to call up more reservists than promised for its Ukraine offensive. But the Russian leader appeared to waver on how to formalize the end of Russia’s first mobilization since World…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday he hopes for “normalization” of ties between rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan who pledged not to resort to force in their territorial dispute after tripartite talks, reasserting Moscow’s role as Caucasus powerbroker. The summit was held as Western engagement grows in the volatile Caucasus region, where Russia — distracted by…
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Billionaire banker and entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov on Monday said he renounced his Russian citizenship because of the conflict in Ukraine, which he had previously criticised. “I have taken the decision to exit my Russian citizenship. I can’t and won’t be associated with a fascist country, that started a war with their peaceful neighbour and killing…
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The United States on Monday accused Russia of extortion at the expense of the developing world after it demanded Ukrainian security guarantees on its Crimea fleet for preserving a secure corridor to export grain. “What you’re describing appears to be either collective punishment or collective extortion,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “It is…
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Cargo ships loaded with grain and other agricultural products left Ukrainian ports on Monday despite Russia’s decision to pull out from a landmark deal designed to ease the global food crisis. As one of the brokers of the grain deal, Turkey has stepped up diplomacy with the two warring countries in a bid to save…
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Russia stripped renowned climate activist Arshak Makichyan of his Russian citizenship Monday, according to a post on his Instagram page. “The Russian state has deprived me of my only citizenship,” the activist, who is currently living in exile in Germany, wrote on Monday. Renowned as Russia’s “lone climate activist” for his solo protests on Moscow’s…
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Moscow on Monday summoned the Dutch ambassador to “protest strongly” against Western efforts to “recruit” Russian diplomats in the Netherlands, the Foreign Ministry said. Ambassador Gilles Beschoor Plug was called in to hear Moscow “protest strongly against an attempt to recruit the military attache of Russia’s Embassy in The Hague on Oct. 20 by a…
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The Russian-born co-founder and CEO of British digital bank Revolut has become the fourth billionaire to renounce his Russian citizenship, The Telegraph reported on Saturday. Nik Storonsky, 37, had dual British and Russian citizenship until his decision to renounce his Russian citizenship earlier this year, the report said. Storonsky, who has publicly condemned Moscow’s invasion…
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Russia’s military said it successfully hit several Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities in the latest round of missile strikes fired at the war-torn country Monday. “The Russian Armed Forces continued to launch strikes with high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons against Ukrainian military and energy facilities,” the Defense Ministry said in an update on its Telegram…
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Japanese tiremaker Bridgestone said Monday it was seeking a local buyer for its business in Russia due to “general uncertainty and the ongoing supply issues” in that country. The company suspended manufacturing activities in Russia and exports to the country in March — shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine — while freezing new investments, it said. Bridgestone said in a…
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Police in Finland have raised the alarm over the smuggling of Western-donated weapons from Ukraine by criminal gangs, Finland’s Yle broadcaster reported Sunday. Weapons originally sent as military aid to Ukraine including assault rifles, pistols, grenades and combat drones, had been found in multiple European countries, Christer Ahlgren, head of organized crime at the Finnish…
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Russia and Ukraine over the weekend announced a fresh prisoner exchange involving 50 captives on each side. Unlike previous exchanges carried out since the Russian invasion, the prisoner swap was made public by both Moscow and Ukraine on Saturday. Russia’s military said its 50 soldiers returned from Ukraine had been “in mortal danger in captivity”…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday after the leftist ex-president narrowly won a divisive runoff against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. “The results of the vote have confirmed your high political authority,” Putin said in a telegram published by the Kremlin after Brazilian electoral officials called the election for…
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Russia’s blockade of grain exports makes it “impossible” for fully loaded ships to leave port, Ukraine charged Sunday after Moscow claimed drone attacks on its Crimea fleet had exploited the grain corridor safe zone. Kyiv’s maritime grain exports were halted after Russia pulled out of a landmark agreement that allowed the vital shipments. The July…
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Russia said Sunday it recovered debris from drones that attacked its fleet in Sevastopol, exploiting the “safe zone” of a grain corridor, and could have been launched from a civilian ship. “The marine drones were moving in the safe zone of the ‘grain corridor’,” Russia’s defense ministry said, adding it had “lifted” some of the…
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Ukraine’s maritime grain exports were halted Sunday after Russia suspended its participation in a landmark agreement that allowed the vital shipments, blaming drone attacks on its ships in Crimea. The July deal to unlock grain exports signed between Russia and Ukraine and brokered by Turkey and the UN, is critical to easing the global food…
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Russia on Saturday suspended its participation in a landmark agreement that allowed vital grain exports from Ukraine, blaming drone attacks on Russian ships in Crimea. Russia made the announcement after its army accused Kyiv earlier Saturday of a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea fleet, which Ukraine labeled a “false pretext” and the UN…
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The Russian army accused Ukraine Saturday of a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, while Britain bluntly rejected Moscow’s claims its specialists were involved. Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea, which has been targeted several times in recent months, serves as the headquarters for the fleet and a logistical hub for operations in…
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Russia’s army on Saturday accused the U.K. of being “involved” in explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, alleging the same British military specialists helped Ukraine plan a drone attack on Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet. Russia did not provide any evidence, but considers the U.S. one of the countries most unfriendly to Moscow, with relations…
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Stem cells for bone marrow transplants have just 48 hours to reach the patient in need. Any longer than this, and they’ll die. In peacetime, 48 hours was more than enough time to ship stem cells from the Stefan Morsch Stiftung in Germany’s Black Forest to Moscow — the delivery would take just one flight…
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A veteran Russian state media journalist has been killed in an accident on a shooting range in Moscow-annexed Crimea, Russia’s main Rossiya Segodnya state media group has said. Svetlana Babayeva, the head of the Kremlin-backed media’s Crimea bureau, “died due to an accident” while practicing shooting on Friday, Russian agencies quoted the media outlet as…
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A joke in Russian goes like this: some people eat meat, some people eat cabbage, but on average people eat cabbage rolls. Today everyone in Russia knows what cabbage rolls are. But 200 years ago this was a culinary novelty for Russians. The traditional territory of cabbage rolls is Eastern Europe and Scandinavia — although…
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Norway’s counter-intelligence service (PST) on Friday revealed what it said was the true identity of a Russian spy posing as a Brazilian researcher. The PST named the suspect as Mikhail Mikushin, a Russian born in 1978, who they said had been passing himself off as a 37-year-old Brazilian named Jose Assis Giammaria. Mikushin is a…
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