Soviet Diehards and Covid-19 Conspiracies: Inside Russia’s Anti-5G Movement

This piece was originally published in Coda Story’s Authoritarian Tech channel.  When video blogger Natalia Chernikhovskaya looked out the window of her Moscow apartment building she saw an antenna tower with white panels and a circular dish in the center. At first, she never suspected it could be the source of unexplained headaches and pains that she began…

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U.S. Charges Russians With Cyberattacks on Ukraine, French Elections, Olympics

Six Russian military intelligence officers have been charged in the United States with carrying out cyberattacks on Ukraine’s power grid, the 2017 French elections and the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, the Justice Department announced Monday. The six GRU agents were also accused of staging a malware attack called “NotPetya” that infected computers of businesses worldwide,…

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First elements of reactor building safety system for unit No.7 of Tianwan NPP have been delivered to China

On October 19, 2020 first elements of reactor building safety system for unit No.7 of Tianwan NPP being constructed under VVER-1200 Russian project were delivered to China. “In the beginning of October the first batch of equipment – four sets of the sump tank penetrations – arrived at the Tianwan NPS construction site. Currently, the…

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Tens of Thousands March in Belarus Despite Police Threat to Open Fire

Belarusian police on Sunday detained more than 200 people as tens of thousands marched against strongman Alexander Lukashenko in defiance of police threats to open fire after weeks of demonstrations. Crowds of demonstrators waving red-and-white opposition flags descended on a gritty industrial neighbourhood in southeast Minsk for a march along Partisan Prospect, a key transport…

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W. House Calls Putin Proposal on Nuclear Treaty ‘Non-Starter’

The United States on Friday rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend the New START nuclear treaty for one year unconditionally, countering that both nations must cap warheads during the period. “President Putin’s response today to extend New START without freezing nuclear warheads is a non-starter,” said Robert O’Brien, the national security advisor. O’Brien…

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In Crisis-Hit Kyrgyzstan, Russia Weighs Its Influence and Intentions

A whirlwind two weeks of post-election violence and fierce power struggles in Kyrgyzstan has political observers at odds over Russia’s role and true intentions in Central Asia’s “island of democracy.”  Anger over pro-government parties’ gains in an Oct. 4 parliamentary vote spilled into the streets of Bishkek, prompting the fall of the government and resignation…

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Kyrgyzstan PM Claims Presidential Powers in Post-Vote Crisis

Kyrgyzstan’s new prime minister Sadyr Japarov claimed presidential powers on Thursday after the Central Asian country’s head of state Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigned amid a post-election crisis. “The powers of the president and the prime minister have been transferred to me,” Sadyr Japarov told cheering supporters on Thursday, after Jeenbekov resigned and the parliament speaker refused…

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Russia Suspends Aid Until Kyrgyzstan ‘Stabilizes’ – RBC

Russia has suspended its financial assistance to the cash-strapped Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan until political stability is restored there, the RBC news website reported Wednesday, citing a Finance Ministry source and another federal official.  The Kyrgyz government, a Russian ally, has been paralyzed since protesters chased out its president following disputed parliamentary elections on…

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Russia Clears Remdesivir Coronavirus Drugs Used in Trump’s Treatment

Russia has cleared two antiviral drugs called remdesivir for coronavirus treatment after doctors used the drugs to treat U.S. President Donald Trump, the Health Ministry announced Wednesday. U.S. studies have said that biochemical firm Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir can shorten coronavirus recovery time by an average of four days but does not reduce deaths. Remdesivir was…

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Russia Approves 2nd Coronavirus Vaccine – Putin

Russia has approved its second coronavirus vaccine, President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday as the peptide-based shot developed by a Siberian biotech company readies for large-scale trials. “Novosibirsk’s Vektor [State Virology and Biotechnology Center] has registered the second Russian coronavirus vaccine today,” Putin said via televised video conference. Putin said that Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova…

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New Crew Reaches ISS in Record Time

A three-person crew successfully reached the International Space Station on Wednesday aboard a Russian rocket after the fastest ever journey from Earth of just over three hours. The mission of the Soyuz space craft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut was of immense importance to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, coming as the SpaceX…

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Russian Peacekeepers Should Monitor Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire – Lavrov

Russian peacekeepers should be sent to Nagorno-Karabakh to observe a shaky Moscow-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.  Russia’s top diplomat made the proposal as new fighting erupted between the Caucasus rivals despite a truce that they reached in Moscow over the weekend.   According to the state-run RIA Novosti news…

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U.S. Says ‘Agreement in Principle’ With Russia on Extending Key Nuclear Pact

The United States said Tuesday it had reached an “agreement in principle” with Russia on extending New START, the two nations’ last major nuclear accord, which is due to expire in February. President Donald Trump’s administration has been insisting without success that China enter the nuclear reduction agreement but, with U.S. elections three weeks away, signaled it…

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