Russia Pushes Google to Block Report on Low Virus Deaths, Probes NYT and FT

Russia’s state communications watchdog has demanded that Google block a Russian news website’s article on a Financial Times report about Russia’s possibly undercounted coronavirus deaths.  Roskomnadzor, the watchdog, said Thursday it was probing reports by FT and The New York Times, which analyzed official mortality data to investigate whether Russia is undercounting its coronavirus deaths,…

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Siberian Ambulance Crews Vow Hunger Strike Over Putin’s Unpaid Virus Bonuses

Ambulance workers in western Siberia have threatened to go on hunger strike if they don’t receive President Vladimir Putin’s promised payouts for working with coronavirus patients. Thursday marked Putin’s deadline to hand out April bonuses of up to 80,000 rubles ($1,100) to all medics treating Covid-19 patients. Russia’s prime minister acknowledged this week that regional…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | May 15

As the deadly coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Russia has gradually become the world’s second most-infected country. There have been 262,843 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 2,418 deaths. May 15: 3 things you need to know today 1. Russia confirmed 10,598 new coronavirus infections Friday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 262,843. Russia now has…

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Russia’s Trash-Burning Plants Could Fuel Unrest, Greenpeace Warns

Russia’s ambitious plans to build 25 waste-burning power plants risk provoking social unrest over their environmental and financial costs, Greenpeace Russia warned Thursday. State industrial conglomerate Rostec, state nuclear agency Rosatom and the VEB state development corporation on Thursday announced a 600 billion ruble ($7.6 billion) project to build the 25 waste-to-energy plants in “Russia’s…

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Project for natural gas processing and liquefaction complex near Ust-Luga moving forward

May 14, 2020, 17:45 Basic design solutions are agreed upon, and design documentation is being drawn up. Engineering surveys are completed at construction site; site clearing is in progress. Project financing is being arranged. The Gazprom Management Committee took note of the information about the status of the project for the creation of an integrated complex for natural gas processing and liquefaction in the Leningrad Region (the…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | May 14

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 298,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 252,245 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 2,305 deaths. May 14: 3 things you need to know today 1. Russia confirmed 9,974 new coronavirus infections…

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Tamara Eidelman on Zuleikha

Are you are still puzzled by the continuing war of words about the novel “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes” by Guzel Yakhina (translated into English as “Zuleikha” by Lisa C.Hayden) and the series based on the novel that aired a few weeks ago? Here is someone to help you understand both the historical facts and the…

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Russia’s Oldest Coronavirus Patient Recovers

Russia’s oldest coronavirus patient, 100-year-old Pelageya Poyarkova, has fully recovered from the illness, the Federal Biomedical Agency (FMBA) said Wednesday. Poyarkova had been hospitalized for a routine procedure when the other patient in her room tested positive for coronavirus. She was transferred to the FMBA’s Center for Brain and Neurotechnology, a facility repurposed for coronavirus…

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Russian Investigators Refuse to Drop Khachaturyan Sisters’ Murder Charges

Russian investigators have rejected prosecutors’ orders to drop murder charges against three teenage sisters accused of killing their abusive father, Interfax reported Wednesday. Prosecutors in January ordered investigators to drop the charges against Krestina, Angelina and Maria Khachaturyan, who admitted to killing their father in July 2018 after he subjected them to years of physical,…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | May 13

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 292,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 242,271 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 2,212 deaths. May 13: 3 things you need to know today 1. Russia confirmed 10,028 new coronavirus infections…

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Telegram Ditches $1.7Bln Blockchain Launch

Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov dropped plans to launch Telegram’s TON blockchain project Tuesday, attacking the U.S. justice system for killing off the initiative. The Telegram and Vkontakte founder had been developing the TON blockchain platform and Grams cryptocurrency for more than two years, successfully raising $1.7 billion from investors in an initial coin offering (ICO)…

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Explainer: What the End of Putin’s Coronavirus ‘Non-Working’ Period Means

President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s “non-working” period would come to an end from May 12, allowing the country to start easing restrictions imposed more than six weeks ago to slow the spread of the coronavirus even as Russia saw record increases in new infections. During the nationwide “non-working” period, all non-essential businesses were required…

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Putin’s Spokesman Hospitalized With Coronavirus

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been hospitalized with coronavirus, he told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency Tuesday. “Yes, I got sick, I’m being treated,” Peskov told Interfax. The Kremlin spokesman is at least the second person in Putin’s administration and the fifth senior government official to test positive for Covid-19. In addition to Culture…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | May 12

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 283,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 232,243 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 2,116 deaths. May 12: 3 things you need to know today 1. Russia confirmed 10,899 new coronavirus infections…

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Rosneft ‘Controls’ Russia’s Leading Business Paper Vedomosti Through Debt: Investigation

Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosneft exercises leverage over the country’s leading business newspaper Vedomosti through multibillion-dollar debt held by its bank, a multi-outlet investigation said Tuesday. The findings follow widespread suspicion of Rosneft’s involvement in high-profile censorship scandals at Vedomosti, including its new chief editor changing a headline on the Russian government’s majority stake in…

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Putin Eases Nationwide Virus Lockdown as Russia Becomes 3rd Most-Infected Country

President Vladimir Putin has eased Russia’s “non-working” period imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus even as Russia emerges as Europe’s new coronavirus hotspot.  During the nationwide “non-working” period, all non-essential businesses are required to close and employers ordered to continue paying staff. Apart from this, Putin has largely handed decision-making power on lockdown measures…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | May 11

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 283,000 people worldwide continues to spread, Russia has stepped up its measures to slow the pandemic’s spread within its borders. There have been 221,344 cases of coronavirus infections reported in Russia so far and 2,009 deaths. May 11: 3 things you need to know today 1. Russia confirmed 11,656 new coronavirus infections…

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