Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday urged traditionally male professions to employ more women, to reduce major labor shortages exacerbated by thousands of soldiers being called up to fight in Ukraine. Russia has for years been suffering from a shrinking labor force because of persistently low birth rates, and this has been aggravated by the…

The European Union on Monday adopted a new package of sanctions on Russia that include an import ban on Russian diamonds, officials said. The package is the 12th packet leveled at Moscow since it sent Russian troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, in a full-scale invasion. They are designed to reduce Russia’s access to…

Supporters of the Wagner mercenary group’s late leader Yevgeny Prigozhin have asked authorities in St. Petersburg to name a city street in his honor, the Ostorozhno Novosti news channel reported Monday, citing a letter addressed to the regional governor.  Prigozhin died in a plane crash in August, just months after mounting a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s…

A group of mobilized Russian soldiers’ families has demanded that President Vladimir Putin bring an end to the war in Ukraine. For weeks, members of Put’ Domoi (Way Home), a group of mostly wives and mothers of mobilized soldiers, have called for the return of their loved ones from extended service on the front lines.…

A Russian court has postponed jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s hearings until “his whereabouts are established,” his team said Monday.  The announcement comes nearly two weeks after he first went missing in Russia’s prison system, sparking alarm from his aides and supporters that his life may be in danger. Navalny’s team said last week that the 47-year-old…

Five current and former Russian soldiers have received varying sentences for bribing a superior officer in exchange for avoiding a second deployment in Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday, citing anonymous sources. The unidentified officer was reportedly investigated for accepting the bribes, but the newspaper said it was unclear whether he stood trial, adding…

The Kremlin on Monday said it “welcomed” the victory claimed by Serbia’s ruling party in parliamentary elections held the day before.  Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic looks poised to tighten his grip on power after his Serbian Progressive Party secured a dominating victory at Sunday’s polls, a contest largely seen as a referendum on his government “We welcome…

A group of Russian lawmakers has rejected a bill that would bar all private clinics in the country from providing abortion services, the business newspaper Vedomosti reported Monday, citing a letter sent to the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament. Members of the Russian State Duma’s Committee on Health Protection insisted that a woman’s right…

A so-called “cultural and historical” center dedicated to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin has been unveiled in the Siberian city of Barnaul, a local group of communists announced over the weekend. Members of the Communists of Russia party — not to be confused with the much larger Communist Party of the Russian Federation — opened the “Stalin…

A group of supporters has nominated pro-peace candidate Yekaterina Duntsova to run in Russia’s 2024 presidential election, her campaign said Sunday. Duntsova is a journalist and local politician from the Tver region whose candidacy has sparked accusations that she is endorsed by the Kremlin, which she denies, as well as fears of her prosecution under Russia’s…

Glaciologist Andrew Hodson used to collaborate with his Russian colleagues in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic, but snowmobile excursions to see them have come to a halt since the war in Ukraine. “We used to work with Russian permafrost scientists and hydrologists in the Barentsburg region. This doesn’t happen now,” the British scientist told…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of “problems” with neighboring Finland after it joined NATO earlier this year, saying Moscow will create a new military district in north-west Russia in response, in an interview published Sunday. Finland, which shares a 1,340 kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, joined NATO in April this year in the midst…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday promised to make Russia a “sovereign, self-sufficient” power in the face of the West, in his first campaign speech before running again for president in a March election. Putin, in power since 2000, will stand for president in March, in a vote with no real opposition that is expected…

Ukraine said Sunday that it had repelled two Russian missile and 20 drone attacks overnight, as Moscow reported downing 33 drones fired from Ukraine. “The Russian occupying forces attacked with the Iskander-K cruise missile, the Kh-59 guided air missile…, as well as 20 Shahed-type strike drones,” the Ukrainian air force said in a statement. Ukraine…

BELGRADE, Serbia — Concerns have been raised in Serbia over the presence of a Russian diplomat expelled from the European Union on spying accusations in a delegation set to monitor this Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Alexander Studenikin, who was expelled from the EU in April 2022 for “illegal and disruptive actions,” is one of a group…

Russia criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday for ruling that Russian athletes can only compete in Paris next year as neutral athletes and if they do not back fighting in Ukraine. Olympic chiefs earlier this month gave the green light to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at next year’s Games as neutrals,…

The U.S. embassy in Moscow said on Friday that Ambassador Lynne Tracy had visited Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich at the Moscow prison where he is being held on spying charges. Gershkovich was arrested during a reporting trip at the end of March in the city of Yekaterinburg, becoming the first Western reporter to…

Four Russian egg producers face anti-monopoly charges for price fixing, authorities said Friday, just a day after President Vladimir Putin was forced to apologize on television for surging costs of the staple good. The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) announced charges against two companies based in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and two companies…

An airport in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region on Friday received its first flight since closing down early last year as Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said. Rosaviatsia banned flights to 11 airports in southern and western Russia on the day President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine, as fighting along…

A school security guard in western Russia’s Bryansk region, where last week a teenager killed one of her classmates before taking her own life, could face prison time on charges of failing to prevent the shooting, the state news agency TASS reported Friday. Galina Chertkova, a private security company employee, was among several people detained…

Russia’s Central Bank on Friday raised its key interest rate to 16%, announcing a fifth hike since summer in a bid to fight accelerating inflation. The central bank has been grappling with the economic fallout of the offensive in Ukraine that includes Western sanctions, a surge in government military spending and the call-up of hundreds…

A court in Russia’s Ural Mountains has stripped two naturalized citizens of their Russian passports for draft dodging, the Interior Ministry said Friday, marking the first such case since new legislation legalizing denaturalization came into force. The unidentified 21-year-old and 24-year-old men were required to report to a military enlistment office within 14 days after obtaining…

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been moved from the prison where he was being held in central Russia to an unknown location, his lawyer said Friday, citing a court document. Navalny’s allies say he “went missing” 10 days ago and they have been unable to establish contact with him ever since.  A court in the Vladimir region,…

President Vladimir Putin sought to use his end-of-year press conference to convince Russians and the world that he is confident in himself, in the people’s favor and in Ukraine’s defeat as he kicks off his bid to run for a fifth term as president. Yet during Thursday’s marathon event, Putin, 71, appeared to be going…

President Vladimir Putin sought to use his end-of-year press conference to convince Russians and the world that he was confident in himself, in the people’s favor, and in Ukraine’s defeat at the start of his fifth presidential campaign.  Yet during Thursday’s marathon event, Putin, 71, appeared to be going through the motions, feigning reactions and…

If he had chosen to use his veto Orban could have derailed the summit, but he backed down one day after the European Commission unlocked 10 billion euros ($10.4 billion) in frozen funds for Hungary. “Orban made his case, made it very strongly,” said Irish premier Leo Varadkar. “He disagrees with this decision and he’s…

Finland will close its eastern border with Russia, its interior minister said Thursday, hours after reopening it following a spike in migrant crossings that Helsinki has labeled a Russian hybrid attack. Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, will close the border on Friday at 8:00 p.m. until Jan. 14, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said…

Romania has summoned Russia’s envoy over a “new violation” of its airspace after the NATO member’s territory was hit by a crashed drone during attacks on Ukraine, authorities said Thursday. Moscow has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s ports in the south, including areas bordering Romania, since exiting a grain deal that aimed to protect grain exports through…

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Moscow was in “difficult” talks with Washington about a prisoner swap involving WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich and jailed ex-Marine Paul Whelan. “There are contacts on this issue and dialogue is ongoing, but it’s not straightforward,” Putin said. “I hope that we will find a solution. But, I repeat,…

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the country had deployed 617,000 Russian military personnel in Ukraine as the Kremlin’s war against Kyiv as the Kremlin’s war against Kyiv has been ongoing for almost two years. “The front line is over 2,000 kilometers long. There are 617,000 people in the conflict zone,” Putin said during…

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the country had deployed 617,000 Russian military personnel in Ukraine as the Kremlin’s war against Kyiv has been ongoing for almost two years. “The front line is over 2,000 kilometers long. There are 617,000 people in the conflict zone,” Putin said during the end-of-year press conference. Putin also…

Several audience-submitted questions at President Vladimir Putin’s end-of-year press conference Thursday were unexpectedly critical of the president and the current state of affairs in Russia. The conference and public call-in, Putin’s first since the invasion of Ukraine, has been filled with questions from the public sent via text message, along with questions from journalists inside…

A former top commander of Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, Igor Girkin, went on trial in Moscow on Thursday on charges of extremism for criticizing the Kremlin’s military strategy towards Kyiv. The 52-year-old hardline nationalist — better known by his alias Igor Strelkov — was instrumental in sparking hostilities in 2014 between Kremlin proxies in…

A Moscow court on Thursday upheld a ruling to hold in detention until Jan. 30 U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia earlier this year on espionage charges. The 32-year-old Wall Street Journal correspondent in Moscow, his employer and the U.S. government have all rejected the spying allegations. “Evan Gershkovich will remain in custody until…

Russia said Thursday that its air defense systems had downed nine Ukrainian drones headed towards the capital, hours ahead of a highly anticipated news conference from President Vladimir Putin. The reported attack came hours before Putin will hold his first end-of-year conference since launching the Ukraine offensive in February 2022, and a day after a…

Russia put the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR), Kyrylo Budanov, on its “wanted” list on Thursday, accusing the agency he heads of attacks inside its own territory. Russia added 37-year-old Budanov to the Interior Ministry list of people wanted for criminal offenses. Moscow accuses Budanov, who has led the GUR since 2020, of having…

Olympic officials have shortened the list of Russian athletes allowed to compete as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Games. Last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said eight athletes from Russia and three from Belarus had qualified as neutral athletes. But by Thursday, the IOC revised that number to six neutral athletes with a Russian passport…

Bolivia, home to some of the world’s biggest lithium reserves, signed a $450 million deal Wednesday with Russian state firm Uranium One Group to produce the key battery and electric vehicle components. Under the agreement, the Russian firm’s parent company, Rosatom, will invest in Bolivia over two years to build a pilot lithium plant in…

Russia on Wednesday warned against a “chaotic” exit from fossil fuels, while welcoming the “compromise” deal reached at the COP28 summit in Dubai on transitioning away from them. “We have at every opportunity stressed the consequences of a chaotic exit without the backing of science,” Ruslan Edelgeriyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for climate…

Russian left-wing activist and anarchist Lev Skoryakin was released from detention after being fined for staging a protest against Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the human rights watchdog OVD-Info reported Wednesday. Rights activists said Skoryakin was abducted from jail in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan in October and flown to Moscow, where he faced…

Two naturalized Russians have been stripped of their citizenship, Russia’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday, marking the first such case since new legislation legalizing denaturalization went into force. The amendments to Russia’s citizenship laws, which came into effect in late October, list more than 60 crimes as grounds for losing citizenship, including spreading “fake news” about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.…

Around 100,000 residents of southern Russia’s Rostov region were hit by power outages in freezing weather, its governor said Wednesday. Images shared on social media showed icy roads, downed trees and power lines in the city of Rostov-on-Don 1,000 kilometers south of Moscow and 100 kilometers east of Ukraine. More than 300 residents including 71 children sought medical…

The Russian foreign minister on Wednesday called on UN chief Antonio Guterres to organize an international conference to find a lasting solution to the war between Israel and the Palestinians. Moscow has repeatedly called for the creation of a Palestinian state and has working relations with both Hamas — which it does not recognize as…

Russian journalist and writer Andrei Konstantinov has died in St. Petersburg, the news website Fontanka reported on Wednesday. Konstantinov, 60, was suffering from a severe illness, Fontanka said. Born in the Astrakhan region, Konstantinov was the founder of news websites Fontanka, 47news and the Agency for Investigative Journalism. He was the author of “Banditsky Petersburg”…

More than one-third of workers furloughed at Volkswagen’s former plant in Russia have been “squeezed out” by its new owners, a trade union representing them said late Tuesday. In May, Volkswagen sold its Kaluga plant to the Russian auto dealership Avilon, which renamed the factory to AGR Automotive and has promised to resume production in…

At least 50 residents of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv were injured Wednesday in an overnight missile strike by Russia, authorities said. The incident marked the second air attack on Kyiv in a week and resulted in one of the highest numbers of injuries in the capital in months. Here is a closer look at the consequences…

A former senior police officer in St. Petersburg has been arrested on suspicion of unlawfully granting more than 100,000 labor migrants legal status, state media reported Wednesday, citing anonymous law enforcement officials. Authorities uncovered the large-scale legalization scheme in October 2022 and detained St. Petersburg municipal deputy and regional MMA chief Viktor Danishevsky, as well as…

Authorities in Russia’s third-largest city of Novosibirsk have detained a man they accuse of plotting to blow up a military enlistment office, state media reported Wednesday. According to the TASS news agency, 27-year-old Yevgeny Ryapolov is suspected of planting an explosive device inside a slow cooker, which was discovered near the enlistment office on Dec.…

Two German men will face trial in Berlin on Wednesday for allegedly stealing intelligence secrets and passing them on to Russia’s security services. The pair, named by prosecutors as Carsten L. and Arthur E., are accused of working together with a Russian businessman to “procure sensitive information” from the portfolio of Germany’s BND foreign intelligence.…

Some 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, nearly 90% of its pre-war force, a congressional source said Tuesday. The Russian military has also lost some 2,200 of the 3,500 tanks it had before the start of the conflict, the source said, citing a declassified…