Moscow will apply counter-sanctions against Britain, the Kremlin said Tuesday, after London blacklisted Russian officials for their alleged involvement in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. “We can only regret such unfriendly measures,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Obviously the principle of reciprocity will be applied,” he added, without elaborating. The 25 Russians included…
Details
Allegations that former journalist Ivan Safronov passed state secrets to foreign intelligence strain credulity, his colleagues told The Moscow Times after he was detained on suspicion of state treason. Special agents detained Safronov outside his apartment earlier Tuesday, only two months after he left his decade-long journalism career to become an adviser to Russia’s space…
Details
A prominent Russian journalist and chief editor of the independent news magazine Holod Media has been detained after authorities searched her apartment in Moscow, human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov said Tuesday. Earlier in the day, authorities in Moscow detained the adviser to Russia’s space chief and former Kommersant and Vedomosti journalist Ivan Safronov on suspicion…
Details
Authorities in Moscow have detained the adviser to Russia’s space chief and former journalist Ivan Safronov on suspicion of state treason, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said Tuesday. Safronov’s detention comes two months after he became Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin’s adviser. Until May, Safronov had been writing for the independent Kommersant and Vedomosti business dailies for…
Details
Anna, 33, calls herself “an extinct dinosaur in a modern society”. Indeed, it’s almost like she travelled here by time machine. Her job is a well-respected profession in 18th century: lacemaker. She lives with her husband in patriarchy, meaning that she obeys him all the time, thinks that her life mission is to be next…
Details
Underground passengers engrossed in reading and chess players in a summer park, overcrowded beaches and demanding ballet rehearsals, a huge line to the Mausoleum and a divorcing couple in a court room, desperately trying to avoid each other’s eyes — these are just a few of the images in the new exhibition at the Manege…
Details
Around half of Russia’s doctors believe that official statistics undercount the number of coronavirus cases in the country while one in 10 say the numbers are too high, the Vedomosti business newspaper reported Tuesday. The survey’s results follow questions over Russia’s relatively low Covid-19 death toll among the hardest-hit countries as authorities doubled fatalities for…
Details
A Siberian village has surrounded itself with trenches to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after officials said an infected shaman caused an outbreak among the local population. The village of Shuluta in the republic of Buryatia had registered 37 cases of Covid-19 among its 390 residents as of Saturday, with a quarter of the…
Details
Russia has confirmed 694,230 cases of coronavirus and 10,494 deaths. July 7: 3 things you need to know today Federal transport authorities have found more than 500 violations of anti-coronavirus measures at Russian airports in June, the Kommersant business daily reported. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has extended Russia’s ban on international flights until Aug. 1 due to…
Details
Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions lifted lockdown restrictions ahead of a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic. Critics have cast doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting…
Details
Russian health officials have stepped up border controls and are warning residents in Western Siberia not to hunt and eat marmots after neighboring Mongolia and China reported three cases of bubonic plague, the state-run TASS news agency reported Monday. Mongolia last week quarantined its western region of Khovd near the border with Russia after identifying…
Details
July 7, 2020 Karelsky Okatysh, a division of PAO Severstal and Russia’s leading iron ore mining and processing plant, has delivered iron ore pellets to Brazil for the first time in its history. The shipment of more than 100,000 tons is for Brazil’s largest fully integrated steel producer – Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN). Maxim Vorobyov,…
Details
News from projects and regions July 6, 2020, 20:00 Today, Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Tver opened a new customer reception area, which was set up with due account of the coronavirus prevention measures. The new subdivision (located at 7 Dvor Proletarki St., Office 106) complies with social distancing requirements in its operations. Operators and customers communicate at a safe distance across wide tables; the gas company’s specialists…
Details
Russian authorities have demanded mining giant Nornickel make a “voluntary” $2 billion contribution to cover the environmental damage caused by the Arctic’s biggest ever oil spill. In a statement issued Monday, Russia’s environmental agency Rosprirodnadzor assessed the cost of the spillage of 21,000 tons of diesel at 148 billion rubles ($2.1 billion). The agency added…
Details
Background Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom. It operates in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area. The company is focused on gas and gas condensate production Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg holds licenses for the development and production of hydrocarbons from the Yamburgskoye and Zapolyarnoye fields and is preparing for commercial production the Severo-Kamennomyssky, Kamennomysskoye-Sea, Obsky, Chugoryakhinsky, Tazovsko-Zapolyarny and Yuzhno-Parusovy subsurface areas, and, as part of joint ventures, the Parusovy, Severo-Parusovy…
Details
It is unclear when EU countries will reopen their borders to Russian tourists, President Vladimir Putin said Monday during a meeting with the head of Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot. “It is not clear what our partners will do in many countries of the world, including in Europe, they cannot understand each other yet. And it…
Details
Britain on Monday identified 49 individuals and organizations to be sanctioned under a new regime targeting people who violate human rights, 25 of them Russian and 20 Saudis. The Russians are targeted for involvement in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and the Saudis for the death of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Foreign Office…
DetailsThe Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex has launched the construction of the flagship nuclear icebreaker of the Leader project.
Local residents of Nenoksa village on the coast of the White Sea in Russia’s Far North will be given the opportunity to evacuate their homes on Tuesday ahead of planned work at the military missile site where a deadly nuclear accident occured last summer. On Sunday, a message appeared on the local administration’s website posted…
Details
Gazprom’s controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline overcame another major obstacle to completion Monday, as Denmark granted permission for the pipeline to continue being laid with the use of less technologically advanced ships, potentially negating the impact of U.S. sanctions against the project. The decision could allow Russia to complete the final 120 kilometer stretch of…
DetailsThe laying of an Aframax tanker has taken place at the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex.
A Russian journalist avoided a prison sentence on Monday but was given a $7,000 fine for “justifying terrorism” in a controversial case that sparked an outcry at home and abroad. Svetlana Prokopyeva, who is based in the northwestern city of Pskov, was charged with publicly justifying terrorism over a column she wrote about a bombing…
Details
Russia broke all recorded heat records in the first six months of the year, and the head of the country’s weather service has warned of “dangerous weather events” to come in July. “The first six months of 2020 were the warmest in the history of instrumental weather observations in Russia,” the RBC news website quoted…
Details
The leader of Russia’s Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill said on Monday he was “deeply concerned” by calls in Turkey to alter the status of the Hagia Sophia, the historic former cathedral in Istanbul. Turkey’s top court is debating whether one of the architectural wonders of the world can be redesignated as a mosque, a move…
Details
Top infectious diseases specialist Vladislav Zhemchugov said on Monday he isn’t concerned a recent outbreak of bubonic plague in Mongolia and northern China will spread to Russia. Last week, Mongolia quarantined its western region near the border with Russia after identifying two suspected cases of the bubonic plague linked to the consumption of marmot meat.…
Details
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first cousin once removed was elected on Sunday to head the People Against Corruption political party, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported. Roman Putin, son of President Putin’s cousin Igor, said he aimed to run with the party in the upcoming regional elections in September, and then in the elections…
Details
For weeks, Russian women have been posting non-sexualized photos of themselves in little or no clothing as well as artwork of tummy rolls, body hair, vaginas and breasts on social media. The online flashmob, a common form of protest in Russia, is taking place in support of Yulia Tsvetkova, a feminist and LGBT activist from…
Details
Austrian police have arrested two Russians from Chechnya over the fatal shooting of a Chechen dissident, officials said on Sunday. The 43-year-old asylum seeker, a vocal critic of the Chechen Republic’s government, was found dead with gunshot wounds near the capital Vienna on Saturday. Police arrested a 47-year-old Russian from Chechnya in the city of…
Details
Russia has confirmed 681,251 cases of coronavirus and 10,161 deaths. July 5: 3 things you need to know today Federal transport authorities have found more than 500 violations of anti-coronavirus measures at Russian airports in June, the Kommersant business daily reported. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has extended Russia’s ban on international flights until Aug. 1 due to…
Details
Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions lifted lockdown restrictions ahead of a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic. Critics have cast doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting…
Details
If there is one thing worse than Moscow in the middle of a cold snap, it’s Moscow in the middle of a heat wave. Summer took its own sweet time coming this year, but now seems to have settled in for the duration with the relentless baking heat that is so hard to coax off…
Details
Russia has confirmed 674,515 cases of coronavirus and 6,632 deaths. July 4: 3 things you need to know today Federal transport authorities have found more than 500 violations of anti-coronavirus measures at Russian airports in June, the Kommersant business daily reported. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has extended Russia’s ban on international flights until Aug. 1 due to…
Details
Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions lifted lockdown restrictions ahead of a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic. Critics have cast doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting…
Details
Defense lawyers for a Russian suspect on trial over the downing of flight MH17 will be allowed to inspect the partially recovered wreck of the passenger jet, Dutch judges ruled Friday. The judges granted the request after lawyers for Oleg Pulatov, the only suspect out of four with legal representation, said they wanted to probe…
Details
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday mocked a rainbow LGBT pride flag hung from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, suggesting it reflected on the orientation of the diplomats. During a televised video conference, a lawmaker told Putin that the U.S. Embassy had hung a rainbow flag on its facade for the first time to celebrate…
Details
A Russian court has sentenced to four years in prison one of several North Korean poachers detained on charges of attacking Russian border guards last year, authorities said Friday. In one of several flare-ups between the allies, 18 North Korean poachers were alleged to have attacked 11 Russian border guards with “improvised items” in the…
Details
Russia’s advanced S-500 air defense system is capable of destroying hypersonic weapons and satellites in near space, the head of Russia’s air and space forces has said. The S-500 Prometheus, which Russian defense officials say could enter service as soon as 2020, is touted as being capable of intercepting stealth warplanes. President Vladimir Putin has…
Details
A Moscow election official infected with the coronavirus administered votes during Russia’s weeklong plebiscite on constitutional changes, the Dozhd television channel reported Thursday. The nationwide vote was postponed from its original date of April 22 and was spread out over a week due to the coronavirus pandemic. Health officials had warned that it might still…
Details
Russia has confirmed 667,883 cases of coronavirus and 6,718 deaths. July 3: 3 things you need to know today Federal transport authorities have found more than 500 violations of anti-coronavirus measures at Russian airports in June, the Kommersant business daily reported. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has extended Russia’s ban on international flights until Aug. 1 due to…
Details
Russian Mixed Martial Arts fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father has died at 57 after contracting the coronavirus, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov announced Friday. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was flown to Moscow from Chechnya after catching Covid-19 in mid-May, at one point being placed in a medically induced coma. Nurmagomedov said last week that his father remained in intensive…
Details
The only Russian region to have voted against President Vladimir Putin’s constitutional reforms this week will not merge with its larger neighbor, its pro-Kremlin leader has said. The Nenets autonomous district in the Arctic, Russia’s least populous subject with 44,000 residents, voted 55% to 44% against the reforms that allow President Vladimir Putin to extend…
Details
Russian prosecutors on Friday demanded that a journalist be sentenced to six years in prison for allegedly justifying terrorism in a case that has drawn outrage from supporters and rights groups. Svetlana Prokopyeva, who is based in the northwestern city of Pskov and works for RFE/RL’s Russian Service as a freelance contributor, was charged with…
Details
An ultraconservative, coronavirus-denying priest who captured a women’s monastery in central Russia last month has been defrocked by an ecclesiastical court, Interfax reported Friday. Father Sergei seized the Sredneuralsk women’s monastery near Yekaterinburg after religious authorities barred him from preaching in April for refusing to follow health guidelines due to the Covid-19 outbreak, calling the…
DetailsRosneft has become the first Russian company to launch a contactless fuel payment at floating filling stations.
An unprecedented amount of fraud may have occurred during Russia’s weeklong vote to change the Constitution and give President Vladimir Putin the option to extend his rule until 2036, researchers and election observers say. About 78% of voters cast ballots in favor of the package of amendments with a 68% turnout, a result the Kremlin…
Details
Moscow has a surprising number of beaches for swimming in lakes, canals and streams, which are just opening up after the long period of self-isolation and cool, rainy weather. In Moscow city, the swimming zones are not officially open: the city is still on high alert mode in response to the coronavirus pandemic. So wait…
Details
Moscow got a new monument this morning — one that may be the first of its kind. The monument is in honor of the more than 60,000 couriers whose work made it possible for Muscovites to self-isolate during the pandemic. The monument was commissioned by some of the companies most reliant on delivery workers: Ozon,…
Details
On June 26, the day after the start of a week-long vote on constitutional reforms that have since passed and will allow President Vladimir Putin to rule until 2036, Russia’s fourth largest city of Yekaterinburg lifted most of its coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Over the previous week, the Sverdlovsk region, of which the city is the…
Details
When police moved in to arrest Vladimir Vorontsov in May, they didn’t bother to knock. Instead, two commando teams stormed the former policeman’s top-floor apartment in southeast Moscow at around 7:00 a.m., one abseiling down the high-rise while the other broke down the door. “Our daughter thinks that bandits came and took daddy away,” Aleksandra…
Details
Russia and India could sign contracts for the sale of 33 fighter jets soon as New Delhi deals with heightened tensions with China and Pakistan, Interfax reported Thursday. India’s defense ministry said it has approved procurement of 21 Mig-29 for nearly $1 billion and 12 Su-30MKI for $1.4 billion. It has also approved an upgrade…
Details
Extra public holidays introduced by the Russian government for the delayed Victory Day parade and the constitutional referendum could have cost the Russian economy more than $5 billion, analysts told The Moscow Times. The additional hit from the Kremlin-backed shutdowns comes as Russia’s economy is already set for a sharp recession and two years of…
Details
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday thanked Russians after a nationwide vote approved controversial constitutional reforms that allow him to extend his rule until 2036. “Thank you very much for your support and trust,” Putin said in televised remarks after an announcement from Russia’s election commission that nearly 78% of voters had supported the amendments to the…
Details
The early release of the first Jehovah’s Witness to be jailed for extremism in Russia has been put on hold after prosecutors appealed the court ruling, the religious organization said Wednesday. Danish national Dennis Christensen was granted early release last week when a district court ordered him to pay a fine of 400,000 rubles ($5,800)…
Details
Russia’s aviation authority has extended its ban on international flights until Aug. 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the RBC news website reported and a Vnukovo Airport source confirmed to The Moscow Times on condition of anonymity. The country closed its borders and grounded most international flights in late March to slow the spread of…
Details
Russia has confirmed 661,165 cases of coronavirus and 9,683 deaths. July 2: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, has extended Russia’s ban on international flights until Aug. 1 due to the coronavirus, the RBC news website reported and a source at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport confirmed to The Moscow Times. Russia is not…
Details
MOROCCAN CUISINE WEEKEND This weekend stay home and have Morocco delivered to your door. The Hyatt Regency Petrovsky Park is offering a full Moroccan dinner for two (or more) Jult 4 and 5. Enjoy the fresh blend of Arabic, Berber and European culinary traditions! This dinner has a lot of dishes for vegetarians. The set…
Details
President Vladimir Putin thanked Russians on Thursday for voting in favour of controversial amendments to the constitution that could extend his grip on power, as the opposition and Western leaders voiced criticism over suspected poll violations. Russia’s Central Elections Commission announced early Thursday that nearly 78% of voters had cast their ballot in favor of…
DetailsThe Arctic Research Centre, a part of the Rosneft Oil Company Corporate Research Complex, and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute have commenced a comprehensive study of the ivory gull, included in the Red List of Threatened Species.
Mongolia has quarantined its western region near the border with Russia after identifying two suspected cases of the black plague linked to the consumption of marmot meat, health officials said Wednesday. Lab tests confirmed that two unidentified individuals had contracted the “marmot plague” in the region of Khovd, Mongolia’s National Center for Zoonotic Disease (NCZD)…
Details
Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions lifted lockdown restrictions ahead of a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic. Critics have cast doubt on Russia’s low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting…
Details