Activist’s Ordeal at Belgrade Airport Signals Trouble for Anti-War Russians in Serbia

A Russian anti-war activist’s lengthy ordeal at the Serbian border spells trouble for other Kremlin critics based in the Balkan country, independent Serbian and Russian analysts told The Moscow Times. Peter Nikitin, an anti-Kremlin activist who has organized protests against Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, was barred entry when returning to Serbia on Thursday, with his…

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Wagner Fighters Training Territorial Defense Forces in Belarus – Ministry

Minsk said Friday that members of the Russian mercenary force Wagner were acting as military instructors for Belarusian territorial defense forces, three weeks after the group’s aborted mutiny in Russia. “Near Asipovichy, units of territorial defense troops are undergoing training,” the Belarusian defense ministry said.  The ministry said the forces were learning skills including tactical shooting, moving…

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Lavrov Lashed Out at Ukraine War Criticism at Jakarta Talks – EU Top Diplomat

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lashed out at criticism Friday over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine at talks with dozens of foreign ministers in Jakarta, the European Union’s top diplomat said. Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year has cemented a deep Cold War-style rupture between Russia and the West, with the United States and major European powers supporting…

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Moscow Rejects S.Africa’s Request Not to Send Putin to BRICS Summit

Russia turned down a request by South Africa not to send President Vladimir Putin to next month’s BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa’s deputy president told local media Friday. Earlier, Russian officials told The Moscow Times that Putin’s attendance remained uncertain in the face of an International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment over the unlawful deportation…

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S.Africa’s Zuma in Russia for ‘Health Reasons’ – Spokesman

South Africa’s graft-tainted ex-leader Jacob Zuma is receiving medical treatment in Russia, his spokesman said Friday, a day after the country’s highest court upheld a ruling that he should return to prison. “Zuma traveled to Russia last week for health reasons,” the 81-year-old’s spokesman Mzwanele Manyi said in a statement.  Manyi added that the trip “was private, it was…

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Russia Tightens Exit Rules for Foreign Businesses – Vedomosti

Russian authorities have drafted a 10-point list of requirements that would complicate foreign businesses’ exit from and potential return to Russia, the Vedomosti business daily reported Friday. If a company is owned by an individual or parent from Russia’s list of “unfriendly” countries, the proceeds from its sale to Russian owners may not be transferred abroad, according…

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Over 200 Russian Athletes Change ‘Sport Nationality’ to Keep Competing – Reports

At least 204 Russian athletes have changed their sport nationality in order to continue competing in international events and avoid bans over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the independent Kholod news website reported Thursday, citing publicly available information. An athlete’s sport nationality refers to the country they officially represent in their sport, which may differ from their…

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Prigozhin-Linked Companies Win Government Contracts After Failed Mutiny

Companies with known links to Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin have been awarded over 1 billion rubles in government contracts since his attempted overthrow of Russia’s military leadership last month, the RTVI television network reported Thursday, citing public data.  The nine contracts, which are all for the provision of food services to various state-run institutions…

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Russian General Slams ‘Treacherous’ Top Brass in Post-Mutiny Audio

A Russian army general was heard railing against his superiors for “treacherously decapitating” the military after his dismissal in an audio message shared by a federal lawmaker late Wednesday. The speech criticizing Russia’s military leadership marks the first publicly known instance of a regular army officer voicing disaffection after Wagner’s failed mutiny last month —…

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Russia Says Received Over 2K Items of Military Hardware from Wagner

Russia announced Wednesday that its army had received more than 2,000 pieces of military hardware, including tanks, from Wagner, following the mercenary group’s short-lived insurrection last month. The armed group, which played a key role in the Ukraine offensive, sought to topple Russia’s military leadership during the brief rebellion, before backing down. “More than 2,000…

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NATO Summit Gives Moscow Little to Celebrate Despite Falling Short of Kyiv’s Demands

This year’s NATO summit that concluded in Vilnius on Wednesday has resulted in a handful of unpleasant developments for the Kremlin, from solidifying the political shift of its longtime strategic partner Turkey to reiterating the alliance’s unwavering support for Ukraine nearly a year and a half into Russia’s invasion.   While the summit saw the inaugural…

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Revered Russian Icon Handed Over to Church Despite Protests From Art Experts

Russia’s most acclaimed icon has officially been handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church, the Church’s leader reported on Wednesday. President Vladimir Putin in May ordered to transfer Andrei Rublev’s “Trinity” to the custody of the Church, drawing widespread criticism that moving the unstable 15th-century painting could damage it irreversably. “A historic event has taken place,”…

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Russian General Reportedly Killed in Ukraine

A Russian general was reportedly killed in occupied southeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian officials said Tuesday. Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov was targeted in a Monday night missile strike on a hotel in the Russian-occupied resort city of Berdiansk, according to Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to Mariupol’s Ukrainian mayor now operating outside the Russian-held city. “It was…

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War, Sanctions Force Russian Officials to Vacation Close to Home – Reports

Russian officials are opting out of traditional European travel destinations in favor of those closer to home for their summer vacations, the investigative outlet Vyorstka reported Wednesday, citing multiple anonymous lawmakers and regional officials. Western sanctions and the Kremlin’s strict controls on foreign travel are limiting options for Russian civil servants to domestic resorts, ex-Soviet…

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Simulator for personnel training delivered to Akkuyu NPP construction site

July 12, 2023, Büyükeceli, Mersin Province, Türkiye. –  Full-scale simulator (FSS), a precise replica of power-and-control units of the first nuclear power plant in Türkiye, has been delivered to the Akkuyu NPP Construction Site. The training equipment will enable practical training, licensing and advance training of the operating personnel of power units before commissioning of…

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Belarusian Artist, Political Prisoner Dies in Jail

Belarusian artist and political prisoner Ales Pushkin died early Tuesday at a hospital where he was urgently transferred from a prison facility, the Belarusian human rights center Viasna reported, citing the artist’s wife.  The reasons for the 57-year-old dissident’s hospitalization in intensive care as well as the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. An acclaimed artist…

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Russian Draft Officer, Ex-Submarine Commander Gunned Down in Krasnodar

A senior Russian draft officer and former submarine commander who Kyiv accuses of being behind missile attacks on Ukraine has been shot and killed in southern Russia, authorities said late Monday. Captain Stanislav Rzhitsky, 42, served as deputy head of the Krasnodar city administration’s mobilization department when he was reported as having been gunned down during a morning…

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Russia’s First Transgender Politician Says Won’t Seek Election as Country Votes on Sex Change Ban

Russia’s first transgender politician announced Monday that she will not run in this year’s upcoming gubernatorial elections as federal lawmakers pursue a ban on legal or surgical sex changes. Yulia Alyoshina, the former head of the Civic Initiative party in Siberia’s Altai region, had been nominated as her party’s candidate for the regional governor elections…

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Moscow Unaware of Missing Israeli Academic’s Russian Citizenship

Moscow is unaware of the missing Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov’s Russian citizenship and has not been approached by her relatives, the country’s ambassador in Iraq said Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday that Tsurkov — an Israeli-Russian dual citizen — was being held by a pro-Iranian Shiite militia in Iraq, where she…

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