Putin Calls to Step Up Fight Against Destabilization

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called on prosecutors to increase pressure on “attempts to destabilize” Russia’s domestic situation amid the Ukraine offensive. Moscow has heightened its crackdown on critical voices since sending troops to Ukraine last year, introducing new legislation to silence dissent.  “I ask you to react harshly to attempts to destabilize the socio-political…

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Kremlin Denies Second Mobilization as Military Offices ‘Clarify’ Data of Draft-Eligible Men

The Kremlin on Wednesday denied that Russia was considering a second round of military mobilization for the war in Ukraine as military offices in a number of regions started asking reservists to “clarify” their personal information. Military commissariats in the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions have announced they will send summons to men eligible for the…

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Russia Moves to End Tax Deal With ‘Unfriendly’ Countries

Russia moved Wednesday to suspend double tax agreements with “unfriendly” countries in response to sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict. Double tax treaties prevent people or companies who receive income abroad also being taxed by their home countries. Russia’s foreign and finance ministries said they had proposed that President Vladimir Putin “issue a decree…

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Russian Lawmakers Approve Punishments for Criticism, ‘Fake’ Info on Mercenaries

Russian lawmakers have passed legislation introducing criminal punishment for “discrediting” and spreading “fake” information about any force fighting for Russia in Ukraine, not just the Russian Armed Forces. Russia outlawed “discrediting” and spreading “deliberately false” information about the Russian military shortly after the country invaded Ukraine last February. The move has led to the silencing of…

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Russian Lawmakers Approve Punishments for ‘Fake’ Info on Army Volunteers, Mercenaries

Russian lawmakers have passed legislation introducing criminal punishment for “discrediting” and spreading “fake” information about any force fighting for Russia in Ukraine, not just the Russian Armed Forces. Russia outlawed “discrediting” and spreading “deliberately false” information about the Russian military shortly after the country invaded Ukraine last February. The move has led to the silencing of…

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Armenia PM Says Raised Peacekeeper ‘Problems’ with Putin

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Tuesday he had complained to Russian President Vladimir Putin about “problems” linked to Russian peacekeepers in restive Nagorno-Karabakh. Caucasus arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two brutal wars for control of the Armenian-majority region and the latest conflict in 2020 ended with the deployment of Moscow’s forces. “In a…

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Russia Resumes Publication of Trade Statistics After Year-Long Pause

Russia’s Federal Customs Service is to resume publication of the country’s official foreign trade data after a year-long hiatus, the agency announced on Monday.  Russia’s customs body abruptly suspended the publication of its import and export statistics in March last year as the country found itself enduring wave upon wave of international sanctions in response to Russia’s…

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Radiopharmaceuticals Production Complex Built by Rosatom Starts Medical Supplies to Bolivian clinics

March 9, 2023, El Alto, Bolivia – A unique for Latin America complex for radiopharmaceuticals production buit by Rosatom by order of the Bolivian Nuclear Energy Agency (ABEN), has started supplies of radiopharmaceuticals to the network of the Bolivian nuclear medicine centers. The ceremony of the beginning of supplies of the radiopharmaceutical fluodeoxyglucose took place…

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Still No Sign of Integration for Occupied Ukrainian Regions

The Kremlin maintains direct control over the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims as its own territory amid continuing fighting and a lack of established borders, Russia’s Kommersant daily reported Monday, citing unnamed presidential administration sources.  Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are not included in any of Russia’s eight federal districts and do…

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‘Navalny’ Wins Oscar for Best Documentary Film

LOS ANGELES — “Navalny” won the best documentary Oscar at Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood, besting “All That Breathes,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” “Fire of Love” and “A House Made of Splinters.” The film, directed by Daniel Roher, follows an investigation by the journalist group Bellingcat and CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa…

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Putin Congratulates China’s Xi on Third Term, Hails ‘Strengthening’ Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday congratulated Xi Jinping on his appointment to a third term as China’s president, hailing the growing links between the two nations. “Dear friend, please accept sincere congratulations on the occasion of your reelection,” Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin. “Russia highly values your personal contribution toward…

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Sanctioned Billionaires Fridman, Aven to Sell Alfa Bank Stake in $2.3Bln Deal – FT

Updates with Alfa Bank confirmation.  Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven are set to offload their stakes in Alfa Bank, Russia’s largest private bank, in a $​​2.3-billion deal, the Financial Times reported late Thursday. Fridman, the co-founder of Alfa Group, and Aven, who headed Alfa until March 2022, are seeking the removal of Western…

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Sanctions Loophole Closed as Turkey Blocks Parallel Imports to Russia

Turkish customs officials have suddenly stopped permitting the transit of sanctioned goods bound for Russia through Turkish territory, Russia’s Kommersant FM radio station reported on Thursday citing Russian logistics operators.  Turkey has been a key hub for Russia’s sanction-busting efforts ever since President Vladimir Putin signed the country’s “parallel import” scheme into law in June. The…

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Russian Opposition Split by Appeal to EU for Sanctioned Billionaire

Alexei Navalny’s top aide Leonid Volkov resigned from the board of the jailed Kremlin critic’s Anti-Corruption Foundation on Thursday, as the political fallout over a letter in defense of oligarch Mikhail Fridman continued to rock Russia’s fragmented political opposition.  The letter, which was signed by a group of Russian opposition politicians and activists and addressed to…

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In Photos: Russia, Ukraine Celebrate International Women’s Day in Wartime

People in Russia and Ukraine celebrated International Women’s Day on Wednesday amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. International Women’s Day, which has been celebrated in both countries since the Soviet era, primarily involves women receiving flowers and congratulations on their contributions to society. Beyond the flowers and gifts, March 8 is also a day…

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