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MOSCOW – Honestly? Stanislav opens his eyes wide. “I swear!” he exclaims, “I gave him water, a glass of water to be precise. He often passes by to go to the smoking area by gate 31.” That is where the flights for Italy depart. We station ourselves by the smoking area for almost an hour, […]
In some ways there’s been great progress in a woman’s ability to control her destiny in Russian society. But in other ways, it’s actually even worse than during the Soviet era.
They were sentenced to six-and-a-half and five-and-a-half years in prison in Germany, respectively. But their lawyer says that Andreas and Heidrun Anschlag are counting on a swift departure for Russia, as part of a spy exchange. The trial of this couple ultimagely convicted of spying for Moscow started last January, and included a total of […]
MOSCOW – Russia’s history is not going to be just “political” anymore. Publishers of new history textbooks for Russian schools have been charged with the task of “encouraging patriotism in the younger generation.” That is not all: History is now going to include “religious history,” especially the history of Eastern Orthodoxy. These are the backbones […]
Circuses in Russia are facing animal cruelty accusations and competition from abroad.
Duped like other international reporters, Kommersant’s correspondent took the phantom flight to Havana. Now he’s back in Moscow, as the search for Snowden continues.
MOSCOW – Earlier in June, during the last congress of the All-Russia People’s Front, a movement created by President Vladimir Putin in 2011, Putin announced that one of his primary goals was to create a new era of industrialization in Russia. Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Andrey Belousov announced in the same meeting that by […]
Monday, June 16, 2014 U.S. EYES IRAN TALKS OVER IRAQ CRISIS The United States is expected to hold talks with Iran this week over possible intervention in Iraq following the aggressive jihadist offensive there, The Wall Street Journal reports. But in reaction to the U.S. decision to move the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush […]
MOSCOW – June marks the end of Russia’s smoking free-for-all. A new law forbids smoking in offices and hospitals, on beaches, in public transport, on train stations, and on the stairways in apartment buildings. Even advertisements for tobacco products are now illegal, and in one year’s time cigarettes also will be banned in cafes and […]
With the United States embroiled over the National Security Agency’s alleged spying on American and foreign citizens, there are other battles taking shape over the Internet.
MOSCOW – There was a goat just outside the Moscow metro station, accompanied by a girl who was selling bottles of milk – the goat was obviously there as a live advertisement. “Look, she has white eyelids,” passersby would say, looking at the alien animal. “Look at the tail!” they said – and these were […]
AMMAN – King Abdullah II of Jordan personally tested one of the hand grenades during the opening ceremony of the brand-new Nashshab factory, built by the Jordan Russian Electronic Systems Co. The factory produces hand-grenades that were specially designed for Jordan by Russian specialists. Although the opening ceremony was held last week, the factory had […]
BRUSSELS- The European Union-Russia summit taking place in Yekaterinburg has a major sticking point forming over privacy for travelers arriving — or even just passing through — Russian territory. The Russian Ministry of Transportation has decreed that airlines flying in Russian airspace, or taking off or landing in Russia, have to provide authorities in Moscow […]
MOSCOW – The Volga River, the longest in Europe and one of Russia’s natural jewels, has not so much flowed for decades. When it’s not covered with ice, it fills with fish-killing microorganisms, and emits a putrid stench. Environmental organizations describe the situation in the Volga region in alarming terms, noting that the region is […]
Wealth divides and political opportunism are creating a toxic mix of economic sentiments in Putin’s Russia.
MOSCOW – The 9,265-kilometer trip across Russia, from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok, via the Transiberian Railroad, the world’s longest railroad, is the most popular product for the British tour operator Russia Experience. The trip is 16 days long, with a full week spent on the train. Tourists can decide how to spend the rest – […]
MOSCOW – Only a couple of years ago, government jobs were lucrative and only for the highest-ranking executives in Russia. But that is changing, and now the public sector is aggressively competing in the job market, offering competitive salaries and poaching talented employees from private companies. In Russia, unlike in Europe or the United States, […]
Moscow allowed for observer status for additional countries that don’t border the Arctic, but will grant them virtually no voice whatsoever on policy.
Patriarch Kirill is trying to expand Russian Church’s influence in West and East. But Beijing is tricky terrain for religious head.
New bill would require artists and others in the “creative” fields to prove they are competent, and active in their roles.
MOSCOW – Natasha writes “Frank, 11:20 a.m.” on a slip of white paper and hangs it on the pin board behind the counter next to “Nina and Katya, 10.55 a.m.,” “Sergei, 11 a.m.” and other names. Then she opens an antique cabinet filled with dozens of old alarm clocks and watches, all different, but with […]
MOSCOW – In December, the Kazakh space agency announced that it was going to be reevaluating the terms under which Russia leases the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the world’s largest facility for space launches — and the only cosmodrome that Russia uses to launch manned space flights. The announcement sent a wave of panic through the Russian […]
As France becomes the 14th country to allow same-sex marriage, Le Monde looks at one of the bleaker corners for gay rights in 2013.
MOSCOW – There’s a novelty for the spring in two of the capital’s parks that has the air of democracy: Muscovites can now submit applications to hold public events on the official websites of Gorky Park and Sokolniki Park without having to get authorization from the authorities. This is part of a new program instituted […]
MOSCOW – As the U.S. woke up to discover that the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing had been identified and one had been killed, the news also came out that the two young men were Russian citizens, Chechen brothers who appear to have grown up in Dagestan. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in a […]
There are signs of historical insecurity in Russia’s move away from Europe and the U.S. But at the end of the day, China looms as the real threat for Moscow’s future.
MOSCOW – On Friday, the United States made public its list of Russian officials who are barred to enter the U.S. under the Magnitsky Act. The law imposes visa and banking sanctions on Russians officials accused of human rights violations. It is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a corruption lawyer and whistleblower who was accused of […]
MOSCOW – Last week President Vladimir Putin put into place the mechanisms to audit all of Russia’s government employees, who have until July 1 to rid themselves of any overseas property, stocks or bank accounts. Based on an Executive Order he signed last week, Putin’s administration – not an independent auditor or other part of […]
MOSCOW – The past month has brought record-breaking snowfall and cold snaps throughout central Russia. But the bad weather has done much more than spoil people’s moods and clog roads — it has raised new alarms about global climate change. First the data: March was one of the coldest in the past 50 years in […]
MOSCOW – Since February, Russian authorities have been investigating all of the NGOs operating in the country in an attempt to root out any organizations with foreign ties or foreign funding sources. The entire operation risks further alienating Moscow from Europe – particularly from Germany, after Russian authorities cracked down on two German NGOs operating […]
Vladimir Putin is genuinely convinced that protests against his rule are fomented abroad
MOSCOW – Catholics aren’t the only ones who have noted the significance of Pope Francis’ name choice. Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and head of the Russian Orthodox Church“s Department of External Relations, says the Argentine pontiff’s decision to honor Saint Francis of Assisi puts “service to the poor” at the top of the […]
CRIMEA OFFICIALLY PART OF RUSSIA Russian President Vladimir Putin officially asked the Russian Parliament for Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to become new members of the Russian Federation and introduced a bill that he urged them to sign following his address. CHINA BEGINS LAND SEARCHES FOR PLANE China has begun land searches for Malaysian […]
MOSCOW – Berel Lazar, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, was born in Milan and went to college in the United States. A U.S. citizen, Lazar is a controversial figure, but not because of his unusual pedigree. He arrived in Russia in 1990, and quickly attracted several Jewish oligarchs to his congregation. Their money lent his […]
MOSCOW – When word first came out in 2011 that Hugo Chavez was suffering from a serious illness, a Russian military source predicted the consequences of the end of the Chavez era: not only could Moscow lose contracts already signed, but it might also never get paid for weapons it has already delivered to Caracas. […]
Would-be parents in the US are more likely than any other nationality to adopt children with disabilities. The issue is heating up again after the death of a Russian boy in Texas.
Most foreigners in Finland hail from the former Soviet Union, many hoping to find more greater (and cleaner) economic opportunities than back home.
And why it’s not as bad as you think.
Delayed by the popular uprisings in the Arab world, the first-ever summit between Russia and the Arab League is on this week in Moscow. Though Syria is on the agenda, many the questions linger.
MOSCOW – After the meteorite shower and the damage it caused last Friday, Russian scientists say the threat from the sky is serious — and something must be done. Scientists recommended that the threat could be minimized by creating a network of modern telescopes, at a cost of around two billion dollars. These experts suggested […]