Tallinn, Estonia — The first publicly known cases have emerged of Russian authorities penalizing people under a court ruling that outlawed LGBTQ+ activism as extremism, Russian media and rights groups have reported, with at least three people who displayed rainbow-colored items receiving jail time or fines. The Supreme Court ruling in November banned what the … Read more
Heating systems are breaking down in Russia’s harsh winter, leaving many people freezing. Much of Russia’s Soviet-era infrastructure needs modernizing. But Russia is splurging on war rather than public utilities. Heating systems are breaking down in Russia’s harsh winter, leaving many people freezing as Moscow continues to spend on its war in Ukraine. Parts of Russia … Read more
A Russian army T-72-B3 tank fires during military exercises at the Raevsky range in Southern Russia on September 23, 2020 during the “Caucasus-2020” military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images A Ukrainian soldier fighting in the east said the Russians have key … Read more
RIGA, Latvia — Boris Nadezhdin claims he wants to do the unthinkable: unseat Vladimir Putin in Russia’s March presidential election by campaigning against the war in Ukraine. Many Putin critics suspect that Nadezhdin, a former member of parliament, is playing by the Kremlin’s rules — and is the latest to join a cast of approved … Read more
A Russian influencer is in hot water after hosting a risqué party in Moscow this week. Conservative activists accused the “nude illusion” event of promoting gay propaganda. Influencer Anastasia Ivleeva defended the party in a since-deleted Telegram post, per The Washington Post. A costume party in Moscow that featured half-naked celebrities has unleashed a wave of vitriol from … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave Two Russian nationals have been charged with attempting to hack the computers of employees of multiple U.S. government agencies and allied countries around the world, in part to steal and release documents to interfere with elections in Britain in 2019. U.S. officials said one of the men, … Read more
TALLINN, Estonia — When Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, the outside world viewed those Russians known as “oligarchs” as men who whose vast wealth, ruthlessly amassed, made them almost shadow rulers. A “government of the few,” in the word’s etymology. The term has persisted well into Putin’s rule, broadening in popular usage to … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave RIGA, Latvia — Russians are growing weary of the war against Ukraine but are divided about how much harm it has done and how to end it, according to a report based on polling and focus groups by the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and the Levada Center, … Read more
Russian soldiers during the Vostok military exercise at a training area south of Vladivostok in September 2018.MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images Russia has taken hundreds of thousands of casualties since attacking Ukraine last year. Thousands more troops have deserted, a reflection of the Russian military’s deep morale problems. Ukrainian information warfare has helped drive those … Read more
A Ukrainian serviceman launches a drone during a press tour in the Zhytomyr Region, northern Ukraine on September 20, 2023. Kirill Chubotin / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images Both Russia and Ukraine are increasingly using drones to attack their enemy’s equipment. These cheap but powerful drones have made their controllers prime targets, The Economist reported. … Read more