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Putin's aide Vladislav Surkov resigns
Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov, who oversaw the so-called “Ukrainian direction”, left the civil service. The director of the Center for Current Policy, Alexey Chesnakov, who is close to Surkov, announced this on his Telegram channel. "He will be doing meditation for the next month. After that, he promised to inform about the reasons for his decision and about further plans," Chesnakov wrote.
Chesnakov later confirmed the information about Surkov's resignation from the state service …
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Lukashenko: Belarus negotiating oil supplies from the US
The search for alternative oil supplies is "not a bluff" and not a way to raise the stakes before negotiations with Russia, said President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, as quoted by BelTA.
According to Lukashenko, in a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he outlined a picture of how Belarus will act if the Russian side does not change its position. The Belarusian leader listed options for alternative oil supply to the country. According to him, it is the supply of Norwegian …
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Bulgaria expels two Russian diplomats for espionage
Bulgaria has notified the Russian Federation that it’s declaring two Russian diplomats persona non grata.
It is noted that the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry will expel a diplomat of the Russian Embassy and an employee of the Russian trade mission. The relevant notes were handed to the Russian Ambassador in Bulgaria, who was summoned to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry on January 24.
"Officers will leave the host country within the specified dates," the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria said on Facebook. …
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Russia overtakes Uganda in global corruption rating
Russia has gone up one level on the international corruption perceptions rating published annually by Transparency International, reports finanz.ru.
In the 2019 index, out of 180 countries, Russia tied for positions 137 through 146 with Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Papua New Guinea and Uganda.
Just below Russia, in positions 146 through 153, are Iran, Honduras, Bangladesh, Angola and the Comoros islands. Just above are Guinea, Mexico, Myanmar and Mali.
Of the former Soviet states, Russia only …
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Bulgarian prosecutors accuse three Russians of poisoning businessman
Bulgaria has accused three Russians of poisoning the businessman Emilian Gebrev, as well as his son and a director of his company. The Bulgarian prosecutor’s office published the statement on its official website on Wednesday, January 23.
The poisoning was reportedly carried out using an “unidentified phosphorus-organic substance” in the spring of 2015. The department has issued a European order for the Russians’ arrest, and placed them on the international wanted list.
In autumn 2019, a …