Contents tagged with Russia

  • Putin forces heads of Cossacks to report on their income

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law according to which Cossack atamans and members of their families are obligated to report on their income. The document with corresponding amendments to the legislation was published on the official legal information portal.

    The president introduced amendments to the law “on the state service of Russian Cossacks”. According to the document, the income and property of the ataman, his spouse and underage children must be in the income declaration. …

  • Booking.com has corrected its data on which country Crimea belongs to

    The world leader in online apartment booking, Booking.com has corrected its data regarding the ownership of the Crimea.

    "Booking.com has changed its opinion on which country the Crimean Peninsula belongs to. Today, on the company's website, the information about hotels and health centers located on the peninsula notes that these sites are located in the territory of Ukraine," the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea states.

    In December, 2016, at the request of the People's …

  • UN calls for investigation to be opened into treatment of homosexuals in Chechnya

    The United Nations has requested a full investigation surrounding the LGBT community in Chechnya, as stated by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid al-Hussein, at a briefing in Geneva. According to him, the UN continues to monitor this situation.

    In April, Novaya Gazeta published material detailing a campaign in Chechnya, during which hundreds of homosexual men were abducted. Journalists claimed that the victims were tortured and forced to disclose information about other gays whom …

  • Media: Ukrainian political prisoner dies in Russian jail

    Fontanka website reports that Ukrainian citizen Artur Panov, who was accused by the Russian authorities of preparing a terrorist act in Russia, has died of heart failure at a detention center in Rostov.

    On February 14, a trial on the case of Arthur Panov began in the North Caucasus Military District Court of Rostov-on-Don. A Rostov student who was charged with assisting with the Ukrainian’s criminal activities also appeared with Panov in the dock.

    Panov was detained in early December 2015 in …

  • Lavrov and Tillerson discussed future talks on Syria in Astana

    On May 1st, TASS reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The diplomats discussed, among other things, a meeting in Astana dedicated to the Syrian settlement, the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

    "The foreign ministers briefly exchanged views on the international meeting on Syria held in Astana on May 3rd and 4th," the Ministry's statement says.

    Other aspects of bilateral relations were …

  • Putin fires 12 high-ranking generals

    Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed 12 high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM).

    As reported on the official information portal, those who lost their positions include Vladimir Artamonov, deputy minister of civil defense and emergency situations, and Rim Gabluddin, colonel of justice and first deputy head of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Republic of Bashkortostan. Yuriy …

  • Syrian opposition: Russia wants to create 'zones for reducing tensions' in Syria

    Russia has proposed the creation of four zones to reduce tension in Syria: in the Idlib province, north of the city of Homs, in East Ghouta, and in the south of the country. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing a source in the Syrian opposition.

    “Security lines (lines of demarcation) will be created along the entire length of the boundaries of the zones to reduce tension in order to avoid coming into direct contact with fire between the different sides of the Syrian crisis,” said a …

  • Girkin claims that Le Pen visited separatist financier Malofeev

    Former pro-Russian separatist commander Igor Girkin, also known as Strelkov, wrote on his page in Vkontakte social network regarding French Presidential Candidate Marine Le Pen. He claimed that in 2013, Le Pen visited the office of businessman Konstantin Malofeev, who became known in 2014 in connection with the war in the Donbas.

    "They ask about my attitude towards Marine Le Pen, her chances of winning, etc. What to say? I saw her once, when she visited Malofeev's office in 2013. But I did not …

  • Russian bikers not allowed to enter Poland

    The leader of Russian motoclub "Night Wolves", Alexander Zaldostanov ("Surgeon"), spoke of problems when entering Poland.

    "This year, our action ("Victory Roads - to Berlin ") is developing in the same dramatic way as in previous years. Today I have information that our column headed from Kaliningrad to Braniewo, was stopped," - He said at a press conference in Brest, reports Sputnik-Belarus.

    According to Zaldostanov, the Polish border guards checked the license plate of each motorcycle to …

  • Russian Military Command: U.S. missile defense can intercept all Russian ballistic missiles

    The radar of the US nuclear missile strike warning system covers all the trajectories of Russian ballistic missiles that would be launched in the direction of the United States.

    This was stated by Lt. General Viktor Poznihir, the First Deputy Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff, according to Interfax.

    “The radio-location system of the US nuclear missile strike warning system covers all possible trajectories of Russian ballistic missiles launched in the …