• Revenues from Russian oil export decreased by nearly half

    Russian oil export revenues for January and February 2016 are 41% lower than the same period in the last year, a difference of 8.84 billion dollars, RIA Novosti reported, citing data from the Federal Customs Service.

    It is reported that in real terms, the Russian Federation increased its oil exports by 40.184 million tons; a 2.5% increase for foreign countries in comparison with the same period in 2015. In financial terms, revenues accounted for 8.266 billion dollars, which is 41.6% lower than …

  • Latvia bans broadcast of Russian channel RTR-Planeta

    The rebroadcasting and distribution of Russian channel RTR-Planeta’s programs have been banned in Latvia. This decision was made by the National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP) on April 7th.

    "Any ban is an indication of weakness," said Petr Fedorov, head of the International Relations Directorate at VGTRK. According to him, a national regulator "attempts to force VGTRK to censure their programs."

    At the end of March, Sputnik Latvia lost the right to use the domain .lv for its online portal …

  • Putin: Western media wants to 'belittle and suppress' Russia's operation in Syria

    “The western mass media reported almost nothing about the progress of the Russian army in the fight against international terrorism as they are interested in 'belittling' our success in Syria,” Russian President Vladimir Putin declared at a meeting with journalists within a media forum of regional mass media in St. Petersburg, as reported by a Rosbalt correspondent.

    "It is clear why it is so. At first they spoke about the need to isolate Russia then realized that it is impossible as the …

  • Transdniestria appeals to Moscow for financial assistance to pay its employees

    The leaders of Transdniestria appealed to Russia for financial assistance to pay public sector wages, according to the Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed republic, Pavel Prokudin, TASS reported.

    “The government has requested that Russia allocate funds for the repayment of debt owed to state employees,” Prokudin stated.

    According to the Prime Minister of the breakaway region, last week, Transdniestria’s cabinet decided to start negotiations on a loan worth $26.5 million.

    Transdneistria is …

  • Ukrainian Justice Ministry begins negotiations on the transfer of Sentsov and three other political prisoners

    Negotiations are also under way for the return of Olexandr Kolchenko, Gennady Afanasyev and Yuri Soloshenko

    The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has started negotiations on the return of four Ukrainian political prisoners from Russia: Oleg Sentsov, Olexandr Kolchenko, Gennady Afanasyev and Yuri Soloshenko, TSN reports.

    The Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Sergiy Petukhov, said that the prisoners have agreed to undergo a legal procedure for the transfer of sentenced persons from Russia to …