• Poll: More than half of Russians belive Stalin played a positive role in the country's history

    According to a poll conducted by the Levada Center, 54% of Russian citizens believe that Josef Stalin played a positive role in the country’s history, Vedmosti reported. Approximately the same number of respondents believe that Stalin was a wise leader who led the Soviet Union to prosperity. The majority of respondents (60%) would not want to live under such a head of state, falling from 74% in 2008.

    At the same time, two-thirds of respondents considered Stalin to be a tyrant, responsible for …

  • Mercedes decides to build plant in Poland instead of Russia

    Mercedes has abandoned its plans to build its car factory in Russia, favoring Poland.

    In January, the Head of Mercedes-Benz Daimler Dieter Zetsche stated that the construction of the Mercedes plant in Russia was still in the plans of the auto giant despite the situation with the Russian economy.

    In 2015, new car sales in Russia dropped to 36%, or 1.6 million cars. 2016 is likely to be more significant. The Hyundai plant in Saint-Petersburg brought 1 billion rubles ($14.6 million) inlosses to …

  • Putin advises Russian businessmen to wait to sell their assets in Ukraine

    On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), and later held a meeting with major businessmen behind closed doors. During the public part of the meeting, Putin praised the business leaders for their "mature and responsible" work, and assured them that the government is working on reducing the fiscal burden brought on by the economic crisis. The Russian President also said that he supports “easing the law” for …

  • Bank that gave loan to French National Front went bankrupt in Russia

    The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has established an interim administration for the first Czech-Russian bank, which is known for providing loans to the National Front political party (France), headed by Marine Le Pen. “The interim administration will quickly prepare proposals regarding the future activities of the bank,” as reported on the bank’s website.

    Russian media had previously reported on problems at the bank. In particular, on the 13th of March, the daily newspaper Vedomosti …

  • Igor Strelkov: Pro-Russian separatists have brought poverty and ruin to the Donbas

    The former Minister of Defense of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Igor Strelkov (aka Igor Girkin), stated that the separatists have brought ruin to the Donbas, built "simulacrums of republics", and created "a pigsty and a mess". Before the separatists came to power, the quality of life in Donetsk was higher, Strelkov stated, as reported by Chetvertaya Vlast.

    Strelkov made these comments during an interview with representatives of the NOD (National Liberation Movement), a Russian …