• Russia starts blocking Google Docs

    Russian authorities continue to expand restrictions on internet traffic trying to fully block the Smart Voting application.

    Smart Voting is a voting strategy promoted by opposition leader Aleksei Navalny that makes the Kremlin and the ruling United Russia party nervous. It helps opposition-minded Russians vote for candidates deemed most capable of beating candidates from United Russia.

    GlobalCheck reports that on Wednesday evening traffic to docs.google.com was blocked on the cellular …

  • Russia scraps its lunar program

    Work on the design of a super-heavy spacecraft for the first Russian manned mission to the moon has been stopped.

    It was decided to completely stop it at the stage of technical design, which was carried out by the Progress Rocket and Space Center for Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, and was to be completed in October 2021, Progress’ general director Dmitry Baranov told RIA Novosti.

    According to him, now Progress Rocket and Space Center together with Roscosmos "work on the program for the …

  • Russian Central Bank communication system fails after Kremlin attempts to shut down Google services

    The Russian Central Bank experienced a failure of its electronic systems a few days after the Russian media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, stepped up efforts to block VPNs and attempted to limit the work of a number of Google services.

    Communication channels through which Russian banks interact with the Central Bank became unstable on Monday, September 13, Interfax reports, with reference to the press service of the Russian Central Bank.

    On Tuesday, the problems persisted and created difficulties …

  • Kremlin: there will be no meeting between Putin and Zelensky if Ukraine insists on discussing Crimea

    Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to discuss with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the implementation of the Minsk agreements and agreements reached at the last summit of the Normandy Four, as well as bilateral relations. And if Ukraine insists on discussing the issue of Crimea, then there will be no meeting between Putin and Zelensky, said Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov.

    "Discussion of Crimea is not possible. Therefore, such a formulation actually casts doubt on the …

  • Putin in self-isolation after staff member tests positive for COVID-19

    Russian President Vladimir Putin is in self-isolation after one of members of hist staff has tested positive for COVID-19, the Kremlin’s  press service reports.

    Putin canceled a visit to Dushanbe, where he was supposed to take part in a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, scheduled for September 16-17. Putin will take part in this event, as well as the session of the Collective Security Council and the meeting of the Collective Security Treaty …