The Russian government may be moving to ban a coloring book in advance of the Sochi Olympics. We believe that the book in question talks about how same-sex couples are discriminated against in Russia, and are even beaten. It is interesting that the pro-Kremlin Izvestia makes no specific mention of the book in question, however, […]
A foreign journalist was briefly detained by the Federal Security Services (FSB) in Sochi yesterday, her audio recorder was temporarily confiscated, and her passport information was scanned by authorities. This is hardly the first time that press freedom in Sochi has been challenged, raising concerns that journalists will continue to be the target of Russia […]
It’s no secret that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev often plays ‘second fiddle’ to President Vladimir Putin. Their relationship is a perfect illustration of how Putin maintains control. For the most part, though, if there is a power struggle between the two, it is kept out of the headlines. Last week, however, it roared back […]
Barely a week after a Russian protester, Pyotr Pavlensky, nailed his scrotum to the cobblestones in Red Square to raise awareness to what he says is Russia’s descent into a “police state,” a Belarusian art activist has been arrested for planning what authorities say would have been a terrorist attack. – Ed. Belarusian art activist […]
Anatoly Kucherena, the Chairman of the Civic Chamber Commission on Citizens Security and Cooperation with the Judicial System and Law Enforcement, and the Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has recently become widely known also as someone who takes care of our American guest Edward Snowden. Mikhail Barschevsky, a member […]
In another chapter of Ukraine’s economic and ideological struggle between Europe and Russia, the east and the west, Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovych “got lost” on his way to have meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There remains a debate, however, as to whether Yanukovych was secretly negotiating with Putin, or whether he was being snubbed by […]
A Syrian rebel group claims that it has ambushed and killed a group of Russian mercenaries who may have been working for a Chinese security contractor. The jihadist fighters from an Al Qaeda affiliate “Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS)” claim to have killed the mercenaries in a battle near Homs. At least […]
A Syrian rebel group claims that it has ambushed and killed a group of Russian mercenaries who may have been working for a Chinese security contractor. The jihadist fighters from an Al Qaeda affiliate “Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS)” claim to have killed the mercenaries in a battle near Homs. At least […]
The following was published in the government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. It suggests that Russian militants traveling to Syria to fight for the opposition could face a stiff prison term. Of course, the language in the Constitution does not specify which conflict foreign fighters would face penalties for participating in — nor which side of conflicts […]
The Central Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia (SKR) has opened a criminal case against the detained mayor of Astrakhan, a member of United Russia, Mikhail Stolyarov. According to investigators, he demanded 10 million rubles from an Astrakhan entrepreneur, as well as a stake in his company in exchange for a land parcel. […]
