The Prosecutor General’s Office has responded to a complaint filed by Vitaly Milonov, a member of St. Petersburg legislature, regarding the concerts by Madonna and Lady Gaga. The humanitarian visas issued to the performers, were used for commercial activities, which is against the law. The supervisory authority is considering options to notify the Foreign Ministry and […]
Oboronsevis, a firm with ties to the former Defense Minister, has illegally been granted contracts for arms recycling and disposal – contracts, it seems, that it has either subcontracted (for profit) or not completed. The Oboronservis case was opened in the fall of 2012. According to the investigation, real estate and land owned by the […]
Vladimir Pastukhov writes an essay for Novaya Gazeta, a liberal newspaper, on how Putin is not the driver of creeping totalitarianism, but Russia is pushing Putin down that path. It is worth noting that four Novaya Gazeta journalists have been assassinated in eight years. – Ed. Standing on the edge of the Russian abyss, they […]
Russia economy is stagnating, but the Russian government is using various statistical tricks to make things look better than they are. In this editorial in Gazeta, written by Alexei Mikhailov, he explains that one of the few pro-active steps Putin is taking, using National Wealth Fund to invest in large projects, has questionable merit. It’s […]
The State Duma decided to amend the entry procedures for foreigners coming to Russia to require them to buy medical insurance. As explained by Alexey Zhuravlev, the State Duma deputy from the “United Russia” party, who initiated the measure, this is necessary in order to stop the illegal “medical tourism,” when citizens of the Commonwealth […]
After significant uncertainty as to whether there would be political debates between the candidates for Moscow’s mayor, or whether the previous mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, would even participate, the rules for the debates have been published. It should be noted that the article describes Sobyanin as the current mayor. Sobyanin, nearing the end of the term, […]
The Oboronservis case was opened in the fall of 2012. According to the investigation, real estate and land owned by the Ministry of Defense was sold off at reduced prices through a holding company (“Expert”) created to hide the officers’ economic activity. Oboronservis has been tied to several newsworthy scandals involving corruption and the military which led to the […]
The producers of the “Stolichnaya” vodka posted a message on their official Facebook page supporting LGBT rights and criticizing the Russian laws that restrict the rights of homosexuals. It was a response to the call by international LGBT organizations to boycott the Russian vodka. In addition, an open letter signed by Val Mendeleev, the CEO […]
Russian Railways is under considerable scrutiny of late. Its President, Vladimir Yakunin, has been accused of fraud by opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In a recent ruling, Russian Railways managers will have to report their income and expenditures to the government, which meets some demands of the opposition, but perhaps only in appearance. Russian Railways is also […]
The Ministry of Finance has cut funding of Roscosmos (the Russian Space Agency) by almost 63.5 billion roubles. These figures were announced at the meeting (of which Izvestia has the minutes) of the State Duma in mid-July with the participation of Vladimir Popovkin, the head of the Federal Space Agency, and the ranking members of […]
