[Author Leonid Bershidsky discusses the recent emigration (and alleged emigration) of liberal journalists Masha Gessen and Oleg Kashin—Ed.] On the same day, we found out that both Masha Gessen, a writer and ex-editor, and Oleg Kashin, a columnist have “emigrated.” In the first case it was Masha herself who told us, and we found out […]
[The New Times recounts a court hearing in response to a legal petition for early release by the imprisoned Pussy Riot musician Maria Alyokhina, and her decision to begin a hunger strike—Ed.] Today at Bereznik City Court, the petition was heard for parole of Maria Alyokhina, defendant in the Pussy Riot case. The convict asked […]
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation will review a supervisory appeal of the December 2010 sentencing of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev by the Khamovniki Court. The Supreme Court took it’s time deciding what to do with that verdict: over the past three years the businessmen’s attorneys appealed to the highest court on a […]
Alexei Kudrin, head of the Committee of Civic Initiatives (CCI), has said that the possibility that he will be appointed prime minister is “minimal,” emphasizing that he has some antagonisms with the political leadership of the country. The ex-Minister of Finance “for now” is engaged in “direct political activity.” Kudrin made this statement at an […]
The Russian Investigative Committee intends to press charges against Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma Deputy from Just Russia, in connection with an investigation of payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars made to him by the Skolkovo Fund, and plans to strip him of his parliamentary immunity. Vladimir Markin, the official representative of the Investigative Committee […]
The New Times has gone to London, Moscow, Tel-Aviv and Damascus to learn about the new diplomatic duel between the Kremlin and the West, the Russian missile systems provided to Assad and its impact on regional dynamics. The talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian President Vladimir Putin with Russian Foreign Minister […]
[Uliana Skoybeda is a longtime commentator for Komosomolskaya Pravda known for making outlandish arguments, such as being opposed to black soccer players on Russian teams. A recent Skoybeda column, the subtitle of which lamented that Nazis didn’t make “lamp shades” of the ancestors of today’s Russian liberals and blaming them for revisionist views on Russia’s role […]
The Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee has completed the investigation of the criminal case involving the five individuals suspected of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a well-known journalist. The five suspected individuals – Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, his nephews, the three Makhmudov brothers, Rustam, Ibragim and Jabrail, as well as a former Organized Crime Unit […]
[The recent brutal murder of Vladislav Tornovoy, a 23 year-old gay man, in the Moscow suburbs has once again brought the subject of homophobia in Russia to the fore. Below is a blog post by Pavel Svyatenkov examining cultural definitions of homosexuality, and how Soviet-era propaganda has been carried into the post-Soviet era. — Ed.] The […]
[Veteran activist and Litvinenko friend Alex Goldfarb explains the next steps for Marina Litvinenko following the news that the UK government has hamstrung the inquest by requesting that crucial evidence remain classified. –Ed.] Today [May 17] Sir Robert Owen, the British coroner who is performing the inquest into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, in part […]
