Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter published an interview with Edward Snowden Friday in which Snowden described how he wound up stuck in Russia and why being an exile is not what it used to be.
Russia’s military presence in Syria has grown to roughly 4,000 personnel, as Moscow continues to wage an ongoing air campaign in support of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the country.
The Free Syrian Army has been backed by Western powers until now and has been actively targeted by Russian airstrikes, but it has reportedly made overtures to Moscow to discuss military cooperation, or at least an end to Russian bombing of their positions.
The Turkish government made it known on Wednesday they could accept a transition period for Syria where President Bashar al-Assad stays in power for six months before another person takes over.
Almost four out of every five declared targets of Russian airstrikes in Syria are located in areas not held by the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), according to an analysis of Russian Defense Ministry data by Reuters.
The White House has condemned Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s surprise visit to Moscow, chiding Vladimir Putin for rolling out a “red carpet welcome” for a leader “who has used chemical weapons against his own people.”
Moscow and St. Petersburg are toying with the idea of banning alcohol sales one day a week in an attempt to curb alcoholism.
Will Stevens, the spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Russia, tweeted today that the world has spent “[T]oo much energy” trying to determine who specifically shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine.
In an interview that reportedly took “three months of often covert communications” to arrange, the BBC interviewed Edward Snowden in Moscow about his life as a fugitive from American justice.
The government of Turkey is expressing “deep concern” regarding Russia’s prodigious military buildup in Syria, allegedly intended to keep Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in power against the jihadists of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS).
The dedication ceremony of Moscow’s new Muslim landmark, reportedly Europe’s largest mosque, took place today in the presence of foreign leaders and President Putin. The Moscow Cathedral Mosque (pictured above) made of white and green granite from Canada and marble from
Ali Khamenei, the theocratic dictator of Iran, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani have been invited to Russia to attend the opening of the Moscow Grand Mosque.
Egypt’s President Abel Fattah al-Sisi has announced he will make his third visit to Russia on August 25, when he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to “boost strategic relations” and “enhance cooperation with Russia in various fields, particularly economically.”
Moscow is close to inking an agreement that would expedite the transfer of several of its S-300 missile units to Iran, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Tuesday, Iran’s state-media reported. The air-defense batteries will help extensively to secure Iran’s military and nuclear sites against airstrikes.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal met in Doha, Qatar, this week to discuss ways to implement a Palestinian state.
An article by Bloomberg’s Josh Rogin has triggered wide disparagement from Moscow, where officials implied all involved in the publication of a piece reporting that Russia was using mobile crematoriums to erase the presence of soldiers in east Ukraine needed mental help. A day later, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that makes all Russian soldiers’s deaths a state secret, even in a time of peace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dream of uniting the self-declared separatist republics in eastern Ukraine under the banner of Novorossiya, or New Russia, was put on hold indefinitely last week as Moscow moved to abide by the terms of February’s cease-fire deal.
MOSCOW (AP) — The groom is approaching 50, a silver-haired boss in the Chechen strongman’s feared police force. The bride is 17, a shy beauty reportedly devastated at the idea of wedding a man nearly three times her age.
The Kremlin will stop at nothing to fully control all forms of media in Russia. The latest step included threats to Google, Facebook, and Twitter from Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor.
Russian police arrested seventeen people at a gay flashmob in Moscow, according to reports. The group descended upon the square to celebrate International Day Against Homophobia.
Slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov’s recently-released report, titled Putin. War, catalogues his country’s involvement in Ukraine. The report claims there are more than 200 Russian military personnel operating in Ukraine. Nevertheless, PayPal shut down an account that allowed people to donate funds to pay for the report’s mass printing.
A new poll from the Levada Center think tank shows that 59% of Russians believe America is a real threat to the sovereignty of Russia. The results come after a friendly meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian President Vladimir Putin with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
There was a significant absence in Moscow on May 9. Even though it was the 70th anniversary of the official end of the European front of World War II, the leaders of the victorious allied powers decided not to attend the Victory Day parade due to increasing tensions with Russia over Ukraine.
It is Victory Day in Europe and Russia, but Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping instead of celebrating with his World War II allies. The talks include agreements on the economy and energy as Russia continues to suffer under sanctions for the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Vladimir Lenin, the man who founded the USSR and forced Russia into a Communist state, died 90 years ago. However, the dictator and murderer looks better in death due to experimental embalming techniques by Russian scientists.
Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted this week that Western sanctions placed on Russia’s banks and oligarchs have damaged the nation’s economy, but he is confident Russia will remain strong and continue to grow.
A Buzzfeed report claims Russian President Vladimir Putin once recommended action movie star Steven Seagal as an official intermediary between himself and President Obama, following years of public friendship between Seagal and the Russian head of state.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing protests from unpaid government workers across the largest country in the world. Teachers, autoworkers, and construction workers were among the workers who protested against Putin.
The Norwegian government demanded Moscow explain why and how Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin visited the Svalbard Islands.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter told the world via Twitter that he just met with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He claims the tournament will “build bridges.”
Foreign airlines started to cancel flights to Moscow this week due to the sanctions against Russia from the West and the failing ruble. On Saturday, President Vladimir Putin said in public statements that Russia is more than ready to work closely with the United States.
The Russian government has added questions on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the legacy of Josef Stalin to its already rigorous exam for any migrant seeking residency permits. The exam includes questions on “Russian history, language, and civics.”
The Syrian government and opposition members converged on Moscow to discuss humanitarian issues in the war torn country. Syria entered the fourth year of the civil war in March.
Anonymous International released over 40,000 text messages allegedly hacked from a Russian official showing Russia offering money to France’s National Front (FN) party if the party’s leader, Marine Le Pen, endorsed the annexation of Crimea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin received massive blacklash from countries at the Arab summit when he submitted a letter that stated he could not “express support for the Middle East.” The leaders at the summit accused Putin of hypocrisy since he is a known ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Analysts following what appears to be a developing political crisis in Russia suspect the growing tensions engulfing the Kremlin may be a product of the workings of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, once a loyal ally to President Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s absence from the public eye this month has spawned a bevy of rumors about what could prevent him from being seen in public. One rumor gaining traction on social media and in Russia arrives via Switzerland tabloid Blink, which is reporting that Putin, 62, is attending the birth of the child of his alleged girlfriend.
Russians on social media have begun circulating rumors that President Vladimir Putin is ill or dead, after Moscow postponed a meeting with Putin and the Kazakh and Belarusian presidents on March 12. Russian government spokesmen have denied all rumors, claiming Putin is doing well, but the rumors persisted after a Kazakh official also claimed Putin was ill.
Russia and North Korea continue to develop increasingly close ties. The regimes announced a program this week titled the “year of friendship.” The deep links between the two countries could cause more strains in an already vulnerable relationship between Russia and the West.
Russian media went into a frenzy when former Chechen policeman Zaur Dadayev confessed to the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, but now Dadayev claims authorities forced him to confess and tortured him in the process.
