Category Archives: Vladimir Putin

Garry Kasparov: ‘Why become a martyr? I can do much more outside Russia’

Posted on by

The chess grandmaster on speaking out against Vladimir Putin and why he cannot choose the best player ever

“I haven’t stopped my fight against the regime,” says Garry Kasparov, his words bristling with defiance and quiet rage. “I’m not lowering my voice. Putin is not just a Russian imperialist. He has a much bigger agenda. He is an existential threat to the free world.”

It would have been easy for the greatest chess player in history to stay quiet after fleeing Russia in 2013 amid a crackdown on prominent opposition figures. Kasparov, after all, is a successful businessman, an expert on artificial intelligence and cyber security, and has just launched a new website, Kasparovchess.com. But that has never been his style. Not now. Not ever.

Continue reading...

‘I’m a creepy skeleton’: Alexei Navalny appears in court after hunger strike – video

Posted on by

Alexei Navalny has made his first public appearance since staging a 24-day hunger strike.

Navalny, who was fined 850,000 roubles (£8,200) in February for defaming a second world war veteran who backed a 'reset' of  Vladimir Putin’s presidential terms, has said the case against him was concocted to further damage his reputation among Russians. 

In a courtroom speech, Navalny accused the government of turning 'Russians into slaves' and called Putin a 'naked king', a reference to Hans Christian Andersen’s folktale The Emperor’s New Clothes. 

Navalny is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence on an embezzlement conviction from 2013. 

He was arrested in January upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from a nerve agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin – accusations Russian officials reject.

Continue reading...

‘It’s about surviving’: where next for Russia’s beleaguered opposition?

Posted on by

With Alexei Navalny in prison and his aides in exile or under house arrest, the opposition is on the verge of being driven underground

The future looked unspeakably grim for Alexei Navalny’s supporters before this week’s protests. Their charismatic leader was in prison and by his doctors’ accounts near death while the Kremlin was threatening to outlaw his entire movement. Sensing a looming apocalypse, one aide dubbed the protest: “The final battle between normal people and absolute evil.”

What followed was surprisingly normal: a core of tens of thousands of Navalny supporters rallied near the Kremlin, waving mobile phone torches and chanting “Putin is a thief!” The police stood back in Moscow (there was a violent crackdown in St Petersburg). For an evening, the crowd roved the streets of the capital at will.

Continue reading...

European MPs targeted by deepfake video calls imitating Russian opposition

Posted on by

Politicians from the UK, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania tricked by fake meetings with opposition figures

A series of senior European MPs have been approached in recent days by individuals who appear to be using deepfake filters to imitate Russian opposition figures during video calls.

Those tricked include Rihards Kols, who chairs the foreign affairs committee of Latvia’s parliament, as well as MPs from Estonia and Lithuania. Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the UK foreign affairs select committee, has also said he was targeted.

Continue reading...

Alexei Navalny allies call for mass protests in Russia to save his life

Posted on by

Kremlin critic’s team want showdown as Vladimir Putin delivers state of the nation address

Allies of Alexei Navalny have called on his supporters to stage mass protests on Wednesday in towns and cities all across Russia, amid a dire warning that the jailed Kremlin critic and opposition leader is now dangerously ill and could die “at any minute”.

Navalny’s team said the situation had got so desperate that there was no time to delay. They had previously said street protests would resume once they reached 500,000 signatures in support – with the current tally about 50,000 short.

Continue reading...

Jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny could die at any minute, doctors warn

Posted on by

Russian opposition politician ‘at risk of cardiac arrest’ after going on hunger strike in penal colony

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny risks cardiac arrest at “any minute” as his health has rapidly deteriorated, doctors warned Saturday, urging immediate access to Russia’s most famous prisoner.

On 31 March, Vladimir Putin’s most prominent opponent went on hunger strike to demand proper medical treatment for back pain and numbness in his legs and hands.

Continue reading...

Russia to expel Ukrainian diplomat, prompting vow of retaliation from Kyiv

Posted on by

Disagreement over Alexander Sosonyuk, who was allegedly caught trying to obtain sensitive information, escalates tensions after troop buildup

Russia on Saturday said it would expel a Ukrainian diplomat, prompting an immediate pledge of retaliation from Kyiv, further escalating tensions after Moscow’s troop buildup on Ukraine’s eastern flank.

The detention of a Ukrainian consul in the second city, St Petersburg, comes at a time of global concern over a possible repeat of Moscow’s 2014 aggression, when Russia annexed the peninsula of Crimea and backed separatists in Ukraine’s east. Moscow claimed that the diplomat had been caught “red-handed” trying to obtain sensitive information.

Continue reading...

Biden hits Russia with new sanctions in response to election meddling

Posted on by

Ten diplomats expelled as part of fresh package of sanctions announced by US president as Russia says retaliation ‘inevitable’

The Biden administration has announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and broad sanctions against Russian officials and companies in retaliation for Moscow’s interference in elections and cyber-espionage campaigns such as the SolarWinds hack.

The sanctions, which were the Biden’s largest punitive action against the Kremlin yet, also targeted six Russian cybersecurity companies deemed to be involved in the SolarWinds hack, as well as 32 individuals and entities deemed to be involved in efforts to influence the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election.

Continue reading...

Biden urges Russia to de-escalate Ukraine tensions in call with Putin

Posted on by

US president proposed a summit between the two leaders amid growing concern over Russian military buildup on Ukraine border

In a phone call with Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden has called on Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine and proposed a summit between the two leaders amid growing concern over a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border.

The president emphasized the United States’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and expressed concern about Russia’s military buildup, the White House said.

Continue reading...

Alexei Navalny ‘seriously ill’ on prison sick ward, says lawyer

Posted on by

Russian opposition figure has fever, cough and has lost weight, according to legal team member who visited him

Alexei Navalny’s lawyer has said confirmed that the opposition leader is “seriously ill” after reports emerged that he had been transferred to a prison sick ward for a respiratory illness and had been tested for coronavirus.

The Kremlin critic said in a note published on Monday that he was coughing and had a temperature of 38.1C (100.6F). Several prisoners from his ward had already been hospitalised for tuberculosis, Navalny wrote. Hours later, the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported he had been moved to a sick ward and tested for coronavirus, among other diseases.

Continue reading...

Vladimir Putin passes law that may keep him in office until 2036

Posted on by

Presidential terms ‘reset’ to allow Russian leader to run for presidency twice more in his lifetime

Vladimir Putin has signed a law that will allow him to run for the presidency twice more in his lifetime, potentially keeping him in office until 2036.

The Russian president signed the legislation on Monday, ending a year-long process to “reset” his presidential terms by rewriting the constitution through a referendum-like process that his critics have called a crude power grab.

Continue reading...

Vladimir Putin receives first dose of Russian-made Covid vaccine in private

Posted on by

Russian president declines to have first dose in public after delaying jab for months

Vladimir Putin has received his first dose of a Russian-made coronavirus vaccine in private, his spokesman has confirmed, in an apparent effort to boost Russia’s fledgling vaccination drive after months of delaying his jab.

The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told news agencies late on Tuesday that the 68-year-old president had been vaccinated but did not specify which one of the three Russian-made vaccines was administered.

Continue reading...

‘Takes one to know one’: Putin hits back after Joe Biden ‘killer’ accusation – video

Posted on by

Russian president Vladimir Putin shrugged off accusations from Joe Biden that he was a 'killer', saying: 'It takes one to know one.' Putin then said he wished Biden health 'without any irony or joke'. Biden made his comment after an assessment by US intelligence agencies that Moscow was continuing to meddle in American democracy and had tried to help Donald Trump win last year’s US election.

Continue reading...

Biden says US to meet goal of vaccinating 100m Americans by Friday – live

Posted on by

Illinois and Maryland recently announced that within the next two months, all adults will be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, joining at least seven other states who said they can open up eligibility in March and April.

Illinois governor JB Pritzker said today that all residents 16 and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine starting 12 April. Meanwhile, Maryland’s governor, Larry Hogan, said on Tuesday that all adults should be eligible by 27 April.

The Senate just confirmed William Burns to be director of the CIA. Burns is the former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration and has held multiple roles within the State Department.

While Burns’ nomination received widespread support from Democrats and Republicans, senator Ted Cruz had temporarily blocked what would have been a quick confirmation as Cruz was hoping to send a message to Biden over the Russia-Germany natural gas Nord Stream 2 pipelines, a controversial energy project that critics fear will give more political power to Russia.

Continue reading...

‘Takes one to know one’: Putin-Biden spat escalates over ‘killer’ accusation

Posted on by

Officials in Moscow go on offensive after Biden says Russian president will pay price for election meddling

Russian relations with the US have entered a new post-Trump period of smouldering hostility after Vladimir Putin shrugged off accusations from Joe Biden that he was a “killer”, saying: “It takes one to know one.”

The Russian president responded in characteristically icy fashion to Biden’s remark, which followed an assessment by US intelligence agencies that Moscow was continuing to meddle in American democracy and had tried to help Donald Trump win last year’s US election.

Continue reading...

Twitter told to delete Russian opposition’s online news content

Posted on by

Ban on Khodorkovsky-founded outlet follows Kremlin threat to block entire social network

Russia’s media watchdog has told Twitter to delete the account of an opposition news outlet following threats from Moscow to block the social network entirely if it did not remove “banned content” within a month.

The moves are part of a wider crackdown on social media and the opposition after protests supporting the jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, which were organised via online platforms.

Continue reading...

Biden says Putin has ‘no soul’ and will pay a price for election interference – video

Posted on by

Joe Biden has condemned Vladimir Putin, saying he thinks the Russian leader is a killer and that he told him he did not have a soul. Biden’s remarks were made on ABC News in an interview with George Stephanopoulos. The interview coincided with the release of a declassified US intelligence report that bolstered allegations Putin was behind Moscow’s interference in the 2020 election. When pressed on the allegations against Russia, Biden said Putin ‘will pay a price’ for the attempts to swing the vote in Donald Trump’s favor

Continue reading...

Alexei Navalny moved to ‘concentration camp’ known for strict control

Posted on by

Kremlin critic reveals on Instagram he has arrived in penal colony north-east of Moscow and has a ‘freshly shaven head’

The Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is being held in a prison camp in the Vladimir region of Russia north-east of Moscow known for its strict control of inmates, a message posted on the opposition politician’s Instagram account confirmed on Monday.

Navalny’s precise location had been unknown after his legal team said last week that he had been moved from the nearby Kolchugino jail and that they had not been told where he was being taken.

Continue reading...

Russia detains scores of opposition figures at Moscow meeting

Posted on by

More than 150 people held as police accuse them of links to an ‘undesirable organisation’

Russian police detained about 150 people at a meeting of independent and opposition politicians in Moscow on Saturday, accusing them of links to an “undesirable organisation”, a monitoring group and a TV station said.

The detentions come amid a crackdown on anti-Kremlin sentiment, following the arrest and imprisonment of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who returned to Russia in January after recovering from a nerve agent poisoning in Siberia.

Continue reading...