The Russian president chose to go hiking in the Siberian taiga forest, accompanied by a photographer, before his 67th birthday today
Continue reading...Category Archives: Russia
Trump told Theresa May he doubted Russia was behind Skripal poisoning
The US president reportedly disputed UK’s ‘overwhelming evidence’ of Russian involvement in Salisbury attack
Donald Trump disputed that Russia was behind the attempted murder of a former Russian spy in a tense call with Theresa May, it has emerged.
Despite the widespread conclusion that Vladimir Putin’s regime was behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia last year, the US president is said to have spent 10 minutes expressing his doubts about Russian involvement.
Continue reading...Russia is helping China build a missile defence system, Putin says
Days after Beijing unveils state-of-the-art missiles, Moscow reveals plan that would ‘radically enhance China’s defence capability’
Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow is helping China build a system to warn of ballistic missile launches.
Since the cold war, only the United States and Russia have had such systems, which involve an array of ground-based radars and space satellites. The systems allow for early spotting of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Continue reading...#AllIsFineWithMe: Russian women fight strict beauty standards with body-positivity
Social media trend was started by a teen to push back against unrealistic beauty standards
In a new wave of Russian feminism, thousands of women are posting selfies on social media showing their pimples, cellulite and hair loss to challenge beauty stereotypes that women’s rights activists say fuel low self-esteem and eating disorders.
The #AllIsFineWithMe trend – started by a Russian teen who has struggled with anorexia – is the latest initiative to push back against unrealistic pressures on women and girls to look perfect, often driven by airbrushed images on social media.
Continue reading...Russian alcohol consumption down 40% since 2003 – WHO
Reputation for heavy drinking on the slide since Putin measures including curbs on alcohol sales
Russia may still have a reputation as a nation of heavy drinkers, but a report by the World Health Organization shows alcohol consumption has dropped by 43% since 2003.
The WHO put the decrease down to a series of measures brought in under the sport-loving president, Vladimir Putin, including restrictions on alcohol sales and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.
Continue reading...Swedish navy returns to vast underground HQ amid Russia fears
Cavernous docks can shelter warships, with miles of tunnels, offices, and a hospital
Sweden’s navy HQ is returning to a vast underground cold war fortress designed to withstand a nuclear attack, in what has been seen as a defensive move against a resurgent Russia.
After a 25-year absence, the navy will once again be commanded from beneath billions of tonnes of granite as the country strives to build up its defences in response to the perceived threat from Moscow.
Continue reading...Trump vents over Ukraine as Biden attacks ‘overwhelming abuse of power’
Biden calls for congressional inquiry into call in which Trump reportedly pressed Ukraine leader for damaging information
Donald Trump lashed back at his critics on Saturday, as questions swirled in the latest scandal to hit his White House and his target, Joe Biden, called for a congressional investigation of “an overwhelming abuse of power”.
Related: Ukraine imbroglio confirms Giuliani's as Trump's most off-kilter advocate
Continue reading...Chaotic scenes at House hearing as Corey Lewandowski refuses to answer questions – video
Former Donald Trump aide Corey Lewandowski's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee descended into farce as Democrats accused him of 'filibustering' for demanding to read passages of the Mueller report before answering questions.
Lewandowski was facing questions from the panel over the report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and alleged obstruction of justice by the president. In his opening statement he accused 'Trump haters' of playing 'petty politics' with the issue, before invoking executive privilege to refuse to answer a series of questions from increasingly frustrated Democrats
Continue reading...Russia investigation pushed by ‘Trump haters’ to discredit 2016 win, says Corey Lewandowski – video
Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, has accused 'Trump haters' of creating a 'false narrative' about the president's connections with Russia in order to undermine his 2016 election victory. He said there had been 'no conspiracy or collusion' between the Trump campaign and any foreign government in his time in the post.
Lewandowski was facing questions from the House Judiciary Committee as part of the panel's inquiry into the Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2016 election
Continue reading...Blast sparks fire at Russian laboratory housing smallpox virus
Facility know as Vector is one of only two sites holding the smallpox virus and also houses Ebola samples
A gas explosion has sparked a fire at a Russian lab that houses viruses ranging from smallpox to Ebola, authorities have said.
Related: Smallpox virus: crunch time for the fate of a global killer
Continue reading...Oleg Smolenkov: alleged US spy who gave Russia the slip
A Montenegro holiday reportedly provided cover for a defection that until this week had left little trace
In June 2017, the Kremlin aide Oleg Smolenkov and his family flew from Moscow to Tivat, a coastal resort in Montenegro favoured by Russian tourists. He never came back, and his colleagues never heard from him again. A murder inquiry was launched and soon dropped for lack of leads.
That was the last anyone heard of Smolenkov until this week, when Russian media named him as a CIA spy spirited out of Russia by the agency for his own safety. CNN first revealed the existence of a US source inside the Kremlin earlier this week.
Continue reading...Edward Snowden in exile: ‘you have to be ready to stand for something’ – video
Edward Snowden has spent the last six years living in exile in Russia and has now decided to publish his memoirs, Permanent Record. In the book he reflects on his life leading up to the biggest leak of top secret documents in history, and the impact this had on his relationship with his partner, Lindsay Mills. The Guardian's Ewen MacAskill, who helped break Snowden's story in 2013, has been given exclusive access to meet him
‘They wanted me gone’: Edward Snowden tells of whistleblowing, his AI fears and six years in Russia
The man whose state surveillance revelations rocked the world speaks exclusively to the Guardian about his new life and concerns for the future
Continue reading...Russia asks Interpol for help over alleged CIA mole’s whereabouts
- Oleg Smolenkov reportedly taken to safety by US agents in 2017
- ‘Interpol was presented with questions about his disappearance’
Russia has asked the United States via Interpol to provide information on the whereabouts of a former member of Vladimir Putin’s administration who is believed to have been a CIA informant.
The alleged CIA mole, named this week by Russian media as Oleg Smolenkov, was whisked to safety by US intelligence agents during a family holiday in Montenegro in June 2017, CNN reported earlier this week.
Continue reading...Russia denounces Netanyahu’s West Bank annexation plan
Moscow says proposal could increase regional tensions, as Israeli PM meets Putin
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, flies into Sochi on Thursday for talks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, that come after Moscow added its voice to criticism of his pre-election pledge to annex occupied Palestinian territories.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he would annex up to a third of the West Bank if he is re-elected in next week’s parliamentary polls. His announcement was condemned by the Palestinians, Arab countries, the UN and the EU.
Continue reading...How will John Bolton’s dismissal affect US foreign policy?
Trump’s anti-interventionist instincts likely to come to the fore in flashpoint countries
Donald Trump’s abrupt dismissal of John Bolton, his national security adviser, may reflect the near breakdown in personal relations between the two men, as well as Bolton’s rivalry with the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, but it will also have implications for US foreign policy in a range of flashpoints.
Related: John Bolton fired as Trump's national security adviser – live news
Continue reading...Russia investigated disappearance of suspected US spy as possible murder
Oleg Smolenkov hadn’t been seen after he went on holiday in 2017, but Russian authorities concluded he had fled abroad
The CIA Russian spy drama currently gripping Washington has taken a new turn as Russian media reported that a suspected US mole inside the Kremlin was a member of Vladimir Putin’s administration who disappeared in 2017 and was initially thought to have been murdered.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed the man, Oleg Smolenkov, had worked for the Kremlin but played down his importance, insisting he was a low-level employee who had been fired two years ago.
Continue reading...US removed covert source in Russia due to safety concerns under Trump – report
- CNN says decision made shortly after 2017 Oval Office meeting
- US officials alarmed by Trump’s private meeting with Putin
The US extracted “one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government” in 2017, it was reported on Monday, in part because of concerns that mishandling of classified intelligence by Donald Trump and his administration could jeopardise the source’s safety.
CNN cited “multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge” of the matter and said “a person directly involved in the discussions” said the move was made because Trump and his officials could not be fully trusted.
Continue reading...Pro-Putin candidates suffer losses in Moscow elections
Opposition figure Alexei Navalny hails success of tactical voting campaign
Pro-Kremlin candidates have suffered losses in local elections in Moscow as Vladimir Putin’s biggest critic hailed the success of his campaign to encourage strategic voting.
The election was closely watched by both sides following a summer of protests in the Russian capital against the Kremlin’s refusal to allow candidates allied with opposition leader Alexei Navalny on to the ballot.
Continue reading...British-Iranian relations strained as oil tanker is seen off Syria
Adrian Darya, previously called Grace 1, photographed near Russian navy facility
Britain is seeking to establish whether Iran has sold oil to Syria in breach of written undertakings given by Tehran to authorities in Gibraltar.
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that a tanker seized by British Marines on 9 July and released in August had reached its final destination “on the Mediterranean coast” and sold its oil – without identifying the country.
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