The state provides cover for state terror via a “state-private partnership,” in the sense that those who carry out these deeds may not formally be representatives of state structures but mercenaries. Those who order the hits are not people right at the top, but mid-level functionaries, carrying out their official duty in this rather “particular” way
In Russia, a second effort is underway to hold a weeklong national vote to change the country’s constitution. The Kremlin was forced to scuttle an earlier April vote amid the outbreak of the coronavirus
Activists dressed as corpses gathered at a St. Petersburg cemetery in a bizarre protest against Russia’s nationwide vote on changing the constitution. They’re not the only ones arguing that voting could be dangerous in a country with the third-highest COVID-19 caseload in the world. Hundreds of local voting officials have signed an open letter refusing to work at polling stations
In Russia’s Far-Eastern city of Vladivostok, medical personnel at the Vladivostok’s Clinical Hospital no. 4 are being urged to sign up for early voting, a text message sent to staff through WhatsApp seen by The Moscow Times shows
The Russian Army has set up field hospitals in a remote Siberian village, where more than 1,200 people have been infected with COVID-19 at the country’s largest gold mine
Russia is directly affected by the sudden slump in demand from the world’s leading oil buyer. China has been Russia’s largest trading partner with an estimated U.S. $110 billion (773 billion yuan) in bilateral business last year
Under the new system envisaged by Putin, the State Council, a presidential advisory body, will have its power enshrined in the constitution. It’s not yet clear precisely what powers it will receive, but they could include the right to introduce legislative initiatives and to take part in appointing regional governors
Only after a lesser known opposition politician on Friday morning announced a protest march on Sunday against the proposed reforms, calling them a “coup,” did Alexei Navalny, the man who for years has been Putin’s loudest critic, finally speak up
As Moscow police respond to peaceful protests with increasing brutality, we filmed all sorts of people caught up in the violence — protesters, passersby, and even a member of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party
In the past four years, Russia’s $1.7 trillion economy has been in the world’s top 20. But in 2018, it has been plagued with problems stemming from under-investment, broadening state ownership of enterprise and Western sanctions over the 2014 annexation of Crimea.