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Every day we bring you the most important news and feature stories from hundreds of sources in Russia and across the former Soviet Union.
Site URL: meduza.io
Feed URL: meduza.io/rss/en/all
Posts: 96
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Kremlin sources say Russia is no longer ruling out defeat for Orban’s party in Hungary elections
Published: April 10, 2026 10:59
Russia’s Kremlin is acknowledging that Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party may lose Hungary’s elections on April 12, two sources close to the political bloc of Russia’s Presidential Administration told Meduza.
Pelevin’s new novel centers on Epstein case, publisher Eksmo announces
Published: April 10, 2026 09:38
Viktor Pelevin’s new novel, “The Return of Bluebeard,” will be published on April 23, the publisher Eksmo announced.
Putin’s approval rating falls below 70%, its lowest since before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Published: April 10, 2026 09:12
Russia’s state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) has recorded a further decline in Vladimir Putin’s approval rating.
Telegram founder says WhatsApp reads users’ messages and shares them with third parties
Published: April 10, 2026 08:21
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has again attacked Meta’s WhatsApp, writing in his Telegram channel that WhatsApp’s “encryption” is possibly the biggest fraud in history, misleading billions of users.
Telegram blocking rate in Russia reaches 95%
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/04/10/telegram-blocking-rate-in-russia-reaches-95
Published: April 10, 2026 08:04
Anomalies indicating that Telegram is being blocked in Russia reached 95 percent by the morning of April 10, according to data from the international research project OONI, as reported by Agentstvo, an independent Russian investigative outlet.
Kommersant reports UniCredit abandons plan to sell its Russian subsidiary, will wind down operations instead
Published: April 10, 2026 07:54
Italy’s UniCredit has abandoned plans to sell its Russian subsidiary and is now considering a full wind-down of its operations in the country, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported, citing several sources.
Alla Pugacheva fan festival in Moscow canceled after civic activist files complaint with prosecutors
Published: April 10, 2026 07:29
A fan festival dedicated to Alla Pugacheva has been canceled after Vitaly Borodin, head of the Federal Project on Security and Anti-Corruption, filed a complaint seeking to ban it, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported, citing the event’s…
Vedomosti reports Belgorod governor set to resign and join Russia’s Economic Development Ministry
Published: April 10, 2026 07:20
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, whose impending resignation has been reported by Vedomosti and other outlets, may be appointed deputy minister at the Economic Development Ministry under Maxim Reshetnikov, the Russian business daily Vedomosti said,…
Russia’s internet regulator bans site that tracks which VPNs still work in the country
Published: April 9, 2026 23:10
Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, has added the “VPN Traffic Light” project to its registry of banned websites. The decision was made on April 6, and blocking began on April 9, according to the website blockedin.org.
Russia adds 2 suspects in killing of Chechen woman to federal wanted list
Published: April 9, 2026 19:31
Russia’s Interior Ministry has added Karina Iminova and Said-Khamzat Baisarov to its federal wanted database, the SK SOS Crisis Group, a human rights organization, reported. Both are suspected of involvement in the killing of Aishat Baimuradova, a woman…
Russia declares federal emergency in 2 regions amid severe flooding
Published: April 9, 2026 19:28
Russia’s Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov declared a federal state of emergency in Dagestan and Chechnya on April 9 following severe flooding in both regions.
Putin orders Easter ceasefire, calls on Ukraine to follow
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/04/09/putin-declares-easter-ceasefire-in-ukraine
Published: April 9, 2026 19:10
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared an “Easter ceasefire” from 4:00 p.m. on April 11 through the end of the day on April 12, the Kremlin announced on April 9.
Russia’s Justice Ministry identifies 196 active members of Memorial movement, now banned as ‘extremist’
Published: April 9, 2026 19:09
Russia’s Justice Ministry announced that at least 196 people are actively involved in the International Memorial movement, which the Supreme Court has designated an extremist organization.
Russian Orthodox patriarch opens Easter-week sermon by congratulating worshippers on January holiday; Patriarchate scrubs the error
Published: April 9, 2026 19:05
Patriarch Kirill opened a Holy Thursday sermon on April 9 by congratulating worshippers on the wrong holiday — wishing them well on Epiphany, which is celebrated in January, journalist Ksenia Luchenko reported on her Telegram channel.
Putin signs law criminalizing denial of Nazi genocide of Soviet people during World War II
Published: April 9, 2026 18:46
Vladimir Putin has signed a law making it a criminal offense to deny or approve what it describes as the Nazi genocide of the Soviet people during World War II, or to insult the memory of genocide victims. The law has been published on Russia’s official…
Law enforcement officer carried unconscious from Novaya Gazeta newsroom during search
Published: April 9, 2026 18:38
A man was carried unconscious out of the Moscow newsroom of Novaya Gazeta today as masked law enforcement officers conducted searches there, RTVI and the Russian Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti reported.
UK defense ministry says 3 Russian submarines conducted suspicious activity near undersea cables in North Atlantic
Published: April 9, 2026 15:46
Britain’s Defense Ministry said three Russian submarines were detected conducting malicious activity above critical underwater infrastructure in the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Novaya Gazeta journalist detained in Moscow on suspicion of illegally using personal data
Published: April 9, 2026 14:43
Journalist Oleg Roldugin, executive editor at the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, has been detained on suspicion of illegally using personal data and is being questioned, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing law…
Floods in Russia’s Dagestan have affected thousands. Experts say the disaster reflects not just extreme weather, but deep infrastructure failures.
Published: April 9, 2026 14:20
More than 6,200 people were affected by a series of floods in Dagestan, the region’s head, Sergey Melikov, said on April 7. The hardest-hit areas were Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, and the Khasavyurtovsky and Derbentsky districts, though the situation is now…
Russia’s oil and gas revenues fall 45% in first quarter as budget deficit exceeds full-year target
Published: April 9, 2026 13:15
Russia’s oil and gas revenues dropped 45.4 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, the Finance Ministry reported.
Memorial Human Rights Center suspends all work in Russia after Supreme Court designates movement ‘extremist’
Published: April 9, 2026 13:01
The Memorial Human Rights Center announced that it is suspending all work inside Russia as of April 9, after Russia’s Supreme Court designated the International Memorial public movement an extremist organization.
Russia opens criminal case against comedian and screenwriter for violating ‘foreign agent’ rules
Published: April 9, 2026 12:52
Russia has opened a criminal case against comedian and screenwriter Semyon Slepakov for failing to comply with his obligations as a foreign agent, the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office announced on its Telegram channel, saying the case was opened on the basis of…
Security officers raid Novaya Gazeta’s Moscow offices
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/04/09/security-officers-raid-novaya-gazeta-s-moscow-offices
Published: April 9, 2026 12:39
Masked security service officers raided the Moscow offices of Novaya Gazeta, the publication reported.
Russia returns bodies of 1,000 fallen Ukrainian servicemembers; Ukraine returns 41 fallen Russian servicemembers
Published: April 9, 2026 11:49
Russia has transferred the bodies of 1,000 fallen Ukrainian servicemembers to Ukraine, State Duma deputy Shamsail Saraliyev, a member of the parliamentary coordination group on the ”special military operation,” told the Russian business news outlet RBC.…
Russia’s Supreme Court designates Memorial an ‘extremist’ organization, banning its activities in the country
Published: April 9, 2026 11:43
Russia’s Supreme Court declared the human rights group Memorial an extremist organization and banned its activities in the country, acting on a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev’s new film selected for Cannes main competition, Variety reports
Published: April 9, 2026 11:25
Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev’s new film, “Minotaur,” has been selected for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 12–23, 2026, the entertainment trade outlet Variety reports.
NTV pundit says he left Russia after FSB agents threatened him at home
Published: April 9, 2026 10:18
Victor Olevich, a political analyst who appears as an American affairs expert on a propaganda show on NTV, a Russian state-controlled television channel, said he has left Russia after coming under pressure from the Federal Security Service (FSB). He wrote…
Russian lawmakers say Telegram ban makes it harder to communicate with constituents
Published: April 9, 2026 10:16
Russian lawmakers have complained that the Telegram ban is making it harder to communicate with constituents and fellow party members, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported after polling legislators from several parties.
Report: Telega, unofficial Telegram client, pulled from Apple’s App Store
Published: April 9, 2026 09:14
Telega, an unofficial Telegram client, has been removed from Apple’s App Store, the Telegram news channel Kod Durova reported.
Man arrested in Greece over plot to kill Russian activist and political adviser in Lithuania
Published: April 9, 2026 08:05
A 55-year-old man suspected of orchestrating a double murder plot in Lithuania has been arrested in Thessaloniki, Greece, the Lithuanian news outlet Delfi reported.
Russia’s FSB detains former RFE/RL correspondent on treason charges
Published: April 9, 2026 07:41
Russia’s Federal Security Service announced it has detained a Chita resident on suspicion of treason, identifying the suspect as a former freelance correspondent for RFE/RL’s Russian service, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Ukrainian drones strike Russia, killing 1 person
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/04/09/ukrainian-drones-strike-russia-killing-1-person
Published: April 9, 2026 07:08
Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight on April 9, killing one person, the region’s governor, Veniamin Kondratiev, said.
Report: Nearly half of Russia’s embassy staff in Hungary may have ties to intelligence services
Published: April 8, 2026 21:26
Nearly half of the staff at Russia’s embassy in Hungary may have ties to intelligence services, the independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo found. Fifteen embassy employees have confirmed connections to the intelligence services, and six more…
Russia’s agricultural oversight agency blames government missteps and harsh weather for livestock disease outbreak
Published: April 8, 2026 20:56
Russia’s agricultural oversight agency blamed a livestock disease outbreak in the Novosibirsk region on government missteps, an atypical strain of pasteurellosis, a bacterial infection, and harsh weather. The Federal Service for Veterinary and…
Chechen leader says his forces will not fight for Iran because it is also striking Arab allies
Published: April 8, 2026 20:50
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said his forces would not fight on Iran’s behalf in its conflict with the United States and Israel.
Russian man who joked his way onto ‘foreign agent’ list gets suspended sentence
Published: April 8, 2026 20:34
A Russian court has sentenced Marat Nikandrov, a Moscow Region resident who in 2023 was designated as a foreign agent by Russian authorities on the basis of his own application, to eight months on a suspended sentence, the Russian business news outlet RBC…
Report: Kaliningrad cancels Victory Day military parade
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/04/08/report-kaliningrad-cancels-victory-day-military-parade
Published: April 8, 2026 15:42
Kaliningrad will not hold a Victory Day military parade on May 9, several sources told the local news outlet Novy Kaliningrad.
A Russian children’s dance group won a competition after performing a routine set to Putin’s speech announcing the war against Ukraine
Published: April 8, 2026 15:32
At the end of March, a theater in Sochi hosted the Crystal Magnolia festival for young performers. The grand prize went to Evelia, a children’s dance studio from Shebekino — a border town in Russia’s Belgorod region that has been heavily affected by the…
Bloomberg: Russia’s weekly oil export revenue reaches highest level since June 2022
Published: April 8, 2026 14:18
Russia’s oil export revenue has climbed to its highest level since the early weeks of the full-scale war in Ukraine, driven by rising prices and higher shipment volumes, the Bloomberg news agency reported on April 8.
Report: Russian military recruiters pressure underage college students to pledge future enlistment
Published: April 8, 2026 14:09
Underage college students in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai are being recruited to sign statements pledging to enlist with the Defense Ministry in the future, Molnia, a project that defends students’ rights, reported.
Russia’s defense ministry says drone forces commanders may discharge student recruits after 1 year but are not required to
Published: April 8, 2026 13:38
Russia’s drone forces commanders have the right to discharge contract servicemembers but are not obligated to do so, Artem Klyga, head of the legal department of the Movement of Conscientious Objectors, concluded after reviewing a Defense Ministry…
Report: War veteran set to replace Belgorod Region governor as Putin prepares leadership change
Published: April 8, 2026 12:19
Alexander Shuvaev, a major general and deputy governor of the Irkutsk Region, will be appointed acting governor of the Belgorod Region following the expected resignation of Vyacheslav Gladkov, the Belgorod-based news outlet Pepel reported, without…
Kremlin says transcript of Putin-Orban call shows Hungarian prime minister as pragmatic and effective politician
Published: April 8, 2026 11:56
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a transcript of a conversation between Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban, published by Bloomberg, shows the Hungarian prime minister “from a very pragmatic and effective standpoint.”
Russian court sentences 6 members of opposition movement Vesna to up to 12 years in prison
Published: April 8, 2026 11:19
A St. Petersburg court has sentenced six members of the opposition movement Vesna to terms of up to 12 years in a general-regime penal colony, the St. Petersburg media outlet Bumaga reported.
The Kremlin’s crackdown on VPNs is escalating. Here’s what Meduza readers in Russia have to say about it.
Published: April 8, 2026 10:12
On March 30, Russian media reported that the Digital Development Ministry, acting on instructions from either the FSB or Vladimir Putin himself, is preparing a new set of restrictive measures targeting VPN services — from making them harder to purchase…
Report: Armed men in masks break up self-organization festival in Russia
Published: April 8, 2026 09:43
Armed men in masks broke up a self-organization festival in the Siberian city of Tyumen on its opening day, the independent Russian media outlet 7×7 reported, citing one of the festival’s participants.
Russia’s Supreme Court chief says Russian courts are the best place to seek justice
Published: April 8, 2026 09:27
Russia’s Supreme Court chief Igor Krasnov argued in an article published by the Russian business outlet RBC that foreign judicial systems offer no guarantee of impartiality or objectivity, and that Russian businesses had learned this firsthand in recent…
49% of Russians still read Telegram channels despite blocking, Levada poll finds
Published: April 8, 2026 09:16
Nearly half of Russians — 49 percent — continued to read Telegram channels even as the app was effectively blocked across the country, the Levada Center polling organization found. Twenty percent said they read Telegram channels daily or several times a…
Russia’s Central Election Commission says candidates can campaign on Telegram
Published: April 8, 2026 07:53
Russia’s Central Election Commission told the Russian business daily Vedomosti that candidates are legally entitled to choose their own forms and methods of campaigning, including on Telegram.
Reuters reports Russia’s NORSI refinery halts operations after Ukrainian drone strike
Published: April 7, 2026 17:28
Russia’s NORSI oil refinery in Kstovo, in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, has suspended operations after sustaining damage in a Ukrainian drone strike in the early hours of April 5, the Reuters news agency reported, citing sources.
Russia’s internet regulator blames Rostelecom network fault for widespread outages
Published: April 7, 2026 15:06
Roskomnadzor told the St. Petersburg-based news outlet Fontanka that a fault on Rostelecom’s backbone network caused the widespread disruption to bank websites and apps, telecom operators, and other services in Russia on the evening of April 6.
Russian oil prices hit 13-year high amid Strait of Hormuz closure
Published: April 7, 2026 13:59
Russian Urals crude loaded at the Baltic port of Primorsk was priced at $116.05 a barrel as of April 2, Bloomberg reported, citing data from the Argus Media news agency. That is the highest level since 2013, when prices reached $113–115 a barrel, according…
Russia revises launch timeline for Luna-28, Luna-29, and Luna-30 spacecraft
Published: April 7, 2026 13:31
Russia has revised the launch timeline for the Luna-28, Luna-29, and Luna-30 spacecraft, according to the Russian business daily Kommersant, which cited a presentation by Russian Academy of Sciences Vice President Sergei Chernyshev at a meeting of the…
Report: Russian marketplaces begin blocking users who connect via VPN
Published: April 7, 2026 12:36
Russian marketplaces Wildberries and Ozon, along with the online grocery retailer VkusVill, have begun restricting access for users connected to popular VPN services, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reports.
Russian airline drew almost no tourists on subsidized Moscow-Pyongyang route
Published: April 7, 2026 12:23
Russian airline Nordwind, which received federal aviation authority approval in July 2025 to fly direct between Moscow and Pyongyang, has failed to attract tourists on the route, the Russian business daily Kommersant reports.
Russia has shifted to a year-round conscription system. Here’s what that means for the country’s young men.
Published: April 7, 2026 11:42
April traditionally marks the start of Russia’s spring conscription campaign for mandatory military service. But this year, things have changed — conscription now runs year-round. Much about how the new system works is already becoming clear: restrictions…
Russian court designates Chechen Republic of Ichkeria a ‘terrorist organization,’ bans its units across Europe
Published: April 7, 2026 08:07
A court in Grozny has designated the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria a terrorist organization and banned its activities in Russia.
Ukrainian drone strike kills family of 3, including 12-year-old, in Russia
Published: April 7, 2026 07:46
A Ukrainian drone strike killed two adults and their 12-year-old child in the Alexandrovsky District of Russia’s Vladimir region, the region’s governor, Alexander Avdeyev, said.
Vedomosti reports Kremlin is weighing removal of Belgorod region governor ahead of September elections
Published: April 7, 2026 07:38
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov may step down before regional elections scheduled for September 2026, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported, citing three sources close to the presidential administration.
Student stabs teacher to death outside school in Russia
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/04/07/student-stabs-teacher-to-death-outside-school-in-russia
Published: April 7, 2026 07:12
A 17-year-old ninth-grader stabbed a teacher to death outside a school in Dobryanka, a city in Russia’s Perm Krai roughly 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Perm, Governor Dmitry Makhonin said.
Zelensky says Ukraine proposed energy truce to Russia through U.S. intermediaries
Published: April 6, 2026 20:54
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had passed a proposal to Moscow through American intermediaries for both sides to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure.
Russian bank apps, telecom services, and Rostelecom home internet go down in widespread outages
Published: April 6, 2026 20:14
Websites and apps belonging to banks, telecom operators, satellite companies, and other organizations in Russia went down on the evening of April 6, according to posts on the Telegram channel of the Russian outage-tracking service Sboi.rf (Outage.ru). The…
Former Russian governor gets 14-year prison sentence for taking bribes tied to border fortifications
Published: April 6, 2026 18:03
A court in Kursk has sentenced former regional Governor Alexei Smirnov to 14 years in a maximum-security prison and fined him 400 million rubles, the regional court’s press service said.
Murmansk governor confirms Russian general killed in An-26 crash in Crimea
Published: April 6, 2026 17:44
Murmansk Governor Andrei Chibis has confirmed that Lieutenant General Alexander Otroshchenko was among those killed when an An-26 military transport plane crashed in Russian-occupied Crimea on March 31. There were no survivors.
2 dead, including pregnant woman, in Russia flooding
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/04/06/2-dead-including-pregnant-woman-in-russia-flooding
Published: April 6, 2026 17:40
Two people have died in flooding in the Derbent district of Dagestan, the TASS news agency reported, citing the republic’s emergency medicine center.
Hermitage director says ritual significance now outweighs artistic value in Russian society, defends transfer of relics to Orthodox Church
Published: April 6, 2026 17:36
The director of the Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky, has commented on the transfer of religious relics from Russian museums to the Russian Orthodox Church, saying the Hermitage acted because ritual meaning now outweighs artistic significance in…
Russia to grade school students’ behavior as ‘exemplary,’ ‘acceptable,’ or ‘unacceptable,’ Kommersant reports
Published: April 6, 2026 17:23
Russia’s Education Ministry announced that schools across the country will adopt a three-tier behavior grading system, rating students as “exemplary,” “acceptable,” or “unacceptable,” the Russian business daily Kommersant reported on April 6.
RBC reports Russia orders police not to identify themselves as law enforcement on social media
Published: April 6, 2026 17:20
Russian police officers have been ordered not to identify themselves as law enforcement on social media or messaging apps, the Russian business news outlet RBC and the news agency Ura.ru reported, citing sources.
Russia’s internet regulator says DDoS attacks hit record levels in February and March, surging after reports of Telegram ban
Published: April 6, 2026 17:03
Russia’s internet regulator Roskomnadzor announced that it recorded a record surge in DDoS attacks in February and March.
Moscow university tightens expulsion rules as students allege military recruitment drive
Published: April 6, 2026 16:43
Russia’s Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics, and Automation (MIREA) has changed its student expulsion policy, students at the university told the Russian Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti. Under the new rules, students with even a…
RBC: Russia’s digital ministry sends companies guide to detecting VPNs on user devices, notes iPhones pose challenge
Published: April 6, 2026 16:30
Russia’s Digital Development Ministry has sent the country’s largest internet companies a guide to detecting VPN services on user devices, the Russian business news outlet RBC reported, saying it had obtained a copy of the document, whose authenticity was…
Propagandist Margarita Simonyan’s Telegram channel loses more than half its views after Russia blocks app
Published: April 6, 2026 16:08
Views on propagandist Margarita Simonyan’s Telegram channel fell 52.3 percent in late March compared to late February, according to calculations by the Telegram channel ChTD (Chto i Trebovalos Dokazat, or “Q.E.D.”).
Moscow concert hall attacker dies by suicide in jail, Russian authorities say
Published: April 6, 2026 15:45
A man sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Crocus City Hall attack has died by suicide at a Moscow pretrial detention center, RBC reported, citing the Moscow branch of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service.
Hungary hints at Ukraine’s role in Serbia pipeline explosives find; Kyiv denies
Published: April 5, 2026 22:14
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry rejected any suggestion that Kyiv was behind the discovery of explosives near the TurkStream pipeline in Serbia. Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Ukraine had no involvement in the incident and called it a Russian false-flag…
Telegram now flags accounts using unofficial versions of the app
Published: April 5, 2026 21:51
Telegram has begun flagging accounts that use unofficial versions of the app.
A wheat cargo ship sank off the coast of Kherson, and Russian state media says a deadly drone attack is to blame
Published: April 5, 2026 21:36
A cargo ship carrying wheat sank in the Sea of Azov off the coast of the Kherson region, according to Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-appointed head of the occupied part of the region.
Putin orders transfer of 2 medieval icons from Tretyakov Gallery to Russian Orthodox Church, patriarch says
Published: April 5, 2026 21:24
Patriarch Kirill said at an April 4 service in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior that President Vladimir Putin had personally ordered the transfer of the Vladimir and Donskaya icons of the Mother of God to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Ukrainian drones damage oil pipeline near Russian port and spark fire at refinery
Published: April 5, 2026 07:23
Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Leningrad and Nizhny Novgorod regions overnight on April 5, regional governors reported. Air defenses shot down 19 drones over the Leningrad region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said. Debris from the drones damaged a…
Russia’s internet regulator orders outlets to delete reports linking bank disruptions to its website-blocking activity
Published: April 4, 2026 17:46
Russia’s federal internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, has ordered Russian outlets to delete reports linking a widespread disruption at major Russian banks on April 3 to the agency’s website-blocking activity.
Dozens gather outside Presidential Administration in Moscow to submit petitions against messaging app blocks and mobile internet shutdowns
Published: April 4, 2026 17:37
Dozens of people gathered outside the Presidential Administration in Moscow to submit petitions against the blocking of messaging apps and the shutdown of mobile internet access.
Siberian regional TV releases video of ‘grateful farmers’ who lost livestock to government seizures, but journalists identify participants as local officials
Published: April 4, 2026 17:28
OTS, a television channel owned by the Novosibirsk regional government, has released a video featuring what it calls “grateful farmers” describing how they received compensation for livestock that was destroyed. The video is available on OTS’s VK page.
Russia begins emergency hepatitis A vaccination in flood-hit region as more than 30 people are poisoned by drinking water
Published: April 4, 2026 17:16
Russia’s consumer health watchdog has launched an emergency hepatitis A vaccination campaign in flood-affected areas of Dagestan.
Armenia’s parliamentary speaker says country will leave CSTO and Eurasian Economic Union if Russia raises gas price
Published: April 4, 2026 17:06
Armenia’s parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan said his country would leave the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union if Russia raises the price of gas it supplies to the republic.
Telegram founder says 65 million Russians use app daily via VPN despite blocking attempts
Published: April 4, 2026 16:57
Telegram founder Pavel Durov broke his silence on Russia’s attempts to block the messaging app, writing in a post on his Telegram channel that Russian authorities had already tried to ban Telegram and spent years trying to ban VPNs.
Report: Ukrainian military personnel stationed in Libya carried out attack on Russian tanker in Mediterranean
Published: April 3, 2026 18:30
Ukraine has a military presence in Libya and was behind the attack on the Russian tanker Arctic Metagaz in the Mediterranean in early March, the French broadcaster RFI reported, citing sources.
Mediazona reports Russia adds Meduza correspondent to federal wanted list on criminal charge
Published: April 3, 2026 16:45
Russia’s Interior Ministry has added Andrei Pertsev, a correspondent for the independent Russian outlet Meduza, to its federal wanted list, the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona reported.
Moscow court dismisses case against Russian soccer player over cafe brawl after settlement
Published: April 3, 2026 16:42
A Moscow magistrate has dismissed the case against former Russian national soccer team player Fyodor Smolov over a brawl at a Moscow cafe, after the two sides reached a settlement, RIA Novosti reported.
Russia’s Investigative Committee orders review of journalist Yury Dud’s interview with Russian Volunteer Corps commander
Published: April 3, 2026 16:34
Russia’s Investigative Committee has ordered a legal review of journalist Yury Dud’s interview with Denis Kapustin, the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps.
FSB says it foiled plot to kill senior law enforcement official using bomb hidden in electric scooter
Published: April 3, 2026 16:26
Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had foiled a plot to assassinate a senior law enforcement official using a bomb hidden in an electric scooter.
Moscow court partially grants Rosnano’s lawsuit against former CEO over flexible tablet project losses
Published: April 3, 2026 16:17
A Moscow arbitration court has partially granted Rosnano’s lawsuit seeking damages from former chief executive Anatoly Chubais and several other ex-managers at the state nanotechnology company.
Sberbank says services have been restored after outages hit major Russian bank apps
Published: April 3, 2026 16:11
Apps for Sberbank, VTB, and T-Bank experienced major disruptions, according to Downdetector and Sboy.rf.
RBC reports Russia seeks to lift moratorium on telecom inspections to verify wiretapping systems
Published: April 3, 2026 13:25
Russia’s Digital Development Ministry is considering lifting the moratorium on scheduled inspections of telecommunications operators, the Russian business outlet RBC reported, citing two sources.
7 cars of passenger train derail in Russia, injuring more than 20
Published: April 3, 2026 13:20
Seven cars of passenger train No. 302, traveling from Chelyabinsk to Moscow, derailed near the Bryandino station in Russia’s Ulyanovsk region, Russian Railways said.
Russian court sentences former lawmaker to 19 years in prison over antisemitic pogrom at airport
Published: April 2, 2026 22:47
Dagestan’s Supreme Court has sentenced former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev in absentia to 19 years in prison in connection with the antisemitic pogrom at Makhachkala’s airport in October 2023.
Report: Apple lets Russian users keep iCloud+ data after subscriptions lapse
Published: April 2, 2026 19:17
Apple has announced that as of April 1, payment processing for purchases made through the App Store or other Apple services in Russia is no longer available.
Russia’s deputy digital development minister volunteers to fight in Ukraine, Kommersant reports
Published: April 2, 2026 18:05
Andrei Zarenin, Russia’s deputy digital development minister, has volunteered to fight in the war in Ukraine, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported on April 2.