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keeping options open

Putin Says Constitutional Right to Re-Election ‘Stabilizes’ Russia

“It’s premature to say who is planning what in 2024,” the Russian president maintained.
FORMAL RECOGNITION

Lukashenko Says Crimea is Russian, Will Visit Peninsula With Putin

The Belarus strongman had previously been non-committal over his position regarding the status of Crimea.
i predict a riot

Russia Developing AI ‘Minority Report’ Protest Detector – Kommersant

The system will reportedly be able to tell the difference between political and religious rallies, as well as anti-police protests.
russia's response

LIVE | Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 30

Omicron fears. Covid passes. Vaccination push.
more news

A Letter to Our Readers

MT Team

Coronavirus Crisis

Coronavirus: With Your Help We Can Continue to Bring You the News You Need

Latest Podcast

Nov. 26, 2021
Let's Talk Turkey
Would you rather be called a turkey in Russian or English? Not an easy decision...

MT Feature

PRICE CONSCIOUS

Rising Inflation Gives Boost to Russia’s Discount Retailers

Surging prices and weak wages are a win-win for Russia’s bargain stores, even as the wider economy slows.

Editor's Pick

PROFIT FROM CRISIS

In Minsk, Migrants Have Become Part of Daily Life. And a Business Opportunity for Some.

Taxis, hotels and travel agencies in a transformed capital are making money from the border crisis.

Coronavirus Cases in Russia

9,636,881 Total Confirmed Cases
1,032,435 Total Active Cases
0 Today's Cases
8,329,253 Total Recovered
2,300 Total Critical
0 Today's Deaths
275,193 Total Deaths
65,996 Cases per Million
1,885 Deaths per Million
Data Sources
API: Open Disease Data API

highlights

YAPPY

Russia Launches Homemade TikTok Alternative

State-owned media conglomerate launches new video-sharing platform as Russia ramps up pressure on foreign tech companies.
stranded abroad

1.5K Russians Stuck in S. Africa Over Omicron Flight Bans

Russia last week banned flights from South Africa and several other southern African countries over the highly mutated strain.
FAILURE TO PERSUADE

Russian Vaccine Skeptics Oppose Covid Passes

Even as the country’s excess mortality remains among the world’s highest, many Russians are refusing to accept new public health restrictions.
MONTH IN REVIEW

From Deadly Mining Disaster to Surging Caviar Prices: Russia's November, in Photos

The headlines and everyday scenes that defined the past month.
unpopular restriction

Russian Covid Pass Protesters Try to Storm Regional Legislature

Protesters tried to enter the Chelyabinsk regional legislature as lawmakers discussed a bill to require QR codes on planes and trains.
Combatting the contagion

Russia Fights Coronavirus
Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 30
Russia to Introduce Vaccine Passports Amid Record Virus Surge
Russia’s Excess Death Toll Passed 720K Before Brutal Fourth Wave
Russia Reports Another Day of Record Virus Deaths, Infections

opinion

opinion Michele A. Berdy

Let's Talk Turkey

opinion Fyodor Lukyanov

NATO Expansion Is a Bugbear for Both Russia and the West

opinion Nigel Gould-Davies

The Dangerous Instability of Europe’s Borderlands

opinion Mark Galeotti

Kremlin Unlikely to Know Any More Than Us if Invasion Is Coming to Ukraine

opinion Anna Arutunyan

Let’s Admit it: The Hybrid War Concept Is Useless

opinion Dmitry Trenin

Russian Foreign Policy: Shifting Gears

more opinion

Meanwhile in Russia

sedimentary sentry

Russian Military Rolls Out ‘Spy Rock’ Robot

special delivery

Moscow Zoo Welcomes Orphaned Manul Kittens

FIGHTING FRAGRANCE

Russia Unveils Exhaust Fume Perfume in Honor of ‘Checkmate’ Stealth Jet

fueling vaccinations

Russian Region Raffles Coal to Boost Covid Vaccinations

More meanwhile in russia

Business

YAPPY

Russia Launches Homemade TikTok Alternative

State-owned media conglomerate launches new video-sharing platform as Russia ramps up pressure on foreign tech companies.
Cashing in

Russia’s Gazprom Reports Record Profits as Gas Prices Soar

Europe receives a third of its gas supplies from Russia and has seen energy prices surge to record highs in recent months.
TAKING OFF

Russia’s Aeroflot Posts First Profit Since Start of Coronavirus

Domestic travel boom and opening up of international routes lifts results at Russia’s flagship airline.
‘Nu’ Problems

Russian Markets Tumble on Discovery of ‘Worst Ever’ Coronavirus Strain

Scientists have said the ‘Nu’ variant of the coronavirus, first discovered in South Africa, could be the most transmissible yet.
read more

arts and life

MONTH IN REVIEW

From Deadly Mining Disaster to Surging Caviar Prices: Russia's November, in Photos

The headlines and everyday scenes that defined the past month.
it's a digital world

Ballerina Natalia Osipova Puts First-Ever NFT Ballets Up for Sale

Non-fungible tokens are original works of art preserved in digital form.
Obituary

Singer and Composer Alexander Gradsky, Dead at Age 72

One of the founders of Russian rock music, Gradsky sang and composed every genre from jazz to opera.
long read

'Stalinism At War' Recasts the Soviet Role in WWII

A new and compelling history of the Soviet Union from 1937 to 1949.
weekend kitchen

Spice Things Up With Adjika

This refrigerator staple is not hard to make and comes in a variety of flavors and glorious colors.
More Arts and Life

Climate

unstable terrain

Russia Losing 1-3 Meters of Arctic Shoreline to Climate Change Annually – Scientists

An amount of shoreline roughly the size of central Moscow now collapses into the sea every year.
above average

St. Petersburg Winter Temps Could Rise 4 Degrees by 2050 – Scientist

Scientists also predict increasingly intense rain and snow that will strain the city's drainage and flood mitigation systems.
post-summit roundup

What Did Russia Achieve at COP26?

Activists have accused Russia of “masterfully creating an illusion of fighting the climate crisis.”
COST OF TRANSITION

Russia Faces $2T in Stranded Hydrocarbon Assets in Net Zero World

Researchers say more than half of Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure could be worthless within the next 15 years.
read more

In-Depth

opinion Katja Yafimava

Moldova’s Gas Crisis and Its Lessons for Europe

The ongoing European gas supply crunch this winter has demonstrated the limitations of EU diversification efforts.
opinion Dmitry Trenin

Merkel’s Legacy, as Seen From Russia

Angela Merkel’s long tenure was a period of relative, if not always palatable, predictability in German-Russian relations.
'MOSCOW FORUM'

Deripaska-Linked Firms Sent Thousands to Moscow On Election Day. Some Said They Were On Standby for a Pro-Kremlin Rally.

Around 11,000 employees came to the capital for an online conference covering topics from family values to geopolitics.
WELL-CONNECTED MIDDLEMAN

A Royal Mark Up: How an Emirati Sheikh Resells Millions of Russian Vaccines to the Developing World

The Moscow Times investigated a deal between Russia and a minor Dubai royal to supply poor countries with Sputnik V — at high prices.
more in-depth