Russia in 2017 in Photos Dec 27, 2017 - 01:33 pm February: Putin signs a law decriminalizing domestic abuse. The law reclassifies “violence that doesn’t cause significant injury” as a misdemeanor. Alexei Nasedkin February: Ildar Dadin is released from a Siberian prison where he says he was subjected to torture. Dadin spent some 15 months behind bars and was the first person to be imprisoned for protesting without permission more than twice. Alexei Tsvaigert / TASS March: In the largest anti-government protests since 2012, tens of thousands take to the streets in cities across Russia. More than 1,000 people are detained and the protest organizer, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is handed a 15-day jail sentence. Similar anti-corruption protests take place in June and, coinciding with Vladimir Putin’s birthday, in October. Artur Novosiltsev / TASS April: Alexei Navalny is attacked with antiseptic green dye known as zelyonka — popular among pro-Kremlin activists targeting opposition figures. Navalny is hospitalized with eye damage and his vision is impaired for several weeks. navalny.com April: A bomb explodes on the St. Petersburg Metro, killing fifteen. The suicide bomber is a Russian citizen, born in Kyrgyzstan. Alexander Nikolayev / Interpress / TASS May: A City Hall plan to relocate 1.6 million Muscovites brings thousands out onto the capital’s central Sakharov Prospekt. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wants the prefabricated apartment blocks built under Nikita Khrushchev to be razed to the ground. Sergei Savostyanov / TASS May: Police interrogate award-winning director Kirill Serebrennikov and search his theater, the Gogol Center. Initially, Serebrennikov is just a witness in the case, but later he is put under house arrest for allegedly embezzling government funds. Dozens of prominent cultural figures speak out in his defense and attend his court hearings. Artyom Geodakyan / TASS May: A surprise hurricane sweeps over Moscow, killing 16 and injuring several hundreds of people. Vasily Kuzmichyonok / TASS July: Five Chechens are handed sentences for the killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov a stone’s throw away from the Kremlin. The man who pulled the trigger is given 20 years, but Nemtsov’s defenders argue the masterminds are still at large in Chechnya. Kirill Zykov / Moskva News Agency July: Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater postpones the premiere of “Nureyev,” a ballet based on the legendary Russian dancer Rudolph Nureyev, saying it’s “not ready.” Many suspect the move is connected to Nureyev’s sexual orientation or the ballet’s progressive director Kirill Serebrennikov, who is at the center of a government fraud case. Bolshoi Theatre Press Service August: A 46-minute video of a bare-chested Vladimir Putin catching a pike with his hands in the far reaches of remote Siberia captures the imagination. Bloggers say the footage is fake, others say it is an attempt to portray Putin as macho, full of energy and fun. Kremlin Press Service September: The $245-million Zaryadye Park near the Kremlin opens to the general public after five years of construction. Photos of sloppy construction work flood Russian blogs and media report visitors of the park have been stealing some of the rarer plants. Andrei Lyubimov / Moskva News Agency September: Russians head to the polls in elections in 82 regions for different levels of government. In the sixteen regions which held gubernatorial elections, United Russia wins every seat. And yet, the opposition celebrates a victory: Candidates for opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov's "United Democrats" secure seats in ten Moscow districts. Alexei Druzhinin / Russian Presidential Press and Information Office / TASS October: “Mathilde,” a film on the life of a Polish ballerina, hits the screens, against the wishes of Duma Deputy Natalya Poklonskaya who has called for it to be banned. The religious Poklonskaya argues the film discredits Tsar Nicholas II — who has been named a saint — by depicting his love affair. Orthodox activists who agree with her threaten “cinemas will burn” if the film is shown. In the end, it is the filmmaker’s studio and two parked car which are set alight in protest. Donat Sorokin / TASS October: Maxim Lapunov becomes the first victim of an alleged “gay purge” in Chechnya to publicly come forward. He is one of dozens of gay people who were allegedly persecuted and tortured by Chechen law enforcement. Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, denies the allegations saying there are no gay people in his republic. Pavel Golovkin / AP / TASS October: Ksenia Sobchak, the former TV celebrity turned opposition journalist, announces she will run for president. It sets off a storm of speculation on whether Sobchak, the daughter of Putin’s former mentor, is a “spoiler candidate” meant to split the opposition vote. Whatever the truth, the last time a woman ran for president was in 2004. Andrei Lyubimov / Moskva News Agency November: The centenary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution receives little attention from the Kremlin. Across the country, there are bombastic celebrations for a different anniversary: the military parades of 1941 from where Soviet troops went to fight the Nazis on the frontlines. Sergei Kiselyov / Moskva News Agency December: The International Olympic Committee rules Russia won’t be allowed to participate in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Some officials and athletes call for a Russian boycott of the Games. Sergei Fadeichev / TASS December: Former Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev is sentenced to 8 years in prison for allegedly exacting a bribe from Rosneft head, Igor Sechin. The shocking judgement smells of a set-up — Ulyukayev says he thought he was handed a gift basket with wine and sausages when he picked up a bag with cash — and it sends ripples through Russia’s elite. An unexpected consequence: Spooked by the case, Russian officials reportedly start refusing New Year’s gifts. Kirill Zykov / Moskva News Agency December: World Cup teams are assigned their groups at a star-studded event in the Kremlin, including Diego Maradona and Gary Lineker, ahead of the tournament in Russia in 2018. Stanislav Krasilnikov / TASS December: In front of an audience of car factory workers in Nizhny Novgorod, Putin announces he will seek a fourth presidential term that would extend his rule to 2024. No one is surprised. 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Russia in 2017 in Photos Dec 27, 2017 - 01:33 pm February: Putin signs a law decriminalizing domestic abuse. The law reclassifies “violence that doesn’t cause significant injury” as a misdemeanor. Alexei Nasedkin February: Ildar Dadin is released from a Siberian prison where he says he was subjected to torture. Dadin spent some 15 months behind bars and was the first person to be imprisoned for protesting without permission more than twice. Alexei Tsvaigert / TASS March: In the largest anti-government protests since 2012, tens of thousands take to the streets in cities across Russia. More than 1,000 people are detained and the protest organizer, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is handed a 15-day jail sentence. Similar anti-corruption protests take place in June and, coinciding with Vladimir Putin’s birthday, in October. Artur Novosiltsev / TASS April: Alexei Navalny is attacked with antiseptic green dye known as zelyonka — popular among pro-Kremlin activists targeting opposition figures. Navalny is hospitalized with eye damage and his vision is impaired for several weeks. navalny.com April: A bomb explodes on the St. Petersburg Metro, killing fifteen. The suicide bomber is a Russian citizen, born in Kyrgyzstan. Alexander Nikolayev / Interpress / TASS May: A City Hall plan to relocate 1.6 million Muscovites brings thousands out onto the capital’s central Sakharov Prospekt. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wants the prefabricated apartment blocks built under Nikita Khrushchev to be razed to the ground. Sergei Savostyanov / TASS May: Police interrogate award-winning director Kirill Serebrennikov and search his theater, the Gogol Center. Initially, Serebrennikov is just a witness in the case, but later he is put under house arrest for allegedly embezzling government funds. Dozens of prominent cultural figures speak out in his defense and attend his court hearings. Artyom Geodakyan / TASS May: A surprise hurricane sweeps over Moscow, killing 16 and injuring several hundreds of people. Vasily Kuzmichyonok / TASS July: Five Chechens are handed sentences for the killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov a stone’s throw away from the Kremlin. The man who pulled the trigger is given 20 years, but Nemtsov’s defenders argue the masterminds are still at large in Chechnya. Kirill Zykov / Moskva News Agency July: Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater postpones the premiere of “Nureyev,” a ballet based on the legendary Russian dancer Rudolph Nureyev, saying it’s “not ready.” Many suspect the move is connected to Nureyev’s sexual orientation or the ballet’s progressive director Kirill Serebrennikov, who is at the center of a government fraud case. Bolshoi Theatre Press Service August: A 46-minute video of a bare-chested Vladimir Putin catching a pike with his hands in the far reaches of remote Siberia captures the imagination. Bloggers say the footage is fake, others say it is an attempt to portray Putin as macho, full of energy and fun. Kremlin Press Service September: The $245-million Zaryadye Park near the Kremlin opens to the general public after five years of construction. Photos of sloppy construction work flood Russian blogs and media report visitors of the park have been stealing some of the rarer plants. Andrei Lyubimov / Moskva News Agency September: Russians head to the polls in elections in 82 regions for different levels of government. In the sixteen regions which held gubernatorial elections, United Russia wins every seat. And yet, the opposition celebrates a victory: Candidates for opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov's "United Democrats" secure seats in ten Moscow districts. Alexei Druzhinin / Russian Presidential Press and Information Office / TASS October: “Mathilde,” a film on the life of a Polish ballerina, hits the screens, against the wishes of Duma Deputy Natalya Poklonskaya who has called for it to be banned. The religious Poklonskaya argues the film discredits Tsar Nicholas II — who has been named a saint — by depicting his love affair. Orthodox activists who agree with her threaten “cinemas will burn” if the film is shown. In the end, it is the filmmaker’s studio and two parked car which are set alight in protest. Donat Sorokin / TASS October: Maxim Lapunov becomes the first victim of an alleged “gay purge” in Chechnya to publicly come forward. He is one of dozens of gay people who were allegedly persecuted and tortured by Chechen law enforcement. Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, denies the allegations saying there are no gay people in his republic. Pavel Golovkin / AP / TASS October: Ksenia Sobchak, the former TV celebrity turned opposition journalist, announces she will run for president. It sets off a storm of speculation on whether Sobchak, the daughter of Putin’s former mentor, is a “spoiler candidate” meant to split the opposition vote. Whatever the truth, the last time a woman ran for president was in 2004. Andrei Lyubimov / Moskva News Agency November: The centenary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution receives little attention from the Kremlin. Across the country, there are bombastic celebrations for a different anniversary: the military parades of 1941 from where Soviet troops went to fight the Nazis on the frontlines. Sergei Kiselyov / Moskva News Agency December: The International Olympic Committee rules Russia won’t be allowed to participate in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Some officials and athletes call for a Russian boycott of the Games. Sergei Fadeichev / TASS December: Former Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev is sentenced to 8 years in prison for allegedly exacting a bribe from Rosneft head, Igor Sechin. The shocking judgement smells of a set-up — Ulyukayev says he thought he was handed a gift basket with wine and sausages when he picked up a bag with cash — and it sends ripples through Russia’s elite. An unexpected consequence: Spooked by the case, Russian officials reportedly start refusing New Year’s gifts. Kirill Zykov / Moskva News Agency December: World Cup teams are assigned their groups at a star-studded event in the Kremlin, including Diego Maradona and Gary Lineker, ahead of the tournament in Russia in 2018. Stanislav Krasilnikov / TASS December: In front of an audience of car factory workers in Nizhny Novgorod, Putin announces he will seek a fourth presidential term that would extend his rule to 2024. No one is surprised. Kremlin Press Service
