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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.

PERENNIAL PRESENCE

‘We Are Not Revolutionaries’: Russia’s Last Liberal Party Operates Under No Illusions

Yabloko stalwarts see little chance of victory in September’s high-stakes elections to the country’s national parliament.

BENEFICIAL ECOSYSTEM

Russia Says Its Forests Neutralize Billions of Tons of Greenhouse Gases. Scientists Have Their Doubts.

Eight experts told The Moscow Times the government headline figure of 2.5 billion metric tons of CO2 is at best unproven and at worst unrealistic.

WEEKEND PROFILE

‘I’m Ready to Go to Prison’: The 26-Year-Old Taking On Russia’s Ruling Party

Roman Yuneman is counting on a mix of nationalism and local activism to win a State Duma seat from United Russia.

Russia's Unprecedented Mandatory Vaccination Push Divides Society

Russian officials are desperate to get citizens vaccinated in a nation that distrusts vaccines.

FRACTURED RELATIONSHIP

Ahead of Tense Putin-Biden Summit, Few in Russia Expect Breakthroughs

Analysts in Moscow said the most that can be expected is a return to the predictable antagonism of the Cold War era.

Thirty Years On

A Century After His Birth, Dissident Sakharov Divides Opinion

The father of the Soviet bomb is publicly lauded, but his pro-democratic convictions are glossed over by the authorities.

After Plane Crisis, Is Belarusian President Lukashenko Becoming a Troublesome Partner for Russia?

Analysts say Moscow’s muted reaction to the diversion to Minsk of a Ryanair flight speaks to the Kremlin’s ambivalent view of the strongman.

‘EPIDEMIC OF SHOOTERS’

In the Wake of Another School Massacre, Russia Confronts Rising Gun Violence

The 10th school shooting in seven years has sparked calls for a clampdown on gun ownership and tighter internet censorship.

BLAZING A TRAIL

Russia’s Controversial Eurovision Entry Challenges Tradition

Tajik refugee and feminst Manizha seems to many a rebuttal of all that the country has come to stand for in the Putin era.

DISPATCHES FROM DAGESTAN

Confined By the Pandemic, Russian Tourists Flock to Dagestan

With foreign holidays ruled out, Russians are warming to a mountainous Caucasian region that, until recently, was seen as dangerous and backward.

DISPATCHES FROM DAGESTAN

‘How Can We Survive When the Land Is Gone?’ In Dagestan, a Proud People Fights the Desert

Desertification, driven by climate change, is destroying the Nogai people’s grasslands and livelihoods.

DISPATCHES FROM DAGESTAN

As the Caspian Sea Disappears, Life Goes on for Those Living by Its Shores

Scientists predict the world’s largest inland sea will shrink by a quarter due to climate change by the end of the century.

Supporters Protest Across Russia for Release of Ailing Navalny

The jailed opposition leader has been on hunger strike for three weeks.

‘GET VACCINATED’

Will Russia’s Belated Promotion of Sputnik V at Home Sway a Doubting Public?

The vaccine has met with a cool reception and muted promotion among skeptical Russians, despite international fanfare.

Navalny Hunger Strike a Dangerous Step After Poisoning, Allies Fear

The jailed Kremlin critic is refusing food until prison authorities allow his doctor to treat crippling back and leg pain.

WANING TOLERANCE

Facing Heightened Threats, Russia’s Main Independent Paper Contemplates a Bleak Future

The latest attack on Novaya Gazeta is making some of its editors wonder how long it can survive in the country.

STRATEGIC SHIFT

Kremlin Push Against Opposition Ramps Up Ahead of Fall Elections

With opposition leader Alexei Navalny in jail, authorities are doing their best to neutralize his Smart Voting scheme.

‘ONLY THE BEGINNING’

Is Russia’s Twitter Clampdown a Harbinger of Wider Restrictions?

Activists fear Chinese-style censorship of foreign social networks could be on the horizon.

Left Out in the Cold for Decades, Russia’s ‘Gulag Children’ Battle to Return Home

Russians born in Stalin’s camps are still fighting for compensation the law says they are entitled to.

‘IRON FELIX’

A Vote on Restoring a Secret Police Chief’s Statue Opens Old Wounds in Russia

Three decades after anti-communist protesters toppled the monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky outside the KGB’s headquarters, it could be set to return.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND

Looming Supply Glut of Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine Could Pave Way for Exports

Pharmaceutical industry experts told The Moscow Times that manufacturers are set to overshoot targets while Russians remain indifferent to the jab.

Russia’s Communists Are Split Over Support for Navalny

The opposition activist’s jailing is upsetting the balance between the party’s pro-Kremlin leadership and radical grassroots membership.

As Moscow’s Jails Overflow, Navalny Detainees Are Held Outside the City

Friends and relatives of people arrested at rallies in support of the opposition leader are queuing with care packages in the village of Sakharovo.

Poisoned Putin Critic Navalny Gets Almost 3 Years in Prison Colony

The opposition leader was convicted of violating a 2014 suspended sentence for fraud while he was recovering in Germany.

IDEOLOGICAL JOURNEY

True Beliefs and Opportunism: Navalny’s Tangled Political Development

While Russia’s opposition leader has veered from liberalism to nationalism and populism, his core values center on anti-corruption.

From Skepticism to Relief: Why I Got the Russian Vaccine

“I sank into a strange, semi-feverish state.”

Protests for Jailed Kremlin Critic Navalny Sweep Russia

Police clash with demonstrators in major cities and detain thousands.

‘A Step Into the Unknown’: Russians’ Relationship With Jailed Navalny Is Complicated

As the opposition activist calls for protests, polls show his support is small but growing.

WANING TOLERANCE

Could Navalny’s Detention Derail His Movement?

Some analysts believe the opposition figure’s arrest could lead to a broader crackdown on his supporters.

Russia Detains Poisoned Kremlin Critic Navalny on Return to Home Soil

The opposition leader has spent months in Germany recovering from an attack with a poison Western experts concluded was Novichok.

NOT JUST A PLACEHOLDER

A Year After Shock Appointment, Russian Prime Minister Mishustin’s Star is Rising

Some experts are predicting that the well-connected technocrat might be destined for a long career at the summit of Russian politics.

SUDDEN DEPARTURE

Resignation of Yakutsk’s First Female Mayor Raises Questions About Russia’s Ruling Party

Some experts believe Sardana Avksentiyeva was forced out by a Kremlin keen to clear the field ahead of Duma elections.

“WAGING WAR”

The Kremlin Tightens the Screws on Public Dissent

Russia has cemented sweeping new restrictions on political protests, social media and “foreign agents.”

2021 LOOK AHEAD

Russia in 2021: Looming Elections Dominate the Domestic Scene

The vote to elect deputies for Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, must be held by September.

2021 LOOK AHEAD

Russia in 2021: As Climate Crisis Rages, Scientists Fear the Worst Is Yet to Come

The world’s largest country faces an accelerating emergency as warming weather sparks more environmental disasters.

POLITICAL PROFILE

A Feminist Pro-Kremlin Lawmaker Who Supports LGBT Rights

Oksana Pushkina tells The Moscow Times her views aren’t oppositional — they’re just common sense.

‘NOT A BELIEVER’

Vaccine Fears Slow Moscow’s Sputnik V Rollout

Initial numbers indicate that as few as 14 people per clinic per day are receiving the vaccine.

As Russia Begins Mass Coronavirus Vaccination, Its Medics Aren't On Board

Skepticism among the medical community will make a nationwide Sputnik V push difficult.

QAnon Gains Traction in Russia

The coronavirus pandemic has boosted the popularity of the pro-Trump viral conspiracy theory.

IVANOVO DISPATCH

In a Poor Russian City, Coronavirus Hits Hard

The pandemic has combined with poverty to push Ivanovo’s healthcare system to its breaking point.

geopolitical crossroads

5 Things You Need to Know About Moldova’s Presidential Elections

Former prime minister Maia Sandu's unexpected victory could push the ex-Soviet eastern European nation further away from Moscow’s orbit.

CONSPIRACY UPON CONSPIRACY

Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories Flourish in Russia’s Republic of North Ossetia

The fringe Soviet Citizens movement has co-opted the pandemic for its agenda.

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Coronavirus Hits Hard in Russia’s Volatile Republic of Ingushetia

Poverty and political unrest are making a bad situation worse in the tiny North Caucasian region.

TRACKING CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus Outbreak Is Major Test for Russia’s Facial Recognition Network

Russia wants to follow China’s example in combating the virus with technology, but its systems are embryonic.

Russia Is Building One of the World’s Largest Facial Recognition Networks

According to some projections, it may even be bigger than China’s 200 million camera system.