The Moscow Times

Support The Moscow Times!

Contribute today

Black Humor Abounds in Russia After Doping Ban Upheld

After the Court of Arbitration upheld the ban that prevents 68 Russian athletes from competing in the Rio Olympics, social media users decided to up their...

Sinister Acid-Pink Penguins Invade Moscow's Street

Pink penguins everywhere, and you're not even drunk or asleep? Yes, that's Moscow for you these days. Ostensibly, they are there to draw your attention...

Russia Loses to Wales, Sparking Football Memes Galore

For those of you who didn't watch Russia lose 3-0 to Wales on Monday night, let's start with this little clip.

Bluff Your Way Through Russia's Euro 2016 Football Squad

Russia begin their Euro 2016 football tournament journey on Saturday, playing their first match against England at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille...

Seriously, Moscow, This Is Supposed to Be Summer?

Remember Saturday morning? Early June, bright blue skies over the Moscow River — even sunshine if, like this runner, you woke up early enough.

Five Russian Parody Accounts Twitter Needs to Suspend Next

Oh Twitter. You've been wronged. When you moved to suspend several accounts satirizing Russia's ruling elite, the public outcry that followed saw you...

Twitter Suspends Russian Satirical Accounts, Raising Free Speech Questions

A move by Twitter to delete several Russian accounts satirizing Kremlin politics has sparked protests and raised questions about where the technology...

Campaign to #FindKadyrovsCat Leaves Chechen Leader Unamused

They're capricious, hard to please, and you never know what they will get up to next.

Spring in Moscow – Bring on the Random Decorations

If the sun rises sooner and sets later these days, it's probably because it needs time to look at the way Moscow presents itself these days.

Russians Offer Creative Tributes to Yury Gagarin

Open Twitter on Tuesday morning, and you would immediately know what anniversary Russians were celebrating.

The Sky is the Limit - Stunning Videos Show Moscow From Above

Sometimes Moscow just gets to be too much. On days like those, the only way is up. Even if that just means taking a minute to watch one of these...

Historical ExoMars Launch Makes Waves on Social Media

Liftoff! Moments after the scheduled starting time, Russian space agency Roscosmos tweeted this picture of the ExoMars mission's successful start.

You Ain't Seen Snow Being Cleared Until You've Seen it Done in Russia

Russian may not be the language with most words for "snow." But Russia is certainly the country with the most entertaining ways of getting rid of it...

8 Smart, Funny, Creative Russian Women to Follow on Instagram

International Women's Day — March 8 — is just one day out of 366 this year. If you are keen for Russia's successful and talented women to provide...

Moscow Street Art Shows Colorful Corners of Russian Capital

Following our call for examples of Moscow street art, we received a variety of tweets with photos from various parts of the city. Here's a collection...

6 Ways to Justify Online Gaming as 'Learning About Russia'

Guilt-free gaming — now wouldn't that be the dream? Hours spent looking at the screen of your laptop, safe in the knowledge that, should somebody...

6 Times Patriarch Kirill Entertained the RuNet This Week

This week saw an historic meeting between the heads of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Then, Patriarch Kirill went to visit some...

9 Things You Didn't Know About OK Go's Zero Gravity Video

By now, you have probably seen "Upside Down & Inside Out" a couple of times. In fact, if you are even remotely interested in music alive, your social...

Five Links to Show The Full Range of Moscow's Metro Kiosk Destruction

On Tuesday morning, many Muscovites arrived at their metro stations to find them looking radically different. Overnight, innumerable small kiosks had...

Russian Chemist Dmitry Mendeleev Honored With Google Doodle

Google users in Russia saw a familiar face when they used the search engine on Monday: Dmitry Mendeleev, the 19th century Russian chemist best known...

Twitter Users Remember When McDonald's Came to the Soviet Union

When McDonald's opened on Jan. 31, 1990, it was the first one in all of the Soviet Union.

Russian Twitter Users Commemorate End of Leningrad Blockade

72 years to the day after the Siege of Leningrad ended, Russian Twitter users are making sure the fate of its citizens won't be forgotten.

Dark Humor Rules RuNet as Ruble Crashes

So far, 2016 isn't shaping up to be the best year for the ruble. But as their currency dives to low after low, Russians are entertaining themselves...

Russian Orthodox Believers Take Icy Plunge to Mark Epiphany

What do you do if it's cold outside? You stay indoors, have a hot shower or maybe even a nice long bath. Unless you're Russian, of course.

Russian Selfies Get Stalinified With New App

You could be a fluffy bunny. You could be a scary Zombie. You could even be Conchita Wurst. But you just had to be Stalin, huh?

First Proper Snow This Winter has Muscovites Snap-Happy

You'd think snow in Moscow in winter would be a non-story. But the bout of snowfall that began Tuesday afternoon is the first proper one in what...

New York Public Library Releases Fascinating Russian Historical Images

You'd almost think the good people at the New York Public Library were waiting for Christmas. Russian Orthodox Christmas, that is.

Russian 'Sherlock' Fans Takeover Twitter With #ОпросОтШерлокомана

Friday morning and Twitter is full of images of Benedict Cumberbatch? Must be "Sherlock" fans at work.

These Charts Show Where Russia Stands at the End of 2015

As the year ends, where does Russia stand? How do Russians see key political issues, what do they spend their money on, how health-conscious are they...

Cats React to the Worst Russian Quotes of 2015

In 2015, a lot of smart people in Russia said a lot of smart things. But that's not what this is about. This is about statements that were so ignorant...

14 Things Russia's Instagram Users Consider 'Normalno'

How are you today? How was your weekend? What was your vacation like? Normalno.

Proof That 'My Favorite Things' Is the Soundtrack to Instagram in Russia

The women in fancy gowns. The cutesy animal photos. And the flowers, all those flowers.

John Kerry's Arbat Stroll Makes Russia's Twitter Trends

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry may be in Moscow to talk politics, but it was his stroll down the city's Arbat street that attracted attention during...

Twitter Debate Shows Sexism in Russia Cuts Both Ways

Women who obey their husbands, boys who grow into tough men.

Youtube Unveils Russia's Most Popular Music Videos of 2015

The stats are in: Youtube has released a list of the music videos that were most popular in Russia in 2015.

Must Try Harder: Russia's Constitution in Theory and Practice

As Russia gets ready to mark Constitution Day, it's worth having a look at the letter of the law. Although the document itself grants a variety of rights...

RuNet Users Hijack Patriotic Hashtag to Show Less-Than-Perfect Russia

When Russia's Prime Minister and Instagrammer-in-Chief posted a nature photo on his Instagram account on Wednesday morning, he tagged it #Россия...

10 Maps* That Will Help You Better Understand Russia

We have put together the following collection of nine maps to give you a deeper understanding of what it means to live in Russia these days (and...

Your Cheat Sheet for Russian-Language Nobel Laureates

We have compiled the ultimate cheat sheet for past Russian-language Nobel (literature) Laureates. Read this, memorize it, then casually impress people...

Twenty Headlines To Expect From BuzzFeed Russia

While the new Twitter account may be the extent of BuzzFeed Russia for now, we've put together a bunch of story ideas for the ultimate Russified...

On Putin's Birthday, a Life in His Own Words — and GIFs

Vladimir Putin turns 63 this Wednesday. To mark the occasion, here is a risk-free account of the presidential life so far, consisting entirely of quotes...

On World Ballet Day, 10 Russian Ballerinas You Need to Know

Oct. 1 is the day on which ballet lovers around the world celebrate their joint passion for dance. To make sure you can join in the #WorldBalletDay...

Edward Snowden Set to Reach 1 Million Twitter Followers After Less Than a Day

In the unlikely case that you haven't been following the excitement sparked by the whistleblower's @Snowden account, let us bring you up to speed in eight...

Five Moments You May Have Missed Around Putin's UN Speech

Here are the top five moments you might have missed from Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech at the UN General Assembly.

Superbloodmoon Has Russians Snap Happy, Lunar Eclipse Proves Elusive

Russian stargazers managed to get a good view of last night's supermoon, known in Russian as #краснаялуна (red moon). The lunar eclipse...

Medvedev, Adele, Trolls — Which False Putin Prank-Called Elton John?

The Kremlin has officially denied that Russian President Vladimir Putin called singer Elton John to discuss LGBT issues.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's Instagrammer-in-Chief, Turns 50

It is no mean feat to attract 1.6 million Instagram followers with a mere 416 photos.

A Trip Through Time to 1990s Russia in AP Videos

High-definition they certainly aren't. But the historical videos recently released on the Associated Press YouTube channel are highly entertaining all...

Ten Surefire Ways to Sneak Banned Food Into Russia Legally

Time for a (G-rated) round of "hide the salami," then, with these novel ideas to bring in restricted foodstuffs.

Six Russia Gems From Oxford University's Digital Archive

At over 100,000 images, the archive of Oxford's Bodleian Library is a treasure trove of historical pictures. The process of digitizing these images...

GOP Debate Hardly Touches Upon Russia, Ukraine

You'd never think that, only one year ago, the conflict in Ukraine and Russia's role in it was one of the most debated topics in international politics...

Seven New, Better Ways to Spell Kyrgyzstan

Following on from the Wall Street Journal's recent discovery of Kyrghyztan, here's an attempt to make life easier for every reporter, editor or...

50 New, Even Funnier 'Only in Russia' Moments

We've said it before and we'll say it again: In Russia, there's never a dull day to be had. Which is why "only in Russia" is the meme that keeps...

Women Posing With Shawarma Is Now a Thing in Russia

Go home, Russian Internet, you're drunk. But at least you had a solid meal first, as evidenced by the appearance of a new group on the Russian version...

Russia's Putin Keeps Pope Waiting, the Internet Goes to Town

When Putin showed up habitually late for his meeting with Pope Francis, nobody could claim to be surprised. After all, the Russian president is notorious...

Five Spectacularly Bad Reviews for Moscow's Famous Sights

Summer is a time when tourists from all over the world descend upon Moscow. And while many of them seem to enjoy visiting the city's famous sights...

Russia's 9th Graders Vent Exam Stress on Social Media

It takes some practice to learn how to procrastinate effectively, but Russia's ninth graders are proving they're up to the task.

Merkel's New Instagram Account Gets Swamped By Russian Abuse

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is new to Instagram, and she's already getting inundated by comments from Russian trolls.

Russian Twitter Users Plan Sepp Blatter's Life After FIFA

Russian social media users respond to news of Sepp Blatter's resignation as FIFA president with shock, conspiracies theories and — most importantly —...

Russia's "Wrinkled Women" Post Protest Selfies on Instagram

Russian women have taken to social media to protest against an official, who responded to a recent scandal over teen marriage by saying "there are...

Twitter Barbs and Burns During Russia's Eurovision Semi-Final

As Russia's Polina Gagarina fought Tuesday for her place in the Eurovision final, viewers weren't just watching her but also sharing their comments online...

Seven Victory Day Parade Moments You May Have Missed

Russia's 2015 Victory Day celebrations saw thousands of soldiers participate in the big parade on Red Square.

Five Reasons Why Russia Should Never Have Sold Alaska to the U.S.

When a large swath of land changed hands from Russia to the United States 148 years ago, both sides in the Alaska Purchase felt it was a good bargain...

The Solar Eclipse Through a Colander, And Other Russian Innovations

With all the hype leading up to the solar eclipse, you'd think protecting your eyes would be child's play. After all, much of the overage in the run...

Stunning Polar Lights Over Moscow and Other Russian Cities

If you live in Russia and had a good night's sleep last night, you may have missed something spectacular.

Now That Putin Is Back, What Was He Up To in Those 11 Days?

Vladimir Putin may have made a comeback, but one question remains: What was he up to during those 11 days of absence from the public eye?

Seven Unique Animals You'll Only Find in Russia

They may be the symbol of Russia, but bears aren't the only remarkable animals the country boasts. In fact, Russian fauna includes many creatures...

Russians Take to Social Media to Mourn Boris Nemtsov

Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was shot dead late Friday outside the Kremlin. Since then, his death has become one of the most debated topics...

German Revellers Mock Putin With Carnival Floats

As Russians are enjoying Maslenitsa, Germans have their own way of celebrating the last days before Lent.

8 Pet Names to Call Your Russian Boyfriend on Valentine's Day

Ah, Valentine's Day. It's the one day a year when it's OK for journalists to break out the tired old "From Russia with love" trope.

Fifty Shades of Grey, Moscow Style

Who needs fanfiction-based BDSM movies when you can have a spanking good time in Moscow instead?

Minsk Memes and Moments You May Have Missed

On the sidelines of the summit in Minsk, these are the moments people talked about while waiting for results.

Instagram Map Shows Moscow's Metro as Passengers See It

Whenever you spot someone on the Moscow metro taking a photo with their mobile phone, chances are you have just witnessed a combination of two things...

New York Times Blunder Creates New Country of Kyrzbekistan

Social media users lampooned the New York Times for a fact-checking gaffe that identified Kyrgyzstan as the non-existent "Kyrzbekistan."

Pro-Navalny Protest in Moscow – A Chronology in Tweets

A political rally erupted Tuesday in Moscow following sentencing in the case against opposition activist Alexei Navalny and his brother Oleg.

The Verdict Against Alexei and Oleg Navalny on Social Media

The verdict against Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and his brother was big news on social media Tuesday.

Nine Ruble Jokes to End the Year With a Laugh

You've heard the one about what people would change about their lives. You've even read about Putin, the ruble and the oil price "all hitting 63 next...

8 Memorable Moments You May Have Missed at Putin's Presser

You've heard the key quotes, but you may have missed the bits everyone on social media is talking about.

12 Reasons to Pick Russian Christmas Decorations This Year

Because nothing says end-of-year introspection like curtains glowing in neon colors.

Charting the Fall (and Fall) of the Ruble, in Graphs

Given the ruble's collapse, you'd think there's only one way to depict its journey downwards. But you would be wrong.

#КризисНаш Hashtag Shows Russians' Dark Humor in Face of Economic Crisis

The ruble's plunge has made a formerly patriotic Russian hashtag go rogue.

Putin Replaces One Direction in Best Koala Story Ever

Just when you thought nobody could replace boy band One Direction, President Vladimir Putin has gone and done it.

Star-Trek-Style APEC Shirts Make Putin and Xi Premium Meme Material

One thing about the APEC summit in China nobody could have predicted: That the outfits worn by world leaders would spark a flash of recognition in the...

China's First Lady Turns Cold Shoulder on Putin's Offer of Warmth

Aaah, the APEC summit. An occasion for heads of state to meet and mingle, making their every handshake a news story.

Russian Vkontakte Group Ridicules "Decadent West" With a Twist

Photos showing the purported failings of the "decadent West" have become a hit on Vkontakte, Russia's most popular social network.

Moscow's Top 10 Instagram Hashtags Celebrate City's Highlights

Whether its #moscowriver or #moscowmetro, Instagram users have been getting creative with their hashtags by snapping photos of the Russian capital and posting...

Ten Last-Minute Russian Halloween Costumes and How To Pull Them Off

Yes, Halloween is a U.S. holiday. But here are ten outfits you can wear to make your celebrations quintessentially Russian this year.

Eyewitness Videos Show Massive Fireball After U.S. Rocket Launch Failure

The failed launch of a U.S. rocket has been recorded by spectators who are sharing their experiences online.

Russia's Football World Cup Logo Gets Mocked Online

Brazil had the facepalm. Germany had what was know as "the ecstasy pills." So as far as misbegotten football World Cup logos go, the bar for Russia...

Instagram Users Get to Roam Moscow's Bolshoi Theater at Night

When Moscow's famous Bolshoi Theater opened its doors to a group of Instagram users, social media marketing and a love of all things ballet combined...

Russian Men in Black - They're Not Just in Sweden

As the world follows efforts to make sense of an underwater vessel spotted just 30 miles off the coast near Stockholm, a man dressed in black may...

The Truth About That 'Russian' Submarine Near Stockholm

Is it a bird? No. Is it a plane? Nah. So is it a Russian submarine? Well…