Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, calling for direct talks between them and the Kyiv government to help restore peace. He said Ukraine had accepted the rebel leaders’ signatures on the 2015 Minsk ceasefire deal, so recognising them. The separatists launched a Russian-backed insurgency in April 2014, seizing most of the Donbas region. Ukraine… Read more »
The Russian government once again has krept further away from any resemblance of a democracy and into a full authoritarian regime. Violating basic civil liberties and the principle of fair elections, Russian police raid hundreds of houses and detain citizens for the simple act of supporting opposition leader Alexey Navalny. The anti-Kremlin, ex-presidential candidate, and Progress Party leader recently promoted… Read more »
Vladimir Putin has held a couple titles over the past few decades, President and Prime Minister; however, one thing’s always true, he’s always the one pulling the strings. Putin and Medvedev have operated through a tandemocracy, switching positions after their terms have expired allowing them to technically run in non-consecutive terms, though they’re both always in power. Things may change… Read more »
Al Jazeera: More than 100 activists were arrested in St Petersburg on Saturday as hundreds of Russians turned out to protest against President Vladimir Putin’s expected candidacy in elections next year. Demonstrators rallied across several cities under the slogan “We’re sick of him.” The protests were called by the Open Russia movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. About 200 people… Read more »
Al Jazeera: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks expected to focus on the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. The meeting on Tuesday comes after two other high-ranking German officials visited Moscow this spring in an apparent effort to revamp bilateral relationships. The official purpose of… Read more »
(REUTERS): Russian navy vessels arrived in the Philippines on Thursday for joint exercises as part of a drive for new security ties under President Rodrigo Duterte’s revamped foreign policy of courting the traditional foes of Manila’s top ally, Washington. The guided-missile cruiser Varyag, accompanied by the fuel tanker ship, Pechenge, are on a four-day goodwill visit to the Philippines, the… Read more »
(WASHINGTON POST): For the past few months, Russia’s 175,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses have been on edge. After years, even decades, of persecution against the religious group, the Kremlin moved to get rid of the denomination for good. In February, Jehovah’s Witnesses were labeled “extremists” and locked out of their offices. Then Kremlin officials launched a legal effort to ban the faith. That case quickly… Read more »