Page 50 - Vladimir Putin

Putin's crackdown casts a wide net, ensnaring LGBTQ+ community, lawyers

It's not just opposition politicians who are targeted in the crackdown by Russian President Vladimir Putin's government in recent years. Also falling victim are independent voices as well as those who don't conform to what the state sees as the country's traditional values. Russia's once-thriving free press after the collapse of the Soviet Union has been largely reduced to either state-controlled media or independent journalists operating from abroad, with few critical outlets still working in the country. Prominent rights groups have been outlawed or classified as agents of foreigners. Lawyers who represented dissidents have been prosecuted. LGBTQ+ activists have been labelled "extremists. A look at those who have come under attack during Putin's 24-year rule that is likely to be extended by six more years in this month's presidential election: INDEPENDENT MEDIA Independent news sites largely have been blocked in Russia since the first weeks of the war in Ukraine. Many have moved

Chess legend Garry Kasparov added in 'terrorist, extremist' list by Russia

Russian financial watchdog responsible for combatting money laundering and terror financing added chess grandmaster and vocal Putin critic Kasparov's name to the list of 'terrorists and extremists'

'Will not meddle in US presidential election,' Russia rejects accusations

President Vladimir Putin dropped a series of ironic remarks about the U.S. election, saying that he finds Joe Biden preferable as the next U.S. president to Donald Trump

Putin's 24-years rule: Crackdown on dissent solidifies his leadership

When charismatic opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in February 2015, more than 50,000 Muscovites expressed their shock and outrage the next day at the brazen assassination. Police stood aside as they rallied and chanted anti-government slogans. Nine years later, stunned and angry Russians streamed into the streets on the night of Feb 16, when they heard that popular opposition politician Alexei Navalny had died in prison. But this time, those laying flowers at impromptu memorials in major cities were met by riot police, who arrested and dragged hundreds of them away. In those intervening years, Vladimir Putin's Russia evolved from a country that tolerated some dissent to one that ruthlessly suppresses it. Arrests, trials and long prison terms once rare are commonplace, especially after Moscow invaded Ukraine. Alongside its political opponents, the Kremlin now also targets rights groups, independent media and other members of civil-society

Undermanned Ukrainian army challenges power of Russia's Black Sea fleet

Ukrainian sea drones reportedly sank another Russian warship in the Black Sea on Tuesday, the latest in a series of strikes that has crippled Moscow's naval capability and limited its operations with the war now in its third year. Successful Ukrainian drone and missile strikes have provided a major morale boost for Kyiv at a time when its undermanned and under-gunned forces are facing Russian attacks along the more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line. Challenging Russia's naval superiority also has helped create more favorable conditions for Ukrainian grain exports and other shipments from the country's Black Sea ports. Here's a look at recent Ukrainian attacks against Russian naval assets and their consequences. RELENTLESS STRIKES In the latest reported strike, Ukrainian naval drones attacked the Sergei Kotov patrol ship near the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, according to the Ukraine's military intelligence agency. The strike, which couldn't

Vladimir Putin's pre-election promises may cost Russia $130 billion

An analysis by Dmitry Polevoy, investment director at Astra Asset Management, shows such projects could cost Russia as much as 2 trillion rubles per year, or more than $130 billion over six years

Zara is reopening its shops in this country after a two-year hiatus

Several companies shut their doors in Ukraine as well as Russia two years ago but many of them are now returning

Russia's Putin hints at higher taxes for wealthy individuals, companies

Businessmen who invest in Russia should have their assets and property rights protected, Putin said, and taxes for small and medium-sized businesses in Russia should be reduced

Putin promises $110 bn in state support ahead of general elections

The costliest pledge concerned 4.5 trillion roubles for modernising public infrastructure and 1 trillion roubles on the construction, repair and equipping of hospitals

Putin warns of nuclear war risk, says Moscow can strike Western targets

Visibly angry, Putin suggested Western politicians recall the fate of those like Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler and France's Napoleon Bonaparte who had unsuccessfully invaded Russia in the past

Investigate Putin's money flows in West: Navalny's wife to EU lawmakers

Navalnaya was speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, 12 days after her husband died suddenly in a Russian penal colony at the age of 47

Navalny was close to being freed from prison before his death, says ally

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin and Navalny ally Maria Pevchikh, who is based outside Russia, did not present documentary evidence for her assertion

US targets Russia with hundreds of curbs over Ukraine war, Navalny death

The United States and its allies have imposed sanctions on thousands of Russian targets in the past two years

Govt dials for 'release' of Indian support staff working for Russian Army

The comments by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal came following a report that some Indians are working as support staff to the Russian army in the conflict zone

Putin has already lost

For Mr Putin, more concerned by Ukraine than any other country that arose from the wreckage of the Soviet Union, that alone is tantamount to defeat

Putin aims to bring back lost colonies of USSR with Ukraine war: Estonia FM

The comments were made at a session of the Raisina Dialogue, titled 'Back to the Future: A New Era of Conflict in Europe?'

Russia threatened to shoot down aircraft patrolling Black Sea, says France

Russian forces threatened to shoot down French flights patrolling last month in international airspace over the Black Sea, signals of a particularly aggressive posture from Moscow as its invasion of Ukraine struggles to make headway, France's defense minister said Thursday. The minister, Sbastien Lecornu, didn't give specific details about the French flights or aircraft involved in the threatened shootdown. But he said Russia was returning to a particularly aggressive posture reminiscent of the former Soviet Union's behaviour during the Cold War. A month ago, to give you a very concrete example, a Russian air traffic control system threatened to shoot down French aircraft in the Black Sea when we were in a free international zone where we patrol," he said on RTL radio. The behaviour of Russia in 2024 bears no relation to what we saw in 2022 and, obviously, before the aggression in Ukraine, the minister said. It is explained by the fact that Russia is in difficulty on the battlefiel

Biden calls Putin 'crazy SOB', hits at Trump during 2024 polls fundraiser

During a fundraiser for his reelection campaign Wednesday night, President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a crazy SOB and took aim at former President Donald Trump's comments comparing himself to the Russian opposition leader who died last week in an Arctic prison. Biden was talking about climate change when he said, We have a crazy SOB like Putin and others, and we always have to worry about nuclear conflict, but the existential threat to humanity is climate. Speaking to donors at a private San Francisco home Wednesday as part of a three-day California swing to raise money for his 2024 reelection campaign, Biden also said he was astounded by recent comments made by his likely Republican challenger. Trump compared the suspicious prison death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to his own legal troubles in the U.S. Trump was fined $350 million after a New York judge found he lied for years about his wealth on financial statements in his companies. Trump sai

How Kremlin weaponised Russian history and used it to justify Ukraine war

Earlier this month, when Tucker Carlson asked Vladimir Putin about his reasons for invading Ukraine two years ago, Putin gave him a lecture on Russian history. The 71-year-old Russian leader spent more than 20 minutes showering a baffled Carlson with dates and names going back to the ninth century. Putin even gave him a folder containing what he said were copies of historical documents proving his points: that Ukrainians and Russians historically have always been one people, and that Ukraine's sovereignty is merely an illegitimate holdover from the Soviet era. Carlson said he was shocked at being on the receiving end of the history lesson. But for those familiar with Putin's government, it was not surprising in the least. In Russia, history has long been a propaganda tool used to advance the Kremlin's political goals. In an effort to rally people around their world view, Russian authorities have tried to magnify the country's past victories while glossing over the more sordid chapte

Putin says Russia has no intention of putting nuclear weapons in space

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Tuesday that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the US. Putin's statement follows the White House confirmation last week that Russia has obtained a troubling anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said it would violate the international Outer Space Treaty, but declined to comment on whether the weapon is nuclear-capable. The treaty signed by more than 130 countries, including Russia, prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction in orbit or the stationing of weapons in outer space in any other manner. The White House said it would look to engage the Russians directly on the concerns. Our position is quite clear and transparent: we have always been and remain categorically opposed to the ...