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☆ Russia Moves to Ban International LGBT Movement as Extremist
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Senior Russian officials have portrayed gay-rights activism as a symbol of the West’s moral corruption and depravity. Photo: ANTON VAGANOV/REUTERSRussia’s Ministry of Justice has filed a lawsuit with the nation’s Supreme Court to recognize the international LGBT movement as extremist and ban its activities inside the country, in the latest assault on a community that has increasingly become a target of hostility in Russia. The ministry said on Telegram on Friday that “various signs and manifestations of an extremist orientation have been identified” in the activities of the LGBT movement in Russia, “including the incitement of social and religious discord.” It didn’t provide any proof or explanation of the allegations. Ministry officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for further clarification.

Persons: ANTON VAGANOV, didn’t Organizations: REUTERS Russia’s Ministry of Justice, LGBT Locations: Russia

Two other Baltic telecoms cables were damaged on the same night of Oct. 7 along the route that the ship was travelling, according to shipping data reviewed by Reuters. NewNew Shipping, the owner and operator of the NewNew Polar Bear, has previously declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. TRAIL OF DAMAGEIn total, three Baltic telecoms cables and one pipeline were damaged in the space of less than nine hours. Data from shipping intelligence firm MarineTraffic, reviewed by Reuters, showed that the NewNew Polar Bear passed over a Swedish-Estonian telecoms cable at 1513 GMT, then over the Russian cable at around 2020 GMT, the Balticconnector at 2220 GMT and a Finland-Estonia telecoms line at 2349 GMT. Finnish police announced on Oct. 24 that they had found a ship's anchor near the broken gas pipeline.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Rostelecom, Vladimir Putin, Gasgrid, Mark Trevelyan, Nerijus Adomaitis, Anne Kauranen, Terje Solsvik, Bill Berkrot, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Rostelecom, St ., Economic, REUTERS, Reuters, NewNew Shipping, Kremlin, Communications Ministry, St, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Baltic, Beijing, Ukraine, China, Swedish, Estonian, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, London

☆ Russians struggle to keep alive memory of Stalin's victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

She was expelled to Uglich (about 740km from St Petersburg). "He was shot in Moscow, but as we all live in St. Petersburg, we have made this memorial plaque here. Yet for many Russians, Stalin's name still evokes the savage repression that culminated in the Great Terror of 1936-1938. The Big House is the nickname of the St Petersburg headquarters of Stalin's NKVD secret police, which later became that of the Soviet KGB and now the Russian FSB. It was to help people like Gerchikova that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial International was founded as the Soviet Union collapsed - to document Soviet political repression and help to rehabilitate its victims.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Joseph Stalin's, Natalia Anafonova, Stalin, Vladimir Putin, Zinaida Gerchikova, I've, Gerchikova, Sergei Gorshvo, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, PETERSBURG, Big, St, Soviet KGB, Thomson Locations: Levashovo, Saint Petersburg, Russia, dribs, Soviet, Petersburg's, St Petersburg, Moscow, St . Petersburg, Russian, Soviet Union, Nazi, Ukraine, Sverdlovsk region

Wagner communications channels were silent, but some supporters and patriotic bloggers expressed disbelief. 'LAUGHABLE' EXPLANATIONWestern diplomats say Putin ordered the killing of Prigozhin after the humiliation of the mutiny. "Two heroes of great Russia died in this plane crash, just in case someone forgot, and not druggies," said the Southern Front Telegram channel. And that is why Prigozhin himself did not just die, but became a 'downed pilot'," Pastukhov wrote on Telegram. (But) he needs society to understand the hint unambiguously: this is how everyone (who betrays us) will be dealt with."

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Vaganov, Putin, Vladimir Putin's intimation, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, CHVK, Vladimir Pastukhov, Pastukhov, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Embraer, Federal Security Service, Wagner, KGB, Southern Front Telegram, Zone, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Said, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Moscow

A specialist works at the site of a crash of the private jet linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin in the Tver region, Russia, on August 24. "There was no external influence on the plane; it is an established fact," the Russian leader claimed. The mutiny was suddenly called off in a deal that required the Wagner chief and his fighters to relocate to Belarus. There is no concrete evidence that points to Kremlin involvement and, officially, the cause of the crash is unknown. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials and US President Joe Biden have suggested Putin may have been behind the crash.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Anton Vaganov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Prigozhin, Joe Biden, Jessie Yeung, Lauren Said, Moorhouse Organizations: Reuters Investigators, Wagner Locations: Tver, Russia, Russian, Sochi, Belarus

Russia has been bolstering its armed forces and ramping up weapons production in the expectation of a long war in Ukraine, where front lines have barely shifted for a year. "There are no plans for an additional mobilisation," Shoigu was shown telling top generals on state television. "The armed forces have the necessary number of military personnel to conduct the special military operation." Putin ordered a "partial mobilisation" of 300,000 reservists in September last year, prompting hundreds of thousands of young men to flee Russia to avoid being sent to fight. While Ukraine was able to win back territory last year from Russia in attacks which humiliated the Russian armed forces, this year has been different.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Shoigu, Sergei Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Putin, Mark Milley, Milley, Dmitry Peskov, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Defence, West, Belfer, Harvard Kennedy School, CNN, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Leningrad Region, MOSCOW, Russian, That's, United States

[1/5] A woman mourns next to a makeshift memorial for Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, as people mark 40 days since his death to respect an Orthodox tradition, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 1, 2023. It is still unclear what caused the plane to crash two months to the day since Prigozhin's failed mutiny. The Kremlin said on Aug. 30 that investigators were considering the possibility that the plane was downed on purpose. At memorials in Moscow and other Russian cities dozens of Wagner fighters and ordinary Russians paid their respects, though there was no mass outpouring of grief. Putin was on Friday shown meeting one of the most senior former commanders of the Wagner mercenary group and discussing how best to use "volunteer units" in the Ukraine war.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Vaganov, Prigozhin, Prigozhin's, Violetta, Pavel, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Mikhail, Marta, Dmitry Utkin, Hope, Anton Yelizarov, Guy Faulconbridge, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, State, Embraer, KGB, Reuters, United States, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Moscow, Ukraine, Rostov, Mali

☆ Russia signs 280,000 for contract military service this year -Medvedev
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view shows a billboard promoting military service under the contract in Russian Armed Forces and containing information about payments, on a road in the Leningrad Region, Russia July 4, 2023. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 3 (Reuters) - Some 280,000 people have signed up so far this year for professional service with Russia's military, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, former President Dmitry Medvedev, said on Sunday. Visiting Russia's Far East, Medvedev said he was meeting local officials to work on efforts to beef up the armed forces. "According to the Ministry of Defence, since Jan. 1, about 280,000 people have been accepted into the ranks of the Armed Forces on a contract basis," including reservists, state news agency TASS quoted Medvedev as saying. Some Russian lawmakers suggested Russia needs a professional army 7-million strong to ensure the country's security - a move that would require a huge budget allowance.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Lidia Kelly, William Mallard Organizations: Russian Armed Forces, REUTERS, Russian Security Council, Ministry of Defence, Armed Forces, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Leningrad Region, Russia, Melbourne

Brazil's Center for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA), in the interests of improving aviation safety, had said it would join a Russian-led investigation if it were invited and the probe held under international rules. U.S. aviation safety consultant and former investigator John Cox said an internal Russian investigation would always be questioned without the participation of Brazil, the country where the plane was manufactured. "I think it hurts the transparency of the Russian investigation." In air crash investigations, experts work to improve aviation safety without assigning blame, but probes are often tainted by political interests. Jeff Guzzetti, a former U.S. air crash investigator, said Russia should accept assistance from Brazil, even if CENIPA can only participate remotely.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Anton Vaganov, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Marcelo Moreno, John Cox, Cox, CENIPA, Jeff Guzzetti, Allison Lampert, Gabriel Araujo, Valerie Insinna, Denny Thomas, Grant McCool Organizations: Police, REUTERS, SAO PAULO, Embraer, EMBR3, Reuters, Wagner Group, Brazil's Center for Research, Aeronautical, United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization, Interstate Aviation Committee, Accident Investigation, U.S ., Convention, International Civil Aviation, Thomson Locations: Tver, Russia, MONTREAL, SA, Moscow, Russian, Ukraine, Montreal, St Petersburg, Brazil, U.S, Sao Paulo, Washington

☆ Second Russian plane reportedly linked to Prigozhin had no connection to Wagner group, operator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view shows a portrait of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at a makeshift memorial near former PMC Wagner Centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia August 25, 2023. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A second plane linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin by some Russian media has no connection to the mercenary group and never has had, the CEO of the aircraft operator company told Reuters. Russia's aviation authority has said Prigozhin was on board a private Embraer jet which crashed on Wednesday evening northwest of Moscow with no survivors. But the jet operator, Russian company Jetica LLC, denied any such link. "Neither the plane itself nor its passengers are related to Wagner and never have been," Jetica's CEO Sergey Trifonov told Reuters.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Anton Vaganov, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Sergey Trifonov, Trifonov, Gleb Stolyarov, Gareth Jones Organizations: PMC Wagner, in, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Embraer, Jetica, Thomson Locations: in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Grey, St . Petersburg

☆ Second plane had no connection to Wagner group, operator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view shows a portrait of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at a makeshift memorial near former PMC Wagner Centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia August 25, 2023. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A second plane linked to Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin by some Russian media has no connection to the mercenary group and never has had, the CEO of the aircraft operator company told Reuters. But the jet operator, Russian company Jetica LLC, denied any such link. "Neither the plane itself nor its passengers are related to Wagner and never have been," Jetica's CEO Sergey Trifonov told Reuters. This plane had not been rented out, Trifonov said, though he declined to say who its owner was.

☆ UK defence ministry: Kremlin may no longer fund Wagner Group
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A staff removes a logo on a window of the "PMC Wagner Centre", associated with the founder of the Wagner Group, in Saint Petersburg, Russia July 1, 2023. REUTERS/Anton VaganovAug 13 (Reuters) - Britain's defence ministry said on Sunday there was a realistic possibility that Russia no longer funds the activities of the mercenary Wagner Group. loadingThe defence ministry said in a daily bulletin the Russian state has acted against some other business interests of Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin after he led a failed mutiny against the Russian army's top brass in June. "If the Russian state no longer pays Wagner, the second most plausible paymasters are the Belarusian authorities," it said, adding that this would be a drain on Belarus' resources. The ministry said the Wagner Group was moving towards downsizing and reconfiguring to save on staff salary expenses at a time of financial pressure.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gokul, William Mallard Organizations: PMC, Wagner, REUTERS, Wagner Group, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russian, Belarusian, Belarus, Bengaluru

Chicago wheat futures , a benchmark of global prices, have risen around 20% since Russia ended the deal on July 17. It's absolutely an important national security issue for a lot of these African countries," he said. Putin says Russia is expecting a record harvest this year and is ready to fill the gap for African countries by supplying grain both commercially and for free. Dizolele said, noting that Russia backed African countries at the U.N., had defence and security agreements with some of them and gave scholarships to their students. But Putin's response, when Ramaphosa and other African leaders presented the proposal to him last month, was to repeat a familiar list of accusations against Ukraine and the West.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Putin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Mvemba Dizolele, Samuel Ramani, RUSI, Dizolele, WAGNER, Cyril Ramaphosa, Ramani, Mark Trevelyan, Joe Bavier, Carien du, Tom Balmforth, Michelle Nichols, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Saint, REUTERS, Putin, Kremlin, U.S, Africa, Washington -, Strategic, International Studies, International Criminal Court, Treasury, Central African, Ukraine, South, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Isaac's, central Saint Petersburg, Black, Russian, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Chicago, Washington, Turkey, Qatar, Moscow, United States, Kenya, Somalia, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, West, London, Johannesburg, Carien du Plessis

☆ Mercenaries return to bases after challenge to Putin's authority
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Ending their short-lived mutiny, fighters of the Wagner group began heading back to their bases late on Saturday in return for guarantees for their safety. Their commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, will move to Belarus under the deal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Peskov said Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Putin's approval, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years. She said the swift ending of the turmoil indicated that Putin's rule would not be undermined by it alone. Russia's ministry of digital affairs recommended that IT, telecoms and media companies give employees the day off on Monday.

Persons: Belarus Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Antony Blinken, Putin, Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Biden, Trudeau, Zelenskiy, State Anthony Blinken, NBC's, Anton Vaganov, Dmitry, Oleg, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Marina Miron, Antonio Tajani, Messaggero, Brian Taylor, Russia's, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher, Frank Jack Daniel, Jane Merriman, Chris Reese Organizations: Kremlin, U.S, Russia's Security, Canadian, Twitter, State, Press, Rostov, Reuters, Sunday, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Defence Ministry, King's College London's Defense Studies Department, Syracuse University, Thomson Locations: Belarus, Rostov, ROSTOV, VORONEZH, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, China, Bolshevik, Africa

☆ Russia's Sberbank launches Indian rupee accounts for individuals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A view shows the logo of Sber (Sberbank) at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 15, 2022. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File PhotoMOSCOW, June 14 (Reuters) - Russia's dominant lender on Wednesday said individuals could now open accounts in Indian rupees, expanding the range of foreign currencies available as Moscow strives to reduce dependency on the U.S. dollar and euro. "As Sberbank has highlighted, the bank supports the trend of de-dollarisation and constantly increases the number of foreign currencies available to clients," Sberbank said in a statement. Sberbank has more than 100 million retail clients and already offers deposits in China's yuan and UAE dirhams. "Other soft currencies are still only looking for their consumers in Russia, acting as niche offers," he added.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Sberbank, Anatoly Pechatnikov, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Louise Heavens, Sharon Singleton Organizations: St ., Economic, REUTERS, U.S ., UAE dirhams, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, MOSCOW, Moscow, yuan, UAE

[1/2] Participants gather near a screen showing Russian President Vladimir Putin, who delivers a speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 17, 2022. The forum in St Petersburg, the former imperial capital built by Tsar Peter the Great 300 years ago as a "window" to Europe, has been held since 1997 and is cast by many officials as Russia's answer to the World Economic Forum held in Davos. Western journalists have never before been banned from the forum in such a blanket way. "It has indeed been decided this time not to accredit publications from unfriendly countries to the SPIEF," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS, using the acronym for the forum. "Unfriendly countries" is a definition used by Moscow to describe those who have sanctioned it over the war in Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Anton Vaganov, Tsar Peter the Great, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Alexander Novak, Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Christina Fincher, Angus MacSwan Organizations: St ., Economic, REUTERS, St Petersburg, Reuters, Russian, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Europe, Davos, Moscow, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, China

☆ Russia's ultranationalists appear increasingly vulnerable after pro-war blogger's killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The blast killed Tatarsky and injured at least 30 others, the authorities said, before detaining a woman on suspicion of involvement in what they described as a "high-profile murder." The death also sent shockwaves through Russia's pro-war commentariat which has burgeoned since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago. Tatarsky was one of Russia's more prominent and outspoken pro-war bloggers, with 572,000 followers on the popular messaging app Telegram. Unsettling ultranationalistsTatarsky's death is the second apparent assassination of a prominent Russian pro-war commentator on home soil. A leading Russian military blogger was killed on April 2, 2023 in an explosion in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg, the interior ministry said.

☆ Bomb that killed Russian war blogger wounded 32, RIA reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 3 (Reuters) - The number of people wounded in the bomb blast that killed a prominent Russian military blogger in St Petersburg on Sunday has risen to 32 from 25 reported earlier, Russia's RIA sate news agency reported. Citing the ministry of health, RIA reported on Monday that 10 of the people were in a serious condition. [1/3] Investigators and members of emergency services work at the site of an explosion in a cafe in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 2, 2023. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov 1 2 3Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a St Petersburg cafe in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin's war in Ukraine is endangering Russia's centuries of great-power status
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Robert Farley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

And yet Russian power and influence have waned in the past; the first 20 years of the 20th century represented a nadir in Russian power, as the Russian Empire lost most of its western territories after suffering a series of defeats at the hands of Japan, Germany, and Poland. Russian soldiers in World War II uniforms parade at Dvortsovaya Square in St. Petersburg in January 2019. AP Photo/Dmitri LovetskyBy virtue of its size and legacy, Russia is undoubtedly an important military power. Even as Russia has struggled mightily to impose its will upon Ukraine, nuclear weapons have ensured that NATO stays on the sidelines. Thomson ReutersBut is Russia a great power if it can't even crush its neighbor without help from China?

[1/5] The logo of Nord Stream AG is seen at an office building in the town of Vyborg, Leningrad Region, Russia August 22, 2022. Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, each consisting of two pipes, were built by Russia's state-controlled Gazprom to pump 110 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas a year to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Three of the pipes were ruptured by unexplained blasts in September, and one of the Nord Stream 2 pipes remains intact. Engie (ENGIE.PA), Gasunie (GSUNI.UL) and Wintershall DEA (WINT.UL) (BASFn.DE) - stakeholders in Nord Stream AG, the operator of Nord Stream 1 - declined to comment. The similar-sized Nord Stream 2 had been completed in September 2021 as tensions with Russia were growing and ran in trouble as Germany's regulators refused to certify it.

[1/2] People stand in line to use an ATM money machine in Saint Petersburg, Russia February 27, 2022. For the majority, who bank in roubles with huge retail lenders, such as Sberbank (SBER.MM), the answer is: not much. "Nothing has changed for me at all," said Vyacheslav Fatikhovich, a taxi driver in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. "The only thing is that customers are paying less by card and more often in cash," he said. "I quickly opened three UnionPay cards at different Russian banks," Andrey, who now works outside Russia, said.

☆ Russia expects Sberbank to pay dividends on 2022 profits, says TASS
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A view shows the logo of Sber (Sberbank) at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 15, 2022. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/MOSCOW, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Russia's finance ministry said on Thursday it expects state-owned lender Sberbank (SBER.MM) to pay dividends of at least 50% on its 2022 profits, a prospect that drove up Sberbank shares and the wider Moscow Exchange stock index. We will discuss this further," the TASS news agency quoted Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev as saying. Sberbank, in common with other major Russian companies, did not pay a 2021 dividend last year on the government's orders. The rouble-based MOEX index (.IMOEX) pared losses to climb 0.6% higher on the day, while Sberbank shares did the same, gaining around 1.6% by 1333 GMT and nearing a multi-month high.

☆ Russia backs banning of maps disputing official 'territorial integrity'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A woman walks past a building with Russian flags placed on its wall in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 24, 2022. REUTERS/Anton VaganovJan 8 (Reuters) - Russia's government extended support to a legislative amendment that would classify maps that dispute the country's official "territorial integrity" as punishable extremist materials, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Sunday. The amendment to Russia's anti-extremism legislation stipulates that "cartographic and other documents and images that dispute the territorial integrity of Russia" will be classified as extremist materials, the agency reported. The new amendment, TASS reports without citing sources, emerged after its authors pointed out that some maps distributed in Russia dispute the "territorial affiliation" of the Crimean Peninsula and the Kuril Islands. Ukrainians and their government have since often objected to world maps showing Crimea as part of Russia's territory.

The deal McDonald's struck with former licensee Alexander Govor included a set of requirements the new brand, Vkusno & tochka, must stick to, including restrictions on branding, colour scheme and product usage. New owner Alexander Govor said this week he and the management team regularly talk over video link to the former parent company. "We are not talking about how they somehow participate in our business, this is already done," Vkusno & tochka, which translates to "Tasty & that's it," CEO Oleg Paroev told Reuters. In a statement to Reuters, McDonald's said it fully exited the Russian market earlier this year. Russian authorities in June said McDonald's has an option to buy back its Russia restaurants within 15 years.

☆ Putin calls for price controls as Russian car sales crash to record low
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Hyundai cars are seen at a customs terminal on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg, Russia June 1, 2022. REUTERS/Anton VaganovMOSCOW, Nov 16 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin urged the Russian government on Wednesday to control car prices, as one industry head said Western sanctions could send annual sales crashing to below 1 million for the first time since records began. Manturov also proposed extending preferential car financing to military personnel, adding: "Today we can speak of an emerging trend towards a recovery of the industry." He said the number of cars sold in Russia would this year fall below 1 million, a first in modern history. Reporting by Caleb Davis and Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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