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Representatives from the warring nations held peace talks in the early weeks of the Russian invasion. It was the only time that Ukrainian and Russian officials are known to have engaged in direct peace talks. This includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Mr. Putin annexed in 2014 in a swift operation that he considers central to his legacy. At another point, Russia’s lead negotiator, Mr. Medinsky, interrupted a video conference by claiming that Mr. Putin was phoning him directly. There were signs that Mr. Putin was micromanaging not only the Russian invasion but also the peace talks.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, —, Putin’s, … ”, “, Oleksandr Chalyi, Mr, Vladimir Medinsky, Oleksii Reznikov, Vladimir Putin, Leonid Slutsky, Medinsky, ”, Aleksandr Fomin, Reznikov, Ukraine’s, … “, Sergey Ponomarev, Ukraine —, Andrzej Duda, Duda, Putin “, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Murat Cetin Muhurdar, Russia’s, Zelensky, …, ‘, ’, Daniel Berehulak, Davyd Arakhamia, ” “, Roman Abramovich, ” Mr, Arakhamia, Abramovich, micromanaging, Nanna Heitmann, France —, Laetitia Vancon, Kamala Harris, Volodymyr Zelensky, “ Putin, Marc Weller, Russia “, Weller Organizations: The New York Times, Ukraine, Kremlin, NATO, “, Russian Federation, ”, European Union, West, Ministry, Times, Europe’s, Russian, Moscow, Donetsk People's, Nazi, U.S, Ukrainian, Turkish Presidential Press Service, Agence France, The Times, Russia, New York Times, stoke, Cambridge Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Crimean, Switzerland, Ukrainian, Crimea, “ Ukraine, Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol, ”, … ” Russia, Russian, ” Russia, Istanbul, Geneva, Belarus, Western, Russia’s, Donetsk, Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Simferopol, Poland, Germany, France, European, Brussels, Turkish, Zelensky, “, Great Britain, China, United States, Turkey, Canada, Italy, Israel, Bucha, Washington, Swiss, Russians

☆ Moscow derides peace summit; Ukraine says using Western weapons to strike Russia could be a game changer
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has poured scorn on Ukraine's attempts to invite its former Soviet allies to a forthcoming peace summit in Switzerland, saying the invitation had been rejected by its neighbors. "Kyiv and its Western handlers actively sought to attract representatives from the countries of the global South and East. Russia jealously guards its influence over the CIS, which includes Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, Western countries have tried to strengthen their relations with several member countries of CIS, much to Russia's disdain. Russia is sensitive over what it sees as Western encroachment on its own backyard, particularly as the CIS' membership has dwindled in recent years.

Persons: Ilham Aliyev, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, Vladimir Putin, Emomali Rahmon, Alexander Lukashenko, Mikhail Galuzin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Galuzin, — Holly Ellyatt Organizations: Commonwealth of Independent States, Tass, CIS, Commonwealth, CNBC, Russian, Georgia Locations: Turkmenistan, Russian, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Soviet, Switzerland, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, CIS, Baltic States, Soviet Union, Moldova, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ Ukraine says China is in Russia's pocket. It may be the other way around.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewAt the Shangri-La conference in Singapore on Sunday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused China of doing Russia's bidding in seeking to disrupt a peace conference scheduled for June. "Regrettably this is unfortunate that such a big independent powerful country as China is an instrument in the hands of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," said Zelenskyy of China, whose economy is vastly bigger than Russia's. Zelenskyy's remarks highlight the increasing interdependence between China and Russia in the wake of Russia's 2022 Ukraine invasion. It's bad news for Russia's President Putin, with the Russian gas industry having been badly impacted by sanctions and increasingly dependent on exports to non-Western countries, notably China. AdvertisementIf Xi comes out of the Ukraine war with little to show, then his credibility and bid to assert China as the world's major power will be seriously dented.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir, Putin, Xi Jinping, Xi, he's Organizations: Service, Business, Financial, Russia's, Central Asian Republics Locations: Singapore, China, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Analysis: Another trial, this one of Biden’s son, will deepen the election’s legal entanglement
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Four days after presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump was convicted on 34 counts in his hush money trial in New York, President Joe Biden’s son Hunter will be called to answer for federal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware. But a CBS/YouGov poll released Sunday showed that Americans believe 57% to 43% that the Manhattan jury reached the right verdict. His inflammatory remarks did not reflect the fact that his refusal to accept his 2020 election loss and his demagoguery are far more reflective of developing-world banana republics than a fair jury trial. Hunter Biden is entitled to the same presumption of innocence and a trial by a jury of his peers that Trump was. “I’d rather be on President Biden’s side of that contrast than on the extreme MAGA Republican side,” he said.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, Hunter, It’s, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Biden, —, ”, “ It’s, We’ve, Lara Trump, CNN’s Kasie, it’s, Adam Schiff, ” Schiff, don’t, ” Biden, Robert Menendez, Hunter Biden, David Weiss, General Merrick Garland, Roe, Wade, Chuck Schumer, “ Donald Trump, ” Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, ” Jeffries, Jeffries, Biden’s, “, Joe Biden, Sen, Tom Cotton, we’ve, quagmire Organizations: CNN, Israel, Republicans, Trump, Republican National Committee, CBS, Manhattan, Republican National Convention, Fox News, RNC, California, Senate, GOP, Justice Department, Democratic, Robert Menendez of New, Democratic National Committee, Texas Supreme, Court, New York, MAGA Republicans, New York Democrat, Press, Democrats, Republican, NBC, Arkansas Republican Locations: New York, Wilmington , Delaware, South, “ State, America, United States, Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Rehoboth Beach , Delaware, Beverly Hills , California, Nevada

☆ Survivors say Russia is waging a war of sexual violence in occupied areas of Ukraine. Men are often the victims
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence. Everywhere that Russian troops were located, we’re seeing cases of sexual violence and gender-based violence. But the real scale of sexual violence committed during the war may never come to light. Ukrainian officials say that it is difficult, but not impossible, to track down individual perpetrators of sexual violence crimes. Some survivors of sexual violence committed by the Bosnian Serb army during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s are only now coming forward.

Persons: Roman Shapovalenko, ”, —, Shapovalenko, ’, “, –, Chris McGrath, Anna Sosonska, Sosonska, ‘, ’ Roman Chernenko, Chernenko, …, ” Sosonska, Anna Mykytenko, ” Mykytenko, Mykytenko, Ukraine –, Vladimir Putin, Aleksey Smagin, Aleksandr Naumenko, Naumenko, – Oleksandr Chilengirov, Dmitry Laikov, Oleksii, ” Andrii, Andrii, Anna Voitenko, Putin, Russia’s, Maria Lvova, Oleksii Sivak, Sivak, ’ ”, ‘ we’re, ” Sivak Organizations: Kyiv CNN —, Russia’s Federal Security Service, Russian, CNN, Getty, United Nations Security, Ukraine’s, GRU, Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Interior Ministry, National Guard, Kyodo, Criminal Court, ICC, UN, Global Rights, European Union, Ministry of Defense, Luhansk People’s Republics, Rosgvardia, Ukrainian, FSB’s Department, Defense, Constitutional, Terrorism, International Court of Justice, Kremlin Locations: Kyiv, Ukrainian, Kherson, Russia, Ukraine, Snihurivka, Moscow, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Crimea, Olenivka, Mariupol, Russian, Geneva, Rome, United States, United Kingdom, Luhansk, Russia’s Rostov, Nova Kakhovka, ‘, Bosnian

☆ 48-year-old gymnast Oksana Chusovitina’s Olympic dream and history bid ended by injury
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Samuel Joseph | Sam Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Uzbekistan gymnast Oksana Chusovitina had been aiming to compete at her ninth consecutive Olympic Games later this year, but the 48-year-old’s hopes of securing a spot in Paris have been dashed by injury. “Yesterday, while training on the podium of the Asian Championships, which is taking place in Tashkent and is a qualifying event for the Olympic Games in Paris, I was injured during the floor exercise. She won a gold medal in the team all-around competition that year and has competed in every Summer Games since then. However, even if she had qualified for Paris 2024, she would not have been a record holder for very long. The title currently belongs to Georgian shooter Nino Salukvadze, who has competed at every Summer Games since first appearing in Seoul in 1988, where she won a gold medal on debut.

Persons: Oksana Chusovitina, old’s, Chusovitina, Per, “, ”, I, William West, Chusovitina’s, –, Lobar Amrillaeva, Nino Salukvadze, Salukvadze Organizations: CNN, Olympic, Paris, Asian, Olympic Games, Getty, “ Unified, Games, Summer Games Locations: Uzbekistan, Paris, Instagram, Tashkent, Hangzhou, China, AFP, Barcelona, Baltic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Soviet Union, Beijing, London, Georgian, Seoul

☆ Paris 2024: What is an Individual Neutral Athlete at the Olympic Games?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Samuel Joseph | Sam Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Russian athletes have competed under several different guises throughout the 128-year history of the Olympics, and they will be known by another new name at Paris 2024. Antonin Thuillier/AFP/Getty ImagesHere’s everything you need to know about the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2024 Olympics. “The sanctions against those responsible for the war, the Russian and Belarusian states and governments, remain in place for the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” the IOC said in a statement. “No flag, anthem, colors or any other identifications whatsoever of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in any official venue or any official function,” the statement continues. Like all other athletes, AINs will need to meet anti-doping requirements to be considered for selection.

Persons: Ukraine –, Igor Kobzar, Antonin Thuillier, –, AINs, Star Pau Gasol, Nicole Hoevertsz, Ryu Seung, Robert Michael, Russia –, Mariya Lasitskene, ”, Daniil Medvedev, “, it’s, Russia ” Organizations: CNN, Olympics, Belarus –, International Olympic Committee, IOC, ATP, WTA, Russian Olympic, Getty, Games, Olympic Games, Star, Athletes ’ Commission, International, Russian Olympic Committee, Paris, Tokyo, Kyodo, ROC, “ Unified, ”, Soviet Union, Unified Locations: Ukraine, Belarus, Belarusian, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Paris, France, Russia, AFP, Russian, AIN, Tokyo, Beijing, China, –, Moscow, Pyeongchang, South Korea, Barcelona, Soviet, Baltic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia

☆ The Moscow terror attack could drive a wedge between Russia and one of its longtime allies
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia says suspects in the Moscow terror attack came from Tajikistan, something the country denies. Tajikistan and Russia are allies, but tensions have been growing between them. AdvertisementRussia's response to the weekend terror attack in Moscow could drive a wedge between the country and one of its historic allies. Experts also said that ISIS likely took advantage of Russia being distracted by the conflict in Ukraine to attack. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Russia could have stopped the attack if it wasn't attacking Ukraine.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, STRINGER, Emomali Rahmon, Putin, Rahmon, scold Putin, Vera Mironova, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Crocus City Hall, Islamic, Security, Organization, NATO, Hall, Getty, Moscow Times, Terrorists, Regional, Collective Security, ISIS, Kyiv, Davis Center, Harvard University, Financial Locations: Russia, Moscow, Tajikistan, Soviet, Crocus, Islamic State, Central Asia, Soviet Union, Moscow's Crocus, China, North Korea, Ukraine

☆ How Putin and Xi both bent their nations to their will to become presidents for life
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

In the past decade, Putin and Xi have crushed what little remained of domestic opposition on their paths to absolute power. Advertisement"Both Putin and Xi's careers were forged as highly effective backroom operators forging relationships of dependency and patronage," he said. GREG BAKER via Getty ImagesDover said it would be a mistake to see Putin and Xi simply as dictators operating by arbitrary fiat. Both, he said, had built effective networks of loyalists capable of responding to crises and enacting their ambitious strategies to seize more global power. Xi and Putin bond over hatred of Western powerIt's on the global stage that the synergy between the leaders is of growing significance and growing alarm to Western leaders.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Putin, It's, Xi, Graeme Thompson, Robert Dover, Li, notionally, Korea's, GREG BAKER, Getty Images Dover, Xi's, Thompson Organizations: Service, Business, Reuters, Eurasia Group, Hollywood, Getty, University of Hull, Communist Party, US, National People's, of, People, Getty Images, Central, Putin, Beijing Locations: China, Russia, Soviet Union, Moscow, Hong Kong, Beijing, Dover, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Taiwan, Putin Russia, East Asia

☆ Putin scores a resounding win, but what’s next for Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Putin poses for a picture with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughters, Yekaterina and Maria. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images Putin rides a horse during a vacation in Southern Siberia in August 2009. Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/AFP via Getty Images Putin plays with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, in March 2013. Chris McGrath/Getty Images Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018. Getty Images Putin speaks with American right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson during an interview in February 2024.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Dmitry Kiselyov, Mikhail Mishustin, Ukraine –, Kiselyov, “, Maria Putina, Archivio GBB, ZUMA Press Wire Putin, Laski, Maria, Vladimir, Anatoly Sobchak, Lyudmila, Yekaterina, Boris Yeltsin, Yeltsin, Fidel Castro, Reuters Putin, George W, Bush, Stephen Jaffe, Camp David, Brooks Kraft, Alexey Druzhinin, Alexey Nikolsky, Mikhail Metzel, Ivan Sekretarev, AP Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Dmitry Astakhov, Buffy, Angela Merkel, Jochen Lübke, Thomas Bach, Medvedev, Vladimir Konstantinov, Alexei Chalyi, Sergei Aksyonov, Sergei Ilnitsky, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Alexander Lukashenko, Merkel, Francois Hollande, Petro Poroshenko, Mykola Lazarenko, Barack Obama, Ban, Chip Somodevilla, Turkey Andrei Karlov, Karlov, Donald Trump, Chris McGrath, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, LUDOVIC MARIN, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Eliot Blondet, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Biden, Sergey Lavrov, Denis Balibouse, Macron, Sergey Ponomarev, Mikhail Gorbachev, —, Alexander Nemenov, Alexey Danichev, Xi Jinping, Pavel Byrkin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Pavel Bednyakov, Kim Jong Un, Kim, Tucker Carlson, Zuma Press Putin, Maxim Shemetov, – what’s, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, coy, Kremlin, Getty, Russian, ZUMA Press, Putin, KGB, ZUMA Press Wire, Getty Images, Reuters, US, White House, Camp, Brooks, Brooks Kraft LLC, RIA Novosti, AP, AFP, International Olympic, Crimean, Ukrainian, United Nations, UN, Assembly, Russian Foreign Ministry, Sputnik, World, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Macron, SPUTNIK, New York Times, Central Clinical Hospital, AP Putin, Belarus, State Russian Museum, AP North Korean, Vostochny, Tucker Carlson Network, Zuma Press Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Putin Russia, Russian, Bakhmut, St . Petersburg, Leningrad, Germany, Moscow, AFP, Kazan, Cuba, Soviet Union, Southern Siberia, Russia's Tver, Novo, Ogaryovo, Hanover, Sevastopol, Crimea, Belarusian, Minsk, Belarus, France, Turkey, Helsinki, Finland, Buenos Aires, Ukrainian, Paris, Geneva, Switzerland, Taganrog, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Tsiolkovsky, Russia's, North Korea, United States

☆ Opinion: America isn’t cool anymore. Just ask the French
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Opinion Euny Hong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

I asked her excitedly in French, “What do you think about the abortion rights thing?”“C’est fou, hein?” she said. She continued, “Trump, he wants to reverse abortion rights. Unbelievable.”“Oh!” I said, “I meant about how France is writing abortion rights into the Constitution.”“Oh that?” she said, less excitedly. On the other hand, French women were allowed to open their own checking accounts in 1965 — horrific until you realize that their American counterparts were not granted that right until 1974. But compared to today’s America, France looks like the version of a feminist utopia that could only be dreamed of by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie universe.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Laurence Rossignol, Le Monde, Rossignol, fou, hein, ”, “ Trump, “, Alexis De Tocqueville, America “, Barack Obama, George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, —, Congrès, I’ve, ” Claude Malhuret, she’d, Gabriel Attal, Greta Gerwig’s Organizations: CNN, CNN — America, US, Democracy, Communist, Minnesota, American, Equality, Fraternity Locations: Paris, America, France, French, Spain, Communist China, Versailles

☆ Two years after Apple quit Russia over Ukraine, Vision Pros are for sale in Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Eamon Javers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

On the ground in Moscow, Apple products including MacBooks, iPhones and iPads are available in stores, although prices may be higher than they were pre-invasion. Asked about Vision Pro sales in Russia, an Apple spokesperson told CNBC: "As you are aware, Apple Vision Pro is only available at Apple Retail stores in the US." Still, at a retail outlet "re:Store," (pronounced Ree-store) a former official Apple reseller offers Apple products for sale at shops in Moscow. The chain's website features a large photo of a user strapped into an Apple Vision Pro, and the iconic bitten Apple logo with text reading, "Vision Pro: The era of spatial computers has come. Apple Vision Pro is already on sale."

Persons: Kremlin . WASHINGTON —, Tim Cook, Romance768, Sergey Romantsev, Romantsev, Alexei Navalny, We're, CNBC's Steve Kovach Organizations: Apple, CNBC, Vision Pro, Apple Vision, Apple Retail, Vision, Kremlin, Russia, Pro, Meta, Russian Ministry of Industry, Trade, Sputnik, White Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, Moscow, London, Ukraine, Russia, United States, Kremlin . WASHINGTON, St . Petersburg, New York, Russian, Patriarshiye, York, Istanbul, American, Washington

Either way, Washington paid little attention to his birthday according to Mountvernon.org, the website of the organization that manages his estate. The official designation is as Washington’s Birthday, although it has come to be known informally as Presidents Day. A small number of states, including Illinois, observe Lincoln’s birthday as a public holiday, according to the Library of Congress. And some commemorate both Lincoln and Washington on Presidents Day. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect in 1971, moving Presidents Day to the third Monday in February.

Persons: George Washington, Alexis Coe, George of Washington, ”, “ It's, “ Jefferson, Lincoln, Washington, ” Coe, Marquis de Lafayette, —, Coe, Thomas Jefferson, comte de Rochambeau, Seth Bruggeman, Bruggeman, Arbelbide, “, ” Bruggeman Organizations: Washington, Temple University, Congressional Research Service, District of Columbia, Library of Congress, National Archives, The Locations: NORFOLK, Va, Washington, Virginia, Mount Vernon, Philadelphia, District, Illinois, Lincoln, The Republic, America

☆ Russia Using Thousands of SpaceX Starlink Terminals in Ukraine, WSJ Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - Russian troops in Ukraine are using thousands of Starlink satellite communications terminals made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, the Ukrainian military intelligence chief told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Thursday. Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov said that Russian troops have been communicating over the Starlink system "for quite a long time" and acquired the terminals from private Russian firms that purchased them from intermediaries. Photos You Should See View All 33 ImagesThe Russian Embassy and SpaceX did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The company did not respond to an email earlier this week asking whether it could categorically rule out the system's use by Russian troops in Ukraine. Retired British Army Brigadier Ben Barry told Reuters that if Russian forces are using Starlink their communications would be more secure and harder for Ukraine and its allies to crack.

Persons: Elon Musk's, General Kyrylo Budanov, Starlink, Ben Barry, Dan Whitcomb, Jonathan Landay, Mark Trevelyan, Chris Reese, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Reuters, Elon, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Wall Street, Pentagon, Ukrainian, Russian Embassy, SpaceX, British Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Soviet, Russian

☆ Armenia Can No Longer Rely on Russia for Military and Defence Needs - PM Pashinyan Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Armenia can no longer rely on Russia as its main defence and military partner because Moscow has repeatedly let it down so Yerevan must think about forging closer ties with the United States and France, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said. Armenia, a tiny former Soviet republic bordered by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, has long relied on Russia as a big power ally, though Pashinyan has angered the Kremlin by questioning the foundations of the alliance. Pashinyan said Armenia should think about what security ties it should build with the United States, France, India and Georgia. Pashinyan says Russia failed Armenia when Azerbaijan launched a lightning-fast military operation that took back control over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, triggering an outflow of ethnic Armenians living there. Azerbaijan has accused France of sowing the seeds of a new war by supplying arms to Armenia, which is also being courted by the United States.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Armenian Public, Russian Federation Locations: MOSCOW, Armenia, Russia, Moscow, Yerevan, United States, France, Soviet, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, India, Israel, Gaza, Soviet Union, Karabakh, South Caucasus

☆ Putin is trying to track down overseas properties that the Soviet Union owned and stake claims on them
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Putin has ordered a search for real estate abroad that belonged to the Soviet Union and the Russia Empire. One decree allocates funds for the search, while the other provides funds for maintenance and operations. AdvertisementThe Soviet Union was formed in 1922 and collapsed in 1991, after which its constituent republics — which includes Ukraine and the Baltic countries, among others — became independent states. Putin has called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century" and said in 2021 that the event marked the demise of "historical Russia." AdvertisementIn June 2022, Putin compared himself to Czar Peter the Great — the first emperor of Russia — to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Putin, —, Vladimir Putin, Peter the Great, Russia — Organizations: Service, Russian Empire, TASS Locations: Soviet Union, Russia, Russian, Soviet, Ukraine, Baltic, Alaska, US

The Red Square mausoleum where his embalmed corpse lies in an open sarcophagus is no longer a near-mandatory pilgrimage but a site of macabre kitsch, open only 15 hours a week. The ideology that Lenin championed and spread over a vast territory is something of a sideshow in modern Russia. “As a result of Bolshevik policy, Soviet Ukraine arose, which even today can with good reason be called ‘Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s Ukraine.' The Mayakovsky poem that proclaimed Lenin's immortality was “a parting word, or a spell, or a curse,” Rudakov said. At the annual military parade through Red Square, the structure is blocked from view by a tribune where dignitaries watch the festivities.

Persons: soothed, “ Lenin, Lenin, Vladimir Lenin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Vladimir Putin's, Konstantin Morozov, Gennady Zyuganov, ”, Putin, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s, ” Putin, “, VTsIOM, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's, Yuri Annenkov, Josef Stalin, Leon Trotsky, Russian Orthodox Church —, Bolsheviks —, Stalin, Trotsky, Lenin ”, ’, Vladimir Rudakov, ” Rudakov, Jim Heintz Organizations: Moscow Zoo, Communist Party, Russian Academy of Sciences, AP, Union of Russian Architects, Russian Orthodox Church, Bolsheviks, Tass, The Associated Press Locations: Soviet Union, Russia, Moscow, St, Petersburg's Finland, United Russia, Ukraine, Soviet Ukraine, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s Ukraine, Soviet, Russian, Red, USSR, Estonia

☆ Western companies have exited Russia in droves. New companies with owners from China and former Soviet republics are stepping in.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

However, the number of new companies in Russia with cofounders from former Soviet republics and China has soared in those two years, per Vedomosti. Companies with cofounders from former Soviet republics including Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan accounted for 59% of all new companies that established operations in Russia last year, per Vedomosti. AdvertisementCompanies with cofounders from China accounted for 25% — or 1,500 — of new companies in Russia over the first 10 months of 2023. AdvertisementMeanwhile, Russian businesses overseas have also been moving their assets home amid the pressures of Western sanctions and a push by President Vladimir Putin's regime. This still marks a huge decrease from 14% of new companies registered in 2021.

Persons: —, cofounders, Mikhail Nikolayev, ACRA, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: Service, Business, cofounders, Companies Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Soviet, China, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, India, Russian

☆ ‘A Death in Malta’ Review: Lost in a Sea of Corruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Tunku Varadarajan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Daphne Caruana Galizia and family. Photo: Paul Caruana GaliziaImagine the corrupt Tammany Hall of old reborn in a sovereign state in postwar Europe—a tiny archipelago, no more, in the southern Mediterranean. Meet murky little Malta, democratic Europe’s notable outlier—not just geographically and linguistically (having the only Semitic official language in the EU) but morally and ethically. And its rule of law, rickety at best, is shockingly derelict for an EU country. This isn’t just the judgment of fastidious outsiders, predisposed to look askance at Malta.

Persons: Daphne Caruana Galizia, Paul Caruana Galizia, Muammar Gaddafi, rickety, Labour Party — Organizations: Tammany Hall, European Union, Labour Party Locations: Europe, Britain, Libyan, Soviet, Malta, EU, Maltese, “

☆ For eastern Ukrainians, the ordeal of war is entering its second decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

It is now close to the front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces, and many of its buildings are damaged or destroyed. Like most people from Chasiv Yar, Tkachov has moved further from the fighting though some remain. All of them have lived through nearly a decade of war, a reminder that for millions in eastern Ukraine the conflict has rumbled on since 2014, long before Russia's full-scale invasion in February last year grabbed the world's attention. BUILD-UPUkraine and its Western allies say Russia infiltrated eastern Ukraine with fighters and intelligence operatives to stage a coup in Donbas in 2014 which Moscow subsequently supported with regular troops. FULL-SCALE WARThe U.N. human rights office estimated that more than 14,000 military personnel and civilians were killed in eastern Ukraine from early April 2014 to the end of 2021.

Persons: Tkachov, Alina Smutko, CHASIV, Chasiv Yar, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Yanukovych, Yanukovych, Max Hunder, Mike Collett, White Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Russian, Russia, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Donbas, CHASIV YAR, Chasiv, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Donetsk, Luhansk, Soviet Union, Ukrainian, CRIMEA, Kyiv, Crimea, Sloviansk, Soviet

☆ Azerbaijan’s 10 best castles and fortresses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Tom Marsden | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

It grew up around a fortress built in the 1750s by Panah Ali Khan, founder of the Karabakh Khanate (1748-1822). Kamilla Rzayeva Tea culture: Azerbaijani tea culture originated in Lankaran and the hospitable locals will often welcome visitors with a refreshing glass. Kamilla Rzayeva Yanar Bulag: Yanar Bulag, meaning "burning spring" is a natural spring which percolates methane gas. Kamilla Rzayeva Hirkan National Park: Home to endangered Persian leopards, Hirkin National Park is a great place for hiking and cooling off. Kamilla Rzayeva Ironwood trees: Hirkan National Park's famous ironwood trees are believed to have survived the last Ice Age.

Persons: ”, Alexander the Great, Timur, Russia –, Elchin Aliyev, who’s, Akhsitan I, Ilisu, Ivan Paskevich, Imam Shamil, Potemkin, Sergei Einstein’s, Panah Ali Khan, Persian Shah, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, Joseph Stalin, Kamilla, Stalin, Yanar, Zindan Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, Sheki, of Sheki, Zaqatala Locations: Europe, Asia, Azerbaijan, Russia, USSR, jostle, Old City, Baku, Mardakan, Shabran, Persia, Chirag, Sheki, Caucasus, Ilisu, Ilisu Sultanate, Soviet, Zaqatala, Lesser Caucasus, Shusha, Karabakh, Persian, Alinja, Azerbaijan’s, Nakhchivan, Armenia, Iran, Turkey, Machu Picchu, Azerbaijani, Lankaran, Ironwood, ironwood, Talysh

☆ The Super Rich No Longer Try To Support Their Societies - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Guido Alfani | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Nobody made this point better than the Tuscan humanist Poggio Bracciolini. Indeed, the rich merchants who were the main “victims” of forced loans were also the rulers of patrician republics and understood they were contributing their private resources to the public good. These loans proved to be a poor investment, as the interest tended to become negative in real terms because of hyperinflation. Of course, historically, wars provide the best possible motivation to ask citizens to contribute more: either with their blood or with their cash. For example, this was explicit in the fiscal package introduced in the United States as part of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Persons: Poggio Bracciolini, avaritia, Liberty Bonds Organizations: Liberty Locations: Europe, Italy, Venice, Ottoman Empire, United States, Britain, Franklin Roosevelt’s

☆ More Than 550 Russians Evacuated From Gaza So Far - Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - More than 550 Russian nationals, including 230 children, have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip since the start of the process a week ago, Russia's emergencies ministry said on Sunday. Of those evacuated, 408 people have already been brought to Moscow, including 120 Russians that arrived late Saturday on a special flight from Egypt, the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. A limited evacuation, which began on Nov. 1, of foreign passport holders and Palestinians needing urgent medical treatment to Egypt has faced difficulties. It is unclear how many Russian citizens are expected to leave Gaza. According to Russian media, some 1,000 Russians and nationals from the republics of the former Soviet Union have expressed a wish to leave.

Persons: Lidia Kelly, Chizu Nomiyama Organizations: Reuters, Soviet Union Locations: Gaza, Moscow, Egypt, Melbourne

☆ A Russian official said soldiers are dying in large numbers, but he'll get in trouble if he doesn't send more to fight, leaked video shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A leaked video clip shows a Russian official saying troops are dying in droves in Ukraine. But Alexander Avdonin said he would get in trouble if he didn't send more, per Russian media. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementA Russian official said that soldiers were dying in large numbers in Ukraine but that he could get in trouble if he didn't send more men to fight, according to Russian news outlet Siberia Realities . About 120,000 Russian soldiers have died since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, US officials told The New York Times in August.

Persons: Alexander Avdonin, —, Avdonin, Dmitry Medvedev Organizations: Moscow Times, Service, Yakutia Foundation, Telegram, Eastern Military District, Russia's Security, Free Yakutia Foundation, UK Ministry of Defence, New York Times Locations: Ukraine, Siberia, Russia's, Republic, Sakha, Russia

☆ Russia begins evacuating its nationals from Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The evacuation of Russian nationals from the Gaza Strip has begun and more than 60 Russian passport holders have crossed into Egypt, Russia's emergencies ministry said on Sunday. "Russian Emergency Situations Ministry specialists are providing medical and psychological assistance to the people on site, and providing them with food and water," it said. It said that Russian citizens will be transferred to Cairo and will be assisted with necessary paperwork. The ministry didn't say, how many Russian citizens are expected to leave Gaza. According to Russian media, some 1,000 Russians and nationals from the republics of the former Soviet Union have expressed a wish to leave Gaza.

Persons: Vladimir Soldatkin, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Russian Federation, Emergency, Ministry, Soviet Union, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Gaza, Russian, Egypt, Cairo

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