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☆ The plot to topple Putin
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( Paul Starobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

But it was only when Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine , in 2022, that Ammosov began to plot the overthrow of his homeland. As I found in months of wide-ranging interviews, everyone aspiring to a new Russian revolution grasps the seemingly impossible odds of their bid to topple Putin. Ponomarev — who was profiled last year in The Washington Post under the headline "Could this man bring down Putin?" Most applicants live in Russia, Sokolov tells me, but submissions have come from as far away as Uruguay. "I know a lot of good officers" in the CIA, Ponomarev told me, who "sympathize" with the anti-Putin insurgency.

Persons: Vladislav Ammosov, Ukraine —, Ammosov, wondrously, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Simona Supino, Alexey Navalny —, Ilya Ponomarev, Ponomarev —, —, Sean Guillory, Denis Sokolov, Sokolov, Galina Starovoytova, Anastasia Sergeeva, Sergeeva, Valter, Putin —, Tatiana Kosinova, Yelena Bonner, Itil, Boris Nemtsov, Nemtsov, Vladimir Lenin, specter, NurPhoto, Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Boris Akunin, Ponomarev, Trotsky, Mao, Castro, Alexei Sobchenko, Sergei Chuzavkov, Ilya Ponomarev Ponomarev, Michał Kamiński, Kosinova, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, Nikolai Gogol's, . Barnum, Bernie, Madoff, Donald, Leonid Nevzlin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Navalny, King George III, Khodorkovsky, Garry Kasparov, Putin's, Andrey Volna, Brian Fitzpatrick, Charlie Wilson's, Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Daniel Fried, William Burns, Fried, Biden, We're, Evgenia, it's Organizations: Putin, Ukrainian, Russian Federation, The Washington Post, University of Pittsburgh, Civic Council, Kennan, Wilson Center, GRU, Russia, BI, International Republican Institute, CIA, Kremlin, Russian, Memorial, Soviet Union, of America, Civic, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, Russian Volunteer Corps, European, Human Rights, Siberian Battalion, Ammosov, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Putin's Defense Ministry, True, Bolsheviks, of Russia Legion, People's Deputies, State Department, Justice Department, Polish Senate, Trump University, Trump, Khodorkovsky, FBI, Intelligence, Senate, Ukrainian Security Services, Bolshevik Locations: Siberia, Russia, Warsaw, Poland, Ukraine, Sakha, India, Putin Russia, Russian, Kyiv, The, restive North Caucasus, Washington, Soviet Union, Moscow, WhatsApp, Ukrainian, Soviet, Crimean, USSR, Europe, Uruguay, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, America, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Belgorod, Kursk, Kremlin, China, Cuba, True Russia, Ponomarev, Northern Virginia, Polish, ., Lviv, Yukos, London, Pennsylvania, Texas, Afghanistan, Putin Russian, Tallinn, Estonia

☆ Russia’s Dagestan temporarily bans wearing niqabs following deadly shootings
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russia’s southernmost Dagestan province has announced a temporary ban on the wearing of niqabs, a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes, as a security measure following deadly attacks by gunmen last month. The niqab ban is to take place until “the identified threats are eliminated and a new theological conclusion is issued,” deputy head of the Mufti of Dagestan Abdulla Salimov said in a video message Wednesday. The duration of the ban depends on the development of the situation in the region,” he said. Bastrykin blamed “Islamist terrorists” for the deadly shooting in Dagestan. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, but law enforcement agencies told Russian state media TASS that the attackers are “adherents of an international terrorist organization.”

Persons: ”, Dagestan Abdulla Salimov, Dagestan Muhammad Muhammadov, ” Alexander Bastrykin, “, Bastrykin Organizations: CNN, Gunmen, EA Regnum, Center, TASS Locations: Dagestan, Russian, North Caucasus, Russia

☆ Terrorist attacks are on the rise in Russia as Putin remains 'distracted' by war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The attacks, which killed around 20 people, raised major questions about whether the Kremlin has the resources to protect its citizens back home while pursuing its war in Ukraine. The attacks also illustrated "the diverse range of militant actors Russia has angered through its domestic and foreign policy actions," he added. North CaucasusRussia's North Caucasus region has a long history of rebellion against Kremlin rule, especially in Chechnya, where Russia battled separatists in two bloody wars — in 1994-1996 and then in 1999-2009. Despite Sunday's incident being the second major terrorist attack in just three months, Russian security services "have not really changed their strategy," Harold Chambers, a political and security analyst specializing in the North Caucasus, told BI. Russia's security services "do not seem to possess the same level of intelligence about threats — or, if they do, they are not acting on it," Youngman added.

Persons: —, Molotov, Lucas Webber, Wilayat Kavkaz, Vladimir Putin, Mark Youngman, Youngman, STRINGER, Webber, Russia's, Harold Chambers, Chambers Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Business, Soufan, Dagestan region's, Center for, Washington DC, Anadolu, Getty, Islamic, Tass, Federal, Crocus City Hall, Islamic State Locations: Russia's, Dagestan, Ukraine, New York, Russia, Northern Caucasus, North Caucasus, Washington, Makhachkala, Derbent, Russian, Rostov, Crocus, Moscow, Tajikistan, Dagestan's, Caucasus, Chechnya, Syria, Iraq, Islamic State, Africa, Iran

☆ Putin pledged decades ago to conquer the horrors of Islamic extremism. Deadly Dagestan attack again proves he failed
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Only a fraction of the violence that raged across Dagestan on Sunday is visible at the moment, and it is already horrific. But it is particularly bad in Dagestan, where protests broke out in the earlier months of the war, as their sons had been disproportionately mobilized. Putin came to power in 1999 graphically pledging to wipe out “in the toilet” the extremists apparently behind apartment bombings in Moscow. But it is still the same problem Putin faced when he sneaked into Beslan in 2004. A raging sore for the Kremlin, and a reminder of both how Putin came to power and his limits on it.

Persons: Putin, Shamil Basayev, Vladimir Putin, –, Lenin, jihadists, ISIS’s Organizations: CNN, Hall, Kremlin, National Antiterrorism, Antiterrorism, Police, ISIS Locations: Dagestan, Moscow, North Caucasus, Moscow’s Crocus, Ukraine, Russia, Chechnya, Chechen, Chechnya’s, Beslan, Ingushetia, Boston, Makhachkala, South, Central Asia

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Ukraine says it downed Tu-22M3 bomber for the first time; 8 killed in major attack by Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk on Friday said the country shot down a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber for the first time, destroying a warplane capable of using long-range missiles. "During today's attack, two such missiles were destroyed for the first time. Ukraine needs more means, more missiles, in order to better protect the frontline territories from Russian terrorism," he added. Separately, Russia's Defense Ministry said the bomber crashed over the southern Stavropol region when it was flying back to its home airfield, state news agency RIA reported via Telegram. The Stavropol region is located in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia, hundreds of kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Persons: Mykola Oleschuk, Oleschuk, Sam Meredith Organizations: Tupolev, Kremlin, Nazi, Ukrainian Air Force, Air Force, Main Directorate of Intelligence, Ministry of Defense, CNBC, Russia's Defense Ministry Locations: Moscow, Nazi Germany, Russian, Ukraine, Stavropol, North Caucasus, Russia

☆ Chechnya bans all music deemed too fast or too slow
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Authorities in the Russian Republic of Chechnya have announced a ban on music that they consider too fast or slow. The ban will mean that many songs in musical styles such as pop and techno will be banned. Chechnya sits in the North Caucasus region between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Kadyrov has been leader since 2007 and has used his time in office to stifle any form of dissent. The pro-Kremlin leader has also subdued the Chechen separatist movement that fought for independence from Russia for almost two decades.

Persons: Culture Musa Dadayev, Chechen Republic “, Chechen Republic Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov, ” Dadayev, Dadayev, Kadyrov, Mike Pompeo, ” Organizations: CNN, Authorities, TASS, of Culture, United, Kremlin, US State Department Locations: Russian Republic, Chechnya, Culture, Russian, Chechen Republic, North Caucasus, Russia’s, Georgia, United Nations, Chechen, Russia

☆ Crocus City attack: The ghost of Russia’s past wars comes back to haunt Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Twenty years ago, the Dubrovka gunmen were the disturbed product of Russia’s savage anti-terror campaign that summarily executed hundreds of military aged males in Chechnya in the early 2000s. Emergency services personnel and police work at the scene of the Crocus City Hall attack. First, there will be further efforts to suggest Ukraine and the West are somehow involved in these attacks. The Dubrovka attack was followed two years later by airplanes being blown out of the sky and the catastrophic nightmare of the Beslan school siege. In 2002, Dubrovka forced Moscow reluctantly yet closer to the United States’ war on terror.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Kadyrov, Stringer, Maria Zakharova, Margarita Simonyan, overstretched Putin, Dubrovka, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: CNN, Gunmen, Dubrovka Theatre, Chechen, Crocus City, Kremlin, Authorities, Getty, Russia Today, ISIS Locations: Moscow, Crocus, Russia, Chechnya, Iraq, Syria, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Caucasus, AFP, Ukraine, fatigues, Russian, Beslan, United States

Chechnya sought to break away from the Russian Federation, but after two brutal wars Chechnya was subjugated by Vladimir Putin under the Kadyrov family. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. The son of a judge, he is a human rights attorney who has attempted to put a spotlight on the abuses and depredations of the Kadyrov regime. In this comic, you will hear about the rise of the Kadyrovs, what it is like to endure your country being taken over by thugs and killers, and how to survive in a brutal authoritarian regime. Business Insider is proud to present, Sons of Chechnya.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kadyrov, Ramzan Kadyrov, Abubakar Yangulbaev Organizations: Russian Federation, Business, Chechen Locations: Soviet Union, Russia, Chechnya, North Caucasus

☆ Russian soldiers killed a Ukrainian family of 9 for refusing them moonshine liquor, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two Russian soldiers are being investigated for murdering a Ukrainian family. Reports say that they had a dispute over the soldiers demanding moonshine liquor. Throughout the conflict there have been multiple reports of Russian soldiers heavily consuming alcohol. AdvertisementAdvertisementTwo Russian soldiers are being investigated for killing a Ukrainian family, possibly in revenge for not giving them moonshine, according to reports. Throughout the conflict, there have been multiple reports of Russian soldiers heavily consuming alcohol and drugs.

Persons: —, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov Organizations: Service, Russian Investigative, Russian Telegram, Chechen, Russian Army, Astra, Russian Investigative Committee, Russian, Separate Naval Infantry Brigade, for Locations: Ukrainian, Donetsk, Russian, Chechen, Russia, Ukraine, Chechnya, Russia's North Caucasus

☆ Dagestan riot: Anti-Jewish protest in Russia’s Dagestan shows risks of Putin’s balancing act on Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Threats to exterminate the Jews are the result of the work of Russian state propaganda, which for decades cultivated feelings of hatred towards other peoples among Russians,” he noted. Kadyrov has also provided footsoldiers for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Gaza war adds one more match to the fire. Additionally, Russia’s war in Ukraine has impacted Dagestan heavily, with significant casualties. But an anti-Jewish riot in the southern region of Dagestan shows how quickly that model can backfire, particularly for those trapped inside the echo of Russian state propaganda.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, –, Matthew Miller, Israel, ”, Putin, ” Putin, “, Bashar al, Assad, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Benjamin Netanyahu, Strategic Communications John Kirby, “ we’ve, ” Kirby, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleh Nikolenko, Ramzan Kadyrov, – Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Harold Chambers, Riddle, Yevgenia Albats Organizations: CNN, multiconfessional, Ukraine –, Kremlin, Red Wings Airlines, Tel Aviv –, Jewish, Authorities, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hamas, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sunday, Saudi, Israeli, National Security, Strategic Communications, ” Observers, Criminal Court, ICC, Russian National Guard, AFP, Getty, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Global Locations: Russia, Dagestan, Makhachkala Uytash, Ukraine, Gaza, Tel Aviv, ”, Russian, Makhachkala, Palestine, Beijing, China, Israel, Jerusalem, Moscow, Iran, United States, Chechnya, Chechen, Russia’s, Kremlin, East

☆ Rampage by antisemitic mob puts pressure on Moscow to confront rising ethnic tensions in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

People shouting antisemitic slogans at an airfield of the airport in Makhachkala, Russia, on Oct. 30, 2023. APMoscow is coming under increasing pressure to protect the country's Jewish community after the latest episode of antisemitism highlighted growing interethnic tensions in Russia. Russia's Jewish populationThe incident in Dagestan highlights wider demographic tensions in Russia, whose population of 144 million is diverse and disparate in terms of ethnicity, religion, culture and language. The latest episode of antisemitic aggression in Dagestan is likely to be very concerning for Jews living in the region, and wider Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to greet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting on Jan. 23, 2020, in Jerusalem.

Persons: Allahu Akbar, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Tupolev, STRINGER, Stringer, Rabbi Alexander Boroda, Boroda, Ramzan Kadyrov, Juma, Gavriil Grigorov, Sergei Lavrov, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Max Hess, Hess, there's, Lavrov, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mikhail Svetlov Organizations: AP Moscow, Sunday, Russian Federation, Kremlin, Russia's, CNBC, Institute for, Hamas, AFP, Getty, Afp, Getty Images Israel, Russia's Federation of Jewish, Reuters, Chechen, Ukraine, Nazi, Foreign Policy Research Institute Locations: Makhachkala, Russia, Israel, Russian, Dagestan, Tel Aviv, Palestinian, Russia's, Christianity, Russia's North Caucasus, Chechnya, Tatarstan, Ingushetia, Kremlin, Ukraine, Republic of Dagestan, North Caucasus, Caucasus, Moscow, Derbent, Russia's Republic of Dagestan, Nazi Germany, Jerusalem

☆ Facts about Russia's republic of Dagestan
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Acquire Licensing RightsOct 30 (Reuters) - Twenty people were injured when hundreds of anti-Israeli protesters stormed on Sunday an airport in Russia's Dagestan region before security forces closed the airport and removed the demonstrators. Here are some facts about Russia's mainly Muslim republic of Dagestan, where waves of violence have erupted in the past. * A mountainous territory in the eastern part of the North Caucasus, Dagestan is Russia's most ethnically and linguistically varied region and home to at least 40 different ethnicities. A republic within the Russian Federation, Dagestan's population is about 3.2 million, according to Russia's official figures. * For almost a decade until 2017, Russian security forces were battling an armed insurgency conducted by an array of Islamist militant groups in Dagestan, neighbouring Chechnya and Ingushetia.

Persons: Shamil, Lidia Kelly, Miral Organizations: Reuters, Sunday, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Makhachkala, Russia, Russia's Dagestan, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Dagestanis, Nationalities, Russian, Today, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Derbent, Melbourne

☆ Kremlin: Dagestan airport violence result of 'outside influence'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People walk as Pro-Palestinian protesters storm an airport building, in Makhachkala, Russia, October 29, 2023, in this screengrab taken from a video obtained by Reuters. Video Obtained by Reuters/via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that the storming of an airport in the capital of the southern Russian region of Dagestan by an anti-Israeli mob on Sunday was the result of "outside influence". In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It is well known and obvious that yesterday's events around Makhachkala airport are largely the result of outside interference, including information influence." He did not specify who the Kremlin believed had engineered the violence, or why. Russia's interior ministry said on Monday that 60 people had been arrested after hundreds of anti-Israel protesters stormed the airport in Makhachkala on Sunday, shortly after a plane from Israel arrived.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Makhachkala, Russia, Russian, Dagestan, Gaza, Israel

The government in the predominantly Muslim republic said that the outburst had been calmed and vowed to prevent further clashes. Russian aviation authorities said that the airport, in Makhachkala, the republic’s capital, would reopen on Tuesday. Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said on Monday that Mr. Putin had been receiving reports about the events in Dagestan. Some people in the videos held Palestinian flags and carried signs opposing the war in Gaza, and some chanted “God is great” in Arabic. The local authorities in Dagestan blamed “extremist” outlets administered by “Russian enemies” for inciting the unrest.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Dmitri S, Peskov, “, ”, Sergei Melikov, Ilya Ponomaryov, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Aric Toler Organizations: The New York Times, Red Wings, The Times, Telegram, Kremlin Locations: Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russian, Tel Aviv, Russia, Kremlin, Israel, North Caucasus, Ukraine, Gaza, ”, Caucasus, Khasavyurt

☆ Russian security forces remove pro-Palestinian protesters from Dagestan airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Grigory Dukor Acquire Licensing RightsOct 29 (Reuters) - Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters on Sunday stormed Russia's Dagestan airport in Makhachkala where a plane from Israel had just arrived, forcing Russian security forces to close the airport and divert flights while removing the demonstrators. Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia security forces had removed the group by 10:20 p.m. Moscow time (1920 GMT). The passengers on the plane were "in a safe place", security forces told Reuters. Israel urged Russian authorities to protect Israelis and Jews in their jurisdictions following the reportA statement by the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said the Israeli ambassador in Moscow was working with Russian authorities. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was appalled by the events in Dagestan, blaming the events on Russia's official messages about Israel.

Persons: Grigory Dukor, Allahu Akbar, Rosaviatsia, Israel, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Dagestan's, Dan Williams, Ron Popeski, Hugh Lawson, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, Sunday, Russia's, Reuters, Foreign Ministry, Israel, Regional, Thomson Locations: Dagestan, Makhachkala, Israel, Russia's Dagestan, Caucasus, Palestine, Russian, Moscow, Nalchik, Kabardino, Jerusalem, Israeli, Russia

☆ Factbox-Facts About Russia's Republic of Dagestan
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - Twenty people were injured when hundreds of anti-Israeli protesters stormed on Sunday an airport in Russia's Dagestan region before security forces closed the airport and removed the demonstrators. Here are some facts about Russia's mainly Muslim republic of Dagestan, where waves of violence have erupted in the past. * A mountainous territory in the eastern part of the North Caucasus, Dagestan is Russia's most ethnically and linguistically varied region and home to at least 40 different ethnicities. A republic within the Russian Federation, Dagestan's population is about 3.2 million, according to Russia's official figures. * For almost a decade until 2017, Russian security forces were battling an armed insurgency conducted by an array of Islamist militant groups in Dagestan, neighbouring Chechnya and Ingushetia.

Persons: Shamil, Lidia Kelly, Miral Fahmy Organizations: Reuters, Sunday, Russian Federation Locations: Russia's Dagestan, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Dagestanis, Nationalities, Makhachkala, Russian, Today, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Russia, Derbent, Melbourne

☆ Russian tourism in Crimea is down, but many still shrug off risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Summary This content was produced in Russian-annexed Crimea, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. They said it was all calm here with no problems on the Crimea Bridge. Fewer visitors to Crimea have meant more for Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea and Dagestan in Russia's north Caucasus region, he said. FATAL CROSSINGFor one Russian couple, the choice of Crimea as a holiday destination proved fatal. "The goal of our trip is, of course, to have a rest, and support Russian tour operators, hoteliers, and Russian tourism, no doubt."

Persons: Siberian Viktor Motorin, Olga Morskova, Alexei Volkov, Volkov, Vasyl Maliuk, Alexander Semashko, Sergei Lenkov, Mark Trevelyan, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones, Sharon Singleton Organizations: National Union of Hospitality Industries, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Crimea, Ukraine, YALTA, Siberian, Moscow, Russia, Khanty, Siberia, Turkey, Thailand, Rybinsk, Sochi, Novorossiysk, Kaliningrad, Dagestan, Russia's, Caucasus, Stavropol, Vologda

* "Sedoi" is the nom de guerre of Andrei Troshev, a senior Wagner commander, according to European Union sanctions documents, French official documents, sources with knowledge of the matter and Russian media reports. * The EU described him as the "executive director (chief of staff) of the Wagner Group" in its 2021 document which also says he was a founding member of the group. "Andrei Troshev is directly involved in the military operations of the Wagner Group in Syria," the EU said. Britain also described him in its Syria sanctions documents as the chief executive of Wagner. Western sanctions documents list his date of birth as April 5, 1953.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Andrei Troshev, Wagner, France's, Dmitry Utkin, Troshev, Putin, Bashar al, of, Guy Faulconbridge, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Wagner Group, France's Treasury, Kommersant, Wagner, St, Red Star, Islamic State, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, EU, Syria, Deir, Britain, Leningrad, Soviet, St Petersburg, Afghanistan, Soviet Union, North Caucasus, SOBR, Russian, of Russia, Palmyra, Utkin

☆ Here's what could happen to the Wagner Group after the armed rebellion against Russia failed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Wagner paramilitary group attempted an armed rebellion in Russia but failed. Around 1,000 Wagner fighters have already decided to go to Belarus, the independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported, citing a source in Russia's Ministry of Defense. Putin admitted earlier this week that from May last year to May 2023, the Russian state paid more than 86 billion rubles ($940 million) to the Wagner Group. De Deus Pereira told Insider that this is where many fighters will return. Lukashenko told reporters earlier this week that he convinced Putin not to "wipe out" the Wagner chief after the failed rebellion, though some experts have disagreed.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, —, group's, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, Joana de Deus Pereira, Belarussian, Mikhail Svetlov, De Deus Pereira, Julia Stanyard, Lukashenko Organizations: Service, The Times, Prighozin, Russia's Ministry of Defense, Guardian, Prigozhin, Press, REUTERS Russia's Ministry of Defense, Marshall Fund, Wagner, Royal United Services Institute, Ministry of Defense, Russian, Central African, Global Initiative, Transnational, BBC Locations: Russia, Belarus, Moscow, Eastern Europe, Africa, Prigozhin, British, Russian, Luhansk, Donbas, Krasnodar, North Caucasus, Concord, Europe, Sochi, Libya, Syria, Central African Republic, Mali

☆ UFC maintains links with Russian fighters and fighters connected to sanctioned Chechen warlord despite Ukraine invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

We have been saying for some time that these sports organizations need to prohibit Kadyrov’s fighters to perform,” he said. There’s also its decision to allow Russian fighters in general to compete in the world’s premium mixed martial arts organization. Some critics have suggested Russian fighters in general should be suspended, like has happened in some other sports, for the country’s involvement in the invasion of Ukraine. Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Getty ImagesUFC’s primary focusThere are 20 active Russian fighters currently competing in their organized events, according to the UFC website. CNN approached all 20 of those Russian fighters, only two responded initially and ultimately none of them agreed to an interview.

☆ Moscow's 'special' forces: An inside look at how Russia's famed Spetsnaz really operate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Mark Galeotti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Russia's Spetsnaz forces are often depicted as a kind of Russian super troops. Osprey PublishingMost countries' special forces emphasize physical fitness, determination and aggression. Special people, for special tasksMembers of the Russian military's 16th Separate Special Purpose Brigade during an exercise in 2018. Even so, being better than most of the Soviet army's miserable and recalcitrant conscript forces did not make most of them truly special, special forces. The special operations commandMembers of Russian's 22nd Separate Guards Special Purpose Brigade during an exercise in November 2017.

☆ Putin's war in Ukraine looks more and more like a failure. Past Russian leaders haven't survived similar mistakes.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Joy Neumeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Instead, Russia's failing war effort has raised doubts about Putin's hold on power. For now, Putin looks secure, but past Russian leaders have suffered at home for blunders abroad. By the following summer, the Germans had taken huge swathes of Russian-controlled territory and a million Russian soldiers were dead. Captured Russian soldiers after the defeat at Tannenberg, in present-day Poland, on August 30, 1914. After an ineffectual troop surge, Gorbachev gave up on trying to improve the situation, and the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989.

☆ Caspian seal deaths: Thousands of dead seals wash up in Russia's Dagestan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Around 2,500 endangered seals have been found dead on Russia’s Caspian coast, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Sunday, citing authorities in the North Caucasus region. Caspian seals, the only mammals found in the Caspian Sea, have been classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list since 2008. According to RIA, inspectors were patrolling the coastline in search of additional dead seals. Meanwhile, specialists from the Caspian Environmental Center were analyzing samples from the dead seals to identify the cause of death. The mass deaths come after more than 140 Caspian seals were found dead on Kazakh beaches of the Caspian Sea earlier this year, according to KASPIKA, an agency for the conservation of Caspian seals.

☆ Ukraine lawmakers brand Chechnya 'Russian-occupied' in dig at Kremlin
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ichkeria is the historical name of Russia's southern region of Chechnya that was devastated by two bloody wars between Russian troops and Chechen separatists after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. A majority of Ukrainian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to back a resolution that "recognises the Chechen republic of Ichkeria as territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation as a result of armed aggression which contravened the UN's Statute". Ukraine uses the same language - "temporarily occupied" - to describe swathes of Ukrainian territory that were seized by Russian forces in 2014 and following this year's invasion. Ukraine's 450-seat parliament, which has continued to function behind closed doors despite Russian attacks on the capital Kyiv and other cities, said 290 lawmakers had voted to adopt the resolution. The parliament known in Ukraine as the Verkhovna Rada said 352 lawmakers were present for the vote.

Russians trying to avoid getting conscripted to fight in Ukraine appeared to be trying to cross the border into Georgia, Kazakhstan and even remote Mongolia, satellite imagery suggested Monday. Russian border guards didn’t appear to be trying to stop them. The Russians are fleeing to Georgia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and other countries because they don't require visas. Logvin said he waited 34 hours at the border before he was allowed to enter Georgia. According to Maxar, this satellite image appears to show a traffic jam near the Russian border with Georgia on Sunday.

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