Latest Russia government News
Police raid Moscow gay bars after a Supreme Court ruling labeled LGBTQ+ movement 'extremist'
Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow Friday night, less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned what it called the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization. Police searched venues across the Russian capital, including a...
Putin orders the Russian military to add 170,000 troops for a total of 1.32 million
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered the country's military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.32 million, as Moscow’s military action in Ukraine continues into its 22nd month. Putin's decree was released by the Kremlin...
The director of Russia's Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev, is also put in charge of the Bolshoi
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian government on Friday named Valery Gergiev, the renowned director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, to also lead Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. Gergiev is replacing Vladimir Urin at the Bolshoi. Urin announced Thursday that he was stepping down after a...
Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlaws LGBTQ+ activism in a landmark ruling
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism on Thursday, the most drastic step against advocates of gay, lesbian and transgender rights in the increasingly conservative country. Ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry,...
Russian missile strikes in eastern Ukraine rip through buildings, kill 2 and bury families in rubble
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles tore through apartment buildings in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, local officials said Thursday, killing at least two people and burying families under rubble as the Kremlin’s forces continued to pound the fiercely contested area with long-range...
Russia's foreign minister faces Western critics at security meeting and walks out after speech
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov faced Western critics while attending international security talks Thursday in Northern Macedonia, where he blamed “NATO’s reckless expansion to the East” for war returning to Europe. Lavrov arrived in...
Hungary will not agree to starting EU membership talks with Ukraine, minister says
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary will not support any European Union proposal to begin talks on making Ukraine a member of the bloc, a government minister said Thursday. Gergely Gulyas, the chief of staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said at a news conference in...
Finland will close its entire border with Russia over migrant concerns
HELSINKI (AP) — Finland said Tuesday it will close its last remaining border crossing with Russia amid concerns that Moscow is using migrants as part of “hybrid warfare” to destabilize the Nordic country following its entry into NATO. Finland already had shut seven of the eight...
Ukraine says spy chief's wife is being treated for poisoning with heavy metals
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The wife of Ukraine’s intelligence chief has been diagnosed with heavy metals poisoning and is undergoing treatment in a hospital, a spokesperson for the agency said Tuesday as the country's war with Russia stretched into its 22nd month. Marianna Budanova is...
Putin accuses the West of trying to 'dismember and plunder' Russia in a ranting speech
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, in a ranting speech before a presidential election campaign, cast Moscow's military action in Ukraine as an existential battle against purported attempts by the West to destroy Russia. Putin, who has been in power for more...
