Russian government resigns as Putin proposes reforms that could extend his grip on power

Moscow, Russia (CNN)The entire Russian government is resigning, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced Wednesday, after Vladimir Putin proposed sweeping reforms that could extend his decades-long grip on power beyond the end of his presidency.

Putin thanked members of the government for their work but added that "not everything worked out." Putin added that in the near future he would meet with each member of the cabinet. The mass resignation includes Medvedev.

The surprise announcement came after Putin proposed constitutional amendments that would strengthen the powers of the prime minister and parliament at the expense of the presidency.
Taking power from the presidency and handing it to parliament could signal a power shift that has been long speculated about in Russia.

Putin's critics have suggested that he is considering various scenarios to retain control of the country after his presidential term ends in 2024, including the option of becoming prime minister with extended powers. Similarly, in 2008 Putin swapped places with the prime minister to circumvent the constitutional provision banning the same person from serving two consecutive terms.

Thirty years on, some Russians want to reframe Soviet war in Afghanistan

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Thirty years after the Soviet Union left Afghanistan, some Russian politicians are calling for a reassessment of the conflict which critics have long cast as a bloody foreign adventure akin to the U.S. war in Vietnam.

Moscow completed the pullout of its troops on Feb. 15, 1989 after a nine-year war that claimed the lives of 14,000 Soviet nationals, many of them repatriated secretly in zinc coffins. Soviet deputies voted in a resolution that same year to formally condemn the intervention.

Thirty years on, with Russia fighting in Syria and the United States moving to withdraw its own troops, Afghanistan is back in focus and Russian lawmakers have called into question the Soviet resolution.

A flurry of diplomacy has also thrust Russia back into Afghanistan as a potential power broker, with Moscow hosting the Taliban and Afghan opposition politicians for its own peace negotiations on the heels of U.S. talks with the Taliban.

Two lawmakers in the Kremlin-dominated parliament have drafted legislation on behalf of veterans groups to overturn the Soviet resolution, arguing that it had fundamentally failed to “correspond with the principles of historical justice”.

The legislation received preliminary backing from a parliamentary commission on defense last month, but was fiercely denounced on Friday as “unacceptable and irresponsible” by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in comments to RIA news agency.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the parliamentary initiative and instead lauded veterans of the campaign.

“For us the most important thing is to remember all the heroes who fulfilled their international duty and did what they had to do. Most important is not to forget these heroes, and no one indeed is forgetting these heroes,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The anniversary was marked by prominent commemorative events broadcast on state television.

Ukraine Orthodox leaders approve break with Russian church

DRAMA!

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian Orthodox leaders on Saturday approved the creation of a unified church independent of the Moscow Patriarchate and elected a leader to head that new church — a move that could exponentially raise tensions with neighboring Russia.

The vote, held at a closed-door synod in Kiev's St. Sophia Cathedral, is the latest in a series of confrontations between Ukraine and authorities in Russia, including President Vladimir Putin's government. Ahead of the vote, the Russian Orthodox Church called on the United Nations, the leaders of Germany and France, the pope and other spiritual leaders to protect Orthodox believers in Ukraine.

The leader of the new autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church will be Metropolitan Epiphanius, a 39-year-old bishop from the Kiev Patriarchate.

"G-d heard our appeals and gave us this anticipated unity," Epiphanius told a crowd of thousands who had gathered outside the cathedral on Saturday to hear the news. He stressed that the new church's doors would be open to all, and encouraged Ukrainians to rally behind it.

Still spiritual leaders attending Saturday's synod couched their efforts to create an independent church in patriotic rhetoric. Father Sergei Dmitriev said — given Ukraine's ongoing conflicts with Russia — "we should have our own church, not an agent of the Kremlin in Ukraine."

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who has made the creation of a new church a key campaign issue, attended the synod Saturday as a non-voting observer.

"Ukraine was not, is not, and will not be the canonical territory of the Russian church," Poroshenko told the gathering, adding that creating an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church was now a matter of national security.

"This is a question of Ukrainian statehood," Poroshenko said. "We are seizing spiritual independence, which can be likened to political independence. We are breaking the chains that tie us to the (Russian) empire."

Representatives of Ukraine's three Orthodox Churches attended the synod in Kiev, but only two from the branch loyal to Moscow showed up. One Russian bishop — Metropolitan Hilarion in Volokolamsk — on Saturday compared those two representatives of the Moscow-backed church to Judas, the biblical betrayer of Jesus.

The newly formed community is expected to receive independence from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Istanbul-based institution considered the so-called "first among equals" of leaders of the world's Orthodox Churches.

Tension escalates after Russia seizes Ukraine naval ships

DRAMA!

- BBC.com Russia has fired on and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels off the Crimean Peninsula in a major escalation of tensions between the two countries.

Two gunboats and a tug were captured by Russian forces. A number of Ukrainian crew members were injured.

Each country blames the other for the incident. On Monday Ukrainian MPs are due to vote on declaring martial law.

The crisis began when Russia accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its waters.

The Russians placed a tanker under a bridge in the Kerch Strait - the only access to the Sea of Azov, which is shared between the two countries.

During a meeting of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, President Petro Poroshenko described the Russian actions as "unprovoked and crazy".

Russia has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, which US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley says has been called for 11:00 New York time (16:00 GMT) on Monday.

Tensions have recently risen in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov off the Crimean peninsula - annexed by Russia in 2014.

Trump says “Germany is a captive to Russia.

newrepublic.com - Trump says “Germany is a captive to Russia.”

In a Wednesday meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trumpshocked the room by complaining that “Germany is totally controlled by Russia.” The focus of the president’s ire was Germany’s reliance on Russia for roughly a third of its natural gas. “How can you be together when a country is getting its energy from the person you want protection against or from the group that you want protection against?” Trump asked.

Although Trump’s attack took onlookers aback, it follows a familiar pattern. Under fire for alleged collusion with the Russian government, Trump responds by complaining about others who have Russia ties. It’s a reprise of the famous exchange he had with Hillary Clinton in 2016, where he turned around the idea of being “Putin’s puppet” by saying, “No puppet. No puppet. You’re the puppet.”

The remarks are also of a piece with Trump’s habit of attacking American allies, as he did both before and after the G-7 summit. While it’s true that German reliance on Russian natural gas is a longstanding concern, Trump’s deployment of the issue in a public forum to berate Germany seems opportunistic.

Further, as Atlantic columnist David Frum points out, Trump misunderstands the actual American objections to a pipeline between Germany and Russia.

‘He’s Not Our Tsar’: Russians Protest Putin Ahead of Inauguration

- Two days before President Vladimir Putin is due to be inaugurated for a fourth time, more than 1,600 people were detained across Russia at protests against his extended rule.

It was the first major protest against Putin since January. Then, opposition politician Alexei Navalny had called for a boycott of the March elections after he was barred from standing due to a fraud conviction that his supporters say is politically motivated. The mostly peaceful protests drew thousands onto the streets.

They did not, however, stop Putin from winning 77 percent of the vote. The president was re-elected with a record number of ballots, making him the longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin.

Unlike January’s demonstration, the protests on Saturday turned violent. While thousands across the country — from Vladivostok in the Far East to Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea — marched in the protests which were called by Navalny last month, it was in the capital where the clashes were most severe.

By the time Navalny’s supporters arrived at Pushkin Square at 2 p.m., several hundred pro-Kremlin “volunteer” militia had already occupied the square. Wearing orange-and-black St. George’s ribbons — a symbol of patriotism — they approached protesters aggressively, tearing up signs that read: “He is not our tsar” and “I am against corruption.”

As the groups converged, a pro-Kremlin activist punched Alexei Berezhkin, a 27-year-old Navalny supporter. A policeman intervened, telling the aggressor to disperse. Then he spoke sternly to Berezhkin. “The policeman told me I was blocking the man’s way,” Berezhkin told The Moscow Times.

Then came the arrests. Only fifteen minutes after Navalny’s supporters arrived en masse, riot police, known colloquially as “cosmonauts” for their bulbous helmets and armor, spilled into the square, snatching protesters one by one.

Those who weren’t taken stood firm. And when Navalny arrived on the scene around 2:25 p.m., they burst into cheers. Addressing the crowd, Navalny said, “I am proud of us for coming out here today.”

Ten minutes later, he, too, was detained.

As the riot police formed barricades to push protesters out of the square, they ran into the neighboring streets, cheering and clapping and chanting: “Down with the tsar!” and “Putin is a thief!”

Some protesters lit smoke bombs and threw bricks at policemen. Others were beaten bloody with batons in scenes that were reminiscent of the massive clashes between law enforcement and protesters on the eve of Putin’s inauguration in 2012. That day six years ago marked the beginning of a clampdown on Russia’s emerging opposition movement.

Woman Embalmed Alive, Dies Painfully Due To Hospital's Bizarre Error

ibtimes.com - A 27-year-old woman died after she was embalmed alive as doctors mistakenly put her on a formalin drip, a solution containing formaldehyde, instead of saline. The incident took place in a hospital in the city of Ulyanovsk in Russia when Ekaterine Fedyaeva was admitted there for a routine surgery.

Fedyaeva's mother accused the medical team of "murder" after her daughter suffered horrible pains and convulsions for two days before going into coma. The drip that was given to Fedyaeva is normally infused into the veins of the dead to prevent decomposition. Later, the woman was flown to a top Moscow hospital where she died of multiple organ failure.

“Her legs were moving, she had convulsions, her whole body was shaking. I put socks on her, then a robe, then a blanket but she was shivering to such an extent, I can’t even describe it. No doctor came to see her although she was coming round from anesthetic,” Fedyaeva's mother Galina Baryshnikova, told United Kingdom media.

Baryshnikova said after her daughter was given the drip, she suffered chronic stomach pains and vomiting.

"We had no idea it was formalin...And they knew very well that they washed up her body with a poison - and they did nothing to help…Now I understand that formalin was simply eroding her body from inside."

"People who performed the surgery already knew that they infused something wrong," she added. "They needed to take some urgent measures - but they did nothing."

A criminal investigation is currently underway into the death of Fedyaeva, who was buried Saturday.

While blaming the doctors at the hospital of her daughter's death, Baryshnikova said she begged them to help but they told her to go home.

"I begged – 'please help her, she is my only child'," the mother said. "I think they just wanted me to go away and to hide everything."

Overnight, Fedyaeva was rushed to intensive care as her condition deteriorated and she was later put on life support.

"For 14 hours after surgery she was living with this formalin and they did nothing,” Baryshnikova said.

According to U.K.'s Mirror Online, medics at the regional clinic reportedly used over 50 different drugs in an attempt to save Fedyaeva's life before she was flown to another hospital in Moscow. However, the young woman's life could not be saved.

Putin is on track for a win as Russians head to polls, but it's causing fears of a low turnout

cnbc.com - Russians began voting in a presidential election on Sunday, and are set to give Vladimir Putin a commanding victory that could only be blemished if large numbers do not bother taking part because the result is so predictable.

A day of voting across Russia's 11 time zones began at 2000 GMT on Saturday on Russia's eastern edge, in the Pacific coast city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Voting will run until polls close at the westernmost point of Russia, the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic Sea, at 1800 GMT on Sunday.

Opinion polls give Putin, the incumbent, support of around 70 percent, or nearly 10 times the backing of his nearest challenger. Another term will take him to nearly a quarter century in power — a longevity among Kremlin leaders second only to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Putin's opponents alleged officials were trying to inflate the turnout.

Many voters credit Putin, a 65-year-old former KGB spy, with standing up for Russia's interests in a hostile outside world, even though the cost is confrontation with the West.

A row with Britain over allegations the Kremlin used a nerve toxin to poison a Russian double agent in a sleepy English town — denied byMoscow — has not dented his standing.

The majority of voters see no viable alternative to Putin: He has total dominance of the political scene and the state-run television, where most people get their news, gives lavish coverage of Putin and little airtime to his rivals.

Galina Zhukova, a pensioner, came to polling station number 1512 in Zelenodolsk, about 800 km (500 miles) east of Moscow, with her husband, Alexei. They arrived soon after the doors opened.

"We voted for Putin. Things are all right for us," said Alexei. "And there's no one else to vote for," Galina said.

"He (Putin) is our president. We take pride in him," said Marianna Shanina, a resident of the Crimea region. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine four years ago, earning Putin admiration from many Russians and condemnation from the West.

"We wish him victory at the election. Our whole family will vote for Putin. Putin! Good health to you, beloved president!," Shanina said at a Putin election rally.

Music Interlude

Russia: Putin says Jews, Ukrainians, Tatars could be behind U.S. election meddling

usatoday.com MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin says he doesn’t care about alleged Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election because the actions weren’t connected to his government.

In an interview with American broadcaster NBC News that aired Saturday, Putin also suggested that some of the 13 Russian nationals indicted by the United States may not be ethnically Russian.

“Maybe they are not even Russians, but Ukrainians, Tatars or Jews, but with Russian citizenship, which should also be checked,” he said.

Putin responded brusquely when interviewer Megyn Kelly asked if he condoned the interference that was alleged in last month’s U.S. indictment by special counsel Robert Mueller.

“It’s all the same to me. To me it absolutely makes no difference because they do not represent the government,” Putin answered, according to the Russian-language interview transcript posted Saturday by the Kremlin.

Putin said Russia has neither the tools nor the will to meddle in elections. He repeatedly complained during the interview that Washington has brushed off Russian initiatives to work together on cybersecurity issues.

“But the U.S. refuses to work like this and instead throws 13 Russians to the media,” he said, going on to list the possible ethnicities that would make the suspects “not even Russian.”

“Maybe they have dual citizenship or a green card; maybe the U.S. paid them for this. How can you know that? I do not know, either,” the Russian leader said.

Putin claimed that the United States interferes in Russian elections “all the time” but that it was “impossible for us” to do the same.

Are Mexico's Elections Russia's Next Target?

-theatlantic.com - Amid the political firestorm over Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections here in the United States, it may have been easy to overlook the steady drip of warnings about a possible replay of Russian mischief-making right next door in Mexico. Back in December, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster spoke ominously about “initial signs” of a trademark campaign of subversion, disinformation, and propaganda, ahead of Mexico’s presidential elections on July 1. One month later at a press conference in Mexico City on February 1, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was asked about evidence of Russian election interference. He had this advice to offer to Mexican officials: “Pay attention. Pay attention to what’s happening.”

But it’s unclear whether Mexican officials, who have repeatedly denied that they see any signs of Russian interference, will heed such advice. President Donald Trump’s relentless vitriol for Mexican immigrants and contempt for nafta haven’t exactly endeared his administration to Mexicans, potentially undermining the credibility of such warnings from Washington. (Tillerson didn’t do himself any favors when he called the Monroe Doctrine, which called for keeping European powers out of the Americas, “as relevant today as it was the day it was written.”) Mexico may even view U.S. warnings about the Russian threat as a potential smokescreen for Washington’s intention to interfere in its election, which will pit the unpopular incumbent Institutional Revolutionary Party and the center-right National Action Party against frontrunner and fiery populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the former mayor of Mexico City known as amlo. Indeed, some members of the U.S. political establishment seem to view Lopez Obrador as the second coming of Hugo Chavez.

Against this backdrop, it’s uncertain whether the United States or its European allies will be able to share with Mexico the lessons they’ve learned from their own election experiences, let alone with the long roster of Latin American countries holding national elections this year, including Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Paraguay. But unless countries like Mexico confront election-related vulnerabilities and the manipulation of voters through fake news and propaganda, the democratic process will be at risk.

Why would Russia choose to meddle with Mexico? For one thing, Moscow seeks to project itself as a great power. It likely sees Mexico’s election as an opportunity to reciprocate for what it perceives as Washington’s long history of meddling in the internal political of former Soviet states. Interfering in the Mexican election is also an easy way for Russia to cast itself as an equal to the United States—to show that it’s no mere regional power, to borrow from Barack Obama’s unfortunate phrasing.

By now, Russia also knows that effective influence campaigns require eager audiences—which, thanks in part to Trump, it’s likely to find in Mexico. According to a 2017 Pew survey, 65 percent of Mexicans express a negative opinion of the United States, more than double the share two years ago. This downturn in relations has strengthened the resolve of Mexican political and economic elites to diversify their country’s foreign policy and trade relationships, given the damage Trump has done to America’s image as a reliable partner. Taken together, this anti-American animus and white-hot anger inside the electorate about a soaring crime rate, Mexico’s failed war on drugs, and endemic corruption help make Mexican audiences amenable to the kind of reports that are dished out 24/7 by the Spanish language arms of Russia’s sprawling propaganda apparatus.

UK blames Russia for cyber attack, Moscow decries Western campaign

LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Britain blamed Russia on Thursday for a cyber-attack last year, publicly pointing the finger at Moscow for spreading a virus which swept across Europe and beyond, hitting companies and other users after initially targeting Ukraine.

Russia denied the accusation, saying it was part of “Russophobic” campaign that it said was being waged by some Western countries.

Two sources familiar with the matter said later on Thursday that London’s announcement had been coordinated with the United States and other countries, some of which were expected to follow up with their own statements about who was responsible for NotPetya in the coming days.

The so-called NotPetya attack in June started in Ukraine where it crippled government and business computers before spreading around Europe and the world, halting operations at ports, factories and offices.

Russians scour wreckage for clues in plane crash that killed 71

abcnews.com - Hundreds of emergency workers are combing through a field in deep snow today for wreckage from a Russian passenger jet that crashed shortly after taking off from Moscow Sunday, killing all 71 aboard.

Saratov Airlines flight 703 was flying to the city of Orsk in central Russia but crashed minutes after leaving Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, plunging into the countryside about 40 miles from the city, authorities said.

Russian authorities have confirmed the plane's 65 passengers, including three children, as well as six crew members, died in the crash, which left debris across a field close to the village of Stepanovskoye. A day of mourning has been declared in Orenburg, the region where Orsk is located and where many of the passengers were from.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said today rescue operations at the site near Moscow had been called off and that the focus now was on recovering remains and debris from the crash as part of an investigation to determine what caused it. DNA analysis is being conducted to identify the remains of those killed.

Workers have found at least one of the plane’s flight recorders. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which handles serious crimes, said in a statement that the plane’s data recorder, which preserves information like speed, altitude and direction, had been located. The search for the plane’s cockpit recorder is continuing, the committee said.

The cause of the crash still remained unknown. Russian investigators have opened a criminal probe into whether negligence could have led to the crash but they have said they are still examining all possible versions, including weather conditions, technical failure or human error, among others.

Although terrorism has not yet been ruled out, police have suggested it is not being considered a likely cause. ContinueReading

Ukraine Passes Bill To Restore Control Over Separatist-Held Areas

KYIV -- Ukraine's parliament has passed a bill that backers, including President Poroshenko, say will help Kyiv restore control over areas in the east that are held by Russia-backed separatists.

The bill, which has been the subject of tension and demonstrations in a country whose stability has been undermined by nearly four years of war, was adopted with support from 280 lawmakers in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada on January 18.

It goes to Poroshenko, who backed the legislation and celebrated its passage in social-media posts after the vote.

"We will continue to pave the way for reintegration of the occupied Ukrainian lands through political and diplomatic steps," Poroshenko wrote on Twitter.

Moscow said that the draft amounted to preparation for war.

​The bill labels Russia an "aggressor" and the separatist-held parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces -- part of what is known as the Donbas -- as "temporarily occupied territories."

That is the same designation given previously to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia seized in 2014.

In his tweet, Poroshenko called the bill's passage "a signal for the Donbas and for Crimea: You are an inseparable part of Ukraine."

The bill makes no reference to the European-backed peace deal known as the Minsk accord, leaving questions about whether it could further complicate efforts to implement the February 2015 agreement aimed at ending the war in eastern Ukraine.

The pact obliged Kyiv to adopt legislation granting substantial autonomy to the separatist-held regions -- an idea that has come under fire from many politicians in Ukraine.

Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine and pro-Kremlin politicians in Moscow claimed that the bill would badly undermine the Minsk pact, whose implementation has been described by the United States and the European Union as a condition for lifting sanctions against Russia.

"Kyiv has gone from sabotaging the Minsk agreements to burying them," said Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian parliament's upper house.

The Russian Foreign Ministry later said in a statement, "You cannot call this anything but preparation for a new war," and warned that the bill "risked a dangerous escalation in Ukraine with unpredictable consequences for world peace and security."

Language regarding the Minsk accords was removed after much debate ahead of the first reading of the bill.

More than 10,300 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since April 2014 in the conflict, which erupted as Russia fomented separatism after Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych was pushed from power by huge pro-European protests in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian military said on January 18 that one soldier had been killed in eastern Ukraine in the previous 24 hours.

The bill supports a ban on trade and a transport blockade of the east that has been in place since 2017. Under the legislation, the only separatist-issued documents that Ukraine would recognize are birth and death certificates.

The Associated Press cited Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta research center think-tank in Kyiv, as saying the main purpose of the bill is to defend Ukraine's interests in international courts. ContinueReading

In retaliatory move, Putin signs media 'foreign agents' law

(CNN) Russian President Vladmir Putin has signed amendments into law that will allow foreign media outlets in Russia to be listed as "foreign agents," according to state-run news agency Sputnik news.

Russian officials have said the change is a retaliatory response to the US government's request that RT, the Russian TV network, register its American arm as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Sputnik reports the amendments signed by Putin had been previously approved by both chambers of the Russian parliament.

"According to the text of the law, media that receive financial assistance from foreign states or organizations can be recognized as foreign agents, while the decision on which outlets will be classified as 'foreign agents' will be taken by the Ministry of Justice." (ontinueReading

Russia threatens retaliation against U.S. media after RT network told to register as a foreign agent

DRAMA

latimes.com - Russia said Thursday it could begin next week to take measures against U.S. media outlets working in Russia in retaliation for a decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to make the Kremlin-funded RT news agency register as a foreign agent.

The Justice Department set a deadline of Nov. 13 for RT to register as a foreign agency based on accusations that the Russian government-funded cable news network and website was a Kremlin propaganda outlet. The decision came in the wake of investigations into Kremlin attempts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

RT’s chief editor, Margarita Simonyan, said the outlet would register by the deadline but planned to challenge the decision in a U.S. court. Failure to register could result in the seizure of RT’s U.S. bank accounts and the arrest of the senior editor, Simonyan told Russian news outlets.

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a news briefing that Russia was now considering retaliatory measures against U.S. media outlets.

“I think that our patience that is nearly run out will take some legal shape. I don’t rule out it will be done next week,” Zakharova told the Rossiya 24 television channel in an interview, the Russian news agency Tass reported.

In the past, Russia has threatened to target Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America, both of which receive U.S. government funding. In the past, the ministry also has mentioned CNN, which does not receive U.S. government funds, but is a frequent target of criticism by the Russian government for what it says is anti-Russian bias in its reporting.

RT, formerly known as Russia Today, was started in 2005 with a large budget provided by the Kremlin. The news channel broadcasts in several languages and in dozens of countries around the world, promoting what it calls an alternative view to Western media. Critics have said RT’s programming promotes conspiracy theories and anti-Western ideas.

In a statement posted to its Facebook account Thursday night, the Russian Embassy in the United States said the Justice Department’s decision “created a dangerous precedent.”

“Blatant pressure on the Russian mass media confirms that the United States pursues the course of deliberately hurting our relations,” the statement said. “We consider its demand as a wish to eliminate an alternative source of information, which is an unacceptable violation of the international norms of free press.”

The threat of retaliation against U.S. media from the Kremlin is the latest in a diplomatic standoff that has resulted in both Moscow and Washington being forced to reduce embassy staff and give up diplomatic compounds. (ontinueReading

Related:

What You Need to Know About RT’s Pending Foreign Agent Registration

Is Russia Today Controlled Opposition?

Kazakhstan's leader changes country's name to 'Qazaqstan' in rebuff to Putin interference

DRAMA!

ibtimes.co.uk - The central Asian country of Kazakhstan is changing its name to Qazaqstan in a challenge to Russian influence over the country.

The former Soviet state announced on Friday (October 27) it will appoint a national committee to oversee the country's transition to the Latin alphabet by 2025. As a result the spelling of the country will change in line with a more accurate Latin spelling.

"[Latin] is used by approximately 70% of all countries, making it an essential part of communicating across the globe, especially in terms of technology, business, science and education," its foreign ministry said.

Currently the country uses a Cyrillic alphabet, which was introduced in 1940 by the then ruling Soviet Union. The adapted Kazakh Cyrillic alphabet contains 42 letters, including 9 reserved for Kazakh language sounds.

Although Kazakh is the government's official language, Russian is still widely spoken and around one-fifth of the nation's 18 million citizens use Russian on a day-to-day basis.

Kazakh is from the family of Turkic languages and was originally written in Arabic up until the 1920s, when Russian authorities introduced the Latin alphabet. They subsequently changed it to Cyrillic two decades later.

Observers believe the move is likely to anger the Kremlin, which still exerts control over the oil-rich nation. Since independence in 1991, Kazakhstan's large ethnic Russian population has resulted in close political ties with Moscow. During the Crimean crisis in 2014, Vladimir Putin pledged to protect ethically Russian populations around the region, which has deeply worried officials in Astana, Kazakhstan's capital.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country's 77-year-old president, has long touted a move away from Russian influence and has recently accelerated plans for a Latin alphabet. In a newspaper column in April, he stated that teaching of Roman alphabet would begin in 2018, alongside the introduction of new school textbooks.

Nazarbayev has been in charge of Kazakhstan since the fall of communism in 1991 and is officially styled as 'Leader of the Nation.' The long-serving politician has been subject to criticism by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, who have accused him of presiding over an authoritarian regime. He successfully fought a presidential election in 2015 and won 98% of the vote.

Related: Kazakhstan to change from Cyrillic to Latin alphabet

Daughter of Putin's mentor, Russian It-girl Ksenia Sobchak, announces her presidential bid

RT.com - Russian jet setter, TV personality, glossy magazine editor and all-around It-girl-turned opposition figure Ksenia Sobchak, 35, has officially announced her decision to run for the presidency in the 2018 election.

Running as an independent, Sobchak generally has a love-hate relationship with the Russian audience. Having been on the country's pop culture scene for many years, she has hosted one of the most popular reality TV shows, is a frequent guest at international VIP celebrity parties, has modeled for Playboy and is now editor-in-chief of L'Officiel Russia.

In a recent interview with Glamour Russia, Sobchak called being president "a top level art project," adding that she thinks her career in showbiz would help in her political bid.

Sobchak also hosts an interview show on the Dozhd (Rain) TV channel, and in 2012 joined the opposition movement, having taken part in the Bolotnaya Square protests in central Moscow.

Ksenia's late father, Anatoly Sobchak, was a famous Russian politician, the first democratically elected mayor of St. Petersburg in the 1990s. Vladimir Putin joined Sobchak's team in 1990, and worked closely with the politician, who is widely considered to be his mentor.

"I have always had respect for [Ksenia's] father and regard him as an outstanding figure in the modern Russian history... He was an honorable man, and played a great role in my life," Putin told Vedomosti newspaper in September, when rumors of Ksenia Sobchak's possible run for the presidency started circulating.

However, Putin pointed out that "personal matters can play no significant role when running for presidency is this case," saying that Sobchak's potential political career "depends on the political programme she offers."

"Every citizen in accordance with the law has the right to run as a candidate. Ksenia Sobchak is no exception," he said. (ontinueReading

U.S. Embassy in Moscow Suspends Non-Immigrant Visas for Russians

moscowtimes.com - The U.S. Embassy in Russia is temporarily suspending processing non-immigrant visa applications in response to Russia’s expulsion of American diplomats.

“Due to the Russian government-imposed cap on U.S. diplomatic personnel in Russia, all non-immigrant visa operations across Russia will be suspended on Aug. 23,” the U.S. Embassy said in a statement published Monday morning.

“Operations will resume in Moscow on Sept. 1; visa operations at the U.S. consulates will remain suspended indefinitely,” the statement added.

Non-immigrant visas are issued to travelers who want to visit the U.S. temporarily, as opposed to applying for permanent residency in the country.

The move is just the latest in a series of tit-for-tat measures between Russia and the United States as part of an ongoing diplomatic spat over fresh sanctions codified by U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 2.

After the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly voted in favor of the sanctions bill, the Russian government announced on July 28 it would cut the number of U.S. diplomatic staff in Russia to 455.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has also barred U.S. embassy staff access to a warehouse and recreational property in Moscow’s suburbs from the beginning of August.

“Russia’s decision to reduce the United States’ diplomatic presence here calls into question Russia’s seriousness about pursuing better relations,” reads the statement on the U.S. Embassy page.

Consular and embassy services for U.S. citizens will not be impacted by the measures, the embassy added in fact sheet published alongside the statement.

Russian citizens who have already paid their visa fees will not be eligible for refunds, according to the fact sheet, but the payments will remain valid for one year.

Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova previously said that if Russians were subjected to delays following the staff cuts at the U.S. Embassy, Russia would introduce retaliatory wait times for U.S. citizens applying for Russian visas.

Not Again! Several wounded in Russian knife attack, attacker shot dead

MOSCOW (Reuters) - From seven to eight people were wounded in a knife attack in the Russian Siberian city of Surgut, local criminal investigators said on Saturday, adding that the attacker had been shot dead by police.

The militant Islamic State group, monitored in Cairo, said one of its fighters had carried out the attack, though a Russian law enforcement spokeswoman would not comment on whether police regarded the incident as terrorism related.

"A man was moving along the main streets stabbing people", the local law enforcement committee in Surgut said in a statement on its website. No-one was killed in the attack.

The attacker, who was born in 1994, had been killed, it said. It did not identify him by name.

"The committee is investigating attempted murder", its spokeswoman told Reuters by phone.

"The attacker responsible for the stabbing incident in Surgut in Russia is a fighter of the Islamic State", the group said through the AMAQ news agency.

The militant Islamist group, whose fighters are hard pressed by international coalition and national forces in Syria and Iraq, regularly claims links with attacks carried out in Europe.

The perpetrators of many attacks have often been inspired by the group's beliefs and acted alone, rather than been directed or organized by an Islamic State network on the ground. (ontinueReading
* * * *
Related: Finland stabbings: Two dead and suspect shot in Turku

Barcelona: Van hits crowds in Ramblas tourist area

Uh Oh: CNN faced $100M lawsuit over botched Russia story

nypost.com - The specter of a $100 million libel suit scared CNN into retracting a poorly reported story that slimed an ally of President Trump’s — and forcing out the staffers responsible for it, The Post has learned.

The cable network’s coverage of Trump transition team member Anthony Scaramucci came amid federal scrutiny of corporate parent Time Warner’s pending purchase by AT&T — and the widespread belief among media execs that CNN President Jeff Zucker can’t survive a merger.

CNN immediately caved after Scaramucci, a financier and frequent network guest, cried foul and threatened to take legal action, sources said Tuesday.

Scaramucci got an unusual public apology but still hired a top Manhattan lawyer to put further pressure on CNN and “look after [his] interests in this matter,” one source said.

Sources also said the three journalists responsible for the retracted story — reporter Tom Frank, editor Eric Lichtblau and Lex Haris, who headed the CNN Investigates unit — were urged to resign.

“They called them in and said they’d pay out their contracts, but they should leave immediately,” one source said.

Zucker was afraid of facing a high-profile suit from Scaramucci while the US Justice Department weighs the proposed $85.4 billion media merger.

Meanwhile, a CNN insider said staffers are furious at “having lost the moral high ground because of this story.” Sources said Zucker tried to rally his staff during a Tuesday morning conference call.

“Zucker stressed that this issue was a ‘lapse in editorial standards’ and said it was a lesson to all reporters and editors to continue to strive for strong, accurate reporting,” a source said.

At last week’s Cannes Lions festival in France — where Zucker boasted that viewers trust CNN “more than ever” — rumors were rife that he’d be out of a job if the AT&T deal goes through.

“It’s not just Jeff Zucker, all Time Warner executives are anxious about if they will survive the merger,” a media source said Tuesday.

“What is interesting is that the AT&T execs who will decide who goes and who stays are [AT&T CEO] Randall Stephenson and [AT&T Entertainment Group CEO] John Stankey — who have a very good relationship with the current administration.”

Trump — a fierce critic of CNN — publicly opposed the merger during the campaign. Sources said Scaramucci, a frequent guest on CNN to defend the president, was treated like a star at Saturday’s wedding of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Louise Linton in Washington, DC.

“Everyone at the White House has been high-fiving each other over Anthony’s success in embarrassing CNN,” one attendee said.

“Trump is thoroughly enjoying this, and Anthony got endless slaps on the back at Steve’s wedding.”

The retracted story was based on a single, anonymous source who claimed the Senate Intelligence Committee was probing ties between the Trump administration and a Russian government-owned investment fund.

The story, posted on CNN.com on Thursday, also claimed the Treasury Department was believed to be investigating Scaramucci over a purported Jan. 16 meeting with the fund’s director general.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday she wasn’t sure if CNN’s handling of the matter was “good enough” for her boss, who went on a Twitter tirade against the news channel earlier in the day.

“I think that we have gone to a place where if the media can’t be trusted to report the news, then that’s a dangerous place for America, and I think if that is the place that certain outlets are going, particularly for the purpose of spiking ratings, and if that’s coming directly from the top, I think that’s even more scary,” she said.

“I think that we should take a really good look at what we are focused on, what we are covering, and making sure that it’s actually accurate and it’s honest,” she added.

CNN’s retraction of the Scaramucci story was the latest in a string of recent embarrassments, including the firing earlier this month of “Believer” series host Reza Aslan after he called Trump a “piece of s–t” on Twitter. (ontinueReading

* * * * 

Related: ’Going for jugular’: Undercover filmmakers take aim at CNN

*Posted links are not direct endorsements