Section: Newsweek (USA)
A Third of Russians Believe Trump Would Improve Relations With U.S.
A third of Russians believe that relations between Moscow and the U.S. will improve if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump were to be elected in November, a state pollster has found. The majority of Russians, however, do not know who he is. According to a poll of 1,600 people by state-run pollster WCIOM the majority (53 percent) of...
Vladimir Putin’s Red Scare? Inside Russia’s Resurgent Communist Party
When Vladimir Obukhovsky speaks of Josef Stalin, his voice drops a tone in reverence. The 23-year-old is too young to remember life under the Soviet dictator—let alone Russia’s Communist system—but he yearns to see the red flag fly over the Kremlin once more. “Communism is the sole system under which our country had it all,” says...
Medvedev Curbs Hope for More Russian Defense Industry Spending
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned his cabinet that the country is unlikely to pour more money than planned into its defense industry over the next three years. Medvedev is in the process of outlining Russia’s budget for the next three years, holding regular meetings with cabinet members to fix spending and offset the effects...
Why Did Putin Order a Mass Reshuffle of Government?
Russian President Vladimir Putin reshuffled the Russian government with 15 staff changes at senior positions across the country announced by the Kremlin on Thursday. Putin’s spokesman dismissed the change as simply routine rotation but some of the hires and dismissals provide insight into the Kremlin’s current strategy and who they...
Russia To Unveil New $1.4 Billion Black Sea Fleet Base Near Crimea
Russia plans to open a new Black Sea naval base near Crimea in four years’ time, a retired Black Sea Fleet commander has told state news agency RIA Novosti. Moscow retained military facilities in Crimea after Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1992 and has been rearming the peninsula since annexing it in 2014. The Black...
Russia Invites Donald Trump to Crimea
The Russian-backed government of Crimea has welcomed U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump, after he was cited saying he was open to discussing the territory’s contested status. Trump has received some praise from the Kremlin and has in turn said he would seek to end the rift between the U.S. and Russia. When asked if Trump would consider...
Kremlin Dismisses Russian Plot to Assault Poland as ‘Mindless’
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has called speculation that Moscow could mount an offensive on nearby Poland “mindless” state news agency Itar-Tass reported. Poland and the three Baltic states have requested NATO assistance in reinforcing their ability to deal with a potential Russian attack, since the Kremlin’s...
Kremlin Dismisses Being Behind Democratic Party Hack
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has laughed off suggestions that Russia was behind the hack of emails from the U.S. Democratic Party, warning journalists not to make him use unprintable words, state news agency Itar-Tass reports. Over 20,000 emails exchanged by party officials were leaked by hackers last week, exposing damaging...
Bulgaria Concerned By Spike of Russian Airspace Violations
Russia has violated NATO-ally Bulgaria’s airspace 10 times in the last month in what the country’s minister of defense has described as provocation, Bulgarian state TV channel Nova TV reports. “The entry of Russian aircraft in our zone of exclusivity is provocation with an unclear goal,” Nenchev said. “This is highly worrying, which...
Erdogan’s Apology Is Too Little, Too Late For Russians
The vast majority of Russians believe Turkey’s apology for downing a Russian jet last year has come too late and Turkey needs to offer further compensation, a Russian state poll reports. The incident in November saw a Russian Su-24 jet crash in northern Syria , after briefly entering Turkish airspace for a matter of seconds. Turkey claimed...
