Russia postponed the commissioning of the nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika because of sanctions and loss of access to Ukrainian turbines

Last May, Russian President Vladimir Putin was forced to push back the deadline for the delivery of the main nuclear-powered icebreaker LK-60YA Arktika from 2017 to 2019, reported Kommersant newspaper.

Putin demanded to take personnel, organizational and managerial decisions because of the failure of the state contract. The Accounts Chamber, the Prosecutor General's Office and the Federal Security Service are expected to conduct a project audit.

The key problem of the Arktika was the turbines. …


Media: Putin presented Valaam Monastery with a yacht worth $4 million

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented Valaam Monastery with the yacht “Pallada”, reported Kommersant FM radio in a broadcast about the President’s visit to the monastery.

"As it turned out later, this is a gift from Vladimir Putin to the Valaam Monastery," the report says.

However, the Russian President’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov denied the reports of the donated yacht, TASS reported. Peskov noted that Putin "has long been keeping problems of the monastery [on Valaam Island] under …


Georgia: Ukraine asked Tbilisi to restore Saakashvili's citizenship

Tamar Chugoshvili, the First Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, claims that the Ukrainian delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) asked its Georgian colleagues to reissue citizenship to former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in order to "spare them from him.", reported Georgia.Online.

"At the last session of PACE, everyone, starting with the leader of the Ukrainian delegation and including other members, begged us to restore Georgian citizenship to …


Russians arrested in Hamburg unrest, face up to 10 years in prison

Two Russians arrested after the riots in Hamburg, which took place on the eve of and during the recent G20 summit, may face six months to ten years in prison, as stated by the official representative of the Hamburg prosecutor’s office Nana Frombach.

According to her, ten years is the maximum period to which detainees can be sentenced, but the final decision will be made by the court after the investigation is completed and formal charges are brought.

Both prisoners are currently being held in …


Yanukovych to file a lawsuit against Ukraine in the European Court of Human Rights

Viktor Yanukovych, the former President of Ukraine, will file a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights within a month, according to his lawyer, Vitaly Serdyuk, who said that his client intends to complain about Ukraine’s violation of his right to access justice and protection.

Yanukovych’s defense team will not wait for the verdict of the Ukrainian court in the high treason case against him. His lawyers regard the decision of the court to begin his trial in absentia as an actual …