Two thirds of Russians speak of 'overall degradation' of government

The Russian population at large is becoming increasingly convinced that the country’s government is totally corrupt. The arrests of high-ranking officials are perceived not as evidence of the fight against corruption, but merely a show, or evidence of infighting between members of the elite.

This was the conclusion reached by the Levada Center’s survey in February dedicated to the Rauf Arashukov case. Arashukov, a former senator from Karachay-Cherkessia, was arrested during a session of the …


Russian diplomats intend to meet the son of ‘Novichok’ poisoning victim

The Russian Embassy in Great Britain expressed its readiness to meet with the son of the Dawn Sturgess, who died after being exposed to a nerve agent, which also affected Sergey Skripal and his daughter Julia, informs the Russian service of Radio Liberty.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, the diplomatic mission noted that they intend to send Evan Hope the "Salisbury: questions without answers" report, prepared for the anniversary of the incident in Salisbury.

"The embassy is ready to …


Ukrainian border guards detain Russian mercenary at Luhansk checkpoint

The Ukrainian military detained a Russian mercenary in the Luhansk region, reported the Staff of the Joint Forces Operation on March 3. "During the service at the checkpoint, the regular shift of the 3rd Operational Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine detained a citizen who had been cooperating with Russian separatist troops,” the statement reads.

During a routine document check, civil guard officers learned through the National Police database that the man was subject to detention as an …


Russian ship with grain for Iran stranded near Astrakhan

The Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Astrakhan region reported that the Stepano ship, which transported about 5 thousand tons of grain from Astrakhan to the Iranian port of Amirobad, stranded in the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Channel (VKMSK). 

The incident occurred at 9:25 local time (8:25 Moscow time) in the Ikryaninsky district, between the towns of Ninovka and Fedorovka.

According to the ministry, there are 14 crew members on board, and they were not injured. It is reported that …


Russian Defense Ministry aircraft spotted near Caracas

In the early morning hours of 3 March, an Il-62 aircraft (registration number RA-86496) belonging to the Russian Defense Ministry was detected in the region of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, according to information from Flightradar24.

According to the flight tracking service, the Il-62 took off close to the Chkalovsky military airport near Moscow on the morning of 2 March. The plane adopted a course towards South Africa, flew over the Moroccan capital, Rabat, and approached Caracas in the …