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Articles by Andrew McChesney
Wheels: Porsche 911 Carrera S Wins Over an iPhone Fan
I have a confession to make. Driving never really interested me. After living in Moscow for more than 17 years, I found it easy to navigate the city...
Foreign Ministry Joins Pranksters With April Fool's Joke
The Russian government joined a queue of pranksters taking advantage of April Fool's Day to have some fun Monday, but several people found reality...
Amid Crimea Crisis, Some Foreigners in Moscow Worry About Personal Safety
As Russia considers annexing Crimea after a weekend referendum, some foreign business leaders in Moscow are not only worried about the possible repercussions...
For Some Foreign Investors, Crimea Is Worst Crisis Since Fall of Berlin Wall
American and European investors are caught in a major crisis amid a standoff between the Kremlin and Western governments over Ukraine, with local...
British Brewery Mocks Putin With 'Anti-Gay' Beer
President Vladimir Putin can expect to receive a case of Scottish beer bearing his name and image soon — but it's doubtful that he'll want to chug...
Death Toll in Volgograd Suicide Blast Rises to 18 (Video)
A suicide bombing at a Volvograd train station packed with New Year's travelers on Sunday has killed at least 18 people raising new security fears only...
5 Ways the World Has Changed Since Khodorkovsky's Arrest (Photo Essay)
As Mikhail Khodorkovsky looks to integrate into the modern world, here's a look at several major things that have changed.
U.S. Puts 2 Gay Athletes on Official Delegation to Sochi
U.S. President Barack Obama has decided to skip the Sochi Winter Olympics and instead send two prominent gay Americans, drawing praise from gay rights...
Despite Putin's English Appeal, Yekaterinburg Loses Expo Bid
The loss to Dubai is likely to reverberate throughout Russian officialdom, which had viewed the bid as a state priority, and is a personal blow to...
Drivers Cautioned as Moscow Digs Out of First Snow
Moscow airports and roads are operating normally, but heavy snowfall left more than 23,000 people in the nearby Tver, Kostroma and Yaroslavl regions...
Italian Reporter's Pro-Gay Photo on Red Square Goes Viral
The reporter's photograph and encounter with angry police officers on Red Square is drawing new attention to Russia's attitude toward gays and bring...
Shuvalov Considers Delaying Rosneft Sale Until 2016
The government is considering delaying the privatization of oil giant Rosneft until 2016 or later as it seeks to maximize the price it can secure...
Wheels: Infiniti JX35 Nearly Drives Itself to St. Petersburg
As we leave the Moscow city limits en route to St. Petersburg, we are already admiring the car's advanced driving aids.
Wheels: Bentley Continental GT Offers Silent Rocket Ride
Unable to hear the rain, the engine or any other sounds from the street, you feel like you are silently flying through the air.
Moscow Denies U.S.-Based Diplomat Sought Young Spies
The spy flap centering around the 59-year-old head of a Kremlin-funded cultural exchange program raises the specter of a new dispute rocking already stormy...
Daddy's Boy: Azeri Billionaire's Son to Perform at Miss Universe Contest
Russia's first-ever Miss Universe beauty pageant will be packed with musicians: a former Spice Girl, Aerosmith's frontman, the U.S. rock band Panic!...
Dealers Find Cars a Tough Sell to Crisis-Worried Russians
Cars are standing unsold at dealerships as Russians, spooked that the slowing economy might signal a 2008-style crisis, are putting off the decision to...
You've Been in Russia Too Long When
You call out "molodoi chelovek" or "devushka" to get a stranger's attention, even if the person turns out to be elderly.
Read our photo essay with 14...
Supporters Urged to Rally for 'Seriously Ill' Pussy Riot Rocker
Jailed Pussy Riot rocker Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is in serious condition after calling off a hunger strike this week, her husband says, urging supporters...
U.S. Embassy in Moscow Offers Assurances Amid U.S. Shutdown
The U.S. Embassy says the partial shutdown of the U.S. government will will not halt its support to U.S. citizens in Russia and the issuance of U...
Kremlin Chief of Staff Surprised but Not Alarmed by Navalny
Sergei Ivanov, speaking in a far-ranging interview with four newspapers, also sees little reason to worry about a rift in U.S.-Russia relations and says...
European Lawmakers Take Russia to Task Over Gays and Navalny
Lawmakers with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are to consider a resolution criticizing Russia for "politically motivated justice"...
Russians Keep Wary Eye on Looming U.S. Shutdown
As Russians kept a wary eye on a looming U.S. shutdown, U.S. authorities offered assurances that a congressional standoff that could leave the federal...
Snowden's Father and U.S. Lawyer Part Ways
The father of U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden and his U.S. lawyer confirm that they have parted ways amid a difference of opinion.
Moscow Ranks as Refreshingly Honest in 'Lost Wallet' Test
Russia might have an international reputation as a cauldron of stewing corruption, but people in Moscow appear to be more honest than their counterparts...
Russia Walks Out During Saakashvili's 'Crazy' Speech
President Mikheil Saakashvili warns that the Kremlin is using "constant pressures and threats" to establish a new Russian empire through the proposed...
Denying Putin Wedding, Peskov Says Leave the President Alone
The Kremlin spokesman rejects speculation that Putin married former gymnast Alina Kabaeva at a secret wedding and says it is too early to talk about...
Wheels: Porsche Boxster S Will Make Any Moscow Road a Racetrack (Video)
A racetrack is the only place to check the real performance of a Porsche Boxster S, a two-seat rocket on wheels. So I set my sights on the Moscow...
EBRD Chief Sees Opportunity in 'Sluggish' Russia
EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti acknowledged Tuesday that Russia's sputtering economy combined with deeply ingrained problems such as corruption and a...
Supreme Court Judge Airlifted From Ghana After Car Crash
A Russian government plane has airlifted the chief justice of the Supreme Court from Ghana after he was seriously injured in a hit-and-run traffic...
Wheels: Tiguan Offers R-E-S-P-E-C-T on Moscow Roads
Who would have thought that a cross between a tiger and an iguana could command respect on a Moscow road? But that's exactly what I found with the Volkswagen...
After Emergency Landing in Moscow, United Airlines Passengers Appeal for Help
Domodedovo Airport 1, United Airlines 0. That at least seems to be the opinion of the 267 mostly Indian passengers who unexpectedly found themselves stranded...
Eurasian Economic Union Panned by WTO Chief
First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov put up a vigorous defense of a Russian trade bloc with its ex-Soviet neighbors, but WTO chief Pascal Lamy tore...
Q&A: What Moscow Wants Foreign Investors to Know
Deputy Mayor Andrei Sharonov shares what City Hall is doing to attract investment and what investors need to do to succeed.
How to Know When It's Time to Leave Your Job
Arturo Cardelus bet big on Russia. Cardelus convinced his boss about a decade ago to give him a blank check to set up Russian operations for Ferrero...
Q&A: How a British Banker's Wife Beat Culture Shock
Henrietta Challinor suffered overwhelming culture shock when she left her home in an upscale British village and found herself snorting like a pig in a...
Q&A: Canadian Pioneer Recalls Gorbachev-Era Euphoria
Don't complain to Edward Belobaba that doing business here is difficult. He'll likely retort that you have no idea how easy it is compared with when he...
Aeroflot Cancels Over 60 Flights Amid Runway Uproar
In the face of protracted flight delays, Aeroflot's CEO said Wednesday that more than 60 flights would be canceled through mid-October because of repair...
Aeroflot Is Stung by 2 Days of Flight Delays
Aeroflot said Tuesday that dozens of flights have been delayed at Sheremetyevo Airport over the past two days because of the abrupt closure of a runway...
Russia Closes USAID Office
The United States will close the Russia office of the U.S. Agency for International Development at the request of the Russian government, the U...
Q&A: What Trips to 50 Regions Taught a Mexican Banker
Bruno Balvanera, a Mexican banker who has been promoting investments in Russia for much of the past 16 years, is not afraid of paperwork.
Q&A: For Transaero's CEO, Success Is All in the Family
Transaero CEO Olga Pleshakova, whose husband serves as chairman of the airline's board, says that having family members who work together helps maintain...
Kinder Surprise Goes Russian
Ferrero Group, the Italian family-owned chocolate giant, is launching production of Kinder Surprise at its factory in the Vladimir region this month...
Q&A: Railcar Boss Has No Fear of Flying or Foreigners
Vladimir Lelekov was breaking a promise he made to the KGB in the mid-1980s. And it wasn't the first time.
Q&A: If Only the School Bullies Could See Lou Naumovski Now
Over a span of three decades, businessman Lou Naumovski has introduced Visa credit cards to Russia, dug for gold in Chukotka and even imported a record-setting...
Q&A: City Leader Seeks Teammates Stronger Than He Is
Deputy Mayor Andrei Sharonov, slight and soft-spoken, shifted in his chair as he confided that Moscow had tanked in a World Bank survey on the ease...
Canadian Minister Tackles Russian Trade Barriers
Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast arrived in Russia to sign a $275 million finance deal with Sberbank and to promote commerce with a country...
Q&A: The Glass Is Always Half Full for Citi Chief Turek
It took a three-year stint in Africa for Zdenek Turek, the Czech-born head of Citi in Russia, to see his glass as half full.
Gromov Intends to Become a Senator
Outgoing Moscow region Governor Boris Gromov said Tuesday that he will join the Federation Council as a senator and that he expects Emergency Situations...
Q&A: Mike Tyson's 'Mom' Peers Into the Russian Mind
There is only one person in the world who boxing legend Mike Tyson calls "Mom" — and she's not his biological mother, who died when he was 16. The title...
Q&A: With Bribery, Spaniard Finds It Takes Two to Tango
Antonio Linares was at wits' end. He had built Spanish giant Roca's first factory in Russia from the ground up in three years.
Q&A: Ferrero's Spanish Director Leads With the Heart
Arturo Cardelus has spent hundreds of hours on Russian lessons in the eight years since he moved to Moscow to build up the local operations of Ferrero...
Q&A: Don't Call It a Collective Farm. It's Much Bigger
Don't tell Patrick Ghidirim that the more than 250,000 hectares of rich black earth that he manages in central Russia is a free-market version of a mega...
Q&A: From Printing Prohibited Books to Building Palaces
Brand recognition is everything in business, and the Googles, Coca-Colas and Apples of the world spend billions of dollars every year building loyalty...
Q&A: Steering the 'Gazprom of the U.S.' in Russian Waters
Few people would dare to reject advice from Jack Welch, the former GE chairman and CEO who is widely admired as one of the greatest business leaders...
Eyeing Visas, Ireland to Sign Pact on Partnership
Ireland and Russia will sign a declaration on a modernization partnership Monday as Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore visits Moscow with an eye...
Q&A: Success Is in the Details for PepsiCo Chief (and Putin)
Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, stood beside a table stocked with bottles bearing a colorful mix of brands that her company produces in Russia...
'Snackifying' Inspires PepsiCo CEO
As Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, ate breakfast on Monday morning, she puzzled over an item in front of her: a bottle of Chudo yogurt...
Q&A: Briton Navigates the Rough Without Paying Bribes
David Simons, a 45-year-old British entrepreneur and investor, beams as he beckons toward a wall of his Moscow office lined with golf trophies and photographs...
A Stabilization Fund Built on Hard Work and Faith
Alexei Kudrin’s ouster as finance minister left a big hole in the leadership of the Finance Ministry. But Kudrin isn’t the only senior official whom...
Aleksanyan's Death 'Practically Murder'
Human rights activists said former Yukos vice president Vasily Aleksanyan, who died this week of AIDS-related illnesses, would have lived longer if the authorities...
Aleksanyan, Yukos Vice President Who Had AIDS, Dead at 39
Former Yukos vice president Vasily Aleksanyan, who fought a protracted legal battle with the authorities before finally being freed on bail in 2009...
Q&A: Investing Millions of Dollars With Texan Sense
Texan entrepreneur and investor Christopher Van Riet sits down with The Moscow Times to reminisce about his 15 years in Russia and to share insights into...
2nd An-24 Crashes in a Month, Injuring 12
An An-24 plane carrying 36 passengers and a crew of five crash-landed Monday in stormy weather in the capital of the Amur region on China's border...
New Details Surface on Raised Boat
The captain of the Bulgaria riverboat, whose sinking killed at least 120 people, tried desperately to steer toward shallow waters in a bid to save lives...
Beyrle: Visas Bigger Deal Than Arms Pact
U.S. Ambassador John Beyrle said that the New START treaty was important but the real highlight of a "reset" in U.S.-Russian ties would come next week...
Death Toll in Plane Crash Rises to 11
The passenger plane crashed as it attempted to land in heavy fog in an Arctic port early Tuesday, bursting into a ball of fire that killed 11 of the 15...