The Moscow Times

Support The Moscow Times!

Contribute today

Ukraine Crisis Halves Number of U.S. and EU Tourists Visiting Russia

Russian travel agencies say 40 to 60 percent fewer European and U.S. holiday makers came to Russia in the first half of this year than in the same...

Consumers Stay Away From Moscow's Malls as Sanctions Deepen Russia's Slump

Nearly 25 percent fewer people visited Moscow's malls in the week leading up the start of the school year than in the same period of 2013, a survey...

Russia's Houses of Parliament Set for Long-Awaited Move

In a move aimed at easing central Moscow's nightmarish traffic congestion, Russia's two houses of parliament will be relocated to a new hub slated...

Russia Divvying Up Crimean Resorts After Annexation

The government has started divvying up state-owned Crimean health retreats among Russian agencies and companies, though many of them are in no fit...

Russia to Challenge U.S. Sanctions at WTO

Russia is planning to complain to the World Trade Organization, or WTO, about sanctions imposed by the U.S. over Russia's perceived failure to help...

Moscow Deploys Giant Vending Machines in Anti-Kiosk Crusade

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin's crusade against street kiosks in central Moscow has entered a new phase with the installation of about 60 colossal "new breed"...

Planet Hospitality to Sink $100 Million Into Accommodation for World Cup

Holding company Planet Hospitality has launched a $300 million project to establish hotel and motel chains in Russia capable of rooming more than...

Russia Ratifies $35Bln Debt Write-Off for Cuba

The Federation Council on Wednesday ratified an agreement that will see Russia write off 90 percent of cash-strapped Cuba's $35.2 billion debt to the...

Dobrolyot Shelves Low-Cost Flights to St. Petersburg Amid Pricing Dispute

Russia's new low-cost airline, Dobrolyot, has delayed the start of flights to St. Petersburg after failing to coax a low enough servicing charge...

Beer Ads Return to Russian Stadiums, Television for World Cup

Beer ads may soon reappear in Russian stadiums, print media and television — but only through the end of 2018, the year Russia hosts the FIFA...

Ex-Bank of Moscow Head Charged With Stealing $29 Million

Russian investigators have accused the former head of the Bank of Moscow of embezzling 1 billion rubles ($29 million) from the bank between 2008 and 2010...

Putin Approves Sochi Facilities Swaps

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law enabling private companies to swap facilities built for the Sochi Winter Olympics for government property...

Russian Railways Won't Publish Yakunin's Pay Packet

Vladimir Yakunin, president of financially struggling Russian Railways and bearer of U.S. sanctions, said Thursday that his company would follow the example...

Australia Slaps Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine Bloodshed

Australia on Thursday announced asset freezes and travel bans against 50 Russian officials and businessmen and 11 Russian companies that it blames...

Design Oversight Leaves $580 Million Hole in Arctic Yamal LNG Port Project

A major planning oversight has left the government scrambling to free up an extra 20 billion rubles ($581 million) for the completion of an Arctic...

Moscow Renews Demolition Crusade Against Khrushchev's 1950s Apartment Blocks

Demolition men have flattened 1,451 of Moscow's Khrushchevki — cheaply built 1950's apartment blocks that were never meant to make it into the 21st...

Russian Cartoons Only! State TV Station Launches Kids Channel

A state-owned television holding answered the calls of the country's leadership on Sunday by launching Mult, a new channel for children that will...

Russian Firm Muscles In on IKEA Plans to Build Moscow Metro Station, Report Says

A company owned by the family of retail tycoon Zelimkhan Mutsoyev is ready to build a new metro station in the suburbs of Moscow, provided that...

Moscow Public Transport Faces Price Hike Starting June

Public transport in Moscow will become 5-7 percent more expensive starting June, City Hall said Tuesday.

FSB Chief Lauds Joint Terror Prevention Work in Sochi

Cooperation between the security services of Russia and a number of foreign countries helped to prevent terror attacks being carried out in Sochi...

Journalists Quit En Masse Over Owner's Interference

The editorial staff of two news agencies have quit because their owner repeatedly interfered in their work, amid growing concerns that censorship in the...

St. Petersburg Tourism Hit by Crimea Crisis

Western tourists are shying away from going to St. Petersburg because of the situation in Ukraine and Crimea, presenting tourist agencies and the city's...

KamAZ Says Maidan Activists Hijacked 40 of Its Trucks

Russia's largest truck manufacturer has asked the Russian, Kazakh and Ukrainian authorities to help them retrieve more than 40 of its vehicles that...

Putin Aides, Industry Leaders Among Russians Facing Sanctions, Report Says

German newspaper Bild has published the names of 13 Russian officials and businessmen who could face joint EU-U.S. travel bans over Russia's military...

Sochi Paralympic Games Open Against Backdrop of Ukraine Crisis

The 11th Winter Paralympics officially started in Sochi on Friday night with Russia keen to repeat its successful performance in last month's Winter Olympics...

Swastika-Flag-Waving Supporter Told to Pay Spartak Moscow $40,000

A court in the city of Vladimir has ordered a Spartak Moscow fan to pay the football club 1.4 million rubles ($40,000).

Yanukovych Declares Day of Mourning as EU Prepares to Discuss Sanctions

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has designated Thursday a day of mourning for those who died during the riots in Kiev as the European Union...

Yermolino Needs $320M to Become Moscow's Low-Coster Aviation Hub

The amount of investment needed to turn Yermolino Airport in the Kaluga region into and an international low-cost air hub and Moscow's fourth major...

Draft Bill for Postal Privatization Submitted

The Communications and Press Ministry has submitted a draft bill to the government that would reorganize Russian Post and pave the way for the flotation...

Draft Bill Proposes Ban on Surrogate Children for Single Men

A working group has prepared a draft bill that would ban single men in Russia from becoming fathers by surrogate mothers, a news report said Tuesday...

Dozhd Drops Program That Ran Leningrad Poll, Ekho Moskvy Keen to Take Over

Ekho Moskvy radio station has offered to take over a television program that has reportedly been canceled by its original broadcaster after it became...

Prosecutors Find No Signs of Extremism at Dozhd TV, Report Says

Prosecutors have found no signs of extremism in a poll run by independent television channel Dozhd on Sunday about the World War II Siege of Leningrad...

Sports Fans Must Translate Foreign Language Banners Under New Russian Law

A new law aimed at tackling hooliganism at sporting events in Russia contains a number of bizarre stipulations, one of which requires fans to provide...

Ban on German Goods Advertisements in St. Petersburg Reported

Authorities in St. Petersburg have told advertising agencies to remove German goods ads from the city's main streets during the celebrations marking...

Roizman Ally Given Suspended Sentence, Banned From Journalism

A Yekaterinburg court on Thursday handed down a two year suspended sentence to independent journalist Aksana Panova, a close ally of the city's mayor...

Putin Gives Toy Car to Flood Victim's Son

President Vladimir Putin gave a remote-controlled toy car to the son of a dead serviceman during his airborne meeting with the bereaved family on New...

Briton Seeks Answers After Russian Girlfriend Perishes in Kazan Jet Crash

The 30-year-old education specialist is exasperated after coming to Russia for answers and being told by an Emergency Situations Ministry psychologist:...

Vasilyeva and Serdyukov Accused of Pressuring Oboronservis Case Witnesses

A witness in the Oboronservis case has accused former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Yevgenia Vasilyeva, a key suspect in the Oboronservis...

Mayor of Astrakhan Detained on Suspicion of Taking Bribe

The mayor of Astrakhan was detained Wednesday in connection with a criminal investigation, a police spokesman said.

Greenpeace Activists Protest on Moscow River

Greenpeace activists took to the Moscow River in a motorboat on Wednesday in support of the Arctic Sunrise's multinational crew, whose detention in Russia...

New Driving Test Rules Lack Direction

Amendments to the law on traffic safety that could inadvertently hold back aspiring drivers from obtaining licenses has come into force.

Scores Evaculated as Tremor Shakes Moscow

At least 9,000 people were evacuated from Moscow buildings on Friday as the capital experienced its first tremors from an earthquake in 35 years...

In a First, European Court Condemns Kadyrov's Police

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Chechen police loyal to strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov kidnapped and murdered a local man more than...