rferl--2020-12-25--Belarusian Catholic Leader Returns After Forced Exile

The Catholic archbishop of Minsk is in Belarus for Christmas after authorities lifted a four-month ban on his entry to the country amid massive anti-government protests .
Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz , the leader Belarusian Catholics , was denied entry on August 31 as he returned from a trip to neighboring Poland .
The 74-year-old spiritual leader was barred from his homeland after he criticized the crackdown on protests against the contested reelection of strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka .
The archbishop was allowed to return after an envoy from the Vatican met Lukashenka last week in Minsk .
“ When I crossed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prayed , I kissed this land , '' Kondrusiewicz said in comments on December 24 , adding that `` the Fatherland can not be thrown out of the heart . ''
“ This is my land .
I grew up here , I want to be here , I want to serve here .
And I have never opposed Belarus , I have always defended the interests of Belarus and I will continue to do so , ” the metropolitan said .
Kondrusiewicz was able to lead Christmas Eve mass at Minsk ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second largest religious denomination in Belarus , after Eastern Orthodoxy .
With reporting by RFE/RL 's Belarus Service and Catholic.by

The Catholic archbishop of Minsk is in Belarus for Christmas after authorities lifted a four-month ban on his entry to the country amid massive anti-government protests.
Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, the leader Belarusian Catholics, was denied entry on August 31 as he returned from a trip to neighboring Poland.
Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
The 74-year-old spiritual leader was barred from his homeland after he criticized the crackdown on protests against the contested reelection of strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
The archbishop was allowed to return after an envoy from the Vatican met Lukashenka last week in Minsk.
“When I crossed the border, I knelt down and prayed, I kissed this land," Kondrusiewicz said in comments on December 24, adding that "the Fatherland cannot be thrown out of the heart."
“This is my land. I grew up here, I want to be here, I want to serve here. And I have never opposed Belarus, I have always defended the interests of Belarus and I will continue to do so,” the metropolitan said.
Kondrusiewicz was able to lead Christmas Eve mass at Minsk’s main Cathedral.
Catholicism is the second largest religious denomination in Belarus, after Eastern Orthodoxy.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Belarus Service and Catholic.by


rferl--2020-12-25--Russia Historian Gets More Than 12 Years For Murdering, Dismembering Girlfriend

A Russian court has sentenced a flamboyant Russian professor who killed and dismembered his student lover to 12 1/2 years in prison after convicting him of her murder .
Oleg Sokolov , 64 , who was once awarded France ’ s Order of Legion d'Honneur for his research into military leader Napoleon Bonaparte , was detained in St. Petersburg in November 2019 after being pulled out of the Moika River with a backpack containing the severed body parts of a woman .
Investigators later found the woman ’ s head in his apartment .
Sokolov later admitted to killing and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anastasia Yeshchenko .
State prosecutors had requested a 15-year sentence for Sokolov .
Sokolov , who regularly dressed in Napoleon-era costumes and took part in battle reenactments , said during the hearing that he fully accepted guilt on all charges , but added that he was not sure if the murder was premeditated as , according to him , he killed his lover in state of `` temporary insanity . ''
The high-profile case was adjourned or postponed several times in recent months for various reasons , including restrictions imposed to slow the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporting by Current Time and Reuters

A Russian court has sentenced a flamboyant Russian professor who killed and dismembered his student lover to 12 1/2 years in prison after convicting him of her murder.
Oleg Sokolov, 64, who was once awarded France’s Order of Legion d'Honneur for his research into military leader Napoleon Bonaparte, was detained in St. Petersburg in November 2019 after being pulled out of the Moika River with a backpack containing the severed body parts of a woman.
Investigators later found the woman’s head in his apartment.
Sokolov later admitted to killing and dismembering his lover, 24-year-old postgraduate student Anastasia Yeshchenko.
State prosecutors had requested a 15-year sentence for Sokolov.
Sokolov, who regularly dressed in Napoleon-era costumes and took part in battle reenactments, said during the hearing that he fully accepted guilt on all charges, but added that he was not sure if the murder was premeditated as, according to him, he killed his lover in state of "temporary insanity."
The high-profile case was adjourned or postponed several times in recent months for various reasons, including restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Based on reporting by Current Time and Reuters


rferl--2020-12-26--Cold War-Era Double Agent George Blake Dies In Russia, Age 98

Prominent Cold War-era double agent George Blake has died in Moscow at the age of 98 , Russian authorities have reported .
“ The legendary intelligence officer George Blake has passed away today , ” a spokesman for Russia ’ s SVR foreign intelligence agency told the state TASS news agency .
He added that Blake “ sincerely loved our country and admired our people ’ s achievements during World War II.
” Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his “ heartfelt condolences , ” according to a statement on the Kremlin ’ s website .
“ Blake was a brilliant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the statement said .
“ In the years of his difficult and intense service , he made a truly invaluable contribution to ensuring strategic parity and preserving peace on the planet.
” Blake was born in the Netherlands in 1922 , and his original family name was Behar .
He grew up in Rotterdam and in Egypt before attending Cambridge University to study Russian .
During World War II , he served in the Dutch resistance , despite his youth .
In 1944 , he joined Britain ’ s Royal Navy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Secret Intelligence Service ( MI6 ) .
He was posted to Seoul and was captured by North Korean forces in 1950 .
During his three-year captivity , Blake became a communist and was recruited by the Soviet KGB .
In the mid-1950s , he was stationed in Berlin as an MI6 case officer tasked with recruiting Soviet officers as double agents .
During this time , he informed the KGB of a joint British-American operation called Operation Gold , which involved creating a tunnel into East Berlin to tap Soviet communications lines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believed to have exposed some 40 MI6 agents to the KGB , causing substantial disruption to MI6 activities in Eastern Europe .
Blake came under suspicion in 1959 as a result of information from Polish defector Michael Goleniewski .
He was arrested in 1961 and confessed to voluntarily working for the KGB .
In May 1961 , he was sentenced to serve three consecutive 14-year prison terms .
In 1966 , however , with the help of three men whom he met in prison , Blake escaped from London 's Wormwood Scrubs prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken to a safe house and later smuggled across the English Channel and into East Germany .
From there , he traveled on to the Soviet Union .
He taught at the Soviet Foreign Intelligence Academy and was given the Soviet Order of Lenin .
In an 1991 interview with U.S. NBC television , Blake said he regretted the deaths of the agents he had exposed to the Soviets .
In 2007 , Putin awarded Blake the Order of Friendship medal .
In the introduction to Blake ’ s 2006 book Transparent Walls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Blake was an SVR colonel who “ still takes an active role in the affairs of the secret service ” despite his advanced age .

Prominent Cold War-era double agent George Blake has died in Moscow at the age of 98, Russian authorities have reported.
“The legendary intelligence officer George Blake has passed away today,” a spokesman for Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence agency told the state TASS news agency. He added that Blake “sincerely loved our country and admired our people’s achievements during World War II.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his “heartfelt condolences,” according to a statement on the Kremlin’s website.
“Blake was a brilliant professional of a special vitality and courage,” the statement said. “In the years of his difficult and intense service, he made a truly invaluable contribution to ensuring strategic parity and preserving peace on the planet.”
Blake was born in the Netherlands in 1922, and his original family name was Behar. He grew up in Rotterdam and in Egypt before attending Cambridge University to study Russian.
During World War II, he served in the Dutch resistance, despite his youth. In 1944, he joined Britain’s Royal Navy and was recruited later that year by the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
He was posted to Seoul and was captured by North Korean forces in 1950. During his three-year captivity, Blake became a communist and was recruited by the Soviet KGB.
In the mid-1950s, he was stationed in Berlin as an MI6 case officer tasked with recruiting Soviet officers as double agents. During this time, he informed the KGB of a joint British-American operation called Operation Gold, which involved creating a tunnel into East Berlin to tap Soviet communications lines.
Over nine years, Blake is believed to have exposed some 40 MI6 agents to the KGB, causing substantial disruption to MI6 activities in Eastern Europe.
Blake came under suspicion in 1959 as a result of information from Polish defector Michael Goleniewski. He was arrested in 1961 and confessed to voluntarily working for the KGB.
In May 1961, he was sentenced to serve three consecutive 14-year prison terms. In 1966, however, with the help of three men whom he met in prison, Blake escaped from London's Wormwood Scrubs prison through a broken window. He was taken to a safe house and later smuggled across the English Channel and into East Germany.
From there, he traveled on to the Soviet Union. He taught at the Soviet Foreign Intelligence Academy and was given the Soviet Order of Lenin.
In an 1991 interview with U.S. NBC television, Blake said he regretted the deaths of the agents he had exposed to the Soviets.
In 2007, Putin awarded Blake the Order of Friendship medal.
In the introduction to Blake’s 2006 book Transparent Walls, then SVR Director Sergei Lebedev wrote that Blake was an SVR colonel who “still takes an active role in the affairs of the secret service” despite his advanced age.


rferl--2020-12-26--19 Detained As Long-Running Khabarovsk Protests Continue

Police in the Russian Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk have detained at least 19 people who were participating in a @ @ @ @ @ region ’ s jailed former governor , activists say .
The OVD-Info group , which @ @ @ @ @ on December 26 that the protesters were detained during a small demonstration against the July @ @ @ @ @ Furgal on charges connected with several murders from more than a decade ago .
Several @ @ @ @ @ below freezing to gather in front of the regional government office in Khabarovsk and then @ @ @ @ @ the city .
It was the 169th day of protests since Furgal ’ s arrest @ @ @ @ @ .
Furgal denies the allegations against him , and he and his supporters say he @ @ @ @ @ soundly defeated the incumbent from the ruling United Russian party in the region ’ s @ @ @ @

Police in the Russian Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk have detained at least 19 people who were participating in a demonstration in support of the region’s jailed former governor, activists say.
The OVD-Info group, which monitors police activity, said on December 26 that the protesters were detained during a small demonstration against the July arrest of former Governor Sergei Furgal on charges connected with several murders from more than a decade ago.
Several dozen protesters braved temperatures far below freezing to gather in front of the regional government office in Khabarovsk and then march through the center of the city.
It was the 169th day of protests since Furgal’s arrest and his transfer to Moscow.
Furgal denies the allegations against him, and he and his supporters say he is being persecuted because he soundly defeated the incumbent from the ruling United Russian party in the region’s 2018 gubernatorial election.


rferl--2020-12-26--Russia Approves COVID-19 Vaccine For Use By The Elderly

Russia ’ s Health Ministry has approved the country ’ s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for use by people over @ @ @ @ @ Health Minister Mikhail Murashko made the announcement on December 26 , saying that the vaccine @ @ @ @ @ everyone over the age of 18 .
Previously , elderly people , who form a @ @ @ @ @ been excluded from the nation ’ s mass vaccination program .
Murashko said that trials @ @ @ @ @ vaccine is safe for this group .
He added that the elderly will be immediately @ @ @ @ @ .
According to official Russian government figures , the country has had nearly 3 million @ @ @ @ @ the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic .
Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS

Russia’s Health Ministry has approved the country’s Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccine for use by people over the age of 60.
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko made the announcement on December 26, saying that the vaccine has now been approved for everyone over the age of 18.
RFE/RL's Coronavirus Crisis Archive Features and analysis, videos, and infographics explore how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the countries in our region.
Previously, elderly people, who form a particularly vulnerable group, had been excluded from the nation’s mass vaccination program. Murashko said that trials had now demonstrated that the vaccine is safe for this group.
He added that the elderly will be immediately included in the vaccination program.
According to official Russian government figures, the country has had nearly 3 million cases and 53,659 fatalities since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS


rferl--2020-12-26--Russian Justice Ministry Expands 'Foreign Agents' List To Include Navalny Foundation

The Russian Justice Ministry has expanded the list of so-called `` foreign agents '' to include a foundation of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny and other human rights and health-care organizations , the head of the international human rights group Agora said on December 25 .
Pavel Chikov said on Telegram that Navalny 's Foundation for the Protection of Citizens ' Rights was among those added to the list .
The Justice Ministry at the same time refused to exclude Navalny 's Anti-Corruption Foundation ( FBK ) from it .
Navalny announced the closure of the FBK in July after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million rubles ( $ 1.2 million ) over a lawsuit filed by a food company associated with businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin , a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin .
But FBK ’ s brand has survived although its texts , graphics , and other materials posted on its site now belong to the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens ' Rights , according to the FBK website .
The “ foreign agent ” law , originally passed in 2012 , requires designated organizations to report their activities and face financial audits .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ applied to target Russian civil society organizations , human rights defenders , and political activists , including Navalny ’ s FBK .
A further measure designating foreign-funded media as `` foreign agents '' was adopted in 2017 , under which Russia 's Justice Ministry listed several services of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , Current Time , and Voice of America ( VOA ) as `` foreign agents . ''
Current Time is the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA .
On December 25 , the Federation Council approved amendments to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two days after the Russian parliament 's lower chamber approved the amendments .
Putin ’ s signature is required for the amendments to become part of the law .
The changes expand the scope of individuals and groups that can be designated foreign agents , introduce new restrictions and registration and reporting requirements , and oblige the media to note the designation whenever they mention these individuals or groups .
Earlier on December 25 , Lyubov Sobol , a lawyer for the FBK , was detained for questioning on charges of violent trespassing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a criminal case against Sobol , the head of the foundation said on December 25 .
FBK Director Ivan Zhdanov said on Twitter that investigators launched the probe for trespassing `` with the use of violence or a threat to use it '' after she rang the doorbell of an agent who has implicated the Federal Security Service ( FSB ) in the poisoning of the 44-year-old Kremlin critic .
Sobol has denied the accusations and insisted that she violated no law by ringing the doorbell in an attempt to speak to FSB @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Twitter that Sobol ’ s apartment was searched apparently in response to Sobol ’ s actions .
Sobol was among journalists and political activists who tried to meet with Kudryavtsev late in the evening on December 21 , the day Navalny published an audio recording of what appears to be a conversation with Kudryavtsev over the FSB 's role in the poisoning .

The Russian Justice Ministry has expanded the list of so-called "foreign agents" to include a foundation of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny and other human rights and health-care organizations, the head of the international human rights group Agora said on December 25.
Pavel Chikov said on Telegram that Navalny's Foundation for the Protection of Citizens' Rights was among those added to the list. The Justice Ministry at the same time refused to exclude Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) from it.
Navalny announced the closure of the FBK in July after a court ordered the organization to pay 88 million rubles ($1.2 million) over a lawsuit filed by a food company associated with businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But FBK’s brand has survived although its texts, graphics, and other materials posted on its site now belong to the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens' Rights, according to the FBK website.
The “foreign agent” law, originally passed in 2012, requires designated organizations to report their activities and face financial audits. Critics say the law has been arbitrarily applied to target Russian civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and political activists, including Navalny’s FBK.
A further measure designating foreign-funded media as "foreign agents" was adopted in 2017, under which Russia's Justice Ministry listed several services of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Current Time, and Voice of America (VOA) as "foreign agents." Current Time is the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.
On December 25, the Federation Council approved amendments to the controversial law. The approval came two days after the Russian parliament's lower chamber approved the amendments. Putin’s signature is required for the amendments to become part of the law.
The changes expand the scope of individuals and groups that can be designated foreign agents, introduce new restrictions and registration and reporting requirements, and oblige the media to note the designation whenever they mention these individuals or groups.
Earlier on December 25, Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer for the FBK, was detained for questioning on charges of violent trespassing.
Russian law enforcement agencies have opened a criminal case against Sobol, the head of the foundation said on December 25.
FBK Director Ivan Zhdanov said on Twitter that investigators launched the probe for trespassing "with the use of violence or a threat to use it" after she rang the doorbell of an agent who has implicated the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the poisoning of the 44-year-old Kremlin critic.
Sobol has denied the accusations and insisted that she violated no law by ringing the doorbell in an attempt to speak to FSB agent Konstantin Kudryavtsev.
The FBK said on Twitter that Sobol’s apartment was searched apparently in response to Sobol’s actions.
Sobol was among journalists and political activists who tried to meet with Kudryavtsev late in the evening on December 21, the day Navalny published an audio recording of what appears to be a conversation with Kudryavtsev over the FSB's role in the poisoning.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service


rferl--2020-12-26--Snowstorms In Iran Leave 10 Climbers Dead

Snowstorms in Iran have left at least 10 mountain climbers dead and several others missing .
State television reported the @ @ @ @ @ following several days of heavy snow and high winds that left roads closed in many @ @ @ @ @ Local news reports indicated that the death toll could be higher , as several climbers @ @ @ @ @ north of Tehran remain unaccounted for .
Search and rescue efforts have been halted for @ @ @ @ @ to resume on December 27 .
The casualties led weather-forecasting authorities to criticize citizens ' @ @ @ @ @ against traveling to the mountains , where avalanches , a blizzard , and heavy snow @ @ @ @

A polytechnic school in Russia’s Tatarstan, a region some 900 kilometers east of Moscow, is using manufacturing facilities that are part of a nearby special economic zone to assemble Iranian attack drones and are increasingly turning to underage students as laborers, many of whom often work in exploitative conditions.
The revelations at Alabuga Polytechnic University raise troubling implications about the lengths that Russian authorities are going to in order to boost the war effort and how the advanced Iranian weaponry -- which is increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities and has only recently begun to be manufactured inside Russia -- could contribute to escalating tensions and rising civilian casualties.
The use of underage students as drone factory workers and the details of the manufacturing facilities were first reported by Russian independent media outlets Protokol and Razvorot, which published a series of investigations in July.
Since then, RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities has spoken with students who describe grueling working conditions and interviewed dozens of parents whose children have been enrolled at Alabuga Polytechnic University -- some as young at 15 -- who say that their children were forced to work exceedingly long hours, often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health.
“My son enrolled and 2 1/2 months later he called for me to take him away,” Zhanna, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect against reprisals for speaking about the operation, told RFE/RL. “He said to me on the phone, ‘Come and get me or I’ll die,’ so I picked him up immediately.”
Zhanna, who asked that her underage son’s name also not be used, says that she sent him from Nizhny Novgorod to study at Alabuga Polytechnic University in 2022 because of its reputation as a leading technical institution inside Russia.
The school offered students -- often between the ages of 15-18 -- an opportunity to get vocational training as part of a dual program that combines a classroom education with practical work experience. Students were also promised an opportunity to work and earn a locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles ($700) a month as part of the work experience program that could further their career growth.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
But, instead, those enrolled were encouraged and in some cases pressured into working at the drone facility, where the salaries of the mostly underage laborers are contingent on meeting tough production quotas.
“This is a textbook definition of what constitutes exploitation,” Sergei Podsytnik, an investigative journalist at Protokol who worked on the series of reports, told RFE/RL. “[Students] assemble drones, with the work taking priority over their studies.”
The pressure to fulfill these quotas has allegedly led to strenuous back-to-back days -- with some shifts lasting up to 15 hours -- with little time for sleep or adequate sustenance. Overtime work is often unpaid, further highlighting potential labor violations. Exhausted students also reported not always meeting their quotas, which led to them not earning the salary initially promised by the school. Many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and relied on their earnings to cover costs for tuition, room, and board and would send the remainder home.
Other parents, such as Marina, said she decided to take her daughter out of the program when she discovered that she was working in apparent unsafe conditions and that staff from the school had instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work.
“This was the last straw for me,” Marina, who also asked for her identity to be concealed, told RFE/RL. “This is a dangerous production process that involves dangerous chemicals. They also forbid the kids from telling everything to their parents.”
RFE/RL sent multiple requests for comment to various staff and administrators at Alabuga Polytechnic University but received no replies.
Making Iranian Drones In Russia
The complicated and concerning dynamic at Alabuga Polytechnic University stems from growing military cooperation between Iran and Russia that has accelerated since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Iran has said it provided drones to Russia before the start of the war, but not since. However, U.S. intelligence officials have warned for months of continued deliveries and deepening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, saying the two sides were exploring how to set up a manufacturing plant for Iranian drones inside Russia.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an Iranian delegation visited Yelabuga in Tatarstan on January 5, touring a potential site for such a factory at the Alabuga special economic zone close to Alabuga Polytechnic University. U.S. officials released satellite images in April of the plant being built.
Russia already possesses an array of unarmed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, which are used mainly for surveillance and artillery spotting, but has turned increasingly to Tehran for attack drones.
After being forced to abandon Ukrainian territory that its troops captured in the early stretches of the war, Moscow shifted to a strategy of relentless air assaults on Ukrainian cities. These attacks often rely on a combination of cruise missiles and self-detonating drones packed with explosives to knock out electricity and running water for the civilian population in Ukraine.
So far, Iran has provided Russia mostly with so-called "suicide" drones, known as the Shahed-136, that contain a modest amount of explosives that can detonate when the drones crash into targets, military experts say.
In acquiring its own domestic assembly line, Russia could dramatically increase its stockpile of the relatively inexpensive but highly destructive weapons systems.
WATCH: Russia has resorted to using Shahed-136 drones from Iran in its war on Ukraine. Ukraine says it's already downed many of the drones, which work by slamming into their intended target, laden with explosives. Ordinary Ukrainians say they can already recognize the sound of the drones, which use two-stroke engines like lawnmowers or motorbikes. Iran has denied supplying the drones to Russia.
The arrangement also offers substantial economic and political benefits for Iran, which has sought to portray itself as neutral in the Ukraine war. The appearance of Iranian-made drones over Ukrainian cities, however, has triggered threats of new economic sanctions from the West. The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have also all issued rules in recent months designed to cut off the flow of drone components to Russia and Iran.
The Washington Post reported in November 2022, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that the agreement to deliver Iranian drone schematics and materials for manufacture in Russia resulted from Iranian leaders believing that the arrangement would allow Tehran to avert new sanctions.
Foreign Recruitment And Patriotic Education
Alabuga Polytechnic University is formally not a college. All of its students are officially enrolled at nearby Yelabuga Polytechnic College, with the Alabuga institution existing on paper as a specialized program for students looking to break into high-tech industries.
Currently, about 1,000 students are studying at Alabuga Polytechnic University, with several hundred of them -- most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 17 -- involved in assembling the Iranian drones.
In addition to the work on the drones, there are other signs that point to blurred lines in Russia between the education system and the country’s military amid the war in Ukraine.
According to current and former Alabuga Polytechnic University students, team-building and organized extracurricular activities through the school often take on a “patriotic” character that may be designed to expose students to official government narratives of international events or echo talking points from state television.
Organized paintball games have become a mainstay for students, especially first-year arrivals, in which they are encouraged to compete against one another and then play together against more experienced outside players. Teachers and administration officials regularly refer to paintball as being part of a “patriotic” education needed to complement the technical aspect of their studies.
In one instance, a group of new students competed in paintball as Soviet soldiers against outside players who were dressed as troops from Nazi Germany in a capture-the-flag competition meant to simulate the World War II battle of Stalingrad. According to one student, the Nazi flag contained the compass symbol used by the NATO military alliance instead of the swastika used by Nazi Germany.
Other instances of political teachings from staff are more direct. In a recording obtained by RFE/RL from June 16, a senior administrator can be heard telling the teenagers that NATO launched a hybrid war against Russia back in 2011 and that it has slowly become more overt. The man then goes on to tell students that their hard work and exceeding long days at the drone factory are part of a nationwide struggle against the West and that their patriotism will be rewarded.
Several students and parents identified the man in the recording as Timur Shagivaleev, the director-general of the special economic zone where Alabuga Polytechnic University and the drone factory operate.
Shagivaleev did not respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
The man in the recording then goes on to tell students not to take holidays and to continue working “even if it's mom's birthday,” before ending his speech with, “Long live our great country.”
WATCH: Amid a new wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, analysts in Kyiv are gaining useful intelligence from a collection of downed Russian aerial weapons. They have been studying the remains of Iranian Shahed drones and Russian Kinzhal missiles, among others.
Multiple current and former students told RFE/RL that students who work in the drone factory are often praised by staff, while those who have refused or asked to be reassigned due to the high workload are often publicly shamed. In some instances -- according to recordings heard by RFE/RL -- staff even encourage students to bully others who are not deemed “patriotic” enough.
According to Protokol and Razvorot’s investigations, Alabuga Polytechnic University has also turned toward recruiting foreign students to enroll. The majority of them come from African countries, but also from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where they are promised “world class” salaries as part of the dual-track world experience program.
However, these foreign students are then given low-skill and menial tasks around the campus and the special economic zone, such as janitorial work, and are also paid lower salaries than initially promised.
Written by Reid Standish based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities


rferl--2020-12-26--Migrants Exposed To Heavy Snow In Burned-Out Bosnian Tent Camp

Hundreds of migrants have been exposed to falling temperatures and heavy snow after their tent camp in Bosnia was destroyed by fire earlier this week .
The stranded migrants at the Lipa camp in northwest Bosnia were reportedly without shelter after authorities failed to find new accommodation , and were attempting to shield themselves from the elements with only blankets and sleeping bags .
`` Snow has fallen , sub-zero temperatures , no heating , nothing , '' the International Organization for Migration ’ s chief of mission in Bosnia , Peter Van Der Auweraert , wrote in a tweet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should live .
We need political bravery and action now.
” Food parcels provided by aid groups were one of the few resources available to the some 1,000 migrants .
The onset of cold weather came after fire earlier this week destroyed much of the camp , which lies near Bosnia 's border with EU-member Croatia .
The camp in Bosnia , which harbors thousands of migrants hoping to reach Western Europe , had previously come under criticism for inadequate facilities .
The EU has warned Bosnia that migrants face freezing conditions and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take action to accommodate them .

Hundreds of migrants have been exposed to falling temperatures and heavy snow after their tent camp in Bosnia was destroyed by fire earlier this week.
The stranded migrants at the Lipa camp in northwest Bosnia were reportedly without shelter after authorities failed to find new accommodation, and were attempting to shield themselves from the elements with only blankets and sleeping bags.
"Snow has fallen, sub-zero temperatures, no heating, nothing," the International Organization for Migration’s chief of mission in Bosnia, Peter Van Der Auweraert, wrote in a tweet. “This is not how anyone should live. We need political bravery and action now.”
Food parcels provided by aid groups were one of the few resources available to the some 1,000 migrants.
The onset of cold weather came after fire earlier this week destroyed much of the camp, which lies near Bosnia's border with EU-member Croatia. The camp in Bosnia, which harbors thousands of migrants hoping to reach Western Europe, had previously come under criticism for inadequate facilities.
The EU has warned Bosnia that migrants face freezing conditions and has urged the country's politicians to take action to accommodate them.
Based on reporting by AP


rferl--2020-12-27--Kremlin Says Putin To Get Coronavirus Vaccine Soon

Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to receive his country 's Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine in the near future .
Kremlin spokesman @ @ @ @ @ 27 that `` the president himself will announce about the decision '' soon .
Russia @ @ @ @ @ earlier approved the vaccine for use by people over the age of 60 .
The @ @ @ @ @ more than 90 percent effective for this age group .
During a marathon press conference @ @ @ @ @ said he would get vaccinated after `` all formal issues '' were resolved .
Russia @ @ @ @ @ August 11 , making it the first coronavirus vaccine to gain official approval anywhere in @ @ @ @ @ official Russian government statistics , just over 3 million cases of coronavirus infection have been @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic , with 54,778 fatalities .

Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to receive his country's Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine in the near future.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 27 that "the president himself will announce about the decision" soon.
Russia's Health Ministry a day earlier approved the vaccine for use by people over the age of 60. The ministry said the vaccine was more than 90 percent effective for this age group.
Putin is 68.
During a marathon press conference on December 17, Putin said he would get vaccinated after "all formal issues" were resolved.
Russia approved the Sputnik-V vaccine on August 11, making it the first coronavirus vaccine to gain official approval anywhere in the world.
According to official Russian government statistics, just over 3 million cases of coronavirus infection have been recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, with 54,778 fatalities.
With reporting by TASS


rferl--2020-12-27--Russian Court Bans Four AP Videos From Chechen Conflicts

A court in the Russian North Caucasus city of Nalchik has banned four archive videos by the AP news agency from the wars in Chechnya in the 1990s and 2000s for allegedly `` propagandizing cruelty . ''
One of the videos banned by the Nalchik court on December 27 shows Russian soldiers who were being held prisoner by Chechen fighters in 1995 .
In the video , which has been viewed nearly 2 million times , a Russian officer says he has been treated `` very surprisingly '' and criticizes Russian tactics in the war .
Another video , also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian attacks on the Chechen cities of Grozny , Argun , and Shali .
The court ’ s decision stated that the videos `` facilitate the undertaking of illegal activities , '' could provoke `` negative social , economic , and other consequences , '' and violate `` the right of citizens to live in a law-based state as guaranteed by the constitution . ''
Russia fought two wars against separatists in Chechnya .
The first began in December 1994 and lasted until August 1996 .
It ended with a peace agreement that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ autonomy .
The second Chechen war began in August 1999 and formally came to an end when Russia declared the end of the `` counterterrorism operation '' in the republic in April 2009 .
The conflicts produced tens of thousands of civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of displaced people .
Both campaigns have been criticized by domestic and international human rights activists for rights violations and atrocities on both sides .

A court in the Russian North Caucasus city of Nalchik has banned four archive videos by the AP news agency from the wars in Chechnya in the 1990s and 2000s for allegedly "propagandizing cruelty."
One of the videos banned by the Nalchik court on December 27 shows Russian soldiers who were being held prisoner by Chechen fighters in 1995. In the video, which has been viewed nearly 2 million times, a Russian officer says he has been treated "very surprisingly" and criticizes Russian tactics in the war.
Another video, also from 1995, shows the results of Russian attacks on the Chechen cities of Grozny, Argun, and Shali.
The court’s decision stated that the videos "facilitate the undertaking of illegal activities," could provoke "negative social, economic, and other consequences," and violate "the right of citizens to live in a law-based state as guaranteed by the constitution."
Russia fought two wars against separatists in Chechnya. The first began in December 1994 and lasted until August 1996. It ended with a peace agreement that left the republic a considerable degree of autonomy.
The second Chechen war began in August 1999 and formally came to an end when Russia declared the end of the "counterterrorism operation" in the republic in April 2009.
The conflicts produced tens of thousands of civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
Both campaigns have been criticized by domestic and international human rights activists for rights violations and atrocities on both sides.
With reporting by Meduza


rferl--2020-12-27--Kremlin Cancels Putin's Traditional Meeting With Business Leaders

The Kremlin has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not participate in the traditional end-of-the-year meeting with business leaders @ @ @ @ @ said on December 27 that the meeting , which is normally held each year in @ @ @ @ @ 's , would not be held .
He did not give a reason .
Earlier @ @ @ @ @ of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs head Aleksandr Shokhin said the meeting would take place sometime after @ @ @ @ @ Putin also cancelled his annual Direct Line question-and-answer session , an annual televised event at @ @ @ @ @ hours fielding carefully chosen questions from people across Russia .
Last year , the meeting @ @ @ @ @ in the Kremlin and included billionaires Mikhail Gutseriyev , Mikhail Prokhorov , Mikhail Fridman , @ @ @ @ @ Potanin .
Rosneft state oil company CEO Igor Sechin also attended .
Although attendees normally @ @ @ @ @ closed-door meetings , Forbes magazine quoted anonymous sources as saying Putin devoted considerable time to @ @ @ @ @ diplomatic run-up to World War II , focusing on the position of Poland .

The Kremlin has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not participate in the traditional end-of-the-year meeting with business leaders.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 27 that the meeting, which is normally held each year in the days before New Year's, would not be held. He did not give a reason.
Earlier this month, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs head Aleksandr Shokhin said the meeting would take place sometime after December 25.
This year Putin also cancelled his annual Direct Line question-and-answer session, an annual televised event at which the president spends several hours fielding carefully chosen questions from people across Russia.
Last year, the meeting with business leaders was held in the Kremlin and included billionaires Mikhail Gutseriyev, Mikhail Prokhorov, Mikhail Fridman, Gennady Timchenko, and Vladimir Potanin. Rosneft state oil company CEO Igor Sechin also attended.
Although attendees normally discuss economic issues at the closed-door meetings, Forbes magazine quoted anonymous sources as saying Putin devoted considerable time to discussing his research into the diplomatic run-up to World War II, focusing on the position of Poland.
With reporting by TASS


rferl--2020-12-27--Iran's President Claims Washington Demanding That Coronavirus Vaccine Transaction Run Through U.S. B

Iran's President Claims Washington Demanding That Coronavirus Vaccine Transaction Run Through U.S. Bank

Following an announcement that Tehran had won approval from the United States to use foreign-currency reserves to buy coronavirus vaccines , Iran 's president has claimed that Washington is now demanding that such a transaction go through a U.S. bank .
President Hassan Rohani told a meeting of the government 's coronavirus-response team on December 26 that Iran sought to transfer money from an unidentified third country , and that it had received approval from the U.S. Treasury Department 's Office of Foreign Assets Control ( OFAC ) .
However , Rohani claimed , while the OFAC `` had initially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' it `` later said that the money had to first pass through a U.S. bank before it reaches [ the recipient ] . ''
Rohani blasted the alleged demand , which the Treasury Department has not confirmed , and questioned whether the United States might confiscate the funds .
On December 24 , Iranian central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati said that the OFAC had approved the transfer of around $ 244 million to a Swiss bank in order to purchase 16.8 million doses of vaccines from COVAX , a global COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Organization ( WHO ) .
While punitive financial sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran over its nuclear and regional activities prevented such transactions , Washington had been constrained by global public opinion to make an exception in this case , Hemmati claimed on Iranian state TV .
Iran has been hard-hit by COVID-19 , with nearly 1.2 million coronavirus cases recorded along with more than 54,000 deaths .
Those numbers , which would make Iran the worst-affected country in the Middle East , are considered to be far lower than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
With reporting by Reuters , AFP , and Bloomberg


rferl--2020-12-27--German MEP Says Orban's 'National-Populist' Approach Will Not Fix Societal Problems

The chairman of the European People 's Party ( EPP ) -- the largest group in the European Parliament -- has sharply criticized the policies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in an opinion piece published on December 27 by a German newspaper .
The dismantling of the rule of law , nationalism , or fomenting division are not effective tools to master societal challenges , conservative Member of the European Parliament ( MEP ) Manfred Weber of Germany wrote in Welt am Sonntag .
`` Immense economic , social , and societal upheavals can not be mastered with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as demanded by Hungary 's Prime Minister Orban , '' Weber said .
The center-right EPP suspended suspended Orban 's Fidesz party in November 2019 over concerns about backsliding on the rule of law in Hungary as well as attacks against the European Commission .
The suspension , which this year was extended indefinitely , means that Fidesz is no longer present at the grouping 's meetings and its voting rights have been stripped .
Weber 's essay was published a week after Orban equated the European Union to the regime of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the newspaper .
`` Anyone who equates the European Union with the authoritarian regime of the Soviet communists wants to destroy the Europe that was built by Helmut Kohl 's generation of politicians , '' he added .
The EU is not a `` milk cow '' for handouts but a community with a shared fate and values , Weber said .
`` The values are primarily about the dignity of the individual , regardless of whether you are in Europe 's vibrant regions or in the refugee camp on Lesbos , regardless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or Muslim . ''
Orban has often argued that migrants from the Middle East and Africa must be kept out to preserve the Christian character of Hungarian culture .
His government has argued that nation states should have control over their own borders and accused the European Union of trying to force it to accept mass immigration .
Orban 's interview with the newspaper came three days after the EU 's highest court ruled that Hungary broke the law by preventing some immigrants from seeking asylum and moving many to transit camps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bloc 's executive body -- launched legal proceedings against the asylum law issued by Orban 's right-wing government in 2015 at the peak of a migrant crisis .
The European Court of Justice ( ECJ ) largely ruled in favor of the commission , finding that Hungarian authorities failed to observe the procedures and required guarantees .
Hungary , along with Poland , is also under EU investigation for undermining the independence of the judiciary , media , and nongovernmental organizations .
For weeks the two countries ' governments blocked the passage of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as vital for the EU 's battered economies over a newly introduced clause that tied to funding to whether members uphold the rule of law .
EU leaders earlier this month struck a deal to unblock the funding and start implementing it .
With reporting by dpa and Welt am Sonntag

The chairman of the European People's Party (EPP) -- the largest group in the European Parliament -- has sharply criticized the policies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in an opinion piece published on December 27 by a German newspaper.
The dismantling of the rule of law, nationalism, or fomenting division are not effective tools to master societal challenges, conservative Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Manfred Weber of Germany wrote in Welt am Sonntag.
"Immense economic, social, and societal upheavals cannot be mastered with a national-populist political approach or a cultural war, as demanded by Hungary's Prime Minister Orban," Weber said.
The center-right EPP suspended suspended Orban's Fidesz party in November 2019 over concerns about backsliding on the rule of law in Hungary as well as attacks against the European Commission.
The suspension, which this year was extended indefinitely, means that Fidesz is no longer present at the grouping's meetings and its voting rights have been stripped.
Weber's essay was published a week after Orban equated the European Union to the regime of the Soviet Union in an interview with the newspaper.
"Anyone who equates the European Union with the authoritarian regime of the Soviet communists wants to destroy the Europe that was built by Helmut Kohl's generation of politicians," he added.
The EU is not a "milk cow" for handouts but a community with a shared fate and values, Weber said.
"The values are primarily about the dignity of the individual, regardless of whether you are in Europe's vibrant regions or in the refugee camp on Lesbos, regardless of whether you are Christian, Jewish, or Muslim."
Orban has often argued that migrants from the Middle East and Africa must be kept out to preserve the Christian character of Hungarian culture.
His government has argued that nation states should have control over their own borders and accused the European Union of trying to force it to accept mass immigration.
Orban's interview with the newspaper came three days after the EU's highest court ruled that Hungary broke the law by preventing some immigrants from seeking asylum and moving many to transit camps.
The European Commission -- the 27-member bloc's executive body -- launched legal proceedings against the asylum law issued by Orban's right-wing government in 2015 at the peak of a migrant crisis.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) largely ruled in favor of the commission, finding that Hungarian authorities failed to observe the procedures and required guarantees.
Hungary, along with Poland, is also under EU investigation for undermining the independence of the judiciary, media, and nongovernmental organizations.
For weeks the two countries' governments blocked the passage of a package that included coronavirus relief seen as vital for the EU's battered economies over a newly introduced clause that tied to funding to whether members uphold the rule of law.
EU leaders earlier this month struck a deal to unblock the funding and start implementing it.
With reporting by dpa and Welt am Sonntag


rferl--2020-12-27--Iran Reports 12 Killed, 14 Rescued Following Avalanches

Iranian rescue workers have ended their search for survivors of recent heavy snowstorms and avalanches in mountains north of Tehran @ @ @ @ @ December 27 that 12 people were killed in four separate avalanches following the storms .
@ @ @ @ @ reported missing were rescued by the international Red Crescent movement .
Weather-forecasting authorities earlier criticized @ @ @ @ @ warnings against traveling to the mountains , which are a popular weekend destination for hikers @ @ @ @ @ .
The search-and-rescue operation took three days and involved 20 teams using helicopters to scour @ @ @ @ @ Tehran lies at the foot of the range , which stretches across 900 kilometers from @ @ @ @ @ northwest to Khorasan Province in the northeast .
Based on reporting by Reuters , AFP @ @ @


rferl--2020-12-27--Navalny Associate Sobol Says Criminal Charges Against Her Are Kremlin's 'Revenge'

Lyubov Sobol , a prominent lawyer for outspoken Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny 's Anti-Corruption Foundation ( FBK ) , has said upon her release from detention that charges filed against her are `` revenge '' for Navalny 's survival of a recent assassination attempt .
`` I believe that this criminal case against me is , firstly , revenge against Navalny , no matter how absurd it may sound , revenge on him for surviving after being poisoned with chemical weapons , revenge for his anti-corruption activities , '' Sobol told TV Dozhd regarding the charges , which stem from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Security Service ( FSB ) officer implicated in Navalny 's August poisoning .
`` And since they can not do anything with him now , they apparently decided to take revenge on me , '' said Sobol , who proclaimed her innocence and called the charges `` absurd . ''
Sobol was detained by police on December 25 and taken in for questioning by Russia 's main investigative body , the Investigative Committee .
She was questioned six times in relation to a criminal probe that was launched after a group of journalists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to speak to the FSB officer at his home on December 21 .
The officer , Konstantin Kudryavtsev , had been identified as the apparent recipient of a recorded phone call from Navalny in which the anti-corruption activist 's poisoning was discussed .
Navalny had earlier on December 21 published an audio recording of the call , in which Kudryavtsev appears to believe he is speaking with a Russian security official and freely describes the circumstances of Navalny 's poisoning by a Soviet-era nerve agent .
A criminal investigation into Sobol trespassing `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threat to use it '' was launched following a complaint from Kudryavtsev 's mother .
Upon questioning , Sobol 's status was changed from a witness to a suspect , and she was charged under Russia 's Criminal Code .
She faces two to five years in prison if convicted .
Speaking to TV Dozhd , Sobol said that the charges against her were also a warning to journalists who have covered Navalny 's poisoning .
`` You -- Dozhd television -- have approached one of the poisoners [ of Navalny ] , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take comments from him .
I myself went to another apartment .
CNN came , '' she said .
`` That is why , I think , they are really scared that journalists will now be asking questions of the people who have tried to kill Navalny .
Through me , they want to intimidate journalists as well . ''
Sobol posted a video on Twitter of police raiding her apartment on December 25 , before going incommunicado .
In the video , her 7-year-old daughter can be heard crying as someone pounds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be opened .
`` They knock on the door and say the police are here .
Apparently , the search will be at my home .
I 've never had a personal search before .
Well , everything happens for the first time .
Apparently , because I recently went to Navalny 's poisoner , `` Sobol says in the video .
Police searched Sobol 's apartment and her computers and phones were taken away , according to Navalny supporters .
Navalny has blamed President Vladimir Putin for his poisoning in Siberia .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ fell ill on August 20 while flying en route from Tomsk to Moscow .
After his flight was diverted to Omsk , where Russian doctors said they had found no trace of poisoning and placed Navalny in an induced coma , the he was transferred to a hospital in Germany .
Laboratory tests in three separate European countries , confirmed by the global chemical-weapons watchdog , have established that Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent of the Novichok class .
Russia has rejected calls for an investigation into the poisoning , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the case , saying it has yet to be shown any evidence .
In October , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Navalny of collaborating with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency , an allegation Lyubov at the time called `` complete gibberish . ''
In a separate case , a Moscow court has ordered Sobol , Navalny , and the FBK to jointly pay a total of 87.6 million rubles ( $ 1.15 million ) in relation to a defamation lawsuit filed by a businessman with close ties to Putin .
Sobol announced earlier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia 's 2021 parliamentary elections .
Navalny remains in Germany , where he is recovering from the poisoning .
He has said he plans to return home at an undisclosed date .

Lyubov Sobol, a prominent lawyer for outspoken Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), has said upon her release from detention that charges filed against her are "revenge" for Navalny's survival of a recent assassination attempt.
"I believe that this criminal case against me is, firstly, revenge against Navalny, no matter how absurd it may sound, revenge on him for surviving after being poisoned with chemical weapons, revenge for his anti-corruption activities," Sobol told TV Dozhd regarding the charges, which stem from her ringing the doorbell of a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer implicated in Navalny's August poisoning.
"And since they cannot do anything with him now, they apparently decided to take revenge on me," said Sobol, who proclaimed her innocence and called the charges "absurd."
Sobol was detained by police on December 25 and taken in for questioning by Russia's main investigative body, the Investigative Committee. She was questioned six times in relation to a criminal probe that was launched after a group of journalists and activists, including Sobol, attempted to speak to the FSB officer at his home on December 21.
The officer, Konstantin Kudryavtsev, had been identified as the apparent recipient of a recorded phone call from Navalny in which the anti-corruption activist's poisoning was discussed.
Navalny had earlier on December 21 published an audio recording of the call, in which Kudryavtsev appears to believe he is speaking with a Russian security official and freely describes the circumstances of Navalny's poisoning by a Soviet-era nerve agent.
A criminal investigation into Sobol trespassing "with the use of violence or a threat to use it" was launched following a complaint from Kudryavtsev's mother.
Upon questioning, Sobol's status was changed from a witness to a suspect, and she was charged under Russia's Criminal Code. She faces two to five years in prison if convicted.
Speaking to TV Dozhd, Sobol said that the charges against her were also a warning to journalists who have covered Navalny's poisoning.
"You -- Dozhd television -- have approached one of the poisoners [of Navalny], coming to his apartment and trying to take comments from him. I myself went to another apartment. CNN came," she said.
"That is why, I think, they are really scared that journalists will now be asking questions of the people who have tried to kill Navalny. Through me, they want to intimidate journalists as well."
Sobol posted a video on Twitter of police raiding her apartment on December 25, before going incommunicado. In the video, her 7-year-old daughter can be heard crying as someone pounds on the front door, demanding it be opened.
"They knock on the door and say the police are here. Apparently, the search will be at my home. I've never had a personal search before. Well, everything happens for the first time. Apparently, because I recently went to Navalny's poisoner, " Sobol says in the video.
Police searched Sobol's apartment and her computers and phones were taken away, according to Navalny supporters.
Navalny has blamed President Vladimir Putin for his poisoning in Siberia. The fierce Kremlin critic and Putin foe fell ill on August 20 while flying en route from Tomsk to Moscow. After his flight was diverted to Omsk, where Russian doctors said they had found no trace of poisoning and placed Navalny in an induced coma, the he was transferred to a hospital in Germany.
Laboratory tests in three separate European countries, confirmed by the global chemical-weapons watchdog, have established that Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent of the Novichok class.
Russia has rejected calls for an investigation into the poisoning, and denies the involvement of state agents in the case, saying it has yet to be shown any evidence. In October, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Navalny of collaborating with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, an allegation Lyubov at the time called "complete gibberish."
In a separate case, a Moscow court has ordered Sobol, Navalny, and the FBK to jointly pay a total of 87.6 million rubles ($1.15 million) in relation to a defamation lawsuit filed by a businessman with close ties to Putin.
Sobol announced earlier this year that she would run in Russia's 2021 parliamentary elections.
Navalny remains in Germany, where he is recovering from the poisoning. He has said he plans to return home at an undisclosed date.
With reporting by TV Dozhd


rferl--2020-12-27--Balloon Launches Mark Opposition To Belarus's Lukashenka

Opposition demonstrators in Belarus have continued their extended protests against Alyaksandr Lukashenka 's rule by releasing red and white balloons @ @ @ @ @ balloons , chosen because red and white are used as a symbol by the opposition @ @ @ @ @ demonstrations that took place in the capital and other cities on December 27 .
In @ @ @ @ @ answered the call to release balloons , with their actions posted to the Telegram channel @ @ @ @ @ and other social media .
Several participants were reportedly arrested , and a heavy police @ @ @ @ @ capital .
Belarus has been rocked by protests since August 9 , when Lukashenka , @ @ @ @ @ was declared the winner of a presidential election that many Belarusians and others charge was @ @ @ @ @ opposition challenger Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya .
There have been more than 30,000 detentions since the protests @ @

Opposition demonstrators in Belarus have continued their extended protests against Alyaksandr Lukashenka's rule by releasing red and white balloons into the sky.
The balloons, chosen because red and white are used as a symbol by the opposition, were released in small demonstrations that took place in the capital and other cities on December 27.
Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
In Minsk, hundreds of people answered the call to release balloons, with their actions posted to the Telegram channel of RFE/RL's Belarus Service and other social media.
Several participants were reportedly arrested, and a heavy police presence was reported in the capital.
Belarus has been rocked by protests since August 9, when Lukashenka, in power since 1994, was declared the winner of a presidential election that many Belarusians and others charge was rigged and actually won by opposition challenger Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
There have been more than 30,000 detentions since the protests began.
With reporting by dpa


rferl--2020-12-28--At Least Three Killed, Including Two Police Officers, In Chechnya Attack

At least three people are dead , including two law enforcement officers , after a shoot-out in the capital of @ @ @ @ @ of Chechnya .
Unknown assailants initiated the assault on police on December 28 , local @ @ @ @ @ .
Interfax and TASS said the attackers opened fire on police , while other media @ @ @ @ @ with knives as they tried to disarm the law enforcement officials .
Interfax reported that @ @ @ @ @ police fired on them , while TASS said one was killed .
A search operation @ @ @ @ @ the area as police investigate the attack .
Chechnya and Russia 's other mostly Muslim-populated @ @ @ @ @ site of frequent fighting between government forces and militants whose insurgency stems from two post-Soviet @ @ @ @ @ The volatile North Caucasus in recent years has also been at the epicenter of organized @ @ @ @ @ business turf wars , political disputes , clan rivalries , and the spread of militant @ @ @ @ @ TASS and Interfax

At least three people are dead, including two law enforcement officers, after a shoot-out in the capital of Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya.
Unknown assailants initiated the assault on police on December 28, local media quoted sources as saying.
Interfax and TASS said the attackers opened fire on police, while other media said they attacked the officers with knives as they tried to disarm the law enforcement officials.
Interfax reported that two attackers were killed when police fired on them, while TASS said one was killed.
A search operation is now under way in the area as police investigate the attack.
Chechnya and Russia's other mostly Muslim-populated North Caucasus regions are the site of frequent fighting between government forces and militants whose insurgency stems from two post-Soviet separatist wars in Chechnya.
The volatile North Caucasus in recent years has also been at the epicenter of organized criminal gang violence linked to business turf wars, political disputes, clan rivalries, and the spread of militant Islam.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax


rferl--2020-12-28--Alleged Mastermind Of Attack On Saudi Embassy Appointed To Iran's Judo Federation

An Iranian cleric who was allegedly behind the 2016 attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran has been appointed as the head of the cultural committee of Iran ’ s Judo Federation .
The federation said on December 27 that Hassan Kordmihan , who had been named by Iranian media as the mastermind of the January storming of the Saudi mission in the Iranian capital , will also serve as an adviser to the federation ’ s president .
Protesters stormed and ransacked the Saudi missions in Tehran and Mashhad after Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shi ’ ite cleric Nimr @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s treatment of its Shi ’ ite minority .
Kordmihan was arrested following the attack and went on trial behind closed doors in the Special Clergy Court that prosecutes clerics accused of wrongdoing .
It is not clear whether a sentence was issued against Kordmihan who , according to media reports , had been arrested after returning from Syria where Iran-backed forces have provided military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian conflict .
Kordmihan , who has denied having played a role in the attack , was among about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Saudi diplomatic missions .
In all , 21 suspects went on trial in the case .
Some of the defendants were handed sentences of three months or six months in jail , while others were acquitted , Iranian media has reported .
Saudi Arabia severed its diplomatic ties with Iran following the attacks on its embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashad .
The Iranian government has condemned the attacks , but tensions have still been on the rise in recent months between the two regional rivals .
Iran was banned last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country 's refusal to face Israeli competitors .
The Islamic republic does not recognize Israel , and Iranian sports teams have employed a policy of not competing against Israelis .


rferl--2020-12-28--Leaders Of Breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Reject Azerbaijani Claims Of Deadly Attack

Azerbaijan says one of its servicemen has been killed and another wounded in an attack by ethnic Armenian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh , a claim dismissed by the breakaway region 's de facto authorities .
The country 's Defense Ministry said on December 28 that six members of “ an illegal Armenian armed group '' attacked an Azerbaijani military unit in the village of Agdam in the Khojavend district the previous day , adding that all of the attackers were killed .
The ministry vowed to take `` decisive measures '' if similar attacks were carried out .
The ethnic Armenian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ propaganda provocation , ” saying it was “ strictly observing ” last month ’ s cease-fire that brought an end to six weeks of fighting over the region .
The Armenian Defense Ministry earlier denied media reports of fighting in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh .
The Moscow-brokered truce took effect on November 10 , placing a chunk of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven districts around it -- including Khojavend -- under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by Armenians .
Most of the Khojavend district had been captured by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ December 12 , new clashes were reported in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh , with Armenia and Azerbaijan accusing each other of breaching the cease-fire .
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan , but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region 's population reject Azerbaijani rule .
They had been governing their own affairs , with support from Armenia , since Azerbaijan 's troops and Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region and seven adjacent districts in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994 .

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that there can be no advancement in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless there is an improvement in the treatment of women in the country.
Speaking to reporters on August 15, the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Kabul, Blinken said the United States continues to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the commitments that it's made, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls.
"We've been very clear with the Taliban -- and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear -- that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported," Blinken said.
No country has recognized the Taliban-led government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over the treatment of women and girls, who have seen their rights drastically curbed by the hard-line Islamists. This includes a ban on women working in local and international nongovernmental organizations and a ban on education beyond the sixth grade.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops under the terms of an agreement reached in February 2020 between the Taliban and the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Blinken defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.
"The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one," Blinken said. "We ended America's longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don't have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die."
A number of international human rights organizations earlier on August 15 called the Taliban's two years of rule shameful and worrying.
Amnesty International and several other international human rights organizations demanded in a statement an effective response to the situation, noting the Taliban's strict decrees against human rights in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls.
The organizations said in a statement that in the past two years, the Taliban has increasingly imposed harmful policies against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities that clearly violate Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law.
The Taliban has previously rejected reports on the treatment of women as propaganda of international organizations. The militant group's leaders have said they have strengthened all the rights of women in Afghanistan in light of Islamic principles.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview with the AP marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country that the Taliban views its rule of Afghanistan as open-ended and as drawing legitimacy from Islamic law. He also suggested a ban on female education will remain in place.
Female activist Soheila Yousefi calls the situation alarming and wants the world to pay attention.
"The international community should take serious action in this regard because the world chose to be silent in these two years and did not take any practical steps. Our request is that they should look at the current situation in Afghanistan, then take a serious and comprehensive review."
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi's questions before the release of the report, but the rulers have spoken of strengthening human rights in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women and girls, according to Islamic principles.
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-12-28--17 Feared Dead After Russian Trawler Sinks In Freezing Arctic Waters

Seventeen fishermen are feared dead after a Russian fishing trawler capsized during a storm and sank in the freezing waters of the Arctic Ocean .
`` At 7:30 a.m. , information was received that the Onega vessel…had sunk in the Barents Sea near Novaya Zemlya in the Arkhangelsk region .
The crew had 19 people .
Two people were rescued , '' the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on December 28 , adding that searches are under way .
It is believed that ice accumulation on the fishing boat , which was carrying a Russian crew , led to the sinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the trawler sank so fast that crew did not have time to activate their life rafts .
There was little hope of finding survivors hours after the tragedy due to strong winds and freezing temperatures , the source added .
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Northern Fleet had deployed an aircraft to join the search-and-rescue operation .
Adverse weather conditions , including 4-meter-high waves and temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius , had complicated the deployment of the aircraft , the ministry said .
The Russian-flagged vessel had reportedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not uncommon in Russia .
In April 2015 , a Russian trawler sank off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the country ’ s Far East .
Of the 132 people on board the ship , only 63 were rescued .
With reporting by Reuters , Reuters , TASS , AFP , and Interfax

Seventeen fishermen are feared dead after a Russian fishing trawler capsized during a storm and sank in the freezing waters of the Arctic Ocean.
"At 7:30 a.m., information was received that the Onega vessel…had sunk in the Barents Sea near Novaya Zemlya in the Arkhangelsk region. The crew had 19 people. Two people were rescued," the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on December 28, adding that searches are under way.
It is believed that ice accumulation on the fishing boat, which was carrying a Russian crew, led to the sinking.
Interfax quoted a source as saying that the trawler sank so fast that crew did not have time to activate their life rafts.
There was little hope of finding survivors hours after the tragedy due to strong winds and freezing temperatures, the source added.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Northern Fleet had deployed an aircraft to join the search-and-rescue operation.
Adverse weather conditions, including 4-meter-high waves and temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius, had complicated the deployment of the aircraft, the ministry said.
The Russian-flagged vessel had reportedly been operating since 1979.
Maritime accidents are not uncommon in Russia.
In April 2015, a Russian trawler sank off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the country’s Far East. Of the 132 people on board the ship, only 63 were rescued.
With reporting by Reuters, Reuters, TASS, AFP, and Interfax


rferl--2020-12-28--Doping Whistle-Blowers Have No Plans To Return To Russia

The Russian couple who played a major role in exposing the nation ’ s sports doping scandal said in an interview published on December 27 that they no longer consider Russia their home and have no plans to return to the country .
Vitaly and Yulia Stepanov live in the United States in an undisclosed location with their 7-year-old son and are waiting for an interview as part of their application for asylum , they told the German news agency dpa .
Russia , Vitaly Stepanov said , `` is a place where we were born .
We have no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' The couple fled Russia in 2014 , initially landing in Germany , days before the screening of a documentary in which they detailed Russia 's state-sponsored doping program .
Stepanov said the family applied for asylum in the United States in 2016 and have been living a typical middle-class American life .
`` Nobody really knows who we are , '' he said in the telephone interview .
`` We do n't have many friends , but we do have friends that we appreciate and we are proud that they are part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he has no regrets about doing what they did six years ago .
`` The truth came out and the relevant organizations were forced to deal with it .
We are glad , '' he said , `` and in general I believe the anti-doping movement is stronger . ''
The doping was exposed after Yulia Stepanova , a former top runner on Russia ’ s national team , made secret recordings of coaches and athletes .
A German television documentary reported it largely based on the Stepanovs ’ evidence .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) investigation aided by another whistle-blower -- the former head of Moscow ’ s anti-doping laboratory , Grigory Rodchenkov -- that exposed state-sponsored doping practices and cover-ups in the country and at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics .
The result was a ban on Russia ’ s track-and-field team from the 2016 Olympics .
Earlier this month , the Court of Arbitration for Sport ( CAS ) upheld doping sanctions that will prevent Russian athletes from competing at major sporting events under the country 's flag , but halved the period of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The ban means Russia will not be allowed to use its flag and anthem at any major sporting events for the next two years .
Athletes will be able to compete under a neutral flag if they prove no connection to doping .
They can wear a uniform bearing the Russian colors , but it can not contain the Russian flag or any national symbol .
The ruling affects Russia ’ s participation in the delayed Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympics .
Stepanov said he wished the punishment hadn ’ t been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proper , noting that “ everybody has to live with this decision , including athletes from Russia . ''
Stepanov believes that WADA and the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) are doing more than in the past , despite wide-ranging criticism that they have been too lenient .
But he has little hope that Russia will change its doping climate .
`` The Russian government is not helping by continuing to cover up and cheat the Olympic movement .
They are the main guilty party here , '' Stepanov said .
Yuliya @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help her train , while Stepanov works as an adviser to the organization .

The Russian couple who played a major role in exposing the nation’s sports doping scandal said in an interview published on December 27 that they no longer consider Russia their home and have no plans to return to the country.
Vitaly and Yulia Stepanov live in the United States in an undisclosed location with their 7-year-old son and are waiting for an interview as part of their application for asylum, they told the German news agency dpa.
Russia, Vitaly Stepanov said, "is a place where we were born. We have no plans to go back to Russia."
The couple fled Russia in 2014, initially landing in Germany, days before the screening of a documentary in which they detailed Russia's state-sponsored doping program.
Stepanov said the family applied for asylum in the United States in 2016 and have been living a typical middle-class American life.
"Nobody really knows who we are," he said in the telephone interview. "We don't have many friends, but we do have friends that we appreciate and we are proud that they are part of our life."
And he said he has no regrets about doing what they did six years ago.
"The truth came out and the relevant organizations were forced to deal with it. We are glad," he said, "and in general I believe the anti-doping movement is stronger."
The doping was exposed after Yulia Stepanova, a former top runner on Russia’s national team, made secret recordings of coaches and athletes. A German television documentary reported it largely based on the Stepanovs’ evidence.
That prompted a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation aided by another whistle-blower -- the former head of Moscow’s anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov -- that exposed state-sponsored doping practices and cover-ups in the country and at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The result was a ban on Russia’s track-and-field team from the 2016 Olympics.
Earlier this month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld doping sanctions that will prevent Russian athletes from competing at major sporting events under the country's flag, but halved the period of the ban from four years to two.
The ban means Russia will not be allowed to use its flag and anthem at any major sporting events for the next two years.
Athletes will be able to compete under a neutral flag if they prove no connection to doping. They can wear a uniform bearing the Russian colors, but it cannot contain the Russian flag or any national symbol.
The ruling affects Russia’s participation in the delayed Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympics.
Stepanov said he wished the punishment hadn’t been reduced, but he hoped it was proper, noting that “everybody has to live with this decision, including athletes from Russia."
Stepanov believes that WADA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are doing more than in the past, despite wide-ranging criticism that they have been too lenient. But he has little hope that Russia will change its doping climate.
"The Russian government is not helping by continuing to cover up and cheat the Olympic movement. They are the main guilty party here," Stepanov said.
Yuliya Stepanova receives funding from the IOC to help her train, while Stepanov works as an adviser to the organization.


rferl--2020-12-28--Thousands Of Montenegrins Protest Government Plan To Amend Controversial Religion Law

PODGORICA , Montenegro -- Several thousand people in Montenegro have protested the new government ’ s plan to amend a controversial law on religion .
Protesters chanted “ Treason ” and “ This Is Not Serbia ” as they gathered on December 28 outside the parliament building in the capital Podgorica , where lawmakers planned to discuss the proposed changes .
Under Montenegro 's new religion law , adopted in January , religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918 .
That is the year when predominantly Orthodox Christian Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Serbs , Croats , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church , losing all of its property in the process .
The Serbian Orthodox Church , its supporters , and pro-Serbian parties fear the law will enable the Montenegrin government to impound church property , though officials deny they intend to .
But the new government -- a coalition comprised of pro-Serb parties that is closely aligned with the Serbian Orthodox Church -- has proposed rewriting the law to ensure the properties stay in the hands of the church , which is based in neighboring Serbia .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ federation until 2006 , when Montenegro declared its independence .
Montenegro is the newest member of NATO and aspires to join the European Union .

PODGORICA, Montenegro -- Several thousand people in Montenegro have protested the new government’s plan to amend a controversial law on religion.
Protesters chanted “Treason” and “This Is Not Serbia” as they gathered on December 28 outside the parliament building in the capital Podgorica, where lawmakers planned to discuss the proposed changes.
Under Montenegro's new religion law, adopted in January, religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918.
That is the year when predominantly Orthodox Christian Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes -- and the Montenegrin Orthodox Church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, losing all of its property in the process.
The Serbian Orthodox Church, its supporters, and pro-Serbian parties fear the law will enable the Montenegrin government to impound church property, though officials deny they intend to.
But the new government -- a coalition comprised of pro-Serb parties that is closely aligned with the Serbian Orthodox Church -- has proposed rewriting the law to ensure the properties stay in the hands of the church, which is based in neighboring Serbia.
Serbia and Montenegro were part of a federation until 2006, when Montenegro declared its independence.
Montenegro is the newest member of NATO and aspires to join the European Union.


rferl--2020-12-28--Red Cross Delivers Clothes, Food To Migrants Exposed To Elements In Bosnia

The International Committee of the Red Cross has delivered clothes and food to hundreds of refugees and migrants exposed to falling temperatures and heavy snow after their tent camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina was destroyed by a fire .
The stranded migrants at the camp in northwest Bosnia have been without shelter after a fire destroyed much of the camp on December 23 , the same day the site was due to be temporarily closed .
Since the fire at the camp , known as Lipa , Bosnian officials have failed to agree where to house the migrants and refugees .
Many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the elements with only blankets and sleeping bags .
The Red Cross on December 28 delivered gloves , hats , and socks to the around 800 migrants and refugees at the Lipa camp .
They were also given one hot meal .
The camp , which had previously come under criticism for inadequate facilities , is located near Bosnia 's border with EU-member Croatia .
About 10,000 migrants from Asia , the Middle East , and North Africa are stuck in Bosnia , hoping to reach the European Union .
The EU @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conditions and has urged the country 's officials to take action to accommodate them .

The International Committee of the Red Cross has delivered clothes and food to hundreds of refugees and migrants exposed to falling temperatures and heavy snow after their tent camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina was destroyed by a fire.
The stranded migrants at the camp in northwest Bosnia have been without shelter after a fire destroyed much of the camp on December 23, the same day the site was due to be temporarily closed.
Since the fire at the camp, known as Lipa, Bosnian officials have failed to agree where to house the migrants and refugees.
Many of the migrants have attempted to shield themselves from the elements with only blankets and sleeping bags.
The Red Cross on December 28 delivered gloves, hats, and socks to the around 800 migrants and refugees at the Lipa camp. They were also given one hot meal.
The camp, which had previously come under criticism for inadequate facilities, is located near Bosnia's border with EU-member Croatia.
About 10,000 migrants from Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa are stuck in Bosnia, hoping to reach the European Union.
The EU has warned Bosnia that migrants face freezing conditions and has urged the country's officials to take action to accommodate them.


rferl--2020-12-28--Russian Coronavirus Fatalities Much Higher Than Initially Reported

Russia has confirmed that it has been underreporting its coronavirus death toll , announcing that the actual number of fatalities related to the pandemic is more than three times higher than previously released figures .
The admission would place Russia third behind the United States and Brazil in terms of COVID-19 fatalities .
The Rosstat statistics agency said on December 28 that the number of deaths from all causes recorded between January and November had risen by 229,700 compared to the previous year .
`` More than 81 percent of this increase in mortality over this period is due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Golikova said .
The percentage increase would mean that more than 186,000 Russians have died from COVID-19 , whereas recorded figures stand at around 54,500 deaths and more than 3 million infections .
Golikova added that death rates in November-December were higher than other periods due to the `` autumn/winter period , when the spread of COVID-19 is increasing in combination with other diseases . ''
Rosstat on December 28 announced that 23,610 deaths in Russia were attributed to COVID-19 in November alone , whereas the initial figure for that month was recorded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ additional deaths had been assumed to be coronavirus-related , but that additional medical research was required to confirm it .
Since the beginning of the pandemic , Russia has consistently downplayed its impact even as outside observers suggested that the casualty count was far too low .
Earlier this month , President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had done a better job managing the pandemic than Western countries and rejected introducing a nationwide lockdown .
Some of the disparity is attributed to Russia only listing deaths as coronavirus-related if COVID-19 , rather than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , were listed in the autopsy as the cause of death .

Russia has confirmed that it has been underreporting its coronavirus death toll, announcing that the actual number of fatalities related to the pandemic is more than three times higher than previously released figures.
The admission would place Russia third behind the United States and Brazil in terms of COVID-19 fatalities.
RFE/RL's Coronavirus Crisis Archive Features and analysis, videos, and infographics explore how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the countries in our region.
The Rosstat statistics agency said on December 28 that the number of deaths from all causes recorded between January and November had risen by 229,700 compared to the previous year.
"More than 81 percent of this increase in mortality over this period is due to COVID," Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said. The percentage increase would mean that more than 186,000 Russians have died from COVID-19, whereas recorded figures stand at around 54,500 deaths and more than 3 million infections.
Golikova added that death rates in November-December were higher than other periods due to the "autumn/winter period, when the spread of COVID-19 is increasing in combination with other diseases."
Rosstat on December 28 announced that 23,610 deaths in Russia were attributed to COVID-19 in November alone, whereas the initial figure for that month was recorded as 19,626. Rosstat said that the additional deaths had been assumed to be coronavirus-related, but that additional medical research was required to confirm it.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Russia has consistently downplayed its impact even as outside observers suggested that the casualty count was far too low. Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had done a better job managing the pandemic than Western countries and rejected introducing a nationwide lockdown.
Some of the disparity is attributed to Russia only listing deaths as coronavirus-related if COVID-19, rather than other causes such as upper respiratory infections, were listed in the autopsy as the cause of death.
Based on AFP and TASS