Russian Economy Minister Alexey Ulyukayev was detained Tuesday on suspicion of taking a $2 million bribe in return for his ministry’s support for a major oil company deal, Russia’s Investigative Committee said. The minister is in custody and awaiting charges.
The anxiety index in Russia has risen over the past month, and worries over the international situation have increased to an 8-month high, according to recent research into public opinion.
A group of residents of the central Russian city of Ryazan have launched a petition to rename the currently-named Bezbozhnaya (godless) Street after US President-elect Donald Trump.
A senior official in Russia’s parliamentary majority party has told reporters that lawmakers want to increase state sponsorship to political parties in order to support opposition groups, which won very few parliamentary seats in the latest elections.
The Russian government has rejected a proposal to allow 16-year-olds to vote in elections, claiming that people under 18 are still immature and do not fully understand the principles of democracy or taking responsibility for their actions.
A member of the State Duma Foreign Relations Committee has a proposal to launch a special group for restoring normal relations between Russia and the US, while other MPs seek to launch a week of Russian-US friendship to mend broken ties.
The Russian parliament has passed a resolution denouncing Lithuania’s re-opening of court proceedings into violent clashes between local nationalists and Soviet law enforcers in 1991, calling the case arbitrary, and rewriting of history.
The State Duma has passed the bill that obliges all of its members to personally sign replies to citizens’ addresses, but also agreed to discuss the issue of bulk emails sent to the parliament separately.
An overwhelming majority of Russians say they would support the federal parliament if it introduced monetary fines for lawmakers who fail to attend sessions without offering valid excuses.
Lyubov Yaroshenko has threatened to commit suicide by self-immolation if US authorities refuse to send home her son who, according to his defense attorneys, was kidnapped, tried, and sentenced by a US court in violation of international law.