Wages at Russian defense enterprises fell last month for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine even as average salaries nationwide continued to rise, according to a study by Novaya Gazeta Europe.

#OpEd The Al-Sharaa government ultimately wants to establish control over the entire territory of Syria. Over time, Russia’s presence will become an obstacle to that goal, writes Nikita Smagin.

The plan to build eight nuclear reactors in Iran was announced in 2014, but it has remained largely at the level of framework agreements and preliminary contracts for more than a decade.

Russia has asked the UN’s aviation body to ease sanctions on spare parts and overflights which it says violate the "human right to freedom of movement" and reduce flight safety.

Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov described the conservative activist’s death as “his greatest sermon and the pinnacle of his mission.”

Igor Dodon, a former president and co-leader of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc, said some of his fellow party members were targeted in the raids.

The nuclear arms reduction treaty, signed between the United States and Russia in 2010, is set to expire in early February of next year.

Taxi parks sit with idle vehicles, passengers cannot afford basic transportation and underground networks recreate Soviet-era informal economies. As one popular Moscow meme put it: “Moscow Never Sleeps — because nobody can afford the taxi home.”

Colonel General Alexander Lapin will reportedly take a civilian role as an aide to the head of the republic of Tatarstan.

Maxim Vasilyev, who resigned from office in 2023, reportedly paid $95,500 in bribes to the Kursk region’s former deputy governor and embezzled another $60,000 earmarked for defense projects.

WhatsApp reached 97 million unique monthly users in August, over three times more than the Kremlin-backed messenger Max.

NATO jets intercepted three Russian MiG-31 fighters on Friday after they crossed into Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland.

Kremlin-installed officials in annexed Crimea said three people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack near a spa resort.

Never quite able to escape Eurovision’s shadow, Russia’s revival of the Soviet-era Intervision contest was marked by awkward moments, forced solidarity and performances that often fell flat.

Twenty-three musical acts from Russia's allies are set to take the stage in Moscow this Saturday night for the revived Intervision song contest. It marks Moscow's latest effort to showcase its vision of cultural independence from the West.

Three Russian MiG-31 fighters violated Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland on Friday, Estonia said, triggering complaints of a dangerous new provocation from the EU and NATO but a denial from Moscow.

Russia has filed an appeal with the International Court of Justice over a decision deeming Moscow responsible for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine that killed all 298 people on board.

Russia fired 40 missiles and around 580 drones at Ukraine in a "massive attack" — one of the largest in past weeks — killing three people and wounding dozens, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Read more: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/20/3...

It marks the fourth known Russian incursion into Estonian airspace this year and comes a week after Russian drones crossed over into Poland.

Adam Kadyrov has now assumed at least seven official positions in the past two years.

Athletes will also be required to undergo checks to prove they have not actively supported the war in Ukraine or have any links with the army.

Remote applications for Kazakh bank cards surged after Visa and Mastercard pulled out of Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The return of Russian soldiers from the war is already straining families and communities. What happens when the 700,000 men still fighting come home?

The latest measures are expected to target crypto and banks, as well as shorten the timeline for when Europe will stop importing Russian fossil fuels.

In the fourth summer since Russia invaded Ukraine, Russians increasingly vacationed inside the country — or to countries deemed "friendly" by the Kremlin. Read more about the changing face of Russian tourism in this week's Regions Calling: www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/18/r...

#OpEd Jimmy Kimmel's removal from late night television resembles when the Kremlin attacked a television channel that satirized Putin — and even the liberal media rationalized what happened as if it was acceptable, warns Andrei Soldatov.

A fruit shipping industry source in St. Petersburg told The Moscow Times that drug seizures at the city’s ports were common but that the scale of the seizure likely explains why the case drew attention.

The Narva-Ivangorod crossing, the busiest along the 294-kilometer border, has been closed to road traffic since February 2024 for construction, though pedestrians have still been allowed through.

But a swimming ban remains in place across Krasnodar’s coastline, and officials warn that oil continues to seep from the wrecks.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned of possible hazardous waves along coastlines but later said the threat had passed.

Around 50 people were escorted out of the enclave on Wednesday with assistance from Russia’s mission to the Palestinian Authority and its embassy in Jordan.

#OpEd Combining military provocation with propaganda is a typical Kremlin tactic. The West must harden its defenses or face further attacks, warns Katarzyna Chawyło. www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/18/r...

Russia returned the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers while receiving the bodies of 24 Russian soldiers in exchange, authorities said.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said the cut-off oil price would be lowered by $1 every year starting in 2026, with the threshold ultimately falling to $55 per barrel by 2030.

Counter Terrorism Command head Dominic Murphy said the U.K. was witnessing an increase in "proxies" being recruited by foreign intelligence agencies.

In the latest Regions Calling newsletter, we look at where and how Russians chose to spend their summer holidays — decisions that offer important clues for the public mood and the economy.

Analysts say the gap between the military’s upbeat reports and the battlefield reality helps feed into Putin’s conviction that Russia is winning.

A video released by the FSB showed one of the alleged bomb plotters, a man, walking the streets of St. Petersburg dressed as an elderly woman, which the agency said was an attempt to evade detection.

Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat is Russia’s 10th-largest refinery, with a capacity of 10 million metric tons of oil per year.

The departure follows a New York Times report last month that alleged Kozak had lost favor with Putin after objecting to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sofiane Sehili was arrested after crossing the Russian border with China illegally while attempting to break the record for the fastest endurance cycle from Lisbon to Vladivostok.

The London-based restaurateur was charged with spreading “fake news” about the war in Ukraine and evading “foreign agent” obligations.

R&B artist B. Howard, originally slated to perform for the U.S., withdrew from the competition for what organizers said were “family reasons.”

Analysts say the gap between the military’s upbeat reports and the battlefield reality helps feed into Putin’s conviction that Russia is winning.

Authorities in the Baltic country claimed the Latvian man, who was not identified, had shared the locations and security protocols of Latvian and NATO troops with his contacts inside Russia.

Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna said she had “recently” spoken with Russian government officials and asked whether they had information to share on the issue.

#OpEd Parents cannot just assume that their children will not be affected by attempts to brainwash them. They must take decisive action, recommends teacher Dima Zitser.

Ukraine has ramped up its attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure in recent months, targeting a key source of revenue for the Kremlin’s war effort.

Nearby, a fringe nationalist group held an anti-American demonstration, with some protesters waving Confederate flags.

Navalnaya said in a video statement that her husband’s biological samples were obtained last February and later “securely smuggled abroad.”