The Moscow Times: Russia on Thursday reported 18,985 new coronavirus cases and 798 deaths.
RFE/RL: The walls of the apartment block in Moscow where prominent Russian human rights defender Lev Ponomaryov lives have been vandalized with hate messages on his 80th birthday.
The Moscow Times: Russia said Thursday that Google and Apple’s refusal to remove jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s app ahead of elections could be seen as interference in the country’s domestic affairs.
The Moscow Times: Independent Russian news website The Bell said it was hacked after its newsletter subscribers received an email that urged them to boycott the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
RFE/RL: The Russian Supreme Court has barred Dmitry Potapenko, a candidate for the center-left Russian Party for Freedom and Justice, from running in upcoming legislative elections because he allegedly held shares in Russian companies listed on foreign exchanges.
RFE/RL: Teenagers garbed in camouflage fatigues and military cadet attire took to the stage at a local theater northeast of Moscow, showing off their martial skills as part of an anniversary celebration for a local patriotic military club. But that wasn’t all. As an unsuspecting audience looked on, the men hoisted a shirtless colleague above their heads, placed a concrete block on his stomach that suggested gay people should be killed, and proceeded to smash the symbolic object with what appeared to be a sledgehammer.
RFE/RL: Russia has refused to extend the mandate of international observers to monitor two border crossing points with Ukraine, a U.S. official said.
