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Located south of the Arctic Circle, in Russia’s far east, Yakutsk is known for its severe climate Continue reading...

Radio equipment stolen from Ilyushin-80 aircraft designed to protect Putin and top officialsThieves have targeted a Russian “doomsday” plane, the military aircraft that would be used by top officials, including Vladimir Putin, in case of a nuclear war.The robbery of the Ilyushin-80, a mobile command post specially designed to keep officials alive and in command of the military during a nuclear conflict, took place...

Businessman Vladimir Marugov found dead after intruders broke into his homeSeveral intruders broke into a sauna at the home of a Russian meat tycoon known as the “Sausage King” outside Moscow early on Monday, tied him and a woman up and demanded money before killing him with a crossbow.The woman managed to escape the attack in the Moscow region and alert the police but...

Unrest in Khabarovsk as Sergei Furgal is held in Moscow in connection with murdersTens of thousands of people in the Russian city of Khabarovsk have turned out for a protest over the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders.Local media estimated that the rally on Saturday attracted between 15,000 and 50,000 people. Protests have taken place every day this...

Moscow theatre leader and two others guilty in case critics say is politically motivatedA Moscow court has convicted the acclaimed Russian theatre and film director Kirill Serebrennikov of fraud in a case that supporters saw as a test of artistic freedom in Russia.The three-year case against Serebrennikov, who was accused of stealing about £1.5m, reached its finale despite nearly falling apart last year. Hundreds...

Criminal inquiry opened after child dies in incident caused by burst heating pipeAt least five people including a child died in the Russian city of Perm when a broken heating pipe flooded their hotel rooms with scalding water, investigators said.The accident happened on Monday in a small private hotel in the basement of a block of flats in the industrial city in the Urals...

Tonnes of snow have been brought by truck to the centre of Moscow in an attempt to boost holiday spirit in what has so far been an almost snow-free December. The snow started appearing at the capital's Zaryadye Park and central Tverskaya Street on Friday. Alexei Nemeryuk, the head of Moscow’s trade and services department, told the Govorit Moskva radio station that the snow had been...

Hibernation disrupted at city’s zoo and gardens bloom early as temperatures hit record highMoscow has been so warm this December that the government has resorted to sending trucks filled with artificial snow to decorate a new year display in the city centre.Videos of the delivery for a snowboarding hill went viral on social media as observers noted the irony of bringing snow to a...

Man opened fire on intelligence agency offices on Thursday, killing one and injuring othersA man who was shot dead in central Moscow after launching a deadly attack on the offices of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s main intelligence agency, has been identified as a 39-year-old gun enthusiast.He was named by Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the Russian government’s official newspaper, citing police sources. Police have yet...

Napoleonic expert Oleg Sokolov fell in river trying to dispose of body parts, say authorities, with other remains found at his homePolice in Saint Petersburg have arrested a prominent Russian historian on suspicion of murdering a former student after he was hauled out of a river with a backpack containing a woman’s arms, authorities said.Local media in Saint Petersburg reported that university professor Oleg...

Attention is on Moscow vote after arrests of would-be opposition candidatesRussians have begun voting in local elections after weeks of opposition protests that led to the biggest police crackdown on dissent in nearly a decade.The elections on Sunday take place a day after Moscow and Kiev carried out a long-awaited swap of 70 prisoners, a deal hailed as a first step towards ending five...

Chemists in two northern cities sell more tablets after radiation levels spiked for a short timePharmacies in two northern Russia cities have reported increased sales of iodine, a chemical used to limit the effects from radiation exposure, after a mysterious explosion at a military testing site caused radiation levels to spike for a short time.Russia’s defence ministry said a liquid-fuel rocket engine exploded during...

Portion of White Sea closed to civilian ships for a month after explosion in ArkhangelskTwo people have been killed and radiation levels reportedly spiked after a rocket engine exploded during a test in northern Russia, prompting authorities to close a portion of the White Sea to civilian ships for a month.The reports of a sudden rise in radiation levels in the nearby city of...

Flying shrapnel from military base leaves one soldier dead and at least seven injured Thousands have been evacuated from a Siberian town after an ammunition depot on a military base caught fire, triggering huge explosions that have sent deadly shrapnel flying for miles around.One soldier was killed and at least seven other people have been injured, including several with shrapnel wounds, according to Russian...

More than 800 detained in protest triggered by refusal to let opposition candidates stand in electionsRiot police in Moscow made mass arrests on Saturday in an attempt to quash a protest rally that had been banned by authorities.The rally was the latest episode of a nascent protest movement, triggered by a refusal to let opposition candidates stand in Moscow parliamentary elections, which has led...