By , MOSCOW (Reuters) -Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny went on hunger strike on Wednesday in an attempt to force the prison holding him outside Moscow to provide him with proper medical care for what he said was acute pain in his back and legs.The fate of Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critics, is in focus after he said last week that being woken up by a guard every hour during the night amounted to torture and that his appeals for medical treatment had been ignored.In a handwritten letter addressed to the governor of his prison which was posted to social...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) -Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny went on hunger strike on Wednesday in an attempt to force the prison holding him outside Moscow to provide him with proper medical care for what he said was acute pain in his back and legs.The fate of Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critics, is in focus after he said last week that being woken up by a guard every hour during the night amounted to torture and that his appeals for medical treatment had been ignored.In a handwritten letter addressed to the governor of his prison which was posted to social...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) -Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny went on hunger strike on Wednesday in an attempt to force the prison holding him outside Moscow to provide him with proper medical care for what he said was acute pain in his back and legs.The fate of Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critics, is in focus after he said last week that being woken up by a guard every hour during the night amounted to torture and that his appeals for medical treatment had been ignored.In a handwritten letter addressed to the governor of his prison which was posted to social...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) -Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny went on hunger strike on Wednesday in an attempt to force the prison holding him outside Moscow to provide him with proper medical care for what he said was acute pain in his back and legs.The fate of Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critics, is in focus after he said last week that being woken up by a guard every hour during the night amounted to torture and that his appeals for medical treatment had been ignored.In a handwritten letter addressed to the governor of his prison which was posted to social...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police detained more than 3,000 people and used force to break up rallies across Russia on Saturday as tens of thousands of protesters ignored extreme cold and police warnings to demand the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.Navalny had called on his supporters to protest after being arrested last weekend as he returned to Russia from Germany for the first time since being poisoned with a nerve agent he says was slipped to him by state security agents in August.The authorities had warned people to stay away from Saturday’s demonstrations, saying they risked...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police detained more than 3,000 people and used force to break up rallies across Russia on Saturday as tens of thousands of protesters ignored extreme cold and police warnings to demand the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.Navalny had called on his supporters to protest after being arrested last weekend as he returned to Russia from Germany for the first time since being poisoned with a nerve agent he says was slipped to him by state security agents in August.The authorities had warned people to stay away from Saturday’s demonstrations, saying they risked...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police detained more than 3,000 people and used force to break up rallies across Russia on Saturday as tens of thousands of protesters ignored extreme cold and police warnings to demand the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.Navalny had called on his supporters to protest after being arrested last weekend as he returned to Russia from Germany for the first time since being poisoned with a nerve agent he says was slipped to him by state security agents in August.The authorities had warned people to stay away from Saturday’s demonstrations, saying they risked...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police detained more than 3,000 people and used force to break up rallies across Russia on Saturday as tens of thousands of protesters ignored extreme cold and police warnings to demand the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.Navalny had called on his supporters to protest after being arrested last weekend as he returned to Russia from Germany for the first time since being poisoned with a nerve agent he says was slipped to him by state security agents in August.The authorities had warned people to stay away from Saturday’s demonstrations, saying they risked...WW…

By , MINSK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Belarusians chanting “Step down!” filled the centre of the capital Minsk on Sunday in the biggest protest so far against what they said was the fraudulent re-election a week ago of longtime president Alexander Lukashenko.Russia said it would offer Lukashenko military help if necessary, but there was no visible police presence at the protest, which attracted around 200,000 people, a Reuters reporter estimated. At least two protesters have died and thousands have been detained in a crackdown since the vote.The atmosphere at the rallies, which wrapped up late into...…By , MINSK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Belarusians chanting “Step down!” filled the centre of the capital Minsk on Sunday in the biggest protest so far against what they said was the fraudulent re-election a week ago of longtime president Alexander Lukashenko.Russia said it would offer Lukashenko military help if necessary, but there was no visible police presence at the protest, which attracted around 200,000 people, a Reuters reporter estimated. At least two protesters have died and thousands have been detained in a crackdown since the vote.The atmosphere at the rallies, which wrapped up late into...WW…

By , KHABAROVSK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Tens of thousands marched in the Russian far east on Saturday, the third such weekend protest in a row, to express their anger over what they say is President Vladimir Putin’s mishandling of a local political crisis.Slideshow Residents of Khabarovsk, around 3,800 miles (6,110 km) and seven time zones east of Moscow, are unhappy about the detention this month of the wider region’s popular governor, Sergei Furgal, who was arrested on murder charges he denies.His arrest, which his supporters say was politically motivated, triggered the protests and created a...…By , KHABAROVSK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Tens of thousands marched in the Russian far east on Saturday, the third such weekend protest in a row, to express their anger over what they say is President Vladimir Putin’s mishandling of a local political crisis.Slideshow Residents of Khabarovsk, around 3,800 miles (6,110 km) and seven time zones east of Moscow, are unhappy about the detention this month of the wider region’s popular governor, Sergei Furgal, who was arrested on murder charges he denies.His arrest, which his supporters say was politically motivated, triggered the protests and created a...WW…

By , MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin sent telegrams on Friday to U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, suggesting the need to rekindle their nations’ cooperation during World War Two to solve today’s problems.Putin’s overture was the latest in a series of contacts with Washington, and Moscow is keen to rebuild relations frayed over issues ranging from election hacking allegations to Syria and Ukraine.Putin and Trump say they worked closely together to clinch a global oil production cut and spoke by phone on Thursday, when Trump...…By , MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin sent telegrams on Friday to U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, suggesting the need to rekindle their nations’ cooperation during World War Two to solve today’s problems.Putin’s overture was the latest in a series of contacts with Washington, and Moscow is keen to rebuild relations frayed over issues ranging from election hacking allegations to Syria and Ukraine.Putin and Trump say they worked closely together to clinch a global oil production cut and spoke by phone on Thursday, when Trump...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Constitutional changes allowing Vladimir Putin to run for president again in 2024 sailed through both houses of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday, raising the prospect he could clock up over three decades in the Kremlin.Putin, 67, who has dominated Russia’s political landscape for two decades as either president or prime minister, made a dramatic appearance in the lower chamber a day earlier to argue that term limits were less important in times of crisis.A former KGB officer, Putin is currently required by the constitution to step down in 2024 when his second...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Constitutional changes allowing Vladimir Putin to run for president again in 2024 sailed through both houses of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday, raising the prospect he could clock up over three decades in the Kremlin.Putin, 67, who has dominated Russia’s political landscape for two decades as either president or prime minister, made a dramatic appearance in the lower chamber a day earlier to argue that term limits were less important in times of crisis.A former KGB officer, Putin is currently required by the constitution to step down in 2024 when his second...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMOSCOW, April 21 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday not to cross Russia’s “red lines”, saying Moscow would respond swiftly and harshly to any provocations and those responsible would regret it.At a time of acute crisis in ties with the United States and Europe, with Russian troops massed near Ukraine and opposition leader Alexei Navalny on hunger strike in jail, the Kremlin leader used his state of the nation speech to project a message of Russian strength and defiance in the face of outside threats."We want...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMOSCOW, April 21 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday not to cross Russia’s “red lines”, saying Moscow would respond swiftly and harshly to any provocations and those responsible would regret it.At a time of acute crisis in ties with the United States and Europe, with Russian troops massed near Ukraine and opposition leader Alexei Navalny on hunger strike in jail, the Kremlin leader used his state of the nation speech to project a message of Russian strength and defiance in the face of outside threats."We want...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow has begun investigating the safety of a Russian-made medical ventilator, some of which have been sent to the United States though not used, after six people died in hospital fires reported to involve two such machines.Five people died at Saint George’s Hospital in St Petersburg on Tuesday, including four in a coronavirus intensive care unit, according to a local lawyer. A source told the TASS news agency that the blaze erupted after a ventilator, used to help severely ill COVID-19 patients breathe, burst into flames in the ward.A similar fire - caused by the...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow has begun investigating the safety of a Russian-made medical ventilator, some of which have been sent to the United States though not used, after six people died in hospital fires reported to involve two such machines.Five people died at Saint George’s Hospital in St Petersburg on Tuesday, including four in a coronavirus intensive care unit, according to a local lawyer. A source told the TASS news agency that the blaze erupted after a ventilator, used to help severely ill COVID-19 patients breathe, burst into flames in the ward.A similar fire - caused by the...WW…