By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - On Wednesday, March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that, because of the spread of the new coronavirus, the following week would be a non-working week in Moscow, and the city’s residents should stay indoors.Slideshow On Friday evening, about 730,000 cars, carrying perhaps 10% of Moscow’s 12.7 million population, left the capital, centre of Russia’s epidemic, for the countryside, according to Moscow’s transport department.The exodus, perfectly legal, has raised fears that the virus is being carelessly spread across the country, and angered the residents...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - On Wednesday, March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that, because of the spread of the new coronavirus, the following week would be a non-working week in Moscow, and the city’s residents should stay indoors.Slideshow On Friday evening, about 730,000 cars, carrying perhaps 10% of Moscow’s 12.7 million population, left the capital, centre of Russia’s epidemic, for the countryside, according to Moscow’s transport department.The exodus, perfectly legal, has raised fears that the virus is being carelessly spread across the country, and angered the residents...WW…

By MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state prosecutors on Tuesday asked a court to fine Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny 950,000 roubles ($13,000) for slandering a World War Two veteran, a charge he calls politically motivated.President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic was jailed this month for almost three years for parole violations that he said were trumped up. The West has condemned the case and is discussing possible sanctions on Russia.The judge said the verdict would be announced on Saturday - the same day that Navalny is due to appeal against his imprisonment.The 44-year-old...…By MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state prosecutors on Tuesday asked a court to fine Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny 950,000 roubles ($13,000) for slandering a World War Two veteran, a charge he calls politically motivated.President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic was jailed this month for almost three years for parole violations that he said were trumped up. The West has condemned the case and is discussing possible sanctions on Russia.The judge said the verdict would be announced on Saturday - the same day that Navalny is due to appeal against his imprisonment.The 44-year-old...WW…

By , MINSK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - When protests erupted after the disputed election in Belarus, Anna Koval transformed the office of the travel agency she runs in central Minsk into the headquarters of a volunteer operation helping casualties of a police crackdown.Slideshow Her group of around 10 people, some of them doctors able to provide first aid, coordinated on social media as best they could amid an internet blackout to tip each other off about the location of protesters in need and risks on the ground.“They (the police) were really arresting ambulance staff, doctors, seizing...…By , MINSK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - When protests erupted after the disputed election in Belarus, Anna Koval transformed the office of the travel agency she runs in central Minsk into the headquarters of a volunteer operation helping casualties of a police crackdown.Slideshow Her group of around 10 people, some of them doctors able to provide first aid, coordinated on social media as best they could amid an internet blackout to tip each other off about the location of protesters in need and risks on the ground.“They (the police) were really arresting ambulance staff, doctors, seizing...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comVLADIVOSTOK/MOSCOW, April 21 (Reuters) - Police rounded up more than 1,700 protesters on Wednesday as Russians in dozens of cities took part in rallies organised by allies of hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny over his failing health in jail.His spokeswoman was jailed for 10 days, and another close ally detained, on the same day that President Vladimir Putin delivered a state-of-the-nation speech warning the West not to cross and pointedly made no mention of Navalny."This is one of the last gasps of a free Russia, as many are...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comVLADIVOSTOK/MOSCOW, April 21 (Reuters) - Police rounded up more than 1,700 protesters on Wednesday as Russians in dozens of cities took part in rallies organised by allies of hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny over his failing health in jail.His spokeswoman was jailed for 10 days, and another close ally detained, on the same day that President Vladimir Putin delivered a state-of-the-nation speech warning the West not to cross and pointedly made no mention of Navalny."This is one of the last gasps of a free Russia, as many are...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…