Eastern Europe / News
Assassination attempt made against Ukrainian president’s top adviser
An advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Serhiy Shefir, was unharmed in an assassination attempt on the 22 September outside Kyiv. His driver, however, was struck by three bullets and hospitalised in a critical condition.
Statistical study shows half the votes in Duma election were probably fake
Famous Russian physicist and election statistician Sergei Shpilkin studied the voting patterns in last weekend's Duma election and concluded some 14mn votes, roughly half of all the votes, were faked by the authorities.
Russian TCS Group's Oleg Tinkov to settle with US IRS as the bank's stock soars
The founder of TCS Group Oleg Tinkov that owns Russia’s only purely online bank Tinkoff and the US IRS have filed a petition to a court in California to approve an amicable agreement between them.
Duma election update: United Russian retains constitutional majority as e-voting used to "edit" results
As the final results from the weekend’s Duma election come in, the ruling United Russia Party has delivered several surprise results and retaken its constitutional majority with 49.65% of the vote, with 90% of the votes counted.
Ukraine holds most successful Gay Pride march ever
Ukraine held its most successful Gay Pride march on September 19, with an estimated 8,000 people in attendance including foreign diplomats.
Russia’s Communist Party makes big gains in the Duma elections as Kremlin efforts to crush smart voting fail
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) made large gains in Russia’s Duma elections over the weekend in a major upset for the Kremlin, but the ruling United Russia has retained its majority.
Iran cements ties with East as it becomes full member of SCO
“The world has entered a new era,” says Iranian president. “Hegemony and unilateralism are failing. The international balance is moving toward multilateralism and redistribution of power to the benefit of independent countries.”
US lawmakers make last ditch effort to kill off the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline
US lawmakers made a last ditch effort to kill off Russia’s recently completed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is now completed but not yet in operation.
Russian oil major Rosneft gets closer to gas exports
The Russian Ministry of Energy will report to the government on potentially allowing state oil giant Rosneft access to gas exports "in the coming days".
Russia’s Communist Party to get a Navalny smart voting bump in the Duma elections
Russia’s Communist Party is likely to get a big bump in this weekend's Duma election after opposition activists Team Navalny threw its weight behind most of its candidates as part of its “smart voting” strategy.
Croatia, Serbia and Ukraine were emerging markets with biggest upgrades from Fitch over last five years
The three emerging Europe countries bucked the overall trend of declining Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Ratings seen across emerging markets.
Gazprom announces Nord Stream 2's completion
Construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is now fully complete, Gazprom announced in a brief message on September 10, although how soon it will start pumping Siberian gas to Europe is still shrouded in uncertainty.
Process to admit Iran into Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ‘set to begin’
Islamic Republic applied to join as far back as 2008 but sanctions have hindered its path. Move to obtain membership may still meet additional obstacles.
Belarusian opposition leaders Maria Kolesnikova and Maksim Znak were sentenced to over a decade in jail
Belarusian opposition leaders Maria Kolesnikova, who campaigned with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in last year’s presidential election, and lawyer Maksim Znak were sentenced to 11 year and 10 years respectively for allegedly plotting a coup.
Nord Stream 2 completed as last pipe section welded into place
The last piece of pipe was welded into place on September 7, completing the construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Russia’s vast Yamal gas fields directly to Germany and bypassing Ukraine.
Poland declares state of emergency along border with Belarus to stem migration
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda declared a state of emergency along the border with Belarus on September 2 in an attempt at stemming illegal migration from Belarus.
Navalny’s press spokeswoman flees Russia, press appeal for “return to sanity”
Kira Yarmysh, the spokeswoman of jailed anti-corruption activist and opposition politician Alexei Navalny, has fled Russia,as the free press publish an appeal to the Kremlin to "return to sanity" in the face of a campaign of repression.
Hungary and Russia reach long-term gas supply agreement
The agreement, to be signed at the end of September and coming into force from October 1, will be in force for 10+5 years.
Russia sets pro-Kremlin single betting operator, Qiwi payment system hurt
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed an executive order making Mobilnaya Karta the single operator of online betting. That will hurt listed online payment company Qiwi, which made a lot of money facilitating payments
Ukraine’s SBA with IMF could be extended by six months
The Ukrainian Finance Ministry Serhiy Marchenko said Ukraine’s $5bn stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund may be extended by six months on August 25.
