News

In Anapa, amid government announcements about the imminent reopening of beaches, hotel reservations are on the rise. However, both tourism industry employees and local residents are speaking cautiously about the start of the holiday season.

The Court of Appeal rejected the defense's appeal against the arrest of Volgograd journalist Vitaly Koshelev, accused of extortion, and remanded him in pretrial detention until May 23. His colleague, Alexei Serovoy, is under house arrest.

Over 18,000 people in Azerbaijan have been released from further prison terms as part of an amnesty. Human rights activists noted that the amnesty only affected those political prisoners whose sentences were already nearing completion.

The authorities of Chechnya and Dagestan will request federal assistance to address the aftermath of the devastating flood, as the total damage in the two republics exceeds 1 billion rubles.

On the 492nd day of continuous protests in Tbilisi, activists held a mass picket near one of the metro stations demanding the release of prisoners of conscience.

The authorities are quite quickly organizing repairs to roads and bridges destroyed by floods in Chechnya, but many residents are forced to deal with the consequences of flooded homes and private property on their own, since processing compensation takes a significant amount of time.

David Gubayev, killed in the war zone, is buried in Tskhinvali. In total, at least 49 combatants from South Ossetia were killed in the fighting in Ukraine.

A court in the Temryuk district fined local resident Olga Sklyarova for discrediting the Russian army for discussing the operation of the air defense system with her neighbors.

The reason for the criminal prosecution of a Dagestani resident was a comment "about approving of crimes committed by the Nazis."

The quality of tap water in Makhachkala has improved somewhat, but residents are wary of drinking it and still prefer to buy bottled water. Compensation applications will only be accepted from those "in genuine need," officials announced.

Over 860 hectares of crops and 130 tons of seed rice were lost in Chechnya due to flooding following prolonged rains, stated the republic's Minister of Economic and Territorial Development, Rustam Shaptukayev.

Residents of the village of Trehostrovskaya in the Ilovlinsky District of the Volgograd Region are concerned about the more than doubling of the cost of their only route, the Don River ferry. They believe this "shocking" increase in service fees will force them to reduce their travel and significantly reduce the tourist appeal of the Donskoy Nature Park.

A Baku court sentenced Novruz Taghiyev, an activist with the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, to six years in prison. He served as a volunteer bodyguard for the party's leader, Ali Karimli. Taghiyev denied the charges, claiming he was being pressured to testify against Karimli.

Officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB) Directorate for Kabardino-Balkaria reported the arrest of a 38-year-old local resident in connection with a terrorist financing case.

The shootout with security forces in Nizhny Dzhengutai was sparked by a domestic dispute in which police officers intervened. However, analysts have not ruled out the possibility that the shooting could have been provoked by unprofessional actions by security forces.

Fifteen pedestrian and 15 vehicle bridges were damaged in Chechnya after flooding. Rescuers reported that the waters have receded, and there are no more flooded homes.

The supply of Russian wheat via Azerbaijan is purely economic in nature and is driven by Armenia's need to import grain, according to several social media users. For Russia, this is primarily a political move in an effort to maintain Armenia within its orbit of influence, countered opponents.

Two unemployed men from Rostov-on-Don intended to set fire to communications and power supply facilities, and had previously burned down a cell tower in Rostov-on-Don. They have been arrested, according to security officials.

It's too early to say whether Anapa's beaches are fully ready for tourists, as the sunken parts of the fuel oil tankers have not yet been raised, and residual pollution remains on the sand. Filling the beaches with imported sand is only a temporary measure. However, for economic reasons, authorities have set a goal of opening the beaches this year, according to environmentalists.

Over 43,000 applications for financial assistance have been received from those affected by the severe weather in Dagestan. The republic's authorities have offered to exempt flood victims from property taxes and loan payments until the end of the year.