A criminal case was opened against the 76-year-old former deputy chairman of the Murmansk Regional Duma from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Stepakhno, for high treason. The Arctic Observer reported this on Thursday, citing sources close to the politician, as well as RIA Novosti, citing the FSB.

On Thursday, October 29, the “Return of Names” event is taking place in different countries in memory of the victims of Stalin’s repressions. The organizer is the human rights society “Memorial”. In Russia, Memorial used to hold an annual event at the Solovetsky Stone in Moscow and other cities. However, earlier this year the organization was recognized as “extremist” in the country and banned. Nevertheless, as The Insider reports, memorial events still take place in some Russian cities.

The magistrate court in the Northern Administrative District of Moscow issued a verdict in absentia to the libertarian and founder of SVTV News Mikhail Svetov in the case of evading the duties of a “foreign agent.” He was sentenced to one year in a general regime colony and banned from posting information and administering websites for a period of three years. This, as Current Time notes, was announced by the Moscow prosecutor’s office on Thursday.

10/29/2026 The “diesel deal” concluded by US President Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin, after which Washington eased restrictions on imports of Russian diesel fuel, has drawn criticism from both parties in the US Congress. Congressmen have expressed concerns that the deal will provide Moscow with new revenue to finance its war against Ukraine, and have taken steps aimed at reducing the number of people willing to buy Russian fuel in the United States.

10/28/2026 Israel's parliamentary elections, seen as a referendum on the hard-line policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition, were held on October 27 with the highest turnout in decades - and did not produce a clear winner. Who will make up the new governing coalition will depend on complex and possibly lengthy negotiations based on how many parliamentary seats the parties win (the Knesset has 120 seats, with a majority needing 61).

In Omsk, residents began to report en masse that their relatives and friends were being kidnapped on the streets and forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. “Omsk Civil Association” wrote about this on Tuesday, October 27. Activists referred to reviews from users of 2GIS maps under the selection point for military service “Sirius-55”.

Parliamentary elections are being held in Israel, which are perceived by many as a referendum on the course of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition. Turnout By noon on Tuesday, the turnout in the parliamentary elections in Israel was 31.5%, by 16:00 local time - 55.7%. This is the highest figure by this time since 1973.

The death toll from the missile attack on the Proton plant in Orel has increased to five people. This was announced by the Governor of the Oryol region Andrei Klychkov. According to him, seven more people are in hospital for inpatient treatment. Ukraine launched a missile strike on Orel on Friday, October 23.

A protocol has been drawn up against political scientist Alexander Kynev, who is being held in custody in a Moscow pre-trial detention center, for violating the procedure for the activities of a “foreign agent,” Mediazona reported on Tuesday. According to the publication, the protocol was registered by the Perovsky District Court of Moscow. A meeting on it has not yet been scheduled. What prompted this decision is not yet clear.

10/26/2026 In the Russian-occupied city of Oleshki (Alyoshki) in the Kherson region of Ukraine, the food crisis continues. According to Ukrainian authorities, between one and a half to two thousand people remain in the city, including several dozen children, who live under complete blockade by Russia.

10/26/2026 Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia's former president and the country's dominant political figure for more than a decade, has conceded defeat to a student-led protest movement in parliamentary elections. Perhaps this will mark the beginning of a new era in Serbian politics, which has the chance to become more clearly oriented toward Europe and away from the Kremlin.

For the first time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces evacuated a wounded military man from a combat zone using a hexacopter. 49-year-old Konstantin Vlasenko spent 491 days at the position, was seriously wounded and lost both legs. Пехотинец 30-й бригады остался один после гибели сослуживца и продолжал удерживать позицию на Купянском направлении. Предпринималось несколько попыток эвакуировать военнослужащего, но российские солдаты срывали эти миссии.

10/25/2026 In Kazakhstan, the Czech organization Gulag.cz, together with archaeologists from the West Bohemian University in Pilsen, conducted excavations at the site where the ruins of the Steplag camp buildings remained. Such a study of the remains of camp buildings has not yet been carried out in any of the post-Soviet countries. The ruins of camp buildings near the village of Terekty were chosen for the scientific expedition.

10/25/2026 In July, a group of internationally sanctioned Russian tankers dropped anchor about 1,300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. The tankers were stuck and prepared for a long wait in the frozen waters at the end of the world. Help from two nuclear icebreakers was several days' sail away. The ships are stuck in the Vilkitsky Strait , a narrow 55-kilometer-wide passage between the northern coast of Siberia and Bolshevik Island, located on Russia's Northern Sea Route (NSR) to China.

10/24/2026 Christopher Walker is one of the most influential scholars of authoritarian regimes and vice-president of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). The center recently launched a new program aimed at countering the global “shadow war” that countries such as Russia, China and Iran are waging against the United States and its allies.