Anton Vaganov / Reuters / Scanpix / Leta Polling station in the village near the city of New Ladoga of the Leningrad Region, March 14, 2024 In Russia, the presidential elections started - the vote will take place three days from March 15 to 17. The first areas opened in Kamchatka and Chukotka. The main day of voting is Sunday, March 17.

Kremlin insiders on how they think Russia’s upcoming presidential election will unfold Natalya Kolesnikova / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Election preparations in Karelia, Russia This weekend, Russians will head to the polls for yet another presidential vote with a practically predetermined outcome. Incumbent Vladimir Putin is expected to win by a record landslide — by more than 80 percent, to be exact.

The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that he went to the Grayvoronsky urban district, where, according to Russian “military correspondents,” fighting is taking place in the village of Kozinka. Gladkov stated this in a video message published on his Telegram channel. The recording was made inside the car.

In Russia in 2023, 2.17 million men aged 31 to 59 had disabilities, reports Vestka, citing data from the Pension and Social Insurance Fund. This is 30% more than in 2022, when 1.67 million men in this age category had disabilities in Russia. Over the year, the figure increased by 507 thousand. This is a record increase over the past eight years, the publication points out. In 2023, one of the largest numbers of men with disabilities aged 18 to 30 years was also recorded - 290 thousand people.

The French authorities are considering sending their troops to Ukraine since 2023, the Le Monde newspaper said with reference to sources. According to them, the issue of sending the French military to Ukraine was discussed in the context of the “strict secrecy” at the Security Council in the Champs Elysees on June 12, 2023. Shortly before that, the French president spoke out for the speedy accession of Ukraine to NATO.

The Board of Directors of PJSC Inter RAO has decided to terminate the powers of the company's CEO Boris Kovalchuk early, effective March 14, Interfax reports, citing a statement from the company. The new CEO, as of March 15, is the former Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg, Sergei Dregval, who previously worked in the energy sales companies of the Inter RAO group and also headed Rosseti Ural. Kovalchuk headed Inter RAO since 2009. His term was due to expire in 2025.

AFP / Scanpix / Leta in the annexed territories of Ukraine, residents from March 10 participate in preliminary voting in the presidential election. In the photo shot in Donetsk on March 14, a local resident votes in the presence of a member of the election commission appointed by Russia, a Russian military and red cat.

Stanislav Andreychuk, the co-chair of the independent election watchdog “Golos,” reported Thursday that election observers from Russia’s regional civic chambers have been given instructions for identifying participants of the “Noon Against Putin” protest, in which voters who oppose Vladimir Putin plan to go to the polls at exactly 12:00 on March 17.

The Moscow prosecutor's office issued a warning due to online calls to come to city polling stations at 12:00 on March 17 "to participate in... uncoordinated mass public events...

Russia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal on a Royal Air Force plane carrying Defence Secretary Grant Shapps back to Britain from Poland following NATO exercises, the British newspaper The Times was the first to report . Reuters also reported the same, citing a government source. According to a Times journalist who was flying with the minister, the GPS signal was lost for about 30 minutes as the Dassault 900LX Falcon flew over the Baltic Sea near Russia's Kaliningrad region.

Co-chairman of the Golos movement Stanislav Andreychuk said that observers from public chambers in the regions are being given memos during training on how to identify participants in the “Noon against Putin” action who will come to vote on Sunday, March 17, at 12:00.

The BBC Russian Service interviewed the teacher of Yale University, who is investigating war crimes Oleg Nikishin / Getty Images children from the Donetsk region at a temporary accommodation point. Novocherkassk, February 25, 2022 In March 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova on suspicion of illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.

The program of the 10th Russian Film Festival, held in Paris and Taverny and dedicated to the memory of Alexei Navalny, showed the film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” by Soviet director Sergei Parajanov. Parajanov's film was shown on March 10. After this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine appealed to the French Ministry of Culture with a protest against the appropriation of the Ukrainian cinematic heritage by the organizers.

How Alexei Navalny used pop culture to talk about his values-and why he himself is compared with superheroes and Harry Potter Anton Vaganov / Reuters / Scanpix / Leta Works graffiti with a portrait of politician Alexei Navalny in St. Petersburg. April 28, 2021 In his speeches, Alexei Navalny quoted the Gospel , Leo Tolstoy and culturologist Yuri Lotman , but even more often he referred to mass culture - for example, Joan Rowling or the animated series “Rick and Morty” .

"Medusa" tells its story SIPA USA / Vida Press Paul Aleksander at home. 2005 On March 11, 2024, at the age of 78, Paul Aleksander died - a man who lived in a special baroque - “iron lung” - more than seven decades. The American could not breathe on his own because of polio transferred in childhood. "Medusa" tells the amazing story of this person, which for millions has become a symbol of will to life - contrary to any circumstances.