Photo: Cloud Rommel / VK The Krasnogvardeisky District Court of St. Petersburg found the “Orthodox blogger” and participant in the war in Ukraine Claud Rommel guilty of raping a minor. The man was sentenced to 15 years of strict regime, the press service of the St. Petersburg courts reports . According to investigators, Rommel raped a girl born in 2013 for three years. The man's victim was the daughter of his partner, with whom he rented an apartment together.

Photo: “Medusa” Photo: “Medusa” The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation demanded that the Russian LGBT Network be recognized as an “extremist” organization and banned in the country. This was reported in the press service of the movement. The St. Petersburg City Court will consider the Justice Ministry's claim on February 24.

“New-Europe” understands the new bill, the victims of which could be journalists, historians and teachers Monument “Motherland” at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in St. Petersburg, January 27, 2026. Photo: Alexander Kazakov / Sputnik / Imago Images / Scanpix / LETA A bill on criminal penalties for “denial of the genocide of the Soviet people” and insulting the memory of its victims was introduced to the State Duma.

(L-R) Roger Taylor, Brian May, Freddie Mercury and John Deacon making the video for I Want to Break Free in 1984. Photo: EMI A Moscow resident has been fined for spreading “LGBT propaganda” over a photograph he posted online showing members of the rock band Queen dressed in women’s clothing while filming the music video for their song I Want to Break Free,investigative outlet Verstka reported on Saturday.

Photo: SOTAvision The Izmailovsky Court of Moscow sentenced the defendants in the Antifa United case, 26-year-old Bogdan Yakimenko, 19-year-old Roman Chizhikov and 24-year-old Ilya Popov. SOTAvision reports this from the courthouse.

What are America's interests and what new geopolitical meanings does the region acquire? Illustration: “New Newspaper Europe” The US Vice President is preparing for a historic visit to the South Caucasus - to Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is expected that J.D. Vance will open the “Trump Route” project - thanks to the participation of American business in a region shackled by hostility and war for many years, communications will come to life.

Interim results of the “energy truce”: the front is quieter than usual, but again there were drone attacks and deaths Residents of Kyiv warm themselves by the fire near a mobile kitchen organized by veterans of the 3rd separate assault brigade, Ukraine, January 28, 2026. Photo: Maxym Marusenko / EPA During the so-called “energy truce”, which the Kremlin agreed to at the request of Donald Trump, Russia launched massive strikes on the territory of Ukraine.

Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin. Photo: Social media The Russian Science and Higher Education Ministry has recommended that universities and research institutes planning trips to so-called “unfriendly” countries consult with it before agreeing to attend events abroad, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported on Monday. According to the outlet, the ministry will now “assess the advisability of scientists’ participation” in foreign events.

Photo: IXBT The FSB has prohibited adding to the “white lists” the resources of banks that have not installed a system of operational investigative measures (SORM) for storing customer correspondence. RBC reports this with reference to two sources in the financial market. As the publication notes, the “white lists” do not include the services of Sberbank, T-Bank and Gazprombank, since they have not yet installed SORM.

What the Orthodox oligarch Malofeev is going to tell students Konstantin Malofeev at the “Future Forum 2050” in the Lomonosov educational cluster, June 9, 2025. Photo: Artur Novosiltsev / Moscow Agency Orthodox billionaire Konstantin Malofeev, who played an important role in inciting the war with Ukraine and supports the far right, according to Meduza, is going to give lectures to Moscow State University students.

Mehdi Mahmoudyan, photo: HRANA One of the screenwriters of the film “A Mere Chance,” Mehdi Mahmudyan, was arrested in Tehran. This was reported by Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter . According to media reports, Mahmudian was arrested on January 31 for signing a statement condemning the actions of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In addition to him, other signatories were arrested: Abdullah Momeni and Vida Rabbani.

The aftermath of a Russian drone strike on a bus in the city of Ternivka, eastern Ukraine, 1 February 2026. Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine A Russian drone strike on a civilian bus carrying energy infrastructure workers in Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region killed 12 people and injured seven more on Sunday, the authorities said.

How Iran helps Moscow produce an ever-evolving unmanned fleet for use against Ukrainian civilians Ukrainians clear debris from the site of a Russian drone strike on a medical clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, 5 January 2026. Photo: EPA / Sergey Dolzhenko With Russian ground troops bogged down in a grinding war of attrition, Moscow is striving to press home its advantage in the skies through an ever-evolving army of drones, courtesy of Iran.

Photo: NRU MGSU The Ministry of Education and Science recommended that universities and research institutes, when invited to events in “unfriendly” countries, coordinate trips with the department. Vedomosti writes about this with reference to sources in two large federal universities. According to Vedomosti, the Ministry of Education and Science will “assess the feasibility of participation” of scientists in foreign events.

The 68th Annual Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles. Rapper Bad Bunny won the award for best album of 2025 for his album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” This is the first album in Spanish to win the award. It also won awards for Best Urban Album and Best Global Music Performance. Song of the year was “Wildflower” by Billie Eilish, and Olivia Dean won best new artist.