The Russian government responded to Vladimir Putin’s question about why the trajectory of macro indicators is below the forecasts of the Cabinet itself. In response, the ministers simply worsened their official forecasts, Nezavisimaya Gazeta notes . According to the updated estimate of the Ministry of Economic Development, GDP growth in 2026 is projected to be only 0.4% (previously growth was expected at 2.4%, which was later revised to 1.3%).

Donald Trump gets off a plane at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, April 10, 2024. Photo: Edward M. Pio Roda/EPA Trump arrived in China, where Putin will soon arrive. The US President promised to “separate” Beijing and Moscow, but, it seems, he only brought them closer. What to expect from these visits? The US President is traveling to China for the first time since 2017.

Russian film box office receipts for the May holidays amounted to just over 1 billion rubles compared to 1.5 billion rubles a year earlier. Attendance over the same period decreased from 3.7 million to 2.5 million viewers. Kommersant reports this. At the same time, the publication does not indicate how much attendance and box office receipts have collapsed in comparison with the first third of April, when Western films were released.

Alexander Novak. Photo: Sergey Konkov / Roscongress The authorities admitted for the first time that there will be no economic growth in Russia in the near future. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was the first high-ranking official to admit that economic growth is not expected this year, which means that a recession could become a reality - and life for Russians will be worse.

Newly elected Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church Shio III during the enthronement ceremony at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia, May 12, 2026.

Illustration: “New Newspaper Europe” Military attacks will kill an average of 41 people per month in 2026 Since 2022, at least 1,406 civilians in 27 regions have died due to the war in Russia and occupied Crimea. Of these, 183 people have been since the beginning of 2026: this is 2.4 times more than for the same period a year earlier. Most die from drone attacks. We collected all known cases from open sources and displayed them on a map.

20 million Russians gamble online, and casino turnover is close to 3 trillion rubles annually. During the war, gambling addiction has become a particularly dangerous disease - people go to the “SVO” to pay off their debts. And the state plans to collect taxes from online casinos to pay for the war. In this video we will understand how people become dependent on online casinos and what this leads to in modern Russia.

Vyacheslav Gladkov. Photo: EPA/MIKHAIL METZEL / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN PRESS POOL A commuter train derailed in Russia’s western Belgorod region on Wednesday, injuring one passenger, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Gladkov initially blamed the incident on “the absence of around two metres of railway track, which may have been caused by the detonation of an explosive device”. He later edited the post to say only that the missing track was caused by “damage”.

Vladimir Putin appointed Alexander Shuvaev as acting governor of the Belgorod region, and Yegor Kovalchuk as acting head of the Bryansk region. This was reported by the Kremlin press service. Putin held preliminary meetings with both new appointees in the Kremlin. Putin also accepted the resignation of their predecessors, Vyacheslav Gladkov and Alexander Bogomaz. The Kremlin said that they decided to leave their positions of their own free will. 🔵 Who is Shuvaev.

Paolo Pezzi at a Christmas Mass in Moscow, 24 December 2025. Photo: Sefa Karacan / Anadolu / Abaca Press / ddp images / Vida Press The head of Russia’s Catholics resigned for 'health reasons’. But sources say the real reason was his anti-war stance On 2 May, Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, the Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Our Lady of Moscow and the official head of Russia's Catholic Church. Pezzi cited health issues as the official reason for his departure.

Photo: EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV A key measure of Russian public wellbeing fell to a 15-year low in April, independent outlet Agentstvo reports , citing data from the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM). The so-called happiness index dropped to 52 points, down from 56 in late March.

Photo: Maxim Shipenkov/EPA The State Duma in the first reading adopted a government bill on the statute of limitations for privatization. The document, as conceived by the authors, should protect “respectable” owners from claims for seizure of assets. This was reported on the website of the Lower House. 279 deputies voted for the adoption of the law, 54 were against, and another 20 abstained. What is the document about?

Russian strike on Kharkov on May 6, 2026. Photo: Sergey Kozlov/EPA The military command convinced Vladimir Putin that Russia would capture the remaining part of the Donetsk region before the fall, after which Russia lost interest in negotiations. The Financial Times writes about this, citing sources.

Ivan Zhdanov. Photo: Should we talk? /YouTube We studied in detail the legal structure of the fund to understand what of the accusations of former director Ivan Zhdanov can and cannot be confirmed The former director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, Ivan Zhdanov, who left the organization in September last year, accused the fund’s management of abuses in financial management.