The Moscow Metro has touted a new facial-recognition payment system as the first mass-scale use of a technology that will bring greater convenience to people's everyday lives. But its launch in Russia has raised concerns about the system's possible misuse for surveillance purposes.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis centers throughout Russia are reporting a spike in requests from women for help against domestic violence. Self-isolation and quarantines reportedly contribute to this problem, but, unlike in the past, many women are opting to speak out.
They live in conditions reportedly akin to torture, according to some rights activists, and cannot always tell relatives their whereabouts. Current Time looked into the fate of a few of St. Petersburg's estimated 260 detainees from the February 2 protests against Aleksei Navalny's imprisonment.
In the Russian city of Novovoronezh, a poorly designed statue was so widely loathed that officials had it dismantled -- but not before it became a joke on social media. In other cities, some residents wish their own local monuments would meet the same fate.
Residents of dilapidated, Soviet-era, communal apartments in the Russian city of St. Petersburg are stuck in lockdown without a room for bathing or showering. They usually use bathhouses to wash, but those have been closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Russia, where 114 have tested positive for COVID-19, no coronavirus quarantine yet exists within the Russian Orthodox Church, the country’s majority religious belief. Instead, despite advice against close contact with others, hundreds of believers in St. Petersburg are opting to shore up their defenses by visiting the city’s Kazan Cathedral.
Reports of Russian mercenaries taking part in the war with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have dogged the conflict since its 2014 start. But how to distinguish between rumor and reality? Current Time tracked down some of the alleged Vagner fighters to the Soviet-era industrial hub of Tolyatti in Russia and spoke with Ukraine's Security Service for further details.
