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Russia Today
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia to reform asylum laws
The Russian Interior Ministry has reportedly drafted a law overhauling the country's asylum system, drawing on the experience of an influx of Ukrainian nationals. Some 5 million Ukrainians are estimated to have fled to Russia amid the conflict between the two nations, with an overwhelming majority applying for expedited citizenship. According to a report by RBK on Tuesday, the legislation would preserve existing mechanisms for refugees – individuals fleeing persecution based on ethnicity, religion, social status, or political beliefs. If enacted, the reforms would also mean asylum for these individuals continues while the threats they face persist. Temporary shelter would still be granted on humanitarian grounds, but the criteria for this type of protection would be expanded to include rejection of traditional values and 'Russophobia' in foreign countries, according to RBK. Russia currently has a program that offers residency to foreigners who assert that their way of life is under threat in their home countries due to neoliberal ideologies. The draft law specifically designates political asylum as a separate category of protection, to be awarded at the discretion of the Russian president. This mechanism, grounded in the Russian Constitution, is applied on a case-by-case basis. A notable recent example includes former Syrian President Bashar Assad, who was granted such status after fleeing to Russia last year. The proposal introduces a new category – temporary protection – which would allow the government to respond effectively to mass arrivals during emergencies, including armed conflicts. Both this status and temporary shelter would initially be granted for one year, with the possibility of extension. Additionally, the reform aims to eliminate outdated provisions regarding housing options for individuals seeking refuge in Russia, RBK reported.
Russia Today
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
AI is pro-Western – Russia's human rights chief
Foreign artificial intelligence systems are pushing Western ideological narratives and could serve as powerful propaganda and censorship tools, Valery Fadeyev, the head of the Russian Human Rights Council, has stated. Speaking at a roundtable on AI threats on Tuesday, Fadeyev said that he and his team had tested foreign neural networks by asking questions about hot-button political issues – including the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Ukraine conflict. After the test run, he concluded that 'we are on the brink of an ideological and informational catastrophe.' 'The texts that these chatbots produce contain ideologically charged content. They are ideologically driven Western texts. Powerful, unprecedented propaganda machines have been created,' he argued. Read more EU nation's plans to dismantle Soviet war memorials 'a disgrace' – Kremlin According to the human rights chief, the responses provided by foreign AI platforms are largely based on Western sources and filter out non-Western perspectives. He argued that this violates the Russian Constitution, which stipulates the freedom of access to information. 'In practice, when we use neural networks, we receive pre-censored information, so it is probably unwise to talk about freedom of access to information here.' Fadeyev argued that the influence of AI is now stronger than that of some traditional US-funded state media outlets, for which US President Donald Trump has cut funding. 'Many observers were optimistic – perhaps this is a sign of a new relationship with the US. But why would the Americans need Voice of America or Radio Liberty when they now have in their hands this colossal power – this ideological weapon?' he said. READ MORE: EU trying to replace Musk's Starlink in Ukraine – Politico Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that homegrown AI systems have been incredibly effective in improving security and state governance, stressing that the country must become a world leader in this domain. In 2023, he warned that Western-produced AI systems should not be allowed to dominate the Russian market.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia seeks full control of occupied Ukrainian regions in talks with US, media reports
Russia is pushing to gain full control over four occupied Ukrainian oblasts—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—during negotiations with the United States in Saudi Arabia, the Moscow Times reported, citing sources familiar with the Kremlin's strategy. Although Russian forces do not fully control any of these regions, the Kremlin demands them in their administrative borders, as defined in the Russian Constitution following their illegal annexation. A Kremlin-linked official told the Moscow Times that Russia's President Vladimir Putin cannot afford to lose these territories politically, and Russia intends to solidify its grip on them at any cost. "The Constitution has no mechanism for regions to leave Russia. We need all of Zaporizhzhia and all of Kherson," the official reportedly said. The Kyiv Independent can't immediately verify these claims. Read also: Editorial: What Steve Witkoff doesn't get about Ukraine (and Russia) Another Russian government source suggested that Moscow hopes Washington might pressure Kyiv to withdraw entirely from the occupied regions. "Either Trump convinces them to leave, or we are told to enter prolonged negotiations while simultaneously using military force to secure control. That would be the worst scenario for us since river crossings are always costly operations," the source added. As an alternative, Russia may attempt to seize additional Ukrainian territory, such as parts of Dnipropetrovsk or Sumy oblasts, and then offer an exchange for Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, another Russian official speculated. "We hope to find a way that avoids storming Kherson or forcing a crossing of the Dnipro River. That would mean thousands of casualties for us," he admitted. As of late 2024, Russian forces controlled about 98.5% of Luhansk Oblast and 60% of the Donetsk region. Despite these challenges, Russian diplomats believe that a potential Trump administration may be indifferent to the exact borders of a future settlement. "From what I understand, Trump wants a modern, well-armed, pro-Western Ukraine," a Russian diplomat told the outlet. "He cannot just hand over Ukraine entirely. But where exactly the border is drawn—that may not matter much to him." Read also: Who is Sergey Beseda, Russian spy handler leading talks with US? We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Russia Today
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Half of Russians favor return of death penalty
Nearly half of all Russians are in favor of reinstating the death penalty, according to a survey published by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) on Wednesday. The death penalty was initially suspended in Russia in 1996 when the country sought to join the Council of Europe. In 1999, Russia's Constitutional Court placed a moratorium on the measure and extended it indefinitely in 2009. Legally, however, the practice has never been fully abolished. After Moscow withdrew from the Council of Europe in 2022, debates around lifting the moratorium were reignited among Russian politicians, lawmakers, and public figures. In its latest study, which surveyed some 1,600 Russians over the age of 18 earlier this month, VCIOM found that capital punishment was still a significant issue for most respondents (73%). It also reported that the number of those for whom the topic is 'extremely important' has grown from 28% in 2010 to 36% in 2025. According to the poll, nearly half of respondents (49%) said they were in favor of reinstating the death penalty while only around a quarter (26%) said it would be better to maintain a moratorium. Just 15% of respondents argued that capital punishment should be completely abolished, while 10% said they were unsure. Pollsters noted that the older the respondents were, the more likely they were to support reinstating the death penalty. Among those born between 1948 and 1967, 62% argued in favor of lifting the moratorium. Retaining the moratorium saw the most support among those born between 1982 and 2000, while the complete abolishment of the measure was mostly backed by those born after 2001. The topic of the death penalty remains a point of contention in Russian society, although President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that it would not be reintroduced. In December, he stressed that despite public calls to return the measure, Moscow is not seeking to bring back capital punishment and is instead looking to further liberalize the national penal code in order to reduce the number of convicts. A number of Russian lawmakers have also pointed out that returning the death penalty would be legally impossible as the ban was issued by the Constitutional Court, whose decisions cannot be overturned by either chamber of Russia's parliament. The head of Russia's Constitutional Court, Valery Zorkin, has explained that under the Russian Constitution, everyone has the right to life and therefore is guaranteed 'the right not to be sentenced to death.' He has suggested that the return of the measure would require the adoption of a new constitution.
