Free Republic

The imprisoned Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has slammed Vladimir Putin and an opposition group has called for nationwide protests after the Russian leader ordered a military mobilization amid the country's recent military losses in Ukraine during a Ukrainian military counteroffensive. Putin, in a televised address to the nation aired earlier on September 21, also warned the West that he isn't bluffing over using all the means at his disposal to protect Russia's territory. Navalny said Putin was sending more Russians to their death for a failing war in a video message recorded from prison and released on social media...

Russian airlines have stopped selling tickets to Russian men aged 18 to 65 unless they can provide evidence of approval to travel from the Ministry of Defense. All flights from Russia to available foreign destinations were sold out Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin declared a “partial” mobilization of the country’s 25 million reservists. Flights from Moscow to the capitals of Georgia, Turkey and Armenia — which do not require visas for Russians — for Sept. 21 were unavailable within minutes of Putin’s announcement, according to Russia’s top travel planning website aviasales.ru. By noon Moscow time, direct flights from Moscow to...

Chechnya's strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov has raised and dismissed a rumor about Russian President Vladimir Putin's health. In an audio recording posted Wednesday to his Telegram social media channel, Kadyrov said that he had "read that our president had fallen into a coma" and that "they are looking for a replacement right now." Since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, there has been much speculation about whether the Russian president is ill. Scenes of him gripping the edge of a table on April 21 during a meeting with his defense minister Sergei Shoigu added to the rumor...