Free Republic

Russia's three-day presidential election began on Friday, and some Western analysts have said the Kremlin is concerned about low voter turnout. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to win by a large margin in what is considered by many to be a rigged election, his office is reportedly concerned that a smaller-than-expected turnout could lend credence to the argument that the contest is illegitimate. The Moscow Times on Thursday detailed how Russia is attempting to lure citizens to the polling stations with prizes like bags of sugar and concert tickets. In Omsk, a city in Siberia, some young voters...

Tucker Carlson defended on Monday his decision not to question Russian President Vladimir Putin about allegations that the Kremlin has ordered assassinations of political dissidents. "Every leader kills people. Some kill more than others," the former Fox News host said. His comments came during a discussion at the World Government Summit in Dubai that touched upon his interview last week with the Russian leader. The interview, taped on February 6 and aired two nights later, has made international headlines for numerous statements made by Putin, including his supposed rationale for invading Ukraine. During the Dubai summit, Egyptian journalist Emad el-Din...

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims he has earned less than $1 million during the past six years as president, according to financial documents published Tuesday by Russia's election authority. The documents from the Central Election Commission (CEC) show Putin reported making 67.6 million rubles, which is approximately $753,000, between 2018 and 2024. Along with his salary as president, this figure includes income from bank deposits, a military pension and money made from property sales. -snip- According to information Putin provided to the CEC, he has savings of 54.5 million rubles ($606,000) spread across 10 different bank accounts and owns a...

While speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York City on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the United States of providing Ukraine with "old junk" weapons while building up its military complex. In November, The Washington Post reported that of the $68 billion in military aid Congress approved for Ukraine, nearly 90 percent went back to the U.S. to build new weapons or replace ones sent to Ukraine from American stockpiles. The Post wrote that a Ukrainian official said "every single state in the U.S. contributes to this effort," thus creating more American jobs. The...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, signed a law on Wednesday that grants him lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution. -snip- the law signed by Lukashenko on Wednesday states that once a president leaves office, they "cannot be held accountable for actions committed in connection with exercising his presidential powers." The law also gives former presidents and their families lifelong protection, along with medical care, life and health insurance. AP also said that former presidents will now also receive a lifelong seat in the upper house of parliament upon resigning.

Vladimir Solovyov, prominent Russian propagandist and staunch ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that there "can be no mutual coexistence" between Russia and Western nations.... "We need to recognize the West is our enemy—systemic, centuries-old, millennia-old, existential. There can be no mutual coexistence," Solovyov said, according to Gerashchenko's translation... Solovyov continued: "We should only act out of expediency. There is no need to change their minds or to please them. We just need to realize that they are the enemy. Systemic, well-trained, motivated, convinced. Which means we have to fight for minds. Not theirs, but ours."... During the course...

Russia's mobilized soldiers who died in the Ukraine war were killed on average within 4.5 months after being enlisted, according to a report published Thursday... Around 300,000 military personnel were called up in Putin's mobilization order, and Russia's high casualty rate in the war has led to a call for another wave of mobilization from some Moscow officials. The Kremlin does not frequently comment on its estimates of troop casualties, but Ukraine's military on Thursday put the tally of Russian troop losses at 274,470... According to the findings by IStories and CIT, "more than half of the dead [who were]...

"Chinese media outlets this week shared a new geographic map from China's state-owned standard map service that shows Russian territory as part of China. "The map, which is said to have been approved by Beijing and was released by China's Ministry of Natural Resources, comes as Western observers have speculated that the relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping has become strained. "Shortly before Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he and Xi signed a "no limits" partnership agreement, but Chinese officials have since publicly called for a peaceful resolution to the war....

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on Thursday said Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Russia, despite the fact the Wagner Group leader is supposed to be exiled in Belarus due to his failed mutiny against Moscow. When asked about Prigozhin's whereabouts by reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov brushed off the question. "We don't follow his movements. We have neither the ability nor the desire to do so," Peskov said.

Republicans who have pushed back on the boycott of Bud Light are facing backlash from fellow conservatives. Perhaps the most high-profile name drawn into the controversy is Donald Trump Jr., who recently called for an end to the Bud Light boycott. But a prominent GOP committee is also being criticized by right-wing figures for backing off its attacks on Bud Light. The calls for a boycott of Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch began soon after it was revealed that Bud Light had a partnership with transgender influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney. The news resulted in many conservatives announcing...

Prigozhin made the claim on the Telegram channel for the press service of his legitimate business, Concord Management and Consulting. The accusation follows months of public criticisms that Prigozhin has leveled at Russian military officials..."On March 5, I wrote a letter to the commander of the SMO [Special Military Operation] grouping about the urgent need to allocate ammunition. On March 6, at 8 a.m., my representative at the headquarters had his pass canceled and was denied access," Prigozhin said in his Telegram message.

Solovyov made the comment during a program he hosts on Russia-1, a Russian state-owned television channel..."And in the 21st century the dream of the great thinker, Academician Sakharov, will come true," Solovyov said, likely referring to Andrei Sakharov, a Russian scientist who played a role in creating the first Soviet hydrogen bomb. "Yes, and on the territory of the United States there will be a strait in the name of Comrade Stalin," Solovyov added.

John Sweeney, a prominent British investigative journalist who has long covered Russian President Vladimir Putin, wrote in his new book that he feels the leader looks "seriously ill" with puffy cheeks that make him resemble a hamster. In his forthcoming book (out July 21), Killer in the Kremlin, Sweeney described changes he has noticed in Putin's demeanor and physical appearance that he said scare him. He theorized the use of steroids for Putin's changes, noting the president could have started taking the medication years ago to treat a back injury sustained after falling off a horse. According to Sweeney, this...

A superior court in Anchorage, Alaska, heard oral arguments on Wednesday in the civil case of a state politician being sued by a constituent who was banned from the lawmaker's Facebook page. Bobbie McDow of Eagle River—a community in the municipality of Anchorage—filed the lawsuit against state Senator Lora Reinbold after the Republican legislator blocked McDow online for critical comments. McDow's suit argues that such a social media ban violates her constitutional rights. "Alaska State Senator Lora Reinbold is suppressing free speech," the suit filed by the plaintiff, who is represented by the Northern Justice Project, stated. The filing added...

Former President Donald Trump's "Save America" political action committee has more cash on hand than the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) combined, according to financial data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Kenneth Vogel, a journalist with The New York Times, noted the disparity between Trump's PAC and the committees' funds in a tweet on Monday. Vogel said that FEC records show Save America reported $110.4 million in cash on hand as of February 28, compared to the DNC's $52.9 million and the RNC's $24.5 million.