As scattered details of the apparent suicide of Russia’s former transport minister Roman Starovoit trickled in via state media on Monday, one stood out. Near his body, the Kommersant newspaper reported,

Senate sanctions bill targeting Russia's energy exports with hefty tariffs gains momentum as Trump shifts position on Russia, with Graham teasing presidential support.

Russia is using gold and crypto to bypass Western sanctions, a top regulator said on Tuesday. "Netting" is another offbeat way Russia is using to beat sweeping sanctions. Russia's economy faces challenges, with a potential recession and slowing GDP growth.

Russian consumers have been slammed with a massive surge in inflation, driven mainly by soaring utility costs. Inflation rocketed to a three-year peak in the first week of July, fresh data reveals.The rate surged to 0.79% during July 1-7. This marks the steepest weekly climb in the consumer price index since spring 2022."Tariffs for certain types of utilities have changed on average across Russia," the Kremlin's statistical agency Rosstat announced. The catalyst behind the inflation spike is the hike in housing and communal services tariffs.Indiana man's cold 7-word statement after killing sex offender who abused young relativeJohn McEnroe gets his wish as Wimbledon star announces tennis retirement A year earlier, during the "tariff" week (from June 25 to July 1), prices climbed by 0.66%. The government had projected that tariffs would increase by an average of 11.9%, but regions were permitted to push them higher, which many proceeded to do."Tariffs for certain types of utilities have changed on average across Russia (this is Rosstat's euphemism for the word "increased" - TMT ): cold water supply +14.9%, sanitation +14.6%, hot water supply and heating +13.8%, liquefied gas +13.5%, electricity +13%," Rosstat stated in a release.The surge in housing and utilities tariffs will continue to impact inflation for several additional weeks. Skyrocketing inflation has emerged as a major headache for the Kremlin, compelling the Central Bank to push interest rates to heights not witnessed in nearly two decades. Last year, bank officials hiked interest rates to 21%, before trimming it back to 20% in recent weeks. Russian consumers have been severely impacted by soaring food expenses, with certain essential items like potatoes experiencing a staggering 167% price surge.The escalating grocery bills have prompted the Kremlin to contemplate reinstating price controls not implemented since the Soviet era.Yulia Ogloblin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma's Agricultural Committee, revealed that officials have already explored the Soviet price control framework as a potential solution. "We have seen a 'swing effect' occur more and more often lately, when the purchase price of products drops sharply and then suddenly rises," she stated."This happened with potatoes, milk, and butter. Prices should be set based on the current conditions, costs and profitability of producers."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an order instructing the Ministry of Internal Affairs to create a "Digital Profile of a Foreign Citizen" by June 30, 2026, according to Russian sources. The system is intended to collect data on foreign nationals and stateless persons entering or leaving Russia,

Vladimir Putin has "played Donald Trump like a violin" - but may have now pushed things too far, the former head of MI6, Sir Alex Younger, has warned in a bombshell interview on BBC Newsnight on Thurs

President Trump’s cryptic “two weeks” timeline has returned, this time hinting at a “major statement” on Russia amid escalating US-NATO arms shipments to Ukraine and rising tensions with Moscow. Trump’s history of using the phrase before swift,

Chancellor Merz has said Germany is ready to buy Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine. Kyiv's allies are meeting in Rome as Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least 2 people. DW has the latest.