It's 92% effective, according to unconfirmed data.
Nov 12, 2020 - World"I have no other explanation for what happened."
Oct 1, 2020 - WorldSuspected Russian support of the Taliban goes all the way back to the Obama administration.
Jul 8, 2020 - WorldIt's the most significant reform package since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Jul 1, 2020 - WorldPart 1 of an Axios special report focuses on his rise, his early years and his escalating antagonism with the West.
Updated Dec 31, 2019 - WorldPro-Navalny protesters in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Photo: Omer Messinger/Getty Images
The U.S. will sanction 7 senior Russian officials over the poisoning and jailing of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, the Biden administration confirmed on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The sanctions represent the first penalties the U.S. has imposed on Kremlin-linked officials since President Biden took office and pledged to confront Russian aggression.
Tammy Duckworth pays respects to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sept. 25, 2020. Photo: Olivier Douliery/Pool/Getty Images
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) sent a letter on Monday calling on President Biden's director of national intelligence to declassify and release intelligence on an alleged Russian campaign to pay bounties to the Taliban to target U.S. troops, Politico reports.
Why it matters: Biden's campaign called Donald Trump's response to the controversy last year "absolutely despicable," after the former president initially called reports on the alleged bounties a "hoax" and told "Axios on HBO" that he did not raise the issue in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin giving a speech in Sevastapol, Crimea, in 2020. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
President Biden reaffirmed U.S. support for the people of Ukraine and vowed to hold Russia accountable for its aggression in a statement on Friday, the 7th anniversary of Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea.
Why it matters: The statement reflects the aggressive approach Biden is taking to Russia, which he classified on the campaign trail as an "opponent" and "the biggest threat" to U.S. security and alliances.
Photo: David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin is stepping away from the team after his former KHL (Russia) coach, Andrei Nazarov, told a Russian tabloid that he beat up an 18-year-old girl in Latvia in 2011.
Why it matters: Nazarov is a staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Panarin has shown support for opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was recently sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.
Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Russia's adversaries in central and Eastern Europe are worried President Biden isn't willing to fight hard to stop the Russia-Germany gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 — one of Vladimir Putin's core priorities.
Why it matters: The fight is the first significant test of whether Biden's tough rhetoric against the Russian leader will be matched by action. Russian opponents fear Biden doesn't want to antagonize Angela Merkel and won't inflict serious costs on the Germans.
Alexei Navalny. Photo: Moscow City Court\TASS via Getty Images
A Moscow court on Saturday ordered Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to pay a fine in a defamation case, hours after another court rejected his appeal against his 2.5-year prison sentence.
The state of play: The court ordered Navalny to pay approximately $11,500 after he called a 94-year-old World War II veteran and others featured in a pro-government video "corrupt stooges," "people without conscience" and "traitors," AP reports.
Netanyahu (L) and Putin in Moscow in January 2020. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Russia has brokered an unusual prisoner swap that saw Syria release an Israeli woman who crossed into the country on Thursday, Israeli officials say.
The big picture: The two weeks leading up to the deal involved a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the capture of two Syrian shepherds by Israel as bargaining chips, and the refusal of a Syrian prisoner to leave prison as part of the deal.
Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios
Russia's legal system made global headlines yesterday, after a Moscow court sentenced opposition leader Alexei Navalny to a multi-year prison term for parole violations.
In a different Moscow court this week, U.S.-born investor Mike Calvey began fighting for his own freedom against very long odds.
Navalny is escorted to prison by police. Photo: Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty
Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to about 2.5 years in prison, officially for violating parole while he recovered in Germany from an assassination attempt.
Driving the news: A 3.5-year suspended sentence dating from 2014 — stemming from charges that were widely seen as politically motivated — was turned into a prison term, minus the 10 months Navalny previously spent under house arrest. His arrest last month upon his return to Russia sparked widespread protests over the past two weekends.
Receiving the vaccine, in Sochi. Photo: Dmitry Feoktistov\TASS via Getty Images
Russia's Sputnik V vaccine demonstrated nearly 92% efficacy against symptomatic cases of COVID-19 and provided complete protection against severe cases, according to a peer-reviewed analysis of a large clinical trial published in the medical journal the Lancet. The vaccine also appears to be safe.
Why it matters: This is the strongest evidence to date that the Russian vaccine is one of several highly-effective options in the global mix. Russia is almost entirely dependent on Sputnik V to vaccinate its own population, and over a dozen other countries have purchased doses.