Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/10303224

Amnesty International (AI) reported that since annexation, Russia has oppressed Crimea’s non-Russian residents, namely Ukrainians and Crimean Tartars, in two ways: by changing the region’s ethnic demographics and, more systematically, through “restrictions on education, religion, media, representative institutions, judicial system, and cultural celebrations.”

AI explained that Russian post-annexation figures of Crimea showed a decrease of Ukrainian residents by almost 10 percent and Crimean Tartars by 2 percent, which are figures AI says are inconsistent with even the highest numbers of these residents who fled the peninsula in 2014. AI thus attributed the drop in residents to “ethnic Ukrainians now choosing or feeling compelled to identify as Russian, or a combination of both.”

After annexation, all non-Russian residents were given citizenship to Russia unless they “formally opted out.” Opting out puts the “foreigner” in a disadvantaged position regarding their “economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights.”

Moldova summoned Russia’s ambassador, Oleg Vasnetsov, to protest against the Kremlin’s decision to open six polling stations in Transnistria “contrary to the position of the Moldovan authorities,” the foreign ministry said.

It said it informed Vasnetsov that an unnamed embassy worker was a “collaborator” who was declared persona non grata and must leave the country.

The US has urged Ukraine to halt attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, warning that the drone strikes risk driving up global oil prices and provoking retaliation, according to three people familiar with the discussions. [...]

One person said that the White House had grown increasingly frustrated by brazen Ukrainian drone attacks that have struck oil refineries, terminals, depots and storage facilities across western Russia, hurting its oil production capacity.

Russia remains one of the world’s most important energy exporters despite western sanctions on its oil and gas sector. Oil prices have risen about 15 per cent this year, to $85 a barrel, pushing up fuel costs just as US President Joe Biden begins his campaign for re-election.

Un-paywalled link: https://archive.ph/wv1Y3

Cross-posting from: https://feddit.de/post/10269693

Alla Antonova says she suffered beatings, had a plastic bag thrust over her head and endured many other threats from Russian soldiers in occupied Ukraine who wanted to know where her son-in-law was serving in the Ukrainian army.

"They took me into the bedroom and mama into the kitchen," Antonova said.

"Three of them. Interrogating me is the way I would put it. And they beat me. I had bruises on my legs, on my back."

Another soldier, she said, pulled the plastic bag over her head and pressed down to stop her breathing.

"I started to lose consciousness. They removed the bag and I felt ill," Antonova said. "I told them: 'Just kill me. It's the truth, I know nothing'."

A report on conditions in occupied areas released this week by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine described a "climate of fear" in occupied areas more than two years after the Russian invasion. It reports the widespread use of such tactics that Antonova and her family describe.

g4media.ro/report-democracy-in…

Washington's intervention is likely to derail one of the biggest Western deals in Russia since the start of the Ukraine war and piles more pressure on the Austrian group that handles billions of euros of international payments for Russians, two of the people said. The news rattled investors.

Raiffeisen is buying the stake in Vienna-based Strabag from a company the construction group identified as controlled by Oleg Deripaska. The bank billed the deal, which is routed via Russia, as a means of unlocking some of the billions of euros stranded in Russia and potentially loosening its ties. The news in December prompted a rally in the bank's stock, which has been hit hard due to its Russia links.

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/10249490

An irrigation system, once created at Stalin’s order as a project of grand Soviet social engineering, is now running dry.

It is the first criminal case of its kind since Russia's Supreme Court outlawed the so-called "international LGBT movement" last November.

If found guilty, the defendants face up to ten years in jail.

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/10231788

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has responded to criticisms from Russia regarding athlete restrictions during a press conference that marked the end of its two-day Executive Board session.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the statements from Moscow, including accusations of "racism and Neo-Nazism", were "very aggressive" and reached "a new low".

IOC President Thomas Bach deferred to his spokesperson Adams when asked about the quotes from Russia due to the "personal" nature of the accusations.

Depicting a heap of contorted bodies and screaming faces, the statue was unveiled Tuesday as part of an exhibition of “forbidden art” that organizers said had been censored or “deemed subversive” by Hong Kong and mainland China.

The exhibition was hosted by Jens Galschiøt, the Danish artist behind the famous sculpture, and Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, a member of the European Parliament (MEP). A further six MEPs, including representatives from each of the parliament’s five largest political coalitions, were listed as co-hosts.

Alexander Plaum, Innovation Manager at Deutsche Welle (DW), writes about his team's exceptionally positive experience with microblogging in the Fediverse. He also explains why all public broadcasting professionals should try out Mastodon (and other decentralized social media).

"So what are the skeptics waiting for? Everybody has to prepare posts and threads and multimedia soc med content bits anyway – why not put them out on Mastodon? Imho, there's nothing to lose, only a new (rather interesting) audience to gain," writes Plaum.

Top in happiness. Top in metal bands per capita. Coincidence, I think not.