Bloomberg The Kremlin is putting “unprecedented” pressure on opposition activists as President Vladimir Putin prepares for his toughest electoral test amid Russia’s longest recession in two decades, according to his former prime minister. “The authorities understand that 2016 will be decisive because the economic and political situation is acute,” Mikhail Kasyanov, who was premier from 2000 to 2004 and is …

Moscow / AFP Armed men attacked the office of a prominent human rights organisation in the volatile Russian region of Ingushetia, the group said on Thursday, hours after an assault on journalists in the same area sparked international outrage. Footage of the attack posted on Twitter by Dmitry Utukin, a lawyer for the Committee to Prevent Torture, appeared to show …

Moscow / AFP Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko, on trial in Russia over the killing of two journalists, has started drinking water but will continue her week-long hunger strike until the verdict, her lawyer said on Thursday. “Nadezhda halted only a ‘dry’ hunger strike,” lawyer Mark Feigin said. “She will be fasting until the verdict is announced,” he said, using …