The candles cost around €6 and promise to fill a room with a unique fragrance in just 30 minutes. From "Aroma Putin Black Vanilla" to "Symbol of the Russian Empire", some are citing this olfactive merchandising as further proof of the cult of personality in Russia.

Daniel Martindale, a U.S. citizen who helped the Kremlin target Ukrainian troops and was then spirited out of eastern Ukraine by Russian special forces, has received a Russian passport in Moscow. Russian state television broadcast a report on Tuesday showing Martindale,

In 2024, births in Russia fell to 1.22 million — the lowest level since 1999 — while deaths increased by 3.3% annually, to 1.82 million.

Trump's threat against Russia runs parallel to a Senate-led effort to pass crippling sanctions on countries that buy Russian energy.

Russian television pundits are mocking President Donald Trump’s threats to weigh in decisively on Ukraine, claiming that his new comments are a way to try and knock the Epstein scandal out of the news headlines.

Russia faces a significant worker shortage by 2030. Retirements and low birth rates are major factors. The Ukraine war has worsened the situation. The government is offering incentives to boost birth rates.

Trump makes major statement on Russia after announcing U.S. sending missiles to help Ukraine. Here's what to know and what he said about Putin

“Putin will not negotiate as a loser,” one of his longtime associates tells TIME by phone from Moscow. “He knows that winners don’t get punished, and if he wins, all of this” — the sanctions, the tariffs — “will go away.”