Russia & CIS

Fourth line of the power bridge to Crimea has been put into operation some hours ago. It's a historical event, which has put an end to attempts of the Kyiv authorities to revenge on the Crimean residents for their choice in 2014 with an energy siege.

Two more sets of slides today, both from the panel on Color Revolutions and Regional Security. The first set goes with the speech by Major General Sergei Afanasyev, Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of the Russian General Staff. While the text of the speech is not available, there is a video with English translation (starts at approximately 3 minute mark).

(Scroll down for slides provided by President Putin’s internet advisor.)

The second set of slides goes with the speech by German Klimenko, the advisor to President Putin on the internet. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a video or text of his speech online. If anyone has a link, please email it to me or point to it in the comments.

Victory in the Great Patriotic War should be a reminder of how the people of Russia defend the interests of their country, Russian President Putin believes. USSR's victory in the Great Patriotic War is a warning to those who want to try Russia's strength, Putin said. Meanwhile, Mideastern leaders seek assistance from Russia, rather than the USA

A number of people have asked me to post the slides from the MCIS conference. I have a number of sets. First up is Valery Gerasimov’s presentation. These slides can be usefully combined with the Russian text of his speech or the translated English language video of his remarks.

Cumhuriyet’s Dundar has been jailed for five years and 10 months, while Gul gets five years for 'revealing state secrets'.

Brent futures were up 24 cents at $45.25 a barrel.

London has its first Muslim mayor as bus driver's son Sadiq Khan wins battle for City Hall.

President Tayyip Erdogan told the European Union on Friday that Turkey would not make changes to its terrorism laws.

President Ilham Aliyev signed an order.

The seminar took place under Azerbaijan-NATO Joint Action Plan.

Rasul Chunayev has made his way to the final in Istanbul Olympic qualifying tournament.

Cumhuriyet journalist Dündar escaped the armed attack in Istanbul’s courthouse.

President Aliyev issued an order to allocate funds for construction of a new hospital in Goranboy region.

Ministry of Defense conducts exercises.

"Not a single obstacle will remain on the way of the Southern Gas Corridor implementation."

Until now, over 320,000 people have signed the White House petition titled “Establish justice and prevent a great catastrophe”.

Azerbaijan's Defense Minister, colonel-general Zakir Hasanov has received Latvian ambassador to Azerbaijan Juris Maklakovs.

Eldar Samadov has made a statement.

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan has announced the exchange rate for May 10.

There is no stagnation in the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Friday, APA correspondent reported.