2026 in Russia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Incumbents
Governors
- Amur Oblast: Vasily Orlov (ER)
- Arkhangelsk Oblast: Alexander Tsybulsky (ER)
- Astrakhan Oblast: Igor Babushkin (ER)
- Belgorod Oblast: Vyacheslav Gladkov (until May 13, ER), Alexander Shuvaev (Acting, ER, starting May 13)
- Bryansk Oblast: Alexander Bogomaz (until May 13, ER), Yegor Kovalchuk (Acting, ER, starting May 13)
- Chelyabinsk Oblast: Alexey Teksler (ER)
- Irkutsk Oblast: Igor Kobzev (ER)
- Ivanovo Oblast: Stanislav Voskresensky (ER)
- Kaliningrad Oblast: Alexey Besprozvannykh (ER)
- Kaluga Oblast: Vladislav Shapsha (ER)
- Kemerovo Oblast: Ilya Seredyuk (ER)
- Kirov Oblast: Alexander Sokolov (ER)
- Kostroma Oblast: Sergey Sitnikov (ER)
- Kurgan Oblast: Vadim Shumkov (ER)
- Kursk Oblast: Alexey Smirnov (ER)
- Leningrad Oblast: Alexander Drozdenko (ER)
- Lipetsk Oblast: Igor Artamonov (ER)
- Magadan Oblast: Sergey Nosov (ER)
- Moscow Oblast: Andrey Vorobyov (ER)
- Murmansk Oblast: Andrey Chibis (ER)
- Nizhny Novgorod Oblast: Gleb Nikitin (ER)
- Novgorod Oblast: Andrey Nikitin (ER)
- Novosibirsk Oblast: Andrey Travnikov (ER)
- Omsk Oblast: Vitaliy Khotsenko (ER)
- Orenburg Oblast: Denis Pasler (ER)
- Oryol Oblast: Andrey Klychkov (CPRF)
- Penza Oblast: Oleg Melnichenko (ER)
- Pskov Oblast: Mikhail Vedernikov (ER)
- Rostov Oblast: Yury Slyusar (ER)
- Ryazan Oblast: Pavel Malkov (ER)
- Sakhalin Oblast: Valery Limarenko (ER)
- Samara Oblast: Vyacheslav Fedorishchev (ER)
- Saratov Oblast: Roman Busargin (ER)
- Smolensk Oblast: Vasily Anokhin (ER)
- Tambov Oblast: Yevgeny Perfilov (LDPR)
- Tomsk Oblast: Vladimir Mazur (ER)
- Tula Oblast: Dmitry Milyaev (ER)
- Tver Oblast: Igor Rudenya (ER)
- Tyumen Oblast: Aleksandr Moor (ER)
- Ulyanovsk Oblast: Alexey Russkikh (CPRF)
- Vladimir Oblast: Alexander Avdeyev (ER)
- Volgograd Oblast: Andrey Bocharov (ER)
- Vologda Oblast: Georgy Filimonov (ER)
- Voronezh Oblast: Alexander Gusev (ER)
- Yaroslavl Oblast: Mikhail Yevrayev (ER)
- Jewish Autonomous Oblast: Maria Kostyuk (ER)
Ongoing
- Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present)
- Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present)
Events
January
- 5 January – Three people are injured in a polar bear attack in Nosok, Krasnoyarsk Krai.[1]
- 8 January – Laurent Vinatier, a French researcher imprisoned in Russia since 2024 on charges of failing to register as a "foreign agent", is released in a prisoner swap in exchange for Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who had been detained in France since 2025 on suspicion of involvement in cyberhacking.[2]
- 13 January – Russia expels a British diplomat after accusing him of spying.[3]
- 14 January – Two senior doctors are arrested over the suspicious deaths of nine newborn infants at a maternity hospital in Novokuznetsk from 4 to 12 January.[4]
- 15 January –
- One person is killed while 17 others are injured in an explosion at a police training center in Syktyvkar.[5]
- Two people are killed after being buried by falling snow piles from buildings in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.[6]
- 19 January – A court in Sochi sentences an American citizen to five years' imprisonment on charges of illegally transporting weapons after being found with a rifle aboard his yacht in June 2025.[7]
- 21 January – The Second Western District Military Court in Moscow sentences Uzbek national Akhmadzhon Kurbonov to life imprisonment for the assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov in 2024.[8]
- 22 January – The FSB arrests a Russian national on suspicion of spying for Moldova.[9]
- 25 January – A state of emergency is declared in Murmansk Oblast due to power outages caused by heavy snowstorms.[10]
- 28 January –
- The Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka erupts.[11]
- Alexander Vainberg resigns from the Federation Council to undertake military service in Ukraine.[12]
February
- 2 February – A bus collides with a truck in Krasnoyarsk, killing five people and injuring six others.[13]
- 3 February – Myanmar and Russia sign a five-year military cooperation agreement.[14]
- 4 February – Six people are injured in a combined arson and hammer attack by a student inside a school in Krasnoyarsk Krai.[15]
- 5 February – Russia expels a German diplomat in retaliation for the expulsion of a Russian diplomat by Germany for spying in January.[16]
- 6 February – Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy head of the GRU, is shot and severely injured by an unidentified gunman in Moscow.[17]
- 7 February – Four Indian students are injured in a knife attack at the dormitory of the Bashkir State Medical University in Ufa.[18]
- 10 February – Roskomnadzor announces phased restrictions on Telegram on charges of violating laws requiring data on Russian users to be stored inside the country and the removal of usage for "criminal and terrorist purposes".[19]
- 11 February –
- One person is killed in a shooting at a technical college in Anapa, Krasnodar Krai.[20]
- President Putin issues a decree establishing a general staff for the National Guard of Russia.[21]
- 12 February –
- The government blocks access to WhatsApp in Russia on charges of violating domestic laws.[22]
- The deputy governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Andrei Faleychik, is arrested on suspicion of bribery.[23]
- 17 February –
- The International Paralympic Committee allows Russian paralympians to compete under their national flag for the first time since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2022.[24]
- Three people are killed in an explosion at a military police facility in Sertolovo, Leningrad Oblast.[25]
- 19 February – Amina Shafikova, the culture minister of Bashkortostan, is arrested on suspicion of corruption.[26]
- 20 February – A tour bus carrying Chinese nationals falls through an ice crevasse along Lake Baikal, killing eight people.[27]
- 23 February - Hungary and Slovakia block the European Union's 20th sanctions package against Russia, preventing its adoption ahead of the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.[28][29]
- 24 February – A police officer and a bomber are killed in a bomb attack near Moscow Savyolovsky railway station.[30]
- 27 February – Alexei Botvin, the mayor of Bodaybo, Irkutsk Oblast is arrested on charges of abuse of power over the neglect of the town's heating and water facilities.[31]
March
- 1 March – Police in Moscow detain Iranian nationals who celebrated the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in public.[32]
- 3 March – A court in Saint Petersburg designates the LGBT rights group Coming Out an "extremist organization".[33]
- 4 March – Russia releases two dual Hungarian-Ukrainian nationals who had been captured while fighting for Ukraine following negotiations between president Putin and Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó.[34]
- 5 March – Former deputy defense minister Ruslan Tsalikov is arrested on charges of corruption.[35]
- 6–15 March – The 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy sees Russian athletes compete under the Russian flag for the first time in an Olympic-level event since 2014.[36]
- 9 March – President Putin signs a law prohibiting the extradition of foreign nationals and stateless persons who had undegone combat experience while serving in the Russian military.[37]
- 12 March – The Second Western District Military Court in Moscow sentences 19 people to sentences ranging up to life imprisonment for their role in carrying out the Crocus City Hall attack in 2024.[38]
- 13 March –
- The Justice Ministry designates Nina Khrushcheva, the great-granddaughter of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, as a "foreign agent".[39]
- The United States imposes a month-long suspension on sanctions against Russian oil that is currently in transit amid an increase in oil prices caused by the 2026 Iran war.[40]
- 15 March – Mr Nobody Against Putin, a Netflix documentary on the Russo-Ukrainian war directed by Pavel Talankin, wins the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2026 Oscars.[41]
- 17 March – Yevgeny Filippov, the health minister of Krasnodar Krai, is arrested on charges of fraud and abuse of power.[42]
- 18 March –
- A court in Poland approves the extradition of Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin to Ukraine, where he is wanted on charges of damaging the Myrmēkion site in Russian-occupied Crimea.[43]
- Ilya Remeslo, a prominent pro-Kremlin blogger, publishes a post on his Telegram channel, where he openly denounces Putin and the Russo-Ukrainian war, causing confusion and shock among audience.[44] A day later, it is announced that he has been placed in a psychiatric hospital in Saint Petersburg.[45]
- MP Andrey Svintsov is expelled from the LDPR over his comments on internet restrictions in Russia.[46]
- 20 March – The United States lifts sanctions on several Russian nationals and entities imposed in 2023 for helping evade sanctions on Russia.[47]
- 27 March – Russia designates filmmaker and teacher Pavel Talankin, the co-director and subject of the 2025 documentary film Mr Nobody Against Putin, as a foreign agent after authorities accuse him of spreading disinformation about the government and opposing the war in Ukraine.[48]
- 30 March – Russia expels a British diplomat after accusing him of spying.[49]
- 31 March –
- Three people are killed in an explosion at the Nizhnekamskneftekhim petrochemical plant in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan.[50]
- An Antonov An-26 transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force crashes into a cliff in Crimea, killing all 30 on board.[51][52]
- Russia designates Tufts University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy as "undesirable organizations".[53]
April
- 3 April –
- At least 35 people are injured after a passenger train derails near Bryandino, Ulyanovsk Oblast.[54]
- An Su-30 fighter aircraft of the Russian Air Force crashes during a training flight in Crimea. Both crew are rescued.[55]
- 4 April – Russia evacuates 198 more staff from Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant as an airstrike kills an Iranian security guard at the plant.[56]
- 6 April –
- Five people are killed in flashfloods and landslides in Dagestan.[57]
- Former Kursk Oblast governor Alexei Smirnov is sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment for embezzling public funds.[58]
- 7 April –
- Russia and China veto a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on states to "coordinate efforts, defensive in nature" to ensure the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, saying that it was biased against Iran. The U.S. and France condemn the veto.[59]
- Andrei Korobka, the vice governor of Krasnodar Krai, is arrested on charges of corruption.[60]
- 9 April – The Supreme Court designates the human rights group Memorial as an "extremist" organization.[61]
- 10 April –
- Russia designates Stanford University as an "undesirable" organization.[62]
- A court-martial sentences former deputy defense minister Pavel Popov to 19 years' imprisonment for corruption.[63]
- Two people are killed in an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Vladikavkaz.[64]
- 13 April –
- World Aquatics lifts a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under the national flags that was imposed since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war.[65]
- A court in Moscow sentences former senator Dmitry Savelyev to 10 years' imprisonment for conspiring to kill a business partner.[66]
- 15 April – Russia agrees to provide compensation over its shooting down of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 in 2024 following negotiations with Azerbaijan.[67]
- 17 April – After spending 30 days in the psychiatric hospital following his anti-Putin statements, Ilya Remeslo is released.[68]
- 17 April – A new atlas of the Russian sector of the Arctic (the Chukchi Peninsula and the Koryak Highlands) is published.[69]
- 20 April –
- Andrei Shindelov is dismissed as agriculture minister of Novosibirsk Oblast following protests over the mass culling of cattle in the region blamed on an outbreak of rabies and pasteurellosis.[70]
- Three members of a hiking team are found dead in a suspected fall on Mönkh Saridag in Buryatia.[71]
- 22 April – The US extends sanctions relief on Russian oil for another 30 days.[72]
- 27 April – Three people die in a snowstorm in Samara.[73]
- 28 April –
- 30 April – Eight people are killed in a collapse at a coal mine in Magadan Oblast.[77]
May
- 1 May – Presenter TV Nikolay Drozdov ends his career due to cancer.[78]
- 4 May – President Putin removes Sergey Melikov as head of Dagestan and replaces him on a temporary basis with Fyodor Shchukin.[79]
- 4 May – President Putin appoints Aleksandr Chayko as commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces.[80]
- 10 May – President Putin submits to the State Duma a bill on ratification of the cooperation agreement with South Ossetia.[81]
- 12 May –
- President Putin announces that Russia has successfully carried out a test of the new Sarmat, and says that the country will deploy the nuclear-capable missiles this year.[82]
- Two people are injured in a school shooting in Gulkevichi, Krasnodar Krai.[83]
- 13 May – The State Duma passes a law on the right to use the Russian Armed Forces to protect Russian citizens arrested by foreign courts without Russia's participation.[84]
- 14 May –
- President Putin appoints Alexander Shuvae as acting governor of Belgorod Oblast, replacing Vyacheslav Gladkov, and Yegor Kovalchuk as governor of Bryansk Oblast, replacing Alexander Bogomaz.[85]
- The State Duma elects MP Yana Lantratova as Commissioner for Human Rights, replacing Tatyana Moskalkova.[86]
- 15 May –
- Thirty-six countries and the European Union join the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.[87]
- Putin signs a law easing citizenship requirements for citizens of Transnistria.[88]
- 18 May – The United States extends sanctions relief on Russian oil for an additional 30 days.[89]
- 19 May –
- A hovercraft carrying tourists capsizes in Lake Baikal, killing five passengers.[90]
- The United Kingdom bans uranium imports from Russia with several exceptions.[91]
- 20 May — France begins refusing temporary residence permits to Russians with humanitarian visas.[92]
- 23 May — Rospotrebnadzor bans the import of mineral water Jermuk, two brands of wine and one brand of cognac from Armenia to Russia.[93][94]
- 26 May — Six people are killed in a house fire in Yuryevka, Omsk Oblast.[95]
- 27 May —
- 29 May — The UN adds Russia to its blacklist for sexual violence in conflict zones for suspected sexual violence against Ukrainians during the Russo-Ukrainian war.[98]
June
- 1 June —
- Russia imposes a ban on the export of aviation fuel until 30 November.[99]
- Rosselkhoznadzor bans the importation of fish from all but two processing plants in Armenia.[100]
- 10 June —
- FIDE suspends Russia for holding chess competitions in Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine.[101]
- The Russian government lifts restrictions on access to Roblox.[102]
- President Putin signs a law allowing for the seizure of property and bank funds of expatriate Russians accused of acting against national interests.[103]
- Russia and Belarus sign a memorandum of understanding to "harmonize" both countries' judicial systems.[104]
Predicted and scheduled
- By 20 September – 2026 Russian legislative election
Holidays
- 1–8 January – New Year's Day and Holidays
- 7 January – Christmas (Orthodox)
- 23 February – Defender of the Fatherland Day
- 24 February – Defender of the Fatherland Holiday
- 8 March – International Women's Day
- 9 March – International Women's Day Holiday
- 1 May – Spring and Labour Day
- 9 May – Victory Day
- 12 June – Russia Day
- 4 November – Unity Day
Deaths
- 1 January – Mukhsin Mukhamadiev, 59, Tajik-Russian football player (Tajikistan national team, Russia national team) and manager (Tajikistan national team).[107]
- 8 January – Evgeny Lyubivyi, 51, politician.[108]
- 11 January – Pavel Akishev, 42, baseball player (national team) (death announced on this date).[109]
- 14 January – Layonel Adams, 31, footballer (Banants, Cerceda, Isloch Minsk Raion).[110]
- 17 Januyar – Lazar Shvets, 86, Russian Orthodox priest.[111]
- 24 January – Boris Belousov, 91, Soviet minister of defense industry (1989–1991).[112]
- 3 February – Ivan Nikulin, 89, member of the Soviet of the Union (1984–1989).[113]
- 5 February – Vladimir Kuroyedov, 81, admiral, commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy (1997–2005).[114]
- 13 February – Roy Medvedev, 100, politician, Soviet dissident and writer (Let History Judge).[115]
- 15 February – Maria Vagatova, 89, poet.[116]
- 20 February – Zoya Dorodova, 85, singer (Buranovskiye Babushki).[117]
- 24 February –
- Irina Shevchuk, 74, actress (The Dawns Here Are Quiet, White Bim Black Ear).[118]
- Nina Gabrielyan, 72, poet, writer, and artist.[119]
- 25 February – Natalya Klimova, 87, actress (Comrade Arseny, The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin, The Snow Queen).[120]
- 1 March –
- Yuri Korolev, 91, ice hockey player (Severstal Cherepovets) and administrator.[121]
- Vadim Zelichenok, 70, track and field coach.[122]
- 2 March –
- Umar Dzhabrailov, 67, banker and politician, senator (2004–2009).[123]
- Nikolay Kolyada, 68, playwright, actor and stage director.[124]
- 3 March –
- Sergey Duvakin, 97, politician, chairman of the executive committee of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (1971–1985).[125]
- Valentin Shcherbakov, 89, politician, member of the Soviet of the Union (1979–1984).[126]
- 4 March – Ekaterina Vedunova, 45, actress (Sklifosovsky).[127]
- 5 March – Alexander Guts, 78, mathematician.[128]
- 6 March – Nikolay Kondakov, 76, politician, MP (1994–1996).[129]
- 7 March – Eduard Apalkov, 56, footballer (Dynamo Stavropol, Belshina Bobruisk).[130]
- 9 March – Sergei Nekrasov, 53, footballer (Dynamo Moscow, Khimki, national team).[131]
- 10 March – Viktor Shreyder, 74, politician, MP (2011–2021).[132]
- 11 March –
- Valentin Gneushev, 74, circus director (Cirque du Soleil, Moscow State Circus) and choreographer.[133]
- Natalya Vetoshnikova, 104, tennis player.[134]
- 14 March –
- Lyudmila Arinina, 99, actress (A Teacher of Singing, Waiting for Love, Guest from the Future).[135]
- Nikolay Garo, 88, production manager, producer and actor.[136]
- 16 March – Andrey Golikov, 80, actor.[137]
- 19 March –
- Khamid Gizatullin, 94, economist.[138]
- Alevtina Yelesina, 71, cross-country skier, Paralympic champion (1992, 1994).[139]
- 20 March – Vladimir Shumny, 92, geneticist.[140]
- 23 March – Yury Shvytkin, 60, politician, deputy (since 2016).[141]
- 25 March – Nikolai Orlov, 73, herpetologist.[142]
- 26 March – Rosa Salikhova, 81, volleyball player, Olympic champion (1968, 1972).[143]
- 29 March – Kim Bukhantsov, 94, Olympic discus thrower (1956, 1960, 1964).[144]
- 31 March – Eduard Koksharov, 50, handball player and coach, Olympic champion (2000) and bronze medalist (2004).[145]
- 2 April – Artyom Brovkov, 46, rapper (KREC).[146]
- 8 April – Sherig-ool Oorzhak, 83, head of the Republic of Tuva (1992–2007).[147]
- 9 April – Arkady Yanenko, 85, physicist, people's deputy of the Soviet Union (1989–1991).[148]
- 2 May – Boris Volodin, 94, member of the Soviet of the Union (1984–1989).[149]
- 4 May –
- Konstantin Tolkachyov, 73, speaker of the State Assembly of the Republic of Bashkortostan (since 1999).[150]
- Tatyana Lyubetskaya, 85, fencer.[151]
- 20 May – Vadim Pokrovsky, 71, epidemiologist.[152]
- 24 May – Taymuraz Akhokhov, 55, mayor of Nalchik (since 2018).[153]
See also
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