Russia in May 2026: the most important developments in society
Russia's presence at the Venice Biennale drew the most attention in Russian society news in May 2026. The exhibition's jury resigned on May 1, citing International Criminal Court cases against Russia and Israel. The Russian pavilion opened despite sanctions over the war in Ukraine, and organisers said the event includes Russia, Ukraine, Iran and Israel in an effort to promote peace. Activists from Femen and Pussy Riot protested at the pavilion on May 6, the Baltic states also demonstrated, and on May 7 protesters in pink balaclavas swarmed the pavilion and released coloured smoke. The Biennale opened on May 9 with the presence of Russia and Israel contested, and Lithuania decided not to withdraw.
Victory Day on May 9 was the second major theme. Putin congratulated servicemen and called the holiday sacred, linking Second World War heroes to participants in the war in Ukraine, and spoke against the falsification of the war's history. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no attempts to disrupt the celebrations. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned Germany's ban on Victory Day songs. Anti-war activists marked the day with reminders of war crimes, and a banner depicting Putin as a war criminal was displayed in Narva, Estonia.
Health also featured. On May 27 the consumer safety agency Rospotrebnadzor tightened border controls because of the Ebola outbreak in Africa, and Russian scientists said they had developed a vaccine for a new Ebola strain. Earlier, Russia sent Ebola experts to Uganda. Moscow broke a century-old weather record for high temperatures.
In sport and culture, the International Gymnastics Federation lifted restrictions on Russian athletes, and the International Ice Hockey Federation said it will decide on Russian participation case by case. The head producer of Eurovision said Russia will not return to the contest. A Russian director who won at Cannes urged Putin to end the war, and Putin launched a project on human longevity with billions of rubles in funding.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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