7:40. Everything You Want To Know On January 30
Today’s Highlights:
- Russia promises to do everything possible to support Maduro in Venezuela. In Caracas, an investigation has begun against Juan Guido, who declared himself president. Washington has given Guido access to the assets of Venezuela in the U.S. banks.
- Petro Poroshenko has put forward his candidacy for the presidency of Ukraine.
Full text here. (In Russian)
Former Russian Parliamentarian Based In Caracas Says Russia’s Role in Venezuela Is “Enormous”
In his Evening show, Current Time anchor Timur Olevskiy interviewed former Russian parliamentarian Vladimir Semago, an ex-deputy chair of the Russia-Venezuela Entrepreneurs Council, about Russia's role in Venezuela’s crisis. Semago, who is currently based in Caracas, characterized that role as “enormous.” The report ranked as the site’s fifth most popular story for the week.
Vitaly Mansky’s film Putin's Witnesses, which was commissioned by Current Time, received the €5,000 ($5,714) International Documentary Grand Prix at the new French documentary film festival FIPA DOC in Biarritz. The jury wrote that “we have been moved by this documentary which resembles a family film, all the while being a critical and pertinent portrait. This new, critical look at these images [of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his circle] will probably have an historical importance which we should recognize with this prize.”
The video used investigative reporting by RFE/RL’s Schemes program, a Current Time partner, about this Cyprus-registered company. Zelenskiy had earlier denied he had such interests in Russia, but, shortly after the program’s broadcast on Current Time, reversed his stance and announced that he had given up his business.