IVAN NECHEPURENKO

Although the U-turn was considered a victory for civil society, activists on both sides of the issue suggested that the fight was not over.

But opposition leaders dismissed the move and warned that the government had not given up hope.

Opposition lawmakers had said the legislation mimicked a similar one in Russia that has been used to clamp down on dissent.

Critics of proposed legislation targeting “foreign agents” say the law brings the country closer to Russia.

Thousands of released convicts have been killed, many soon after arriving on the battlefield in Ukraine, Russian rights advocates and Ukrainian officials say.

Russia, which has many time zones, is seeking to integrate the regions after illegally annexing them in September.

With Western sanctions barring many imports, a lot of what Russia needs now travels a slow, crowded truck route through the Caucasus Mountains from Georgia.

The budget gap reached 3.3 trillion rubles, or 2.3 percent of the size of the Russian economy, according to the country’s finance minister.