Author: admin
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Over 1,000 Belarus Protesters Detained Amid Ongoing Protests
On Nov. 15, Belarusian security forces detained over 1,200 protesters across the country in the latest weekly demonstration calling for President Alexander Lukashenko to step down and hold a new presidential election. Security forces also reportedly used tear gas and stun grenades on the protesters, and 23 journalists were reportedly among those detained. With Sunday…
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Siberian Environmentalist Detained for Poaching World’s Largest Sheep – Reports
A Siberian environmentalist has been detained on suspicion of poaching the world’s largest sheep, the argali, media outlets reported Monday. The Saylyugemsky National Park on the Russian-Kazakh-Mongolian border, which oversees the protection of the argali and snow leopards, said a group of hunters was caught Saturday and charged with administrative offenses. “They said they arrived…
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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 16
Russia has confirmed 1,948,603 cases of coronavirus and 33,489 deaths. Nov. 16: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 22,778 new coronavirus cases and 303 deaths. The eastern Siberian republic of Buryatia became the first Russian region to impose a second coronavirus lockdown. Restaurants, malls and other places of mass gathering will be shut down for two weeks starting…
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Moldova Vote Winner Promises ‘Balanced’ Ties With West, Russia
Moldova’s pro-European election winner Maia Sandu on Monday vowed balanced ties with the West and Russia as Moscow-backed incumbent Igor Dodon conceded defeat and asked his supporters to refrain from violence. Sandu’s election is seen by analysts as a major blow to the Kremlin, which had pinned hopes on Dodon winning a new term. Russia had wanted polarized…
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Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing | Nov. 16
Almost a week into the latest truce between Armenia and Azerbaijan and there remains no flare-up of fighting. Russian peacekeeping deployments continue to establish their positions, while the exact role Turkey will play remains unclear. Political unrest heightens in Armenia with an alleged assassination plot against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Nov. 16: what you need…
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‘Welcome to Chechnya’ Gay Purge Documentary Now Streaming for Russian-Speaking Audiences
The BBC’s Russian service has made a critically acclaimed documentary on the anti-gay crackdown in the republic of Chechnya available to Russian-speaking audiences. Oscar-nominated American filmmaker David France’s “Welcome to Chechnya” traces a Moscow-based LGBT association’s attempts to exfiltrate gay Chechens to safety. The film pioneers deepfake face-swapping technology to disguise the identities of his…
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‘Geek Teachers’ Innovate Russian Classrooms
Maria Plotkina and Arina Nuriahmetova were stressed young computer science teachers battling an entrenched system of learning when they decided to set up Geek Teachers to equip school teachers across Russia with the IT skills to bring the latest education technologies to the classroom. Four years later, their platform, which has over 13,000 online followers,…
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Orenburgneft Sets Power Generation Centre at Garshinskoye Field
Specialists of Orenburgneft, a part of Rosneft, finished the creation of the power generation centre at Garshinskoye field.
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Uranium One Enters Italian Biofuel Market
Uranium One (a company of ROSATOM) carried out the first shipment of wood pellets to an Italian consumer company. The vessel delivered over 3 thousand tons of the product. “The Italian solid biofuel market is showing stable growth,” said Andrey Shutov, President of Uranium One. “We aim to further strengthen the cooperation with our Italian…
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5 Things You Need to Know About Moldova’s Presidential Elections
Moldova held its presidential election Sunday in a vote that could push the ex-Soviet eastern European nation further away from Moscow’s orbit. Here’s all you need to know: Where is Moldova and why is it important? Wedged between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova is one of Europe’s smallest and poorest countries. With a population of almost…
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Ryazan Oil Refining Company Introduces Unified Information System for Product Quality Control
Ryazan Oil Refining Company, a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company, increased the enterprise’s safety level by introducing a unified information system for product quality control.
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Russia Finds No Criminal Influence on Journalist’s Self-Immolation Death – Kommersant
Russian investigators do not believe that independent journalist Irina Slavina was driven to suicide by external factors that could carry criminal punishment, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. Slavina, the editor-in-chief of the independent KozaPress news outlet, set herself on fire outside the Nizhny Novgorod police headquarters on Oct. 2 the day after security forces raided…
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First Russian Region Returns to Full Lockdown as Coronavirus Surges
The eastern Siberian republic of Buryatia has become the first Russian region to impose a second coronavirus lockdown, shutting down restaurants, malls and other places of mass gathering for two weeks starting Monday. “We need to separate people as much as possible, to relieve the healthcare and testing systems,” Buryatia governor Alexei Tsydenov told reporters,…
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Azerbaijan Extends Armenian Pullout Deadline From Disputed Area
Azerbaijan said Sunday it had agreed to extend a deadline for Armenia to withdraw from a disputed district as part of a peace accord that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Residents of the Kalbajar district in Azerbaijan, which has been controlled by Armenian separatists since a 1990s post-Soviet war, began…
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Moldova Torn Between Russia and West in Presidential Runoff
Moldova heads to the polls on Sunday for the second round of a tightly-contested presidential election pitting a pro-European challenger against the country’s Moscow-backed incumbent. The tiny ex-Soviet nation votes under the watchful eye of Russia, which wants polarised Moldova to remain in its sphere of influence as several Kremlin-aligned governments are rocked by political…
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A Persimmon Primer
Has this ever happened to you? You see something unusual at the market—you may have no clue what it is — but you pounce on it anyway, only to get it home and wonder, “now what?” These are the inciting incidents of my culinary life in Russia. I fill my pantry with oddities that intrigue…
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Russia Breaks One-Day Coronavirus Record With 22K Infections
Russia confirmed more than 22,000 coronavirus infections in a single day for the first time since the start of the pandemic as the authorities continue to hold off on widespread lockdown measures. Saturday’s increase of 22,702 Covid-19 cases brings the country’s official total to 1,903,253, the world’s fifth-highest count behind France, Brazil, India and the United States.…
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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 14
Russia has confirmed 1,903,253 cases of coronavirus and 32,834 deaths. Nov. 14: What you need to know today Russia confirmed a new one-day record of 22,702 coronavirus cases and 391 deaths. Russia’s flagship air carrier Aeroflot will resume flights with Cyprus starting Nov. 22, the Russian Embassy in Nicosia said. The flights will not immediately be open to Russian…
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Thousands Rally in Armenia Against Disputed Peace Deal
Thousands of furious protesters rallied in the Armenian capital for a fourth day running on Friday demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resign over a controversial peace agreement with Azerbaijan. Pashinyan announced the Moscow-brokered agreement Tuesday, ending more than six weeks of intense fighting over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh that left at least 1,400 dead…
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Siberian Student Climbs Tree for Internet Signal to Attend Remote Classes
Alexei may have the coolest Zoom background in the world, but he’d rather not have to climb a tree for it. Alexei Dudoladov goes by “Omskiy Kolkhoznik” (Farmer from Omsk) on TikTok, where his videos of village life have racked up millions of views and likes in a year. But because his remote Siberian village…
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St. Petersburg Authorities Disrupt LGBT Film Fest Opening
St. Petersburg police and officials from Russia’s consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor disrupted the opening night of Russia’s only annual LGBT film festival, its organizers said. The Side By Side film festival has been subjected to numerous disruptions, bomb threats and protests in its 13-year history. Last year, the film festival’s opening was disrupted by bomb…
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More Countries Line Up for Russia’s Sputnik V Coronavirus Vaccine
More than 50 countries have requested to buy or localize production of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine as the race for a safe and effective vaccine that could end the deadly pandemic heats up across the globe. In recent weeks, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) that is marketing Sputnik V has announced plans to…
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Russian Mayor of City Targeted in Navalny Probe Arrested
The mayor of a Siberian city that was at the center of a corruption expose by opposition leader Alexei Navalny was arrested Friday for abuse of power, regional officials and Russian media said. The arrest comes two months after Kremlin critic Navalny published the investigation alleging corruption by local officials in Tomsk. Navalny, 44, fell…
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Belarus Briefing | Nov. 17
Belarus has seen weekly mass protests against the disputed presidential re-election of Alexander Lukashenko for nearly three months. Here’s more of the latest news from Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbor: Nov. 17: What you need to know today The Belarusian Association of Journalists has won the Media Freedom Award, a prize awarded by the governments of Britain and…
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A Russian Town Gets Rid of Its Lenin Street and Emotions Run High
In a cramped office decorated with posters of Stalin, a veteran Communist Party member addresses a group of concerned citizens, banging his fist on a desk.“Friends, we are at war,” Alexander Golovanov declares. “They want to take away our history and pride.” The ancient town of Tarusa, 140 kilometers south of Moscow, still has a…
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Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing | Nov. 13
Nov. 13: what you need to know today The ceasefire continued to hold with no reports of fighting flaring up in Nagorno-Karabakh or the surrounding territory. A delegation from Moscow is in Ankara on Friday to discuss the details of a joint Russian-Turkish ceasefire monitoring center. The deployment of almost 2,000 Russian peacekeepers continues. The…
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Putin ‘Physically Unremarkable,’ Obama Writes in Memoir
Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “tough” but “physically unremarkable” man, former U.S. President Barack Obama said in the first volume of his upcoming memoir. According to a New York Times review of “A Promised Land,” Obama likened Putin to “the tough, street-smart ward bosses who used to run the Chicago machine.” Obama’s personal relationship…
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Soviet Rock Legend Viktor Tsoi Absent From Newest Biopic
Soviet rock icon Viktor Tsoi’s legacy has experienced a renaissance in 2020, with his band Kino’s Perestroika-era song “Khochu Peremen!” (I Want Changes!) becoming an anthem of the mass opposition protests in Belarus. But don’t expect the charismatic Kino frontman to appear onscreen in a new biopic that opened in theaters across Russia on Thursday.…
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Russia Nears 22K Coronavirus Infections in New Daily Record
Russia has broken its daily coronavirus record, confirming nearly 22,000 new infections Friday as the latest restrictions on clubs and restaurants are taking effect later in the day. The 21,983 new Covid-19 infections bring the total caseload to 1,880,551, the world’s fifth-highest count behind France, Brazil, India and the United States. A quarter of those…
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Russia Suspects Aeroflot’s Britain Rep of Treason
A Russian court has ordered the arrest on treason charges of a representative of the Aeroflot flagship airline’s office in Britain, state media reported Thursday. Dmitry Fedotkin has been placed in pre-trial detention until Jan. 10, 2021, according to the state-run TASS news agency. A court database shows that Moscow’s Lefortovo District Court registered the…
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Belarus Briefing | Nov. 13
Belarus has seen weekly mass protests against the disputed presidential re-election of Alexander Lukashenko for nearly three months. Here’s more of the latest news from Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbor: Nov. 13: What you need to know today Roman Bondarenko, 31, died on Thursday after being beaten to death by unknown security agents. Witnesses say Bondarenko was detained…
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Russia Builds Replica WWII Prison Camp for Kids
A Russian nonprofit organization has built a replica World War II prison camp through a presidential grant for children’s patriotic education, local media in northern Russia has reported. When it opens in the republic of Karelia on the Finnish border in December, schoolchildren will be able to roam the guard towers, barracks and barbed wire…
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Rosneft Expands Sales of Trademark Pulsar Fuel
RN-Vostoknefteprodukt, an enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company’s retail network, has been expanding the sales of the trademark Pulsar 95 fuel in the Far Eastern Federal District.
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St. Petersburg’s Lakhta Center Named ‘Skyscraper of the Year’
The Lakhta Center skyscraper in St. Petersburg has received the Emporis Skyscraper Award, becoming the first structure in Russia to win the prize in its 20-year history. The 462-meter Lakhta Center, which has been Europe’s tallest skyscraper and the 15th-tallest in the world since its completion in 2018, is the headquarters of Russia’s Gazprom gas…
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U.S. Election System Archaic, Says Russia
The U.S. system of electing presidents is archaic and distorts the will of the people, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. Joe Biden won the popular vote by more than 5 million ballots in the U.S. last week but that translated to an extremely tight margin in the electoral college that ultimately decides…
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Russia Promises Sanctions on France, Germany Over Navalny
Russia said Thursday it will soon introduce retaliatory sanctions on German and French officials over the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The 44-year-old anti-graft campaigner collapsed on a flight in Russia in August and was transported to Germany where experts concluded he was poisoned with the Soviet-designed nerve agent Novichok. The European Union…
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Mixed-Marriage Ban for Russian Muslims Sparks Backlash
A religious ruling that bans Muslim men in Russia from marrying non-Muslim women sparked backlash from senior Muslim clerics across the country this week. The ruling by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia (DUM)’s advisory council of scholars says that interfaith marriages between Muslim men and non-Muslim women are allowed “in isolated cases” that only…
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Everything You Need to Know About Russia’s New E-Visas
Citizens of 52 countries will be able to visit Russia with an electronic visa starting Jan. 1, 2021, according to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s order published Wednesday. While Russia’s borders have partially reopened following a nearly total border shut-down in the spring, most foreigners are still not able to enter the country. The e-visa system is…
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Moscow Calls Off Christmas, New Year Celebrations Due to Coronavirus – Mayor
Moscow will not hold its traditional Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Wednesday amid record coronavirus infections and deaths in recent weeks. Earlier that day, Sobyanin suspended mass events and ordered late-night establishments to close starting from Friday and ending in mid-January 2021 as part of the latest restrictions to try…
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Russians Sickened by Virus Surge Feel Lucky To Be in Well-Off Moscow
Alexander Komarov, a patient in one of Moscow’s temporary hospital wards, cannot hold back tears as he speaks about his fear of dying from the coronavirus. But as Russia’s underfunded and poorly staffed hospitals in the regions beyond Moscow are struggling to cope with a new surge in virus patients, Komarov acknowledges that he is…
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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 12
Russia has confirmed 1,858,568 cases of coronavirus and 32,032 deaths. Nov. 12: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 21,608 new coronavirus cases and a record 439 deaths. About one in three, or 31%, of coronavirus infections in Russia are asymptomatic, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said. Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine is 92% effective, its developers said…
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Russia to Open Nuclear Warship Logistics Hub in Sudan
Russia plans to open a military logistics hub for nuclear warships in Sudan, according to a draft deal that also allows Russia to ferry weapons in and out of the volatile northeast African country. Under the draft deal published on the government website, the Russian Navy will station up to four warships, including those with…
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Anger Mounts in Armenia Over Karabakh Peace Deal
Several thousand demonstrators protested Wednesday in the Armenian capital Yerevan as anger mounted over Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s decision to cede swathes of disputed territory to Azerbaijan under a controversial peace deal. Pashinyan announced a Russian-brokered peace agreement with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the early hours of Tuesday, ending weeks of intense…
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Severstal aouces corporate repositioig ad update to the compay’s brad
November 12, 2020 PAO Severstal, one of the world’s leading steel and steel-related mining companies, has launched new corporate branding to reflect the significant transformation of the business into a customer-centric innovative solutions provider. The Company’s new positioning will be presented as part of a large-scale online conference for customers and partners later today. The…
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Negotiations launched on gas supply conditions for Belarus from January 1, 2021
November 11, 2020, 17:50 A working meeting between Alexey Miller Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Viktor Karankevich, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Belarus, took place today in St. Petersburg. At the start of the meeting, the parties noted that the issue of repaying the debt owed by Belarusian consumers for Russian gas supplies had been completely settled. In this connection, negotiations have been launched…
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Putin Announces Nuclear Attack-Proof Command Post
Russia has almost finished building a secure nuclear command and control post capable of withstanding a nuclear strike, President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday. Speaking at one of a series of military-themed meetings, Putin emphasized the need for control systems to continue working in combat conditions “even in the event of a nuclear strike.” “I was…
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Damascus Holds Russia-Backed Conference on Refugee Returns
Syria’s government kicked off a two-day Russia-backed conference in Damascus Wednesday towards facilitating the return of millions of Syrian refugees to the war-torn country, despite reservations within the international community. Of neighboring countries hosting the bulk of Syrian refugees, only Lebanon and Iraq sent representatives, according to organizers. Other attendees included a Russian delegation and representatives…
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Famed Siberian Hermit Gets Billionaire’s Help Ahead of Harsh Winter
Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska has dispatched essentials and an assistant to a famous Siberian hermit ahead of the harsh winter, the RBC news website reported Wednesday. Agafya Lykova was born 76 years ago to a family of Old Believers, a traditionalist Orthodox Christian sect, fleeing Stalinist persecutions in the remote Siberian taiga. She has…
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Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing | Nov. 11
The Moscow-brokered ceasefire appeared to be holding Wednesday morning, 36 hours after an agreement was reached to end six weeks of bitter fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding districts. The conflict is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan, which reclaimed significant portions of territory previously occupied by Armenian-backed forces. Nov…
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Russia’s Sputnik V Coronavirus Vaccine 92% Effective – Interim Data
Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine is 92% effective, its developers said Wednesday as the global race heats up over mass vaccination to slow the spread of the pandemic that has killed nearly 1.3 million people and battered economies worldwide. Interim results showed that 20 of the 16,000 volunteers who received both Sputnik V doses have…
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Russia Sees Record One-Day Coronavirus Death Toll
Russia has confirmed more than 400 new coronavirus deaths for the first time since the start of the pandemic Wednesday as authorities hold off on a widespread lockdown in favor of targeted measures. The grim milestone of 432 deaths in a single day pushed Russia’s overall Covid-19 death toll to 31,593. This figure is based…
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Vaccinated Siberian Medics Get Coronavirus
At least three medics who received Russia’s vaunted Sputnik V vaccine have contracted the coronavirus in Siberia as part of a vaccination drive of at-risk groups, regional authorities said Tuesday. The adenovirus vector-based vaccine’s developer had previously suggested that recipients infected with Covid-19 may have received a placebo during final clinical trials. Authorities are administering…
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Russian Peacekeepers Head to Nagorno-Karabakh After Peace Deal
Hundreds of Russian peacekeepers were heading to Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a peace deal to end weeks of fierce fighting over the disputed region. The Moscow-brokered agreement, which saw a ceasefire take effect at 21:00 GMT, came after a string of Azerbaijani victories in its fight to retake the ethnic…
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JSC Rusatom Healthcare and GEM signed a contract for sterilization of products of the new plant producing microbiology material handling systems
On November 9, 2020 in Moscow, GEM, supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, has opened Russia’s first plant producing uniform line of virus and microbiology handling systems used for coronavirus tests. The production capacity is 1.5 mln handling systems a month. They will be sterilized by ROSATOM’s Sterion, the operator of…
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The Reactor Pressure Vessel for Power Unit 1 Delivered to Akkuyu NPP (Turkey)
November 10, 2020, Mersin – Equipment of major importance for Power Unit 1 – the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) – has been delivered to the Akkuyu NPP site, having covered a distance of 3,000 kilometers. The RPV is large-size equipment, which, at the NPP operation stage, accommodates nuclear fuel, and where a nuclear reaction involving…
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Arctic Archipelago Sees October Temps 10 Degrees Hotter Than Normal
A set of Arctic islands north of the Siberian mainland saw temperatures as much as 10 degrees Celsius warmer than normal for the season last month, temperature maps from Russian meteorology service Roshydromet show. It was one of the warmest October months on record for the Russian archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya, which also saw the…
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What Does the Nagorno-Karabakh Deal Mean for Russia?
The new Russia-brokered peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a sign of Moscow seeking to reaffirm its influence in the conflict over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, analysts said Tuesday. But they disagreed on the level of the Kremlin’s success. Unlike previous agreements brokered by Russia and the U.S. which have fallen through within…
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Russian PM Mishustin Tightens Grip on Domestic Policy in Mini Reshuffle
The Russian government is pushing ahead with a long-rumored mini-reshuffle this week in what analysts see as a mark of both newly installed prime minister Mikhail Mishustin’s growing influence and President Vladimir Putin’s divide-and-conquer approach to keeping his underlings in check. A handful of mid-ranking cabinet members have been shuffled out and replaced by new…
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Netflix to Provide Movies Dubbed In Russian
Netflix is launching a pilot project that will provide films dubbed into Russian, Interfax has reported. The new service, in partnership with Russian media holding company National Media Group (NMG), will offer more Russian content including the series “To The Lake,” which Netflix is showing on worldwide platforms. Although Netflix has been available in Russia…
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Moscow Curbs Late-Night Club, Restaurant Hours as Coronavirus Surges
Moscow will limit hours at clubs, bars and restaurants for two months starting Friday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced alongside other measures in the latest effort to contain a record-breaking surge of the coronavirus pandemic. Starting Nov. 13, these establishments as well as others like bowling alleys, karaoke bars and cafes, will not be allowed to…