Sergey Menshikov elected Member of Gazprom Management Committee
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Putin Reshuffles Regional Governors Ahead of 2019 Vote
President Vladimir Putin has replaced three more governors ahead of regional elections later this year as low ratings for the ruling United Russia party risk upsetting its hold on power. Sixteen regions are scheduled to elect new governors on Sept. 8 this year. Putin replaced 10 leaders in Oct. 2018 after an unpopular government move…
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Board of Directors Approves PhosAgro Development Strategy to 2025
The strategy to 2025 aims to further expand PhosAgro’s presence in its priority domestic and premium export markets and strengthen its position as a producer of pure phosphate-based fertilizers with low levels of potentially-harmful heavy metals with one of the lowest cash costs of production. The strategy covers the following key areas: Further develop efficient,…
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Russia Drops Further in World Happiness Index – UN
It’s not all smiles for Russia as it slips down the global happiness rankings for a third consecutive year, according to an annual UN report published on Wednesday. The World Happiness Report ranks 156 countries by variables that support well-being, including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity and absence of corruption.…
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Putin Congratulates New President of ‘Brotherly Nation’ Kazakhstan
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to the new acting president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, hours after he was named the new leader of the Central Asian country. Tokayev was sworn in as Kazakhstan’s president on Wednesday, a day after Putin’s close ally Nursultan Nazarbayev unexpectedly resigned after three decades in power. Kazakhstan…
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Russia’s Prison Service Wants Guards to Apologize to Inmates for Rights Violations
Russian prison guards may soon be required to apologize to inmates for violating their rights, new regulations drafted by the federal penitentiary system show. Last year, the Federal Prison Service (FSIN) launched nationwide inspections at its facilities in the wake of leaked videos showing guards torturing inmates at a prison in the Yaroslavl region. The…
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Putin Kicks Off Massive New Gas Field in Russia’s Arctic
President Vladimir Putin has kicked off the full-scale development of one of Russia’s largest proven gas fields in the Yamal peninsula, the Kremlin reported on Wednesday. The Kharasaveyskoye gas field is located in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district, a key gas-producing region in an economy that heavily relies on gas exports. This month, Russia’s Natural Resources…
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Can Urban Renewal Plug Russia’s Brain Drain?
This article appeared in our special “Russia in 2019” print issue. The road to “New Life” is bumpy. Only recently opened, the entrance to the apartment complex in Belgorod, a provincial city on the border with Ukraine, has yet to be paved. Already, though, young mothers can be seen pushing strollers along bike paths as their toddlers scramble over Danish playground…
DetailsWild Edens: South Asia, a new feature documentary dedicated to the fight against global warming, premieres in Mumbai
The premiere of a new documentary “Wild Edens: South Asia,” the third in a series that highlights the issue of climate change, took place in Mumbai, India. Focusing on the flora and fauna in the one-of-a-kind natural habitats of India and Bangladesh the documentary was filmed in a number of remote locations, including the Western…
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PhosAgro 4Q18 EBITDA grows 51% YoY to RUB 18.6 bln
Moscow – PhosAgro (“PhosAgro” or “the Company”) (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, today announces its consolidated IFRS financial results for the three months (4Q) and 12 months (FY) ended 31 December 2018. Revenue in 4Q 2018 rose by 30% year-on-year to RUB 59.4 billion (USD 893…
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Full-scale development of Kharasaveyskoye field starts in Yamal Peninsula
Release March 20, 2019, 12:45 Photos A ceremony was held today in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area to mark the launch of full-scale development of the Kharasaveyskoye field. Attending the event were Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Dmitry Artyukhov, Governor of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, and heads of Gazprom’s relevant subdivisions and subsidiaries. Vladimir Putin addressed the event participants in his opening speech via a conference call. The Kharasaveyskoye…
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Plane Crash Deaths More Than Double in Russia – Aviation Authorities
More than twice as many people have died in Russian plane crashes last year than in 2017, a top interregional aviation safety organization has said. Aviation safety has come under scrutiny after a spate of air accidents in Russia in 2018, including a deadly collision outside Moscow in February 2018 that killed 71 people. A…
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U.S.-Russia Talks on Venezuela Stall Over Role of Maduro
High-level U.S.-Russian talks on how to defuse Venezuela’s crisis ended on Tuesday with the two sides still at odds over the legitimacy of President Nicolas Maduro. Russia has said Maduro remains the country’s only legitimate leader whereas the United States and many other Western countries back Juan Guaido, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly who…
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Siberian City Grinds to a Halt After Locals Protest Rape Linked to Migrant
Scores of buses stopped traveling their regular routes and fruit stands closed in the Siberian city of Yakutsk following protests sparked by allegations that Central Asian migrants raped a local woman, Russian media have reported. Three suspects were detained on charges of kidnapping and raping a local resident this week. Hundreds of locals attended rallies…
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PhosAgro Board of Directors Calls 2018 Results Outstanding
Moscow – The Board of Directors of PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, has declared that 2018 was an outstanding year for the Company’s in terms of its operational and financial performance. In summing up the 2018, PhosAgro CEO and Board of Directors member Andrey Guryev,…
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Russia Ditches Real Income Data That Has Slumped for Five Years
Russia will stop publishing monthly data that’s shown a slump in disposable incomes for five straight years after the indicator was criticized for using methodology that’s decades out of date. The Federal Statistics Service will start releasing quarterly income data starting next month and historical numbers will be recalculated going back to 2013, head Pavel…
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Mock Moon Flight Experiment Begins in Russia
Six volunteers from Russia and the United States locked themselves up for four months on Tuesday (March 19) for a space experiment ahead of the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing. Three males and three females are participating in the SIRIUS-19 isolation study, in which they will live, work and research in isolation from the rest of the…
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«Expert RA» assiged «Severstal» ratig to ruAAA
March 20, 2019 According to the agency, the «Expert RA» rating agency assigned the credit rating of the non-financial company Severstal to ruAAA, which corresponds to the highest level of solvency/financial reliability/ financial stability according to the national scale. The rating outlook is stable. The Expert RA credit rating has been assigned to Severstal for…
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Severstal lauches SteelTech Accelerator with Global Veture Alliace
March 20, 2019 PJSC Severstal and Global Venture Alliance (GVA) announce the launch of Severstal SteelTech Accelerator – Russia’s first full-scale industrial accelerator for start-ups in the metallurgical industry. Severstal SteelTech Accelerator’s main goal is to find innovative solutions in the industrial sector which can be successfully integrated into Severstal’s production cycle. The window for…
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NGV fuel becoming increasingly popular in Russia
Release March 19, 2019, 19:40 The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information about the work being done by the Company to promote natural gas (methane) as a vehicle fuel. It was stressed that wider use of NGV fuel was one of Gazprom’s strategic thrusts in the domestic market. The Company is involved in the NGV refueling infrastructure development, cooperates with manufacturers of natural gas-powered machinery and refueling…
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Board of Directors reviews progress of major investment projects
Release March 19, 2019, 19:35 The Gazprom Board of Directors expressed its approval the Company’s ongoing work on its major investment projects. One the Company’s current priorities is the Eastern Gas Program. Gazprom is gearing up for the launch of pipeline gas supplies to China that is scheduled for December 1, 2019. The work on the Power of Siberia pipeline is ahead of schedule. At present, the construction of the pipeline between Yakutia and the…
DetailsInner reactor containment construction completed at Unit 2 of Leningrad Phase II
One of the key events of the year happened at Unit 2 of Leningrad Phase II which is under construction. Erection of the inner containment of the reactor has been completed. The last tier was concreted up to 67 meters in height. Now, the builders will be able to start constructing the highest section of…
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U.K. Condemns Russia for Sentence on Rights Activist in Chechnya
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt condemned the sentence handed out to a prominent human rights activist by a court in Chechnya, calling it “an awful example of Russia suppressing vital work of human rights defenders.” Oyub Titiyev, who runs the office of the Memorial Human Rights Center in the southern Russian region, was sentenced to…
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Aeroflot Introduces Cheaper Fares for Passengers Who Travel Light
Russia’s national flag carrier Aeroflot will introduce hand luggage-only fares for some of its medium-haul flights at the beginning of April, the Kommersant business daily reported on Tuesday. The new fares come after increased passenger demand for charges to reflect this lighter style of travel. The discounts will apply to select flights operated by Aeroflot…
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President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Resigns After Three Decades
Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday after three decades in power, saying his oil-rich Central Asian nation now needed “a new generation of leaders.” Nazarbayev, 78, the last Soviet-era leader still in charge of his country, said he would retain key security council and party leader positions while handing over the presidency to…
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Russian Navy Shows Off Ships For Day of Submariner
The Russian Navy has shared a video of a new Borey-style nuclear ballistic missile submarine for the Day of the Russian Submariner, celebrated in Russia on March 19. Vladimir Korolev, commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, congratulated submariners on their professional holiday, adding that Russia’s submarine program is being actively developed, the Izvestia news website reported. Navy…
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Russia’s Political Prisoners, in Photos
Nearly 200 people are currently being held as political prisoners in Russia, the Memorial Human Rights Center has estimated. “There are civil and political activists who are pursued because of their activity, and those jailed for exchanging scientific information or reposting in social networks,” Memorial, one of Russia’s oldest and most prestigious human rights organizations,…
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The Long And Winding Road to U.S. Special Counsel’s Russia Report
Special Counsel Robert Mueller, examining potential conspiracy between President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, is leading the latest in a series of U.S. investigations conducted by prosecutors outside usual Justice Department channels in recent decades. The release of the findings by previous investigators analogous to Mueller has been handled differently over the years, sometimes with…
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Russia Backs Algerian Government Plan For Talks With Opposition
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow supported the Algerian government’s initiative to hold talks with the opposition after weeks of protests. Lavrov made the comments after meeting Algeria’s Deputy Prime Minister Ramtane Lamamra in Moscow on Tuesday. Lavrov said earlier on Tuesday that Russia was concerned by the protests in Algeria which he…
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Russian Court Throws Out Offended ‘Sit on His Face’ Ad Viewer’s Case
A Moscow court has ruled that a feminist Reebok ad urging readers to “sit on a man’s face” did not insult a male plaintiff’s feelings, Russian media reported on Tuesday. PR expert Oleg Voronin sought 200,000 rubles ($3,100) in moral damages from Reebok’s parent company Adidas last month over the racy ad. Following public outcry,…
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Russian Court Dismisses Lawsuit of Offended Reebok Ad Viewer
A Moscow court has ruled that a feminist Reebok ad urging readers to “sit on a man’s face” did not insult a male plaintiff’s feelings, Russian media reported on Tuesday. PR expert Oleg Voronin sought 200,000 rubles ($3,100) in moral damages from Reebok’s parent company Adidas last month over the racy ad. Following public outcry,…
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Rosneft Becomes Member of National Gas-Vehicle Association
RN Gas Fuel Company, a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company, has become a member of the National Gas-Vehicle Association where it will continue to develop the gas-vehicle market and increase the level of use of natural gas as motor fuel. The National Gas-Vehicle Association is an industrial solutions development platform that engages design engineers, builders,…
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RN-Yuganskneftegaz Produces 400-millionth tonne of oil in Maysky Region
RN-Yuganskneftegaz, a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company, has produced the 400-millionth tonne of oil in Maysky region since the start of commercial exploration of the regional fields. The first field in the area put into commercial exploration in 1976 was South-Balykskoye field. In 2018, Maysky region produced 18.9 million tonnes of oil, a 15% increase…
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Russia Says it Won’t Destroy Missiles U.S. Claims Break INF Treaty
Russia will not destroy its intermediate-range nuclear missiles that the United States claims violate an unraveling Cold War-era arms control treaty, its Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. The U.S. said last month it would withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in six months unless Moscow ends what Washington says are violations of the…
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Director Marlen Khutsiev Has Died
Marlen Khutsiev, one of the Soviet Union and Russia’s most innovative and beloved film directors, died on Tuesday morning at the age of 93. Khutsiev was born in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia) in 1925. His father (ne Khutishvili) was a communist with a pre-Revolutionary socialist pedigree, who, after serving in high positions within the Soviet…
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Moscow Nose-Dives in Global Living Cost Rankings
Moscow’s cost-of-living ranking has plummeted over the past year in comparison to other cities worldwide, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living survey has found. The decrease in living costs is linked to high inflation and currency deprivation, the survey reported. The Russian capital has fallen 16 places from 86th to 102nd in the…
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Hyundai Signs Deal With Russia’s Yandex for Autonomous Cars
A Hyundai Motor Group unit and Russia’s biggest technology company Yandex NV will jointly develop autonomous vehicles based the South Korean automotive giant’s cars. Carmakers and tech companies are racing to rollout self-driving cars. Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and BMW have set aside traditional rivalries, while Volvo Cars and Baidu Inc. have joined forces to develop…
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Alexey Miller and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic discuss main areas of cooperation
Release March 19, 2019, 12:20 A Gazprom delegation headed by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee, paid a working visit to Serbia today. As part of the visit, Alexey Miller met with Aleksandar Vucic, President of the Republic of Serbia, in Belgrade. The parties discussed the main areas of their cooperation, focusing, in particular, on the beginning of the construction of the Pancevo TPP which is going to become the first combined cycle…
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OPEC’s Missing Meeting Shows Strain in Saudi-Russia Alliance
The partnership at the heart of the OPEC+ alliance showed further signs of strain after Russia pressured the Saudi-led group to delay a decision on the future of their production cuts. The unusual recommendation to cancel next month’s scheduled meeting means the group probably won’t decide whether to prolong its supply curbs until late June,…
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EU Citizen Abused in Russian Jail – Jehovah’s Witnesses
An EU citizen has been placed in solitary confinement, denied visitation with his wife and subjected to a grueling daily regimen while awaiting trial in central Russia, the Jehovah’s Witnesses told The Moscow Times. The federal penitentiary service of Kirov region did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Andrzej Oniszczuk, 50, was one of…
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Michael Calvey: ‘I Don’t Want to Politicize’ Fraud Arrest
U.S. investor Michael Calvey wants to steer away from the politicization of his detention on suspicion of multimillion dollar fraud in Russia, he told Russian tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets in an interview. “I don’t want to politicize this story and try to distance myself from everything that could lead to that,” Calvey told the Moskovsky Komsomolets…
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Court in Chechnya Sentences Rights Activist to Four Years in Penal Colony
A court in Chechnya on Monday sentenced Oyub Titiyev, a prominent human rights activist, to four years in a penal settlement after finding him guilty of possessing illegal drugs, a charge his supporters say was trumped up. Titiyev, who runs the office of the Memorial Human Rights Center in the southern Russian region, was detained in…
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Court Returns Case of Detained American Teacher to Prosecutors
A court in Moscow has returned to the prosecutors a case against American national Gaylen Grandstaff who faces 20 years in Russian prison for ordering a cleaning product containing a chemical banned in Russia. The judge in the case has decided to release Grandstaff from the pre-detention facility before the second hearing. “The court returned…
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Russia Secures $2Bln Fighter Jet Contract With Egypt — Reports
Russia has signed a $2 billion contract for the supply of more than 20 Su-35 fighter jets to Egypt, the Kommersant news daily reported on Monday, citing two senior defense industry officials. Russia has become one of Egypt’s largest arms suppliers as Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has developed friendly ties with President Vladimir Putin. The…
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Siberian City Holds Unauthorized Protest After Rape Blamed on Migrants
Residents in the Siberian city of Yakutsk held an unauthorized rally on Sunday after unconfirmed reports alleged that Central Asian migrants raped a local woman. On March 17, a female Yakutsk resident was kidnapped and raped, then fled after her captor fell asleep, the Yakutsk Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. A source in the…
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Russian Footballer Pogrebnyak Could Face Ban Over ‘Racist’ Comments
The Russian Football Union (RFS) is set to investigate controversial remarks made by veteran international striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, local media reported on Sunday. Pogrebnyak, who has 33 caps with Russia, came under scrutiny after he commented on the race of Brazilian-born, naturalized Russian striker Ariclenes da Silva Ferreira, also known as Ari, who has two…
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Crimeans Mark Five Years of Russian Rule With Cossacks, Eagles and Bikers
Russia celebrated the fifth anniversary of its takeover of Crimea with pomp and pride this weekend. The festivities will reach their peak on Monday when Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to open two new power stations, sealing Crimea’s economic integration with Russia. Patriotic fervor ran high on the peninsula as a giant bronze double-headed eagle—an…
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Crimeans Take to the Streets in Celebrations, in Photos
The pro-Kremlin Night Wolves motorcycle gang staged a celebratory concert outside Sevastopol on Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The event was marked by patriotic fervor and featured a display of military equipment, a rock concert, the unfurling of the largest Russian flag in the world and an awards ceremony…
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Russia Still Paying Price for Crimea Five Years After Annexation
Half a decade has passed since Vladimir Putin annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. For Russia, the costs continue to mount. The accession treaty signed to bring the Black Sea territory into Moscow’s fold is still unrecognized by most countries and the U.S. and European Union led a broad effort to punish Russia with sanctions. Undeterred, Russia…
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Russia Will Respond to New EU Sanctions — Reports
Russia will respond to new European Union sanctions, its Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, without saying what action it would take. The EU on Friday added eight more Russians to its sanctions list over a stand-off between Russia and Ukraine in the Azov Sea, including senior security service officials and military commanders that the EU accuses of preventing Ukrainian…
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Tycoon Deripaska Sues U.S. Over Sanctions
Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska sued the United States on Friday, alleging that it had overstepped its legal bounds in imposing sanctions on him and made him the “latest victim” in the U.S. probe into Moscow’s alleged election interference. In what legal experts called a long shot attempt, Deripaska asked a federal court in Washington to…
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Thousands March in Crimea to Mark Fifth Anniversary of Russia’s Annexation
Thousands of people marched in Crimea’s capital city of Simferopol on Friday in an event staged by Moscow-backed authorities to mark the fifth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine. While participants waved flags and sang songs of celebration, many of them told The Moscow Times that the dramatic increase in living standards…
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Alexey Miller and Francois Fillon discuss current trends in European gas market
Release March 15, 2019, 18:50 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Francois Fillon, French politician, took place today in St. Petersburg. The parties touched upon the current trends in the French and European gas markets, while also highlighting the successful operation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and the importance of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction for…
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Demand for Russian gas in France continues to grow
March 15, 2019, 18:45 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom, and Isabelle Kocher, CEO of ENGIE, took place in St. Petersburg today. Through their respective representants, Gazprom and ENGIE discussed current Russian gas supplies to France. By the end of 2018, Gazprom increased gas exports to the Republic on 5.4% compared with 2017 – to 12.9 billion cubic meters. At the beginning…
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Russia’s Aeroflot Will Cancel Boeing 737 Max Order If Safety Issue Not Solved
Russia’s national flag carrier Aeroflot will cancel its order of 20 Boeing 737 Max planes unless Boeing is able to guarantee the plane’s safety after Sunday’s deadly crash in Ethiopia by November, Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyev said on Friday. Aeroflot has ordered 20 Boeing 737 Max planes for its low-cost subsidiary Pobeda and Boeing is…
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U.S. Asks Russia for Proof Detained Ex-Marine Is a Spy
The United States on Friday asked why Russia had not provided any evidence to back up its accusation that Paul Whelan, a detained former U.S. marine, was a spy, a day after Whelan alleged he was being mistreated by a “kangaroo court.” Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained in a Moscow hotel…
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Russian Lawmaker Detained on $49M Bribe-Taking Charges
A Russian State Duma deputy from a small opposition party has been detained on suspicion of accepting 3.2 billion rubles ($49 million) in cooperation with a former governor. Vadim Belousov, 58, had been deprived of official immunity in December in connection with a bribery investigation into fugitive ex-Chelyabinsk region governor Mikhail Yurevich. His detention follows…
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Russia Calls for U.S. Dialogue With North Korea to Continue
Russia wants dialogue between North Korea and the United States to continue, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying on Friday. North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hu said earlier on Friday that North Korea was considering suspending its talks with the United States, the state-run TASS news…
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Russia Considers Tightening Alcohol Rules
Russia could raise the legal drinking age to 21 from 18 and restrict alcohol sales in residential areas this year, according to the RBC news website. The change would be part of President Vladimir Putin’s ambitious plan to overhaul Russia’s economy by the end of his last term in office. The total spend will be…
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Siberian Authorities Halt Construction of Lake Baikal Bottling Plant After Backlash
Authorities in Siberia have suspended the construction of a controversial Chinese bottling plant in the world’s largest fresh water lake following public outcry and pressure from the Kremlin. Residents in Irkutsk region criticized the Chinese-founded AquaSib company’s plans to bottle 190 million liters of water per year from Lake Baikal starting in 2021, saying the…
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