Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Ahead of Eastern Ukraine Peace Talks, Putin Is Sitting Pretty
It has been more than three years since the leaders of Russia and Ukraine sat down with their counterparts in France and Germany to thrash out a deal aimed at finally bringing an end to the conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev’s forces in eastern Ukraine. On Monday, after repeated fits and starts, Russian President…
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No Russia Agreement, No Donbass, Warns Ukraine
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
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Music and More Awarded in Moscow
November is one of the awards months in the Russian capital, starting with the Snob magazine “Made in Russia” awards on Nov. 13. Held for the eighth time at the Malaya Bronnaya Theater, the “Made in Russia” prize is awarded to the best thing that has happened in the country in a year in the…
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ROSATOM subsidiary awards contract for construction of BREST-OD-300 fast reactor facility and power unit
Siberian Chemical Plant (a subsidiary of TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM in Seversk, Tomsk region, West Siberia) has signed the contract with Concern Titan-2 engineering company for construction and installation works within the project of BREST-OD-300 lead-cooled fast neutron reactor facility. The total contract value is 26.3 billion rubles. The contractor will accomplish construction of…
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Russia Expels Bulgarian Diplomat in Tit-for-Tat Move
The Russian government has expelled a Bulgarian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move after Sofia asked Moscow to recall a diplomat on suspicion of espionage, Bulgaria’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. Bulgaria’s ambassador in Moscow, Atanas Krastin, has been informed that the diplomat must leave Russia within the next 24 hours in line with diplomatic protocol, the ministry said…
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Russian Parliament Demands Apology From Norway as Tensions Escalate
Senator Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Federation Council’s foreign affairs committee, and Rune Resaland, the Norwegian Ambassador to Russia, had a tense meeting Wednesday as they discussed the countries’ relations and the 2018 arrest of a Russian parliamentary aide. Kosachev told the Norwegian ambassador that there could be no normal cooperation between the two countries’…
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Russia’s Economic Policy to Underpin Economic Growth – World Bank
Economic growth in Russia will be higher than expected in 2019 and is likely to pick up in the next few years thanks partly to higher state spending and looser monetary policy, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Russia’s economic growth has waned this year as investment activity evaporates and consumer demand flatlines, but it…
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Russian Judges Eye Punishments for ‘Biased’ Media Coverage
Russian judges are considering punishing journalists and media outlets for “biased coverage” of the national court system, the Vedomosti business daily reported Thursday, a move that observers say would harm free speech in the country. The Russian judicial system’s 2020-2030 draft information policy obtained by Vedomosti aims to penalize the publication of “negative materials” about…
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Did Erdogan ‘Personally Authorize’ Shooting Down of Russian Jet?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan allegedly authorized the downing of a Russian warplane in an incident that briefly soured their relationship four years ago, the Turkey-focused Nordic Monitor website reported, citing a report to NATO it says it obtained. A Turkish F-16 interceptor shot down a Russian fighter-bomber near the Syrian border with an air-to-air…
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Navalny Links $50M Jet to Russian PM Medvedev’s Wife
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s wife jetsets on the government’s dime, prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has said in a new video published ahead of Medvedev’s annual end-of-year press conference with reporters from 20 television channels. Medvedev, the subject of Navalny’s viral 2017 investigation into corruption that has been viewed 32.7 million times, is scheduled…
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TVEL and Kozloduy NPP (Bulgaria) have contracted supplies of nuclear fuel through 2025
TVEL JSC and Kozloduy NPP have signed contractual documents for supplies of Russian nuclear fuel to the Bulgarian nuclear power plant for the period up to and including 2025. TVEL will continue to provide complete nuclear fuel supplies, which include not only fuel assemblies fabrication services, but also all antecedent stages of the production chain…
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Moscow Tears Down Historic Soviet Cinema
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
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RASU JSC and Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Sign Partnership Agreement
December 04, 2019 – Rusatom Automated Control Systems JSC (RASU JSC) and the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution for Higher Education “Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University” (FSAEI HE SPbPU) signed an agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation in science and technology on the sidelines of Power Grids International Forum in Moscow. The document…
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‘We Don’t Call It Annexation,’ Kazakh Leader Says of Crimea
Kazakhstan doesn’t believe that Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, its new leader said in an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle news outlet published Wednesday. Kazakh President Kassym Jomart-Tokayev appeared to tamp down concerns that, given northern Kazakhstan’s sizable ethnic Russian minority similar to Crimea’s, the Kremlin could seize parts of its…
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Germany Expels Two Russians in Dispute Over Killing of Georgian in Berlin
Germany said on Wednesday it had expelled two Russian embassy employees in protest over what it said was Moscow’s lack of cooperation in an investigation into the murder of a Georgian man in Berlin. German prosecutors suspect Russian or Chechen involvement in the murder of the man in a Berlin park in August. Russia has denied any involvement and…
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Investigation Names Alleged Killer of Chechen Rebel In Berlin
Investigative outlets Bellingcat and The Insider said Tuesday they have uncovered the real identity of the assassin of a Georgian citizen in Berlin in August, while The Wall Street Journal reported that Germany could impose sanctions on Russia for the murder. Germany arrested a man it identified as Vadim Sokolov on suspicion of killing Zelimkhan…
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Russia Deports South Asians Who Fell Victim to Fake EU Border Scam
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
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Russian Man Arrested Over Fake EU Border Scam
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
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Russian Apps Could Be ‘Counterintelligence Threat,’ FBI Says
The FBI is treating any mobile app that comes out of Russia as a “potential counterintelligence threat,” the U.S.’s top law enforcement agency said in a letter to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s concern arises in part from “the legal mechanisms available to the Government of Russia that permit access…
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Defected Pro-Kremlin Lawmaker Resettles in Germany
A former pro-Kremlin lawmaker who voted for a law banning U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children has resettled in Germany, the country’s Süddeutsche Zeitung daily reported Monday. Robert Schlegel supported the adoption ban, tried to push through a “fake news” bill, co-authored Russia’s “Google tax” and boasted about a 2007 cyberattack that crippled neighboring Estonia’s…
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Russia Accuses U.S. of Deliberately Delaying Visas for Its Officials
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
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U.S. Charges Russian Companies for Attempt to Evade Trade Sanctions
U.S. federal prosecutors have charged Russian, Italian and U.S. companies and several employees for allegedly trying to evade U.S. sanctions by providing a U.S.-manufactured power turbine to a Russian state-controlled business, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. The unidentified Russian company was barred from acquiring the turbine under U.S. sanctions imposed after Russia’s annexation…
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Russia Accuses Alleged U.S. Spy Whelan of Lying About Ill-Treatment in Jail
Russia on Tuesday accused a former U.S. Marine it has held for almost a year on spying charges of faking health problems in custody and lying about his ill-treatment, comments the U.S. Embassy rejected as factually inaccurate “pulp fiction.” Paul Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was accused of espionage after agents from Russia‘s…
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Russia to Make Investors Pass Exam Before Trading Shares
Millions of Russians will have to take a test to prove they understand financial markets if they want to carry on trading foreign stocks, under a central bank plan aimed at stemming potentially heavy losses among retail investors. The central bank had sought to limit access for non-professional investors, arguing that some lacked the knowledge…
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5 Things to Know About Russia’s Alleged Banker-TV Anchor Couple
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s latest investigation claims that state-owned bank CEO Andrei Kostin gifted millions of dollars worth of elite property, a private jet and a yacht to his alleged partner, state television journalist Nailya Asker-Zade. News outlets have previously covered the real estate transfers from VTB Bank CEO Kostin to Rossia state broadcaster…
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Putin Criticizes NATO Expansion as Alliance Holds London Summit
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
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Chairman of Gazprom Management Committee and Mongolia’s Prime Minister discuss cooperation prospects
Release December 3, 2019, 16:20 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Prime Minister of Mongolia, took place today in Moscow. The parties discussed the prospects of energy cooperation. It was also noted that in November 2019 Gazprom Export carried out the first small-scale delivery of Russian liquefied natural gas to Mongolia. Background On November 4, 2019, Gazprom Export delivered…
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Rosatom Signs Deal to Boost Russia’s Arctic Infrastructure
State nuclear agency Rosatom has confirmed it will take a stake in transport conglomerate Delo Group as part of Russia’s plans to capitalize on Arctic shipping routes. In a statement published on Rosatom’s website Tuesday, the organization said the deal would “launch a global international transport and logistics business” to develop Russia’s infrastructure and capacity…
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Russia Tightens Border Control Over Chinese Bubonic Plague Scare
Russia’s consumer protection watchdog has tightened border control measures last week after China reported a fresh case of the deadly and infectious bubonic plague in the country’s north. The diagnosis of a rural herder in China’s Inner Mongolia region marked the country’s fourth plague case since the start of November, Reuters reported Thursday. Three people…
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German Prosecutors Suspect Russia Connection to Georgian Killing in Berlin
German federal prosecutors believe Russian intelligence was involved in the August killing of a Georgian citizen in Berlin and want to take over the investigation, a legal source told Reuters on Tuesday, confirming a report by public broadcaster ARD. The measure could raise tensions between Germany — and other western countries — and Russia, after strains over…
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Kremlin Laughs Off Allegations of Possible U.K. Election Meddling
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it viewed suggestions from Western researchers that Russian hackers may have leaked British-U.S. trade documents before Britain’s election with derision, saying such allegations were often a ploy to deflect attention. Moscow was reacting after experts said the leak and distribution of the classified documents online resembled a disinformation campaign uncovered…
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TVEL completes the contract for supply of fuel pellets for Tarapur NPP (India)
TVEL JSC has shipped to India the final consignment of uranium fuel pellets for BWR reactors and thereby fulfilled the relevant contract with the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. The total volume of the supplied fuel pellets exceeded 50 tons, all shipments have carried out in 2019. The fuel pellets made…
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Writer and Historian Robert K. Massie, Dead at 90
On Dec. 2 Robert K. Massie, author and historian of Europe and pre-Revolutionary Russia, passed away in Irvington, New York at the age of 90. The cause was complications associated with Alzheimer’s. Massie’s works on Russian, European and military history sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. He began his literary career with “Nicholas and…
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RASU JSC concluded a memorandum of understanding with Assystem company in the field of design and implementation of automated process control systems
On December 3, within the framework of the International Forum “Electric Networks” (IFES), held in Moscow, Rusatom Automated Control Systems JSC (RASU JSC), part of ROSATOM, concluded a memorandum of understanding with Assystem French company in the field of consulting services for the design and implementation of industrial control systems. On the part of RASU…
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Russia Will Charge Sisters Who Killed Abusive Father With Premeditated Murder
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
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Russian Probe Blames Pilot for May Plane Crash That Killed 41
Russia has completed an investigation into a plane crash at a Moscow airport in May that killed 41 people, and plans to formally charge the pilot with causing death by negligence, the Kommersant business daily said. Citing an unidentified source close to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the state body that investigates major crimes, the paper said…
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Russian Mobile Operators Flag Security Loopholes in Sovereign Internet Law
Russia’s internet providers have asked the Kremlin to introduce changes to the new sovereign internet law to better protect user data, the RBC news website reported Tuesday. At a meeting with government officials last week, the country’s top telecoms firms highlighted loopholes in the controversial legislation which could give third parties access to swathes of…
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Russian Beauty Queen Fears for Son’s Safety After Divorcing Malaysian King
A Russian beauty queen’s fairytale ending has hit a dark turn following her divorce from a former Malaysian king. Oksana Voyevodina, who was named Miss Moscow 2015, has filed a police report over threats against her infant son, Interfax reported Monday. Voyevodina, 26, divorced Sultan Muhammad V, 50, this summer, a year after tying the…
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Russia Blocks U.S. Stock Photo Site’s Domain Over ‘Objectionable’ Content
Russia has blocked one of U.S. stock photography and footage provider Shutterstock’s domains over content it said constituted an insult to state symbols. The website of communications watchdog Roskomnadzor showed that one of the firm’s domains had been blocked in Russia as a result of a decision by the country’s Attorney General on Nov. 13. It did not…
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Russia Refused Dutch Request to Hand Over MH17 Suspect, Investigation Says
Russia has refused a Dutch request to hand over a suspect in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, in violation of European law, prosecutors said on Monday. Volodymyr Tsemakh, a Ukrainian national, had been identified as a suspect by the Netherlands, which is leading an investigation into the disaster on July 17, 2014 which…
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Russian Trans Woman Jailed for ‘Manga Porn’ Faces Life-Threatening Sentence
A Russian transgender woman with cancer who has been jailed for three years for sharing manga illustrations online faces a potentially life-threatening sentence, the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported. A court in the city of Bryansk southwest of Moscow reportedly found Michele, 53, guilty of “circulating pornography depicting minors” in the Japanese-style illustrations. An expert…
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Russia’s New ‘Foreign Agent’ Law, Explained
Russia has passed legislation that will allow individual journalists and bloggers to be labeled “foreign agents,” a move that critics say will tighten curbs on the media and free speech. At least nine news organizations funded by the U.S. government have been designated “foreign agents” under the original version of the law since it was…
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Russia Bans Sale of Smartphones Without Russian Apps
Russia will force tech companies to pre-install Russian-made government-approved applications and software onto new smartphones from next year. The measures — dubbed the “law against Apple” due to the U.S. iPhone maker’s refusal to sell products loaded with third-party apps — sailed through the Russian parliament and was rubber-stamped by President Vladimir Putin Monday. It…
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HIV Cases in Russia Surpass 1 Million – State Watchdog
The number of people living with HIV in Russia has surpassed 1 million as government officials have largely remained silent, Interfax reported, citing consumer protection watchdog data. More than 340,000 people with HIV have died in Russia since the first case was registered three decades ago, two-thirds of them since 2012, Iskander Yasaveyev, a sociologist…
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Tajik Remittances From Russia Could Stop – Kommersant
Tajikistan’s move toward a money-transfer monopoly risks complicating or cutting off remittances from Russia as early as Tuesday, the Kommersant business daily reported. Ex-Soviet Tajikistan relies heavily on millions of its migrant workers in Russia sending money back home. The World Bank puts the Central Asian republic near the top of its list of the…
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3 Russian Military Police Injured in Bomb Attack on Syrian Border
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
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Are Russia and Belarus Creating a Unified Cabinet and Parliament?
Russian-language media was abuzz after Belarus’ top diplomat in Moscow said the countries are working toward creating a single parliament and cabinet of ministers. Talks to deepen Russian-Belarussian integration have taken on greater significance amid discussions that President Vladimir Putin could extend his rule past his current term limit by taking on the leadership of…
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Russia to Upgrade Homegrown Encyclopedia to Replace ‘Unreliable’ Wikipedia
Russia is to set up a new online site for its national encyclopedia after President Vladimir Putin said Wikipedia was unreliable and should be replaced. The move will ensure people can find “reliable information that is constantly updated on the basis of scientifically verified sources of knowledge,” a government resolution said. Putin last month proposed…
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Everyday Life in the Moscow Metro
A lot has changed since the first stations of the Moscow metro were opened in 1935. Over the decades, World War II, perestroika and the collapse of the U.S.S.R. have all radically changed life for Muscovites. One thing has remained constant, however: The importance of the metro in residents’ lives. It’s more than just a…
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Russians Embrace Black Friday Sales
Russian shoppers spent 30% more in Black Friday online sales this year than they did in 2018, the head of Russia’s internet retail association said Monday. Despite not celebrating Thanksgiving, Russian retailers and consumers still embraced the shopping bonanza that kicks off the day after the U.S. holiday. In total, Russians spent 22.3 billion rubles…
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Turkey Says Purchase Date for New S-400 Russian Missiles Is Just a ‘Technicality’
As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…
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Gazprom commences pipeline supplies of Russian gas to China
Release December 2, 2019, 13:05 Power of Siberia gas pipeline has come onstream. Gas production center has been set up in Yakutia. Conditions for further gas grid expansion have been created in eastern Russia. A ceremonial event marking the start of first-ever pipeline supplies of Russian gas to China via the eastern route – the Power of Siberia gas trunkline – took place today. Taking part in the event…
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Art Exhibition of 18th Century British Artist Thomas Gainsborough Opens in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts with Support by Rosneft
Rosneft has been the general sponsor of the art exhibition of Thomas Gainsborough, a brilliant portraitist and painter, the brightest and most original representative of his era, one of the founders of the British arts school of 18th century.
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Gazprom completes construction of gas pipeline branch to town of Tsiolkovsky
Release December 2, 2019, 09:40 Power of Siberia is facilitating gas grid expansion in Amur Region. About 3,000 permanent jobs will be created at Amur GPP. A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Vasily Orlov, Governor of the Amur Region, took place today in Blagoveshchensk. The parties discussed issues related to enhancing their strategic cooperation in light of the start-up of the Power of Siberia gas…
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Karelsky Okatysh received high product quality ratig by voestalpie
December 2, 2019 Karelsky Okatysh, the leading plant for the extraction and processing of iron ore in Russia (part of PAO Severstal), has been commended by one of its largest customers – voestalpine AG, which it supplies with fluxed iron ore pellets. In a letter from voestalpine’s headquarters in Linz, Austria, the leading global technology…
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19 People Killed in Bus Crash in Russia’s Far East
Nineteen passengers died when a bus skidded off a bridge in Russia‘s far east on Sunday and plunged into a river, local government said. “According to updated information, 19 people died, 21 have various injuries,” the local government for the Zabaikalsk region said in a statement. Russia‘s emergencies ministry said in a statement on its website…
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On This Day in 1934 Sergei Kirov Was Killed
On Dec. 1, 1934 Sergei Kirov, Party boss of Leningrad, was gunned down as he left his office. In the Soviet Union, this case turned out to be like the Kennedy assassination in the U.S.: a charismatic leader murdered in his prime by a lone assassin, whose death would burnish his memory and go on…
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Apple ‘Taking a Deeper Look’ at Map Policies After Calling Crimea Part of Russia
Apple Inc is “taking a deeper look at how we handle disputed borders” after it referred to the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula as part of Russia in its Maps and Weather apps for Russian users, a company spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told Reuters that Apple has not made any changes to its maps outside of Russia and…
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Russia Tests Hypersonic Missile in Arctic
Russia‘s MiG-31K interceptor jet carried out a test of the Kinjal (Dagger) hypersonic missile in Russia‘s part of Arctic earlier this month, TASS new agency reported on Saturday, citing two military sources. The report came a day after Danish intelligence service warned of intensifying geopolitical rivalry in the Earth’s freezing North, and said that China’s military…
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‘The Connection’ by Daniil Kharms
Daniil Kharms was born Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachyov in St. Petersburg in 1905. His father, a former member of the revolutionary group The People’s Will who had been imprisoned and exiled in his younger years, was a professor of philosophy. Kharms first went to school in Tsarskoye Selo and then attended the German Peterschule, where he…
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