St Petersburg’s landmark cathedral to get patriarchal status

Several other churches in Russia, including Moscow’s Cathedral of the Savior, have this status The status of the Patriarchal Cathedral that St Petersburg’s landmark Cathedral of St Isaac may get after its transfer to the administrative control of the Russian Orthodox Church will impart special spiritual significance to it, Alexander Volkov, the press secretary of…

Cheat Sheet for Говорить

The other day I tried to trot out an expression using the words говорить (to speak), так (so) and не (not), and got completely balled up. Now to make sure you don’t make the same mistakes, here’s my говорить cheat sheet.

baby names

Russia’s upper house passes law banning bizarre baby names

The law will ban figures, abbreviations, numerals, obscene words and titles or positions as baby names Russia’s Federation Council upper house of parliament passed on Wednesday the bill, which bans parents from officially giving their babies names that are foul words, numbers, titles or abbreviations. The law will ban figures, abbreviations, numerals, symbols and characters,…

Re-enactment of WWII Battle of Berlin staged in Moscow

Re-enactment of WWII Battle of Berlin staged in Moscow

The audience got to see tank fights, aviation duels, as well as infantry clashes More than a hundred stuntmen, trophy German armored vehicles and restored WWII-era Soviet tanks took part in the re-enactment of the Red Army’s storming of the Reichstag along with the Battle of Berlin in Patriot Park near Moscow. According to the…

to be buried

Poll shows two-thirds of Russians want Lenin to be buried

The poll indicated that 39% of the respondents consider the Lenin Mausoleum a tourist attraction and are indifferent to the issue Most Russians (63%) have agreed with the idea that Lenin’s body should be buried, last year this figure was 60%, a survey conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center showed on Friday. “The…

n Egypt

Monument to Russian poet Alexander Pushkin unveiled in Egypt

The initiative for putting up the bust of the legendary Russian poet in Cairo came from the Egyptian Association of Graduates of Russian Universities and the Russian Center for Science and Culture A monument to the landmark Russian classical poet and writer Alexander Pushkin was unveiled in downtown Cairo on Thursday. A gala ceremony took…

Russian MPs pressing for Lenin to be laid to rest

The legislators also cited the position of the Russian Orthodox Church that Lenin should have been buried some 25 years ago A group of Russian lawmakers has submitted a bill to the lower house of parliament demanding to remove the remains of Bolshevik revolution leader Vladimir Lenin from Moscow’s Red Square, the press service of…

safety plan

Putin approves Russia’s environmental safety plan

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on the country’s environmental safety strategy for the period up to 2025, according to a respective document posted on the online portal of legal information on Thursday. The government has to approve a plan of measures to implement the strategy within three months, the decree says. More:…

into Europe

Spring blossoms under the snow: winter blows back into Europe

Parts of central Europe have experienced “winter comeback” over the past few days Сold weather brought snow to parts of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Poland and the Balkans. Record low temperatures also hit Central Russia and Ukraine. Take a look at the bizarre weather aftermath in European cities. More: //tass.com/society/942342

Facebook unblocks account of Russian embassy in Slovakia

Facebook unblocks account of Russian embassy in Slovakia

Facebook unblocked the embassy’s account after sorting the situation out and ensuring that the account actually belonged to the Russian embassy Facebook has unblocked the official account of the Russian embassy in Slovakia, the embassy’s spokesperson Nikolai Levshunov told TASS. “The page is available again,” he said. “Unlike the fake account, this page contains truthful…

tass.com/society/942162

Scientists study reindeer migration across Putorana Plateau

The Putorana Plateau is a mountainous range south from Russia’s Taymyr Peninsula Scientists of the Siberian Federal University will study migration routes of the reindeer across the Putorana Plateau in the Krasnoyarsk territory, the University’s press service said on Wednesday. The University’s expedition is working in Evenkiya to place seven satellite collars,” the University said.…

Airbnb Checks Out of Russia

The San Francisco rental site Airbnb came to Russia in 2012. It promised to usher in the era of the sharing economy—replacing Soviet-era kommunalkas with hipster apartments. Less than 5 years later, it’s gone.