Day: June 5, 2019

  • Kremlin Says D-Day Wasn’t Decisive in Ending World War II

    Kremlin Says D-Day Wasn’t Decisive in Ending World War II

    Russia told the West on Wednesday the Normandy landings on D-Day in 1944 did not play a decisive role in ending World War II and that the Allied war effort should not be exaggerated. Moscow’s comments might irk war veterans in Britain where the 75th anniversary on Wednesday of the largest seaborne invasion in history was marked at…

  • Lyons Hall of Catherine Palace restored with support from Gazprom and ENGIE

    Lyons Hall of Catherine Palace restored with support from Gazprom and ENGIE

    Release June 5, 2019, 19:45 Photos The Lyons Hall of the Catherine Palace at the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum Preserve (Pushkin, St. Petersburg) was reopened today after a restoration carried out with the support from Gazprom and the ENGIE Foundation (France). The unveiling ceremony was attended by Olga Golodets, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Sylvie Bermann, Ambassador Extraordinary…

  • Revived Russian Volcano Could Cause ‘Pompeii-Like’ Destruction, Scientists Warn

    Revived Russian Volcano Could Cause ‘Pompeii-Like’ Destruction, Scientists Warn

    An extinct volcano that has awoken in Far East Russia could unleash destruction not seen since the ancient Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed by volcanic eruption nearly 2,000 years ago, scientists warn. Geophysicists said in new research that increased seismicity and “magma intrusions” measured at the Bolshaya Udina volcano since late 2017 justify its…

  • Russia and China signed the contract for Russian-designed NPP construction on the new site

    5th June 2019, Moscow – A general contract for Russian-designed power units No. 3 and No. 4 construction with VVER-1200 reactors at Xudapu nuclear power plant was signed on June 5 in Moscow in presence of heads of Russia and China. The official signing ceremony took place during President of China Xi Jinping state visit…

  • One in Four Russians Willing to Give Up Plastic Bags – Poll

    One in Four Russians Willing to Give Up Plastic Bags – Poll

    Almost 40 percent of Russians would consider no longer using plastic bags, according to a state-funded survey published on World Environment Day. The UN’s World Environment Day takes place on June 5 every year to raise environmental awareness. Greenpeace estimates that more than 26 billion plastic bags are handed out annually in shops across Russia. A total…

  • Rosneft Allocates over 370 Billion Roubles for Environmental Activities in Five Years

    Rosneft Allocates over 370 Billion Roubles for Environmental Activities in Five Years

    Environment protection is one of the priorities for Rosneft. The Company has allocated more than 370 billion roubles for environmental activities over the past five years. In December 2018, the Company approved its public statement — “Rosneft: contributing to implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals”, confirming its commitment to high social and ecological standards.…

  • Russia’s FSB Is Interrogating Teens Over Essay Competition, NGO Warns

    Russia’s FSB Is Interrogating Teens Over Essay Competition, NGO Warns

    Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers are intimidating high schoolers who won a history essay competition, the Memorial human rights group has said. Memorial has organized the history essay-writing contest for high school students since 1999. The NGO was labeled a “foreign agent” in 2016 under a Russian law targeting organizations that take part in…

  • China, Russia Say They Will Upgrade Relations for New Era

    China, Russia Say They Will Upgrade Relations for New Era

    China and Russia agreed on Wednesday to upgrade their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. The decision was made at a meeting between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. news China’s Panda Diplomacy Puts a Smile on ‘Best Friend’ Putin’s Face Read more During…

  • Russia Proposes Slovakia Join Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream

    Russia Proposes Slovakia Join Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream

    Russia and Slovakia are in talks about Bratislava joining the Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream gas pipeline projects, Russian news agencies quoted Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as saying on Wednesday. “We need to find common points and mutually beneficial cooperation areas concerning connecting Slovakia to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, as well as to…

  • ROSATOM will continue to supply Slovakia’s NPPs with nuclear fuel

    TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM and the Slovak power generation company Slovenské elektrárne a.s. have signed contractual documents on supply of nuclear fuel to nuclear power plants in Slovakia for 2022-2026 with the possibility of the contract extension to 2030. The agreements have been negotiated following the victory of TVEL in the public international tender…

  • ROSATOM will continue to supply Slovakia’s NPPs with nuclear fuel

    TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM and the Slovak power generation company Slovenské elektrárne a.s. have signed contractual documents on supply of nuclear fuel to nuclear power plants in Slovakia for 2022-2026 with the possibility of the contract extension to 2030. The agreements have been negotiated following the victory of TVEL in the public international tender…

  • Most Russian Ministries Lack Online Transparency — Study

    Most Russian Ministries Lack Online Transparency — Study

    Only four out of Russia’s 22 ministry websites are transparent, a government audit has revealed. Experts commissioned by Russia’s Audit Chamber assessed the ministries’ openness of information, data and dialogue, assigning a letter grade to each of the three categories. Only the interior, culture, finance and energy ministries received AAA ratings, according to the study…

  • Russia and Slovakia strengthen their partnership in the nuclear sphere

    On June 5, 2019, during the visit of Prime Minister of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini to Moscow, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes was signed between ROSATOM and Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic. On the part of ROSATOM, the document was signed by Director General…

  • Ex-U.S. Marine Illegally Isolated by Russia in Spy Case – Activists

    Ex-U.S. Marine Illegally Isolated by Russia in Spy Case – Activists

    A former U.S. Marine held in Russia on suspicion of spying is being illegally isolated in a Moscow pre-trial detention center and prevented from communicating with visitors, Russian rights activists and U.S. diplomats said. Paul Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained in a Moscow hotel room on Dec. 28 and…

  • Arrested U.S. Investor’s Cameo Casts Shadow Over Putin’s Davos

    Arrested U.S. Investor’s Cameo Casts Shadow Over Putin’s Davos

    The good news for Russian President Vladimir Putin is that his premier investment event won’t be dominated this year by discussions about sanctions. The bad news is that attention will be fixed instead on the arrest of American private equity manager Michael Calvey. Calvey, who remained a Russia advocate even after sanctions caused foreign investment to shrivel…

  • Russia Ordered to Pay $1.8M Over Chechen Abductions

    Russia Ordered to Pay $1.8M Over Chechen Abductions

    Russia must pay $1.8 million to the families of 20 people abducted from Chechnya during separatist fighting in the 2000s, Europe’s top human rights court has ruled. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has in recent years awarded damages to the relatives of individuals who disappeared during the second Chechen war of 1999-2009. Activists…

  • U.S. Seeks Russian Support on Iran at Key Israel Meeting

    U.S. Seeks Russian Support on Iran at Key Israel Meeting

    The United States believes Russia may be more amenable than in the past to addressing U.S. and Israeli concerns about Iran’s influence, including in Syria, when national security leaders meet in Jerusalem this month, a U.S. official said on Tuesday. The United States announced last week that John Bolton, White House national security adviser, would…

  • World Bank Cuts Russia’s 2019 Economic Forecast

    World Bank Cuts Russia’s 2019 Economic Forecast

    The Russian economy will grow by 1.2 percent in 2019, the World Bank said in at least the third downgrade Tuesday. The Washington-based institution previously downgraded its forecast of Russia’s growth from 1.8 percent to 1.5 percent in early 2019, then again to 1.4 percent in April. Its latest revision — made in the twice-yearly…

  • Half of Russians Are Worried About the Environment Where They Live — Survey

    Half of Russians Are Worried About the Environment Where They Live — Survey

    Almost half of Russians are concerned about the environment in their regions, according to a study by the Moscow-based NAFI Research Center obtained by the state-run TASS news agency. Environmental issues have taken center stage at protest rallies across Russia over the past year, with citizens drawing attention to concerns including landfills, air pollution and…

  • U.S. and Russia Spar Over ‘Unsafe’ Spy Plane Intercept Near Syria

    U.S. and Russia Spar Over ‘Unsafe’ Spy Plane Intercept Near Syria

    A Russian fighter jet made a dangerous high-speed pass that put a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft at risk during an intercept over the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, the U.S. Sixth Fleet said, but Moscow said its pilot had behaved responsibly. “While the Russian aircraft was operating in international airspace, this interaction was irresponsible,” the Sixth…