The head of Russia’s smallest region has resigned following months of controversy over a land-swap deal with the neighboring republic of Chechnya, Russian media have reported. Residents of the North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia first took to the streets against the border-swap agreement signed with Chechnya in fall 2018. Violent protests reignited in March as…
Georgia’s economy could lose up to $300 million annually from the absence of Russian tourists amid tensions between the ex-Soviet neighbors, Georgian analysts estimate. Angry protests erupted in Tbilisi after a Russian lawmaker’s visit last week, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to suspend flights to Georgia, a popular vacation destination for Russians, as of July…
News from projects and regions June 24, 2019, 17:00 Photos On June 23, a cultural and educational event named Sunday in the Radishchev State Art Museum took place in Saratov. During the event organized by Gazprom Transgaz Saratov, over 1,200 residents and guests of the city of Saratov took the opportunity to visit one of the main points of interest in the region. The entrance to the museum’s…
Bolshoi and Moscow ballet Cultural life in the Russian capital usually begins to slow down a bit in the summer, as theater troupes head out on tour, museums start gearing up for the autumn openings, and movie theaters are filled with Hollywood blockbusters. You wouldn’t know it by the premieres and openings at the end…
Cultural life in the Russian capital usually begins to slow down a bit in the summer, as theater troupes head out on tour, museums start gearing up for the autumn openings, and movie theaters are filled with Hollywood blockbusters. You wouldn’t know it by the premieres and openings at the end of last week. On…
Nearly half of Russians say they wouldn’t support a switch to a four-day work week over fears that it would reduce their earnings, a new poll has said. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that a shift to a four-day work week is “very likely” to happen as a way to help workers…
News from projects and regions June 24, 2019, 16:30 Photos On June 22, the second extreme cross-country run named At the Limit took place in the Pangody settlement (Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area), gathering 140 athletes in 35 teams from seven subsidiaries of Gazprom: Gazprom Dobycha Nadym, Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy, Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg, Gazprom Transgaz Yugorsk, Gazprom Pererabotka, Gazprom Energo, and Novy Urengoy…
While the summer solstice is more commonly marked with parties, fireworks and picnics in today’s Russia, there’s plenty of history behind the rituals that preceded modern-day celebrations. Ancient tribes that inhabited this part of the world celebrated with fire, water, song, dance and rituals. Called the Night of Ivan Kupala (from the word “to bathe”),…
Prominent businessman David Yakobashvili told Interfax news agency on Monday he did not plan to return to Russia after security services searched his art gallery, though he later denied this was the reason for his staying away. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) searched a Moscow art gallery owned by Yakobashvili earlier this month as part…
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday extending a Russian ban on food imports from the European Union until the end of 2020, according to a government database. Russia imposed an embargo on a wide range of imports from the EU and other countries in 2014 in retaliation for international sanctions over Moscow’s role…
The Islamic State (IS) terror group has claimed responsibility for a gun attack on security officials in Russia’s republic of Chechnya, the online monitor Site Intelligence Group reported on Sunday. IS has claimed a series of attacks over the past year in Chechnya, a predominately Muslim republic in Russia’s North Caucasus. An estimated 3,400 Russians fought…
The U.S. deployment of land-based missile systems near Russia’s borders could lead to a stand-off comparable to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying on Monday. Russia has been fiercely critical of U.S. plans to deploy missile systems in eastern Europe, and of Washington’s withdrawal from the…
A majority of Russians believe that the Soviet system took care of the common man and woman, according to a recent poll by the independent Levada Center pollster. Russia has seen an upward trend in positive opinions about the Soviet Union in recent years, with nostalgia toward it hitting a 14-year high in December. Public…
Ex-Soviet Georgia is in the grip of a wave of Russophobic hysteria which is being artificially whipped up and is getting worse, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. He said Russia was not imposing sanctions on Tbilisi, but had been forced to halt Russian airline flights to Georgia to protect its citizens after violent…
Russia and its partners will take steps to counter new sanctions that Washington has said it will impose on Iran, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies on Monday. In the comments reported by the state-run TASS and RIA news agencies, Ryabkov did not specify what those steps would…
St. Petersburg is famous for its midsummer celebrations when the night skies never reach complete darkness due to the city’s northern location. The most spectacular celebration of them all took place this weekend: “Aliye Parusa,” or Scarlet Sails. Officially a celebration for high school graduates, the event has evolved into a celebration for the whole…