Opposition politicians are facing mounting challenges from officials in St. Petersburg in getting on the ballot ahead of local elections this fall, Russian media outlets have reported. Voters in over a dozen Russian regions and cities, including St. Petersburg, will head to the polls in September to elect their executive and legislative representatives. Observers have…
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a formal diplomatic protest to Japan after accusing Tokyo of circulating a map at its G20 summit showing a disputed island chain as Japanese territory, the ministry’s spokeswoman said on Thursday. The islands — known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuriles in Russia — have been…
The construction and testing of Russia’s first power plant are declared completed. On Thursday morning the installation was officially handed over from Baltic Yard to Rosatom. At the ceremony, representatives of two Russian state companies signed a document saying that the Akademik Lomonosov passed all necessary tests and successfully met requirements. “It marks a significant…
Release July 4, 2019, 15:10 Sergey Kupriyanov has been appointed Head of Department 106 – Press Secretary to Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, effective July 9, 2019. Sergey Kupriyanov has been employed with Gazprom since 2003. In his previous post at the Company, he served as Press Secretary to Chairman of the Management Committee – Deputy Head of Department 106. Alexander Bespalov, former Head of Department 106, has…
The 15,469-ton installation earlier called “Nan Hai Ba Hao” has been discharged from a heavy-lift vessel Red Zed I and is now ready to start working in the Kola Bay. According to the Russian port management authority Rosmorport, the operation was conducted on June 30 and included complicated navigational exercises. The rig will be located…
Vladimir Putin is too busy to think about what happens after his presidency comes to an end. Questions of succession have surrounded the year 2024, when current law requires Putin to step down after two consecutive terms. Observers have speculated that he could keep a grip on power through possible integration with neighboring close ally…
HIV infections are on the rise and are increasingly affecting Russia’s older population, according to a consumer watchdog report cited by the RBC news website. More than 1.2 million people live with HIV in Russia, a figure experts say is likely underreported and that the World Health Organization warns is at risk of spinning out…
Rosneft published Sustainability Report following the results of 2018. The Report was prepared in accordance with the sustainable development reporting standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI standards) to be able to focus on the most significant areas of sustainable development as seen by the stakeholders. The report contains a number of topics related to…
Women in Russia will be allowed to work as truck drivers and serve in the navy under new rules taking effect in 2021, the RBC news website reported Thursday. The Russian government bans women from holding 456 jobs in 38 industries that entail physically strenuous tasks or harmful working conditions. The restrictions have been unchanged…
Russian President Vladimir Putin disclosed on Thursday for the first time that a secret military submarine hit by a fatal fire three days ago was nuclear-powered, prompting Russia‘s defense minister to assure him its reactor had been safely contained. Russian officials have faced accusations of trying to cover up the full details of the accident that…
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Pope Francis on Thursday, a day before Ukraine’s Catholic leaders were due at the Vatican to discuss their country’s crisis, and amid speculation that his visit could be a prelude to the first trip by a pope to Russia. “Thank you for the time you have dedicated to me,” Putin…
Russians are buying up property in neighboring Georgia and in Turkey despite political tensions, according to research cited by Russia’s Kommersant business daily. Demand for foreign real estate among Russians has surged by 70 percent between 2016 and 2018, with Bulgaria, Turkey and Spain grabbing top spots. Experts say tight Western sanctions at home combined…
Svetlana Semyonova, 32, returned to her devastated home after abandoning it last week as a flood was sweeping through the region to find furniture broken, her daughters’ Disney wallpaper sodden and debris everywhere. “It’s all destroyed,” said Semyonova on Tuesday standing in her children’s room, gesturing at a pile of furniture she will have to…