Day: September 2, 2019

  • Surviving Moscow as a Refugee DJ From Zimbabwe

    Surviving Moscow as a Refugee DJ From Zimbabwe

    Moscow hosted a new dance party last week featuring a line-up composed exclusively of refugees who are DJs. The Civic Assistance Committee, a Russian NGO that helps migrants in Moscow, hosted the event. Meet Simba, a DJ from Zimbabwe, as he shares the difficulties and hopes of life in Russia’s capital.

  • Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Rips New Space Center

    Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Rips New Space Center

    A series of corruption scandals, cost overruns and mishaps at Russia’s new Vostochny Cosmodrome have brought long-simmering questions about the leadership of the country’s space agency into public view. “The situation is unacceptable for everyone, including the construction of the first stage and the second stage” of the space center, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov…

  • ‘Create a New Society’: Russian Lawmakers Order Gene-Editing Tech

    ‘Create a New Society’: Russian Lawmakers Order Gene-Editing Tech

    Russian lawmakers have ordered a study on assisted human reproduction, including a cutting-edge and controversial gene-editing technology that would create a “new type of society.” New gene-editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 have made it possible to rearrange the genetic code much more precisely and at lower costs than before. A Chinese scientist caused outrage last…

  • Russia’s Young Innovators Build the Future at Rukami Festival

    Russia’s Young Innovators Build the Future at Rukami Festival

    More than 300 young inventors and innovators from across Russia put their ideas on display at the Rukami (“By hands”) Festival in Moscow this weekend. From smart lighting and parks for future cities to automatic systems for municipal solid waste, this event, centered around the theme of digital evolution, was full of new ideas for…

  • Alexey Miller and Moldova’s President Igor Dodon discuss prospects of cooperation in gas sector

    Alexey Miller and Moldova’s President Igor Dodon discuss prospects of cooperation in gas sector

    Background In 2018, Gazprom’s gas deliveries to the Republic of Moldova totaled 2.9 billion cubic meters of gas, an increase of 8.4 per cent against 2017 (2.7 billion cubic meters). According to preliminary data, about 1.9 billion cubic meters of gas was exported between January and August 2019, which is about the same level as last year. The contracts between Gazprom and Moldovagaz for gas supplies to and…

  • Kremlin Critic Khodorkovsky Wants Film to Open West’s Eyes About Putin’s Russia

    Kremlin Critic Khodorkovsky Wants Film to Open West’s Eyes About Putin’s Russia

    Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky hopes a new documentary film about his life chronicling his journey from being Russia’s richest man to an exiled dissident will open the West’s eyes to the nature of modern Russia. The film, “Citizen K,” was made by Oscar-winning U.S. filmmaker Alex Gibney and premiered at the Venice Film festival this…

  • Iran Says It Welcomes Russian Proposal For Security in Gulf

    Iran Says It Welcomes Russian Proposal For Security in Gulf

    Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Monday after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Tehran welcomed a Russian proposal for ensuring security in the Gulf. Iran and Russia’s energy ministers were also holding talks in Moscow on Monday, Lavrov told reporters at a joint news conference with Zarif. 

  • Tensions Are Flaring Between Georgia and Russia-Backed South Ossetia. Here’s What’s Happened

    Tensions Are Flaring Between Georgia and Russia-Backed South Ossetia. Here’s What’s Happened

    The international community has called for restraint as Georgia warned of a “serious confrontation” with the Russian-backed breakaway territory of South Ossetia last week. Only Moscow and a handful of other states have recognized the independence of South Ossetia after Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war over the region in August 2008. Russian troops…

  • Crimea Invites Iran to Use Its Ports as a U.S. Sanctions Workaround – Official

    Crimea Invites Iran to Use Its Ports as a U.S. Sanctions Workaround – Official

    Crimea has offered Iran access to its ports as a way for Tehran to avoid Western sanctions on oil exports, a senior official in the annexed region’s Kremlin-backed administration told Russian media. Iran is increasingly looking for alternative trade routes to skirt tensions in the Persian Gulf brought on by U.S. sanctions. The OPEC member’s…