On This Day in 1906 Dmitry Shostakovich Was Born

Russian composer and pianist Dmitry Shostakovich was born on Sept. 25, 1906 in St. Petersburg as the second of three children from a Polish Roman Catholic family with roots in Siberia.  He would become known as one of Russia’s greatest 20th-century composers and a tenaciously resilient figure amid the Soviet Union’s crackdown on artists. Shostakovich’s…

Russian Military Specialists Arrive in Venezuela

A group of Russian military specialists has arrived in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, Russia’s Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source as saying on Wednesday. The report did not say how many specialists had been sent, but it cited another unnamed source saying they had been dispatched in order to service and carry out…

Putin Backs Venezuela Talks Rejected by Opposition Leader

Russian President Vladimir Putin backed negotiations between Venezuela’s government and opposition groups that have been rejected by the leader of the main opposition to President Nicolas Maduro. Last week, a group of Venezuelan opposition parties agreed to enter a dialogue with Maduro’s government. But larger groups, led by opposition leader Juan Guaido, rejected the move.…

UEFA Chooses St. Petersburg to Host 2021 Champions League Final

St. Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena will host the final of the 2021 UEFA Champions League, the European football governing body’s executive committee announced Tuesday evening. It will be Russia’s second time hosting a Champions League final. In 2008, Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium saw Manchester United beat Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shoot-out. The competition’s final is one of the…

Cooperation with domestic companies fostering achievement of Gazprom’s strategic goals

Release September 24, 2019, 20:05 The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information about the engagement of Russian industrial and machine-building enterprises in the implementation of the Company’s strategic goals. It was highlighted that Gazprom is focused on further improving its operational efficiency and maintaining technological leadership among energy companies. These efforts are being carried out in a systematic manner within the Company’s Innovative Development…

Moscow-Kazan Highway Delayed Until 2027 – Vedomosti

Russia’s Transportation Ministry expects to build a toll road linking Moscow with the city of Kazan by 2027, three years after its original planned completion date, the Vedomosti business daily has reported. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov last week authorized the Transportation Ministry to start building two sections of the Moscow-Kazan highway. The toll road is…

Russia Produces Its First Lab-Grown Meat Sample

A Russian lab says it has produced the country’s first artificially grown piece of meat, opening up possibilities for a sustainable alternative to traditional meat products for the country’s consumers. The idea of “cultivating” meat in labs using in vitro animal cells has gained worldwide popularity over the past several years as a more ethical…

Russia Summons Senior U.S. Diplomat Over UN Visa Row

Russia on Tuesday summoned a senior U.S. diplomat in Moscow to protest over what it said was Washington’s unacceptable refusal to issue visas to members of a Russian delegation traveling to the United Nations General Assembly. The Kremlin promised a tough response and said Jon Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, had been summoned to…

Russia Tests Face, Voice Recognition Ahead of eSIM Integration – Izvestia

Russia is testing face- and voice-recognition technology to identify mobile device users as it moves toward approving eSIM technology which allows consumers to switch easily between carriers, the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper has reported. The Central Bank is overseeing a pilot project that uses personal biometric data to remotely open accounts despite concerns over state surveillance,…

European Budget Airlines Push For St. Petersburg Flights

Europe’s three largest low-cost airlines have applied to fly in and out of St. Petersburg in a move that would increase tourism to Russia’s northern capital but has drawn criticism from Russian airlines. St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport could become the first Russian airport to permit “seventh freedom flights,” which allow international carriers to operate flights…

Russian Man Pleads Guilty in Massive JPMorgan Hack

A Russian man pleaded guilty on Monday to U.S. charges he took part in a massive computer hacking scheme that targeted JPMorgan Chase & Co and other financial services companies. Andrei Tyurin, 36, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to six counts including wire fraud and computer hacking conspiracy, admitting that he illegally obtained the…

Traditional Recipes Recreated With Flair

At Ruski, the chef likes to mix things up a bit, sometimes preparing traditional recipes authentically, sometimes recreating them with modern flair. Sugudai is a traditional northern dish made of fresh, uncooked fish such as salmon, dressed with oil, vinegar or other acidic ingredient, green onions, fresh herbs and salt and pepper. Here it is…

Alexey Miller and South Ossetian President Anatoly Bibilov discuss ongoing and future cooperation

Background In August 2009, Gazprom brought into operation the Dzuarikau – Tskhinval gas trunkline to provide direct gas supplies from the Russian Federation to South Ossetia. In April 2010, Gazprom and the Government of South Ossetia signed the Cooperation Agreement until 2029. Gazprom developed the General Scheme for gas infrastructure expansion in South Ossetia. The document provides for gas infrastructure expansion in some…

‘Circle of Light’ Shines Bright in Moscow

From Sept. 20 – 24, Moscow’s annual “Circle of Light” festival lights up the capital with dazzling displays of art, history, playful projections and more. Light designers and multimedia artists from around the world had the chance to reimagine the Russian capital’s iconic architecture for the festival, incorporating not just light, but also flame, lasers…

The Trump-Ukraine Scandal, Explained

A phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy has become a political flashpoint in Washington following reports that Trump repeatedly pressed Zelenskiy to investigate Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his son. The July 25 call has wide-ranging implications for Russia’s western neighbor Ukraine, which depends heavily on U.S. aid…

Gazprom and Uniper discuss cooperation-related issues

Release September 23, 2019, 17:25 The Coordination Council of Gazprom and Uniper for sci-tech cooperation and staff training & development held a meeting in the Krasnodar Territory. The Co-Chairmen of the Coordination Council – Sergey Khomyakov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Oleg Aksyutin, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Head of Department, and Andreas Schierenbeck, Chairman of the Management Board of Uniper – noted the…

Russia Gives Definitive Approval to Paris Climate Accord

Russia said it would implement the 2015 Paris Agreement to fight climate change after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday approved a government resolution signifying Moscow’s final acceptance of the deal. The same resolution said Russia would not technically ratify the accord however due to a legal nuance. Medvedev said Moscow would adapt the accord to existing legal…

Russia Facing Potential Olympic Ban After WADA Cites ‘Inconsistent’ Data

Russia is once again in danger of being banned from next year’s Olympics after the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed that historical data supplied by the country’s anti-doping authority contained “inconsistencies.” WADA said on Monday it had opened compliance proceedings against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) after examining the vast bank of historical testing data finally…

Putin Sought to Boost Russian Population With ‘Gay Propaganda’ Law – Ex-British PM Cameron

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has said in his new memoir that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him he passed a law against “gay propaganda” to reverse the country’s declining birth rates. Russia banned “propaganda of homosexuality toward minors” in 2013 around the same time England legalized same-sex marriage, drawing criticism from Western states…

Hit Drama ‘Chernobyl’ Wins Best Limited Series Emmy

HOLLYWOOD — Writer, creator and producer Craig Mazin’s HBO hit “Chernobyl” won the American television academy’s Emmy award for best limited series on Sunday. Mazin was also awarded the best writing Emmy for his script. In a short acceptance speech, Mazin thanked the “hundreds of people around the area dedicating themselves to telling this story.”…

On This Day Sergei Ozhegov Was Born

On this day in 1900 Sergei Ozhegov, the writer of one of the first Russian dictionaries, was born. Born in Kamennoe village in the Tver region, Ozhegov is celebrated for his “Dictionary of the Russian Language,” which remains the most widely used reference for the Russian language today, especially for writers, journalists and interpreters. The…

ROSATOM participated in the 63rd IAEA General Conference

September 20, 2019, Vienna – The 63rd Annual Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference was held in Vienna.  The Conference brought together high-ranking delegates from more than 170 IAEA Member States to discuss the most relevant issues and set priority directions for developing cooperation in the global nuclear industry.  Director General of ROSATOM Alexey…

Blue Corridor – Gas into Engines 2019 Rally enters Russia

Release September 20, 2019, 18:30 The Russian stage of the international Blue Corridor – Gas into Engines 2019 Rally for vehicles powered by natural gas was launched today at the Russkaya compressor station (CS) in the Krasnodar Territory. Via a video link, the participants in the Russian stage of the race took over from the European-stage crews that had traveled 5,320 kilometers from Istanbul, Turkey,…

Where Indians Eat Indian Food in Moscow

An estimated 14,000 Indians currently live in Russia — most in Moscow — and an ever-increasing number of Indian tourists visit the capital every year. Consequently, while perhaps not a staple of the native Russian diet just yet, Muscovites are familiar with Indian cooking, and there is an array of restaurants available to satisfy a…

St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport Eyes Opening Up to Foreign Budget Airlines

Low-cost international airlines could soon fly in and out of St. Petersburg more freely after an easing of restrictions announced by Russian officials, Russian media have reported. No other Russian city allows so-called “seventh freedom flights,” which allow international carriers to operate flights outside their country of registration. St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport projects that the permissions will…

Russia Moves to Expand Its Arctic Icebreaker Fleet, Already the World’s Largest

The enterprise responsible for Russian seaport and maritime infrastructure development today operates a total of 36 icebreaking vessels. This is the largest fleet of its kind in the world, the state-run Rosmorport company says. And more is to come. According to company deputy general director Vasily Strugov, another nine vessels will be added to the fleet by 2024. Among them, there…

One Detained North Korean Poacher Died, FSB Says

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday that one North Korean poacher, captured by Russian border guards in the Sea of Japan, has died, the Interfax news agency reported. A Russian border patrol discovered two North Korean schooners and 11 motorboats fishing illegally off its far eastern coast on Tuesday and detained the first…

Russia’s Love Affair With India

When Ponnuchamy Jeevanantham first came to Moscow from Tamil Nadu in southern India in 1987 to study agriculture at the Peoples’ Friendship University he was dismayed by how mild Russian food was compared to Indian cuisine.  “You couldn’t find any spices,” he said. “There were bay leaves, black pepper and maybe some chilli powder —…