Monthly Archives: September 2020

Russia’s second candidate vaccine against the coronavirus is less than a month away from state approval after completing small-scale human trials, the vaccine’s developers have said this week. The Siberia-based Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Center concluded Phase 2 trials on 100 volunteers last week, with results due to be published Wednesday. Volunteers were said…

Jailed U.S. Investor Calvey Denied MRI Scan for Cancer Treatment – FT

MoscowBy admin September 24, 2020

Russian investigators refused to allow jailed U.S. investor Michael Calvey to remove his electronic ankle bracelet in order to undergo an MRI scan required for cancer treatment, the Financial Times reported Thursday. Lawyers for Calvey, who was detained last February on embezzlement charges that he says are being used to pressure him in a business…

A New Movie Transports Anastasia Romanov to 1980s America. Russians Aren’t Happy About It.

A new American film that turns the executions of Russia’s last tsar and his family into a fantasy-tinged teen comedy has caused an uproar among Russians, who say the film mocks their history. At first, the plot of “Anastasia: Once Upon a Time” sounds outrageous enough to rank among other so-bad-they’re-good classics: As Vladimir Lenin…

New Virus Cases in Moscow Climb to June Levels

New coronavirus cases in Moscow on Thursday reached the highest level since late June, raising fears of a new wave of cases in the world’s fourth most affected country. The caseload increase had remained relatively stable in the capital at around 700 per day for several months, but the numbers began to climb again from…

TikTok Admits to Deleting Russian Videos at Government’s Request

TikTok has deleted hundreds of Russian videos at the government’s request since the start of 2020, the popular short video app’s European policy executive said this week. The Chinese-owned app removed or restricted nearly 700 videos worldwide following government requests between Jan. 1-June 30, according to its latest transparency report published this week. Nearly 300…

Secret Lukashenko Inauguration Triggers Fresh Belarus Clashes

Belarus police fired tear gas and arrested more than 150 protesters on Wednesday after the secret inauguration of President Alexander Lukashenko triggered new demonstrations and fresh condemnation in the West. Several thousand protesters, many carrying the red-and white opposition flag, took to the streets of the capital Minsk and other cities following a surprise announcement…

Bulgaria Expels Two Russian Diplomats for Spying

Bulgaria has expelled two Russian diplomats accused of spying on the military, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The pair were given 72 hours to leave the EU country, a former Russian ally during Soviet times, after the Bulgarian public prosecutor alleged they had been seeking out classified information on military modernization plans since 2016.…

U.S. Sanctions Russian Tycoon’s Central Africa Business

MoscowBy admin September 23, 2020

The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned associates and businesses connected with a wealthy financier close to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Moscow’s security service. Eight people and seven entities related to Yevgeniy Prigozhin and the Federal Security Service (FSB) were targeted in the sanctions, which Treasury said in a statement were aimed at…

Lady Gaga’s New Video Is an Ode to a Soviet Film Classic

The best of both worlds: Lady Gaga released the music video for her new single “911” — and it’s filled with references to the classic Soviet Armenian film “The Color of Pomegranates.” The 1969 film by acclaimed director Sergei Parajanov depicts the life of an 18th-century Armenian poet, focusing on visually intricate and symbolic scenes rather…

Moscow Expands List of European Officials Banned From Russia

Moscow said Wednesday it was expanding a list of European officials who are banned from entering Russia as a response to what it said were aggressive EU actions. A Foreign Ministry statement did not specify what the sanctions were a response to, but referred to “hostile steps” against Russia and its citizens. Russia’s ties with…

RT Trolls Trump With Post-Election Job Offer

The Kremlin-funded RT broadcaster leaned into its reputation as a U.S. election bogeyman with an ad offering President Donald Trump a job as “special host” if he loses the 2020 race. RT used deepfake technology to transport Trump 44 days into the future, where he takes up Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to become RT’s…

Russia’s Nuclear Imports Likely Larger Than Declared – Greenpeace

A series of nuclear byproduct shipments to Russia from Germany is likely importing more than officially declared, Greenpeace Russia said Tuesday. European enrichment firm Urenco resumed exports of uranium hexafluoride, a byproduct known as “tails,” last year after a 10-year pause initiated by Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom. The shipments have sparked outcry from environmental…

Russia’s Nuclear Waste Imports Likely Larger Than Declared – Greenpeace

A series of toxic radioactive waste shipments to Russia from Germany is likely importing more waste than officially declared, Greenpeace Russia said Tuesday. European enrichment firm Urenco resumed exports of uranium hexafluoride, a waste product known as “tails,” last year after a 10-year pause initiated by Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom due to storage safety…

Yandex Shares Hit Record High as Analysts Cheer $5.5Bln Tinkoff Deal

MoscowBy admin September 23, 2020

Yandex shares have surged to a record high after the technology giant announced it has reached a preliminary agreement on a $5.5 billion deal for Tinkoff, Russia’s leading online bank. Analysts and investors are overwhelmingly upbeat on the potential takeover, saying it will make Yandex Russia’s leading fintech player and bring together two of the…

Food Fests From East and West

All throughout the quarantine period, our friends and neighbors at the Hyatt Regency Petrovsky Park kept us well-fed with weekend deliveries of delicious foreign cuisine. They are continuing the tradition of enticing international food and drink. Only now, we can get out of the house and go to them. Singaporean Cuisine Festival The first special…

Alexey Miller: Gazprom to become one of major players in global helium market

BusinessBy admin September 23, 2020

September 23, 2020, 14:30 Photos Amur GPP will increase the Company’s helium production by 13 times. Construction readiness of the helium hub near Vladivostok is above 70 per cent. Contract has been signed for the delivery of LNG-powered freight trucks to carry helium. A presentation of a helium production and marketing project that forms part of Gazprom’s Eastern Gas Program took place today at the Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg.…

Friendly Fire Suspected in Russian Fighter Jet Crash

A Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet that crashed this week may have been accidentally shot down by another plane during exercises, the state-run TASS news agency reported Wednesday. The Su-30 was on a routine training mission with two pilots on board Tuesday when it crashed near a village in the Tver region northwest of Moscow.…

Navalny Leaves German Hospital One Month After Near-Fatal Poisoning

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been discharged from hospital after more than a month of treatment in Germany for his near-fatal poisoning with Novichok, Berlin’s Charité hospital said Wednesday. Navalny, 44, was flown to Germany two days after falling violently ill on a flight in Siberia on Aug. 20. Germany says it has evidence backed…

6 Convicts Tunnel Out of Russian Prison

Six convicted criminals in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan have escaped from prison by digging a tunnel, authorities said Wednesday. Wardens discovered the tunnel during a routine inspection around midnight and found out after a roll call that they were six prisoners short, the regional prison service said in a statement. Images shared on social media…

Russian Narcotics Officer Caught Growing Marijuana to Meet Drug Arrest Quota

A senior Russian narcotics officer is suspected of growing marijuana with the intent of planting the drugs on innocent people, investigators have said. Authorities opened the investigation after the suspect, the deputy head of a local drug enforcement agency, staged a drug bust in the western Russian town of Velikiye Luki last week. Investigators and…

Russia Not Planning Second Coronavirus Lockdown, Officials Say

Russian officials are continuing to reassure the public that they won’t reimpose lockdown measures despite a renewed rise in coronavirus cases. Russia has seen an uptick in its daily Covid-19 caseload in September, with more than 5,000 confirmed infections per day since the start of the month and more than 6,000 in each of the…

Putin Vaunts Russian Coronavirus Vaccine at UN

President Vladimir Putin in a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday boasted of Russia’s creation of the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, though it has not completed large-scale clinical trials. Putin in a video address to the General Assembly said that Russia was open to partnership with other countries over “the first vaccine in the…

Navalny May Have Poisoned Himself, Putin Reportedly Tells Macron

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny may have poisoned himself with Novichok, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told French President Emmanuel Macron in a recent phone call. Navalny, 44, who came out of a coma two weeks ago after falling violently ill on a flight in Siberia, mocked Putin’s reported claims as illogical. Germany says it has…

Russian Authorities Mull Chartering China ‘Surrogate Baby Plane’

Russian authorities are considering chartering a plane from China to fly over parents who have been estranged from their babies born to surrogates in Russia due to coronavirus restrictions, they said Tuesday. With the practice banned in China, parents pay to have surrogate babies abroad, but the system has been tipped into chaos by the pandemic, which…

Board of Directors takes note of information on Standard for Procurement of Large-Diameter Pipes

September 22, 2020, 19:55 The Board of Directors reviewed the issue of the improvement, jointly with Gazprom’s representatives, of the Standard for Procurement of Large-Diameter Pipes (LDPs) by Gazprom Group entities, which was previously developed by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. It was noted at the meeting that LDPs are among Gazprom’s essential material…

Board of Directors reviews ongoing activities for creating single operators of network facilities in NCFD

September 22, 2020, 19:50 The Gazprom Board of Directors reviewed the information on the creation of single operators of network facilities in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation that form part of the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD), with transfer of network assets onto their balance sheet. It was noted that Gazprom pays the utmost attention to the modernization of gas facilities in the NCFD. In 2018, in accordance with…

Gazprom continues work towards identifying ownerless gas networks in Russian regions

September 22, 2020, 19:45 The Gazprom Board of Directors reviewed the information on the measures undertaken to inventory ownerless gas facilities in Russian regions, as well as to optimize the procedure of their transfer to specialized organizations for further operation in line with the laws of the Russian Federation. It was noted that operation of ownerless gas distribution facilities (gas networks that have no lawful owners and are lacking proper technical…

Board of Directors reviews proposals on development of gas supplies to population

September 22, 2020, 19:40 The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information on the implementation of a socially-oriented and cost-effective system of gas infrastructure expansion and gas supplies to serve the needs of the population. The current procedure for cooperation within the framework of gas infrastructure expansion across Russian regions delineates responsibilities among participants as follows. The administrations of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation prepare proposals…

Head of ROSATOM Alexey Likhachev spoke at IAEA General Conference

September 21, 2020 – On September 21, 2020, ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev delivered a statement at the plenary session of the IAEA General Conference, which opened in Vienna (Austria). In his speech, he stressed that in the challenging times of the pandemic and the economic crisis it triggered, “nuclear power has yet again demonstrated…

Nuclear icebreaker Arktika is heading to Murmansk

22 September, 2020 – On September 22, Arktika, the lead universal nuclear-powered icebreaker, departed from the completion embankment of the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg towards the Murmansk sea port. The passage is planned to take about two weeks. During this time, the nuclear icebreaker will be tested in ice conditions. “Rosatomflot is expecting the…

ROSATOM and Syrian Atomic Energy Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding

ROSATOM and Syrian Atomic Energy Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the peaceful non-energy application of nuclear technologies. The document was signed in person in Vienna on September 21. The Memorandum was signed by ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev and Director General of Syrian Atomic Energy Commission Ibrahim Othman. The Memorandum addresses…

‘A Bag of Snickers to Survive in the Forest.’ Lukashenko Critic’s Unlikely Journey From Belarus to Poland

A week after Belarus’ contested presidential elections, senior police investigator Andrei Ostapovich decided he could no longer stay silent. He had already started to lose faith in President Alexander Lukashenko and even took part in one of the first post-election protest marches. The turning point came on his first weekend shift after the Aug. 9…

ROSATOM and the African Commission on Nuclear Energy Will Develop Cooperation in the Field of the Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes

The Memorandum of Understanding between ROSATOM and the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE) on cooperation in the field of the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes was signed in Pretoria and Moscow on the 22nd of September. The Memorandum was signed by Mr. Nikolay Spasskiy, the Deputy Director General of ROSATOM, and Mr.…

Russia’s Giant Nuclear-Powered Icebreaker Makes Maiden Voyage

Russia’s nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika, touted as the most powerful of its kind and a symbol of Moscow’s Arctic ambitions, set off on its maiden voyage on Tuesday. Designed to transport liquefied natural gas from the Arctic, the giant vessel is 173 meters (570 feet) long and 15 meters high. “The unique domestically-built vessel will for…

10 Russian Lawmakers Hospitalized With Coronavirus

At least 10 members of Russia’s lower house of parliament are currently hospitalized with coronavirus and more than 50 have developed antibodies, its speaker said Tuesday. State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin admonished elderly deputies for attending in-person sessions after the legislative body came back from summer recess last week. “To date the number of those…

Abramovich Bought ‘Secret Stakes’ in Chelsea’s Rival Players – BBC

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich used offshore companies to secretly invest in football players who were rivals to his Chelsea football club, a BBC Panorama investigation published Monday said. The information was obtained during the FinCEN Files investigation, which is led by 108 media outlets worldwide and based on thousands of leaked suspicious activity reports (SARs)…

ROSATOM participated in the international webinar ‘Technology readiness and safety of small modular reactors’

September 18, 2020 – The webinar ‘Technology readiness and safety of small modular reactors’ hosted by National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (BATAN), brought together world’s nuclear power industry major players, including ROSATOM. The webinar, moderated by BATAN Expert M.Sc.E Johanna Maria Christina Johari, was aimed to bring the audience the understanding of nuclear energy…

Putin Recreates Soviet-Era Political Supervision Over National Guards

President Vladimir Putin has created a new post in Russia’s National Guard to ensure ideological education and political unity amid questions over the country’s return to once-abolished Soviet practices. The Russian military has gained political influence in both domestic and foreign policy since the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and renewed geopolitical tensions with…

Russian Authorities Storm Siberian Commune, Arrest Messianic Cult Leader

MoscowBy admin September 22, 2020

A Siberian messianic cult leader and his deputies have been detained at one of their communes on accusations of using followers’ money and psychological violence to inflict harm, Russia’s Investigative Committee said Tuesday. Armed agents were filmed storming the Church of the Last Testament’s compound in a southern district of the Krasnoyarsk region. The agents can…

Moscow’s Weekend Marathons Cover Land and Sea

Whether you prefer running the trails or surfing the waves, this past weekend had plenty of outdoor activities for Muscovites looking to enjoy the last of the late summer weather. Around 25,000 runners participated in the eighth annual Moscow Marathon on Sunday. The 2014 Toulouse Marathon winner Sardana Trofimova beat her own previous Moscow marathon…

Belarus Opposition Leader: We’re Not Anti-Russian

MoscowBy admin September 21, 2020

Belarus’ opposition is not anti-Russian despite its objections to recent Russian-Belarusian deals made amid mass post-election protests, exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said in an interview published Sunday. Tikhanovskaya had on the eve of last week’s meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko vowed to “reconsider” any newly reached agreements if she…

On and Off the Trans-Siberian Train: The Communist

The first thing we see is a portrait of Stalin, a huge stack of freshly printed newspapers and a bunch of flags, rolled up and put in the corner. The man at the reception desk asks us what we want. We ask for a brochure, but he instead he suggests to talk to Ivan, who…

Russian Recruits Show ‘No Side Effects’ in Chinese Coronavirus Vaccine Trials

Recruits in Moscow have reported no side effects after taking China’s candidate coronavirus vaccine as part of large-scale clinical trials, the Russian pharmaceutical company working with the vaccine’s Chinese developers announced Monday. Russia approved Phase 3 trials of the Chinese vaccine developed by CanSino Biologics and the Chinese military’s research arm last month. Russia’s Petrovax pharmaceutical…

Russia Resumes Flights With Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea

Russia has resumed flights to neighboring Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and will resume flights to South Korea from Sept. 27, a government decree said Saturday. Citizens and permanent residents of these countries will be permitted to enter Russia through air checkpoints, and Russians will be able to enter these countries without restrictions as well. The…

Navalny Says Novichok Found ‘In and On’ His Body

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday that Western laboratories had found traces of a Novichok nerve agent in and on his body and demanded that Moscow return his clothes. Navalny, who is recovering in Berlin’s Charite clinic, fell violently ill during a flight from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20. He spent two days…

Russian Lawmakers Ensnared in Argentine Cocaine Scandal – Report

Russian lawmakers may have been the ultimate recipients of some of the nearly 400 kilograms of cocaine that were seized from the Russian Embassy in Argentina in 2018, an investigative report said Sunday. Four suspects are facing a closed trial in Russia after a yearlong investigation into the discovery of 350 kilograms of cocaine worth…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Sept. 21

Russia has confirmed 1,109,595 cases of coronavirus and 19,489 deaths. Sept 21: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 6,196 new Covid-19 cases Monday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 1,109,595 as the number of new infections across the country continues to rise. Authorities in China’s eastern Jilin province have discovered traces of coronavirus on packages of frozen…

Chinese Authorities Find Coronavirus on Frozen Squid From Russia

Authorities in China’s eastern Jilin province have discovered traces of coronavirus on packages of frozen squid imported from Russia, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported Sunday. The regional capital Changchun’s Covid-19 prevention office detected the virus particles during a routine screening, Xinhua reported. All individuals who came into contact with the packages in Changchun were…

Putin Allies Moved ‘Millions’ in Murky Deals, Massive Leak Says