Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing | Oct. 29

Fighting continued Thursday in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region after the third attempt at a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan — a U.S. brokered deal — fell apart within minutes of coming into effect earlier in the week. Oct. 29: What you need to know today The leader of Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh said Azerbaijani forces…

Experts Fear Calvey Settlement Rewards Strong-Arm Tactics

The multimillion dollar settlement reached in the Baring Vostok civil case shows strong-arm tactics and criminalization of business disputes are still an effective ways to settle corporate conflicts in Russia, analysts told The Moscow Times. Warring parties in the most high-profile business dispute of recent years — between U.S. investor Michael Calvey’s Baring Vostok investment…

Belarus Briefing | Oct. 29

Belarus has seen weekly mass protests against the disputed presidential re-election of Alexander Lukashenko for nearly three months. On Monday, exiled Belarusian opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for a national strike after the deadline she set for Lukashenko to resign and free all political prisoners expired the previous day. Here’s more of the latest news…

Gazprom to increase efficiency of its activities through introduction of digital technologies

October 29, 2020, 16:40 The Gazprom Management Committee took note of the information on the projects being designed and implemented for the widespread adoption of digital technologies and other technological solutions. It was highlighted that the introduction of digital technologies is an important tool to improve the effectiveness of the corporate governance and achieve the strategic goals of the Gazprom Group. Today, the Company is at the final stage…

Charlie Hebdo ‘Could Not Exist’ in Russia – Kremlin

A satirical magazine that mocks religion, politics and culture like France’s Charlie Hebdo would not be able to exist in Russia, the Kremlin said Thursday after France saw its second deadly terror attack in two weeks.  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Thursday’s killing of three people in a Nice church — which came after a Chechen…

Required amount of gas totaling 72.3 billion cubic meters injected into Russian UGS facilities in preparations for winter

October 29, 2020, 16:30 Daily deliverability of the UGS facilities has been maintained at the record level of 843.3 million cubic meters. All 13 sets of planned preventive maintenance and repair operations were performed. The Gazprom Management Committee reviewed the operational readiness of the Unified Gas Supply System (UGSS) facilities for peak loads expected in late 2020 – early 2021, as well as the measures necessary to ensure uninterrupted gas…

Russian Photo Colorist Brings New Life to Historic Photographs

A former German language professor, Olga Shirnina is best known worldwide by her online alias, klimbim, with which she signs her unique artwork. Shirnina colors historical photographs using Photoshop, offering a new take on history and the figures that shaped her world. Behind this seemingly straightforward coloring exercise are hours of meticulous research — after…

Yale Russian Chorus Joins Singers Around the World

Like virtually every other international symposium, congress or conference this year, the 10th Anniversary Symposium of Traditional Polyphony that was to be held in Tibilisi, Georgia, could not welcome singers in person. So the Yale Russian Chorus gave up their travel plans but joined with their Alumni Association and the Kartuli Ensemble to sing for…

Stalin Victims Commemoration Moves Online Due to Coronavirus

An annual commemoration held in honor of victims of Stalinist repressions has moved online Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic, its organizers said. Participants of the “Returning the Names” ceremony traditionally gather outside the former KGB headquarters in central Moscow every Oct. 29 to read the names, ages and professions of those who died in Stalin’s…