Moscow Cinemas Prepare to Open on Aug. 1

At the end of March Moscow’s movie theaters were all closed due to the coronavirus and everyone switched to watching films online. But finally, earlier this month Mayor Sergei Sobyanin signed a decree allowing cinemas to open on Aug. 1. The number of visitors in the hall, however, must be 50% of the number of seats. Although…

UK Names Media Mogul Yevgeny Lebedev to House of Lords

Russian-British media owner Yevgeny Lebedev has been appointed to the House of Lords in Britain. Queen Elizabeth II conferred Lebedev’s lifetime peerage on Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said. Lebedev owns Britain’s Independent and Evening Standard newspapers. His father, Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev, is co-owner of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper in Russia. In…

The third layer of the reactor building inner containment has been erected at power unit No.1 of Rooppur NPP

The works on erection and concreting of the reactor building inner containment third layer sections of Rooppur NPP power unit No.1 being constructed in Bangladesh (the General Contractor – JSC Atomstroyexport is included in the Engineering Division of ROSATOM) have been completed. All works on the third layer were performed by TrestRosSEM LLC specialists for…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | July 31

Russia has confirmed 839,981 cases of coronavirus and 13,963 deaths. July 31: 3 things you need to know today Authorities in Moscow have issued sweeping fines for violating face mask and glove requirements in recent weeks as the city looks to enforce coronavirus safety rules, the state-run TASS news agency reported Friday. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the Russian capital has…

Tens of Thousands Rally in Belarus Despite Pre-Election Crackdown

Tens of thousands of supporters of President Alexander Lukashenko’s top election rival on Thursday rallied in the Belarussian capital Minsk despite an increasing crackdown on the opposition. The rally came as Belarus authorities accused top members of the opposition of collaborating with Russian fighters to destabilize the ex-Soviet country. Backers of political novice Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | July 30

Russia has confirmed 834,499 cases of coronavirus and 13,802 deaths. July 30: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s coronavirus vaccine could be administered to civilians as soon as Aug. 15, Interfax cited a source at the state-run Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology as saying. The source said the Health Ministry will likely register the…

Russian Mercenaries in Belarus: All You Need to Know

Belarus has arrested 33 Russian mercenaries allegedly plotting to destabilize the country ahead of next month’s presidential election. Belarus’ KGB security service said the detained men were members of the Wagner group, a shadowy private military firm reportedly controlled by an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin which promotes Moscow’s interests in Ukraine, Syria, Libya…

Russia’s Transgender People in Their Own Words

Russian lawmakers recently introduced legislation that will have major implications for the country’s transgender population. If passed, the draft law — which also seeks to ban LGBT marriage and adoption — will make it impossible for transgender people to change their gender on official documents after they have transitioned. Activists and rights groups say the…

Severstal commits to cuttig its carbo emissios by 3% by 2023 ad almost doubles its target for reducig total atmospheric emissios

July 30, 2020 PAO Severstal (“Severstal”; “the Company”), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and steel-related mining companies, today announces a public target to cut its greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 3% over the next three years compared with 2020 . It is the first stage of a longer-term strategy to reduce its…

Russia Vows ‘Promising’ Virus Vaccines in September

Russia said Wednesday that it plans to begin production of two “promising” coronavirus vaccines in September and October as Moscow races to develop a formula before Western countries. At a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova singled out two vaccines under development by a research institute in Moscow and a lab in Siberia. “Today…

Belarus Detains 33 Russian Wagner Mercenaries Ahead of Presidential Election – Report

Belarussian law enforcement has detained 33 mercenaries from the private Russian military contractor Wagner Group less than two weeks before the country’s presidential election, the Belarus state-run Belta news agency reported Wednesday. The surprise announcement is the latest twist in an extraordinary election campaign that has seen strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko jail his key would-be…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | July 29

Russia has confirmed 828,990 cases of coronavirus and 13,673 deaths. July 29: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s coronavirus vaccine could be administered to civilians as soon as Aug. 15, Interfax cited a source at the state-run Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology as saying. The source said the Health Ministry will likely register the vaccine,…

Finland Suspects Russian Jets Violated Airspace

Two Russian fighter jets are suspected of violating Finnish airspace off the coast of Helsinki on Tuesday, the Finnish Defense Ministry said.  The incident “occurred over the Gulf of Finland near Helsinki at around 2:00 p.m. Finnish time (11:00 GMT)” and the border surveillance authority has opened an investigation to confirm the violation, the ministry said…

Beat Film Fest Kicks Off Aug. 1

Beat Film Festival, founded in 2010, is likely to become the headliner of this summer’s cultural events in Moscow. It launches on Aug. 1, when the city’s movie theaters are allowed to open after their long downtime during the coronavirus quarantine.  This year the films will be shown online and offline, sometimes with discussions including…

Jailed Russian Ex-Journalist Safronov Isolated With Suspected Coronavirus

Ivan Safronov, a former journalist arrested on treason charges, has been isolated in jail with suspected coronavirus, prison watchdog representatives told Interfax on Monday. Safronov was arrested this month shortly after leaving his decade-long journalism career to become a media adviser to Russia’s space chief. He was placed in pre-trial detention in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison…

Russia Coronavirus Cases Pass 820K

The highest number of new cases were in Moscow, the western Siberian region of Khanty-Mansiysk and Sverdlovsk in the Urals. Russia’s fatality rate has remained low compared to other badly-hit countries, raising speculation that Moscow could be underreporting figures. Russian authorities began easing anti-virus measures in June ahead of a massive World War II military…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | July 27

Russia has confirmed 818,120 cases of coronavirus and 13,354 deaths. July 27: 3 things you need to know today Russia plans to administer its experimental coronavirus vaccine on healthcare professionals next month before its clinical trials are completed, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said Thursday. Russian schools across the country will re-open for the new school year on Sept. 1,…

Russia Coronavirus Cases Approach 820K

The highest number of new cases were in Moscow, the western Siberian region of Khanty-Mansiysk and Sverdlovsk in the Urals. Russia’s fatality rate has remained low compared to other badly-hit countries, raising speculation that Moscow could be underreporting figures. Russian authorities began easing anti-virus measures in June ahead of a massive World War II military…

Ex-Vedomosti Journalists Launch New Outlet Following Pro-Kremlin Censorship Scandal

Former senior editors and journalists from the Vedomosti business daily are launching a new media project after the appointment of a pro-Kremlin editor-in-chief sparked accusations of censorship and a mass departure of staff from the paper. VTimes aims to continue Vedomosti’s tradition of independent journalism and editorial objectivity. “More than ever before Russia needs independent…