Employees of Gazprom Transgaz Surgut tested for COVID-19

Background Gazprom Transgaz Surgut is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom. The company has 26 branches, including 14 gas pipeline operation centers with 38 compressor shops and 273 gas compressor units. Gazprom Transgaz Surgut operates over 6,500 kilometers of gas trunklines running from the Zapolyarny town to the borders of the Omsk and Kurgan Regions, and transmits nearly 200 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas per year. The…

Gazprom Transgaz Saratov supports healthcare institutions

Background Gazprom Transgaz Saratov, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, is responsible for natural gas transmission from Western Siberia, Central Asia, the Orenburg Region, and three UGS facilities located in the Saratov Region. The company is in charge of over 7,000 kilometers of gas trunklines and branches, 29 compressor shops, 165 gas compressor units with a total capacity of 1.3 million kW, and 216 gas distribution stations providing gas for about…

Kazakh Ex-President Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Kazakhstan’s ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev has tested positive for coronavirus, his press service announced Thursday. Nazarbayev, 79, stepped down last year after almost 30 years in power in the oil-rich Central Asian nation, retaining key security council and party leader positions while handpicking a loyalist as his successor. As a former Soviet republic, Kazakhstan maintains close ties…

Massive Vote-Buying Campaign Claimed Ahead of Vote on Putin’s Term Limits – Report

A potentially massive online vote-buying campaign is unfolding ahead of Russia’s vote on constitutional amendments that would allow President Vladimir Putin to rule until 2036, the independent Dozhd news channel reported Wednesday. Russians will begin voting next Thursday, ahead of the July 1 nationwide vote, on a set of constitutional amendments that include social guarantees…

ROSATOM signed Memoranda of Understanding with Framatome SAS and GE Steam Power on the Belene NPP (Bulgaria)

ROSATOM signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Framatome SAS (France) and GE Steam Power in the framework of the strategic investor selection procedure for the Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Bulgaria. Kirill Komarov, First Deputy Director General of Corporate Development and International Business of ROSATOM, Frédéric Lelièvre, Senior Executive Vice President in charge of…

Moscow Breaks 128-Year Heat Record

Moscow experienced its hottest June 17 in more than a century after temperatures hit 31.1 degrees Celsius Wednesday. Russia’s Hydrometeorology Center said that beat the previous record of 30.8 C set on the same day in 1892, Interfax reported. The scorching temperature hit at 4 p.m. in the capital. Temperatures in Moscow will drop below…

Moscow Breaks 70-Year Heat Record

Moscow experienced its hottest June 17 in more than half a century after temperatures hit 29.6 degrees Celsius Wednesday. Russia’s Hydrometeorology Center said that beat the previous record of 29.4 C set on the same day in 1956, Interfax reported. It added that Wednesday’s temperatures were still on track to break a 128-year record of…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | June 17

There have been 553,301 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,478 deaths. June 17: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s second-largest city St. Petersburg had the highest coronavirus mortality rate among all Russian cities in the month of April, according to a new analysis of official data. As of Wednesday, 20 cities had canceled…

Russia’s Coronavirus Cases Pass 550K as Putin Eyes Victory Parade, Constitution Vote

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that…

Coronavirus-Denying Russian Priest Captures Church With Cossack Fighters

A prominent Russian Orthodox priest who was barred from preaching for his anti-coronavirus views has laid siege to a women’s monastery, the 66.ru news website reported Tuesday.  Religious authorities barred Father Sergei, the ultraconservative spiritual leader of the Sredneuralsk women’s monastery in central Russia, from public ministry in April for disobeying orders to follow health…

Key Witness in Serebrennikov’s Fraud Trial Claims ‘Severe Pressure’ From Investigators

A key witness in a multimillion-dollar criminal fraud case involving prominent theater director Kirill Serebrennikov has claimed that investigators obtained her testimony under duress, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. Serebrennikov is suspected of embezzling 133 million rubles ($1.9 million) in a case that his supporters have criticized as politically motivated. The artistic director of…

Russia to Install ‘Orwell’ Facial Recognition Tech in Every School – Vedomosti

More than 43,000 Russian schools will be equipped with facial recognition cameras ominously named “Orwell,” the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday. The state technology firm Rusnano’s Orwell platform is described as a image-recognition monitoring system that uses computer vision algorithms. It will be integrated with face recognition developed by NTechLab, a subsidiary of Russian President…

Changeover of shift workers underway at Chayandinskoye field

News from projects and regions June 16, 2020, 16:00 On June 15 and 16, 169 shift workers of Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk arrived at the Chayandinskoye field in Yakutia. Most of the duty staff at the production site who have completed their three-month shift will be changed over. The shift period was extended in line with the measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection. Another 150 employees…

Chechen Violence in France, Explained

Violence involving young Chechens rocked France’s eastern city of Dijon over the weekend. French police were deployed late Monday to restore order following the unrest, which was blamed on the local Chechen community seeking vengeance for an assault on a teenager. Here is a brief look at the origins of the conflict as well as…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | June 16

There have been 545,458 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,284 deaths. June 16: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s second-largest city St. Petersburg had the highest coronavirus mortality rate among all Russian cities in the month of April, according to a new analysis of official data. Three more Russian cities, Penza, Chelyabinsk…

Russia’s Coronavirus Cases Rise Past 545K

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on Tuesday, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…

Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | June 15

There have been 537,210 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,091 deaths. June 15: 3 things you need to know today Russia more than doubled its official coronavirus death toll for April to 2,712 after changing how it classifies fatalities. Three more Russian cities, Penza, Chelyabinsk and Yakutsk, have canceled plans to hold Victory Day…

Russia Consecrates Grandiose Armed Forces Cathedral

Russia consecrated a massive new Orthodox cathedral dedicated to the country’s Armed Forces on Sunday. The grand ceremony featured Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and other top officials. The cathedral drew controversy during the building stage for initial plans, which were…

Customer service centers of Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye Far East in Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur returning to work

News from projects and regions June 15, 2020, 13:45 As the restrictive measures taken in response to the coronavirus threat in the Khabarovsk Territory have been partially lifted, the customer service centers of Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye Far East in Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur are going to resume their work with citizens on issues concerning gas supply and gas grid expansion on June 15. Between March 30 and…

Racial Discrimination Row Hits Moscow’s Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center

Moscow’s Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center has sparked controversy with a job posting for a bartender that listed “Slavic appearance” as one of its requirements. The museum, a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art complex that opened in 2012, blamed an HR contractor for violating its principles and said it has terminated its contract with the company. “I’m inclined to think…

ROSATOM starts equipment installation at the Pilot Demonstration Energy Complex within the “Proryv” project

ROSATOM starts installation of equipment at the fuel fabrication/re-fabrication unit of the Pilot Demonstration Energy Complex, which is under construction at the site of Siberian Chemical Plant (an enterprise of TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM in Tomsk region, West Siberia). The Pilot Demonstration Energy Complex is under way within the strategic “Proryv” (Rus. – “the…

Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk continuing to ship equipment to Chayandinskoye field

Background Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, develops seven fields, including four gas fields, two gas and condensate fields, and one oil, gas and condensate field. The company’s facilities, among them three gas production sites and three gas production directorates, are located in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, Kamchatka, and Yakutia. As an operator, the company provides gas production and…

Putin Criticizes U.S. Coronavirus Response, Condemns ‘Mayhem and Rioting’ at Anti-Racism Protests

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the U.S. anti-racism protests were a sign of deep crises in the country, criticizing the protests for sparking violence, and raising questions over Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Russian leader stressed he supported black Americans’ struggle for equality, calling this “a long-standing problem of the…

Russia’s Coronavirus Cases Surpass 525K

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on Tuesday, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…

Russia’s Coronavirus Cases Surpass 520K

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on Tuesday, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic.    President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…

Drilling of first producing well starts at Kharasaveyskoye field in Yamal

Background On March 20, 2019, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, launched full-scale development of the Kharasaveyskoye field. It was planned to complete road filling and site preparation works for production facilities in 2019 and to start the drilling of producing wells in June 2020. The Kharasaveyskoye field is the second most important field (after the Bovanenkovskoye field) in Gazprom’s Yamal gas production center. The Yamal center plays an essential…

Joint statement by Gazprombank and Gazprom regarding current situation with Belgazprombank

June 12, 2020, 19:50 Gazprombank and Gazprom, as the shareholders of Belgazprombank, declare that on June 11, 2020, the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus committed illegal actions in violation of the laws of the Republic of Belarus when appointing acting Chairman of the Management Board and acting Deputy Chairman of the Management Board at Belgazprombank. These appointments were accompanied by the detention of authorized members of the…

Russia Day 2020

On June 12 1990 Russia became an independent nation with the declaration of state sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Since 1992, over 145 million Russians have celebrated the day as National Russia Day, enjoying festivities and concerts across the nation. With 180 nationalities and 11 different timezones, Russia is truly one of…