Author: admin
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EU Accepts Russia’s Application for Sputnik V Approval
The European Union has approved Russia’s application to register its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in the bloc, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is funding and marketing Sputnik V, filed for EU registration of the jab on Jan. 29. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had concluded its…
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Pro-Putin Corporate Culture Behind Viral ‘Flashmob’ Videos
In a recent video that quickly went viral on Russian social media, thousands of employees can be seen cheering, waving Russian flags and lining up to form letters that spell “Putin is our president” when viewed from above. The video, filmed in the parking lot at the Sima Land e-commerce company’s Yekaterinburg headquarters, ends with…
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Russia Annoyed by EU Inclusion of Navalny Allies in Sanctions Talks
Russia has admonished the European Union for discussing potential sanctions with jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s close associates. On Monday, Navalny’s regional network coordinator Leonid Volkov and his Anti-Corruption Foundation executive director Vladimir Ashurkov joined a video call on the EU’s Russia policy, Volkov said on social media. Diplomats from Britain, the United States, Canada…
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2 Gay Men Sent Back to Chechnya Were ‘Kidnapped’ – Rights Group
A rights group on Monday described as “kidnapping” the plight of two gay men who were seized near Moscow last week and sent back to their native Chechnya, a Russian region accused of persecution against homosexuality. The LGBT Network rights group helped the two Chechen men, Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isayev, flee Muslim-majority Chechnya for…
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Germany, Poland, Sweden to Expel Russian Diplomats in Tit-for-Tat Move
Germany, Sweden and Poland on Monday said they were each expelling a Russian diplomat, in retaliation for Moscow’s expulsion last week of their diplomats for allegedly taking part in protests in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The three EU countries announced the tit-for-tat moves in coordinated statements, which come against a backdrop of mounting…
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Joseph Brodsky’s ‘Room and a Half’ Now a Museum
After many years in the making, the Joseph Brodsky Museum has finally opened in the apartment he shared with his parents on Liteiny Prospekt in St. Petersburg, 25 years after his death at the age of 56. The museum is divided into a modern section in a former flat that was adjacent to the one…
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Russia’s Yearly Mortality Surges 20% in 2020
Russia recorded a 19.6% year-on-year increase in deaths last year, figures published by the federal statistics service showed Monday. Rosstat said a total of 2.12 million people died in 2020 — an increase of 323,000 compared to 2019, and the highest annual fatality count for at least 16 years. Speaking earlier Monday, Deputy Prime Minister…
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Barbed-Wire Police Protest Lands Russian Performance Artist in Jail
A Russian performance artist has been jailed a second time for attempting to stage a barbed-wire stunt in protest of police overreach in central Moscow last month, the OVD-Info police-monitoring website reported Monday. Authorities detained Pavel Krisevich on Sunday immediately after he finished serving a two-week administrative arrest on charges of disobeying police orders with the stunt…
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Russia Defends Expulsion of European Diplomats
The Kremlin defended Monday Russia’s shock expulsion of EU diplomats during the high-profile visit of the European Union’s top diplomat but insisted it remained interested in reviving relations with Brussels. Russia on Friday announced the expulsion of diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden during the rare meeting in Moscow between EU foreign policy chief Josep…
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1 in 4 Russians Watched Navalny’s ‘Putin Palace’ Investigation – Poll
More than one out of every four Russians, or 26%, have watched opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s recent investigation into President Vladimir Putin’s alleged $1.3 billion palace, according to a poll by the independent Levada Center published Monday. Navalny’s team released the in-depth YouTube investigation — which alleges that Putin and his close associates laundered money…
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Russian Communist Lawmaker Detained for ‘Observing’ Navalny Protests
A regional Russian lawmaker and popular YouTuber from the Communist Party who plans to run for parliament this fall has been detained on charges of violating protest rules at a rally in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Nikolai Bondarenko’s colleagues in the Volga region of Saratov say he had attended the Jan. 31 Navalny protests…
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What Happened During Tense EU-Russia Talks?
The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell paid a three-day visit to Moscow for talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, marking the first visit by a senior EU envoy to Russia since 2017. Borrell’s decision to go ahead with the Moscow visit despite last week’s jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and Russia’s harsh crackdown…
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Russian State TV Attempts ‘Putin Palace’-Style Exposé on Navalny’s German Apartment
Russian state television has filmed what it called an exposé into opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s villa in Germany where he lived while recovering from nerve agent poisoning last year. The detailed segment, interspersed with scenes from Navalny’s viral video investigation into President Vladimir Putin’s alleged Black Sea palace, ran during one of the country’s most-watched…
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Orenburgneft’s Green Investments Amount to Almost 2 Billion Roubles in 2020
Orenburgneft, part of the Rosneft Oil Company oil-producing complex, invested more than 1.9 billion roubles in the implementation of environment-oriented and natural rehabilitation activities in 2020
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EU Must ‘Draw Consequences’ From Controversial Moscow Trip, Says Top Diplomat
The European Union’s top diplomat Sunday said Russia was rejecting constructive dialogue with the EU and that Europe must draw the consequences, including the possibility of new sanctions. In a blog post, Josep Borrell said the shock expulsion of three EU diplomats during his two-day visit to Moscow, showed that Russia “did not want to…
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Hungary Approves Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine
Hungarian health authorities have approved Russia’s coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, the government said Sunday, with 40,000 doses of the jab already to be given. Official testing has been completed “and the vaccine may be administered”, Miklos Kasler, the human resources minister who is in charge of health, said on social media. The government had announced…
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2 Gay Men Returned to Chechnya Face ‘Mortal Danger’: Rights Group
Two gay men seized near Moscow this week and sent back to their native Chechnya, a region accused of brutal persecution against homosexuality, face “mortal danger,” a rights group said Saturday. The LGBT Network rights group helped the two Chechen men, Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isayev, flee Chechnya for Nizhny Novgorod east of Moscow in…
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North Meets South in Mini Golubtsy
Since antiquity cooks have tucked meat and grains in vegetable leaves: wrapping food in pickled fig leaves was common in both Greece and Rome. The Byzantines used vine leaves as their primary wrapper, and this mania in Asia Minor for stuffing one food into another led to the ubiquitous dolmas, small vine leaf logs stuffed…
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Russia Expels European Diplomats Over Navalny Protests – Foreign Ministry
Russia will expel diplomats from Sweden, Poland and Germany over their alleged participation in recent “unauthorized” rallies in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. The expulsions come amid European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell’s visit to Moscow, where he lamented to his counterpart Sergei Lavrov that ties between…
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Top EU Envoy ‘Hopes’ for Russian Vaccine’s Approval in Europe
The European Union’s top diplomat has said he hopes the Russian-developed coronavirus vaccine will be approved for use in the European bloc soon, AFP reported Friday. Earlier this week, a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet showed the Sputnik V vaccine to be 91.6% effective against symptomatic Covid-19, boosting international confidence in Russia’s jab after…
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Nornickel Fined Record $2Bln for Arctic Oil Disaster
A Russian court fined mining giant Nornickel 146 billion rubles ($2 billion) Friday for its role in the worst oil spill in the country’s modern history. Some 21,000 tons of diesel fuel poured into the ground and waterways surrounding Nornickel’s base — the city of Norilsk inside the Arctic circle in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region —…
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Russia Slams Biden’s ‘Very Aggressive Rhetoric’
The Kremlin on Friday slammed Joe Biden’s “very aggressive rhetoric” after the new U.S. president said Washington’s relationship with Moscow would change and demanded opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s release. “We’ve already said that we will not heed patronizing statements of this sort. We will not do it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “This is…
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Top EU Diplomat in Moscow Says Ties at ‘Low Point’ Over Navalny
The European Union’s top diplomat said on Friday that the bloc’s ties with Russia had reached a new low following the poisoning and jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Josep Borrell was in Moscow for talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as legal pressure mounted on Navalny and the Kremlin criticized “very aggressive rhetoric” from U.S. President…
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Who Has Been Jailed Over Russia’s Pro-Navalny Protests?
More than 10,000 people across Russia have been detained in recent rallies demanding the release of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and criticizing Russia’s ruling elite. The mass protests, which were not authorized by the government, saw a widespread crackdown and harsh treatment of protesters by baton-wielding officers that has sparked outcry from the West. …
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As Moscow’s Jails Overflow, Navalny Detainees Are Held Outside the City
Denis Bondarenko is waiting in the snow in a long snaking queue of around 150 people outside the Foreign Citizen Temporary Detention Center in the small village of Sakharovo, 80 kilometers outside Moscow. The 27-year-old lawyer is clutching a parcel of food and warm winter clothes for his cousin Ivan, a carer at a Moscow…
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Russia Returns Escaped Gay Men to Chechen Police – NGO
Russian police have allegedly detained two gay men who escaped from the republic of Chechnya and handed them over to authorities in their home region, the Russian LGBT Network reported Thursday. The LGBT Network had helped the two men, Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isayev, flee from Chechnya and relocate to the city of Nizhny Novgorod…
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Russia to Try Navalny on WWII Veteran Slander Charges
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is on trial Friday charged with defaming a World War II veteran, days after his jailing under a years-old fraud conviction sparked international outcry. Navalny was charged with “discrediting the honor and dignity” of the 95-year-old veteran after describing him and others who appeared in a pro-Kremlin video as “the…
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Nayara Energy Expands Retail Network to over 6,000 Outlets across India
Nayara Energy Limited, a new-age downstream energy company with 49.13% shares held by Rosneft Oil Company, has expanded its retail network to over 6,000 fuel-filling stations-across India.
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Biden Says No More U.S. ‘Rolling Over’ to Russia
President Joe Biden said Thursday the United States will no longer be “rolling over in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions” and demanded release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In toughly worded remarks pivoting from his predecessor Donald Trump’s muted approach to Moscow, Biden warned of “advancing authoritarianism” in China and Russia. The speech…
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Navalny’s Team Announces No More Protests Until Spring
Alexei Navalny’s supporters will stop staging protests demanding his release until at least this spring, a key aide of the imprisoned Kremlin critic said Thursday. Leonid Volkov, head of Navalny’s regional network of campaign-style offices, announced he would not be calling supporters to take to the streets for a third successive weekend of protests across…
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Top U.S. Diplomat Raises Navalny, Jailed Americans With Russia
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced concern over jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny and imprisoned Americans in a telephone call Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly voiced alarm over Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic whose doctors say he was poisoned and who was promptly detained…
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Navalny Urges Supporters to Fight For Freedom in First Post After Sentencing
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny called on his supporters Thursday to fight fear and free Russia from “a handful of thieves in power,” in his first detailed comments since being ordered to serve out a prison sentence. The 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner, who was jailed Tuesday on old embezzlement charges, wrote on Instagram that the authorities could…
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Yves Rocher Rebuffs Criticism Over Role in Navalny Affair
French cosmetics company Yves Rocher dismissed Thursday as unjustified criticism against it over its role in a 2014 fraud trial against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. A Russian court found Navalny guilty in 2014 of defrauding the Russian subsidiary of Yves Rocher in a ruling later declared “arbitrary” by the European Court of Human Rights. Navalny…
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Dissatisfaction With Putin Surges Among Young Russians – Levada Poll
Almost half of young people in Russia disapprove of President Vladimir Putin’s performance, according to a poll by the independent Levada Center published Thursday. Some 46% of Russians aged 18-24 said they did not approve of Putin — a sharp rise from the 31% who said the same last year. The results are the latest…
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Outcry Over Navalny Crackdown as Top EU Envoy Heads to Moscow
An outcry grew in Russia Thursday over a crackdown on protesters, as EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visits the country under pressure to confront Moscow over the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny. Borrell’s three-day visit to Russia beginning Thursday — the first by a top EU envoy since 2017 — comes during a period of…
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‘No Repressions’ Against Pro-Navalny Protesters, Kremlin Says
There has been “no repression” against Russians detained while protesting in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin said Thursday amid mounting criticism of the harsh law enforcement tactics used against peaceful demonstrators. Independent monitors estimate that more than 10,000 people and dozens of journalists have been detained nationwide during the protests on…
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Volunteer Centre Opened in Nyagan with Rosneft Support
A volunteer centre at the youth centre in Nyagan has been opened with the support of RN-Nyaganneftegaz, a subsidiary of Rosneft.
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‘Everything Will Be Fine’: Russians Share Selfies in Red to Support Yulia Navalnaya
Thousands of Russians are posting photos of themselves in red clothing to social media in a show of support for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia Navalnaya. During her husband’s court hearing Tuesday, Navalnaya was seen crying while the judge read out the verdict to convert his suspended sentence of 3.5 years…
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Mediazona Editor Held in Overcrowded Cell After Mass Navalny Arrests
The jailed editor-in-chief of the independent Mediazona news website has been placed in an overcrowded cell amid reports of detention centers overflowing after mass arrests at rallies in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, his Twitter account said Thursday. Sergei Smirnov was jailed for 25 days Wednesday for retweeting a joke about his resemblance…
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EU Sends Top Envoy to Moscow as Navalny Controversy Grows
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell jets to Moscow on Thursday under pressure to confront the Kremlin over the jailing of Alexei Navalny and a crackdown on protesters. The visit — the first to Russia by a top EU envoy since 2017 — has drawn criticism from some European capitals worried Moscow will spin it as evidence…
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Severstal publishes Positio Paper o Climate Chage
February 4, 2021 Severstal’s Board of Directors held on 3 February 2021 approved the Company’s Position paper on Climate Change. The document is signed by CEO of Severstal Alexander Shevelev. Severstal’s position on Climate Change PAO Severstal is a vertically integrated steel and steel-related mining company with its major assets in Russia. Severstal is committed…
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Severstal publishes 2020 Aual Report
February 4, 2021 PAO Severstal (MOEX: CHMF; LSE: SVST), one of the world’s leading steel and steel-related mining companies, has published its Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2020 on the Company’s corporate website. The full report is available at: https://www.severstal.com/files/55798/Annual_Report_2020_ENG_final_light.pdf
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Severstal aouces 2021 capital ivestmet programme
February 4, 2021 PAO Severstal (“Severstal”; “the Company”), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and steel-related mining companies, today announces its capital investment programme for 2021. Severstal plans to invest approximately $1.35 billion in 2021, focusing on a number of major projects in its Russian Steel and Resources divisions, as well as on…
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Severstal reports Q4 & FY2020 fiacial results
February 4, 2021 PAO Severstal (MOEX: CHMF; LSE: SVST), one of the world’s leading steel and steel-related mining companies, today announces its Q4 & FY2020 financial results for the period ended 31 December 2020. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR Q4 AND FY2020 $ million, unless otherwise stated Q4 2020 Q3 2020 Change, % FY 2020 FY…
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Is Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine Set for EU Take Off?
Some European leaders seem to be warming to the idea of deploying Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine as the EU struggles with supply shortfalls. But how likely is it that Moscow’s jab will be going into arms across the 27-nation bloc after trial results showed it to be 91.6% effective? Is anyone using it? Hungary…
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Top Navalny Aide Urges EU to ‘Go After’ Putin’s Money
A top aide of Alexei Navalny on Wednesday vowed to fight on despite the Russian opposition figure’s imprisonment, saying the EU should respond by targeting President Vladimir “Putin’s money.” Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s regional network coordinator, told AFP he expected the jailing would boost the Kremlin critic’s approval rating and followers despite a crackdown on protests.…
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U.S. Extends New START Nuclear Treaty With Russia as Rifts Rise
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration Wednesday extended the New START nuclear treaty with Russia by five years, saying it hoped to prevent an arms race despite rising tensions with Moscow including over its imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. One day before the treaty was set to expire, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the…
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Russia Jails Prominent Independent Journalist Over Protest Retweet
Russia has jailed the chief editor of the independent Mediazona news website for 25 days for retweeting a joke that allegedly promoted a recent protest in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, Mediazona reported Wednesday. Sergei Smirnov, 45, was detained and later released Saturday on charges of “inciting participation in an unauthorized rally.” Photos…
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Riot Squads on Red Square and Full Detention Centers: Moscow After Navalny Verdict
On Tuesday evening, as the world was reacting to a court decision to sentence Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to two years and eight months in jail for violating the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence, Russia’s capital was being swiftly fortified and closed off. Riot police in black balaclavas formed columns in popular tourist spots…
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Germany: New Russia Sanctions ‘Cannot Be Ruled Out’
Germany warned Wednesday that Russia may face further EU sanctions over the jailing of opposition figure Alexei Navalny. “After this ruling, there will now also be talks among EU partners. Further sanctions cannot be ruled out,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert. The ruling against the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner is “far off from constitutional…
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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Bans 3 Pro-Russia TV Channels
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has banned three pro-Russian television channels in a move the presidency said was aimed at staving off Kremlin propaganda. Kiev says it has become a regular target of Russian misinformation since 2014, when Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, a conflict that has claimed more than…
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Russia, Turkey Open Joint Military Center in Azerbaijan
Turkey and Russia have opened a joint military facility in Azerbaijan to help monitor the ceasefire with Armenia, a stark indicator of the shifting geopolitics in the region. The center formally opened on Jan. 30, near the village of Giyameddinli in the Aghdam region. Staffed by an equal number of Russian and Turkish troops — 60 on…
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In Photos: Russia Cracks Down on Navalny Protesters Following Prison Ruling
Russians in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities took to the streets Tuesday in protest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny being sentenced to 2.8 years in prison. Despite hundreds of riot police stationed throughout central Moscow and St. Petersburg warning people not to stage unauthorized protests, thousands of Navalny’s supporters rallied in spontaneous groups throughout…
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Rosneft Introduces Modern Digital Services for Fuel Customers
The Achinsk Refinery has become the first among Rosneft Oil Company’s refineries to introduce QR codes on quality certificates for petroleum products.
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Director Kirill Serebrennikov Fired From Gogol Center
The Moscow city department of culture announced on Wednesday that they would not be renewing Kirill Serebrennikov’s contract as the director of the Gogol Center theater. The previous day, on the theater’s eighth “birthday,” Serebrennikov had described some of the plans for 2021, which included not only theatrical productions but other artistic projects. His contract…
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‘Pure Cowardice’: World Leaders React to Navalny’s Imprisonment
The sentencing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to prison on Tuesday sparked swift condemnation from the West. A Moscow court sentenced the fierce Kremlin critic to two years and eight months in a prison colony over alleged parole violations while recovering in Germany from a near-fatal poisoning he blames on President Vladimir Putin. His…
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Mexico Authorizes Russia’s Sputnik V Virus Vaccine
Mexico on Tuesday approved Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in the country, one of the worst hit by the pandemic, following the release of positive trial results. The move is a boost to the Latin American nation’s efforts to keep its immunization program on track in the face of limited supplies from other…
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As It Happened: Navalny Sentenced to 2 Years and 8 Months in Penal Colony
A Moscow court sentenced Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to two years and eight months in a penal colony, defying tens of thousands of his supporters who had rallied in his support since his return to Russia and Western governments who had urged for his immediate release. Navalny, 44, was detained on Jan. 17 when he…
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Poisoned Putin Critic Navalny Gets Almost 3 Years in Prison Colony
A Moscow court on Tuesday sentenced Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to two years and eight months in a prison colony, after his arrest last month prompted tens of thousands to rally in his support across the country. The 44-year-old anti-corruption activist was convicted of violating a 2014 suspended sentence for fraud by missing probation…
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U.S., French Investors Plead Not Guilty in Moscow Fraud Trial
A prominent U.S. investor and French banker denied they were guilty of embezzlement Tuesday, on the opening day of a trial in Moscow that has rattled Russia’s business community. Michael Calvey, the 53-year-old founder of Russia-based investment fund Baring Vostok, was arrested along with French banker Philippe Delpal in February 2019 and accused of defrauding…