Russians are making travel plans en masse ahead of a nationwide non-working week introduced to stem the spread of coronavirus. President Vladimir Putin last week ordered the week-long paid holiday between Oct. 30-Nov. 7 in a bid to slow a Covid-19 wave that has seen record infections and deaths. This period, essentially a soft lockdown,…
Russian engineers have developed the country’s first walking robot dog prototype, the Moscow State University (MSU) has announced. The team said it took two years to build the dog-like robot “from scratch.” A short video posted on the MSU engineering project Voltbro’s YouTube page showcased some of the machine’s capabilities, like walking at different speeds…
The U.S. embassy in Moscow could stop performing most functions next year unless there is progress with Russia on increasing the number of visas for diplomats, a U.S. official warned Wednesday. The United States earlier this month stopped processing visas in Moscow, with Russians obliged to head to the US embassy in Warsaw. “We need…
Background In 2020, Gazprom supplied 3.05 billion cubic meters of gas to Moldova, an increase of 5.5 per cent against 2019 (2.89 billion cubic meters). Moldovagaz is a joint Russian-Moldovan company set up by Gazprom, the Moldovan Government, and the Ministry of Industry of Transnistria. On September 30, 2021, Gazprom and Moldovagaz signed the document to extend the existing contract for Russian gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova for one month…
Background Gazprom’s main partner in Uzbekistan is Uzbekneftegaz, focused on oil and gas prospecting, production, processing, transportation, storage and marketing. In 2017, Gazprom and Uzbekneftegaz signed the Agreement of Strategic Cooperation. In May 2018, the companies inked the Supplementary Agreement No. 2 to the Production Sharing Agreement for the follow-up development of the Shakhpakhty field. According to the document, the parties will continue to produce…
October 27, 2021, 21:05 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Magzum Mirzagaliev, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, took place today in St. Petersburg. The parties reviewed the key areas of their cooperation in the gas sector, including gas processing. Background The explored reserves of natural gas in the Republic of Kazakhstan total about 3.7 trillion cubic meters. Information…
The number of political prisoners in Russia has risen sharply this year in a trend that recalls late Soviet-era repression, Russia’s leading rights group Memorial said on Wednesday. It listed at least 420 political prisoners in Russia, including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny who survived a poisoning attempt with Novichok nerve agent last year. That…
Sheltered by snow-spattered mountains, the Stordalen mire is a flat, marshy plateau, pockmarked with muddy puddles. A whiff of rotten eggs wafts through the fresh air. Here in the Arctic in Sweden’s far north, about 10 kilometers east of the tiny town of Abisko, global warming is happening three times faster than in the rest…
The Kremlin said Wednesday that talks with Moldova’s pro-European government on gas prices are “exclusively commercial” and denied any political pressure was involved. Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu was due to meet with the head of Russia’s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Spinu’s government has declared a state…
The delegation of the ambassadors of the European Union and its member states visited the International Uranium Enrichment Center located at the site of the Angarsk Electrochemical Combine (an enterprise of the Rosatom fuel division), got acquainted with the production of enriched uranium at the combine, and also found out about the contribution of ROSATOM…
Ukraine has destroyed the artillery of pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east in its first combat deployment of a Turkish drone, the Ukrainian military announced Tuesday. Footage published on the Ukrainian armed forces’ Facebook page showed the Bayraktar TB2k targeting and shooting a Soviet-era howitzer it identified as the pro-Russian forces’ D-30. The Ukrainian armed…
Russian investigators said Wednesday they will probe a Dutch court decision to transfer a priceless collection of Crimean gold to Ukraine, a ruling hailed by Kiev as a victory over Moscow. An Amsterdam court ruled this week that the pieces, dubbed “Scythian Gold” and loaned to the city’s Allard Pierson Museum just before Moscow annexed…
Russia said Wednesday a Dutch court decision to transfer a collection of Crimean gold to Ukraine was politically motivated and “set a dangerous precedent,” as Moscow opened a criminal probe into the case. An Amsterdam court ruled this week that the pieces, dubbed “Scythian Gold” and loaned to the city’s Allard Pierson Museum just before…
Russia confirmed a new record number of coronavirus deaths for a second consecutive day Wednesday as the country with Europe’s highest official Covid-19 death toll counts down the days until nationwide restrictions come into force. According to government figures, 1,123 people have died from Covid-19 over the last 24 hours. Wednesday’s increase brings the official…
Russian law enforcement authorities will inspect popular rapper Morgenshtern’s criticism toward the country’s annual commemorations of the Soviet victory in World War II for possible legal violations, they said Tuesday. “I don’t understand this Victory Day at all. Millions are spent on these celebrations from year to year,” Morgenshtern, 23, said in a YouTube interview with…
Anastasia Tatulova, founder of the AnderSon family-friendly cafe chain in Moscow, is bracing herself for the inevitable loss of revenue ahead of the capital’s 10-day partial lockdown starting Thursday. “We are counting how far we can stretch our money, what payments can be transferred, negotiating our lease and asking which of our employees can go…
Russia has agreed to delay implementing a contested law barring French champagne producers from labeling their bubbly “champagne” on bottles sold in Russia, French Trade Minister Frank Riester told AFP on Tuesday. France, home of the original champagne, jealously guards its right to use the term and has been in talks with Moscow about the…
In the loft of a trendy Moscow bar, stand-up comedian Pavel Dedishchev walks up to a microphone under a spotlight. “I have seven coronavirus antibodies, they all know each other, it’s like a family living inside me,” he tells the audience of around 50 mostly young people. “Of course, I know they are from the…
A Dutch court ruled on Tuesday to hand over gold artifacts unearthed in annexed Crimea to Ukraine, dealing a blow to Russia’s claims to the collection. Both Moscow and Kiev claimed ownership of the Scythian treasures dating back to the 2nd century B.C., which were loaned to Amsterdam’s Allard Pierson Museum. The museum’s “Crimea: Gold…
Russia’s transition to renewable energy could cost its economy roughly $1.2 trillion by 2050, a top Kremlin economic aide told the Kommersant business daily ahead of the landmark COP26 climate summit. The 90-trillion-ruble price tag comes from a draft energy transition plan recently presented by the Economic Development Ministry. “Our entire so-called intensive scenario in…
Updated to add the nationwide mandatory vaccination announcement. Russia reported a record high number of coronavirus deaths Tuesday as Europe’s hardest-hit country braces for nationwide restrictions this week. Russia has repeatedly set new all-time highs for Covid-19 deaths over the past month and is currently reporting the second-highest number of daily fatalities in the world…
Russian courts have handed lengthy prison sentences to Jehovah’s Witnesses for organizing “extremist” activities over the past week in some of the harshest verdicts given to the religious group’s members yet. Russia outlawed the nonconformist Christian denomination in 2017, subjecting thousands of worshippers to criminal prosecution, harassment and intimidation. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes,…
Background In March 2021, TMK completed the deal on the purchase of 86.5 per cent of ChelPipe shares. The deal covered production, distribution and service-providing assets, scrap collection and processing assets, as well as other assets involved in the activities of the trunkline pipe division of ChelPipe. In April, TMK increased its share to 97.6 per cent. In October of this year, Gazprom and TMK signed at St. Petersburg International Gas Forum 2021 a…
Teplitskaya Design is a creative studio that works in various genres, from architecture, interior design and art spaces to sculpture and art-objects. Elena Teplitskaya is the artist, designer and architect at the helm of the studio. Denis Grishkin / Moskva News Agency
Russia on Monday urged Western countries to engage with the Taliban and for the European Union to re-open its embassy in Afghanistan, warning that the country was at risk of descending further into drug trafficking and terrorism. The call came after Moscow last week hosted members of the Islamist regime for international talks, and the Taliban…
Starting Thursday, thousands of Muscovites will be ordered to stay home as a part of a national “non-working” decree aimed at halting soaring coronavirus cases and record deaths. From Oct. 28-Nov. 7, only essential workers in the Russian capital, a city of 12 million, will be permitted to go to work in-person. The Moscow Times…
Nikolai Rish is furious that his Moscow chain of upmarket salons, Birdie Hairdressers, is being forced to close for at least 10 days in a partial citywide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, following a surge in cases, hospitalizations and fatalities over recent weeks. “It’s unfair that others aren’t getting vaccinated while we…
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev cruised to victory on Monday in an election monitors ruled was “not truly competitive” despite some reforms in the authoritarian Central Asian state. The vote Sunday saw no real opposition candidates challenge Mirziyoyev, who came to power in 2016 after the death of his mentor, dictator Islam Karimov, who ruled Uzbekistan…
Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was poised to win an election that monitors said Monday was “not truly competitive” despite reforms in the Central Asian state. The vote was held Sunday with no real opposition facing Mirziyoyev, who came to power in 2016 after the death of his mentor, dictator Islam Karimov, who ruled Uzbekistan for…
On Saturday the film and television director Alexander Rogozhkin died after a long illness at the age of 72. The announcement was made by Lenfilm Studios, where he worked for many years. Rogozhkin was a trailblazer on both the big and small Russian screens. He was the screenwriter and director of “Peculiarities of the Russian…
A Russian publishing house has removed a section on transgender people from the Russian-language edition of a health guide aimed at teenage girls to avoid running afoul of Russian law, media reported Sunday. The Belaya Vorona publishing house said it received legal counsel that it could be subject to criminal prosecution if “Welcome to Your Period!”…
Alexei Navalny’s new home is around 100 kilometres from Moscow, at the end of a muddy path, on the outskirts of the small town of Pokrov. A year after his poisoning, the main opponent to Vladimir Putin lives in a high-security prison. His anti-corruption foundation is banned. Many of his allies are in exile, independent…
Russians hoping to apply for an immigrant visa to the United States are now required to travel to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, the State Department confirmed Sunday, while blaming restrictions imposed by Moscow. That development came amid unresolved U.S.-Russian tensions, and tit-for-tat expulsions that earlier led Moscow to limit the number of U.S. diplomatic…
“The late Stalinism period,” writes Evgeny Dobrenko, touching off his new history of the final years of Josef Stalin’s reign over the Soviet Union, “was essentially the endpoint of the half-century long process called the Russian Revolution.” It’s a revealing line about a book that seems at first to be a lavishly detailed and compellingly written…
Moscow’s Gazprom could cut Moldova’s gas supply if the country does not settle its bill and sign a new contract, the energy giant’s top official was quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agency as saying. Moldova declared a 30-day state of emergency on Friday in an effort to secure the ex-Soviet country cheaper natural gas from…
Namibia has discontinued the use of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine following concerns raised by neighboring South Africa, the health ministry said on Saturday. Neighboring South Africa earlier this week said it would not approve Sputnik V due to concerns it could increase the risk of HIV infection among men, a claim the vaccine’s developer…
Namibia has discontinued the use of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine following concerns raised by neighboring South Africa, the health ministry said on Saturday. Neighboring South Africa earlier this week said it would not approve Sputnik V due to concerns it could increase the risk of HIV infection among men, a claim the vaccine’s developer…
Moscow on Saturday put a former prison inmate seeking asylum in France on a wanted list after he leaked harrowing videos of alleged rape and torture inside a Russian prison. According to a notice published on the Russian Interior Ministry’s website, Sergei Savelyev — a Belarus national — is wanted in connection with an unspecified…
Russia on Saturday reported a record 1,075 Covid deaths in 24 hours as Europe’s hardest hit country with dramatically low vaccination rates braces for nationwide curbs from next week. Despite multiple pleas from President Vladimir Putin and the availability of the home-grown Sputnik V vaccine, only 36% of Russians are fully vaccinated. According to fresh…
I am very fortunate to live with a very patient and supportive husband, a man who claims not to mind living in a Test Kitchen most weekdays. He’s a really good sport about epic messes in the kitchen, cheerfully submits to having the same dish — albeit with slight tweaks — on multiple consecutive nights,…
Montenegro has granted asylum to a Russian billionaire wanted by Moscow for his alleged role in two murders on the ground that he is being persecuted, his lawyer said on Saturday. Azerbaijan-born Telman Ismailov, who has in the past sparked the ire of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was arrested in Podgorica early this month on…
October 22, 2021, 20:45 A meeting of the joint working group of Gazprom and the Government of Mongolia on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the project for pipeline gas supplies from Russia to China across Mongolia took place today in Ulan-Bator, Mongolia. The meeting was headed by Vitaly Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan, Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia. The…
October 22, 2021, 20:30 The Gazprom Management Committee took note of the information about the functioning and development of the operating facilities for gas, condensate and oil processing. It was highlighted that the Company’s gas processing plants (GPPs) based in Russia are integrated into the single process chain of gas supplies, from hydrocarbon feedstock production to consumer deliveries. Components extracted from gas are used…
October 22, 2021, 20:25 Daily deliverability of Russian UGS facilities is reaching an unprecedented level of 847.9 million cubic meters. All sets of planned preventive maintenance and repair operations are completed. The Gazprom Management Committee took note of the information about the operational readiness of the Unified Gas Supply System (UGSS) facilities for peak loads expected in late 2021 – early 2022, as well as the measures necessary to ensure uninterrupted…
More than 60,000 m2 of Lake Baikal shoreline has been cleaned up by employees of Angarsk Petrochemical Company, an enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company’s oil refining complex.
Moldova declared a 30-day state of emergency Friday in an effort to secure the ex-Soviet country cheaper natural gas from Europe after traditional supplier Moscow hiked prices. The country of 2.6 million people wedged between Romania and Ukraine gets gas from Russia via its pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria and Ukraine. Gazprom has hiked prices…
Russia’s Central Bank hiked interest rates to 7.5% on Friday as economists warned the country faces a triple threat of rising coronavirus cases, new lockdown measures and surging inflation. The Russian economy recovered to its pre-coronavirus size earlier this year — a quicker recovery than first expected and faster than most other large economies —…
Go healthy, go vegan For all you vegetarians, vegans, people with restricted diets and anyone who wants to eat more healthy food — this is an expo for you. At the Veg-Life Expo you can sample and buy thousands of products from more than 100 companies, ranging from every kind of non-dairy milk to superfoods…
October 22, 2021, 15:25 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of Eni, took place today in St. Petersburg. The parties discussed the prospects of low-carbon development of Europe’s energy sector and stressed the important role of natural gas in ensuring its stable functioning. It was noted that Gazprom has increased the supplies of Russian…
The European Commissioner for Climate Action Frans Timmermans will not travel to Moscow to discuss climate action ahead of the crucial COP summit in Glasgow next month, an EU Commission spokesperson told The Moscow Times. The visit was supposed to take place on Oct. 25 but was cancelled after it “became impossible to schedule the…
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a tirade against Western values in his speech at the annual Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi late into Thursday evening. Putin outlined his view of Russia’s ideology as a counterbalance to what he derided as cancel culture, reverse racism and the “monstrous” forcing of transgenderism onto children. Here are some…
Russia registered its highest number of daily coronavirus deaths and new cases since the start of the pandemic Friday as authorities across the country scramble to impose partial lockdowns and other restrictions to thwart the spread of the virus in the coming weeks. The government’s coronavirus information center reported a double record of 1,064 new…
Golos, an independent vote-monitoring movement, was named a “foreign agent” by Russia’s Justice Ministry in August after receiving a $3 contribution from an Armenian citizen, the movement’s co-chairman Grigory Melkonyants said on Facebook. A Russian court denied Golos’ challenge against being designated a “foreign agent,” explaining that the grounds for the vote-monitoring organization being added…
Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in Russia on Friday to meet with President Vladimir Putin for the first time for talks expected to focus on Iran. Russian state television showed images of Bennett’s plane landing in the Black Sea resort town Sochi, where the pair will meet. Naftali took office in June, taking…
Fifteen people died and one person was missing after a fire broke out at a Russian explosives factory southeast of Moscow on Friday, authorities said. The government of the Ryazan region, where the factory is based, said they had died in the factory blaze in the village of Lesnoye, 300 kilometers (180 miles) from the…
Russia plans to lobby for sanctions relief on state-run energy giants that invest in green projects at next month’s landmark UN climate summit, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Ruslan Edelgeriyev, President Vladimir Putin’s climate envoy, accused Western states of double standards for urging Russia “to reduce methane leakages and yet we have Gazprom under sanctions” for the…
Jailed Kremlin critic and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny said Thursday that his Sakharov prize — the EU’s top human rights award — is an “honor.” “This is not only an honor, but also a great responsibility,” Navalny, whose social media accounts are run by his team, said on Twitter. news Navalny Wins EU’s Sakharov Human…
A Russian comedic actress has been jailed in the Far East after appearing in a video where she satirized the country’s Interior Ministry spokeswoman, local media reported Thursday. Larisa Krivonosova was fined and jailed for 10 days in September for illegally wearing an official uniform after she portrayed Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk on a…
For three weeks now, Russia has been setting records for daily deaths from the coronavirus. But even with more than 1,000 Russians dying daily and the Moscow mayor announcing a week-long lockdown in the city, on the capital’s streets panic is hard to detect. “I just got the vaccination, but if it wasn’t for my…
Russia said Thursday it had taken offline a reactor at a nuclear plant in the south of the country after detecting a steam leak, but said radiation levels were normal. The state nuclear agency operates 38 reactors — mostly built during the Soviet period at 11 nuclear power stations across the country. The second of…