Author Archives: <a class="url fn n" href="https://cultureru.com/author/admin/" title="admin" rel="me">admin

A Russian court on Friday fined Twitter nearly $117,000 for failing to remove calls to opposition protests, as Moscow ramps up pressure against the U.S. tech giant. Authorities in January accused foreign social media platforms of interfering in Russia’s domestic affairs by not deleting calls to rallies in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny…

Russian State-Funded Sputnik News Pulls Out of Britain

BusinessBy admin April 2, 2021 Leave a comment

Russia’s state-run Sputnik news organization will shut down its British operations five years after opening a bureau in Scotland, the news agency described as a Kremlin propaganda tool announced Friday. Sputnik began broadcasting from its Edinburgh studio in August 2016, the same year that U.S. intelligence agencies accused it and the RT news channel of…

ROSATOM experience will be used in industrial and civil construction in Nizhny Novgorod Region

JSC Atomenergoproekt (company of the Engineering Division of ROSATOM) and the Ministry of Construction and Development of Agglomeration of Nizhny Novgorod Region have concluded an agreement on cooperation in development and promotion of information model technologies in the field of industrial and civil construction in the region. In accordance with the agreements, the Engineering Division…

Rights Groups Urge Russians to Wake Up to Syria Abuses

Rights groups in Moscow urged Russians to take responsibility for abuses in Syria as they released a damning report Friday on the country’s role in the decade-old conflict. Published to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the Syrian war, the report is the first into the conflict by Russian campaigners and seeks to shed light…

Russian Surgeons Perform Open-Heart Surgery During Hospital Blaze

Surgeons in Russia’s Far East successfully performed an open-heart surgery despite the outbreak of a major fire in their hospital Friday. A wiring malfunction is believed to have caused the fire at the cardiac surgery center in the city of Blagoveschensk, regional prosecutors told state media. Around 120 personnel and patients were evacuated as the…

Armenian PM Self-Isolates Ahead of Putin Meeting

MoscowBy admin April 2, 2021 Leave a comment

Armenia’s prime minister has gone into self-isolation as a preventative measure against coronavirus ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, officials said on Friday. It is common for anybody meeting in person with 68-year-old Putin to isolate beforehand to protect him from the contagion. Nikol Pashinyan, who faces backlash at home…

Sculptures Sing Opera at St. Petersburg’s Manege

An exhibition called “Stillness. Russian Classical Sculpture From Shubin To Matveev” opened at the Manege in St. Petersburg, throwing a virtual bridge across centuries, artists and art forms. The spacious halls of the Manege have been transformed into theater spaces, complete with a foyer, dressing rooms, an orchestra pit, audience seats and stages where different…

Russia’s Coronavirus Vaccine Can Be ‘Updated’ With New Strains, Developer Says

The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said Friday that they have come up with technology that “updates” the jab to protect against new, more-contagious strains of the virus. Studies suggest that vaccines currently in use provide less protection against the new Covid-19 variants that have emerged in Britain, South Africa and Brazil. Scientists…

Ukraine Says Russia Massing Troops on Border, U.S. Warns Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday accused Moscow of building up troops on his country’s border as the United States warned Russia against “intimidating” Ukraine. Kiev has been locked in a conflict with Russian-backed separatists since 2014, and this week Ukrainian officials reported Russian troop movement in annexed Crimea and on the border, near territories…

Russia Warns of Anti-White ‘Aggression’ in U.S.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday warned that anti-white racism might be building in the United States and said that political correctness “taken to the extreme” would have lamentable consequences. In an interview with political scientists broadcast on national television, Moscow’s top diplomat said Russia had long supported a worldwide trend that “everyone wants to get…

Navalny Says State Broadcaster RT Filmed Prison Conditions

A television crew from the Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT has filmed a segment at Alexei Navalny’s prison colony, the jailed Kremlin critic’s Telegram channel said Thursday. The crew arrived at the prison colony, known as one of Russia’s harshest, a day after Navalny announced the start of his hunger strike to demand proper medical care for…

Hunger Strikes as Russian and Soviet Protest Tools

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny announced Wednesday that he is going on hunger strike to demand medical treatment and an end to “torturous” sleep deprivation in one of Russia’s most notorious prison colonies. Hunger strikes as a tool of protest date back to the Soviet era, when solo dissidents or even entire groups of prisoners…

More Russian Doctors Trust Coronavirus Vaccine – Poll

Russian doctors are more likely to trust the homegrown Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine than they were last year and trust their country’s jab significantly more than they do foreign vaccines, according to an independent survey published Thursday. Out of the nearly 2,000 Russian doctors surveyed by Levada and the professional community of medics Vrachi.rf, 69%…

Russian ‘Anti-Apple’ Law Requiring Local Apps Takes Effect

Smartphones, tablets and computers sold in Russia must now come with pre-installed domestic software and apps from Thursday in a new law seen by critics as another attempt to curb online freedom. The initiative was introduced in an effort to promote the country’s tech companies but critics say it is another bid to tighten state control of Russia’s…

Navalny Hunger Strike a Dangerous Step After Poisoning, Allies Fear

Allies of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny expressed concern for his health Thursday, after his announcement in an Instagram post that he is going on hunger strike until prison authorities allow his doctor to treat severe back and leg pain. For the 44-year old anti-corruption activist — who fell ill last summer after an…

International Bird Day Celebrated on April 1

Every year on April 1, International Bird Day is celebrated to coincide with the start of the birds’ return from their wintering grounds

Timeline: Navalny’s Tumultuous Return to Russia

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny on Wednesday announced he is launching a hunger strike from the prison colony where he is serving a 2.5-year sentence to demand proper medical treatment. The Kremlin critic was sent to one of Russia’s most notorious penal colonies on returning to Russia from Germany, where he spent months recovering from…

New Crimean Land Law Banning Foreign Ownership Comes Into Force

In 2012, Lyudmila, a Ukrainian teacher living in Kiev, was overjoyed when she inherited her grandmother’s small house set on half an acre of land overlooking Kerch, a picturesque city on the Black Sea in Crimea. Last week, she received a letter saying she will have to sell her land to the Crimean authorities, which…

U.S. Slashes Visa Services at Consulates in Russia

BusinessBy admin April 1, 2021 Leave a comment

U.S. visas and services for American citizens will only be available in Moscow after the U.S. slashed operations at its remaining Russian consulates, U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan announced Thursday. High tensions and Russia’s 2017 personnel cap on the U.S. diplomatic mission previously prompted the State Department to consider closing the two remaining U.S.…

Electric power from the ROSATOM’s Karmalinovskaya Wind Farm have entered the wholesale market

The Karmalinovskaya wind farm began supplying electric power and capacity to the wholesale electric power and capacity market from April 1, 2021. The Karmalinovskaya wind farm located in the Stavropol Krai, with an installed capacity of 60 MW, includes 24 wind turbine generators. Local content of facility equipment, as confirmed by the Ministry of Industry…

Russian Diplomats in North Korea Facing ‘Acute Shortages’ of Food, Essentials as Frustration Builds

Russian diplomats in North Korea are growing increasingly frustrated with the “severe conditions” in which they have found themselves as anti-coronavirus measures cut off the secretive country from the rest of the world. In a Thursday statement, Russia’s Embassy in Pyongyang said diplomats in the country are facing an acute shortage of essential goods sparked…

Russian Journalist’s Georgia Visit Sparks Protests

BusinessBy admin March 31, 2021 Leave a comment

Protests broke out in Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi over Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner’s visit to celebrate his birthday, Georgian media reported late Wednesday. Footage showed crowds chanting outside a central Tbilisi hotel where the media personality and state-run television talk show host was said to have been gathering with dozens of guests on the eve…

Severstal cofirms that its Cherepovets Steel Mill eergy strategy will sigificatly reduce Scope 2 emissios

April 1, 2021 PAO Severstal, one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and mining companies, has completed the development of a detailed energy efficiency strategy which will help the Company to increase its own energy generation and reduce Scope 2 emissions. Reducing Severstal’s overall consumption of natural gas, gas flaring and the purchase of…

Top U.S. General Calls Russia, Ukraine Amid Reported Moscow Troop Buildup

The top Pentagon general called counterparts in Russia and Ukraine Wednesday as the U.S. Defense Department expressed concerns about a reported buildup of Russian troops along Ukraine’s border and in Crimea. U.S. troops in Europe were on an elevated “watch condition” as Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley spoke to General Valery Gerasimov, the Russian…

Navalny Protester Sentenced to Jail for Attacking Police

A court in St. Petersburg on Wednesday jailed a man for a year for having attacked a riot police officer during a rally in support of imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Yevgeny Tugankov became the third Russian to receive a prison sentence over the nationwide protests that took place in late January and early February…

Kremlin Critic Navalny Announces Prison Hunger Strike

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny announced Wednesday that he has gone on hunger strike in protest of conditions that he says are causing his health to deteriorate. Navalny’s lawyers warned last week that his life may be in danger after he reported suffering from weeks of severe back pain and a loss of sensation in…

Italy Expels Russians After Spies ‘Caught Red-Handed’

Italy expelled two Russian officials on Wednesday after an Italian navy captain was caught red-handed by police selling secret documents to the Russians. The Italian frigate captain was arrested on spying charges after officers tailing him saw him late Tuesday in Rome in a “clandestine meeting” with a Russian military officer, according to a police…

Reports of Major Abuses by Russian Mercenaries in C. Africa – UN Experts

UN experts expressed concern on Wednesday over reports of “grave human rights abuses” by Russian mercenaries in the Central African Republic, where they have supported the embattled government’s military. “The experts have received, and continue to receive, reports of grave human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, attributable to the private military personnel…

Russian Senate Speaker Slams Eurovision Pick ‘Russian Woman’ as ‘Nonsense’

The speaker of Russia’s upper-house Federation Council on Wednesday criticized the lyrics to the country’s selection for the Eurovision song contest as “nonsense” and demanded a review of how it was chosen. Russia announced earlier this month that it would send Tajik-born singer-songwriter Manizha to this year’s Eurovision contest in the Netherlands, where she will perform…

Lithuanian Court Extends Sentence for Ex-Soviet Tank Officer

A Lithuanian court on Wednesday extended a prison sentence for a former Soviet tank officer convicted for his role in a deadly military assault on Lithuania’s independence bid in January 1991. The Vilnius appeals court extended the sentence for Yuri Mel from seven years to 10 years behind bars, meaning that he would not be…

3 in 4 Russians View China Favorably – Poll

Three out of four Russians view China favorably, an independent poll said Tuesday, a 10% jump from last year as Moscow’s ties with the West grow increasingly strained. The Levada Center polling agency said 75% of Russian respondents view China in a positive light, up from 65% in 2020. Only 14% said they view China…

Macron, Merkel, Putin Discuss Coronavirus Vaccine Production

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the prospect of jointly producing Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, the Kremlin announced late Tuesday. The leaders spoke as Russia awaits European Union approval of its Sputnik V vaccine in the next two months. The EU’s medicine regulator plans…

Russia Approves ‘World’s First’ Coronavirus Vaccine for Pets

MoscowBy admin March 31, 2021 Leave a comment

Russia has approved what it says is the world’s first coronavirus vaccine for pets, the state veterinary service said Wednesday. Carnivac-Cov underwent clinical trials on dogs, cats, mink and other animals starting in October, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary Supervision, Rosselkhoznadzor, said in a statement. Mass production of the injectable suspension could be launched as…

Landmark Imperial-Era Moscow Grocery Store to Close After 120 Years

The Yeliseyevsky Food Emporium, famous for its grand interior and rich history, is due to close its doors on April 11 after 120 years of service, store representative Gleb Prostakov said in an interview with RT. Once a bustling grocery store on Moscow’s main street, the store is now barely functioning as customers wander among…

NATO Performs 10 Interceptions of Russian Jets in Single Day

NATO warplanes performed 10 interceptions of Russian fighter jets and bombers exhibiting “an unusual peak” of flights across Europe, the Western military alliance said in a statement Monday. NATO shadowed six groups of Russian warplanes in less than six hours as Russia staged large-scale military drills across the country. “NATO fighter jets scrambled 10 times…

Russian Envoy Planning U.S. Return After Biden ‘Killer’ Comment

Russia’s ambassador to the United States plans to return to Washington soon following talks in Moscow on the future of bilateral ties after U.S. President Joe Biden called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “killer.” Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, who was recalled for emergency consultations on March 21, told the state-run TASS news agency Monday that…

Austria in Talks to Buy 1M Sputnik V Doses

MoscowBy admin March 30, 2021 Leave a comment

Austria said on Tuesday it was negotiating with Russia over the possible purchase of 1 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine — which has yet to be approved by EU regulators. Though EU member Hungary is already administering Sputnik V and a total of 57 countries have authorized its use, according to the Russian…

‘Marusya’ Folk Singers Win Over Russian Audiences

Yasho Thierry from Côte d’Ivoire has been performing with the Russian folk music group “Marusya” for the past ten years. Based in the southern city of Krasnodar, the group was born from a chat about musical culture between an African student at the city’s university and the leader of a Russian folk ensemble, Pavel Chelakhov.…

Russian Court in Crimea Jails Jehovah’s Witness for 6.5 Years

A court in Russia-annexed Crimea said Monday it has jailed a Jehovah’s Witness for six and a half years on charges of organizing an extremist group in the country’s latest prison sentence against members of the Christian denomination. The Sevastopol-based Gagarin district court said in a statement that it found the defendant guilty and sent…

One Year On: How Russia’s Coronavirus Lockdown Hit the Economy

A year ago today Russia went into its first — and only — coronavirus lockdown. It was first officially declared a “nationwide non-working week,” designed to keep as many people at home as possible and keep Russia’s infection rate low, President Vladimir Putin outlined in an address to the nation days before swathes of the…

Russia Stages Fresh Military Drills in the Arctic

Russia was holding fresh military exercises on Tuesday in the Arctic, a territory of growing importance for Moscow as it vies for regional dominance with rivals including the United States. Tensions between the West and Russia have led both sides to beef up their militaries in the remote High North, an area believed to be…

Russian Lawyers Seek State Regulations on Recommendation Engines – Kommersant

Lawyers from the Russian Bar Association have called on lawmakers to impose regulations on websites’ recommendation algorithms, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. The proposed regulations would apply to social networks, news aggregators, streaming services and online marketplaces, Kommersant cited the lawyers as saying in their proposal to the State Duma and Federation Council. Algorithms…

Russian Troops Fined for Contentious Holy Water Shoe-Washing Video

Two Russian soldiers have been fined for washing their shoes in holy water, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. Video of the two Navy servicemen boasting of washing their feet in “their [worshippers’] holy water” at a Russian Orthodox chapel in Russia’s western exclave of Kaliningrad sparked backlash last fall. The men, who are natives…

Russia Says Hopes to Avoid Ban on Western Tech Giants

The Kremlin said Tuesday it hopes Moscow will not be forced to block Western tech giants in the country but stressed that the companies had to abide by Russian law. Russian authorities have in recent months ramped up pressure on foreign social media platforms, particularly those hosting content supporting jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. “No…

Russian Police Probe Pro-Kremlin TV Host’s Hitler-Praising Comments – Reports

Moscow police are inspecting prominent talk show host Vladimir Solovyov’s remarks calling Hitler a “very brave man,” the RBC news website reported Monday. The Interior Ministry’s northern Moscow department said it had asked the state-run media holding All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) for copies of Solovyov’s show that aired last month, RBC reported.…

Siberian Scientists Block ‘Bombshell’ Pollution Report Ahead of Elections – Reports

MoscowBy admin March 29, 2021 Leave a comment

Siberian scientists have blocked the publication of a “bombshell” pollution report out of fear of angering voters ahead of this fall’s legislative elections, the Tayga.info news website reported Friday. The Russian Academy of Sciences’ (RAS) Siberian branch reportedly determined that 78% of Russia’s two dozen most polluted cities are located in Siberia and linked the…

Easter Brunch at the Hyatt Regency on April 4

This Sunday, April 4, is Easter for the mostly western part of Christendom, and if you are looking for a beautiful and delicious way to celebrate the day, look no farther than the Oriental Bar at the top of the Hyatt Regency in Petrovsky Park. The family brunch, served from noon to 5 p.m., will…

Russia Jails Elderly Crimean Woman for 12 Years in Ukraine Spy Trial

A Russian-controlled court in Crimea said Monday it has jailed an elderly woman for 12 years after finding her guilty of spying for Ukraine. The Sevastopol city court said in a statement that the woman — identified only by the initial D., her birth year of 1955 and residence of the town of Bakhchysarai —…

Navalny Says Risks ‘Torture-Like’ Solitary Confinement With Prison Reprimands

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said Monday that he risks being sent to “torture-like” solitary confinement after he received several reprimands at a notoriously harsh penal colony. Navalny, 44, is serving a sentence of two and a half years for violating parole in an old fraud case while recovering abroad from poisoning that he blames…

Russian Eco-Activists Protest Planned Kamchatka Gold Mining

Russian environmentalists have raised the alarm over plans to mine gold near UNESCO-protected territory on the Kamchatka peninsula in the Far East, the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty news outlet’s Siberian affiliate reported Monday. Russia’s Federal Subsoil Resource Use Agency reportedly plans to open a 61-square-kilometer site in the Milkovsky district of Kamchatka for gold prospecting…

Russia ‘Concerned’ Over Myanmar Civilian Casualties

Russia acknowledged Monday that it was developing ties with Myanmar but said it was “very concerned” by an increase in civilian casualties at protests against military rule. More than 100 people including children were killed by security forces in Myanmar on Saturday in the deadliest weekend since February’s military coup. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told…

Chinese Firm to Make 60M Doses of Russia’s Sputnik Vaccine

Russia has agreed a deal for more than 60 million doses of its Sputnik V vaccine to be produced in China from May, the jab’s developer said on Monday. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has financed the development of the vaccine, said it and Shenzhen Yuanxing Gene-tech Co. “have agreed to cooperate on production…

Top Navalny Ally Blames Kremlin for Father’s Arrest

MoscowBy admin March 29, 2021 Leave a comment

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s ally Ivan Zhdanov said Monday that his father has been arrested for corruption, blaming the Kremlin for the arrest and linking the criminal case to his own political activity. Zhdanov, who heads Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) which is famous for viral video investigations into senior officials’ allegedly illicit wealth, said…

Moscow’s Landmarks Descend Into Darkness for Earth Hour

Major historical landmarks worldwide switched off the lights on Saturday in solidarity with Earth Hour, the environmental awareness movement spearheaded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) since 2007. Moscow’s monuments and iconic buildings were among the famous sights that descended into darkness between 8:30 and 9:30 on Saturday evening, adding an air of mystery to…

Russian Cheese King to Italy: Recognize Crimea to Export Parmesan Again

Italy should recognize Crimea as Russian territory before being allowed to export parmesan into the country again, the head of Russia’s cheesemakers union said Sunday. Russia banned wholesale imports of fresh EU food produce including parmesan in retaliation to Western sanctions over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Italian Ambassador to Moscow Pasquale Terracciano on…

Russia Launches Large-Scale Military Drills in Eastern Siberia

Russia has launched large-scale military exercises involving more than 12,000 servicemen in eastern Siberia, Interfax reported Monday, citing the Eastern Military District’s press service. The drills will involve up to 3,000 weapons and pieces of military equipment, 60 aircraft and helicopters and more than 10 drones. They will be led by the Eastern Military District’s…

Armenia PM to Resign Ahead of Snap Election to Defuse Crisis