Specialists have completed the assembly of the reactor plant of Power Unit 2 of Belarus NPP (general designer and general contractor is ROSATOM Engineering Division) for ensuring the hot and cold run stage. The assembly process included the installation of the reactor internals, the loading of dummy fuel assemblies, the installation of the protective tube…
The Non/Fiction international book fair has scrapped a scheduled presentation of a novel authored by jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, the book’s publisher said Monday. Yarmysh is currently under house arrest alongside nine other Navalny allies and local opposition deputies for calling on supporters to join nationwide protests in his support earlier…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused European Union leaders of “destroying” relations with Moscow, the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday. “There are no relations with the European Union as an organization. The entire infrastructure of these relations has been destroyed by the unilateral decisions of Brussels,” Lavrov was quoted as saying during a…
Russian billionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich has launched a defamation lawsuit against author Catherine Belton over claims that he had bought the club at President Vladimir Putin’s orders. According to Belton’s critically acclaimed 2020 book “Putin’s People,” Abramovich allegedly bought Chelsea in 2003 at Putin’s direction as part of an effort to…
“At this moment, I imagine that I’m filming a Russian remake of Star Wars, where instead of imperial stormtroopers there are prisoners in pea jackets and hats with earflaps,” Navalny said. “Defending the interests of the Emperor, space prisoners travel from planet to planet, suppressing the rebels. But wherever they are, at exactly 6:05 am…
March 22, 2021, 19:00 Anton Dzhalyabov has been appointed Director General of Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk. Anton Dzhalyabov was born in 1980. He graduated from Ufa State Petroleum Technological University, majoring in Oil and Gas Field Development and Operation. He has been employed with Gazprom for 19 years. Between 2002 and 2020, he rose through the ranks from Oil and Gas Production Operator to Head…
President Vladimir Putin on Monday dismissed foreign criticism of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine and said he would get vaccinated himself on Tuesday. Speaking at a televised meeting with health officials, the 68-year-old Russian leader described recent remarks in Europe questioning the need for the Russian vaccine as “strange.” “We are not imposing anything on anyone……
On a frosty March morning, a group of anti-Putin opposition activists gathered in a Soviet-era hotel on Moscow’s outskirts to plan their strategy for September elections to the country’s national parliament. Ten minutes later, the police arrived. Herded into police vans and shipped off to jail, around 200 attendees were charged en masse with participating…
On March 22, 2021, VVER-1200 reactor-enabled Unit 6 was commissioned at the Leningrad NPP. Andrey Petrov, Director General of Rosenergoatom (part of the Electric Power Division of ROSATOM), signed the corresponding order. Pilot operation with 15-day comprehensive tests preceded the unit’s commissioning. On March 10, following the tests, Russian nuclear watchdog Rostechnadzor confirmed the facility…
The Leningrad region of Russia which surrounds its second-largest city St. Petersburg is facing shortages of the country’s homemade Sputnik V vaccine, local media reported Monday. While Moscow has boasted of its global deliveries of Sputnik V, which has been approved in over 50 countries, concerns over Russia’s capacity to produce enough doses for its…
Annually on March 22, the World Day of Water is celebrated – the most valuable natural resource, without which life on Earth would be impossible
In 2020, Rosneft Oil Company and its subsidiaries planted more than 1.5 million seedlings of various types of trees
Russia’s Turkic and Persian communities on Sunday marked the first day of the astrological year with the celebration known as Nowruz, or Persian New Year. The ancient holiday marks the time of renewal and new beginnings. Nations that traditionally mark Nowruz believe that a lavish celebration can bring a successful and prosperous year. Largely forgotten…
Moscow said Monday it regretted that Washington did not respond to President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to organize public talks with U.S. President Joe Biden. “One more opportunity has been passed up to look for a way out of the dead end in Russia-U.S. ties,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Responsibility for that rests…
EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday approved sanctions over abuses in China, Myanmar and Russia, as the bloc expands measures targeting global rights breaches. The 27 nations are due to place four Chinese officials and one state-run entity on a blacklist over Beijing’s crackdown on the Uighur minority after ambassadors gave the go-ahead last…
Police in Russia’s fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg have broken up weeklong protests against the construction of a 5G wireless technology tower, local media reported Monday. Anti-5G activists set up tents to prevent works at the construction site in the Yekaterinburg district of Uralmash last Tuesday, arguing that the tower is unsafe for locals and illegal.…
The governor of Russia’s Penza region and a leading pharmaceutical executive have been charged in a large-scale bribery case, Russia’s Investigative Committee said Monday. Ivan Belozertsev, Biotek pharmaceutical group founder Boris Spiegel and suspected accomplices were detained over the weekend on suspicion of exchanging bribes for lobbying Biotek’s interests. Investigators said Belozertsev accepted money and…
The backer of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said Monday it had signed an agreement with an India-based pharmaceuticals giant for the production of up to 200 million doses of the jab a year. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement it has partnered with the Virchow…
Russian lawmakers have moved toward easing visa rules for tourists and relatives of Russian citizens. The reforms introduced last week will allow foreign tourists with valid hotel bookings to stay in Russia for up to six months, up from the current maximum visa stay of one month. Relatives of Russian citizens will be able to…
Most Russians who switched to remote working during the coronavirus pandemic have already returned to the office, according to a Rabota.ru survey of employees cited by the RBC news site. The poll found that just a quarter of Russians started working from home during the pandemic, and that more than half of those have now…
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a holiday in Siberia with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, piloted an all-terrain vehicle through thick woodland and traversed a swaying rope bridge, Kremlin footage showed. Putin routinely appears on state television participating in various outdoor pursuits to project the image of a healthy and robust leader capable of leading the…
In its 874-year history, Moscow has grown from an obscure twelfth-century military outpost into a world-class capital city of over 20 million inhabitants. Along the way, the city has been reinvented over and over to suit the needs of its rulers. Ivan the Great made Moscow “The Third Rome” after the fall of Constantinople in…
Russia’s ambassador to the United States landed in Moscow on Sunday after being recalled for emergency consultations over the worst crisis in relations with the United States in years. U.S. President Joe Biden on television earlier this week called the Russian leader a “killer” spurring a terse quip from Vladimir Putin who responded that, “it…
Russia has confirmed 4,456,869 cases of coronavirus and 95,030 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. According to figures published by state statistics agency Rosstat, Russia’s real coronavirus death toll stands at 131,118, with the virus present in another 69,314 deaths. March 21: What you need to know today Russia on Sunday confirmed 9,299 new coronavirus cases…
There is no greater culinary contrast in Russia than the transition from Maslenitsa — the weeklong Shrovetide festival — to the somber beginning of Lent, the long fast which precedes Easter. From buttery pancakes with thick cottage cheese filling, fistfights, and a round-the-clock carnival atmosphere, the mood becomes far more contemplative and the diet positively…
The United States sentenced a Russian and a North Macedonian on Friday to prison for their roles in a vast cybercrime operation. Sergey Medvedev, 33, of Russia and Marko Leopard, 31, of North Macedonia, were sentenced to ten and five years respectively, according to a Justice Department statement. Both had previously pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy in…
March 19, 2021, 19:30 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Dmitry Pumpyansky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TMK, took place today in St. Petersburg. During the meeting, Dmitry Pumpyansky informed Alexey Miller of the results of the deal on the purchase of assets of Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant (ChelPipe) by TMK. The parties discussed the issues of long-term cooperation, in particular,…
This week the Dal State Literature Museum held the opening of a new project and exhibition. The museum is opening a new section on the history of 20th century literature, which they launched with an exhibition called Osip and Nadezhda Mandelshtam Street. The exhibition was made in collaboration with the Mandelshtam Center at the Higher…
Russian police on Friday raided the Moscow offices of an opposition movement and media outlet backed by exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky in the latest move against the former oligarch, the groups said. The raids on Open Russia and MBKh Media came after police last weekend arrested around 200 opposition politicians and municipal councillors at…
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized U.S. leader Joe Biden’s remarks describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “killer,” the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported Friday. Biden ignited a diplomatic crisis with Moscow on Wednesday when he answered “I do” after being asked in an ABC News interview if he thinks Putin is a “killer,”…
Petrozavodsk Branch of JSC AEM-technology (part of ROSATOM machine-building division Atomenergomash) has started manufacturing guide vanes for reactor coolant pump sets (RCPS) which will be erected at Tianwan NPP Unit 7 (China). Guide vanes are a part of RCPS internals, and they consist of top and bottom disсs between which there are 13 guiding blades.…
Bulgarian prosecutors on Friday said six people had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia, including several defense ministry officials in the EU and NATO member state. The officials are accused of passing classified information to the head of the alleged spy ring, an ex-intelligence officer. His wife, who has joint Russian-Bulgarian nationality, “played…
Russia’s Central Bank said Friday it has raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2018 as rising inflation and food prices forced a shift toward tightening its monetary policy. The benchmark was raised to 4.5% from a record low of 4.25%, the bank said in a statement. It marks the first rate…
Background Gazprom and the Government of St. Petersburg sign cooperation contracts in furtherance of the Agreement of Cooperation concluded between them. The Agreement to expand the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel and the Roadmap of the project for the expanded use of hi-tech products of St. Petersburg enterprises in the interests of the Company were also signed between Gazprom and St. Petersburg. As of January 1, 2021,…
The developer of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said Friday it had signed a partnership with an India-based drugmaker for the production of 200 million doses of the two-dose jab. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which backed the development of Sputnik V, said in a statement it had partnered with Stelis Biopharma “to produce and…
Russia has deployed all six of its Black Sea Fleet submarines as NATO drills kicked off in the area, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday. “All Black Sea Fleet submarines are performing their tasks outside their bases,” said Vice-Admiral Igor Osipov, the fleet’s commander-in-chief. “None of the submarines are at their base,” RIA…
Mexican authorities have seized a shipment of purported Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines from a private airplane bound for Honduras, which Russia says were fake doses. The batch of 1,155 vials containing the equivalent of 5,775 doses was hidden inside two coolers aboard the plane at an airport in the southern state of Campeche, the customs…
Russian scientists have prevented a repeat of last year’s oil spill disaster near the Arctic city of Norilsk using satellite data, the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences said Thursday. The May 2020 leak of 21,000 tons of diesel from a fuel tank is described as the Arctic’s worst ecological disaster and has…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called on U.S. President Joe Biden to hold virtual talks after the American leader described him as a “killer.” Speaking on the sidelines of an event marking seven years since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Putin invited Biden to hold a “live-broadcast” or “online” discussion in the coming days. “I…
Russian investigators said Thursday they will examine the lyrics of the country’s entry to this year’s Eurovision song contest after it angered conservative groups. Manizha Sangin, known as Manizha, is set to perform the song “Russian Woman” at the annual competition in The Netherlands during May. It praises the strength of Russian women, urging them…
Mediators in Moscow on Thursday urged the Taliban not to launch a spring offensive, as international efforts for a peace deal intensify ahead of a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. The conference in Moscow came as part of intensifying negotiations between the Afghan government, the Taliban and the United States to negotiate…
A Moscow court has extended the house arrest of four prominent activists and supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny into the summer, the Mediazona and OVD-Info police-monitoring websites reported Thursday. Ten Navalny supporters are accused of “inciting mass violations” of coronavirus restrictions by calling on supporters nationwide to protest his jailing in late January and…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired back at his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden’s assertion that he is a “killer” by saying “It takes one to know one.” Biden set off a storm of condemnation from Moscow on Wednesday when he agreed with the assessment that Putin is a “killer” in an ABC News interview, adding that…
Background To date, Gazprom’s main processing facilities are the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant (GPP), the Orenburg gas processing and helium plants, the Sosnogorsk Gas Processing Plant, the Surgut Condensate Stabilization Plant, and the Urengoy Condensate Treatment Plant. The five-year Comprehensive Program for the reconstruction and re-equipment of gas and liquid hydrocarbon processing facilities was approved by Gazprom for…
March 18, 2021, 15:20 The Gazprom Management Committee addressed the issue of hydrogen production and utilization, as well as export of hydrogen and methane-hydrogen mixtures with the use of the existing gas infrastructure. It was noted that in recent times many countries view hydrogen energy as an area essential for the implementation of national low-carbon development strategies. At the same time, hydrogen is a secondary energy source, i.e. additional energy…
Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Thursday urged Belarusians to vote online to support her call for international negotiations with President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. Tikhanovskaya said the first results of the vote through the website belarus2020.org/home would be announced next Thursday, the anniversary of Belarus’s independence declaration in 1918. “Each of you knows that our country is in…
Russia said Thursday U.S. President Joe Biden had no interest in improving ties with Russia after he referred to Vladimir Putin as a “killer,” sparking the biggest crisis in years between the former Cold War rivals. Russia’s relationship with the West has eroded over a spate of disagreements, but relations plunged to new depths Wednesday…
A Siberian pianist sparked an uproar Tuesday with a speech against “state repression” at a concert honoring Italian-born French concert pianist Vera Lotar-Shevchenko, who spent eight years in a Soviet gulag prison camp in Siberia. Timofey Kazantsev was nearly hauled offstage at the Novosibirsk Philharmonic after urging attendees to sign a petition demanding the release…
Russia plans to cut state funding for the green energy sector by nearly a quarter, or 22%, the Kommersant business daily reported Thursday. The government’s budget for its 2025-2035 renewables program will be cut from 400 billion rubles ($5.4 billion) to 313 billion rubles ($4.3 billion), unnamed sources told Kommersant, citing a March 11 meeting…
The G7 group of leading economic powers said on Thursday it would not accept Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, in a statement marking seven years since the takeover. “We unequivocally denounce Russia’s temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol. Russia’s attempts to legitimize it are not, and will…
Moscow-based artist Yevgeniy Naumuv aims to breathe new life into the city’s gloomy urban landscape by turning them into Renaissance-inspired artworks. A resident of the Vykhino neighborhood located in Moscow’s outskirts, Naumov defines his art style as “Vykhino Renaissance,” saying it reveals the romantic side of life in gray residential apartment blocks. The young artist…
Russia’s ambassador in the United States will depart Washington Saturday for urgent consultations in Moscow, the embassy said, warning that bilateral ties were on the brink of “collapse.” Moscow’s strained relationship with Washington hit a new low Wednesday when Russia called back its ambassador over comments made by U.S. President Joe Biden who likened his Russian counterpart…
On March 16, 2021, the Industrial Ruby marine vessel left the port of St. Petersburg with a batch of equipment for Kudankulam NPP that is under construction in India. “This is the first of lot of equipment for Kudankulam Units 3 and 4 this year and the 24th under the project”, said Alexander Kvasha, First…
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday appealed to European regulatory authorities to approve Russia’s Sputnik V and other safe coronavirus vaccines as soon as possible. With Sputnik V under review by the EU’s medicines regulator, reports suggested this week that EU officials are considering launching negotiations to buy doses from Russia. The vaccine’s developers announced…
Chechen officials and members of the public are calling for the investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta to be banned after it reported on extrajudicial killings in the southern Russian region. The chorus of outrage grew after Novaya Gazeta on Monday published an ex-police officer’s eyewitness account of the torture and execution of 13 detainees in 2017.…
Russia said Wednesday it had summoned its Washington ambassador to Moscow for consultations on its ties with the United States, but stressed it wanted to prevent an “irreversible deterioration” in relations. The announcement from the Russian Foreign Ministry came after U.S. President Joe Biden said Russia would “pay a price” for meddling in U.S. elections…
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the U.S.S.R., believes that the country’s collapse was a violation of “the will of the people” and a referendum to preserve the Soviet system was “necessary and just,” he told Interfax on Wednesday. “The destruction of the Soviet Union was nothing more than a violation of the will of…
Russian lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill that bans insults against World War II veterans, with offenders facing possible sentences of up to five years in jail. The move came after a judge last month ruled that jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny was guilty of defaming a World War II veteran who was among a…
New materials meet new technology, street art and personal dreams at the new exhibition at the State Russian Museum devoted — for the first time in its history — exclusively to the works of Gen Y artists. Called “Millennials in Contemporary Russian Art” and hosted by the museum’s Marble Palace, the exhibition is an attempt to create…
U.S. President Joe Biden has agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “killer,” adding that he will “pay” for interfering in the 2020 presidential election in an ABC News interview that aired Wednesday. His pre-taped remarks aired after the U.S. intelligence community’s first assessment of foreign interference in the campaign. The report said Putin likely…