Seventy-five years after the Leningrad siege ended, the city’s residents won’t be told how to remember. Daniel Kozin / MT There are no individual graves at the Piskaryovskoye Cemetery in northern St. Petersburg. So, the crowds of mourners who brought wreaths threw them in one big pile at the feet of “The Motherland,” a towering…
When the news broke Sunday night of the theft of a painting at Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery, it first seemed like a low-tech version of the “The Thomas Crown Affair.” At 6 p.m. on Sunday, in the very popular show of works by 19th-century landscape painter Arkhip Kuindzhi — that is, one of the busiest times…
Alexander Avilov / Moskva News Agency Moscow was hit with its heaviest snowfall in nearly 70 years over the weekend, Russian media reported. While snow piled up on the pavements and snowplows hit the streets, many Muscovites rejoiced. The snowstorm started on Saturday morning and continued uninterrupted for some 37 hours, the weather news website Meteonovosti reported. …
Background OMV AG is Gazprom’s main partner in Austria. The companies cooperate in gas production, transportation and supplies. Since 2017, OMV has been partnering with Gazprom in the Yuzhno-Russkoye oil, gas and condensate field development. In June 2018, an Agreement was signed to extend until 2040 the existing contract between Gazprom Export and OMV Gas Marketing & Trading GmbH for Russian gas supplies to Austria. In November 2018, an Amendment to the contract on gas supplies to Austria…
The Kremlin has denied reports that private military contractors who carry out secret missions for Russia flew into Venezuela to reinforce security for its leader in the face of mass protests. Global superpowers split into two camps last week after the United States, Europe and Latin American allies backed opposition leader Juan Guaido declaring himself…
Russia’s cultural capital, St. Petersburg, has also distinguished itself as most tolerant of the LGBT community, according to the results of a recent survey. Russia banned “homosexual propaganda” among minors in 2013, leading the courts to ban gay pride events and public polling show surging anti-LGBT sentiment. In recent weeks, authorities in the North Caucasus…
First Russian-made experimental nuclear fuel assemblies based on accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) have been loaded for testing into the water loops of MIR research reactor at the State Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Region. This work is a part of the project of TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM to develop Russian accident tolerant…
A public official has been dismissed following reports that she had forced teachers to remove snow in freezing weather, authorities in the Saratov region southeast of Moscow said Monday. Reports and footage of women identified as Saratov school teachers shoveling snow into wicker bags sparked outrage across Russia over the weekend. Heavy snowfall and slow…
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday lifted sanctions on aluminum giant Rusal and other Russian firms linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska, defying a Democratic-led push in the U.S. Congress to maintain the restrictions. Earlier this month, 11 of Trump’s fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate joined Democrats in a failed effort to keep the…
Russian police have recovered a painting by prominent artist Arkhip Kuindzhi stolen from a Moscow gallery on Sunday and detained the suspected thief, TASS state news agency said on Monday, citing a police official. A 31-year-old man told police where he had hidden the painting, TASS quoted a spokeswoman for the Russian Internal Ministry, Irina Volk,…
St. Petersburg marked the 75th anniversary of the lifting of the Siege of Leningrad this weekend with a military parade in the center of the city and commemorations of the fallen. The World War II-era siege, which lasted for 872 days and killed an estimated one million people, is remembered every year on Jan. 27 —…
Over three-quarters of Russians have said they oppose handing a chain of Pacific islands to Japan as the countries seek to resolve a long-standing territorial row, according to a state-funded poll released on Monday. Tokyo has been seeking the return of the Kuril Islands — known in Japan as the Northern Territories — since Soviet…
Private military contractors who do secret missions for Russia flew into Venezuela in the past few days to beef up security for President Nicolas Maduro in the face of U.S.-backed opposition protests, according to two people close to them. A third source close to the Russian contractors also told Reuters there was a contingent of them in Venezuela,…
Last weeked to discover the most famous Russian art you’ve never seen “Woman With a Mirror” (1915-16) by David Burliuk Courtesy of Museum of Russian Impressionism Even if you don’t know the avant-garde poet and artist David Burliuk, you’d probably recognize his image instantly: a stocky man in a frock coat and top hat, with…
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday called on the United States to drop what it called irresponsible plans to deploy a missile defense system in space, saying the move risked fueling an arms race. The ministry said in a statement that the plans looked like an attempt to resurrect the so-called Star Wars…
Iskusstvo Kino magazine (“The Art of Film”) and the Moskino chain of cinema theaters have teamed up to arrange a new festival, which started on January 24 and will go on till the end of the month. Its purpose is to show independent films to people who might not see them otherwise. Anton Dolin, chief…
Amnesty International has declared the first activist to be prosecuted under Russia’s law against “undesirable organizations” a prisoner of conscience on Friday. A law passed in 2015 allows prosecutors to limit or halt the work of foreign organizations deemed “undesirable,” punishing those breaking these limits with fines or prison terms lasting up to six years.…
Russia on Friday offered to mediate between the government and opposition in Venezuela if necessary, saying it was ready to cooperate with all political forces that acted responsibly, the RIA news agency reported. The comments came a day after Moscow said Nicolas Maduro was Venezuela’s legitimate president and not opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself…
При: very capacious preposition When Russians are learning English, they complain about articles, verb tenses, modal verbs and prepositions. Having listened to a lot of Russian ranting about my native tongue over the years, I can attest that they eventually accept that the difficulties of the first three categories are just part of the structure…
The World Cup party has long ended, but some fans seem to be unable to let go. Police have said that around 5,500 foreigners who traveled to Russia visa-free for the midsummer football tournament in 2018 are yet to leave, state media reported on Friday. Read More Mexico’s World Cup Party Goes on as Fan…
Russia’s athletics federation said on Friday it would withdraw its appeal against the decision by the global athletics governing body IAAF to prolong its suspension over evidence of state-sponsored doping. The federation had filed an appeal against at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September against IAAF’s decision to extend the ban, imposed…
Investment in Russia’s commercial real estate reportedly hit six-year highs last year in a sign of the once-booming market’s recovery from geopolitical tensions. Foreign investment in Russian real estate took off in the 2000’s to reach 62 percent of all investment in the market between 2004 and 2008. Investment sentiment suffered after 2014 with Western…
Russia’s athletics federation said on Friday it would withdraw its appeal against the decision by the global athletics governing body IAAF to prolong its suspension over evidence of state-sponsored doping. The federation had filed an appeal against at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in September against IAAF’s decision to extend the ban, imposed…
Russian police reportedly prevented a school shooting in Siberia on Friday when they detained a student armed with a rifle who had opened fire on the building after being refused entry. Armed attacks have rocked schools across Russia over the past year, including a deadly October shooting and bombing at a college in annexed Crimea…
TVEL Fuel company of ROSATOM and the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India signed the contract for supplies of uranium fuel pellets for the units of Tarapur NPP powered by BWR reactors. According to the contract, in 2019, several dozen tons of the pellets produced by Machine-building Plant (MSZ JSC), a fabrication…
TVEL Fuel company of ROSATOM and the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India signed the contract for supplies of uranium fuel pellets for the units of Tarapur NPP powered by BWR reactors. According to the contract, in 2019, several tons of the pellets produced by Machine-building Plant (MSZ JSC), a fabrication facility…
Thousands of people have been evacuated from public buildings in at least seven Russian regions over bomb threats in the second wave of panic to have hit this month. Russia has been hit by mass bomb scares since late 2017, when anonymous phone calls about planted explosives in 170 cities turned out to be fake.…
On Jan. 25, it’s good to be a Tatiana Kirill Zykov / Moskva News Agency Are you a student? Is your name Tatiana? If the answer to either (or both) of these questions is yes, then today is quite literally your day. In Russia, Jan. 25 is Tatiana’s Day—otherwise known as student’s day—and Moscow has…
Nicolas Maduro, Igor Sechin and Manuel Quevedo, December 16, 2017 / Reuters The United States and a slew of Latin American nations have recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president, leaving Nicolas Maduro ever more isolated. Though China is Venezuela’s top lender, Russia has also been a long-standing ally of Maduro and his…
At least three armed suspects who attacked traffic police in Russia’s North Caucasus on Thursday night have been shot and killed, investigators have said. The restive region has been the site of frequent attacks on law enforcement officials, including a grenade attack on National Guard troops in Ingushetia last December. Armed attacks have also been…
The United States has offered to hold talks on arm control issues with Russia on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting in Beijing next week, a senior State Department official said on Thursday. Under Secretary of State Andrea Thompson told reporters the talks almost certainly would include a dispute over a Cold War-era treaty…
A new Russian stealth drone has been reportedly photographed in detail for what may be the first time in Siberia. Military analysts said first grainy images of Okhotnik, an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) built by the Sukhoi design bureau, may have appeared online as early as 2017. On Wednesday, the U.S. aviation online outlet…
Release January 24, 2019, 17:10 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Valery Limarenko, Acting Governor of the Sakhalin Region, took place in St. Petersburg today. The parties reviewed the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement, noting the strategic nature of interactions between Gazprom and the Government of the Sakhalin Region. As part of the Eastern Gas Program, the Company is developing…
Davos – Andrey Guryev, President of the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers and CEO of PhosAgro, one of the world’s largest producers of phosphate-based fertilizers, took part in a panel session called ‘The Russian Economic Outlook’, which took place at Russia House as part of the business programme at the 49th Annual Meeting of the…
Russians reportedly took out 8.61 trillion rubles ($130 billion) in loans last year as real personal incomes declined. Russian economic growth has been hampered by a volatile currency, low oil prices and Western sanctions since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. Real disposable incomes were forecast to drop for the fifth year in…
Russia’s Defense Ministry has published video footage of its fighter jets intercepting a Swedish reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea. Russia and NATO countries have increasingly scrambled their jets to intercept each other’s aircraft in recent years. Military think-tanks have warned of growing Russian-NATO airspace interactions as tensions at their borders are on the rise.…
Russian lawmakers passed highly contentious legislation Thursday that seeks to enact punishments for disrespecting the Russian government or spreading fake news. Deputies submitted legislation last month to impose fines for “blatantly disrespecting” Russian institutions or posting “untruthful socially significant information.” Commentators have suggested that the loose wording of the law could lead to mass arrests, joking that there…
Russia on Thursday warned the United States not to intervene militarily in Venezuela, saying such a move would trigger a catastrophic scenario, the Interfax news agency cited the deputy foreign minister as saying. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, winning the backing of Washington and many Latin American nations and…
Jan. 24, 1919: One hundred years ago today, the Bolsheviks passed a decree calling for the elimination of the Cossacks in a campaign of “merciless mass terror.” The resulting decossackization program led to the execution and suffering of tens of thousands of people. Today, Cossacks have reclaimed their role as protectors of Russian tradition and have cultivated increasingly close ties…
Russian lawmakers have slammed what they called the United States’ interference in Venezuela’s affairs as the country’s opposition leader declared himself interim president in a coup attempt. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, winning the backing of Washington and many Latin American nations and prompting socialist Maduro, who has led…
Prosecutors in Far East Russia have announced an inspection into a lecture on sexual preferences reportedly given by local crime bosses at a village school. According to media reports, parents of fifth- and seventh-graders in the village of Pervomaisky expressed outrage after learning that men believed to be local criminal kingpins had been invited to their…
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that private Russian companies were training the army in Sudan, confirming for the first time their presence in a country shaken by protests against its president, a close Russian ally. Demonstrators have been on the streets near-daily since Dec. 19, initially to protest against an economic crisis then to call for…
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday after which the Russian leader said the two men had discussed how they planned to stabilize the situation in Syria’s Idlib province. The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier on Wednesday that the situation in the region, where Moscow and Ankara have tried…
Moscow – PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, announces that an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders (“EGM”) has approved the payment of dividends in the amount of RUB 9,324 million, or RUB 72 per share (RUB 24 per Global Depositary Receipt), from the Company’s undistributed net…
Recep Tayyip Erdogan / Kremlin.ru Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan will get another chance to lobby Vladimir Putin to protect Turkish interests as the U.S. prepares to withdraw from Syria, leaving Russia as the key power broker in that war-ravaged nation. The two leaders meet again in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss coordination in Syria, where…
Above all, ending the decades-long territorial dispute will be good for business, some say. Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin / Kremlin.ru As Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin met this week in Moscow, Japanese expats in Moscow were watching closely. “My Russian colleagues and I hope a peace treaty will be reached,” said Hiroshi Makino, the…
Customers across Russia owe a regional subsidiary of the Gazprom gas giant 30.1 billion rubles ($455 million) in accumulated debt, the subsidiary told Russian media on Wednesday. Last week, a court in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya ruled to erase 9 billion rubles of its residents’ gas debts after local prosecutors warned of rising…
Russia said on Wednesday that Israel should stop carrying out what it called arbitrary air strikes on Syria days after the Israeli air force targeted Iranian forces there. Israel, which regards Iran as its biggest threat, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets in Syria and those of allied militia, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah. “The practice of arbitrary…
The best spots for a great night out in Moscow. Antiquarny Boutique & Bar Moscow is filled with cool bars for a tipple or two and a chat. Here are some of our favorites. Voda Hidden in one of the maze-like courtyards on Ulitsa Petrovka, Voda is a magnet for Moscow’s so-called “creative class.” The…
The Cold War can wait over a hot slice. Taking a page out of their Canadian colleagues book, air traffic controllers based in Far East Russia have reportedly ordered pizza for their American neighbors across the Bering Strait. Some 800,000 U.S. federal government workers – including an estimated 10,000 air traffic controllers – have been furloughed or…
Russia should not unleash an oil price war against the United States but rather stick with output cuts even at the cost of losing market share in the medium term, one of the main Russian architects of a production pact with OPEC said. Since 2017, Russia and OPEC have cut oil production jointly for the first time in an…
The situation in Syria’s Idlib province where Russia and Turkey have tried to create a de-escalation zone is rapidly deteriorating, Maria Zakharova, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said on Wednesday. The territory is now almost under full control of Nusra militants, she said. “Continuing provocations pose a threat to civilians, Syrian military personnel and the Russian Khmeymim air base,”…
Bulgaria has revoked the Bulgarian citizenship of Russian telecoms millionaire Sergei Adoniev over a 20-year-old fraud conviction in the United States, the justice ministry said on Wednesday. Eager to join EU’s border-check-free Schengen zone, Bulgaria said on Tuesday that it plans to stop letting wealthy foreigners buy citizenship, which allows free movement within the entire European…
Russia showed foreign military attaches and journalists a cruise missile system on Wednesday that the United States says breaches a Cold War-era arms control pact, its latest attempt to disprove an allegation it denies and stop Washington quitting the treaty. Washington has threatened to pull out of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), alleging…
Russia was named the second-most powerful and influential country on the global arena as it returned to the top 25 list of countries ranked for the Davos economic forum. The U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Countries” annual rating ranks 80 countries across a range of metrics, including quality of life, openness to business, culture…
The head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence agency Sergei Naryshkin on Monday met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as the head of the kingdom’s intelligence services, the Interfax news agency said on Wednesday. Naryshkin discussed cooperation in the fight against international terrorism with his Saudi counterpart, Interfax cited Russia’s Foreign Intelligence…
Russian oligarchs Arkady and Boris Rotenberg have been forced by their Swiss bank to sell their private jets on the back of U.S. sanctions, Forbes Russia reports. The Rotenberg brothers, childhood friends of President Vladimir Putin, were first hit by U.S. sanctions in March 2014 over the annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. The…
Any deal to end a territorial row with Japan needs public backing, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, giving a nod to widespread Russian opposition to ceding territory to Japan. Shortly before Putin met Abe in the Kremlin for the latest round of talks on the dispute…
Mikhail Dzhaparidze / TASS The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Tuesday it had decided not to re-impose a suspension on Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA despite Moscow missing a deadline to hand over laboratory data. RUSADA had asked WADA last week not to suspend it after missing the Dec. 31 deadline, which was a condition…
On the 21st of December 2018 ROSATOM handed over the final report on the assessment of nuclear infrastructure in the Republic of Zambia to Minister of Higher Education of the country, Professor Nkandu Luo and Secretary to the Cabinet Ph.D. Roland Msiska. The report was handed over under the contract for assessment and development of…