Russia’s Hermitage Museum Calls for State Support as Coronavirus Craters Earnings

The head of Russia’s renowned Hermitage Museum said on Tuesday the government should ensure the survival of museums which are struggling during a coronavirus lockdown. Since the introduction of a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people in mid-March, museums across Russia have gradually closed their doors to the public. President Vladimir Putin then declared April a…

Gazprom Dobycha Astrakhan helps new hospital

Background Gazprom Dobycha Astrakhan is a subsidiary of Gazprom focused on prospecting, exploration and development of hydrocarbon fields. The Levoberezhnaya part of the Astrakhanskoye gas and condensate field with an area of 1,360 square kilometers has been in operation since 1986. The field produces formation fluid with a high content of sulfur (25 per cent) and carbon dioxide (15 per cent). The company has around 300 wells of various use, hundreds…

Russian Businesses Ask for Environmental Regulation Reprieve Amid Pandemic – Kommersant

Russian businesses have asked the government to suspend its enforcement of environmental regulations during the coronavirus pandemic, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) warned that existing regulations would lead to an “uncontrolled spread of the disease,” according to RSPP chief Alexander Shokhin’s April 15 letter to Prime…

FSB Stops Refugees in Barents Sea

Today marks what is likely the first-ever attempt by individuals to enter Schengen Europe via the Barents Sea. The attempt occurred on Oct. 8, 2019, but first became known to the public today as the verdict from the Pechenga District Court was announced by the Murmansk region prosecutor’s office. Three Syrian citizens boarded a small motorboat in…

Moscow Court Cuts Jail Term for Activist Kotov

The Moscow City Court has ruled to reduce activist Konstantin Kotov’s four-year jail sentence for “multiple beaches” of  Russia’s protest law to 18 months, while also ruling that the guilty verdict was lawful, the RBC news website reported Monday, citing the court’s press-service. The hearing was reportedly conducted without visitors and journalists because of coronavirus…

Russia to Quarantine Troops Rehearsing for Postponed WWII Parade on Coronavirus Concerns

The Russian military will quarantine everyone involved in rehearsals for Russia’s postponed Victory Day Parade, the Defense Ministry said Monday following reports that some participants have tested positive for the coronavirus. President Vladimir Putin postponed the landmark parade to mark the 75th anniversary of Soviet victory in World War II until later in 2020 as…

Coronavirus Hits Russian Psychiatric Hospital

Dozens of patients and staff have been infected with the coronavirus at a psychiatric hospital in Russia’s northwestern Arkhangelsk region, leading to a sharp rise in local cases, Interfax reported Sunday, citing regional authorities. The Arkhangelsk state clinical psychiatric hospital was placed under quarantine Saturday when one of its employees was found to be infected.…

Quarantine Easter Egg Salad

Easter looms as I write this, and I’m wondering if the Russian Orthodox Church is going to embrace technology and hold massive Zoom sessions for the traditional blessing ritual. I will certainly miss the actual event, which draws photographers and foodies alike to it like moths to a searchlight. I love watching the faithful bring…

Watch ‘Yevgeny Onegin’ on Stage in Novosibirsk

Timofei Kulyabin is one of Russia’s most celebrated young theater directors, and his version of Alexander Pushkin’s verse “Yevgeny Onegin” has been equally celebrated – with sell-out performaces and two Golden Mask Awards, Russia’s highest theater prize.  Kulyabin’s “Onegin” is set in today’s world – albeit a very sparsely inhabited and decorated world – and…

Russia Passes Dual Citizenship Law, Hoping to Add 10M Citizens

Russian lawmakers from both houses of parliament have passed legislation Friday allowing dual Russian citizenship for foreigners, sending it to President Vladimir Putin’s desk less than two weeks after introducing it. Lawmakers have described the amendments to Russia’s citizenship law, which among other steps strike down a requirement to renounce one’s existing citizenship, as “revolutionary.”…

Russia Approves Unproven Malaria Drug to Treat Coronavirus

The Russian government has authorized hospitals to treat coronavirus patients with the untested malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which studies have linked to potentially deadly side effects. Thursday’s decree instructs Russia’s national medical cardiology research center to distribute 68,600 packs of hydroxychloroquine donated by a Shanghai pharmaceutical company to hospitals across Russia for free. More than a…

Nobel Literature Laureate Alexievich Backs 5G Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory

Svetlana Alexievich, the Belarussian winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature, has suggested that there might be a link between wireless 5G technology and the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Though no evidence exists to suggest a link between 5G and Covid-19, Alexievich told the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarussian service that “scientists aren’t fully…

Dozens of Russian Cadets Involved With WWII Parade Rehearsals Infected With Coronavirus: Reports

Nearly 50 cadets and instructors involved in rehearsals for Russia’s now-postponed Victory Day parade have been infected with the coronavirus, the Baza Telegram channel reported Friday. Rear Adm. Anatoly Minakov, the head of St. Petersburg’s elite Nakhimov Naval School, confirmed to local media that he’s been hospitalized in Moscow with a fever awaiting test results. …

Watch ‘Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes’

This week Rossiya1 channel has been airing the series “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes,” based on the novel of the same name written by Guzel Yakhina and published in 2015. The book, which tells the story of a Tatar peasant woman who is exiled to Siberia after her husband is killed during a “dekulakization” campaign in…

Over 100 Migrant Workers Infected Near St. Petersburg

One-third of all coronavirus infections in a northwestern Russian region are concentrated in a crowded hostel that houses migrant workers involved in construction at an IKEA-owned shopping mall, local media reported Wednesday. The Leningrad region, which surrounds Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg, has reported 330 Covid-19 cases since the start of the outbreak. Over…