Author: admin
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Russia Seizes North Korean Vessels in Poaching Clampdown
Russia detained three North Korean vessels and more than 200 crew on Friday in the second such incident in two weeks as part of a clampdown on poaching by the secretive nation’s fishermen. The detentions mark rare confrontation between North Korea and Russia, which sees itself as an important player in international talks on defusing nuclear tensions…
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U.S. Sanctions Firm It Says Supplies Jet Fuel to Russia in Syria
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a firm it said was participating in a scheme to avoid U.S. sanctions while helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria. The U.S. Treasury Department said the newly sanctioned firm, Maritime Assistance LLC, was operating as a front company for OJSC Sovfracht, a company the United…
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Russia to Expand Its Hmeimim Airbase in Syria, Reports Say
Russia is expanding its Hmeimim airbase in Syria and rebuilding a second landing strip to allow the facility to serve more aircraft, Russian news agencies cited an unnamed Defense Ministry official as saying on Thursday. The ministry has also set up new buildings to house aircraft at the site that will defend against drone attacks, the official…
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Rosneft Applies 3D-Seismic Surveys to Improve Production Drilling
Specialists of RN-KrasnoyarskNIPIneft LLC (a subsidiary of Rosneft’s Corporate Research and Development Complex) have completed a pilot project to re-process and re-interpret 3D-seismic data acquired during the exploration of the Vankor field in 2003-2005.
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Russian Priest Who Adopted 70 Children Charged With Pedophilia
A celebrated Russian priest who adopted 70 children has been arrested on suspicion of pedophilia. Father Nikolai Stremsky, said to be the patriarch of Russia’s largest family and a recipient of a prize established by the Red Cross and Russian government, was reportedly detained Tuesday. Local media reported that authorities first opened a criminal investigation…
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Whistleblower Alleges Trump Sought Foreign Meddling in 2020 Election
A whistleblower report released by a congressional panel on Thursday said President Donald Trump used his office to solicit Ukraine’s interference in the 2020 election to advance his personal political interests, risking U.S. national security. The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee released a declassified version of the report made by the whistleblower, which…
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Russia Complains Over Belarus’s Refusal to Host Airbase
Russia said on Thursday that Belarus’s refusal to host a military airbase backed by President Vladimir Putin had been an “unpleasant episode,” a rare public display of disagreement between the close allies. Russia and Belarus are members of a largely symbolic union state and are in talks to deepen their integration, but the airbase spat illustrates the…
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St. Petersburg Celebrates Autumn
St. Petersburg is kicking off the fall art and culture season with something for everyone, from Chinese lanterns to a retrospective of one of Russia’s greatest artists. Art Weekend: Oct. 5 and 6 Explore the best of St. Petersburg’s galleries and exhibitions in a weekend entirely devoted to contemporary art. Art Weekend will involve more…
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Russia Wants to End the War in Donbass, Ukraine Leader Says
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Moscow wants to end the five-year war in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskiy has said. More than 13,000 people have been killed since the conflict between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian government erupted in the region known as the Donbass in 2014. Sporadic fighting continues despite…
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National Park Head Proposes Visa-Free Travel to Russian Arctic in Attempt to Boost Tourism
Today, tourists tend to choose to travel to Iceland or Norway to get a taste of the Arctic experience. The establishment of a new special customs zone in Russia has the possibility to change that, Alexander Kirilov, the director of the Russian Arctic National Park, said in a statement issued by the Natural Resources Ministry. …
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Venezuela’s Maduro Did Not Discuss New Loans With Putin, Kremlin Says
To keep our newsroom in Moscow running, we need your support. With your help, we can continue with our mission to keep you informed with breaking news, business analysis, thought-provoking opinions, the best of culture and insights into everyday life.
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Russian Fishing Boat Sinks After Catching Fire in Norway, Injuries Reported
This story was updated on Sept. 26 at 11:42 a.m. A Russian trawler that caught fire in the northern Norwegian port of Tromsø capsized and sank Thursday morning after burning for nearly 24 hours, the Defense Ministry’s Zvezda television channel has reported. Negligence during welding work is suspected to have caused the fire, Russia’s consul…
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Legalizing Polygamy Will ‘Guarantee’ Women’s Rights in Russia, Moscow’s Muslim Leader Says
Russia can overcome its gender-related issues by legalizing polygamy, the leader of Moscow’s Muslims has said. Polygamy, the practice of taking more than one spouse, is frowned upon by an overwhelming majority of Russians. While polygamy is not permitted under Russian law, it remains commonplace in the country’s predominantly Muslim republics of the North Caucasus.…
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For Ukraine’s Leader, Trump Memo On Their Call Is a Diplomatic Car Crash
For U.S. President Donald Trump, White House publication on Wednesday of a memo summarizing his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fuelled a domestic political crisis. For Zelenskiy, it was a far-reaching diplomatic disaster. Zelenskiy’s comments to the Republican Trump, disclosed in the summary, will likely irk U.S. Democrats, risking the bipartisan U.S. support Kiev…
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Seeking Favors, Trump Asked Ukraine President to Investigate Biden
President Donald Trump pressed Ukraine’s leader to investigate Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden, in coordination with the U.S. attorney general and Trump’s personal lawyer, according to a summary of a telephone call released by the Trump administration on Wednesday. The official account of the half-hour July call with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy laid bare an astonishing…
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Gazprom saves RUB 4.8 billion by converting its motor vehicles to natural gas
Release September 25, 2019, 19:50 Photos Infographics A working visit by Viktor Zubkov, Chairman of the Gazprom Board of Directors, took place in Nizhny Novgorod today. Viktor Zubkov held a meeting on the prospects of the Russian NGV market. Taking part in the event were Igor Komarov, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Volga Federal District; Vitaly Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee; Vladimir Markov and Vyacheslav Mikhalenko, Members of the Gazprom Management…
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Russia, U.S. Team Up Against Abortion at UN
Russia, the United States and 17 other members of the United Nations have banded together to try to purge abortion- and reproductive health-related language from the international body’s terminology. The UN adopted a universal health care declaration Monday which included “the need to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services and reproductive…
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Court Jails Man Who Walked Out of Moscow Art Gallery With $1 Million Masterpiece
A man who stole a Russian masterpiece worth about $1 million from a Moscow art gallery in broad daylight in January was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday. Police arrested Denis Chuprikov after he was caught on camera taking the 1908 landscape painting “Ai Petri. Crimea” by artist Arkhip Kuindzhi off the wall…
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Trump Asked Ukraine President to Look Into Biden Activities – Call Summary
U.S. President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July telephone call to investigate whether former Vice President Joe Biden shut down an investigation into a company that employed his son, a summary of the call released by the Trump administration on Wednesday showed. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday announced…
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United Russia Officials Meddled in St. Petersburg Vote, Top Election Official Says
Top members of the ruling United Russia party in St. Petersburg meddled in the city’s municipal elections earlier this month, Central Election Commission Head Ella Pamfilova said Wednesday. Observers noted widespread violations during the Sept. 8 elections, including lengthy delays in the official count, intimidation and recounts. According to official results confirmed Tuesday, deputies from…
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‘We Need to Restore Trust in Courts, Law Enforcement,’ Russian Minister Told Putin
Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin told President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that it will be difficult to boost much-needed investment activity without first improving trust in the courts and Russia’s law enforcement agencies. Speaking at a meeting of Putin and other officials that was broadcast on state television, Oreshkin said it was “very important” to…
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‘We Need to Restore Trust in Courts, Law Enforcement,’ Russian Minister Tells Putin
Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin told President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that Russia must restore trust in its courts and law enforcement agencies if the government is to have a chance of fulfilling the Kremlin’s ambitious economic plans. The unusually direct comments to Putin were broadcast on state television and come as the government is searching for ways…
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51 Years Ago, a Russian Folk Song Re-Emerged at the Top of the British Charts
This week in 1968, “Those Were the Days” by folk singer Mary Hopkin started its six-week run at the top of the British charts. The song was originally a Russian song called “Dorogoi Dlinnoyu,” meaning “By the Long Road,” written in 1925 by Konstantin Podrevsky and Boris Fomin. Western pop songs influenced the musical tastes…
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Russian Spaceship With UAE Astronaut Blasts Off Into Space
A Russian Soyuz spaceship blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome towards the International Space Station on Wednesday carrying a crew of three, including the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates, NASA television reported. Emirati astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori, Russian commander Oleg Skripochka, and flight engineer Jessica Meir of NASA were expected to dock with the space station about six…
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IAEA Designates Rosatom Technical Academy as Collaborating Centre
An agreement between IAEA and Rosatom Technical Academy (Rosatom Tech), officially designating Rosatom Tech as a Collaborating Center in the field of knowledge management and Human Resource Development for Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Security was signed during the 63rd Annual Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference, which was held in Vienna (Austria) from September…
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Russia Submits ‘Dylda’ For Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award
Russia has submitted “Dylda” (“Beanpole”), a film directed by 27-year-old Kantemir Balagov, for consideration in this year’s Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards. The film, Balagov’s second, is based on an interview from Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich’s book “The Unwomanly Face of War.” The book was one of the first to expose…
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Russia and Japan Agree to Collaborate in Hydrogen Supply
September 25, 2019, Tokyo – Rusatom Overseas and Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry signed an agreement to join efforts in conducting a feasibility study in 2020-2021 to export hydrogen from Russia to Japan. On the Russian side, the agreement was signed by Anton Moskvin, Vice…
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Russian Fishing Boat Catches Fire in Norway, Injuries Reported
A Russian trawler has caught on fire in the northern Norwegian port of Tromsø, local police said Wednesday. Twelve out of 29 crew members have been sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation, Norway’s NRK broadcaster reported. The Maritime Bulletin news outlet, which identified the trawler a the Bukhta Nayezdnik, said 27 people have been…
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On This Day in 1906 Dmitry Shostakovich Was Born
Russian composer and pianist Dmitry Shostakovich was born on Sept. 25, 1906 in St. Petersburg as the second of three children from a Polish Roman Catholic family with roots in Siberia. He would become known as one of Russia’s greatest 20th-century composers and a tenaciously resilient figure amid the Soviet Union’s crackdown on artists. Shostakovich’s…
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Cleanup Crews Filmed Removing Russian Nuclear Blast Debris
Helicopters, excavators and people wearing hazmat suits have been filmed near the site of a mysterious nuclear explosion at a Russian military site that has raised international concerns and safety fears. A liquid propulsion system blast on Aug. 8 at a naval missile test facility in Nyonoksa has killed seven people and led to a…
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Russian Military Specialists Arrive in Venezuela
A group of Russian military specialists has arrived in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, Russia’s Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source as saying on Wednesday. The report did not say how many specialists had been sent, but it cited another unnamed source saying they had been dispatched in order to service and carry out…
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PhosAgro to Discuss Key Areas of Growth Strategy to 2025 and Present New Dividend Policy at Capital Markets Day
Key Highlights of PhosAgro’s strategy to 2020 adopted in 2013: Production of fertilizers increased more than 50% from 5.9 million tonnes in 2013 to 9.0 million tonnes at the end of 2018, with expected production of 9.4–9.5 million tonnes in 2019; Fertilizer sales volumes in the Company’s priority domestic market nearly doubled to…
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Putin Backs Venezuela Talks Rejected by Opposition Leader
Russian President Vladimir Putin backed negotiations between Venezuela’s government and opposition groups that have been rejected by the leader of the main opposition to President Nicolas Maduro. Last week, a group of Venezuelan opposition parties agreed to enter a dialogue with Maduro’s government. But larger groups, led by opposition leader Juan Guaido, rejected the move.…
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Putin-Linked Mercenaries Are Fighting on Libya’s Front Lines
A private army linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun fighting on the front lines of the Libyan war, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest projection of Russian power following a decisive military intervention in Syria. More than 100 mercenaries from the Wagner group headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as…
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Senior Russian Model Becomes the Face of L’Oreal Paris Ad Campaign
A famous elderly model from Russia has been featured in an ad campaign for the French cosmetic giant L’Oreal. Valentina Yasen, the 64-year-old winner of Russia’s 2018 Glamour Model of the Year award, has donned magazine covers and graced catwalks as part of Oldushka, the Russian over-45 modeling agency. The retired theater actress explained that…
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Putin Urges NATO to Halt Missile Deployments in Europe – Kommersant
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged NATO to suspend the deployment of missiles in Europe that were banned under a recently abandoned U.S.-Russian nuclear pact, the Kommersant business daily has reported. There are increasing concerns that Russia and the U.S. are headed toward an arms race after Washington formally pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear…
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UEFA Chooses St. Petersburg to Host 2021 Champions League Final
St. Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena will host the final of the 2021 UEFA Champions League, the European football governing body’s executive committee announced Tuesday evening. It will be Russia’s second time hosting a Champions League final. In 2008, Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium saw Manchester United beat Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shoot-out. The competition’s final is one of the…
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Cooperation with domestic companies fostering achievement of Gazprom’s strategic goals
Release September 24, 2019, 20:05 The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information about the engagement of Russian industrial and machine-building enterprises in the implementation of the Company’s strategic goals. It was highlighted that Gazprom is focused on further improving its operational efficiency and maintaining technological leadership among energy companies. These efforts are being carried out in a systematic manner within the Company’s Innovative Development…
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Moscow-Kazan Highway Delayed Until 2027 – Vedomosti
Russia’s Transportation Ministry expects to build a toll road linking Moscow with the city of Kazan by 2027, three years after its original planned completion date, the Vedomosti business daily has reported. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov last week authorized the Transportation Ministry to start building two sections of the Moscow-Kazan highway. The toll road is…
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PhosAgro Board of Directors Approves a New Dividend Policy: Payments to Shareholders May Exceed 75% of Free Cash Flow
London – The Board of Directors of PhosAgro has approved a new dividend policy, under which future dividend payments will be based on the Company’s free cash flow instead of net profit, with the amount varying depending on the Company’s debt levels. The new policy will allow the Company to direct more than 75% of…
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Russians Relive WWII Experience in Life-Size Exhibition in St. Petersburg
Hundreds of people queued in St. Petersburg over the weekend to visit the newly opened “Memory Speaks” panorama exhibition at Sevcabel Port. The immersive exhibition recreates the path of an unnamed schoolteacher who goes to the front, taking visitors through a dozen scenes — from his wooden cabin in Belarus to trenches outside Leningrad, street…
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Russia Produces Its First Lab-Grown Meat Sample
A Russian lab says it has produced the country’s first artificially grown piece of meat, opening up possibilities for a sustainable alternative to traditional meat products for the country’s consumers. The idea of “cultivating” meat in labs using in vitro animal cells has gained worldwide popularity over the past several years as a more ethical…
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Moscow’s Changing Street Names Reflect Its History
It often happens that when giving directions or setting up a meeting point in Moscow, I seem to stumble. Then I pause for a second before remembering the correct name of the street so that my interlocutor understands which venue I have in mind. There are several streets that trigger this confusion, but the main…
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Russian Women Are Getting Married 8 Years Later On Average, Official Data Says
The average woman in Russia gets married eight years later than she did earlier this decade, according to official data. Marriage rates in Russia hit their lowest point since 2000 last year, according to Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) data, and researchers don’t expect rates to begin rising again until the mid-2020s. Most women in Russia…
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Russian Protesters Don’t ‘Get Shot’ Like They Would In the U.S., Putin’s Spokesman Says
Protesters who were jailed over this summer’s mass election rallies in Moscow would have been shot dead if they had been protesting in the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has said in a leaked video. Dmitry Peskov’s conversation with students at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics (HSE) appeared on social media in the wake…
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Russia Summons Senior U.S. Diplomat Over UN Visa Row
Russia on Tuesday summoned a senior U.S. diplomat in Moscow to protest over what it said was Washington’s unacceptable refusal to issue visas to members of a Russian delegation traveling to the United Nations General Assembly. The Kremlin promised a tough response and said Jon Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, had been summoned to…
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Challenging Dated Stereotypes of Russian Cuisine With Smoked Salmon
Many people believe that Russian cuisine is very heavy and calorific. Chef Alexander Volkov-Medvedev likes to challenge this stereotype and showcase the diversity of Russian dishes. This salmon is his favorite dish because it goes through so many stages of preparation. A typical Russian dish can be light on the stomach, but it still takes a…
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Murmansk Launches Construction of Russia’s Largest Wind Power Park
While ice-cold fall storms were gathering force in Russia’s far northern region, Russian and Italian businessmen and state officials exchanged warm handshakes in a party tent erected on desolate lands about 80 kilometers northeast of the city of Murmansk. The spot will soon house 57 major wind turbines, making it Russia’s largest wind park and…
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Syrian Terrorist Drones Were Built With ‘Outside Help,’ Russia Says
Terrorists in Syria get help from an “outside” source in assembling their combat drones, the Russian military has claimed. Russia’s Khmeimim airbase in northwest Syria has been subjected to numerous drone attacks in recent weeks, including a Sept. 3 attack repelled by Russian air defense. The drones can travel over a path of 150 kilometers…
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Russia Tests Face, Voice Recognition Ahead of eSIM Integration – Izvestia
Russia is testing face- and voice-recognition technology to identify mobile device users as it moves toward approving eSIM technology which allows consumers to switch easily between carriers, the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper has reported. The Central Bank is overseeing a pilot project that uses personal biometric data to remotely open accounts despite concerns over state surveillance,…
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Rosneft has started bunkering of environmentally friendly marine fuel in the Far East
RN Bunker LLC – a specialized Rosneft subsidiary – has started bunkering of ships with RMLS 40, a marine fuel that has advanced environmental properties in the Far East.
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European Budget Airlines Push For St. Petersburg Flights
Europe’s three largest low-cost airlines have applied to fly in and out of St. Petersburg in a move that would increase tourism to Russia’s northern capital but has drawn criticism from Russian airlines. St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport could become the first Russian airport to permit “seventh freedom flights,” which allow international carriers to operate flights…
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Russian Man Pleads Guilty in Massive JPMorgan Hack
A Russian man pleaded guilty on Monday to U.S. charges he took part in a massive computer hacking scheme that targeted JPMorgan Chase & Co and other financial services companies. Andrei Tyurin, 36, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to six counts including wire fraud and computer hacking conspiracy, admitting that he illegally obtained the…
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Russia Will Miss World Championships After IAAF Ban Extended
Russia will miss the World Athletics Championships for the second time in a row after the sport’s governing body, the IAAF, extended the ban against country’s federation on Monday. The IAAF confirmed the decision four days before the start of the competition in Qatar after hearing a report from its Task Force (TF) overseeing Russia’s…
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WANO experts score a high level of safety and reliability of Smolensk NPP
The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) completed the follow-un peer review at Smolensk NPP. It was part of the plan of the cooperation with Rosenergoatom. Five experts from Russia, Ukraine and Armenia independently assessed progress achieved by the plant in the areas of improvement marked by the 2017 peer review. “I noted the great…
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Moscow Ranks Among World’s Top 10 Fall Travel Destinations – CNN
Moscow has landed in CNN Travel’s list of the top 10 destinations to witness the red and golden hues of autumn. While acknowledging that “no country has a patent on trees filled with russet, scarlet and golden leaves,” the outlet singles out the Russian capital for “some unexpectedly fine spots for autumn hues.” Tsaritsyno, CNN…
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Traditional Recipes Recreated With Flair
At Ruski, the chef likes to mix things up a bit, sometimes preparing traditional recipes authentically, sometimes recreating them with modern flair. Sugudai is a traditional northern dish made of fresh, uncooked fish such as salmon, dressed with oil, vinegar or other acidic ingredient, green onions, fresh herbs and salt and pepper. Here it is…
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Alexey Miller and South Ossetian President Anatoly Bibilov discuss ongoing and future cooperation
Background In August 2009, Gazprom brought into operation the Dzuarikau – Tskhinval gas trunkline to provide direct gas supplies from the Russian Federation to South Ossetia. In April 2010, Gazprom and the Government of South Ossetia signed the Cooperation Agreement until 2029. Gazprom developed the General Scheme for gas infrastructure expansion in South Ossetia. The document provides for gas infrastructure expansion in some…
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Europe’s Tallest Buddha Statue Unveiled in Russia
Russia is now home to the tallest Buddha statue in Europe. The 30-ton golden monument to the Maitreya — a bodhisattva who will appear in the future — was unveiled in Russia’s Buddhist stronghold of Kalmykia on Sunday. Sitting at 12.5 meters tall, the Russian Buddha in the Kalmyk city of Lagan overtakes the 10-meter…
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‘Circle of Light’ Shines Bright in Moscow
From Sept. 20 – 24, Moscow’s annual “Circle of Light” festival lights up the capital with dazzling displays of art, history, playful projections and more. Light designers and multimedia artists from around the world had the chance to reimagine the Russian capital’s iconic architecture for the festival, incorporating not just light, but also flame, lasers…