A Timeline of Putin’s 2 Decades in Power

Russian President Vladimir Putin was appointed acting prime minister on Aug. 9, 1999, by then-president Boris Yeltsin. He has been in office as president or prime minister ever since, a period spanning two decades. Here are some highlights of Putin’s 20 years in power: Aug. 9, 1999 — During an economic crisis, Boris Yeltsin names little-known…

Last Gasp Moscow Music Festivals

By the calendar it’s still summer, but the weather is decidedly autumnal. All that means is that you have all the more reason to party! The second half of August is simply packed with small (and not so small) festivals and concerts that you should definitely see if you happen to be in the Russian…

‘Who Is Putin?’ How Russia Reacted to Leader’s Rise to Power, 20 Years Ago

On this day 20 years ago, Russian President Boris Yeltsin named Vladimir Putin the country’s acting prime minister and successor for the presidency. At the time, most Russians knew little about the 46-year-old head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), who had largely kept out of the public eye. The Kremlin’s political opponents, meanwhile, criticized Yeltsin’s…

In Photos: 20 Years of Putin

The world was a very different place in 1999. We were introduced to Britney Spears. Bill Clinton was impeached. Napster was launched. And everyone worried about Y2K and the havoc it would soon wreak on dial-up internet and our giant PCs. It was also the year Vladimir Putin was appointed as prime minister of Russia…

Gazprom Transgaz Nizhny Novgorod builds children’s playground in Morki settlement

Background Gazprom Transgaz Nizhny Novgorod is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom that delivers natural gas to 15 regions in the Volga and Central Federal Districts of the Russian Federation. The company’s gas transmission system is composed of trunklines stretching for over 13,000 kilometers. Gazprom Transgaz Nizhny Novgorod operates 54 compressor workshops, 284 gas compressor units, 371 gas distribution stations, and 4 gas refuelers at gas pipeline operation centers. The company’s efficiency…

What to Expect From Moscow Protests This Saturday

Moscow’s opposition plans to press ahead with more protests this Saturday even after election officials closed all avenues for several Kremlin critics to run for office in the Russian capital next month. The ongoing standoff between Russia’s opposition and its leadership that has taken place in recent weeks has drawn international attention to what would have otherwise…

Russia Freezes Bank Accounts Linked to Opposition Politician Navalny Following Raids

Russian authorities on Thursday froze a slew of bank accounts linked to jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny as part of a money laundering investigation, Kira Yarmysh, his spokeswoman, and Russian investigators said. Russia’s Investigative Committee announced during protests in Moscow last weekend that it had opened a criminal case into the laundering of 1 billion…

Russia Deploys Missile System 70km From Norway’s Vardo Radar

Russia’s Bal coastal missile system (NATO reporting name SSC-3 or Styx) was moved from its permanent deployment location to the Sredny Peninsula on the Barents Sea coast on Wednesday evening, the Northern Fleet’s press service reported. Sredny Peninsula is the smallest peninsula between the Pechenga Bay and Rybachny (Fisher) Peninsula, a northwestern appendix to the Kola Peninsula.…

PhosAgro Welcomes Global Community’s Increasing Attention to Issues of Food Safety and Human Health

Moscow – PhosAgro Group welcomes the adoption of the International Code of Conduct for the Sustainable Use and Management of Fertilizers developed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  According to the FAO, the International Code of Conduct was developed with the aim of eliminating hunger, improving food safety and stimulating the production, distribution…

Russian Designer Lebedev Announces Emigration in Video Address, Sparking ‘Trolling’ Suspicion

Outspoken designer Artemy Lebedev has announced his emigration from Russia in an emotional video address that has left many viewers dubious about its sincerity. A well-known designer and popular blogger famous for his provocative views, Lebedev owns the design studio Art.Lebedev. The studio has developed the official logos of the Russian cities of Moscow, Yekaterinburg…

Opposition Candidate Sobol Barred From Moscow Vote

Russian election officials have issued a final decision to block opposition candidate Lyubov Sobol from running for Moscow’s city council next month. Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said it had received 19 appeals from various candidates including Sobol against the Moscow commission’s decision to disqualify them from the ballot on Sept. 8. That decision, based…

Authorities Jammed Moscow’s Mobile Internet During Opposition Protests – NGO

Russian authorities ordered mobile operators to cut access to mobile data services during last weekend’s opposition protests in Moscow, marking the first documented case in Moscow’s history, Russia’s Internet Protection Society NGO has said. Russia’s first documented instance of authorities ordering to stifle mobile internet access took place in the country’s republic of Ingushetia in October,…

The concrete works for the Unit No. 2 turbine hall foundation slab completed at the Rooppur NPP site (Bangladesh)

August 6, 2019 saw the completion of concrete works for the Unit No. 2 of Rooppur NPP (Bangladesh) turbine hall foundation slab. The slab structure received 3 782 tonnes of rebars and 23 550 cubic meters of concrete.  As Sergey Lastochkin, the Vice-President of Rooppur NPP construction of ASE (Rosatom Engineering Division), project has pointed…

Resume Peace Talks, Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Urges Putin After 4 Soldiers Killed in Donbass

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday pressed Russian leader Vladimir Putin for a resumption of peace talks after four Ukrainian soldiers were killed by shelling in the eastern Donbass border region. Conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed forces has killed an estimated 13,000 people since 2014. A ceasefire deal brokered by France and Germany ended…

Fabergé and the Link of Times

No object is as synonymous with Romanov Russia as a Fabergé imperial Easter egg. Each of the fifty eggs commissioned by the last Russian tsars is intricate, flawless, and unique. Gleaming and glittering behind bullet-proof glass in well-fortified museums, they are vibrant talismans of the lost sepia-colored world of the Romanovs. Of the fifty imperial…

Norway Worried by Russian Sea, Air Maneuvers

Russia has told Norway its navy and air force will hold exercises near the Nordic nation’s Arctic waters later this month, a worrying sign of greater assertiveness by its eastern neighbor, the Norwegian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. NATO member Norway and neighboring Russia have both increased their military presence along NATO’s northern flank following…

Russia Delivers Weapons to New Arctic Garrison

As Russia’s Northern Fleet strives to complete its newest Arctic base on the coast of the remote Laptev Sea, construction works have been progressing at a hectic pace. The establishment of the garrison in Russia’s Far East town of Tiksi was first announced by the Northern Fleet’s then-Head Commander Nikolai Yevmenov in September 2018. In a meeting with regional…

On This Day Ilya Repin Was Born

The most well-known and renowned Russian artist of the 19th century, Ilya Repin’s influence and significance in art has been likened to Leo Tolstoy in literature – a writer who was one of his best and most famous subjects.    Repin was born in Kharkhov – now Ukraine – where his father traded horses and…

Gas production directorate celebrates anniversary with track-and-field race

Background The key areas of activity of Gazprom Dobycha Orenburg are production, treatment, and transportation of hydrocarbons and a number of commercial products of partner companies. The main source of raw materials for the company is the Orenburgskoye oil, gas and condensate field that contains unique components including methane, ethane, propane, butanes, helium, mercaptans, etc. This is why the Orenburg Gas Processing and Helium Plants…