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The three injured men arrived at the hospital around 4:30 pm, naked and wrapped in translucent plastic bags. The state of the patients made staff suspect they were dealing with something very serious. But the only information they had at the time was that there had been an explosion at a nearby military site around…

Russia Confirms Assault, Extortion Allegations in Europe’s Largest Prison

Russia’s prison authority has confirmed reports of abuse at Europe’s largest pre-trial detention center days after new video footage renewed concerns about conditions in Russia’s penitentiary system. Russia’s prison system has been under scrutiny since mid-2018, when revelations of torture set off nationwide inspections and dozens of legal cases. Last week, a prisoners’ rights NGO…

Russia to Revamp Soviet-Era List of Banned Jobs for Women By 2021

Women in Russia will soon be able to work in more than 350 job positions they’d previously been barred from under largely unchanged Soviet-era labor restrictions. Russia currently prohibits women from holding 456 jobs in dozens of industries that involve physically strenuous tasks or harmful working conditions. Previous media reports suggested that the Labor Ministry…

Russia Opens 350 Banned Professions to Women, Stripping Soviet-Era Restrictions

Putin-Macron Held Talks Before Russian Bank’s French Executive Released From Custody

MoscowBy admin August 16, 2019 Leave a comment

A Russian court’s decision to release Baring Vostok executive Phillipe Delpal from custody and put him under house arrest followed talks between Russian president Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, the Kremlin said Friday. Delpal, a French national, was ordered to be released from custody and placed under house arrest by a Moscow…

Russia’s Good Year at the Awards

Despite concerns over censorship, the film and performing arts in Russia remain largely free of government interference. While the government can certainly impact the film industry and theater through funding and sometimes, with film, by withholding screening permits, there are many independent companies that can produce whatever they want. Now that the awards season for…

Second Goliath Crane Assembled at Zvezda Shipyard

The second Goliath giant crane, with a capacity of 1,200 tonnes, height of 120 metres, and width of 189 metres, has been assembled at the dry dock of Zvezda Shipyard that is being constructed by the Rosneft-led Consortium upon instructions of the President of Russia.

Russian Pilot Says He’s No Hero Despite Praise for Crash-Landing

A Russian pilot who landed a passenger plane in a cornfield after hitting a flock of birds said he was no hero despite the Kremlin lauding him for saving the lives of 233 people. Russian media have said it was a miracle that no one was killed when the Ural Airlines Airbus 321 was forced…

Moscow Authorities ‘Discover’ Flocks of Birds Near Plane Crash-Landing Site

Moscow authorities said they have “discovered” gulls flocking around one of two garbage sites near the airport where a Russian passenger plane made a “miraculous” emergency landing on Thursday. All 234 people on board the Ural Airlines Airbus A321 survived when it landed in a cornfield southeast of Moscow after both of its engines struck a…

Russian Nuclear-Capable Bombers Leave Airfield Opposite Alaska

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday that two of its nuclear-capable TU-160 bombers had left an airfield opposite Alaska after training exercises and returned to their base, the Interfax news agency reported. Russia said Wednesday it had flown two bombers to a far eastern Russian region opposite Alaska as part of a training exercise that state…

Russian Military Pairs Stealth Drone With Manned Fighter Jet

Russia’s Defense Ministry has released footage of its stealth drone flying with a fighter jet a week after unveiling the unmanned aircraft’s maiden flight. The Okhotnik (“Hunter”) combat drone is equipped with a jet engine, anti-radar skin coating and can speed up to 1,000 kilometers per hour, according to the Defense Ministry. The Okhotnik’s design…

Russia’s FSB Publishes Foreign Worker Statistics for First Time in 20 Years

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has for the first time in two decades released data on the number of labor migrants who have arrived so far in 2019, revealing the extent of work-related migration into the country. President Vladimir Putin aims to offset Russia’s declining population numbers with measures that include attracting up to 10…

Russian Lawmaker Says Draft Foreign Ownership Law Not Aimed at Nationalizing Yandex

BusinessBy admin August 16, 2019 Leave a comment

A draft law proposing to limit foreign ownership in ‘significant’ Russian technology firms to 20% is not aimed at making its top search engine Yandex state-owned, the lawmaker behind the idea, Anton Gorelkin, said. The draft law, submitted to Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, in late July, proposes limiting foreign ownership in internet…

Main equipment of the reactor plant has been delivered to the construction site of Unit No.3 of Kudankulam NPP (India)

On August 7th the supplies of the reactor plant main equipment for the third unit of Kudankulam NPP in India were completed. According to Andrey Lebedev, the Vice-President of JSC ASE EC for projects in India, all main equipment items located on the red line of the reactor pit installation have been supplied. This is…

U.S. Journalist Fined for Interviewing Russian Environmental Asylum Seekers

An American freelance journalist has been fined for interviewing Siberian residents who had asked for Canadian asylum this summer over the deteriorating environment in their region. Alina Simone was sued by the mayor of the coal-mining town of Kiselyovsk after she was spotted filming residents who made headlines in June for asking Canadian Prime Minister…

A Student Arrest Puts Elite Moscow University to the Test

A chill ran down Artyom Tyurin’s spine when he heard the news that his friend and fellow student Yegor Zhukov had been hauled from his bed in the middle of the night by police and charged with “organizing mass unrest,” a crime punishable by up to eight years in prison. It was the latest sign…

Ecologist Says Russian Nuclear Agency Committed Crime by Conducting Test Near City

An ecologist in northern Russia said Thursday the state nuclear agency Rosatom had committed a crime by carrying out a mysterious test last week close to inhabited areas, which caused a spike in radiation in his native city. Rosatom has said that the Aug. 8 accident occurred during a rocket test involving “isotope power sources”…

Britain Bans Submarine Exports to Russia Over Undersea Cable Concerns

Britain has banned the export of submarines to Russia over what it says are advances that pose a national security risk, including the alleged ability to cut undersea cables which carry most global internet communications. Britain and the U.S. have warned that the Russian Navy could disrupt over $10 trillion in daily transactions by attacking…

Putin Reserves Key 5G Frequency for Military Use, Media Reports

Russia risks falling behind the rest of the world in next-generation 5G technology after President Vladimir Putin has reserved its most popular frequency range for the military and intelligence services, Russia’s Vedomosti business daily reported Thursday. With speeds at least 10 times faster than 4G technology, 5G is expected to power internet-connected products ranging from…

Baring Vostok Executive Calvey to Stay Under House Arrest

Russia softened its stance in a high-profile legal standoff that has shaken foreign investors when a court Thursday freed jailed French private equity executive Philippe Delpal from custody and placed him under house arrest instead. Delpal was one of several executives at private equity group Baring Vostok, including U.S. citizen Michael Calvey, who were detained…

Moscow Passenger Plane Makes ‘Miraculous’ Crash-Landing in Cornfield

BusinessBy admin August 15, 2019 Leave a comment

A Russian passenger plane’s emergency landing in a cornfield near Moscow after birds were sucked into its engines has been hailed by state media as a “miracle” and compared to a 2009 U.S. flight’s landing after striking a flock of geese. Russians have said it was a miracle that no one was killed when the Ural…

TVEL Fuel Company starts unique project of uranium tailings recycling

Chepetsky Mechanical Plant (ChMP JSC), a subsidiary of TVEL Fuel Company in Glazov, Udmurt Republic, started pilot works of recycling the waste, which had been stored at the facility during the years of producing uranium tetrafluoride. This is Russia’s first project of recycling tailings dump bottom settings left after uranium conversion. Production of uranium tetrafluoride…

Russia Stole U.S. Hypersonic Missile Tech to Make Nuclear Advances – Bolton

MoscowBy admin August 15, 2019 Leave a comment

Russia has stolen hypersonic cruise missile technology from the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump’s top national security aide John Bolton said while discussing last week’s deadly explosion at a military test site in Russia’s north. The mysterious explosion that killed five Russian nuclear engineers and caused a radiation spike last Thursday has spawned conflicting…

On This Day Rock Legend Viktor Tsoi Died

Viktor Robertovich Tsoi was born and raised in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. The Russian rock legend and frontman of the group Kino was the only child of Valentina Tsoi, a Russian school teacher, and Robert Tsoi, a Soviet-Korean engineer. Tsoi’s roots go back to Songjin, or what today is known as Kimchaek, North Korea, where…

Moscow ‘Mass Unrest’ Defendants Kept in Pre-Trial Detention Despite Protests, Appeals

A Moscow court has ruled to keep in custody pending trial six of the 14 defendants accused of “mass unrest” over recent election protests that have rocked Russia’s capital. At least 14 people face up to eight years behind bars for what the authorities call participating in “mass riots” during unauthorized protests in support of…

Norway Detects Radioactive Iodine by Russian Border Days After Rocket Explosion

Norway’s nuclear safety authority is analyzing tiny amounts of radioactive iodine detected in the air in northern Norway in the days after a deadly explosion during a rocket engine test over the border in Russia. Russia’s state nuclear agency, Rosatom, said Saturday that five people killed in the blast were its staff members and the…

Kremlin Hails Emergency Landing Pilots as Heroes

The Kremlin will bestow state awards on two pilots who made a successful emergency landing of a passenger plane with 233 people on board near Moscow on Thursday. The Health Ministry said 23 people had suffered injuries but that nobody had been killed when the Ural Airlines Airbus 321 came down in a field southeast…

Russian Plane Crash-Lands in Cornfield, 233 Lives Saved

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Opposition Politician Sobol Ends Month-Long Hunger Strike Amid Moscow Protests

Russian opposition politician Lyubov Sobol has announced she has ended her month-long hunger strike over health concerns for an arrested campaign aide who had joined her in striking. Sobol went on hunger strike last month after Moscow election authorities refused to allow her and other opposition candidates on the ballot for next month’s local legislature…

Russia Warns China It Could Ban Timber Exports Over Illegal Logging

Russia could ban timber exports to China unless Beijing takes action to help mitigate the effects of illegal logging, a Russian government minister said in an interview published Thursday. Russian authorities this month attributed some of the vast wildfires that have engulfed portions of Siberia in recent weeks to arsonists trying to conceal illegal logging…

Russian Region Orders Gas Masks After Deadly Nuclear Blast – Reports

A region in northern Russia has ordered more than 1,000 gas masks after a deadly explosion led to a spike in radiation, Russia’s Open Media news website reported. At least five nuclear experts were killed in the explosion, which took place during a rocket test at sea off the coast of the Arkhangelsk region last…

Rosneft will report its Q2 2019 consolidated IFRS financial results on Wednesday, August 21, 2019.

Q2 2019 IFRS financial results and corresponding MD&A will be available on our website on August 21, 2019 at 09:30 (Moscow time)

Kremlin Warns of Foreign Espionage as Scientists Criticize New Restrictions

The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russia must be vigilant in protecting its industrial secrets against foreign intelligence services after scientists criticized new restrictions on them meeting foreigners. Under an order issued by the Education Ministry in February but which has only now come to light, government-affiliated scientists are advised to meet their foreign colleagues only…

Russia Flies Nuclear-Capable Bombers to Region Facing the U.S.

Russia said Wednesday it had flown two nuclear-capable TU-160 bombers to a far eastern Russian region opposite Alaska as part of a training exercise that state media said showed Moscow’s ability to park nuclear arms on the United States’ doorstep. The Tupolev TU-160 strategic bomber, nicknamed the White Swan in Russia, is a supersonic Soviet-era…

Armed FSB Officers Search Office of Russian Rights Group

Russian security officers armed with automatic rifles searched on Wednesday the Moscow offices of a rights group that represents the interests of Russian nationals in the European Court of Human Rights, the group said. Members of the Federal Security Service (FSB) searched an office used by Justice Initiative and its partner organisation Astreya and confiscated…

‘Top 100 Influential Russian Muslims’ Ranking Released by Local Media

MoscowBy admin August 14, 2019 Leave a comment

A Russian media outlet has for the first time compiled a ranking of the country’s 100 most influential Muslims, with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov featured alongside tycoons, government officials and spiritual leaders. An estimated 20 million Muslims make up Russia’s second-largest religious minority, comprising about 14% of the overall population. Seven of Russia’s 85…

On This Day Writer Dmitry Merezhkovsky Was Born

Dmitry Merezhkovsky was born in St. Petersburg in 1866 in a family of a government official. In his teen years, and with his mother’s support, he was already writing poetry and contemplating the religious questions that would come to occupy him throughout his life. From 1884 to 1889, he studied philology and history at the…

The Kremlin Sees Signs of Foreign Interference All Around

BusinessBy admin August 14, 2019 Leave a comment

During a recent session of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, officials whipped themselves into a frenzy over a worrisome development: foreign powers trying to meddle in the country’s elections. The elections in question were for the Moscow City Duma, a toothless body with little or no ability to influence affairs in Russia’s…

Zohr Gas Output Increases 3.6 times in H1, up to 11.3 bcm

The consortium of Eni, Rosneft, BP, and Mubadala Petroleum together with Egyptian oil and gas companies continues the successful implementation of the Zohr gas project on the Mediterranean offshore. In H1 2019, the production on the field amounted to 11.3 bcm of gas, which is 3.6 times more than in the same period last year.…

Russian Village Cancels Evacuation Despite Radiation Spike

Locals from the closed military settlement at Nyonoksa on the White Sea coast were earlier this week told that they would have to leave the area on Wednesday morning. Russian military authorities explained to locals that the evacuation was planned in advance and had nothing to do with last week’s missile explosion, the local 29.ru…

Russian Scientists Told to Beware Foreign Contacts, Academic Says

Russian authorities have recommended for scientists to avoid communicating with their foreign colleagues, a prominent academic has complained in an open letter. The Russian Science and Higher Education Ministry reportedly distributed a decree in July advising scientists to brief the ministry in detail about upcoming meetings with foreign counterparts and to seek approval from bosses…

FC Porto Blocked Russians From Watching FC Krasnodar Victory, TV Channel Says

Update: FC Porto has denied the allegations. Comment added below. Football fans in Russia were abruptly blocked from watching FC Krasnodar spring a major upset against FC Porto Tuesday after the Portuguese side reportedly spiked the price for broadcasting rights before the game, Russia’s Match TV sports broadcaster has alleged. The Russian side secured a…

Moscow Court Allows Opposition Candidate to Run Following Protest

The Moscow city court canceled a decision by the election commission to bar a Russian opposition candidate, Sergei Mitrokhin, from running in a municipal election in September, TASS news agency reported. The court ruled in favor of Mitrokhin three days after tens of thousands of protesters turned out at a rally in Moscow, in which…

Russian Senator Slams Police Crackdown on Moscow Protests as ‘Illegal’

An ex-special forces commander and current Russian senator has called a recent police crackdown on protests in Moscow “illegal and incompetent” while the Kremlin has voiced support for the tough response. Russian authorities detained hundreds of people and launched criminal cases against dozens at a series of election protests in Moscow over the past month.…

Russia Dodges Bad Data With Less Frequent Publications

At least three state-backed agencies have reduced the frequency of their publications of economic and polling data over increasingly worrisome figures this year. Low oil prices and Western sanctions, as well as Russia’s expenditures on its military campaign in Syria and a reported backing of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, have put a dent in many…

Kremlin Says It Is Winning Arms Race Against U.S. Despite Rocket Explosion

The Kremlin boasted Tuesday it was winning the race to develop new cutting edge nuclear weapons despite a mysterious rocket accident last week in northern Russia that caused a temporary spike in radiation levels. Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear agency, has said that the Aug. 8 accident occurred during a rocket test on a sea platform…

Russian Fighter Jets Push NATO War Plane Away

BusinessBy admin August 13, 2019 Leave a comment

Russian fighter jets pushed away a NATO war plane after it tried to approach Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s plane over neutral waters in the Baltic Sea, TASS news agency reported. The plane was flying from Kaliningrad to Moscow and was carrying a TASS reporter on board, the report said.

Gazprom Dobycha Nadym taking part in large-scale environmental project on Vilkitsky Island

Background Gazprom Dobycha Nadym is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom. The company’s key activities are production and treatment of gas and gas condensate. Gazprom Dobycha Nadym was the first gas production company in the north of Western Siberia. It was created to develop and operate the Medvezhye oil, gas and condensate field. It is now also involved in production at the Yubileynoye, Yamsoveyskoye, and Bovanenkovskoye fields. The company holds the license…

Moscow’s 50,000-Strong Opposition Protest, in Quotes

An estimated 50,000 people took to the streets of Moscow on Saturday in one of the largest protests in Russia since 2012. They rallied against the authorities’ blocking of opposition candidates from local elections next month and the heavy police crackdowns during recent demonstrations. Chants calling on Russia to free its political prisoners could be…

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Simplifies Citizenship Process for ‘Persecuted’ Russians

Ukraine’s new president has made it easier for Russians facing “political persecution” to become Ukrainian citizens in an ongoing passport battle between the countries. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last month ordered an overhaul of the process for granting Ukrainian citizenship in response to Russia expanding the number of Ukrainians who can apply for fast-track Russian passports.…

Kremlin Shrugs off Moscow Protests, Backs Tough Police Response

The Kremlin on Tuesday shrugged off five weeks of street protests in support of free elections in Moscow, saying the situation had not warranted comment from President Vladimir Putin and voicing strong support for the tough police response. The demonstrations over a planned election for the Moscow city legislature in September have turned into the…

Kremlin Says Protests in Moscow Have Not Created a Political Crisis