On this day in 1949, Alla Borisovna Pugacheva was born and went on to become the Soviet Union’s and Russia’s most famous, celebrated, and prolific singer. Alla Borisovna — no surname required — started training her powerful voice at the age of five. By the time she was studying in a music institute, she was…
On 15 April 2019, the XI International Forum Atomexpo 2019 was officially opened in Sochi. Over 3.600 guests from 74 countries registered for the Forum this year (six more than last year). Among the new countries represented at the Forum are Qatar, Bahrain and Nicaragua. This year the participants will have a busy business program,…
At least two opposition leaders in Russia’s republic of Ingushetia have been arrested on charges of attacking police shortly after being released from detention following protests against a divisive border-change deal. Thousands took to the streets in Ingushetia last month over a land swap deal signed last fall with the neighboring republic of Chechnya in…
Russia’s biggest aluminum producer Rusal has agreed on a joint project to build a rolling mill in the U.S. just three months after the Trump administration lifted sanctions on the metals giant. In April 2018, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, Rusal and other companies in which he owns stakes, citing…
Two suspected Islamic State members were killed during a shootout in the Siberian town of Tyumen following a raid by the Federal Security Service (FSB). Russia‘s National Anti-Terrorism Commitee released footage in the early hours of Saturday showing security measures around the streets where the raid took place. According to the committee, the FSB obtained…
On this day, on April 13, 1943, the German army under Adolf Hitler announced the discovery of mass graves near the village of Katyn not far from Smolensk. The Nazis accused the Soviet Union of the mass murder of Polish officers. For almost five decades, the Soviet Union denied all responsibility, insisting that the murders…
In June a new translation of a new version of Vasily Grossman’s “Stalingrad” is being released. Edited by Robert Chandler and Yury Bit-Yunan and translated from the Russian by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, it promises to, if not revolutionize readers’ understanding of Vasily Grossman, then at least expand and augment it. We couldn’t wait to…
President Vladimir Putin earned less than half in 2018 than he did the previous year, the Kremlin announced on Friday. Putin earned 18.7 million rubles ($291,000) in 2017, the state-run RIA Novosti news outlet quoted a Kremlin announcement as saying. His pay in 2018 fell to 8.6 million rubles ($134,000). Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s yearly…
Russia has breached the rights of a Chechen domestic abuse victim, a United Nations women’s rights panel ruled on Friday in what has been called the UN’s first decision on domestic violence in the country. Domestic violence complaints have skyrocketed since President Vladimir Putin passed a 2017 law decriminalizing first-time abuse where beatings resulted in…
A court in Russia fined Facebook on Friday for failing to tell authorities where it stores Russian user data, Russian news agencies reported, a ruling that highlights wrangling between tech giants and Moscow as it ramps up internet controls. The court fined Facebook 3,000 rubles ($47) for not providing information in line with legislation that…
Moscow’s real estate costs rose at some of the highest rates in the world last year, the global real estate and investment firm CBRE Group said Thursday. The city of some 12.5 million people has seen its cost of living fall this year and it ranked outside the world’s 50 most expensive cities last year.…
Melancholy, peace, nostalgia… these and other emotions are described by visitors as they make their way through darkened halls filled with art, accompanied by the lonely sound of a piano and the faint scent of sandalwood incense. “Life After Life,” the new exhibition at the Manege, explores death, one of the most universal themes in…
Russia’s state space agency plans to send “outstanding citizens” to the International Space Station (ISS) at no cost in exchange for their achievements, the agency’s head announced on Thursday. The Roscosmos space agency plans to send tourists to the ISS in late 2021 under a deal signed with the U.S. tourism firm Space Adventures. Dmitry…
On April 11, 2019, Novovoronezh Phase II (a branch of Rosenergoatom Concern JSC, part of ROSATOM’s Power Division) has started the first power program at Unit 2 after getting a permit from the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia. Novovoronezh Plant Manager Vladimir Povarov said that the permit from Rostechnadzor meant that…
On this day in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space. On board the “Vostok 1,” Gagarin successfully orbited earth in his space capsule. During the journey, which lasted 1 hour and 48 minutes, Gagarin said little. The only known statement recorded from him: “Flight is proceeding normally.…
The visit of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) delegation to the production location of JSC “Pilot and Demonstration Center for Decommissioning of Uranium-Graphite Reactors” took place in Seversk on April 8-12, 2019. TENEX experts also took part in the visit. During the visit, the French delegation learned about ROSATOM’s unique expertise…
Three years later, Belka and Strelka gained a place in history as the first animals to survive space orbit. Accompanied by a rabbit, 42 mice, two rats, flies and several plants, the duo and all their traveling companions made it safely back to earth. Sergei Preobrazhensky, Nikolai Sitnikov / TASS
The wealthiest 3 percent of Russians owned 89 percent of all financial assets in 2018, according to joint research by the Higher School of Economics and the state-run VEB Bank. This is the first time a comprehensive study of wealth inequality has been attempted in Russia, the Kommersant business daily reported on Friday. Last month,…
Russians traveling in Sudan are not in danger after the ouster of the African nation’s longtime leader and ongoing unrest, the Russian Embassy in Khartoum said Thursday. An estimated 140 Russian citizens are registered as residing in Sudan, where a military coup overthrew President Omar al-Bashir, a close ally of Russia, after 30 years of…
Russian State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has presumably cast a vote for a controversial bill tightening internet controls while on a working trip to his home region. Shrugging off an outcry from opposition politicians and rights activists, the 450-seat lower chamber of parliament voted in a second reading to pass a largely unchanged version of…
The president of Belarus has ordered the closure of a Russian oil export pipeline for repairs in retaliation to Moscow’s “brazen” import ban. Belarus and Russia have seen a new flare-up in bilateral tensions barely two months after an amicable meeting between their presidents in Sochi. In late March, the two countries’ Foreign Ministries exchanged…
A star Russian football player has sparked national outrage this week after stepping out of his Mercedes at a traffic light to beat up a pedestrian who had bumped against his car. The victim is reportedly a U.S. citizen who is working as a translator in Russia’s capital. The incident took place in the aftermath…
April 12, 2019 PAO Severstal (MICEX-RTS: CHMF; LSE: SVST), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and steel-related mining companies, today announces its operational results for Q1 2019. Q1 2019 GROUP HIGHLIGHTS Hot metal output increased 6% q/q in Q1 2019 to 2.36 mln tonnes (Q4 2018: 2.23 mln tonnes) following short-term maintenance works…
The “Nuclear Technologies as a Key Driver of Scientific and Technological Innovation” roundtable will be held as part of the ATOMEXPO 2019 International Forum on April 16, 2019. The event will bring together Russian and international experts to talk about the contribution of nuclear technologies to the development of scientific and technical process and their…
On April 15, a roundtable entitled “Risk Management: New Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals Achievement” will take place as part of the 11th ATOMEXPO International Forum. The roundtable has been organized by State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM, with representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Nuclear Association (WNA) taking…
Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF plans a joint investment in the next couple of months with Baring Vostok, the private equity group whose executives are facing charges in Russia of fraud, RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev told Reuters. A Moscow court on Thursday ruled that Michael Calvey, the U.S. citizen who heads Baring Vostok, should be…
Russia is entering the final testing phase of its nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed Satan-2, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. Russia announced plans in 2013 to develop the ICBM to replace a Cold War standby known in the West as “Satan,” or the RS-20B Voyevoda in Russia. Putin unveiled Satan-2 with an array of other…
ROSATOM and World Nuclear Association will host a roundtable of presentations and discussion to examine how we can deliver an energy system that can meet the aspirations of the world’s growing population and help achieve global long-term climate change objectives as part of the 11th ATOMEXPO International Forum in Sochi on April 15–16, 2019. What…
Update: Moscow’s Basmanny district court has ruled to extend Calvey’s house arrest through July 14, the state-run TASS news agency reported on Friday. A Moscow court has ruled to move detained U.S. investor Michael Calvey from pre-trial detention to house arrest, Russian media reported Thursday. In February, Russia detained Calvey, the founder of the Baring Vostok…
A Moscow court has ruled to move detained U.S. investor Michael Calvey from pre-trial detention to house arrest, Russian media reported Thursday. In February, Russia detained Calvey, the founder of the Baring Vostok private equity group, on suspicion of fraud along with three other partners in the fund. Calvey denies the allegations, saying the case…
Russian engineers announced on Thursday they have shrunk an artificial heart for infants, giving children with heart defects a new lease on life. A synthetic replacement for the heart remains one of the long-sought holy grails of modern medicine. A functional artificial heart — first successfully implanted in a human in 1982 — lowers the…
A Chechen court has overturned an earlier ruling ordering Russian gas giant Gazprom to write off 9 billion rubles ($140 million) of the region’s gas debt. Unpaid debts on utility bills are a widespread problem in Chechnya’s capital of Grozny, where local media reported extensive raids and mass blackouts over unpaid bills by as many as…
Russian lawmakers have passed a bill on Thursday to criminalize doping in athletics years after the country was thrust into a doping scandal. Several Russian sports bodies and athletes have been banned from international competition since 2015 following a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report that found evidence of widespread doping. Since late 2016, coaches and other…
Release April 11, 2019, 14:05 The Gazprom Management Committee reviewed issues associated with arranging and holding the Company’s annual General Shareholders Meeting. The Management Committee endorsed the proposal to convene the annual General Shareholders Meeting of Gazprom in St. Petersburg at 10 a.m. on June 28, 2019. The registration of the Meeting participants is to be carried out on June 26 (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and on June 28 (from 9 a.m.). In addition, the…
With Russia’s economy faltering under an onslaught of Western sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the 5th International Arctic Forum in St. Petersburg this week to promote the resource-rich region’s development. Presentations and panel discussions between more than 3,600 Russian and international lawmakers, scientists and businesspeople wrapped up on Wednesday. Delegates discussed topics including the Northern…
Russian officials have spoken out against Britain’s arrest of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on Thursday, expressing hopes that the whistleblower’s rights will be respected. Assange was arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police after Ecuador withdrew his asylum which had allowed him to take refuge in the country’s embassy in the United Kingdom since 2012. A video widely shared…
On April 15, State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM and the Union ‘Agency of Development of Professional Communities and Skilled Workers’ (WorldSkills Russia) will host a roundtable discussion entitled ‘Human Capital as a Factor for Economic Growth: From National Interests to International Corporation’. Participants in the discussion will include: Director General the World Nuclear Association…
Eight activists who participated in a protest in northern Russia against Moscow’s plans to ship waste to surrounding regions were detained Wednesday, Interfax reported. Between 2,000 and 3,000 protesters gathered for Sunday’s demonstration in Arkhangelsk, calling for the region’s governor to resign over the 10.5 billion ruble ($160.7 million) Shiyes landfill’s construction, media outlets reported.…
Russian lawmakers have spoken out against what they called an “unconstitutional” military coup in Sudan that has reportedly ousted longtime leader and close Russian ally Omar al-Bashir. Sudan’s military deployed troops in Khartoum and surrounded the presidential palace on Thursday following months of protests against al-Bashir’s regime; al-Bashir stepped down soon after, Reuters reported. In January, Russia’s Foreign…
Several news outlets have removed a top Russian regulator’s remarks saying that a draft bill designed to disconnect the national internet network from the outside world will in fact target a popular messaging app. Authors of the bill going through parliament say they want to ensure that the domestic internet continues to function in the…
On April 16, ANO Rosatom Corporate Academy will hold a round table discussion entitled “Next Generation Nuclear: A Partnership for Development” as part of the ATOOMEXPO 2019 International Forum in Sochi. The round table will be attended by the following organizations: ITER Organization, the Vienna International Nuclear Competence Center, Universum, Goodnight Consulting, Coca-Cola HBC Russia,…
Americans traveling to some parts of Russia are at risk of being kidnapped, the U.S. State Department said in an updated travel advisory on Tuesday. Russia was listed alongside Sudan and Niger as one of the most dangerous countries for U.S. travelers in the State Department’s new risk-based system in January 2018. Moscow dismissed the…
Saudi Arabia has received its first batch of heavy flamethrower systems from Russia, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday. Russia signed a deal to supply its “Sunburn” military equipment to Saudi Arabia in 2017. First developed in 2001, the “Sunburn” heavy flamethrower systems’ design was based on the framework of a Soviet T-72…
A former agent of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has been sentenced to six years in maximum-security prison on charges of treason in the agency’s worst scandal in recent history. Ex-FSB operative Dmitry Dokuchayev was the last of four high-profile figures to receive treason sentences. All four were arrested in Russia in December 2016 shortly…
More than 7,000 people have died in fire-related accidents in Russia in 2018, according to data released Wednesday by Russia’s Investigative Committee. Sixty people, many of them children, died in the Siberian city of Kemerovo in March 2018 after the Winter Cherry mall caught on fire due to faulty wiring. Inspections uncovered violations in at…
Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex and Sovkomflot PJSC have signed a contract to make a pilot gas carrier vessel for the Arctic LNG 2 project. The contract states that the vessel shall be delivered in Q1 2023. Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex has unique equipment for Russian shipyards, as well as advanced world-class technology, which provides for the implementation…
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Russian senators have passed a bill on Wednesday banning hostels in residential buildings, sending the bill to President Vladimir Putin’s desk to be signed into law. Hoteliers have warned that the ban could shutter up to 40 percent of hostels in Moscow and 80 percent in St. Petersburg, costing 16 billion rubles ($243 million) of…
One day after his release from house arrest, theater director Kirill Serebrennikov made a surprise public appearance at the Gogol Center, where he had worked as artistic director before his arrest. Following a Tuesday evening performance of “Dead Souls,” Serebrennikov ran onstage and was met with applause from the audience. He later took selfies and…
Despite the decades-old Moscow-Beijing Friendship, authentic Chinese food has been really hard to find in the Russian capital. But as thousands of Chinese students and tourists flock to Moscow each year, they have been hankering for a taste of home — and now they found it. Assuming that your Mandarin isn’t up to reading the…
While Ukraine currently faces a difficult choice for its leadership, Russia has settled on President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said Wednesday in response to campaign billboards depicting Ukraine’s president facing off against Putin. Posters showing Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko opposite Putin with a caption reading “The Decisive Choice” appeared in Ukraine ahead of the country’s…
Russia’s state television has launched a new channel that targets the younger generation with programming dedicated entirely to World War II. The Pobeda (“Victory”) television channel, which will broadcast wartime movies and shows 24/7, appeared in cable and satellite packages ahead of May 9, Russia’s national holiday marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. news…
Russian investigators have asked for jailed U.S. investor Michael Calvey to be released from pretrial detention and placed under house arrest instead. In February, Russia detained Calvey, the founder of the Baring Vostok private equity group, on suspicion of fraud along with three other partners in the fund. Calvey denies the allegations, saying the case…
Release April 10, 2019, 13:35 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Sergey Gorkov, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Rosgeo, took place today at the Arctic: Territory of Dialogue 5th International Arctic Forum in St. Petersburg. The parties discussed cooperation-related issues, in particular the prospects of conducting 3D seismic surveys in the east of Russia and on the Arctic shelf. Information…
Background OMV AG is Gazprom’s main partner in Austria. The companies cooperate in gas production, transportation and supplies. 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 October 2018, Gazprom and OMV signed the Memorandum on Strategic Cooperation. Also in October 2018, Gazprom and OMV inked the…
Almost half of Russians say a decent salary is out of their reach no matter how long they live to earn it, the government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta cited research as saying Wednesday. On average, Russians named 66,000 rubles ($1,000) as a decent monthly salary, according to the government’s Financial University survey cited by the outlet.…
A printing press in St. Petersburg will rehire a transgender woman and pay her two years’ worth of lost income in Russia’s first known court case to acknowledge workplace discrimination against a transgender woman. Anastasia Vasilyeva was fired from the printing press after 10 years of employment after changing her identification papers from male to…
The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said on Tuesday the agency would soon unveil an effort to try to use U.S. assistance to counteract Russian influence around the world. “USAID will soon unveil a Framework to help us counter malign Kremlin influence, especially in Europe and Eurasia,” Mark Green said at…
On April 9, 2019 in Saint-Petersburg the Director General of ROSATOM took part in the panel section “The Northern Sea Route – The Key to the Development of the Russian Arctic” which was held in the framework of the 5th International Arctic Forum “The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue”. Maxim Akimov, Deputy Prime Minister of…
On April 9, 2019 in Saint-Petersburg the Director General of ROSATOM took part in the panel section “The Northern Sea Route – The Key to the Development of the Russian Arctic” which was held in the framework of the 5th International Arctic Forum “The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue”. Maxim Akimov, Deputy Prime Minister of…