Artisans are crafting a new icon of “The Savior Not Made by Hands” for a Russian Orthodox cathedral built in honor of the country’s Armed Forces. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that President Vladimir Putin has made a personal donation toward the icon’s production, the RBC news outlet reported on Tuesday, though he declined to…
Background Uniper SE is an energy company focused on natural gas, power generation, and global energy trading. Gazprom and Uniper cooperate in gas supplies and transportation abroad and implement joint scientific & technical and social & cultural programs. Nord Stream 2 is the construction project for a gas pipeline with the annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters from Russia to Germany across the Baltic…
Russia plans to start operating two new power stations in Crimea at full capacity on March 18, five sources familiar with the plans told Reuters on Wednesday. The power stations were at the center of an international scandal after German engineering company Siemens said its power turbines had been installed at them without its knowledge and…
The World Anti-Doping Agency has been vindicated over its decision to readmit Russia’s anti-doping agency six months ago, its president Craig Reedie said on Wednesday. In particular, Reedie said that Russia’s decision to allow access to its Moscow laboratory following readmission of RUSADA was a “game changer.” RUSADA was suspended in 2015 after a WADA-commissioned…
Rosneft retail network is first in Russia to launch a service of fuel payments via a mobile app for corporate customers. The RN-Card app is available for smartphones running iOS and Android. Until now, the fuel-filling payment service was piloted in Moscow, Moscow Region and Smolensk. Today, the feature can be used in every region…
Some $750 billion has been moved from Russia in the last quarter-century, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Russia’s net capital outflow, typically used as a measure of economic or political stability, has increased in the past two years, reaching $67.5 billion in 2018. Some economists forecast the trend will slow down to $30 billion in 2019.…
The Russian military plans to bolster its positions in the Arctic with additional air defense systems as it flexes its muscle in the hydrocarbon-rich region, a top naval commander has said. The Defense Ministry has worked at breakneck pace to reassert its presence in the region by reopening old defense installations and deploying new weaponry.…
Russia plans to send delinquent youngsters to military-patriotic re-education camps and to install special software blocking banned websites in schools, the head of Russia’s Security Council has said. President Vladimir Putin created a patriotic directorate inside the Russian army last summer, evoking memories of a Soviet practice that once taught soldiers the tenets of Marxism.…
Release March 12, 2019, 19:00 A working meeting took place today between Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee. Alexey Miller briefed Vladimir Putin on the Company’s main accomplishments in 2018 and its plans for 2019, paying particular attention to the Program for gas infrastructure expansion in Russian regions. Gazprom website Editorial Board Shorthand record…
Russian luxury car manufacturer Aurus introduced its vehicles to the world at the Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland last Thursday, March 7. Visitors to the show, which showcases the latest in automobile design and concepts, got a glimpse of a high-end armored Aurus Senat limousine, as used by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Here are…
Russian bank VTB has begun a procedure to hand over to the Russian state property agency its stake in Evrofinance Mosnarbank, a bank hit with U.S. sanctions this week over its dealings with Venezuela, two sources familiar with the deal told Reuters. Agreement has been reached for the transfer of VTB’s 25 percent stake in…
Doctors at a hospital in southern Russia have conducted what they say is Europe’s first surgery with the help of exoskeletons, the state-run lender Sberbank announced on Monday. ExoChair, developed with help from Sberbank’s robotics division, is designed to support the lower limbs and pelvic region to help reduce fatigue and improve efficiency among workers…
Each year, Moscow plays host to numerous film festivals showcasing some of the best cinema from around the world. And with St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner (March 17), there’s no better way to celebrate Irish culture than by checking out Moscow’s own Irish Film Festival. The festival will showcase a selection of the…
The Kremlin has reversed course in its negotiations to cede control of the disputed Kuril Islands to Japan, the RBC news website reported, citing unnamed sources. The row over the islands, which Soviet troops seized at the end of World War II, has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from formally signing a peace treaty to the…
The Kremlin on Tuesday shrugged off talk of a possible boycott by U.S. companies of Russia‘s showcase International Economic Forum over the arrest of prominent U.S. investor Michael Calvey, saying such boycotts had come to nothing in the past. Calvey’s detention last month on embezzlement charges, which he denies, has rattled some foreign investors in Russia who are…
Russia’s top oil producer Rosneft said on Tuesday that U.S. statements that it had violated U.S. sanctions in its Venezuela activities were “groundless accusations.” Pompeo said this week Rosneft was defying U.S. sanctions by buying oil from Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA. Rosneft said it was not involved in politics and was conducting “purely commercial…
Move over, Leonard Blavatnik: There’s a new leader in town. A Russian oligarch has for the first time topped the list of richest Londoners, according to Forbes Russia. Mikhail Fridman’s net worth of $15 billion knocked billionaire investor Len Blavatnik from the top of the list, Forbes reported Tuesday. Fridman is one of 55 billionaire…
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday blamed Russia and Cuba for causing Venezuela’s political crisis by supporting President Nicolas Maduro. His comments came after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Russian bank Evrofinance Mosnarbank for helping Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA evade U.S. financial restrictions. “This story is not complete without acknowledging…
Latvia has completed construction of a 93-kilometer barbed wire fence on the border with Russia to combat illegal migration, media outlets reported, citing the Latvian border service. The 2.7-meter-tall fence, announced in 2015, alternates between sensor-based systems and surveillance camera zones. It is part of a 21 million euro ($23.8 million) project to modernize 283…
Prosecutors in Russia’s Irkutsk region want to stop a Chinese company from building a water-bottling factory that residents say will drain and pollute the deepest lake and largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth. The AquaSib company began construction of the 1.5 billion-ruble ($22.7 million) factory in January, with plans to bottle 190 million liters…
Release March 11, 2019, 18:05 Vyacheslav Tyurin has been appointed Director General of Gazprom Invest. Vyacheslav Tyurin was born in 1960 in Kamensk-Uralsky, Sverdlovsk Region. He graduated from Kirov Ural Polytechnic Institute. In 1991–1999, he held managerial positions at commercial entities based in Nizhnevartovsk and Moscow. In 1999–2002, he served as Director General of SG-Trans at the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation. He has been part of Gazprom’s team for…
Two new videos showing guards abusing inmates have brought national attention back to a notorious prison near Moscow that rocked Russia’s penitentiary system last year with reports of systemic torture. Bodycam footage released last summer by the investigative Novaya Gazeta newspaper showed guards violently beating prisoners in the Yaroslavl region. The videos’ publication touched off…
The Russian military has significantly expanded and upgraded its weapons systems in the past six years, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told lawmakers on Monday. The country’s military achievements between 2012 and 2018 have turned Russia’s military into a mobile force capable of projecting influence abroad, The Associated Press quoted the minister as saying at a…
On March 7, in Beijing, ASE (ROSATOM Engineering Division) and CNNC enterprises signed a General contract for units 7 and 8 of Tianwan NPP, as well as a contract for a technical project for units 3 and 4 of Xudabao NPP. The preparation of these documents was carried out in accordance with the strategic package…
One in 10 foreigners who visited Russia visa-free for the FIFA World Cup last summer took advantage of a visa waiver to return to the country by the end of 2018, Russia’s top lender Sberbank has said. Security services estimate that more than 633,000 Fan ID holders visited Russia during the 2018 World Cup, according…
Over the past week, Russia celebrated the pre-Lent festival known as Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week. Besides an abundance of blini (pancakes) served, it all came to an end with traditional bonfires across the country. Here’s a look at the fun and fire that took place over the weekend.
Tyumenneftegaz, a Subsidiary of Rosneft, drilled 15 downhole splitters at Russkoe field in 2018, which is 30% more year-on-year. All the drilled horizontal wellbores and laterals are over 16 000 km in length. This technology enables increasing a start-up oil rate by 20-30%, as compared to a conventional horizontal well. Given geology of Russkoe field,…
Russia remains the world’s second-largest arms exporter after the United States despite five years of declining sales abroad, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has said in a new report that was disputed by Russia’s state-owned arm exporter. Russia’s arms exports dropped 17 percent between 2014 and 2018 when compared to 2009-2013, contributing to…
President Vladimir Putin will not reply to a letter from the son of a woman killed by a suspected Russian nerve agent near the English city of Salisbury last year because Russia‘s ambassador to Britain has already done so, the Kremlin said on Monday. Ewan Hope called on Putin in a letter publicized by the Daily Mirror…
A Russian Ural Airlines jet bound for Moscow from Bahrain with 225 people aboard made an emergency landing in Baku, Azerbaijan on Monday because of a suspected bomb on board the plane, Baku airport said. Flight U6-1116 was en route to Moscow’s Domodedovo airport when the crew “received information about possible restricted items” on board, a…
World athletics governing body IAAF has decided not to lift a ban on Russia‘s athletics federation over doping, saying on Monday it was still waiting to receive data collected from Moscow and financial compensation for its investigations. Russia‘s athletics federation (RUSAF) has been suspended since 2015 following a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report that found evidence…
A young Russian couple on vacation and a skydiving instructor were among the 157 people killed in an Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, Russian media have reported. There were no survivors aboard the Boeing 737 jet carrying passengers from more than 30 countries from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya, the airline said. Ethiopia’s parliament declared…
A workshop for suppliers of the Akkuyu NPP project organized by Rosatom and AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC project company was held on March 5, 2019 in Istanbul in the framework of the VI International Nuclear Power Plants Summit (INPPS Expo). Mr. İbrahim Halil Dere, Nuclear Energy General Director in Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of…
In a world of oligarchs, Igor Zyuzin was once one of the richest. As businessmen raced to get their hands on Russia’s assets in the mid-1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union, Zyuzin built a nationwide coal conglomerate. His company, Mechel, later also invested in metals. Although the moves made him a billionaire, he…
In a legal system that has long been an instrument of the powerful, wealthy Russians continue finding clever new ways to use it to their advantage. A Moscow Times investigation has uncovered a new formula: a simple but effective legal scheme that allows wealthy Russians to get their lawsuits in front of friendly judges in…
Specialists of Rosneft United Research and Development Centre (part of the corporate R&D complex of Rosneft) together with LLC RN-Lubricants (a subsidiary of Rosneft) have developed and patented a method of production of green technical oil TDAE (Treatment Distillated Aromatic Extract) to use for production of synthetic rubbers, tyres and rubber products. Technological potential development…
It was Saturday afternoon and Mikhail Svetov was buzzing with nervous energy. Just 24 hours later, the member of Russia’s Libertarian Party would be leading a protest against a draft bill aimed at creating a so-called sovereign internet. “I see signals that something unusual is happening. Something similar to 2011,” Svetov said, referring to the…
A giant wooden tower was torched on Saturday as part of the Maslenitsa folk festival celebration in Russia‘s western Kaluga region. The theme of this year’s festival was the French Revolution and the wooden tower was inspired by the Bastille, the site of the former fortress and symbol of the Bourbon monarchy, that was stormed in…
Only a small number of Americans have not yet made up their minds about whether Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign coordinated with Russian officials, according to new Reuters/Ipsos polling, which also showed deep divisions in the United States in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. Eight out of 10 Americans decided almost immediately about…
President Vladimir Putin congratulated Russian women on International Women’s Day in a video message posted on the Kremlin’s website on Friday. Women’s Day is a national holiday in Russia and one of the most important public holidays inherited from the Soviet period. “You manage everything at work and at home, whilst staying beautiful, bright, and…
Turkey is running out of time to avert a showdown with the United States over its plans to buy advanced Russian air defenses and spurn a counter-offer from its NATO partner, raising the chance of U.S. sanctions against Ankara. The last diplomatic crisis between the two countries contributed to driving the lira to a record…
The U.S. and the European Union are coordinating their strategy in the Western Balkans to foil Russian meddling in the volatile region, a U.S. government official said. Russia “worked very hard” to undermine the recent agreement between Greece and North Macedonia and is boosting aspirations among Bosnian Serbs to secede from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Matthew A. Palmer,…
Members of conservative pro-Kremlin youth organization Set entered Russia’s sole “women-only hours” cafe in St. Petersburg, resulting in a scuffle on Thursday. March 8 marks International Women’s Day. In Russia, it is celebrated as a public holiday with flowers traditionally being gifted to women. In the footage posted online by Set, several men are seen…
For more than two decades, Ruben Vardanyan was the face of Western-style investment banking as a founder of Troika Dialog during the birth of Russian capitalism, going on to earn successes that brought him billionaire status and ties to the Kremlin, British royalty and Hollywood. With his former investment bank now accused of laundering billions…
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has expressed his admiration for Russian rocket engineering in a tweet on Thursday. Musk’s tweet came in response to an article posted by the tech outlet Ars Technica, which said that the Russian Soyuz spacecraft cannot compete with SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Last December, the SpaceX CEO also praised the design of…
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has expressed his admiration for Russian rocket engineering in a tweet on Thursday. Musk’s tweet came in response to an article posted by the tech outlet Ars Technica, which said that the Russian Soyuz spacecraft cannot compete with SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Last December, the SpaceX CEO also praised the design of…
This year, International Women’s Day in Russia is coming back to its political roots. All around the world, Women’s Day activities typically promote discussions of gender inequality. Issues such as unequal pay, education, voting rights and gender-based violence are, at least for one day, important talking points in the media. This politicized tone was once the norm…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel rebuffed U.S. pressure last month to conduct a naval maneuver in Russia’s backyard aimed at provoking President Vladimir Putin, according to three people familiar with the talks. At a Feb. 16 meeting at the Munich Security Conference, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence urged Merkel to send German ships through a narrow…
This week on From Russia With News, we discuss the explosive Troika Laundromat investigation with Paul Radu, the executive director of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which revealed the scheme. We’ll also talk to Guardian correspondent Andrew Roth on why the return of hundreds of women and children from Iraq and Syria has…
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has sold off his shares in Russia’s state-run Channel One television network due to his recently acquired Israeli citizenship, the shares’ buyer told Interfax on Thursday. Russian law prohibits foreign citizens from owning more than 20 percent of a media company, putting Abramovich in violation of the law when he acquired…
Background The construction of the Pancevo TPP is carried out jointly by the Gazprom Energoholding Group and NIS a.d. Novi Sad (part of the Gazprom Neft Group). In June 2015, the companies signed a shareholders agreement to form a joint venture, Serbskaya Generaciya d.o.o. Novi Sad. The share of the Gazprom Energoholding Group in this company is 51 per cent and that of NIS a.d. Novi Sad is 49 per…
Russian lawmakers pushed through a package of bills Thursday seeking to punish internet users and journalists for disrespecting the authorities and spreading fake news. Observers have argued that the highly contentious legislation introduced in December could lead to mass arrests due to its loose wording. Free speech and internet activists are scheduled to protest against…
Two U.S. Mormons detained in Russia for violating immigration law and reportedly charged with teaching English without a license are set to be deported from Russia, local media said on Thursday. The two men, identified as David Gaaga and Kole Brodowski, were detained in southern Russia region late last week, U.S. media reported Wednesday. Both…
Russia’s Defense Ministry released footage Wednesday of its fighter jet intercepting a U.S. reconnaissance plane over neutral waters near its western border. The video shows a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker approaching and shadowing a U.S. Air Force RC-135 plane over the Baltic Sea. With tensions on the rise, Russia and NATO countries have increasingly scrambled…
Russian counterintelligence exposed hundreds of foreign spies in 2018, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. “[Counterintelligence agencies] conducted successful special operations to cut short the activities of 129 career officers and 465 agents of foreign intelligence service,” Putin said at a board meeting of the Federal Security Service (FSB). At the annual meeting, Putin urged FSB…
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Wednesday it has completed a painstaking process of uploading doping data mined from a tainted Moscow laboratory and will start assessing the information to ensure it is complete and authentic. Obtaining, uploading and authenticating the data has been a massive undertaking requiring WADA to construct a virtual Moscow…
Prosecutors in the Netherlands said on Wednesday they are evaluating signs of Dutch involvement in a money laundering network which is alleged by a report this week to have channelled billions of euros from Russia. Shares in Dutch banks ING and ABN Amro fell after a report by a collective of European news outlets called the Organised Crime and…
Alina Politika is one of 42 female cadets attending the naval academy in Russia‘s Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, but she knows she is unlikely to ever step onto the captain’s bridge of a battleship. Politka’s diploma and military rank after graduation won’t differ from those of male cadets, but the Russian navy does not accept women as commanding officers — a situation she…
Before Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatists in east Ukraine, Moscow had a Ukrainian president who did much of what it wanted. Now, as Ukraine readies to elect a new leader, none of the main candidates look that enticing to Russia. Viktor Yanukovich, the last Moscow-friendly Ukrainian president, was toppled by protests in 2014 and fled to Russia, and…
The ice cover in the Bering Sea is at its lowest on record for this time of year after losing an area about the size of Montana at the height of winter. It’s the second consecutive year that the ice extent in the area has retreated at record pace. It shrank from 566,000 square kilometers (219,000…