Rosneft and Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of Japan Develop Cooperation
Rosneft Oil Company and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of Japan have held the second meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee via a video conference.
Russia sets up National Quantum Lab
Moscow, November 25, 2020 – The establishment of a new national project – the National Quantum Laboratory (NQL) – has been announced. The consortium created under the auspices of ROSATOM is going to adopt the international best practices and unite efforts and resources of key universities, research centers, technological companies, financial organizations, start-ups, and development…
Facebook Pays Russia $50K Fine For Not Localizing User Data
Facebook has paid Russian authorities a 4 million ruble ($53,000) fine over its refusal to comply with controversial data localization laws. Under laws which came into force in 2016, Russia requires all foreign technology companies to store data related to their Russian customers and users on servers located inside Russia. Campaigners saw the law as…
China-Bound Flight From Moscow Canceled Over 200 Identical Coronavirus Tests
A Russian airline has canceled a China-bound flight from Moscow after nearly 200 passengers provided identical negative coronavirus test results, the Chinese Embassy in Moscow said Thursday. Pegas Fly grounded the Moscow-Zhengzhou flight Wednesday when the embassy uncovered more than 190 “completely identical” serology tests, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency quoted the embassy as…
Russia to Upgrade Flamethrower Systems – Izvestia
Russia plans dramatic upgrades of its TOS-1 heavy flamethrower systems with longer-range “scorching” rockets and real-time targeting capabilities, the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper reported Wednesday. Up to 100 TOS-1 “Buratino” and TOS-1A “Solntsepyok” models of the Russian Armed Forces’ Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops will reportedly receive the upgrades “due to the growing range and…
Rosneft Conducts Stratigraphic Drilling on Arctic Shelf
Rosneft Oil Company has been the first in the history of Arctic surveys to drill shallow stratigraphic wells in the north of the Kara Sea.
Komsomolsk Refinery Performs Technical Upgrade of Crude Distillation Unit
RN-Komsomolsk refinery, an enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company’s refining complex, has completed a technical upgrade of one of its major crude distillation units, CDU/VDU-2.
Igor Sechin Reports to President on Implementation of Promising Projects Vostok Oil and Zvezda Shipyard
Vladimir Putin has held a working meeting with Rosneft Oil Company Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin.
Deputy Director General of ROSATOM Nikolai Spasskiy had a meeting with Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Russian Federation A. A. Al Saati
On November 25, 2020, Deputy Director General for International Activity of ROSATOM Nikolai Spasskiy had a meeting with Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Russian Federation A. A. Al Saati at the request of the Bahrain party. During the meeting, the parties discussed prospects of closer cooperation between ROSATOM and…
Russian Phone Pranksters Dupe Trudeau as ‘Greta Thunberg’
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has become the latest victim of a pair of notorious Russian pranksters who called him while posing as Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. In the phone call published on the Vovan and Lexus comic duo’s YouTube page this week, the fake Greta grills Trudeau about NATO, other world leaders and…
Investigation Claims to Uncover Putin’s Extramarital Daughter
Russian President Vladimir Putin may be the father of a secretive St. Petersburg millionaire’s 17-year-old daughter, the Proekt investigative website reported Wednesday. Yelizaveta Vladimirovna Krivonogikh “bears a phenomenal resemblance to the Russian president,” Proekt reported, citing photographs it said it had obtained. Her mother Svetlana Krivonogikh is the beneficiary of a company that owns a…
Moscow Plans Expanded Social Credit-Style Tracking System – Open Media
Moscow plans to track its residents’ “loyalty” with detailed digital profiles akin to China’s social credit system, the Open Media news website reported Tuesday, citing public documents. Moscow City Hall has since 2017 been collecting the gender, age, income level and relationship to other people signed up to its mos.ru website as part of the…
Russian Lawmaker, LGBT Activist Named Among World’s Most Influential Women
Feminist Russian lawmaker Oksana Pushkina and prosecuted LGBT activist Yulia Tsvetkova have been named among the world’s 100 most inspirational and influential women in 2020 by the BBC. This year’s edition of the BBC’s annual 100 Women list aims to highlight women who act as leaders of change. The BBC left one of the 100 spots…
Russia’s Coronavirus Deaths Surpass 500 in New One-Day Record
Russia reported a record high of 507 new coronavirus-related deaths Wednesday as the Kremlin acknowledges the heavy strain placed on the country’s healthcare system but continues to rule out a new nationwide lockdown. The country’s total number of fatalities now stands at 37,538, a figure widely believed to be undercounted due to tallying methods. An analysis…
Digital technologies prove to be important tool in achieving Gazprom’s strategic goals
November 25, 2020, 10:10 The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information on the projects being designed and implemented for the widespread adoption of digital technologies and other technological solutions. It was highlighted that the introduction of digital technologies is an important tool to improve the effectiveness of corporate governance and achieve the strategic goals of the Gazprom Group. Today, the Company is at the final stage of automating its core…
Russian Hospital Fined for Coronavirus Patient ‘Cover-Up’
A Russian hospital has been fined for concealing more than 1,000 coronavirus patients earlier this fall, with the regional health officials blaming the national authorities for a misunderstanding. A court in the city of Ufa handed a 200,000 ruble ($2,600) fine to the Kuvatov Republic Clinical Hospital on Monday after finding them guilty of withholding…
Gazprom planning to bring gas to some 3,500 rural communities by 2026
November 25, 2020, 10:00 The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information on the Company’s efforts to expand gas infrastructure in rural areas. It was highlighted that gas infrastructure expansion in Russian regions is an essential social project on a national scale. The project aims to facilitate the development of Russian constituent entities and improve the quality of life for the population. The top priority in this line of work is gas expansion…
Board of Directors discusses impacts of 2020’s events on prospects of shale gas and LNG sectors
November 25, 2020, 09:50 Decline in gas production growth rates expected in the U.S. shale industry. Slowdown in the LNG sector may have negative implications for its long-term development prospects. LNG produced in Russia could be useful for entering new gas sales markets. The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information about the growth prospects of the shale gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) industries across…
Rosneft Develops Production of Arctic and Winter Grades of Diesel Fuel
Scientists from Rosneft Oil Company have developed unique catalysts for the production of diesel fuel of the Arctic and winter grades.
In 2020, Bashneft Releases 1.2 Million Small Fry of Valuable Fish Species into Water
During the summer and autumn of 2020, Bashneft, a subsidiary of Rosneft, replenished the water bodies of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Nenets Autonomous District, and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District with small fry of valuable fish species.
Severstal supplies high-stregth grades of skelp steel to Alfapipe
November 25, 2020 PAO Severstal, one of the world’s largest vertically integrated steel and mining companies, has resumed deliveries to Alfapipe, a spiral welded steel pipe manufacturer based in Algeria. Severstal produced 26 thousand tons of X70 grade skelp steel coils to supply to Alfapipe. X70 Grade Steel is one of the highest-strength steel grades,…
Key Belarus Opposition Figure Charged With Graft and Fraud
Belarus authorities said Tuesday that opposition politician Viktor Babaryko — who until his arrest had intended to run against President Alexander Lukashenko in the August election — was charged with corruption and money laundering. For over three months Belarus has been gripped by historic protests against the re-election of strongman leader Lukashenko, 66, who secured a sixth term…
Ozon Shares Jump 40% on U.S. IPO
Shares in Russian online retail giant Ozon surged by more than 40% in the first minutes of trading after the most eagerly anticipated Russian initial public offering (IPO) in years. Ozon is the country’s second-largest e-commerce player and is placing itself to become Russia’s answer to Amazon with a plan to consolidate and dominate the…
Moscow Welcomes Winter’s First Snowfall
Cyclone Sara arrived in Russia from northern Europe late on Sunday, bringing the much-awaited first substantive snows of the season to Moscow. Muscovites streamed outside to enjoy the winter wonderland while they still can — because it’s already expected to disappear when warmer weather arrives later this week. Here’s a closer look at the magic…
St. Petersburg Dad Takes 6 Children Hostage – Reports
A drunk father took six children hostage in his St. Petersburg apartment during a suspected dispute with his wife, Russian news outlets reported Tuesday. According to Interfax, police responded to a call by the hostage-taker’s wife, who said she was unable to get inside the apartment where she heard the children crying. Special forces ended…
Russia To Vaccinate Mink Against Coronavirus Amid Mutation Fears
Russia plans to vaccinate its minks against the coronavirus after a mutated form of the virus found on mink farms prompted mass culls in Europe, the Defense Ministry’s Zvezda news channel reported Monday. Earlier this month, Denmark said it will cull its entire population of about 17 million mink after discovering a mutated Covid-19 strain…
Is the WHO Too Soft on Russia?
In May, as Russia was tentatively emerging from a nationwide lockdown and clocking up near-record numbers of new infections, Russian officials began mounting an aggressive public campaign to present Moscow’s handling of the coronavirus as faultless. Central to that was boasting about the country’s low number of fatalities compared with Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere. …
Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 24
Russia has confirmed 2,138,828 of coronavirus and 37,031 deaths. Nov. 24: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 24,326 coronavirus cases and a new record of 491 deaths. A contact tracing smartphone app developed by the Ministry of Digital Development is now available on App Store and Google Play. The app, called Gosuslugi.COVID Treker, alerts users of…
Russia Says Its Sputnik V Coronavirus Vaccine 95% Effective
Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective, its developers said Tuesday as Russia seeks a leading role in the high-stakes global race for a safe, effective vaccine that can end to the deadly pandemic. The calculations were based on preliminary data obtained 42 days after volunteers received the first dose, the Health Ministry, the…
Russian Jehovah’s Witnesses Targeted in Fresh Raids
Russian authorities have arrested Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow and across 20 other regions as part of their latest investigation into the religious group that is officially banned as “extremist,” investigators said Tuesday. Video released by the Moscow branch of the federal Investigative Committee, which investigates major crimes, showed masked men prying open an apartment door…
Russia Says Chased off U.S. Warship in Its Pacific Waters
A Russian warship caught a U.S. Navy destroyer operating in Russia’s Pacific waters on Tuesday and chased it off, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said. The USS John S. McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, violated Russia’s territorial waters by moving two kilometers beyond the maritime border at 03:17 GMT into Peter the Great Gulf, the ministry said in…
Putin Still Won’t Congratulate Biden Despite Start of Formal Transition
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not congratulate U.S. President-elect Joe Biden despite news that the Trump administration has approved the formal presidential transition process, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Trump eased some lingering post-election uncertainty by tweeting late Monday that the agency that works with incoming administrations would begin work to assist Biden’s team. While the…
Yevgeny Lebedev Named ‘Baron of Hampton and Siberia’ in Britain
Queen Elizabeth II has granted Russian-British media mogul Yevgeny Lebedev the title of “Baron of Hampton and Siberia,” according to the British government’s official journal of record The Gazette. The British monarch conferred a lifetime peerage to Lebedev, 40, after his longtime friend Prime Minister Boris Johnson nominated him in July. Reports suggested that Lebedev’s…
Russian WWII Vet Given Presidential Medal for Raising Coronavirus Funds
President Vladimir Putin has awarded a Russian World War II veteran for raising funds to support the families of doctors who died from coronavirus, according to a government decree published Monday. Zinaida Korneva, 98, received the Decoration “For Beneficence” for her “great contribution to charitable and public activities,” the decree said. The medal recognizes charity…
Russian Peacekeeper Wounded in Deadly Nagorno-Karabakh Mine Blast
A Russian peacekeeper has been wounded and an Azerbaijani soldier killed in a mine explosion in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday. Four emergency workers from the unrecognized ethnic Armenian republic of Nagorno-Karabakh were also wounded in the region’s Tartar district, the Defense Ministry was cited as saying by Interfax.…
Ice Storm in Russia’s Far East Linked to Climate Change
A freak snowstorm that has battered parts of the Russian Far East and left 100,000 residents without electricity for several days is linked to climate change, analysts and activists say. The storm that hit the Primorye region and its capital of Vladivostok last Thursday brought down trees and power lines and covered outdoor surfaces in…
Russia Fines Pussy Riot Activists for Hanging Pride Flags
Russian courts on Monday fined two Pussy Riot activists for hanging rainbow flags on several government buildings last month to mark President Vladimir Putin’s birthday. On Oct. 7 — Putin’s 68th birthday — members of the anti-Kremlin punk group draped the flags associated with LGBT pride on buildings in Moscow including Russia’s Supreme Court and the…
Russian New Music Gets a Reboot
A man dressed in all black mimes scrambled Brodsky verses while a cellist rakes her instrument with plastic wedges…thundering drum beats are inspired by the latest protests in Belarus… musicians in virtual reality goggles clatter on mechanical typewriters. These are just some of the images and sounds that the audience at “Russian Music 2.0” was…
Putin Signs Law Raising Income Tax for High Earners
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law on increasing income tax for high earners in the first move away from a flat tax system in place since 2001. Starting next year, the tax rate will rise from 13% to 15% on incomes over 5 million rubles (about $65,800/55,370 euros at the current exchange…
Bashneft Water Treatment Facilities Process 65 mil m3 of Wastewater
Bashneft (an enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company) has treated approximately 65 million cubic metres of wastewater at the Ufa Refining Complex’s biological waste treatment facilities since their launch and brought them to the full process mode.
Siberian Schoolkids Charged With Terror Over Minecraft Plot – Reports
Three Siberian schoolchildren have been charged with terrorism over an alleged plot to blow up a virtual security building in the popular block-building game Minecraft, according to reports. Investigators in the Krasnoyarsk region announced the arrest of three 14-year-old “anarchists” over the summer on suspicion of training at abandoned sites to commit acts of terrorism.…
NYT’s Russia Job Posting ‘Russophobic,’ Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Says
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has slammed The New York Times’ job posting for a Russia correspondent, criticizing it for “political bias” and “Russophobia.” In its description for the job posted early last week, The New York Times lists its requirements for an ideal candidate along with a description of the job’s location, “Vladimir Putin’s Russia.” …
7 Die From Drinking Hand Sanitizer at Party in Russia
At least seven people in the Far East Russian republic of Sakha have died from drinking hand sanitizer at a party, authorities and news reports have said. Nine people consumed the hand rub from a five-liter container that they purchased from a local store, the regional branch of consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said in a…
Russia Plans Biometric Database for Citizens, Foreigners – TASS
Russia plans to create a national biometric database to identify both citizens and foreign nationals via face recognition and fingerprints, state media reported Sunday. Russia’s Interior Ministry told the state-run TASS news agency it plans to develop the centralized biometric database in 2021-23. The database will allow the authorities to identify individuals or bodies through…
Russia Confirms Record 25K Coronavirus Cases
Russia has confirmed more than 25,000 new coronavirus infections in a single day for the first time since the pandemic hit earlier this year. Health officials reported 25,173 new infections across Russia’s 85 regions Monday, bringing the national total to 2,114,502 cases. The country surpassed 2 million cases three days ago. Over 23% of those…
Thousands March in Belarus Opposition Rally in Minsk
Tens of thousands of Belarus opposition protesters took to the streets on Sunday, the latest large-scale rally against President Alexander Lukashenko’s contested re-election. For more than three months Belarus has been gripped by historic weekly opposition rallies following Lukashenko’s reelection to a sixth term in August, which Western governments have refused to recognise. Tens of…
Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Nov. 22
Russia has confirmed 2,089,329 of coronavirus and 36,179 deaths. Nov. 22: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 24,581 coronavirus cases and 401 deaths. First samples of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine arrived in Hungary, its developers reported Friday. In a move that has drawn criticism from the European Commission, Hungary is set to become the first EU member…
Armenia PM Urges Stronger Military Links With Russia
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called Saturday for greater military cooperation with Russia, a day after Azerbaijani troops began moving into disputed territory previously held by Armenian separatist forces. “We hope we can reinforce cooperation with Russia not only in the security sector but also military and technical cooperation,” he said, according to his press service. “Of course,…
Russia Imposes Reciprocal Sanctions on 25 UK Officials
Russia on Saturday imposed sanctions on 25 British officials, responding to penalties Britain imposed in July against the same number of Russians over human rights violations. “In response to unfriendly actions by the British authorities and on the basis of reciprocity, the Russian side made a decision to impose personal sanctions on 25 representatives of Great…
Russia Extends Western Food Imports Embargo to End 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday extended an embargo on Western food imports introduced in 2014 until the end of 2021, an economic measure that mainly affects EU imports. The Russian embargo was in response to EU sanctions introduced after Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, sanctions that Brussels renewed for another six months at the…
Russia Virus Toll, Deaths, Hit New Highs
Russia on Saturday registered record numbers for daily infections and deaths from the coronavirus, two days after having passed 2 million cases. Health officials reported 24,822 new infections and 476 deaths, bringing the national total to 2,064,748 million cases and 35,778 fatalities since the beginning of the year. While those figures suggest a lower death rate…
Celebrate Thanksgiving with an Uzbek Chicken
During my years in Moscow, I’ve experienced every kind of Thanksgiving from an ostentatious luncheon for 30 in the late 1990s at a palatial flat in the House on the Embankment to the nadir of the bleak, almost Dickensian Thursday night, when my daughter and I sat down to a plate of chicken nuggets and…
ROSATOM and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will devel workforce capacity and make efforts to create a positive public opinion on nuclear energy
On November 19, 2020, in Moscow, the Ministry of Scientific Research and Technological Innovation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and ROSATOM signed 2 memorandums: a memorandum on cooperation in the education and training of the nuclear personnel of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a memorandum on cooperation in the creation of…
Swiss Prosecutors to Close Magnitsky Probe – Reports
Swiss prosecutors plan to close a nearly decade-old money laundering investigation into allegations made by the late lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Swiss prosecutors opened the money-laundering probe in 2011 after Hermitage Capital, once the largest foreign investor in Russia, claimed that a former Russian tax official moved fraudulent tax refunds through Swiss bank…
Moscow, St. Petersburg Residents Least Likely to Catch Coronavirus – Study
While Moscow and St. Petersburg are the epicenters of Russia’s coronavirus outbreak, a new analysis claims that its residents are among those with the lowest risk of getting coronavirus within the country. Residents of Perm and Voronezh, on the other hand, are among those most likely to contract the virus, with the risk of getting…
Macron Accuses Russia, Turkey of Promoting Anti-French Sentiment in Africa
President Emmanuel Macron accused Russia and Turkey of seeking to promote anti-French sentiment in Africa by funding people who whip up resentment against France in the media, in an interview published Friday. “We must not be naive on this subject: many of those who speak, who make videos, who are present in the French-speaking media are funded…
Moscow Prepares for Pandemic New Year’s
Muscovites are bracing for an unconventional holiday season after the cancellation of the city’s annual Christmas and New Year’s festivities, the closure of late-night entertainment and new restrictions on cinemas and theaters. Despite the restrictions, Moscow is already putting up extravagant lighting displays across the city, inviting residents to enjoy a festive stroll through the…
Ice Storms in Russia’s Far East Prompt State of Emergency
Freak ice storms following an abnormal weather phenomenon have left 150,000 people without water and electricity in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok and prompted a state of emergency. The exceptional weather brought down cables and trees with the government of the Primorye region declaring a state of emergency. “The situation with the electricity…
A Tolstoy Descendant Returns to His Roots in Yasnaya Polyana
As a descendant of revered literary genius Leo Tolstoy, Ilya Tolstoy spent much of his childhood at the writer’s countryside estate in Yasnaya Polyana south of Moscow. After years of working as a producer at several state-run news channels, Ilya, 33, grew tired of the breakneck pace of life in Russia’s capital and yearned for…
In a Poor Russian City, Coronavirus Hits Hard
IVANOVO — In this hardscrabble city in central Russia, the morgues are full and well-paid jobs are scarce. Though many of Russia’s outlying regions are struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Ivanovo — a working-class city of 400,000 located 300 kilometers northeast of Moscow — is coping worse than most. “It’s impossible…