The European Union has agreed to extend punishing sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine by six months, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday. The sanctions, which target whole sectors of the Russian economy including its valuable oil businesses, were due to expire this month but “would be extended by six months,” said Merkel…
Moscow’s main streets were hit with some unusually heavy traffic — literally — Thursday evening as military vehicles and tanks rolled toward Red Square in a rehearsal for next week’s Victory Day parade. The parade, which will take place June 24, was postponed from its original date of May 9 due to the coronavirus. Muscovites…
Russians voting on constitutional amendments that would allow President Vladimir Putin to extend his rule are putting their lives at risk because the coronavirus pandemic is still widespread, a regional health official has warned. The vote for Putin’s reforms, which he already signed into law in March, was postponed from its original date in April…
President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday accused foreign powers of seeking to destabilize Belarus as he intensifies a crackdown on the opposition ahead of August’s election. In power since 1994, Lukashenko is seeking a sixth term in the Aug. 9 presidential election. Several of his critics including former banker Viktor Babaryko, seen as Lukashenko’s leading election…
A former Russian governor who sued President Vladimir Putin over his dismissal has died at age 58 from coronavirus complications, Interfax reported Thursday. Mikhail Ignatyev was hospitalized in critical condition with pneumonia in both lungs and placed on oxygen support last month. He became the first ex-governor to sue Putin over what he said was…
Russia’s constitutional amendments will bring back the Soviet era and end Russia being “ruled by Uncle Sam,” the governor of a southern Siberian region has said in support of the reforms. The amendments, which President Vladimir Putin signed into law in March and Russian voters are expected to back in a July 1 vote, reset…
French police carried out raids in the eastern city of Dijon on Friday after several nights of violence blamed on members of its Chechen community, officials said. “The police operations are aimed at finding weapons, ammunition and narcotics,” said Bernard Schmeltz, the government’s top official for the region. Around 140 officers took part in the…
On Friday the non-governmental organization Zhivi Seichas (Live Now) is holding a 10-hour marathon to gather 2 million rubles for Russian patients with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). All day on their YouTube channel or VKontakte page some of Russia’s finest athletes, actors, singers, dancers and many others will be working hard to entertain, enlighten, and even hold some dance…
There have been 569,063 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,841 deaths. June 19: 3 things you need to know today Dozens of Russian World War II veterans who plan to attend the rescheduled Victory Day parade on Red Square on June 24 are self-isolating outside Moscow in order to protect President Vladimir Putin from…
Sergei Khrushchev, the son of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, has died in the United States at age 84, his granddaughter told the RBC news website Thursday. Sergei Khrushchev has held both U.S. and Russian citizenships since 1999, eight years after moving to Providence, Rhode Island, and resided permanently in the U.S. His granddaughter Nina…
President Vladimir Putin’s close associates are the biggest beneficiaries of the country’s 2 trillion ruble ($28.7 billion) waste disposal reforms, according to an analysis of contracts by Russia’s Important Stories investigative website published Thursday. Companies linked to close Putin associates Sergei Chemezov, Arkady Rotenberg and Yury Kovalchuk, as well as former prosecutor general Igor Chaika,…
Belarussian authorities on Thursday detained President Alexander Lukashenko’s rival ahead of August’s election as Minsk intensified a crackdown on the opposition. The detention of Viktor Babaryko, a 56-year-old former banker, on suspicion of financial crimes came after authorities jailed other critics including prominent opposition politician Mikola Statkevich ahead of an election in which Lukashenko is…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has attacked European leaders for failing to understand the “real lessons” of World War II and said the United Nations system is the only way for the world’s nuclear powers to avoid direct military confrontation. In an essay published Thursday evening in U.S. magazine The National Interest, Putin blames the Western…
The Russian Premier League is due to return this weekend after three months in cold storage, but the perils of trying to restart in the midst of a pandemic have been highlighted as the entire FK Rostov squad has been placed in quarantine after six players tested positive for coronavirus. The announcement of the positive…
The vessel with the equipment for power units No. 3 and No. 4 of Kudankulam NPP left the port of Saint-Petersburg and made its way towards the Republic of India. This is the 17th shipload during the project implementation and the first one – after the restrictive measures related to prevention further spread of COVID-19.…
Update: Belarussian authorities on Thursday detained Babaryko on suspicion of financial crimes, the head of the state control committee said. “Babaryko is detained because he was the organiser and leader of illegal activities, (and) tried to influence witness testimony,” committee chief Ivan Tertel told reporters. A former banker vying to unseat the longtime leader of Belarus…
The European Union on Thursday rolled over for another year tough sanctions imposed over Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The measures prohibit certain exports and imports from Crimea, and ban EU-based companies from investment and tourism services in the strategic Black Sea peninsula. “The Council today decided to renew the sanctions introduced in…
There have been 561,091 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,660 deaths. June 18: 3 things you need to know today Dozens of Russian World War II veterans who plan to attend the rescheduled Victory Day parade on Red Square on June 24 are self-isolating outside Moscow in order to protect President Vladimir Putin from…
Russia has halted its largely unsuccessful two-year efforts to block the popular messaging service Telegram. Russia’s federal media watchdog Roskomnadzor made the surprise announcement Thursday, citing Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s “stated readiness to counter terrorism and extremism.” “In agreement with the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, Roskomnadzor is lifting demands to restrict access to Telegram,” Roskomnadzor…
An Orthodox diocese in central Russia has warned an ultraconservative priest who denies the existence of the coronavirus to give up his siege of the women’s monastery where he is a spiritual leader. Father Sergei was reported to have enlisted Cossack fighters as guards — an assertion that they deny — after capturing the Sredneuralsk…
For everyone who has become addicted to a weekend feast delivered to your door, June 19-21 our friends at the Hyatt Regency Petrovsky Park are offering a Peruvian dinner. Peruvian cuisine combines local traditions with Spanish, African, Japanese, Chinese, and Italian influences to create fresh, brightly flavored dishes. The set menu for two (or more,…
“At an unknown date before 18 July 2019, the accused received the order from authorities at the central government of the Russian Federation to liquidate the Georgian national of Chechen origin, Tornike K.,” said federal prosecutors in a statement that named the killer as Vadim K., alias Vadim S. The victim, a former Chechen commander,…
Nearly 500 Russian medics who tested positive for the coronavirus have died, the head of the state health watchdog said Thursday, a far higher figure than given before. “489 — that is medics, unfortunately we have lost almost 500 of our colleagues,” Roszdravnadzor watchdog chief Alla Samoilova said at an online conference on safety for…
French police on Thursday detained six members of the Chechen community on suspicion of taking part in successive nights of violence that rocked the eastern city of Dijon, prosecutors said. From Friday to Monday, Dijon was rocked by clashes and vehicle burnings after an assault this month on a 16-year-old Chechen boy that prompted other…
Separatists in southern Yemen have seized 64 billion riyals ($255 million) in banknotes that Russia had printed for the country’s central bank, Moscow confirmed Wednesday. Forces loyal to a council that declared self-rule in southern Yemen’s port of Aden in April commandeered the cash convoy leaving the port, Reuters cited Yemen’s central bank as saying…
Background Gazprom Transgaz Surgut is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom. The company has 26 branches, including 14 gas pipeline operation centers with 38 compressor shops and 273 gas compressor units. Gazprom Transgaz Surgut operates over 6,500 kilometers of gas trunklines running from the Zapolyarny town to the borders of the Omsk and Kurgan Regions, and transmits nearly 200 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas per year. The…
Background Gazprom Transgaz Saratov, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, is responsible for natural gas transmission from Western Siberia, Central Asia, the Orenburg Region, and three UGS facilities located in the Saratov Region. The company is in charge of over 7,000 kilometers of gas trunklines and branches, 29 compressor shops, 165 gas compressor units with a total capacity of 1.3 million kW, and 216 gas distribution stations providing gas for about…
Kazakhstan’s ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev has tested positive for coronavirus, his press service announced Thursday. Nazarbayev, 79, stepped down last year after almost 30 years in power in the oil-rich Central Asian nation, retaining key security council and party leader positions while handpicking a loyalist as his successor. As a former Soviet republic, Kazakhstan maintains close ties…
A potentially massive online vote-buying campaign is unfolding ahead of Russia’s vote on constitutional amendments that would allow President Vladimir Putin to rule until 2036, the independent Dozhd news channel reported Wednesday. Russians will begin voting next Thursday, ahead of the July 1 nationwide vote, on a set of constitutional amendments that include social guarantees…
ROSATOM signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Framatome SAS (France) and GE Steam Power in the framework of the strategic investor selection procedure for the Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Bulgaria. Kirill Komarov, First Deputy Director General of Corporate Development and International Business of ROSATOM, Frédéric Lelièvre, Senior Executive Vice President in charge of…
Moscow experienced its hottest June 17 in more than a century after temperatures hit 31.1 degrees Celsius Wednesday. Russia’s Hydrometeorology Center said that beat the previous record of 30.8 C set on the same day in 1892, Interfax reported. The scorching temperature hit at 4 p.m. in the capital. Temperatures in Moscow will drop below…
Russia has finished clearing fuel from the surface of a river hit by a massive diesel spill in the Arctic region, but the full clean-up could take years, officials said Wednesday. After more than 700 people were deployed to clear the pollution, officials said the operation had removed the main spill from the surface of…
The experts have started flushing of active and passive safety systems with the open reactor at Unit 2 of Belarus NPP (the general designer and general contractor is ROSATOM Engineering Division). This is one of the most important, strictly regulated process operations, in the course of which the equipment installed and pipelines of safety systems…
Moscow experienced its hottest June 17 in more than half a century after temperatures hit 29.6 degrees Celsius Wednesday. Russia’s Hydrometeorology Center said that beat the previous record of 29.4 C set on the same day in 1956, Interfax reported. It added that Wednesday’s temperatures were still on track to break a 128-year record of…
U.S. fighter jets intercepted four Russian nuclear-capable bombers off the coast of Alaska for the second time in a week, the Russian military said Wednesday. The U.S. scrambled F-22 Raptors to escort the four Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bombers during their flight near the Bering Strait, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported. The Tu-95MS bombers…
Moscow’s outdoor restaurant verandas opened to diners Tuesday as the Russian capital continues to gradually reopen following a two-and-a-half-month coronavirus lockdown. While the patios packed with people dining in the sunshine might look like a sign that the coronavirus pandemic is grinding to a halt in Russia, cases have continued to rise in the thousands…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday Moscow welcomed contacts between its close allies India and China after a deadly border confrontation. President Vladimir Putin has close ties with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian premier Narendra Modi, who has talked of a “special chemistry” with the Russian strongman. Lavrov said at a press…
Special disinfection tunnels have been installed at President Vladimir Putin’s residence outside Moscow and at the Kremlin to protect him from the coronavirus, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Wednesday. A number of figures in Putin’s circle of contacts have been diagnosed with Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, including Peskov and the chief doctor…
During a Monday morning meeting, Alexander Ostrov, the governor of the Zabaykalsky Krai region in Russia’s Far East, gave a grim forecast for the coronavirus pandemic. “The situation is getting worse,” he said. “The number of infected people is growing.” On Sunday, Zabaykalsky Krai had reached a high for new daily infections of 89. Then,…
There have been 553,301 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,478 deaths. June 17: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s second-largest city St. Petersburg had the highest coronavirus mortality rate among all Russian cities in the month of April, according to a new analysis of official data. As of Wednesday, 20 cities had canceled…
The brother of the American sentenced by a Russian court to 16 years in prison for espionage said Tuesday he believes Moscow wants to exchange him for a notorious arms dealer or Russian diplomatic properties shuttered by Washington. David Whelan, the brother of Paul Whelan, the ex-Marine given the stiff prison sentence on Monday, said…
Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on June 8, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic. President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that…
A prominent Russian Orthodox priest who was barred from preaching for his anti-coronavirus views has laid siege to a women’s monastery, the 66.ru news website reported Tuesday. Religious authorities barred Father Sergei, the ultraconservative spiritual leader of the Sredneuralsk women’s monastery in central Russia, from public ministry in April for disobeying orders to follow health…
Russian bookstores have already started selling copies of the country’s amended Constitution even though a public vote to approve it won’t happen until July 1, the RBC news website reported Tuesday. The constitutional amendments, in addition to adding social guarantees to Russia’s basic law, reset Putin’s four previous terms as president, allowing him two additional…
A key witness in a multimillion-dollar criminal fraud case involving prominent theater director Kirill Serebrennikov has claimed that investigators obtained her testimony under duress, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday. Serebrennikov is suspected of embezzling 133 million rubles ($1.9 million) in a case that his supporters have criticized as politically motivated. The artistic director of…
Hundreds of Azerbaijanis who have been unable to cross the Russian border to go home because of the coronavirus have blocked a highway and clashed with police, investigators said Tuesday. Russia’s Investigative Committee said about 400 people “used violence” against police and border guards as they were “displeased with the organization of their crossing” into…
More than 43,000 Russian schools will be equipped with facial recognition cameras ominously named “Orwell,” the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday. The state technology firm Rusnano’s Orwell platform is described as a image-recognition monitoring system that uses computer vision algorithms. It will be integrated with face recognition developed by NTechLab, a subsidiary of Russian President…
News from projects and regions June 16, 2020, 16:00 On June 15 and 16, 169 shift workers of Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk arrived at the Chayandinskoye field in Yakutia. Most of the duty staff at the production site who have completed their three-month shift will be changed over. The shift period was extended in line with the measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection. Another 150 employees…
OKB Gidropress research and experiment facility, an enterprise of ROSATOM machinery division Atomenergomash, has started life tests of a mock-up of the third-generation nuclear fuel RK3+ for VVER-440 reactors. The work is carried out within the contract between TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM and Czech power company ČEZ a.s., which includes design and introduction of…
Russia on Tuesday vowed to stand by its ally Iran and resist attempts to promote an anti-Iranian agenda amid tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the comments during a visit to Moscow by his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, as Iran sought to fend off criticism over granting access to sites where…
Georgia has arrested a Russian national suspected of being hired to kill a journalist who insulted President Vladimir Putin live on air, with the would-be victim’s boss claiming that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov ordered the killing. Television host Giorgi Gabunia ignited backlash last summer when he opened his broadcast with a minute of graphic vulgarity…
The Kremlin on Tuesday called for restraint following a sharp escalation in tensions after North Korea blew up a liaison office near its border with South Korea. “This is a concern, we urge all parties to show restraint,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Russia would be closely monitoring the situation. The…
If you’ve ever wanted to put your Russian to the test by listening to one of the world’s most difficult novels in Russian, today is your lucky day. Prominent Russian cultural figures are reading Irish writer James Joyce’s famous novel “Ulysses” in a marathon broadcast Tuesday to help raise money for Russian doctors who are…
Violence involving young Chechens rocked France’s eastern city of Dijon over the weekend. French police were deployed late Monday to restore order following the unrest, which was blamed on the local Chechen community seeking vengeance for an assault on a teenager. Here is a brief look at the origins of the conflict as well as…
There have been 545,458 cases of coronavirus infection reported in Russia so far and 7,284 deaths. June 16: 3 things you need to know today Russia’s second-largest city St. Petersburg had the highest coronavirus mortality rate among all Russian cities in the month of April, according to a new analysis of official data. Three more Russian cities, Penza, Chelyabinsk…
Samotlorneftegaz, an enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company’s oil and gas production complex, raised the level of the associated petroleum gas (APG) utilization to 98.4% in 2019.
Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on Tuesday, a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks. Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic. President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would…
Russia’s second-largest city St. Petersburg had the highest coronavirus mortality rate among all Russian cities in the month of April, according to a new analysis of official data. St. Petersburg recorded 200 deaths where Covid-19 was a direct cause or “had a significant impact” on the person’s death in April, state statistics agency Rosstat said…
Russian gas giant Gazprom will reimburse Poland’s PGNiG to the tune of $1.5 billion by July 1 for overcharging it for its supplies for years, the Polish company said on Monday following a court battle. On March 30, state-owned PGNiG won a case against Gazprom over its long-term contract for gas imports at an international…
Senior editors at Russia’s leading business newspaper quit Monday in protest against what they say is censorship under new ownership, as a months-long dispute between journalists and management came to a head. Vedomosti is one of the last major independent newspapers in Russia, where journalists are increasingly squeezed by curbs on press freedoms and pressure…