A popular Russian TikTok blogger has been sentenced to nearly three years in a prison colony for damaging a car belonging to the security services during anti-government protests in January. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in over 100 towns and cities across Russia on Jan. 23, 2021, to demand the release…
A Japanese billionaire arrived at the International Space Station on Wednesday, marking Russia’s return to space tourism after a decade-long pause that saw the rise of competition from the United States. Online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan earlier on Wednesday. They docked with…
A Russian rocket carrying a Japanese billionaire docked with the International Space Station on Wednesday, marking the country’s return to space tourism after a decade-long pause that saw the rise of competition from the United States. Online fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan earlier…
Russian search engine Yandex is more likely to promote conspiracy theory-related content in its search results than any other major search engine, according to a new study published Wednesday. More than half of Yandex’s first-page search results for controversial terms such as “flat earth” and “George Soros” were for pages that promoted conspiracy theories, researchers…
On Tuesday Moscow opened ten new metro stations on the Big Circle Line (BCL) — the ring of stations that surrounds the original Circle Line in the city center. Nine more stations are expected to be opened in 2023, bringing the total stations on the new line to 31. The first section of the BCL…
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he wanted “constructive” ties with Germany’s new leader Olaf Scholz and thanked the outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel. “I look forward to establishing constructive dialogue with you and joint work on pressing matters on the bilateral and international agenda,” Putin said in a congratulatory telegram to Scholz, the Kremlin said.…
Belarus has formally charged the Russian girlfriend of a dissident Belarusian blogger more than six months after authorities forced down a commercial jet flying over Belarusian air space to detain the pair. Belarus’ strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko triggered a barrage of international criticism and new rounds of sanctions against his embattled country after authorities forced…
Russia has blocked the web anonymity service TOR, the RBC business daily reported Wednesday, citing state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, in what activists warn is part of an effort to restrict internet freedom within the country. TOR — an acronym for “The Onion Router” — is encryption software that allows users to stealthily surf the internet…
Russia has broken into the world’s top 10 chocolate exporters for the first time, surpassing Switzerland’s famed chocolatiers for the value of products sold abroad, according to UN trade data. Russia exported $839 million worth of chocolate in the year to September 2021, ITC Trademap and UN Comtrade data cited by the Russian Association of…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden held a high-stakes virtual summit Tuesday in hopes of easing tensions between Russia and Ukraine that have sparked fears of an all-out war. The short-notice call came amid high alarm from Washington over Russia’s massing of troops near the Ukrainian border, with reports saying U.S.…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden held a virtual summit Tuesday in an attempt to defuse tensions on the border between Russia and Ukraine. The behind-closed-doors talks came after weeks of rising tensions between Moscow and Washington, as a buildup of Russian troops on its border with Ukraine has sparked fears…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered oil giant Rosneft to present a proposal to deliver natural gas to Europe, a move that would end Gazprom’s monopoly on piped gas exports. Russian news agency Interfax reported Tuesday that Putin had tasked Rosneft to develop by March 1 a proposal to deliver up to 10 billion cubic…
ROSATOM has introduced its Supplier Code of Conduct (in Russian). The Code is aimed at setting ROSATOM priorities in the sphere of sustainable development for its suppliers including those in the field of environmental and labor safety, social policy, labor rights, and transparency. Commitment of a supplier to ROSATOM’s Code of Conduct is voluntary and involves…
On December 7th of 2021 in Moscow, Deputy Director General for International Cooperation of ROSATOM Mr. Nikolay Spasskiy had a meeting with Minister of Finance and National Debt of Nicaragua, Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Russian-Nicaraguan Commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation Mr. Ivа?n Acosta, Special Representative of the President of Nicaragua for Relations…
In the corridors of the first floor of Russia’s Civic Chamber in central Moscow, dozens of paintings of cats, monkeys and parrots hang on the walls. The unlikely artist is Viktor Bout, also known as the “merchant of death,” a former Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year jail sentence in a U.S jail who was…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden have begun their virtual summit in an attempt to defuse tensions on the border between Russia and Ukraine. The behind-closed-doors talks come after weeks of rising tensions between Moscow and Washington, as a buildup of Russian troops on its border with Ukraine has sparked fears…
Who made the clothes you’re wearing as you read this? Have you ever wondered? After seeing “Labor. May” by St. Petersburg director and choreographer Sergei Larionov, a play about the women in a garment shop, you may never thoughtlessly toss your clothes on the floor again. Based on the real-life stories of tailors, dressmakers, cutters,…
Who made the clothes you’re wearing as you read this? Have you ever wondered? After seeing “Labor. May” by St. Petersburg director and choreographer Sergei Larionov, a play about the women in a garment shop, you may never thoughtlessly toss your clothes on the floor again. Based on the real-life stories of tailors, dressmakers, cutters,…
Background On January 1, 2021, Gazprom began supplying gas to Serbia via a new route. Gas from Russia is transmitted by the TurkStream offshore gas pipeline and further across Turkey. It is then brought via Bulgaria’s national gas transmission system to Serbia, where it is distributed among consumers in Serbia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since October 1, 2021, Hungary and Croatia have been receiving Russian gas thanks to the full-capacity development…
More than three quarters of Russians are against the Kremlin’s plans to introduce mandatory vaccine passports on trains and domestic flights, a poll by the independent Levada Center has found. Amid surging mortality from the coronavirus and a stubbornly low nationwide vaccination rate, Russia’s parliament has introduced draft legislation that would ban Russians without a…
Two people were killed and four were injured when a gunman opened fire inside a public services office in Moscow on Tuesday, city authorities said. “As a result of the shooting by an unknown person, two people were killed,” the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Twitter. The Russian interior ministry said…
December 7, 2021, 15:15 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Kostas Skrekas, Minister of the Environment and Energy of Greece, took place today in St. Petersburg. The parties reviewed the state and prospects of their cooperation in the energy sector, focusing in particular on Russian gas supplies. It was noted that Gazprom exported upwards of 3 billion cubic meters of gas to Greece…
The Kremlin on Tuesday criticized the United States for announcing a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, saying the Games should be “free of politics.” U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration announced Monday that it will not send any U.S. diplomatic or official governmental representatives to the Games kicking off in February in a…
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s investigation into President Vladimir Putin’s alleged $1.3 billion palace was the most popular video on Russian YouTube in 2021, the video platform announced Monday. Navalny’s team released the in-depth investigation — which alleges that Putin and his close associates laundered money to build the opulent Black Sea palace — after he…
7 December 2021 – Taymyr, the nuclear-powered icebreaker operated by FSUE Atomflot, has successfully escorted a convoy of seven vessels (Kumpula, Vladimir Rusanov, Severniy Project, RZK Constanta, Turukhan, Grigoriy Shelikhov and Mechanic Pustoshny) along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). From the western ice edge of the Kara Sea, the ships independently continued their journey out…
U.S. President Joe Biden will outline a package of tough restrictions on Russia’s financial sector in a call with Vladimir Putin later Tuesday that he will introduce if Moscow invades Ukraine, U.S. media have reported. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. would increase its package of economic restrictions against Moscow, including further blocks on Russia’s sovereign…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday called India a “great power” and “longstanding friend” of Moscow following his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. “We see India as a great power, a friendly nation and a time-tested friend…Relations between our countries are developing,” Putin told journalists Monday evening, in what was…
The UN’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has published its list of the best tourist villages around the world — and one tiny Russian village has made the cut. Bekhovo, a village in the Tula region 60 kilometers south of Moscow, was among the 44 villages from 32 countries that the UNWTO highlighted for embracing tourism…
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in India on Monday for just his second overseas trip since the pandemic, seeking to bolster military and energy ties with a traditional ally being courted by Washington. In its efforts to address a rising China, Washington has set up the QUAD security dialogue with India, Japan, and Australia, raising…
JSC Atomenergoprom won a prize of Cbonds Awards in the “Green Bonds of the Year” category for issue of bond series 001P-01. The award ceremony took place at the 19th Russian Bond Congress on December 3. JSC Atomenergoprom placed the first issue of “green” bonds of series 001P-01 with a nominal volume of RUB 10…
Russia has confirmed its first two cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, health authorities announced Monday. The cases were detected in two Russian citizens who recently returned from South Africa, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited state consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor as saying. “The Omicron strain was confirmed in two patients with a…
Russians are bracing for an expensive festive season as prices for some of the nation’s most-loved New Year dishes surge and high inflation continues to eat into household budgets. Olivier salad — a traditional mayonnaise-laden dish of potato, eggs and meat — is set to cost 15% more than last year, according to an analysis…
The in-situ part of the dismantling of the first reactor pressure vessel of a commercially operated nuclear power plant in Sweden was successfully completed at the Barsebäck site. In the first phase of the dismantling (in-situ), the reactor pressure vessel was thermally cut into rings with a height between 0.9 and 1.8 m, the so-called…
When Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin meet virtually on Tuesday the two presidents will have to negotiate a history of mutual suspicion as they take up the urgent issue of a major Russian military buildup on the Ukraine border. The key question hanging over the talks — and the subject of keen debate among analysts…
ROSATOM took part in the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE), which took place from 30 November to 2 December 2021 in Paris, France. The members of ROSATOM’s delegation had an event-filled schedule. Its head, ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev, participated in a panel titled “Will nuclear take on the global challenges?” Likhachev said: “Experts from Russia,…
Moscow has said that a U.S. plane threatened civilian aircraft but “catastrophe” was avoided when a Russian passenger plane dived to avoid the NATO reconnaissance aircraft that crossed its path above the Black Sea. On Friday morning a NATO CL600 reconnaissance aircraft descended rapidly across the planned route for a Tel Aviv to Moscow Aeroflot…
On Saturday Moscow celebrated the grand opening of the GES-2 House of Culture. Headed by curator Teresa Iarocci Mavica and funded by Novatek gas company head Leonid Mikhelson, GES-2 is designed to create a revolution in the Russian art scene. GES-2 is the new home of the V-A-C Foundation, founded by Mavica and Mikhelson in…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden are scheduled to hold talks by video conference on Tuesday, the Kremlin said, as tensions rise over Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conversation will take place in the evening Russia time and the two leaders will determine the duration, according to Russian news…
It’s always a good idea to be wary of street food in the Former Soviet Union, but sometimes the intoxicating smells of yeasty pancakes, frying onions, or the pungent odor of grilled meat present almost irresistible temptation. I find this particularly challenging when it is cold and damp outside and those brightly colored trucks and…
December 4 was the Russia Day at EXPO 2020. Alexey Likhachev, Director General of ROSATOM, attended the official Russia Day events as a member of the delegation headed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. After the Russian flag-raising ceremony in Al Wasl Plaza, the delegation visited the Russian Pavilion. Alexey Likhachev presented the multimedia ROSATOM…
U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday he would make it “very, very difficult” for Russia to launch any invasion of Ukraine, which warned that a large-scale attack may be planned for next month. Washington and Kiev say Moscow has massed troops near Ukraine’s borders and accuse Russia of planning an invasion. Biden and Russian President…
Russia recorded its deadliest month in decades in October, with the total number of excess deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic surpassing 810,000. Russia’s Rosstat statistics agency said on Friday it registered 247,000 deaths from all causes during October — 90,000, or 57%, more than during the same month of 2019. It is…
December 3, 2021, 21:40 Today, a Gazprom delegation headed by Viktor Zubkov, Chairman of the Gazprom Board of Directors, took part in a meeting in Naberezhnye Chelny, Republic of Tatarstan. The meeting was devoted to the development of the natural gas vehicle fuel market in Russia. The event was chaired by Yury Borisov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, at the premises of KAMAZ. It was noted at the meeting that Gazprom is systematically…
The Kremlin said Friday that a video call would take place next week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, amid tensions over the conflict in Ukraine. Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters a date had been agreed but would not be announced until final details of the talks have…
Buy books at the Non-Fiction Book Fair The Non-Fiction Book Fair, aka the International Fair of Intellectual Literature, is always a big event in Moscow. Held at Gostiny Dvor Dec. 2-6, it offers fiction, non-fiction, and pop science literature from 18 countries (including Israel, China, U.K., U.S, Ukraine, France and Japan); from 300 major publishing…
December 3, 2021, 15:50 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Milorad Dodik, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, took place today in St. Petersburg. The meeting reviewed relevant issues of cooperation, focusing in particular on the supplies of Russian gas. Background On January 1, 2021, Gazprom began supplying gas to Bosnia and Herzegovina via a new route. Gas from Russia is transmitted…
Russia has dismantled a notorious facility dubbed the “whale jail” that kept dozens of the mammals in cramped conditions, causing an international outcry. Almost 100 whales were kept in the secretive facility in Srednyaya Bay near the far eastern town of Nakhodka in 2018, before being released after an intense campaign by animal rights and…
Background The International Business Congress (IBC) is a non-governmental and non-profit organization. The Congress deals with the practical aspects of economic cooperation and brings forward proposals for debottlenecking and building a favorable environment for safe and efficient entrepreneurial activities. The IBC operates through eight Working Committees: Energy; Industry, Innovations and Prospective Development; Law, Banking and Finance; Information and Communication;…
During the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris, TVEL, ROSATOM’s nuclear fuel manufacturer and the integrator for nuclear decommissioning business, signed two memorandums of understanding with the French companies, ROBATEL Industries and D&S Groupe. Both partnerships are aimed at joint business development in the field of nuclear decommissioning business, such as dismantling of nuclear facilities, radwaste…
Russia briefly banned online handmade crafts and unique goods marketplace Etsy for knockoff designer products sold by some of its vendors, the Kommersant business daily reported Thursday. State internet watchdog Roskomnadzor reportedly blocked the website in order to enforce a 2019 court order in Tambov some 500 kilometers south of Moscow against an Etsy vendor…
Russia’s Gazprom has gained control of the country’s largest social media network, VKontakte, following a string of deals to buy out Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov from the platform’s holding company. The transactions give the Russian state significant involvement in a key part of Russia’s online space at a time when critics say the Kremlin is…
Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine faces “purely bureaucratic” obstacles in the World Health Organization (WHO) approval process, its global backer said Thursday. While Russia touted Sputnik V as the world’s first registered Covid vaccine in August 2020, it has not yet been authorized for use by the WHO or the European Union. Its fast-track approval ahead…
On December 1, 2021 ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev, ROSATOM Deputy Director General for HR Tatyana Terentyeva, and other representatives of the state corporation and its organizations took part in the Global Impact Conference 2021. The event was held with the support of ROSATOM, Euronews, Europe’s leading news channel, UN Global Compact, and VK as…
President Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings have declined amid weeks of record Covid-19 infections and deaths capped by a partial lockdown, according to a new independent survey published Thursday. Russian respondents’ approval of the president’s job performance dropped to 63% in November from 67% in October, according to the Levada Center pollster. Putin ordered a nationwide partial…
Russia said Thursday it hopes for “contact” between Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden in the coming days, as tensions over the Ukraine conflict skyrocket. The comments come after the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers met in Sweden to discuss allegations raised by Kiev and its Western allies that Russia could invade…
Momentum was building Thursday for direct talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin as both sides sought to avoid a “nightmare” confrontation over Ukraine. The Russian and U.S. foreign ministers came face to face in Sweden to discuss recent allegations raised by Kiev and its Western allies that Russia could invade…
The Russian military said Thursday it has deployed its third Bastion coastal defense missile system on the Kuril Islands, a Pacific territory that Japan claims as its own. The Russian Navy previously deployed Bastion systems with their counterparts called Bal on the Kuril’s Iturup and Kunashir islands in 2016. The Navy’s Pacific Fleet delivered the…
Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken on Thursday warned Russia against invading Ukraine, as Moscow told Kiev that any attempt to retake the Crimean peninsula amounted to a “direct threat” to Russia. Western powers have been sounding the alarm in recent weeks about Russia massing troops along the border with Ukraine, further stoking tensions in an…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s intention to restore Kiev’s control over Crimea constitutes a “direct threat” to Russia, the Kremlin said Thursday as tensions run high between the two countries. Speaking in his annual address to the Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said the return of Crimea to Ukraine following Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula…
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday it has detained three alleged Ukrainian spies gathering secrets and plotting terrorist attacks as tensions between the countries escalate over Kiev’s accusations of Russian military buildup and planned invasions. All three Ukrainian nationals had confessed to being recruited by Ukraine’s military and security services, Interfax quoted the FSB…