President Vladimir Putin wants to enact changes that would ban Russian authorities from recognizing gay marriages registered outside the country, the Vedomosti business daily reported Thursday. A legal loophole in Russia’s family law recognizes same-sex couples who have tied the knot abroad as long as they’re not close relatives or are already married. This led…
Russia’s population decline in 2020 will be 1,100% greater than that of 2019 amid the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to government projections cited by the RBC news website Thursday. The government forecasts a 352,500 drop in Russia’s population this year, according to the report, leading to a population of 146.4 million by the end…
A whirlwind two weeks of post-election violence and fierce power struggles in Kyrgyzstan has political observers at odds over Russia’s role and true intentions in Central Asia’s “island of democracy.” Anger over pro-government parties’ gains in an Oct. 4 parliamentary vote spilled into the streets of Bishkek, prompting the fall of the government and resignation…
Russia confirmed 15,150 cases of the novel coronavirus Friday, a new daily record since the start of the pandemic as authorities grapple with the onset of a second wave. This is the first time that Russia has confirmed more than 15,000 Covid-19 infections in a single day. Friday’s increase pushed the overall number of Covid-19…
RN-Vankor, a part of Rosneft Oil Company’s production complex, has released over 250,000 Siberian sturgeon fry into the Yenisei River.
The Arctic Attraction photographic exhibition has opened in Arkhangelsk, arranged by Rosneft Oil Company jointly with the Innopraktika non-governmental development institution as part of the international Arctic nations film festival Arctic Open 2020.
Kyrgyzstan’s new prime minister Sadyr Japarov claimed presidential powers on Thursday after the Central Asian country’s head of state Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigned amid a post-election crisis. “The powers of the president and the prime minister have been transferred to me,” Sadyr Japarov told cheering supporters on Thursday, after Jeenbekov resigned and the parliament speaker refused…
Russia has withdrawn from talks with Australia and the Netherlands launched nearly two years ago to establish responsibility for the 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Moscow said the Dutch government’s “unfriendly” move this summer to take Russia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for its role…
An emergency ministry inspector in Russia’s Far East spent Wednesday night in an unusual way: rescuing a family of beluga whales that beached on the shore near the Sea of Okhotsk. Residents of the coastal Chumikan village reached out to Alexei Paramonov on Wednesday afternoon, saying two adult whales and a baby were left to…
Around two-thirds of Russian medics believe that the country is not ready for a second wave of the coronavirus, according to a survey published by the VTimes news website Thursday. Russia is the world’s fourth-most affected country with more than 1.35 million confirmed cases of Covid-19. Its number of new coronavirus cases has nearly tripled…
Russia has suspended its financial assistance to the cash-strapped Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan until political stability is restored there, the RBC news website reported Wednesday, citing a Finance Ministry source and another federal official. The Kyrgyz government, a Russian ally, has been paralyzed since protesters chased out its president following disputed parliamentary elections on…
Scientists of the Rosneft United Research and Development Centre developed a technology for production of casing pipes from ultra high strength polymer polydicyclopentadiene.
The oxygen supply system has failed in a module on the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) but the crew is in no danger, Russian space agency Roscosmos said Thursday. The oxygen supply system on the Zvezda module on the orbital lab failed late on Wednesday but a second system on the American…
Moscow partygoers will be required to register their phone numbers before they can enter bars, nightclubs and other late-night establishments, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Thursday as the city sees a renewed rise in coronavirus cases. Starting Oct. 19, all visitors of establishments operating between midnight and 6 a.m. will be required to scan a QR…
The European Union has slapped sanctions on senior Kremlin officials and the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to a decision published on the EU’s legal portal Thursday. The EU banned travel and froze the assets of FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov, as well as President…
Russia has confirmed 1,354,163 cases of coronavirus and 23,491 deaths. Oct. 15: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 13,754 new Covid-19 cases Thursday, bringing its official number of cases to 1,354,163. A record 286 people have died from the virus in the past 24 hours. Starting Oct. 19, Muscovites will be required to register their phone numbers before they…
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigned on Thursday, saying he wanted to bring an end to the crisis sparked by disputed parliamentary elections earlier this month. Protests had erupted after the election on Oct. 4 was won by parties loyal to Jeenbekov but opponents said was hit by vote-buying. The results were later annulled but this…
Russia has cleared two antiviral drugs called remdesivir for coronavirus treatment after doctors used the drugs to treat U.S. President Donald Trump, the Health Ministry announced Wednesday. U.S. studies have said that biochemical firm Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir can shorten coronavirus recovery time by an average of four days but does not reduce deaths. Remdesivir was…
An oil slick the size of a hockey rink has been discovered on the Volga River north of Moscow, authorities said Wednesday, the latest instance of pollution to hit Russia’s waterways this year. The 5,000 square meter layer of fuel was spotted near the port of Kimry some 150 kilometers north of the Russian capital,…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for international cooperation to end fierce clashes over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan, during a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said. The two leaders “stressed the urgent need for joint efforts to end the bloodshed as soon as possible and move to…
Russian photographer Sergey Gorshkov has claimed the top prize in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition with his photo of an Amur tiger, the British Natural History Museum announced Wednesday. Gorshkov’s winning photo titled “The Embrace” shows an Amur tigress scent-marking an ancient fir tree in the Land of the Leopard National Park…
Russia has approved its second coronavirus vaccine, President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday as the peptide-based shot developed by a Siberian biotech company readies for large-scale trials. “Novosibirsk’s Vektor [State Virology and Biotechnology Center] has registered the second Russian coronavirus vaccine today,” Putin said via televised video conference. Putin said that Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova…
Russia has been re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) following a four-year absence, Moscow’s mission to the UN in Geneva announced Wednesday. Comprising 47 member states elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term, the HRC is responsible for addressing human rights violations and promoting the human rights agenda across the…
Russia plans to resume flights to Japan, Serbia and Cuba starting next month, the country’s coronavirus crisis center announced Wednesday. From Nov. 1, airports in Moscow will be able to operate two flights per week to Tokyo, Belgrade and the Cuban islands of Cayo Coco and Cayo Santa Maria. One weekly flight will operate from Russia’s…
Rosneft Oil Company has been implementing its comprehensive long-term research programme in Arctic that includes geological, weather and environmental surveys.
Specialists of Orenburgneft, a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company, have reduced the number of field pipeline failures by 44% in six years.
A three-person crew successfully reached the International Space Station on Wednesday aboard a Russian rocket after the fastest ever journey from Earth of just over three hours. The mission of the Soyuz space craft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut was of immense importance to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, coming as the SpaceX…
The EU on Wednesday agreed to impose sanctions on six people and one entity over the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny with a Novichok nerve agent, diplomats told AFP. Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries approved sanctions after France and Germany proposed measures last week, saying Russia was responsible for the poisoning. In line with…
Russian peacekeepers should be sent to Nagorno-Karabakh to observe a shaky Moscow-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday. Russia’s top diplomat made the proposal as new fighting erupted between the Caucasus rivals despite a truce that they reached in Moscow over the weekend. According to the state-run RIA Novosti news…
First to fifth-grade students in Moscow will return to classrooms next week following a two-week recess aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Wednesday. Moscow authorities had extended the traditional weeklong fall school break by a week in an effort to prevent children from contracting and spreading the coronavirus, which has…
Russia has broken its record for new coronavirus infections for the sixth day in a row as authorities grapple with a second wave that has pushed hospitals to near-capacity. Russia’s coronavirus information center confirmed 14,231 new Covid-19 cases Wednesday, setting a record for new infections. This is the first time that Russia has confirmed more…
Russian hospitals are near capacity with coronavirus patients as new infections break records and authorities attempt to slow the second wave of the virus, a top health official said Tuesday. “To date, hospital bed occupancy is almost 90%,” Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev was quoted as saying at a conference by Interfax. Gridnev said one-fifth…
The United States said Tuesday it had reached an “agreement in principle” with Russia on extending New START, the two nations’ last major nuclear accord, which is due to expire in February. President Donald Trump’s administration has been insisting without success that China enter the nuclear reduction agreement but, with U.S. elections three weeks away, signaled it…
Norway’s government on Tuesday said that it believes Russia was behind an August cyber attack targeting the email system of the country’s parliament. Hackers gained access to some lawmakers’ messages in the attack. “Based on the information the government has, it is our view that Russia is responsible for these activities,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen…
Belarus’s exiled opposition leader on Tuesday gave strongman President Alexander Lukashenko a deadline of two weeks to resign, halt violence and release political prisoners, warning he would otherwise face a crippling general strike. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who maintains she was the true winner of an Aug. 9 election, issued what she said was a “people’s ultimatum,”…
Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov on Tuesday asked parliament to vote again on a new prime minister after MPs backed Sadyr Japarov, a nationalist politician recently freed from jail by supporters. Embattled president Jeenbekov met Japarov and said he would not approve his appointment, citing doubts that rules were adhered to during a vote by lawmakers,…
A young police officer has allegedly strangled his transgender girlfriend to death in Russia’s third-largest city of Novosibirsk, media reported Tuesday. Investigators said they have detained a 20-year-old traffic officer on suspicion of killing and disposing of the 24-year-old victim’s body. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if found guilty of murder.…
Rosneft presented a unique ecological atlas of the Black and Azov Seas at the Sirius Educational Center in Sochi.
The authoring team of Rosneft, Arctic Research Centre, and Saint-Petersburg State Marine Technical University was awarded diplomas of the first prize winner of the International competition of scientific, research, technology and innovative solutions aimed at the development and exploration of the Arctic and continental shelf.
Four militants allegedly planning a series of terrorist attacks in the republic of Chechnya have been killed in a counterterrorism raid, Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) said Tuesday. The counterterrorism operation in the Chechen capital of Grozny was ordered by regional Federal Security Service (FSB) head Igor Kochnev in order to suppress “possible terrorist acts,” the…
Russia’s humanoid space robot nicknamed FEDOR has been taken off Twitter after it insulted retired cosmonauts who criticized Russia’s space program for falling behind that of the United States. FEDOR’s social media presence came to an abrupt halt this weekend following a barrage of tweets criticizing former cosmonauts Maxim Surayev and Alexander Samokutyayev, both currently…
Russia has set a new record for coronavirus deaths and cases, nearing 14,000 infections for the third time in a week, according to the national coronavirus information center. Russia confirmed 13,868 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday, bringing its official number of cases to 1,326,178 and setting a new record for daily infections. The information center also confirmed…
Russia has confirmed 1,326,178 cases of coronavirus and 22,966 deaths. Oct. 12 — Russia confirmed 13,592 new Covid-19 cases, bringing its official number of cases to 1,312,310. Oct. 11 — Russia confirmed a record 13,634 new Covid-19 cases, bringing its official number of cases to 1,298,718. Oct. 10 — Russia confirmed 12,846 new Covid-19 cases, bringing its official number of cases to 1,285,084. Oct.…
New mass deaths of marine animals have been discovered off the coast of Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka peninsula where an unexplained event recently killed off up to 95% of seabed life, authorities said Monday. Scientists and witnesses reported seeing dead marine animals along the seabed south of the initial discovery last week, Kamchatka region governor…
Russia is unlikely to participate in the Moon-orbiting station planned by the United States, a Russian official said Monday, marking the probable end of the type of close cooperation seen for two decades on the International Space Station (ISS). The proposed new station, called the Gateway, “is too U.S.-centric, so to speak,” Dmitry Rogozin, the head…
The mass death of sea creatures in Russia’s Kamchatka region was caused by toxins from microalgae rather than man-made pollution, a senior Russian scientist said on Monday, citing preliminary findings of an investigation. Locals on the volcanic peninsula in the Pacific raised the alarm in September as surfers experienced stinging eyes and sea creatures, including…
The European Union on Monday agreed to move ahead with sanctions against Russian officials over the nerve agent poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, further complicating already fraught ties with Moscow. Foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg agreed to sanctions proposals made last week by France and Germany, which said Russia was responsible for the poisoning…
Belarusian police on Monday threatened to fire live bullets at protesters, claiming that opposition demonstrations against strongman Alexander Lukashenko were becoming ever more radicalized. “Law enforcement officers and internal troops will not leave the streets and will use riot control equipment and lethal weapons if need be,” the interior ministry said in a statement on…
In a yard filled with abandoned plane parts next to Moscow’s main Sheremetyevo Airport, handlers are putting a pack of energetic sniffer dogs through their paces. The small, fox-like canines are Shalaikas, a cross between Arctic Nenets herding dogs known as Laikas and Southern Turkmen golden jackals. Russia hopes it will soon be able to…
Russia on Monday urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately start observing a ceasefire agreed over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region as intense fighting between the two Caucasus rivals cast fresh doubt over the accord. Armenia and Azerbaijan have for the last two weeks engaged in bitter clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region of Azerbaijan controlled by Armenians…
Russia said on Monday it was expelling two Bulgarian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move after two Russians were ordered out of the EU country on accusations of spying for the military. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Bulgarian ambassador Atanas Krystin was summoned to be informed that the two Moscow-based diplomats had been declared…
Russian-British media mogul Yevgeny Lebedev is seeking to be the first member of the House of Lords with “Moscow” as his territorial designation, The Daily Mail newspaper reported Sunday. Queen Elizabeth II conferred a lifetime peerage to Lebedev, 40, the extravagant friend of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and owner of Britain’s Independent and Evening…
A scientific-research expedition organised by the experts of the Arctic Research Centre (a part of Rosneft Corporate Research and Development Complex) began in the Eastern Arctic.
As part of World Cleanup Day, the Samara production enterprises of Rosneft Oil Company has taken part in an environmental campaign to clean the shores of the Volga River, as well as its tributaries and nearby lakes.
A Russian military transport helicopter has been filmed dispersing protesters rallying against Russia’s expansion into northeast Syria on Sunday, local independent media reported. Dozens of residents of Ayn Diwar village near the Turkish border took to the streets to oppose the Russian forces’ fifth attempt to establish a military outpost there, according to the North…
Foreign-born parents of Russian citizens over 18 years old can now obtain Russian citizenship through a simplified naturalization procedure, according to a new amendment that comes into force Monday. All alien parents residing in Russia at the time of application can now forgo the five-year residence requirement. Previously, only parents of children with disabilities were…
Police deployed water cannon and stun grenades against opposition demonstrators in Minsk Sunday after strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko raised hopes for change by meeting jailed opposition figures. Large numbers of black-clad masked police, internal troops and men in plain clothes emerged from unmarked minibuses and ran towards protesters in the capital Minsk, pulling some to…
Hopes that a Russian-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan might hold were further dashed Sunday, with both sides accusing the other of intense shelling on civilian areas and escalating two weeks of fierce clashes. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said that overnight shelling by Armenian forces on the country’s second largest city, Ganja, had left seven people…
Russia confirmed 13,634 new coronavirus cases Sunday, setting a record for new infections as authorities at the epicenter of the outbreak consider new restrictions to slow the spread of the disease. Russia, which has the world’s fourth-highest number of infections at 1,298,718 cases, has seen its daily caseload double over the past month. According to…
Armenia and Azerbaijan traded accusations of new attacks on Saturday in breach of a ceasefire deal to halt nearly two weeks of fierce fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The agreement, which was reached in the early hours of Saturday and took effect at noon, did seem to be having some impact, with the regional…