Putin Says Belarus Facing ‘Unprecedented External Pressure’

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that neighboring Belarus was under unprecedented external pressure, as the Kremlin’s ex-Soviet ally faces a deep political crisis over a disputed election. Belarus is in a “difficult situation” and facing “unprecedented external pressure,” Putin said in televised remarks, after a presidential vote last month sparked ongoing protests against authoritarian…

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Death Toll Rises in Armenia-Azerbaijan Fight Despite Calls for Pause

Fierce fighting raged between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces on Monday, sparking bellicose rhetoric from regional power Turkey despite international pleas for a halt in fighting between the longtime enemies. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a territorial dispute over the ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh for decades, with deadly fighting flaring up earlier this…

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5K Recruits Receive Russia’s Coronavirus Vaccine

Around 5,000 volunteers including those who are at higher risk of severe infection have received Russia’s coronavirus vaccine as part of final clinical trials for safety and effectiveness, its developer said Monday. Moscow’s state-run Gamaleya research center, which developed the Sputnik V vaccine, has said post-registration clinical trials that began earlier this month would involve more…

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Nobel Winner Alexievich Leaves Belarus for Treatment – Friend

Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich has left the country for treatment in Germany, her friend told AFP Monday, after the Nobel Literature Prize winner faced official pressure for supporting the opposition. The 72-year-old author, who has been summoned for questioning by investigators after joining the opposition’s Coordination Council, has gone to Germany for planned treatment, her…

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Atommash has shipped the first Reactor Pressure Vessel for Akkuyu NPP (Turkey)

The Atommash plant (part of the machine-engineering division of ROSATOM – “Atomenergomash”) manufactured and shipped the Reactor Pressure Vessel for the first power unit of the “Akkuyu” nuclear power plant under construction. It took almost three years to manufacture the 330-ton Reactor pressure Vessel 12 meters long. A month earlier, four Steam Generators left the…

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Six Months Into Pandemic, Migrant Workers in Russia Live in Makeshift Camps as They Wait to Go Home

KULLAR, DAGESTAN — Along the Caucasus Highway in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan, about 30 kilometers from the border with Azerbaijan, hundreds of Azerbaijani migrants are sleeping in tents for weeks at a time as they try to return home.  Although Azerbaijan’s land border with Russia is officially closed, the country allows between 400 and…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Sept. 27

Russia has confirmed 1,151,438 cases of coronavirus and 20,324 deaths. Sept. 27: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 7,867 new Covid-19 cases Sunday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 1,151,438 as the number of new infections across the country continues to rise.  Moscow is urging its businesses to reinstate work-from-home measures and elderly residents to…

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SMOTR satellite to be used for greenhouse gas emissions monitoring

September 25, 2020, 21:00 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of State Space Corporation Roscosmos, took place today in Moscow. The parties discussed cooperation issues of current importance, for instance, the construction of the spacecraft assembly facility (SPKA) in Shchelkovo, Moscow Region. The project is being implemented by Gazprom with support from Roscosmos. It was noted that,…

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Putin Proposes Election Non-Interference Pact With U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Friday concluding a pact with Washington against interfering in one another’s elections and internal affairs, just weeks before the U.S. hosts a divisive presidential vote. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov read out Putin’s statement in a video released by the ministry, while the Kremlin chief was visiting massive military drills involving…

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Russia’s Coronavirus Vaccine Delivers Immunity After First Dose – Developer

Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine confers immunity among some recipients after the first shot, its developer has said in an interview with state media Friday. Sputnik V is an adenovirus-based vector vaccine that is administered in two doses. President Vladimir Putin last month hailed it as the world’s first registered coronavirus vaccine, though large-scale trials…

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Russia’s Coronavirus Drug to Be Sold in 23 Countries

Russia’s coronavirus treatment drug Avifavir will be made available in 17 more countries in addition to the six countries where it is already sold, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said in a statement Thursday.  Avifavir, manufactured by Russia’s ChemRar biotechnology firm, was the world’s first drug to be registered for coronavirus treatment. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan…

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Russia Seizes Kremlin Critic Navalny’s Apartment

Russian authorities have seized Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s apartment days after he was discharged from German hospital where he was being treated for poisoning by Novichok, his spokeswoman said Thursday.  Kira Yarmysh said court marshals came after Navalny’s three-bedroom apartment in southeastern Moscow to enforce a $1-million court ruling in favor of catering magnate Yevgeny…

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Gazprom approves programs for reconstruction and re-equipment of gas production and transmission facilities for years 2021–2025

September 24, 2020, 15:25 The Gazprom Management Committee approved the 2021–2025 comprehensive programs for the reconstruction and re-equipment of gas production and transmission facilities. The documents aim to provide for high reliability and operational safety of Russia’s Unified Gas Supply System, as well as fulfillment of obligations on gas supplies by the Company to consumers in the domestic and external markets. Specifically, the top priority in the area of production is, as before, to achieve maximum production rates during…

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Russia’s 2nd Potential Coronavirus Vaccine Nears Approval

Russia’s second candidate vaccine against the coronavirus is less than a month away from state approval after completing small-scale human trials, the vaccine’s developers have said this week.  The Siberia-based Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Center concluded Phase 2 trials on 100 volunteers last week, with results due to be published Wednesday. Volunteers were said…

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TikTok Admits to Deleting Russian Videos at Government’s Request

TikTok has deleted hundreds of Russian videos at the government’s request since the start of 2020, the popular short video app’s European policy executive said this week. The Chinese-owned app removed or restricted nearly 700 videos worldwide following government requests between Jan. 1-June 30, according to its latest transparency report published this week. Nearly 300…

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Secret Lukashenko Inauguration Triggers Fresh Belarus Clashes

Belarus police fired tear gas and arrested more than 150 protesters on Wednesday after the secret inauguration of President Alexander Lukashenko triggered new demonstrations and fresh condemnation in the West. Several thousand protesters, many carrying the red-and white opposition flag, took to the streets of the capital Minsk and other cities following a surprise announcement…

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Russia’s Nuclear Imports Likely Larger Than Declared – Greenpeace

A series of nuclear byproduct shipments to Russia from Germany is likely importing more than officially declared, Greenpeace Russia said Tuesday.  European enrichment firm Urenco resumed exports of uranium hexafluoride, a byproduct known as “tails,” last year after a 10-year pause initiated by Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom. The shipments have sparked outcry from environmental…

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Russia’s Nuclear Waste Imports Likely Larger Than Declared – Greenpeace

A series of toxic radioactive waste shipments to Russia from Germany is likely importing more waste than officially declared, Greenpeace Russia said Tuesday.  European enrichment firm Urenco resumed exports of uranium hexafluoride, a waste product known as “tails,” last year after a 10-year pause initiated by Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom due to storage safety…

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Food Fests From East and West

All throughout the quarantine period, our friends and neighbors at the Hyatt Regency Petrovsky Park kept us well-fed with weekend deliveries of delicious foreign cuisine. They are continuing the tradition of enticing international food and drink. Only now, we can get out of the house and go to them. Singaporean Cuisine Festival The first special…

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Alexey Miller: Gazprom to become one of major players in global helium market

September 23, 2020, 14:30 Photos Amur GPP will increase the Company’s helium production by 13 times. Construction readiness of the helium hub near Vladivostok is above 70 per cent. Contract has been signed for the delivery of LNG-powered freight trucks to carry helium. A presentation of a helium production and marketing project that forms part of Gazprom’s Eastern Gas Program took place today at the Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg.…

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