Russian, Turkish Foreign Ministers Discuss Improving Working Relations

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Chavushoglu agreed on the need to create a “favorable atmosphere” to improve working relations between their countries, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday. “The ministers have declared in favour of the adoption of measures to create a favourable atmosphere that will facilitate the effectiveness of…

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Fires Blaze Across Russia for Maslenitsa

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Russia Opens Fairy-Tale Theme Park

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

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Gazprom stepping up cost optimization measures for Group’s companies

Release February 28, 2020, 18:10 Cost reduction is ensured in planning Gazprom’s budget for 2020. Budget preparation and implementation procedures continue to be enhanced in the Group’s companies. Management of the Group’s financial resources has been consistently improved. The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information about the Gazprom Group’s cost optimization (reduction) efforts in 2019 and its priorities in this area for 2020. Gazprom is taking…

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Board of Directors reviews ongoing implementation of digital technologies within Gazprom

Release February 28, 2020, 18:05 The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information about the ongoing implementation of advanced digital technologies within the Gazprom Group. It was highlighted at the Board Meeting that the use of digital technologies within Gazprom is aimed at further improving the flexibility and effectiveness of the Company’s corporate governance and contributes to achieving its strategic goals. Work continues on the integration…

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Putin’s Daughter Heads Elite University’s New AI Institute – Vedomosti

President Vladimir Putin’s alleged daughter will head a prestigious Moscow university’s artificial intelligence institute slated to open later in 2020, the Vedomosti business daily reported Friday. Katerina Tikhonova, 33, who is widely believed to be Putin’s younger daughter, runs the Innopraktika foundation near Moscow State University (MSU). Founded in 2012, Innopraktika is a conglomerate of…

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Russia Censors Disney’s First Openly Gay Character From ‘Onward’

Russian distributors appear to have censored Disney and Pixar’s first LGBT character from their animated film “Onward,” the Kinopoisk.ru movie website reported Wednesday. “Onward,” a fantasy-adventure that hits the big screens in Russia on March 5, introduces a cyclops police officer named Specter as the studios’ first-self identified lesbian character. Officer Specter appears in one…

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Russia’s first LNG-powered passenger ship to be built in Tatarstan

Release February 27, 2020, 19:15 Gas-powered waterborne transport represents new segment of NGV market. Sales of gas as vehicle fuel in Tatarstan went up by 39 per cent in 2019. In 2020, Gazprom will build two new CNG stations in this region. A Gazprom delegation headed by Vyacheslav Mikhalenko, Member of the Management Committee, Head of Department, took part in the keel-laying ceremony for Chaika LNG, the first passenger ship…

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Moscow Targets Chinese Nationals Amid Coronavirus Fears. And the Arctic Heats Up in Record Speed

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

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Chechen Dissident Blogger Survives Assassination Attempt in Europe

A popular Chechen opposition blogger has been hospitalized after an assassination attempt in Europe, the Chechen human rights group Vayfond and multiple news outlets reported Thursday. Tumso Abdurakhmanov fled Russia in 2015 and has attempted, so far unsuccessfully, to gain political asylum in Poland. His YouTube channel where he regularly criticizes Chechen officials, including the…

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Russia Stages First Ship-Launched ‘Tsirkon’ Hypersonic Missile Test

Russia has conducted the first ship-launched firing of its new hypersonic missile called Tsirkon and plans further tests from nuclear submarines, two unnamed military sources told the state-run TASS news agency Thursday. President Vladimir Putin, who confirmed the Tsirkon’s development last year, has warned that Russia would be forced to place hypersonic nuclear missiles on…

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Putin Agrees to Hold Nationwide Vote on Constitutional Changes on April 22 – Interfax

As the only remaining independent, English-language news source reporting from Russia, The Moscow Times plays a critical role in connecting Russia to the world. Editorial decisions are made entirely by journalists in our newsroom, who adhere to the highest ethical standards. We fearlessly cover issues that are often considered off-limits or taboo in Russia, from…

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Polar Bear Cannibalism On the Rise in Russia’s Arctic, Scientists Say

Polar bears in Russia’s Arctic are increasingly turning to cannibalism as growing human activity and development in the region shrinks their hunting grounds, scientists at the Russian Academy of Sciences said Wednesday. While cannibalism is a recognized part of polar bears’ natural behavior, its frequency has climbed sharply in recent years, Ilya Mordvintsev, a senior…

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China to Russia: End Discriminatory Coronavirus Measures Against Chinese

China’s Embassy in Russia has demanded authorities in Moscow end what it said are discriminatory anti-coronavirus measures against Chinese nationals, saying they are damaging relations and alarming Chinese residents of the Russian capital. The complaint, detailed in an embassy letter to the city’s authorities and published by the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper late on Tuesday, deplored what it called “ubiquitous monitoring”…

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TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM and Spanish partners develop cooperation in Decommissioning & Dismantling of nuclear facilities

TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM and Spanish companies ENUSA, ENSA and IDOM have signed the MOU on development of cooperation in Decommissioning & Dismantling of nuclear facilities, as well as in the area of nuclear waste management and related engineering and consulting services. Along with that the companies have signed the roadmap for various projects…

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Russian Orthodox Church Steps Up Surveillance Under Government Anti-Terrorism Orders

The Russian Orthodox Church has begun installing video surveillance cameras at its Moscow churches to comply with government anti-terrorism orders, Interfax reported Tuesday.  The Moscow Patriarchate’s move follows a September 2019 decree signed by then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev requiring all religious organizations to install security and surveillance systems as part of the government’s anti-terrorism campaign.…

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LNG-powered freight trucks of Russian make to transport helium from Amur GPP

Release February 25, 2020, 19:50 Batch production of trucks to be carried out by KAMAZ. Gazprom to set up LNG production and refueling infrastructure. First 18 trucks to go on road in 2021. A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Sergey Chemezov, Director General of the state-owned Rostec Corporation, took place today in Moscow. The meeting participants reviewed the potential areas of cooperation between Gazprom and…

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Bellingcat Names Russian Diplomat as Bulgarian Poisoning Suspect

One of three Russian men charged with poisoning a Bulgarian arms dealer was an accredited diplomat, according to a joint investigation by Russia’s The Insider news website, the investigative outlet Bellingcat and Swiss media. Bulgarian prosecutors charged three Russians including Georgy Gorshkov last month with the attempted murder of arms factory owner Emilian Gebrev and…

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