Five Russian gas, oil and metals magnates ended the year as the country’s biggest earners with a collective $26.9 billion haul, Forbes Russia reported Thursday. All five individuals are among Russia’s 6 richest people. Here is how much Russia’s biggest movers earned in the last 12 months, according to Forbes. 1. Vladimir Potanin,…
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China, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills starting on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, China’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday, amid heightened tensions in the region between Tehran and Washington. China will send the Xining, a guided missile destroyer, to the drills, which will last from Dec. 27 to…
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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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Russian authorities raided the Moscow headquarters of opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Thursday, using power tools to gain entry before dragging Navalny out by force and confiscating technical equipment such as laptops. Navalny and his allies said the raid on his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) was carried out by the Federal Bailiffs Service and was connected…
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2019 was an impressive year in the Russian business world. The Russian stock market was one of the best performing anywhere in the world — up more than 40% in dollar terms and setting new record highs in the process. Corporate profits soared — rising 12% and on track to pass the landmark 15 trillion…
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December 26, 2019 Dear colleagues, Today, we are taking stock of the year 2019. This year has already become a landmark in the history of the gas industry. A tremendous amount has been achieved. First and foremost, the Power of Siberia gas pipeline has come onstream. As you know, on December 2, the Company launched Russian pipeline gas supplies to China. This is a market with enormous potential. Power…
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Russian military police have taken over another base that was recently abandoned by the United States in northern Syria, the state-run TASS news agency reported Thursday. U.S. troops reportedly held the former school building as a base north of Raqqa, the former de facto capital of the Islamic State terrorist group, until “days ago.” Russian…
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President Vladimir Putin said Russia has a “pipe-laying vessel” to complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, Kommersant daily reported citing unnamed sources on Thursday, following sanctions imposed by Washington. Putin spoke about the vessel to a gathering of Russian top businessmen late on Wednesday, Kommersant reported. He said, according…
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Authorities in northwestern Russia have detained what they say are two branch leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious group, investigators said Wednesday. They accused the unnamed 45-year-old and 67-year-old of “organizing extremist activity” in the form of religious services in the city of Vologda. Authorities placed the alleged leader of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Vologda branch in…
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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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Russia should join its smaller neighbor Belarus rather than forcing Minsk to join Moscow’s orbit, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko quipped Tuesday, days after the latest round of integration talks between the two ex-Soviet allies. Moscow and Minsk are members of a bilateral “union state” and have in recent months discussed a projet for even deeper…
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How do you achieve fast growth, without compromising macroeconomic stability? That is the central dilemma which has faced Russian policymakers since 2014. When it came to making a choice between the two, stability won out nearly every time. Following the annexation of Crimea, provision of support for pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine and interference in…
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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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Low-cost airline Ryanair and other budget carriers are expected to start flying from Russia’s St. Petersburg airport in 2020, the Russian Transport Ministry said. The move is part of Russia’s plan to boost tourist flows to St. Petersburg and will mean more competition for Russian air carriers, including national flag carrier Aeroflot. The ministry said…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Polish officials on Tuesday for siding with the Nazis prior to World War II in comments sparked by a recent European resolution. The European Parliament in September condemned the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact — a Soviet-Nazi non-aggression deal — for the outbreak of World War II and blamed modern Russia for…
DetailsRelease December 24, 2019, 19:15 Economic effect from Gazprom’s import substitution efforts in 2016–2018 is estimated at RUB 20.7 billion. Full range of key equipment created for operating offshore fields. The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information about the engagement of Russian industrial and machine-building enterprises in the implementation of the Company’s strategic goals. Gazprom is actively employing various organizational mechanisms to enhance its cooperation with…
DetailsRelease December 24, 2019, 19:10 The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information concerning the impacts of the events of 2019 on the long-term outlook for the global energy market. It was highlighted that the ongoing global growth in natural gas consumption is one of the chief trends of 2019. China continues to demonstrate significant growth. In 2018, the country’s gas consumption went up by 18 per cent. By the end of 2019,…
DetailsRelease December 24, 2019, 19:00 Gazprom’s overall amount of investments for 2020: RUB 1,104.7 billion. This budget will provide full coverage of Gazprom’s liabilities without deficit. The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the Company’s preliminary operating results for 2019 and the projected investment program and budget (financial plan) for 2021–2022. In addition, the Board of Directors approved the investment program and budget (financial…
DetailsRelease December 24, 2019, 18:55 Dividends will be calculated based on adjusted net profit under IFRS. Target level of payouts – at least 50 per cent – is to be reached in three years. Dividend calculation mechanism was made as transparent as possible. The Gazprom Board of Directors approved the new revision of the Company’s Dividend Policy. The document, which was developed as part of the effort to streamline the financial strategy of Gazprom, takes into account…
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A court in Moscow has ruled to fine and release protester Samariddin Radzhabov for throwing a plastic water bottle at police during anti-government rallies this summer, the Mediazona news website reported Tuesday. Minutes earlier, the Tverskoy District Court sentenced another protester Sergei Surovtsev, 30, to two and a half years in prison for pushing a…
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U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions last week on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline designed by Moscow to bypass Ukraine and increase gas supplies via the Baltic Sea to Germany, Russia‘s biggest energy customer. The United States wants to sell more of its gas to Europe and has said the pipeline would make the continent…
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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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A Kremlin critic and prominent aide of opposition leader Alexei Navalny has reportedly been forcibly conscripted into the military in northern Russia almost 24 hours after he went missing. Ruslan Shaveddinov’s supporters raised the alarm Monday evening when he stopped answering phone calls and colleagues posted pictures of his apartment’s door — which appeared to…
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Release December 24, 2019, 15:20 Total amount borrowed: EUR 11.4 billion. Financing is provided by 22 banks from Europe, Asia, and Russia. Unprecedented deal in Gazprom’s history and one of Europe’s largest in last few years. Gazprom Pererabotka Blagoveshchensk and Gazprom completed the signing of project finance documentation for the construction of the Amur Gas Processing Plant (GPP). The total amount of debt financing is EUR 11.4 billion.…
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A Russian state journalist who asked President Vladimir Putin a question during his end-of-year press conference last week has been told to resign, the Znak.com news website reported Monday, sparking speculation about the causes for her dismissal. At the press conference on Thursday, Alisa Yarovskaya, a Yamal-Region television channel correspondent, had asked Putin to help…
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2019 has been a busy year for Russia abroad. For one, the country has continued to cultivate its ties with new partners — including the 43 African leaders who attended the first Russia-Africa forum in Sochi in October — while sparring with major powers like the U.S. (ending a historic Cold War arms treaty). While…
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Russia on Tuesday released five Japanese fishing boats detained last week near Russian-controlled islands claimed by Japan, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, adding that all crew members are in good health. The boats were fishing for octopus near the disputed islands when they were detained by Russian ships on Dec. 17. “The five…
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Russia completed a series of tests on Monday checking that its internet services could function if the country were to get cut off from the worldwide web, Deputy Communications Minister Alexei Sokolov said. The tests, conducted over the course of several days on specially designated networks, follow Russia’s controversial “sovereign internet” law enacted last month,…
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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be completed in a matter of months and U.S. sanctions imposed on the project last week would not be “catastrophic”. Russia’s new gas transit deal with Ukraine would also mollify the impact on Russian gas supplies of U.S. sanctions…
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A Turkish delegation was in Russia on Monday for talks on Syria, following reports that Russian-backed attacks there were forcing tens of thousands more Syrians to flee towards Turkey. Turkey already hosts about 3.7 million Syrians — the world’s biggest refugee population. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday it could not handle a new influx and…
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A Russian fifth-generation stealth fighter jet has crashed during tests in the country’s Far East, news agencies reported Tuesday. The incident occurred days before Russia’s Aerospace Forces were due to receive their first serial-produced Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet. Its developer Sukhoi plans to deliver a total of 67 fifth-generation Su-57s to the Russian Aerospace Forces…
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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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President Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s first direct train to Crimea on Monday, opening railway service along a now-completed $4 billion bridge that links continental Russia to the annexed peninsula. Dozens of Western countries targeted Russia with economic sanctions over its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 following an unrecognized referendum. The…
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A special forces unit demonstrated its melee combat skills to elementary school students in central Russia last week, sparking outrage among parents, a local television station has reported. Prison service guards wearing helmets and bearing shields showed fifth-graders how to club an imaginary enemy at a school auditorium in the Chelyabinsk region town of Zlatoust,…
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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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The year in domestic affairs came to a close just like the year before: with a surprise protest in Russia’s far north, hundreds of kilometers away from the country’s beating political heart of Moscow. In Kotlas, a town in the Arkhangelsk region with a population of 60,000, several thousand people came out at the beginning…
DetailsRosneft Oil Company and Equinor ASA, the shareholders of SevKomNeftegaz LLC, approved the decision to commence the first stage of full-field development of North-Komsomolskoye field.
Five years ago, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina’s decision to let the ruble trade freely faced a gut-wrenching test. An oil-price collapse and international sanctions had put the currency into a nosedive that even a 650 basis-point rate hike couldn’t immediately halt. Fast-forward half a decade and the picture in Russian markets couldn’t look more…
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Greece will extradite a Russian man suspected of having laundered billions of dollars in the digital currency bitcoin to France, the justice minister decided on Friday, court officials said. Alexander Vinnik, the alleged mastermind of a $4 billion bitcoin laundering ring, is one of seven Russians arrested or indicted worldwide this year on U.S. cybercrime…
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The agency noted, among other things, that PhosAgro’s Baa3 rating reflects the Company’s significant global market presence and focus on premium-priced value-added complex fertilizers; strong margins through the cycle, underpinned by its high-quality mining resources, self-sufficiency in key raw materials, and access to low-cost sulphur and natural gas; and balanced financial policy and public commitment…
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The United States is “very concerned” about the intensification of the conflict in Libya, with a rising number of reported Russian mercenaries supporting Khalifa Haftar’s forces on the ground turning the conflict into a bloodier one, a senior State Department official said on Saturday. The United States continues to recognize the Government of National Accord (GNA)…
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Russia and Ukraine announced terms of a new gas transit deal on Saturday, under which Moscow will supply Europe for at least another five years via its former Soviet neighbor and pay a $2.9 billion settlement to Kiev to end a legal dispute. The deal is a major breakthrough for both countries, which have been seeking to resolve…
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Alpha Conde of Guinea had a favor to ask Vladimir Putin when the two presidents met at the inaugural Russia-Africa summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in October. “I would like, if possible, to spend most of our meeting in a one-in-one format because I have things to say to you that are…
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Russian-backed Syrian forces have gained ground after a week-long renewed assault against the last opposition enclave in Syria’s northwest, the biggest such push in more than three months that has prompted a large civilian exodus, witnesses and residents said on Sunday. The wide-scale offensive led by intense aerial strikes on civilian areas in rural southeastern…
DetailsDecember 21, 2019, 17:25 Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee: “In line with the Protocol on gas cooperation, Gazprom and Naftogaz will sign an agreement to settle their mutual claims under the existing contracts, thereby restoring the balance between the interests of the parties. According to the settlement agreement, no new claims shall be filed, the pending arbitration and legal claims shall…
DetailsRelease December 21, 2019, 17:20 A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Li Yong, Vice President of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), took place today in St. Petersburg. The parties discussed their potential areas of cooperation. Information Directorate, Gazprom Related news
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Philipp Gorbachev is one of the first Russian electronic artists who became popular in the West. At the age of 30 he was at the peak of success, making a good living off his music. But one day he realized it wasn’t enough. “I felt a need to live in a state of prayer,” he…
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A Moscow court on Friday slapped climate change activist Arshak Makichyan with a six-day sentence for participating in an unsanctioned picket in Moscow. Makichyan, 24, was reportedly detained in Moscow hours after returning from a trip to Madrid, Spain, where he spoke at the COP 25 UN Climate Change Conference together with climate activist Greta…
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A court in Russia has sentenced a Tajik man to 22 years in maximum-security prison for orchestrating an attempted bombing of a high-speed train between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Interfax reported Friday. The court found that Emom Burkhonov had played a role in derailing a Sapsan train in 2017 by placing a metal device on…
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Every year the center of Moscow turns into an enchanted holiday village, with tunnels of light, forests of decorated pine trees, streetlights transformed into chandeliers, and streets cleared of cars and filled with people. Music and the scent of hot mulled wine and holiday treats waft through the air. This year the festival runs from…
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Russia has opened recruitment centers for a new military force in northeastern Syria aimed at replacing U.S.-backed Kurdish groups that neighboring Turkey views as terrorists, the Voice of America broadcaster reported Thursday. Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies launched a cross-border offensive against the Kurdish militia after President Donald Trump pulled U.S. forces from the…
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President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey will not stay silent over Russian-backed mercenaries supporting Khalifa Haftar in Libya, as Moscow voiced concerns over possible Turkish military deployment to Libya in support of Haftar’s enemies. Turkey has backed Libya’s internationally recognized government led by Fayez al-Serraj and the two sides signed a security agreement…
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Russia on Friday honored two members of the British “Cambridge Five” spy ring who passed information to the Soviet Union with a memorial plaque and a tribute from the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service. The plaque, unveiled on the day Russia celebrates the work of its security services, was dedicated to Guy Burgess and…
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Russia’s FSB security service on Friday searched the home of a man named by Russian media as the prime suspect in a rare shooting incident near the FSB’s central Moscow headquarters, neighbors said. A gunman opened fire on the FSB’s main building in Moscow on Thursday evening, killing at least one FSB employee and wounding…
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Russian state energy company Gazprom is planning to construct a giant petrochemical plant in Bovanenkovo, the company’s hub on the Yamal Peninsula. It will be able to produce about 3 million tons of plastics products polyethylene and polypropylene per year, several sources in the company told Vedomosti business daily. If built, the plant will be the northernmost…
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Visit Palace Square On Dec. 22 Grandfather Frost makes his first stop on the holiday train in St. Petersburg, where he lights the enormous tree on Palace Square that is both the symbol and the heart of the holiday season. On New Year’s Eve, the square is filled with music, special events, a light show…
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A court in Moscow has upheld U.S.-Israeli tourist Naama Issachar’s seven-and-a-half year prison sentence on drugs charges Thursday in a case that has strained ties between Russia and Israel. Naama Issachar, 25, was found guilty of drug possession and smuggling last month. Moscow airport authorities had found 9.6 grams of cannabis in Issachar’s luggage during her…
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Donald Trump’s administration has slammed a new package of tough anti-Russia sanctions advanced by U.S. lawmakers earlier this week, The Daily Beast reported Thursday, citing a leaked letter from a State Department official. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved draft legislation Wednesday that would impose new sanctions against Russia’s banking, energy and ship-building sectors…
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President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he was open to the possibility of altering Russia’s Constitution to limit the number of presidential terms anyone can serve. “Your humble servant served two terms consecutively, then left his post, but with the constitutional right to return to the post of president again, because these two terms were not…
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Prominent African-American ballet dancer Misty Copeland’s criticism of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow for its use of blackface has prompted a heated online debate and a strong rebuke from the world of Russian ballet. Copeland, who in 2015 became the American Ballet Theater’s first black female principal ballerina, highlighted “the reality of the ballet world”…
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