Russia’s lower chamber of parliament on Sept. 30 passed legislation that could allow dual citizenship for foreigners wanting to become Russian citizens, the RBC news website reported Tuesday. Analysts believe the new rules may increase the attractiveness of a Russian passport, as in the past foreigners applying for the documents have had to renounce their…
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Belarus believes that its ally Russia’s terms of integration are “unacceptable,” its foreign minister has said following media reports that the two countries plan to form an economic confederacy in the next two years. Russia and Belarus, currently members of a largely symbolic union state, have been in talks to deepen their integration, a process…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Maduro briefly discussed Caracas’ debt obligations to Russia last week during a visit to Moscow by the Venezuelan leader, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, without providing details. Close ally Moscow has acted as a lender of last resort for Caracas, with the Russian government and oil giant Rosneft providing at least $17…
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The Russian former chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), who fled Russia in 2013, has told journalist and online personality Yury Dud that he will continue to support people who want to make Russia more democratic. Sergei Guriyev left the country for fear of being arrested over his support for…
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Russian state experts confirmed that the slain father of three teenage daughters facing up to 20 years in jail for killing him had abused them, the sisters’ lawyers have announced Tuesday. The high-profile case has divided Russian society into those who say that Krestina, Angelina and Maria Khachaturyan acted in self-defense and those who view them…
DetailsRN-Kart, the specialised catalyst production enterprise of Rosneft Oil Company, has performed industrial tests of the first batch of hydrotreating catalysts, which provide for the production of Euro V-compliant diesel, at the Company’s Ufa group of refineries.
The Labor Ministry has sent the Russian government a report outlining the pros and cons of introducing a four-day work week as discussions around shortening the work week have become increasingly widespread. The report, a response to the idea first proposed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over the summer, was put together after consultations with…
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In Russia, the first of the month is often marked with a slew of new laws and rules coming into effect. This October is no exception. Life will change for Russians in ways both big and small starting today. Here’s a look at some of the new rules and laws taking effect: Fire safety Starting…
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A Russian football fan has been sentenced to one year in prison for punching a riot police officer in a brawl involving ultras at St. Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena earlier this year. Riot police charged a crowd of football fans outside the stadium during halftime of an Aug. 3 Russian Premier League match between FC Zenit…
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Gennady Laguteev remembers the day a shell landed in his garden and destroyed his veranda. It was Aug. 5, 2014, just after the war between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces had erupted in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass. “I kept the chair I used to sit in out there, even though it was…
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Russia remains a nation of heavy drinkers, but alcohol consumption has fallen 43% from 2003 to 2016, a key factor in the country’s rapid rise in life expectancy, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday. Alcohol consumption fell in the mid-1980s due to a campaign by the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, but rates exploded…
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Russia’s Investigative Committee said Tuesday that one of its employees, senior investigator Vladislav Kapustin, was stabbed to death at the entrance to its central office in Moscow. “The attacker was arrested,” spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. A disheveled eyewitness told the Znak.com news website she was in the middle of a conversation with…
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Russian border guards have detained 87 North Korean poachers and 11 small vessels in waters in the Sea of Japan which Moscow considers its own exclusive economic zone, the Interfax news agency said on Tuesday. It is the third such round-up of North Korean fishermen in recent weeks amid what the Kremlin has said is…
DetailsOn September 29, one of the annual milestones was performed at Unit 1 of Rooppur NPP (General Designer is Atomstroyexport JSC, a part of ROSATOM) under construction in Bangladesh according to the Russian design – the reactor support truss was installed in the design position. The purpose of the support truss is to fasten the…
DetailsThe Key Tax Principles have been published in order to comprehensively inform stakeholders about Rosneft business practices.
The United States has imposed sanctions on two Russians over their alleged involvement in the Internet Research Agency, a Russian organization accused of interfering in U.S. elections. The Internet Research Agency is believed to be financed by billionaire restaurateur Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as President Vladimir Putin’s “chef.” A U.S. special counsel indicted Prigozhin and 12…
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A veterans’ hospital in Russia’s fourth-largest city has banned a transgender hairstylist from volunteering to give free haircuts to its elderly patients. A local charity in Yekaterinburg had put out a call for stylists, makeup artists and hairdressers to provide beauty services to the hospital’s patients at no cost. Marta Katasrofa, a transgender hairdresser, was…
DetailsAs part of its exploration campaign, Rosneft Oil Company has successfully completed the drilling of the first prospecting and appraisal well at the Vostochno-Pribrezhny license block on the shelf of Sakhalin Island, resulting in the discovery of a new oil field.
Russia plans to build its own reusable Argo rocket to compete with Elon Musk and supply the International Space Station (ISS) by 2024, the RBC news website reported Monday. Russia has previously accused Musk’s SpaceX of squeezing it out of the carrier rockets market with the company’s relatively low-cost Falcon 9 rockets. Last year, Russia’s…
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Nothing says “Russia” quite like a festival dedicated to Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace.” Held at the Ostafyevo Estate south of Moscow — where Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol and Vasily Zhukovsky have all visited — the festival paid tribute to Russian literature and history over the weekend. Costumes not required, but encouraged. Here’s…
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The Kremlin said on Monday that Washington would need Russian consent to publish transcripts of phone calls between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Congress is determined to get access to Trump’s calls with Putin and other world leaders, the U.S. House Intelligence Committee’s chairman said on Sunday, citing concerns that the Republican…
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Tigers and tigers and tigers, oh my! The streets of Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East roared to life as residents young and old dressed up to celebrate their very own Tiger Day, an annual parade to raise awareness of the plight of the Amur tiger. The Amur tiger is one of the world’s most endangered…
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Every year thousands of performers and visitors descend upon Scotland in late summer to attend the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s biggest festival of performance arts, from stand-up comedy to opera. This year among the nearly 4,000 shows were several from Russia including “Forest,” a work of physical theater directed by Dmitry Melkin and performed…
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A majority of Russians charged under a law banning “blatant disrespect” toward the authorities have been disrespectful toward President Vladimir Putin, according to research by the Agora human rights group. Sept. 29 marked six months since Russia imposed up to 300,000 rubles in fines and 15 days in jail for repeated “blatant disrespect” toward government…
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At least 600 people gathered to protest police brutality in the Far East Russian republic of Buryatia on Sunday following the detention of an anti-Putin shaman’s supporters and a disputed local vote. Demonstrations erupted in the city of Ulan-Ude this month to demand the release of the shaman’s detained supporters as well as a rerun…
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In the two weeks since attacks blamed on missiles or drones shut down half of Saudi Arabia’s oil output, the country that has arguably moved most deftly to position itself for any upside is Russia. Within hours of the attacks, Moscow’s state arms exporter said it would hold talks with countries in the Middle East…
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The head of Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA has called for a full overhaul in the country’s sports management that would include the dismissal of state officials involved in an ongoing doping scandal. RUSADA finds itself on the brink of suspension for the second time over alleged manipulation of anti-doping laboratory data which has sparked concern…
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On Saturday morning film and theater director, screenwriter and writer Mark Zakharov died of complications from pneumonia. He was 85 years old. Mark Zakharov was the artistic director of the Lenkom Theater in Moscow since 1973 and defined not only the theater’s repertory but the style and spirit of the late-Soviet era. He gathered a…
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Russian authorities have extinguished the remaining forest fires in Siberia that covered an area the size of Belgium and caused at least $100 million worth of damage at their peak. Huge swathes of Siberia and Russia’s Arctic have been engulfed in wildfires this summer, with smog reaching major cities in the area. Major social media…
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A Russian court on Monday quashed the jail sentence of an aspiring actor whose conviction for injuring a police officer on the sidelines of an opposition protest triggered a public outcry over alleged police brutality and judicial injustice. Footage of Pavel Ustinov’s arrest on Aug. 3 showed four national guardsmen in riot gear suddenly grabbing him…
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Soaring high above Moscow on the top of Europe’s tallest skyscraper OKO but grounded by its most ancient culinary roots is Ruski, the very successful joint venture of two Moscow restaurant giants, Chaikhonka and GINZA. On the tower’s 85th floor, Chef Alexander Volkov-Medvedev is reinventing Russia’s oldest methods and recipes with the help of the…
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September 30, 2019 PAO Severstal has launched its own “Open Innovations” platform (//innovations.severstal.com/en), designed to complement the Company’s open innovations initiatives and tools. The site hosts Severstal’s initiatives for cooperating with startups, innovative teams and industry experts, as well as indicating priority areas for cooperation and specific tasks that need to be tackled today. The…
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Thousands of Russians rallied in Moscow on Sunday to demand the release of protesters jailed in what Kremlin opponents say is a campaign to stifle dissent. The protesters were arrested during demonstrations that began in July against the exclusion of many opposition candidates from a local election, and allegations of police brutality and what many…
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This summer, after a Russian biochemist announced plans to follow in the footsteps of a rogue Chinese researcher and produce genetically modified children, a 150-year-old academic journal that reflects the current scientific consensus called on the world to stop him. “Time is of the essence,” Nature said. The dangers of altering human DNA that will be…
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Russia has delivered its second batch of weapons to the Central African Republic (CAR) in two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. Russia has stepped up its activities in Africa in recent years with military support, nuclear energy and other services in exchange for mining rights. Moscow donated hundreds of weapons and sent…
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A paper trail linked to the suspect in the killing of a Georgian citizen in Berlin suggests Russia provided “active support” to the suspect, according to an international team of investigators. Germany last month arrested a man who goes by the name Vadim Sokolov on suspicion of killing Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, who fought alongside anti-Moscow separatists…
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The Mother and Child (Mat i Ditya) group was founded in 2006 as one of the first private medical practices in Russia to provide exemplary, state-of-the-art services in gynecology, childbirth, neo-natal care and pediatrics. It was the “love child” of Dr. Mark Kurtser, a medical doctor and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and…
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State Duma deputy and notorious anti-gay crusader Vitaly Milonov wants to ban gender-inclusive Barbie dolls from Russia, referring to them as “freak dolls.” Toy manufacturer Mattel unveiled a gender-inclusive line of its iconic Barbie dolls Wednesday, to allow children “to express themselves freely.” The dolls, which are designed without stereotypically male or female features, come…
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At 15 years old, Margarita Naumenko is one of the youngest participants in Russia‘s Fridays for Future climate protest movement. Each week, she stands in downtown Moscow with other young activists chanting, brandishing posters and demanding the government take action on worsening climate change threats. Her parents support her decision to protest, Naumenko said, but they…
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Former French President Jacques Chirac, who led France from 1995 to 2007, died Thursday at age 86. Chirac’s political career spanned decades and he had dealings with every Russian and Soviet leader since Brezhnev. In a message of condolence Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said that he admired Chirac’s “intellect and deep knowledge as well as…
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People identified as Federal Security Service (FSB) officers have questioned an eco-activist in Russia’s Arctic city of Murmansk ahead of Friday’s authorized Climate Strike protest there, the activist has said. Russia was largely absent from the Global Climate Strike last week, where 4 million people in 200 countries took to the streets calling for global…
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Russia‘s parliament will ask its Foreign Ministry to consider revoking broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s right to work in the country for allegedly breaking laws on political impartiality, a senior lawmaker said on Friday. Vasily Piskarev said a parliamentary investigation had found evidence that Germany’s publicly funded international broadcaster had urged Russians to attend an unauthorized protest this…
DetailsTVEL JSC and Kozloduy NPP (a part of national utility Bulgarian Energy Holding) organized International conference ‘Operation, Simulation and Experimental Support of VVER Fuel’ in Nesebar (Bulgaria). Around 120 experts from 11 countries, as well as representatives of the IAEA and European Commission, took part in the event. Participants of the conference discussed in detail…
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Lee Jinju: Tilted Tilted is a rare exhibition of a South Korean artist in Moscow, all the more special because she made this series of works especially for the exhibition at the Triumph Gallery. Her works can be defined as subjective realism or psycholandscapes, they are like painted streams of consciousness. In her works Jinju employs…
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The Kremlin has said it hopes that discussions between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump will remain secret following the scandal that erupted over Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s leader. Transcripts from Trump and Putin’s face-to-face meetings have not been made public, with reports saying Trump has gone to “extraordinary lengths” to conceal…
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A Russian gay couple whose adoption of two children sparked criminal proceedings against social services officials have requested asylum in the United States, the LGBT group Coming Out has said. Authorities opened a criminal negligence case against Moscow’s social welfare officials in July for allowing the couple to “form distorted ideas about family values in…
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A theater in Russia’s fourth-largest city has been fined for its lack of provisions in case of nuclear war. The Cold War-era practice of training civilians on procedures to take in the event of a nuclear attack has grown more commonplace in recent years amid strained relations between Russia and the West. The Emergency Situations Ministry…
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NATO has rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calls to suspend deployment of missiles in Europe that were banned under a recently abandoned U.S.-Russian nuclear pact. The Kommersant business daily reported and the Kremlin confirmed Putin’s offer, which came amid concerns that Russia and the U.S. are headed toward an arms race after Washington exited the…
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Russia detained three North Korean vessels and more than 200 crew on Friday in the second such incident in two weeks as part of a clampdown on poaching by the secretive nation’s fishermen. The detentions mark rare confrontation between North Korea and Russia, which sees itself as an important player in international talks on defusing nuclear tensions…
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The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a firm it said was participating in a scheme to avoid U.S. sanctions while helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria. The U.S. Treasury Department said the newly sanctioned firm, Maritime Assistance LLC, was operating as a front company for OJSC Sovfracht, a company the United…
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Russia is expanding its Hmeimim airbase in Syria and rebuilding a second landing strip to allow the facility to serve more aircraft, Russian news agencies cited an unnamed Defense Ministry official as saying on Thursday. The ministry has also set up new buildings to house aircraft at the site that will defend against drone attacks, the official…
DetailsSpecialists of RN-KrasnoyarskNIPIneft LLC (a subsidiary of Rosneft’s Corporate Research and Development Complex) have completed a pilot project to re-process and re-interpret 3D-seismic data acquired during the exploration of the Vankor field in 2003-2005.
A celebrated Russian priest who adopted 70 children has been arrested on suspicion of pedophilia. Father Nikolai Stremsky, said to be the patriarch of Russia’s largest family and a recipient of a prize established by the Red Cross and Russian government, was reportedly detained Tuesday. Local media reported that authorities first opened a criminal investigation…
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A whistleblower report released by a congressional panel on Thursday said President Donald Trump used his office to solicit Ukraine’s interference in the 2020 election to advance his personal political interests, risking U.S. national security. The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee released a declassified version of the report made by the whistleblower, which…
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Russia said on Thursday that Belarus’s refusal to host a military airbase backed by President Vladimir Putin had been an “unpleasant episode,” a rare public display of disagreement between the close allies. Russia and Belarus are members of a largely symbolic union state and are in talks to deepen their integration, but the airbase spat illustrates the…
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St. Petersburg is kicking off the fall art and culture season with something for everyone, from Chinese lanterns to a retrospective of one of Russia’s greatest artists. Art Weekend: Oct. 5 and 6 Explore the best of St. Petersburg’s galleries and exhibitions in a weekend entirely devoted to contemporary art. Art Weekend will involve more…
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Moscow wants to end the five-year war in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskiy has said. More than 13,000 people have been killed since the conflict between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian government erupted in the region known as the Donbass in 2014. Sporadic fighting continues despite…
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Today, tourists tend to choose to travel to Iceland or Norway to get a taste of the Arctic experience. The establishment of a new special customs zone in Russia has the possibility to change that, Alexander Kirilov, the director of the Russian Arctic National Park, said in a statement issued by the Natural Resources Ministry. …
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This story was updated on Sept. 26 at 11:42 a.m. A Russian trawler that caught fire in the northern Norwegian port of Tromsø capsized and sank Thursday morning after burning for nearly 24 hours, the Defense Ministry’s Zvezda television channel has reported. Negligence during welding work is suspected to have caused the fire, Russia’s consul…
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