Russia Tests Face, Voice Recognition Ahead of eSIM Integration – Izvestia

Russia is testing face- and voice-recognition technology to identify mobile device users as it moves toward approving eSIM technology which allows consumers to switch easily between carriers, the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper has reported. The Central Bank is overseeing a pilot project that uses personal biometric data to remotely open accounts despite concerns over state surveillance,…

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Traditional Recipes Recreated With Flair

At Ruski, the chef likes to mix things up a bit, sometimes preparing traditional recipes authentically, sometimes recreating them with modern flair. Sugudai is a traditional northern dish made of fresh, uncooked fish such as salmon, dressed with oil, vinegar or other acidic ingredient, green onions, fresh herbs and salt and pepper. Here it is…

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Alexey Miller and South Ossetian President Anatoly Bibilov discuss ongoing and future cooperation

Background In August 2009, Gazprom brought into operation the Dzuarikau – Tskhinval gas trunkline to provide direct gas supplies from the Russian Federation to South Ossetia. In April 2010, Gazprom and the Government of South Ossetia signed the Cooperation Agreement until 2029. Gazprom developed the General Scheme for gas infrastructure expansion in South Ossetia. The document provides for gas infrastructure expansion in some…

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‘Circle of Light’ Shines Bright in Moscow

From Sept. 20 – 24, Moscow’s annual “Circle of Light” festival lights up the capital with dazzling displays of art, history, playful projections and more. Light designers and multimedia artists from around the world had the chance to reimagine the Russian capital’s iconic architecture for the festival, incorporating not just light, but also flame, lasers…

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The Trump-Ukraine Scandal, Explained

A phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy has become a political flashpoint in Washington following reports that Trump repeatedly pressed Zelenskiy to investigate Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his son. The July 25 call has wide-ranging implications for Russia’s western neighbor Ukraine, which depends heavily on U.S. aid…

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Gazprom and Uniper discuss cooperation-related issues

Release September 23, 2019, 17:25 The Coordination Council of Gazprom and Uniper for sci-tech cooperation and staff training & development held a meeting in the Krasnodar Territory. The Co-Chairmen of the Coordination Council – Sergey Khomyakov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Oleg Aksyutin, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Head of Department, and Andreas Schierenbeck, Chairman of the Management Board of Uniper – noted the…

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Russia Gives Definitive Approval to Paris Climate Accord

Russia said it would implement the 2015 Paris Agreement to fight climate change after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday approved a government resolution signifying Moscow’s final acceptance of the deal. The same resolution said Russia would not technically ratify the accord however due to a legal nuance. Medvedev said Moscow would adapt the accord to existing legal…

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Russia’s Tsentr-2019 Military Drills: Vehicle Crashes, Ballistic Missiles and More

Russia, China and India held joint anti-terrorism exercises with Pakistan and four Central Asian republics last week. Nearly 130,000 troops, 20,000 pieces of equipment, 600 aircraft and up to 15 warships were rolled out across eight Russian training grounds for the Tsentr-2019 (Center-2019) drills.  The Sept. 16-21 war games, which President Vladimir Putin observed Friday…

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Russia Facing Potential Olympic Ban After WADA Cites ‘Inconsistent’ Data

Russia is once again in danger of being banned from next year’s Olympics after the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed that historical data supplied by the country’s anti-doping authority contained “inconsistencies.” WADA said on Monday it had opened compliance proceedings against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) after examining the vast bank of historical testing data finally…

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Putin Sought to Boost Russian Population With ‘Gay Propaganda’ Law – Ex-British PM Cameron

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has said in his new memoir that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him he passed a law against “gay propaganda” to reverse the country’s declining birth rates. Russia banned “propaganda of homosexuality toward minors” in 2013 around the same time England legalized same-sex marriage, drawing criticism from Western states…

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On This Day Sergei Ozhegov Was Born

On this day in 1900 Sergei Ozhegov, the writer of one of the first Russian dictionaries, was born. Born in Kamennoe village in the Tver region, Ozhegov is celebrated for his “Dictionary of the Russian Language,” which remains the most widely used reference for the Russian language today, especially for writers, journalists and interpreters. The…

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Blue Corridor – Gas into Engines 2019 Rally enters Russia

Release September 20, 2019, 18:30 The Russian stage of the international Blue Corridor – Gas into Engines 2019 Rally for vehicles powered by natural gas was launched today at the Russkaya compressor station (CS) in the Krasnodar Territory. Via a video link, the participants in the Russian stage of the race took over from the European-stage crews that had traveled 5,320 kilometers from Istanbul, Turkey,…

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Where Indians Eat Indian Food in Moscow

An estimated 14,000 Indians currently live in Russia — most in Moscow — and an ever-increasing number of Indian tourists visit the capital every year. Consequently, while perhaps not a staple of the native Russian diet just yet, Muscovites are familiar with Indian cooking, and there is an array of restaurants available to satisfy a…

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St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport Eyes Opening Up to Foreign Budget Airlines

Low-cost international airlines could soon fly in and out of St. Petersburg more freely after an easing of restrictions announced by Russian officials, Russian media have reported. No other Russian city allows so-called “seventh freedom flights,” which allow international carriers to operate flights outside their country of registration. St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport projects that the permissions will…

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Russia Moves to Expand Its Arctic Icebreaker Fleet, Already the World’s Largest

The enterprise responsible for Russian seaport and maritime infrastructure development today operates a total of 36 icebreaking vessels. This is the largest fleet of its kind in the world, the state-run Rosmorport company says. And more is to come. According to company deputy general director Vasily Strugov, another nine vessels will be added to the fleet by 2024. Among them, there…

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One Detained North Korean Poacher Died, FSB Says

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday that one North Korean poacher, captured by Russian border guards in the Sea of Japan, has died, the Interfax news agency reported. A Russian border patrol discovered two North Korean schooners and 11 motorboats fishing illegally off its far eastern coast on Tuesday and detained the first…

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Russia’s Love Affair With India

When Ponnuchamy Jeevanantham first came to Moscow from Tamil Nadu in southern India in 1987 to study agriculture at the Peoples’ Friendship University he was dismayed by how mild Russian food was compared to Indian cuisine.  “You couldn’t find any spices,” he said. “There were bay leaves, black pepper and maybe some chilli powder —…

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‘We Tracked Your Social Media, You’re Gay’: Russian Student Threatened With Expulsion

A Russian university is said to have threatened a student with expulsion after his pink phone case and membership in pro-LGBT social media groups fueled suspicions about his alleged sexual orientation.  The reported threats made by Ural State University of Economics (USUE) administrators in Russia’s fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg come six years after the Russian…

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Behind Moscow’s Facades, Legacies of Soviet Atheism

Moscow is full of Soviet-era institutions built on once-sacred ground. While passers-by might have little reason to notice these buildings, the Russian Orthodox Church is, in many cases, fighting legal battles to evict long-time tenants and claim valuable, centrally located real estate that was once appropriated by Soviet authorities. Just this year, the Church has…

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Uganda Says Russia to Help it Develop Nuclear Energy

Uganda said on Wednesday it had signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with Russia to help the East African country build capacity to exploit nuclear technology for energy, medical and other peaceful purposes. The government of President Yoweri Museveni has previously said it is eager to use the country’s uranium deposits to boost energy production capacity.…

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Moscow’s Inspiring New Cultural Season Opens

The start of fall turning Moscow’s trees into colorful pieces of art also marks the start of the cultural season, with the city’s theaters, museums and conservatories inviting people to enjoy the artworks inside. This is Russia’s Year of Theater, and events will be held across the country, including a Theatrical Olympiad, an All-Russian Theater…

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How the Michael Calvey Case Has Unfolded So Far

Russia may drop its embezzlement case against embattled U.S. investor Michael Calvey and other executives at the Baring Vostok private equity group, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday.  Calvey and three other Baring Vostok executives were detained in February on embezzlement charges, which they denied. They said the case was being used to pressure them…

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Muscovites Stage Single Pickets at Presidential Office in Support of Jailed Actor

Hundreds of people have lined up for single pickets outside President Vladimir Putin’s administration building in central Moscow to support an actor who was jailed for using violence against a policeman during one of this summer’s unauthorized election protests. Pavel Ustinov’s sentencing to 3.5 years behind bars Monday for allegedly dislocating an officer’s shoulder while…

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