Tourists and businesspeople will be able to visit St. Petersburg on a simplified electronic visa starting this fall under President Vladimir Putin’s new orders. Putin has promised to offer e-visas to foreign visitors in 2021 as he vies to collect $15.5 billion in annual tourism revenue by the end of his presidential term in 2024.…
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A southeast Siberian region recovering from weeks of deadly flooding has been hit by another plague: venomous vipers. Twenty-five people have died and seven people remain unaccounted for since the floods, described by scientists as the biggest in 180 years, hit the Irkutsk region in late June. Vipers were spotted almost immediately afterward and officials…
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The Russian economy will fall into a recession in the next year and a half over a sharp drop in personal lending, the country’s economic minister has said. Russians have been racking up debt due to falling or stagnating real disposable incomes, an issue that President Vladimir Putin said risks creating an economic bubble. Economists…
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Soviet satirical writer Mikhail Zoshchenko was born in Poltava, Ukraine to a Russian mother and a father descended from Ukrainian nobility. From a young age, he enjoyed writing poetry and prose. In school he was not a good student and attempted suicide after failing a composition class. At the age of 17, Zoshchenko began studying…
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As many as 150 child cancer patients have been infected with hepatitis C in Russia’s Far East in an outbreak that parents and officials say is the result of unhygienic medical practices, BBC Russia has reported. Officials in the Amur region said parents had been ringing the alarm about a hepatitis С outbreak in the…
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s party took a commanding lead in Sunday’s snap parliamentary election, consolidating the power of the novice politician whose stunning rise has upended traditional politics in the war-scarred nation. A former comedian who played a fictional schoolteacher-turned-president in a popular TV series, the 41-year-old Zelenskiy has tapped into widespread voter anger over…
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A Scottish exchange student was fined and briefly detained for giving a lecture on feminism in Siberia in the latest incident targeting foreign students in Russia. Last month, a German student was reported to have been expelled from a Russian university and ordered to leave the country after writing an article about environmental protests. Harriet…
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Russian opposition leaders on Saturday led a protest in Moscow against the election commission’s decision to bar a host of candidates from the ballot for city council elections this fall that turned into the largest demonstration in Russia in recent years. Billed as the culmination of a week of daily protests that kicked off last…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had “sympathized” with Donald Trump before the 2016 presidential election that swept Trump to power because of his desire to restore normal relations with Russia. In an interview with U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone dated June 19 and published on the Kremlin web site on Friday, Putin also said that…
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The world is just beginning to come to terms with the scale of the previous century’s cruelty and carnage. Indeed, it is almost impossible to grasp the macabre tally of two devastating world wars, famine – both natural and manufactured — the disturbing rise of nationalism and fascism, the specter of atomic and nuclear weapons,…
DetailsThe 23rd Session of Chinese-Russian Nuclear Subcommittee took place in Nizhny Novgorod on 19 July within the framework of the Committee on preparation of regular China-Russia summits. Zhang Kejian, Chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority, and Aleksey Likhachev, ROSATOM Director General, are the Committee Cochairmen. The Session participants summarized the year outcomes of the…
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Russia’s state railway company appointed the former chancellor of Austria to its management board this week, continuing a trend of retired European politicians landing lucrative posts in Russia. Christian Kern, 53, headed Austria’s national railway system before serving as chancellor of the central European nation from 2016-2017. Austria has been among a minority of EU…
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On Saturday Muzeon is celebrating its 27th birthday. The park on the banks of the Moscow River has a short but fascinating history. It began as nothing more than a construction site where all the detritus from building the New Tretyakov Gallery and the (then) House of Artists’ structure was deposited. In the 1980s artists…
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Russia is planning to phase out paper passports within three years as part of its national digitization program, drawing support as well as criticism over privacy concerns, according to the official government website. The government resumed discussions on issuing digital passports last fall, five years after it initially considered the idea. Cost estimates for the…
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Arseniy, an artist from the Russian city of Samara, has recently made waves on social media with a series of photographs made against the backdrop of an abandoned five-story building. The project is called “1m²” and addresses social issues and experiences encountered by normal Russians. The performances include showing a simple factory worker’s dinner, dreams…
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Half of Russian workers earn salaries of less than 35,000 rubles ($550) a month, despite a small increase in average monthly income over the past year, according to newly released official data. Stagnation in real disposable income has led to a slow deterioration in the quality of life for ordinary Russians and is feeding a…
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At the dacha, a traditional Russian summer house, home appliances are pretty basic. You can cook on the woodstove, draw water from a well or even cross the garden to go to the toilet… But the dacha is also a safe haven for Russians who live in cities — they rush here after work every…
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Roman Ruzhechko, a suspect in a Russian probe into a major oil pipeline contamination earlier this year, has asked for political asylum in Lithuania, a Vilnius district court spokesman told Reuters on Friday. Russian prosecutors have charged Ruzhechko, an executive at a small oil transport firm, and several other people in a criminal conspiracy to pollute…
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News from projects and regions July 19, 2019, 13:15 Photos On July 18, the Astrakhan State Art Gallery named after Pavel Dogadin launched the anniversary season of the art project named ‘Museum Courtyard 2019’ in Astrakhan. Since its creation, the project, which unites admirers of music, painting, literature and art of declamation, has attracted about eight thousand Astrakhan citizens of all…
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Vladimir Mayakovsky was born on July 19, 1893 in Georgia to ethnically Russian and Ukrainian parents. By the age of 14, Mayakovsky was already engaged in socialist activism. He lived in Georgia until his father died in 1906 and the family moved to Moscow. There Mayakovsky became interested in Marxist literature and joined the Russian…
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First unveiled at the Victory Day Parade on Moscow’s Red Square in 2017, the Tor-M2DT vehicles with anti-aircraft missiles were specifically designed to be used in Russia’s Arctic regions. This week, two of the vehicles were brought to the southern shores of Novaya Zemlya on board the Northern Fleet’s Kondapoga amphibious ship sailing from the…
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New rules could grant Russian authorities the power to ground international flights if Russian airlines fail to provide personal information about passengers or if they pose a “security threat.” Unnamed sources within Russia’s aviation industry told the Kommersant business daily that the Federal Security Service (FSB) has been seeking to tighten regulations governing international flights…
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The stage was prepared last week for Russian President Vladimir Putin to hammer tiny Georgia with new economic sanctions after parliament called on him to punish anti-Kremlin protests. Instead, Putin refused “because I respect the Georgians.” The uncharacteristic reaction left some wondering if the Kremlin is beginning to rethink its traditionally tough approach to neighboring states by…
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Ursula von der Leyen won’t be getting a bear hug from the Kremlin. Russia’s top diplomat was asked during a visit to Germany about the incoming president of the European Commission and her “strict” view of his country. His frosty response was that the decision by the European Union’s leaders and Parliament was one “we…
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Russia’s Investigative Committee has accused social welfare officials in Moscow of criminal negligence for allowing a gay couple to raise children they adopted nearly a decade ago. Russia banned gay adoption, along with “homosexual propaganda among minorities,” in 2013. The Investigative Committee said this week that it has opened a criminal negligence case against officials in…
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July 19, 2019 PAO Severstal (MICEX-RTS: CHMF; LSE: SVST), one of the world’s leading steel and steel-related mining companies, today announces its Q2 & H1 2019 financial results for the period ended 30 June 2019. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30 JUNE 2019 $ million, unless otherwise stated Q2 2019 Q1 2019 Change,…
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Greenpeace Russia has named Moscow and St. Petersburg the most polluted cities in the country with the highest concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a toxic particle released from diesel fumes. Environmental issues including air pollution, landfills and a proposed bottling plant have galvanized Russians to take to the streets over the past year. Public polling…
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Ukraine and Russia have agreed a prisoner swap expected to involve a total of 277 people taken captive in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official said on Thursday. Roman Bezsmertny said Kiev expected to exchange 208 people serving jail sentences in Ukraine for 69 Ukrainians. “The most important — an agreement was reached…
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In July 1896, Russia presented its first car — the Yakovlev-Freze — to the world at an exhibition in Nizhniy Novgorod. Designed by Russian engineers Yevgeny Yakovlev and Pyotr Freze in St. Petersburg, the car looked like an elegant open carriage with large wooden wheels. It seated two and had a top speed of 21 kilometers…
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Early in the morning on July 16, residents and guests of St. Petersburg observed the spectacle of warships passing under the bridges of the Neva River. It was the first of five rehearsals of the main naval parade to be held on the Day of the Russian Navy on July 28. This year, 43 warships,…
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Moscow ranks third among the world’s cities for its number of billionaire residents, after New York and Hong Kong, according to a recent study from real estate agency Savills. Forbes’ real-time ranking currently lists 607 billionaires in the United States, 99 in Russia and 71 in Hong Kong. Savills said Moscow has 71 billionaires, New…
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Russia’s female Twitter users have started a movement to share stories of everyday harassment and abuse in the country, generating widespread support and some backlash from male users. The #I_Need_Openness hashtag — #Mnye_Nuzhna _Glasnost in Russian in a nod to the reformation of the Communist Party in the 1980s — comes two years after the…
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Russia, Ukraine and Europe’s top security body have announced an “indefinite” ceasefire in eastern Ukraine that analysts hail as a substantial step toward ending the five-year conflict. The war between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region has killed 13,000 people since it broke out in 2014. Sporadic fighting went on despite…
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News from projects and regions July 18, 2019, 14:45 Photos On July 12–14, a tourist convention for the youth organized by the employees of Gazprom Transgaz Saratov on the occasion of the company’s 55th anniversary took place at the children’s summer camp named after Yuri Gagarin in the Engels District of the Saratov Region. The event brought together over 200 participants, including the company’s…
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ordered an overhaul of the process for granting Ukrainian citizenship, in response to a Russian decree expanding the number of Ukrainians who can apply for fast-track Russian passports. Zelenskiy’s office said early on Thursday, just a few hours after the Kremlin published Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order, that the foreign…
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Russia on Thursday denied allegations by Syrian rebels that Russian special forces or ground troops were fighting in the campaign for the rebel-held region of Idlib, the state-run RIA news agency reported. Senior rebel commanders said on Wednesday that Russia has sent special forces in recent days to fight alongside Syrian army troops struggling to…
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Rosneft specialists, together with the Conservation Society and the Wildlife Research, for the first time in Russia have developed special toys for polar bears under the Company’s care in all zoos of the country. In order to diversify the habitats of Arctic predators in their zoo houses, 64 toys were made of especially strong plastic…
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Russian police have violently detained two National Guardsmen suspected of planting drugs on an underage victim in St. Petersburg and demanding a bribe, as seen in a video published by the Fontanka.ru news website. Footage of the sting operation Tuesday showed plainclothes officers handcuffing the two men in National Guard uniforms and pressing them face-forward…
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Russia has sent special forces in recent days to fight alongside Syrian army troops struggling to make gains in a more than two month assault in northwestern Syria to seize the last opposition bastion, senior rebel commanders said. They said although Russian officers and troops had been behind front lines directing the operations, using snipers and firing…
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A delegation from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which oversees national cyber policy, met officials at Russia’s state communications watchdog in Moscow on Wednesday, the Russian regulator said. Critics have accused Russia’s authorities of trying to implement creeping China-style Internet curbs. Cooperation in this area between the two regulators could alarm Russian proponents of Internet freedom. The presence of the Chinese delegation in Moscow has not previously…
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Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on Wednesday further expanding the number of Ukrainian citizens who can apply for fast-track Russian passports. Moscow made the move ahead of a Ukrainian parliamentary election on Sunday, when a Russia-friendly party may become the strongest competitor of the more popular Servant of the People party, led by new president…
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Three units have been unplugged at a nuclear power plant in Russia after a short circuit, less than a week after another nuclear plant unit was briefly taken down in the country over an unspecified malfunction. Russia operates 10 nuclear power plants, including the four-reactor Kalinin plant 350 kilometers northwest of Moscow, according to the…
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U.S. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called on the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a national security and privacy investigation into FaceApp, a face-editing photo app developed in Russia, in a letter sent on Wednesday. The viral smartphone application, which has seen a new surge of popularity due to a filter that…
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President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rose to lead his nation as a political novice and questions still surround his plans, especially regarding Ukraine‘s relations with Russia. As he closes in on solidifying his control at home, some answers are starting to emerge. With less than a week to go until parliamentary elections and his upstart party firmly…
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The Kremlin raised the possibility of changing Russia’s constitution after a top lawmaker proposed bolstering parliament’s powers, in a move that could help to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule. The idea of constitutional amendments, including allowing parliament a say in forming the government, received “a widespread response” and are “a matter for discussion,” Putin’s spokesman,…
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The Netherlands is “exploiting” the grief of victims’ families over the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on the fifth anniversary of the tragedy on Wednesday. Russia has denied any role in the July 17, 2014, downing of MH17 by a missile over territory in eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists.…
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A court in Moscow on Wednesday ordered the first six of 24 Ukrainian sailors seized by Russia off the coast of Crimea last year to be held in pre-trial detention for another three months. The court is due to rule on the remaining sailors later on Wednesday. The Russian navy captured the Ukrainian sailors and…
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The Klavdiya Yelanskaya motor vessel was built in Yugoslavia in 1977. Since then, it has sailed along the coast of the Kola Peninsula bringing passengers to and from remote towns and villages in the area. For many, it has been the only connection to the rest of the country. But sailings have been increasingly irregular…
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A presentation of the unique Russian-British Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra has taken place in London, the formation of which was inspired by the friendship of two great composers of the 20th century—Dmitry Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten. The initiative is supported by Rosneft Oil Company and BP as part of the UK-Russia Year of Music. The BSFO…
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On July 17, 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, his family, and those who accompanied him in imprisonment were executed by Bolshevik agents with gunshots and bayonets at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. By then Nicholas was no longer a monarch. He had abdicated his throne in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, but his…
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HOLLYWOOD—HBO’s runaway hit “Chernobyl” captured the nomination for the best television movie or limited series category in the 71st annual Emmy Awards. The series’ actor Jared Harris also scored a nomination in the lead actor category in a limited series or TV movie. Rounding up the total of four nominations for “Chernobyl” are Emily Watson…
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HOLLYWOOD—HBO’s runaway hit “Chernobyl” captured 19 nominations in the 71st annual Emmy Awards, including for the best television movie or limited series category. The series’ actor Jared Harris also scored a nomination in the lead actor category in a limited series or TV movie. Rounding up the total of four nominations for “Chernobyl” actors are Emily…
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The European Union and victims’ families have called on Russia to accept its role in the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine on the fifth anniversary of the crash. A missile shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala…
DetailsOMZ-SPECIAL STEEL (St.Petersburg) and ENERGOMASHSPETSSTAL (Kramatorsk) have produced the first forgings for reactor vessels for Units 7 and 8 of Tianwan NPP (China). The Units are being constructed with technical assistance of ASE (Engineering Division of ROSATOM). According to Alexey Bannik, ASE Vice president for Сhina projects, “these events signal the commencement of production of…
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Two Russian boxers serving doping suspensions have competed while banned, highlighting inconsistencies in Russia’s efforts to reform its anti-doping practices. Competition records show that Russian amateur boxers Islam Dashaev and Alyona Tokarchuk fought in official tournaments last year despite bans announced by Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA, which is forbidden under international anti-doping rules. These lapses…
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Fewer Russians believe that a Chernobyl-like nuclear disaster could happen now than at any point in the past two decades, according to an independent Levada Center poll published Wednesday. The April 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl power plant in Soviet Ukraine spread radioactive material across much of the Northern Hemisphere, affecting tens of thousands of…
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Russia has denied visas to more than two dozen foreign teachers at a school attended by the children of diplomats, the New York Times has reported. Diplomatic tensions between Russia and Western countries resulted in the closing of the Anglo-American School’s branch in St. Petersburg last September after 43 years in operation. The Anglo-American School…
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A tide of weak reports are casting doubt on the Russian government’s optimistic economic forecasts for the second half. “There are a lot of worrisome signals from the second quarter,” said Natalia Orlova, chief economist at Alfa Bank in Moscow. “My forecast for the year is for 0.8% growth, but if there are no improvements…
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President Donald Trump confirmed reluctantly that Turkey won’t be able to buy the U.S. F-35 fighter that it helps build after the country began taking delivery this week of a Russian missile defense system. “We are now telling Turkey that ‘because you have really been forced to buy another missile system, we are not going…
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Release July 16, 2019, 18:50 Photos The Silk Way International Rally 2019 came to a close today in the city of Dunhuang, China. The gas-powered KAMAZ crew led by Sergey Kupriyanov finished among the top five in the truck category. The category featured 15 trucks produced by domestic and foreign companies, such as KAMAZ, GAZ, MAZ, Renault, HINO, DAF, and IVECO. The KAMAZ truck was the…
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