The Triumph of Crimean Champagne

Champagne. There is no other foreign product — with the exception of potatoes, perhaps — that has become so popular in Russia, first among the affluent, aristocratic public and then among everyone else. In Russia champagne became the people’s drink. The first semblance of sparkling wine appeared in Russia at the end of the 17th…

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U.S. Bans Russia’s Kaspersky Antivirus Software

President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday banned Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky from providing its popular antivirus products in the United States over national security concerns, the U.S. Commerce Department said. “Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the United States or provide updates to software already in…

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Putin Does Not Rule Out Sending Arms to N.Korea, U.S. ‘Incredibly’ Concerned

The United States expressed deep unease over Putin’s threat to send weapons to Pyongyang, warning such action could destabilize the Korean peninsula. “It is incredibly concerning,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “It would destabilize the Korean peninsula, potentially, depending on the type of weapons, and might violate UN Security Council resolutions that Russia…

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Severe Storm in Moscow Kills At Least 2

Updated with second reported death. A powerful storm rumbled through the Russian capital on Thursday afternoon, carrying heavy rains and winds that ripped hundreds of trees from the ground and killed at least two people, local authorities said. Russia’s Emergency Services Ministry said a man was killed near Park Dubki in northern Moscow when wind…

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Russia’s Sberbank to Offer Corporate Client Services in Occupied Eastern Ukraine

Russia’s largest lender Sberbank will begin providing services to corporate clients in eastern Ukraine’s partially occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions later this month, a top manager at the bank told state media on Thursday. “Starting June 25, we will begin servicing legal entities” in occupied Ukraine, Sberank’s Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board, Anatoly Popov,…

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Alexey Likhachev, Head of ROSATOM, visited Viet Nam within the official delegation of the Russian Federation

The interdepartmental memorandum on the schedule for implementation of the project for construction of the Nuclear Science and Technology Center in Viet Nam was signed.  Alexey Likhachev, Director General of ROSATOM, visited Viet Nam within the official delegation of the Russian Federation. He had a meeting with Phạm Minh Chính, Prime Minister of Viet Nam,…

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Canada Sanctions 13 Russian Officials Over Navalny’s Death

Canada has sanctioned over a dozen high-ranking Russian law enforcement officials believed to be responsible for the death of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, the country’s Foreign Minister announced Tuesday. According to a Canadian Foreign Ministry statement, the new sanctions target individuals involved in the poisoning of Navalny in 2020, his arrest in Moscow upon returning to…

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Moscow Court Remands Journalist Kriger on ‘Extremism’ Charges

A Moscow court on Tuesday remanded journalist Artyom Kriger until mid-August on charges related to the “extremism” case against late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, his employer said. Kriger, who works for the independent SOTAvision news outlet, was accused of “participation in an extremist community” after his Moscow apartment was searched by police on Tuesday morning and…

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At the construction site of Xudapu NPP power unit No. 4 (China), the dome has been lifted and installed on the VVER-1200 reactor building

This single-stage operation was performed for the second time in the history of the Russian nuclear power industry. On June 18, 2024, the dome was successfully lifted and installed at a single stage on the reactor building of Xudapu NPP power unit No. 4 (China) constructed with involvement of the Rosatom Engineering Division. This single-stage…

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Moscow Police Arrest 3 After Mass Food Poisoning

Police in Moscow have detained three people following a mass food poisoning incident that left dozens hospitalized, Russian state media reported Tuesday, citing law enforcement officials.  Health officials said Monday that more than 120 people had sought medical help and at least 30 were in intensive care with suspected foodborne botulism, a life-threatening condition that attacks…

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‘One Name, One Life, One Plaque’: Russian Project Installs Reminders of Soviet Repressions

Sergei Tyutryumov was executed by shooting on March 7, 1938. He was 33 years old. Soviet authorities accused him of “counter-revolutionary” activities and “anti-Soviet agitation aimed at undermining the authority of Soviet power.” Two years prior, Tyutryumov, a descendant of a noble family, moved to the Siberian city of Tomsk to work as a history…

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