Updated at 6:44 p.m. on April 7 to add statement from Sputnik V’s official Twitter account. The European Union’s medicines regulator will investigate whether the developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine went against global ethical and scientific standards in clinical trials, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) last month launched…
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Germany’s Bavaria region has signed a provisional agreement to buy doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine once it is approved by European regulators, state premier Markus Soeder said Wednesday. The southern state has “signed a memorandum of understanding today […] for the supply of Sputnik,” Soeder told reporters in Munich. If the Sputnik vaccine is…
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A Russian warplane has intercepted a Norwegian electronic warfare aircraft over the Barents Sea near the Arctic, state media cited the military as saying Wednesday. Citing Russia’s National Defense Management Center, Interfax said the Russian military detected an “air target” approaching the Russian border from Norway. “The [Russian Navy’s] Northern Fleet air defense forces’ MiG-31…
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Slovakia’s State Institute for Drug Control has told the country’s Health Ministry it has been unable to evaluate the risks and benefits of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine due to a lack of data and inconsistencies in dosages, the watchdog’s spokeswoman Magdaléna Jurkemíková told The Moscow Times on Wednesday. Slovakia, one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries by…
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Russia will not invite foreign dignitaries to its annual World War II victory parade on Red Square next month, the Kremlin announced Wednesday. “This year is not a [major] anniversary year, so we don’t intend to invite foreign participants,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “The rest will probably involve the usual invitations,…
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Russia’s Central Bank chief has urged the government to “abandon” price caps on food products “as quickly as possible,” arguing the restrictions could do long-term damage to the Russian economy. Speaking at a Moscow Exchange forum on Tuesday, Elvira Nabiullina doubled down on her calls for the government to ditch its attempts to control surging…
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In early March, with Russia’s domestic Covid-19 vaccination campaign stalling, prominent tech and publishing entrepreneur Ilya Krasilschik took to social media to urge his followers to get their coronavirus jabs. “We are living through a national catastrophe,” wrote Krasilschik in a widely publicized Facebook post. “Go and get vaccinated.” Krasilschik is one of few Russian…
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Dubai announced Tuesday it will deport the Russian organizer of and 11 Ukrainian women involved in a salacious photoshoot on a high-rise balcony. The swift deportation is rare for the Muslim sheikhdom, where cases of public debauchery and producing pornography usually go to trial, according to the Associated Press. Those arrested had faced up to…
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The Kremlin urged Russian companies Wednesday to develop alternatives to Zoom and a lawmaker warned it could be blocked in the country, after media said the service had restricted access to government agencies. The U.S. company has emerged as the global leader in video-conferencing applications, becoming ubiquitous as companies and schools moved online after the…
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The Russian ruble has slid to its lowest level against the dollar in five months as fears of a possible escalation of conflict in eastern Ukraine grow. The ruble has lost 2% against the U.S. dollar since the start of the week and is now trading at 77.7 against the currency — its lowest level…
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Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov will likely not return to Washington in the near future, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday, citing a top diplomatic official. Antonov was recalled to Moscow last month following U.S. President Joe Biden’s televised remarks calling his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “killer” who would…
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Serdar Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s president-in-waiting and son of the incumbent, on March 30 embarked on a four-day trip to Russia as part of an official government delegation. The outing looked like yet another dress rehearsal. Official readouts of meetings in Moscow allude to mostly humdrum business, although there are hints of noteworthy developments. The delegation was…
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Russia has amassed the largest concentration of troops on its border with Ukraine since the eastern Ukraine conflict first erupted in 2014, The Insider investigative news website reported Wednesday, citing military analysts. Recent Russian military movements and an increase in clashes between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists have raised fears of an escalation in the long-simmering…
DetailsRN-Nyaganneftegaz, an enterprise of Rosneft oil production complex, invested more than 1.7 billion roubles in environmental protection and remediation measures in 2020.
Updated at 11:00 a.m. on April 8 to add Zoom statement. Video conferencing platform Zoom has banned its distributors from selling services to government agencies and partly state-owned companies in Russia and neighboring countries, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday. Zoom has emerged as a leading virtual meeting platform since millions were forced into self-isolation…
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Acclaimed Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky has pulled his latest film from the country’s prestigious White Elephants Awards in protest at plans to honor opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the event. In a message on Facebook, the 83-year-old said he had asked that “Dear Comrades!” — nominated for best film and also shortlisted for the 93rd…
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Russia said talks aimed at salvaging an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme got off to a “successful” start on Tuesday, with the U.S. expected to join indirectly for the first time since President Joe Biden’s arrival in the White House. Biden has said he is ready to reverse the 2018 decision of his predecessor…
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Moscow investigators have launched an inspection into “Russian Woman,” the country’s entry to this year’s Eurovision song contest, after a veteran’s newspaper accused it of inciting hatred, the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday. Written and performed by Tajik-born artist Manizha, “Russian Woman” has sparked controversy among conservative groups for its lyrics promoting female empowerment…
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Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine appears significantly less effective in combating the South African variant of the virus, a new laboratory study of 12 cases has shown. Scientists in the U.S. used blood samples from Argentinians who had been vaccinated with Sputnik V to investigate whether the antibodies they had produced would effectively fight various mutations…
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A number of supporters of Alexei Navalny were detained Tuesday outside his penal colony east of Moscow after they were denied access to the jailed Kremlin critic, who is on hunger strike demanding proper medical treatment. Among those detained was Anastasia Vasilyeva, Navalny’s personal doctor and head of the Alliance of Doctors medical trade union…
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A Russian court has fined TikTok 2.5 million rubles ($32,700) for failing to delete calls to attend protests in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday. Russia has likened the non-deletions to attempted foreign interference, threatening steep fines against platforms in a move that critics call an escalation…
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday urged NATO to speed up his country’s membership in the alliance, saying it was the only way to end fighting with pro-Russia separatists. Zelenskiy spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after an increase in clashes and Russian military movements on the border raised fears of an escalation of…
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Jewelry makers at the House of Fabergé are hatching an exclusive $2.2 million gift for fans of the iconic HBO series “Game of Thrones” on the 10th anniversary of its premiere: a one-of-a-kind egg inspired by the show. Fabergé’s lead designer Liisa Tallgren has partnered with the series’ award-winning costume designer Michele Clapton and Warner…
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Foreign investors’ holdings of Russian government debt fell below 20% for the first time in six years at the end of March, official data from Russia’s National Settlement Depository shows. International investors have been selling their holdings in Russia’s state debt since the start of the year, fearful of being caught up in a possible…
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The Russian Navy has for the first time fired long-range Kalibr cruise missiles on a ground target in the Sea of Japan, the Russian military announced Tuesday. The Pacific Fleet’s statement follows concerns voiced by U.S. defense officials that the Kalibr, which will for the first time allow Russian warships to conduct long-range strikes against…
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A Russian company that planned to send tourists to space through the country’s first private cosmodrome has scrapped the project and will permanently close, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday. Kosmokurs’ operations will cease due to “insurmountable difficulties” in coordinating with local authorities on the cosmodrome project as well as the company’s “inability…
DetailsApril 6, 2021, Büyükeceli, Mersin province, Turkey – On March 20, 2021 the first heavy component of the steam turbine set – the rotor of the high and intermediate pressure cylinder (HP and IP cylinder), which weighs above 107 tons and is more than 12 meters long – was delivered to the Akkuyu NPP construction…
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The Art Theater (Khudozhestvenny) on Arbat Square was for more than a century the site of openings, cinema festivals, and special events. Built in 1909 by Robert Albert Broksha, it was the third cinema in the city and the only theater especially designed to show movies. In 1912-1913 Broksha had Fyodor Shekhtel, Russia’s finest style…
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Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been transferred with a high fever to a medical unit for observation, the pro-Kremlin Izvestia daily reported Monday, citing prison authorities. The report, citing the regional branch of Russia’s Federal Prison Service that oversees Navalny’s prison colony, came hours after he said in an Instagram post that he has…
DetailsRussia said on Tuesday it opposed sanctions against the junta in Myanmar, warning that punitive measures could spark a large-scale civil war in the country. “A course towards threats and pressure including the use of sanctions against the current Myanmar authorities has no future and is extremely dangerous,” news agency Interfax quoted a Russian Foreign…
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“I am quoting the official data from today’s temperature measurement: ‘Navalny A.A., strong cough, temperature 38.1’,” he wrote, referring to degrees Celsius, or 100.6 degrees Fahrenheit. “P.S. I am continuing my hunger strike, of course,” Navalny said. The opposition politician is serving a two-and-a-half year sentence on old fraud charges in a penal colony some…
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Elon Musk has advised Russia to work toward “full reusability” in its Amur rockets similar to that of his SpaceX corporation’s rockets. Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos last year announced the development of the Amur carrier rocket as a successor to its Soyuz rocket. According to Roscosmos, the first stage of the Amur launch vehicle…
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Updated at 5:03 p.m. on April 5 to clarify that the women weren’t arrested. Eight Russian women were among dozens of people involved a widely shared nude photoshoot on a balcony in broad daylight, the Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Monday. Dubai police announced arrests on public debauchery charges after video and photos of…
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Diana Vishneva dances through the history of art in the new film, “Imprint In Motion,” that brings together five Russian choreographers, five Russian composers and five halls of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. The one-hour film is a joint effort of the Pushkin Museum, the Aksenov Family Foundation and the international festival “Context. Diana…
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Ukraine on Monday denied reports that its forces had killed a five-year-old child in an attack on pro-Moscow eastern separatists, after Russia said it would launch an investigation. “This is a gross, cynical, nasty and godless manipulation,” Ukraine’s defence ministry told AFP in a written comment on the claim, denouncing it as “fake news”. Moscow said Monday…
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While most Russians, as followers of the Orthodox Christain traditions, will mark Easter on May 2, the country’s Protestant and Catholic parishes took part in the Western-style celebrations on Sunday. Marking the holiday amid the pandemic, Russia’s Christian believers had to forgo some Easter rituals such as foot washing and the ceremonial kissing of the…
DetailsRussia’s premier documentary film festival has pulled a movie about a gay MMA fighter from Chechnya from its lineup after receiving threats over it. “Silent Voice” tells the story of Khawaj, a promising young MMA fighter who is forced to flee his home region to Belgium after his brother finds out he’s gay and promises…
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Nearly half of Russians say that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was rightly imprisoned for violating parole while recovering abroad from a poisoning attack, according to an independent survey published Monday. The Levada Center polling agency said 48% of Russian respondents consider Navalny’s sentence of two and a half years in one of the country’s most…
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Russia said Monday it was extending a deadline for Twitter to remove illegal content by a month to mid-May, after the social media giant started cooperating when Russia slowed down its operations. State telecommunications watchdog Roskomnadzor imposed slowdowns on Twitter’s services in mid-March, accusing it of failing to remove content related to child pornography, drug use and calls…
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Russian-speaking social media users have posted 10% more profanity-laced content in the two months since a law requiring platforms to delete them came into force than before, the RBC news website reported Sunday. The Medialogia media monitor tallied 20.2 million posts containing swear words on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, as well as three…
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In 1983 Dr. Harald Lipman came to Moscow as the resident physician for the British Embassy. Yuri Andropov was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R. and relations between the Soviet Union and the Western countries were particularly tense. After completing his first residency, Lipman returned in 1987 for another ‘tour of duty,’…
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Russia recorded almost 30,000 excess deaths during February, the country’s statistics agency announced Friday — a figure which takes Russia’s total excess fatality count since the start of the coronavirus pandemic above 422,000. Excess deaths are calculated by comparing fatalities during the pandemic with mortality rates in the same months of previous years. It is…
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Years before I ever tasted it, I was pre-conditioned to adore schnitzel. Maria in “The Sound of Music” listed it along with “cream-colored ponies” and “crisp apfelstrudel” as one of her “Favorite Things” during the famous thunderstorm scene with the pajama-clad Von Trapp children. This inspired the first order of business on my first trip…
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Western countries have grown increasingly nervous in recent days over signs of a Russian military buildup close to the conflict in eastern Ukraine and on the annexed Crimean peninsula. The conflict in eastern Ukraine — which broke out in 2014 following Ukraine’s pro-Europe Maidan revolution and Russia’s annexation of Crimea — has seen repeated flare-ups…
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Today, Gazprom is active in a whole range of promising areas relating to innovative development. These include such technological innovations as: platform-based borehole geophysical survey systems and homegrown innovative technologies for directional drilling of wells based on a rotary steerable system; advanced methods of enhanced oil and gas recovery, engineering solutions for follow-up development of low-pressure Cenomanian gas deposits and development of deep-lying hydrocarbons and hydromineral raw materials…
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A Russian court on Friday fined Twitter nearly $117,000 for failing to remove calls to opposition protests, as Moscow ramps up pressure against the U.S. tech giant. Authorities in January accused foreign social media platforms of interfering in Russia’s domestic affairs by not deleting calls to rallies in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny…
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Russia’s state-run Sputnik news organization will shut down its British operations five years after opening a bureau in Scotland, the news agency described as a Kremlin propaganda tool announced Friday. Sputnik began broadcasting from its Edinburgh studio in August 2016, the same year that U.S. intelligence agencies accused it and the RT news channel of…
DetailsJSC Atomenergoproekt (company of the Engineering Division of ROSATOM) and the Ministry of Construction and Development of Agglomeration of Nizhny Novgorod Region have concluded an agreement on cooperation in development and promotion of information model technologies in the field of industrial and civil construction in the region. In accordance with the agreements, the Engineering Division…
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Rights groups in Moscow urged Russians to take responsibility for abuses in Syria as they released a damning report Friday on the country’s role in the decade-old conflict. Published to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the Syrian war, the report is the first into the conflict by Russian campaigners and seeks to shed light…
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Surgeons in Russia’s Far East successfully performed an open-heart surgery despite the outbreak of a major fire in their hospital Friday. A wiring malfunction is believed to have caused the fire at the cardiac surgery center in the city of Blagoveschensk, regional prosecutors told state media. Around 120 personnel and patients were evacuated as the…
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Armenia’s prime minister has gone into self-isolation as a preventative measure against coronavirus ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, officials said on Friday. It is common for anybody meeting in person with 68-year-old Putin to isolate beforehand to protect him from the contagion. Nikol Pashinyan, who faces backlash at home…
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An exhibition called “Stillness. Russian Classical Sculpture From Shubin To Matveev” opened at the Manege in St. Petersburg, throwing a virtual bridge across centuries, artists and art forms. The spacious halls of the Manege have been transformed into theater spaces, complete with a foyer, dressing rooms, an orchestra pit, audience seats and stages where different…
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The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said Friday that they have come up with technology that “updates” the jab to protect against new, more-contagious strains of the virus. Studies suggest that vaccines currently in use provide less protection against the new Covid-19 variants that have emerged in Britain, South Africa and Brazil. Scientists…
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday accused Moscow of building up troops on his country’s border as the United States warned Russia against “intimidating” Ukraine. Kiev has been locked in a conflict with Russian-backed separatists since 2014, and this week Ukrainian officials reported Russian troop movement in annexed Crimea and on the border, near territories…
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday warned that anti-white racism might be building in the United States and said that political correctness “taken to the extreme” would have lamentable consequences. In an interview with political scientists broadcast on national television, Moscow’s top diplomat said Russia had long supported a worldwide trend that “everyone wants to get…
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A television crew from the Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT has filmed a segment at Alexei Navalny’s prison colony, the jailed Kremlin critic’s Telegram channel said Thursday. The crew arrived at the prison colony, known as one of Russia’s harshest, a day after Navalny announced the start of his hunger strike to demand proper medical care for…
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Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny announced Wednesday that he is going on hunger strike to demand medical treatment and an end to “torturous” sleep deprivation in one of Russia’s most notorious prison colonies. Hunger strikes as a tool of protest date back to the Soviet era, when solo dissidents or even entire groups of prisoners…
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Russian doctors are more likely to trust the homegrown Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine than they were last year and trust their country’s jab significantly more than they do foreign vaccines, according to an independent survey published Thursday. Out of the nearly 2,000 Russian doctors surveyed by Levada and the professional community of medics Vrachi.rf, 69%…
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Smartphones, tablets and computers sold in Russia must now come with pre-installed domestic software and apps from Thursday in a new law seen by critics as another attempt to curb online freedom. The initiative was introduced in an effort to promote the country’s tech companies but critics say it is another bid to tighten state control of Russia’s…
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Allies of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny expressed concern for his health Thursday, after his announcement in an Instagram post that he is going on hunger strike until prison authorities allow his doctor to treat severe back and leg pain. For the 44-year old anti-corruption activist — who fell ill last summer after an…
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