Hotest News from Russia

2013/05/19

Mutko Lauds Rebirth of Sports Units in Russian Army

MOSCOW, May 19 (R-Sport) - Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has hailed the arrival of the first all-athlete military units since Soviet times.

Thirty-six athletes who could represent Russia at the Sochi Olympics took their military oath Sunday at Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow.

"Sports units are the right decision from the point of view of the economy and the strategy for the development of sport and the state," said Mutko.

"The state is investing huge resources in every young athlete, and any distraction from active service can have a significant effect on sporting results," he added.

The sports units are a signature component of President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing commitment to burnish the country’s sporting reputation ahead of the Winter Games, and beyond.

In March, the Defense Ministry unveiled the first unit, with about 150 conscripted athletes set to serve in a division associated with CSK Samara, which also owns professional basketball and hockey teams.

More units are expected to form in the coming months with a total roster of 400 men between the conscription ages of 18 and 27.

The units are designed to allow draft-eligible athletes to continue their training while fulfilling mandatory military service. Coaches across the country are expected to submit the names of their most promising athletes to military enlistment offices.

The program hearkens back to the Soviet Union, when sporting units – populated with star athletes exempt from regular service – were common in the Soviet army.

Putin has said he hopes the program will serve as a pipeline to Russia’s Olympic teams. Meantime, conscripted athletes will represent the Central Military District and the Russian Army in national and international competitions.

The program may also help to address draft dodging: Roughly 245,000 men evaded conscription in 2012, according to Russian army officials.

Space Capsule Returns Cosmic Rodents to Earth after Month-Long Flight

MOSCOW, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – The returnable capsule of a biological research satellite has landed in the Russian Orenburg Region near the border with Kazakhstan, bringing mice, Mongolian gerbils, geckos and various microorganisms and plants back to Earth after their month-long flight, Mission Control said on Sunday.

“The descent vehicle separated from the equipment module of the Bion-M spacecraft at 6:32 a.m. Moscow time [02:32 GMT]. After successfully passing through the dense layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, the capsule landed at 07:12 Moscow time at the designated area, about 100 km [62 miles] northeast of Orenburg,” Mission Control said.

Specialists of the Progress Space Research and Production Space Center and the Institute of Medical and Biological Studies arrived at the site of the capsule landing and started to open the hatches to bring the animals out of the capsule, one of the specialists told RIA Novosti.

Russia launched the Bion-1M satellite, its first biological research satellite since 2007, on April 19 to conduct fundamental and applied research in space biology, physiology and biotechnology while in orbit and help pave the way for future interplanetary flights, according to the Federal Space Agency Roscosmos.

Bion-M1 carried eight Mongolian gerbils, 45 mice, 15 geckos, snails and containers with various microorganisms and plants.

During its 30-day flight, more than 70 physiological, morphological, genetic and molecular-biological experiments were conducted in support of long-duration interplanetary flights including Mars missions.

The research program included experiments with rodents to study the organism’s systemic reactions to microgravitation, as well as the impact of radiation and microgravitation on the organism.

2013/05/18

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Visits RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived on Sunday at RIA Novosti news agency as part of his visit to Russia.

At the entrance to the RIA Novosti international press center, Ban Ki-moon was welcomed by RIA Novosti Editor-in-Chief Svetlana Mironyuk. During his visit to the agency, Ban Ki-moon will talk to the RIA Novosti staff and visit the editorial office of Moscow News newspaper.

As Ban Ki-moon visits RIA Novosti, he will take part in a talk-show that will discuss the problem of autism and the media’s social responsibility.

Since April 2012, RIA Novosti has been implementing the project, “Diagnosis That Is Absent,” aimed at supporting autists and drawing the public’s attention to their problems.

As part of this project, RIA Novosti is implementing programs for social adaptation and correction jointly with the Foundation “Vykhod” and regional non-profit organizations. The project’s tasks largely coincide with the goals of a number of UN humanitarian programs, which has drawn Ban Ki-moon’s special interest.

Early Signs of Autism in Children

The talk-show will include a brief speech by Ban Ki-moon and an expert discussion. Also, a short-length film, “In Aut,” shot with the UN support, will be showed. The talk-show live broadcast is available at RIA Novosti’s website: www.ria.ru.

Light In the Darkness

Approximately in the 1970s they started development of this pit for subsequent ore extraction for the Soviet metallurgy. Today the place is abandoned as thousands of others…