December 2012

Adoption Ban Law Comes Into Force In Russia

2012/12/31

MOSCOW, January 1 (RIA Novosti) - A controversial law which in particular bans adoption of Russian children by American families is coming into force in Russia on Tuesday.

The adoption ban, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 28, is part of Russia’s response to the US Magnitsky Act, which was signed into law by US President Barack Obama earlier in December. The act introduces sanctions against Russian officials suspected of human rights abuses and is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a whistleblowing lawyer who died in a Moscow pre-trial detention center in 2009.

Hours after Putin signed the adoption ban law on Friday, the US State Department called the measure “politically motivated,” saying it “deeply regrets” Russia’s decision.

The Russian public has been largely supportive of the new law, with 56 percent of respondents in an opinion poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) saying they backed a ban on US nationals adopting Russian children.

Critics of the adoption ban said it would keep tens of thousands of children, especially those with disabilities, in Russia’s orphanage system. Figures from the US State Department show more than 60,000 Russian children adopted by American families in the last 20 years, including 962 last year.

Russian officials blame US adoptive parents for the deaths of at least 19 of those children. The new law is named for Dima Yakovlev (Chase Harrison), a Russian toddler who died of heatstroke in 2008 after his American adoptive father left him in an overheated car for hours.

The ban halts the adoption of 46 Russian children by US families whose cases are currently being processed.

A number of Russian ministers, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have criticized the bill, which was approved by the State Duma - the lower house of parliament - on December 21 and by the Federation Council - the upper house – on December 26.

While the adoption ban is the most controversial aspect of the proposed legislation, the bill puts forward other retaliatory measures as well, such as banning alleged US abusers of Russian citizens’ rights from entering Russia and freezing any assets they may have there.

A deputy from Russia’s ruling United Russia party, Robert Shlegel, on December 28 wrote on his Twitter microblog that he has submitted to the State Duma an amendment to the Dima Yakovlev law, saying he decided to submit the amendment because a total adoption ban would mean some disabled children might be unable to find their family.

Getting Childrens Health Stronger, Siberian Style

2012/12/31

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Moscow Police Release Unsanctioned Rally Participants

2012/12/31

MOSCOW, January 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian police have released all participants of an unsanctioned protest rally detained on December 31 in downtown Moscow’s Triumfalnaya Square, the Interior Ministry reported on Tuesday.

“All detainees have been released,” the ministry said.

On Monday, it was reported that police detained some 25 protesters, including writer and radical protest leader Eduard Limonov, the head of the unregistered Other Russia party, at a traditional Strategy-31 protest rally.

"About 50 people took part in the unsanctioned action on Triumfalnaya Square, which is just one-fourth the number that took part on December 31 last year," a police spokesman told RIA Novosti on Monday.

Russian opposition groups rally on the last day of each month that has 31 days in defense of their right to freedom of assembly, as enshrined in Article 31 of the Russian Constitution.

They had filed an application to hold a sanctioned meeting, but City Hall rejected their request, citing the legal violations committed by the applicants at previous unsanctioned rallies.

The chief of police in central Moscow had warned the organizers earlier against holding the unsanctioned protest.

President Putin Addresses Russians on New Year

2012/12/31

MOSCOW, January 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has addressed the nation minutes before the end of the year 2012, dedicating his speech to family values and patriotism.

“We are saying goodbye to 2012 which becomes history. This was an important year for our country. I would like to sincerely thank you all for your efforts, your work and achievements, your trust and support,” Putin, who was elected for a third non-consecutive term in 2012, said in his New Year’s address to Russians.

“In these moments, we are particularly aware of the fleeting of time, of how quickly our children are growing, how much we value our families and friends, and how much we love them,” the president said.

“Right now, each of us recollects the events, encounters and words that have been most important. We all hope that New Year’s Eve will bring us good luck and a bit of a miracle - which, they say, the New Year sometimes brings,” reads the translation of his speech posted on the Kremlin’s website.

“But ultimately and above all we rely on our own strength and on the people near us; on what we ourselves can achieve in our work, our studies and our creative expression; on how we can improve life around us and improve ourselves,” Putin said.

“We should become more responsive and benevolent, more generous and caring toward our loved ones, our children and parents, our friends and colleagues, and everyone who needs our support,” he said.

“As we face the future, we naturally hope for positive, joyful changes, and our personal plans are inseparable from Russia, from our heartfelt, noble feelings toward our Fatherland,” Putin said, adding that the development of the country with its thousand-year-long history “fully depends on our joint efforts and energy, our unity and responsibility, our aspiration to do as much good as possible.”

“After all, only together can we, the people of Russia, move confidently forward, withstand all challenges, resolve the most difficult problems, and build a powerful, successful nation and a modern, prosperous, free society,” the president said.

“Friends,

“Only a few seconds remain before the start of the New Year. I wish you good health, love and happiness! Let children be born and let all good ideas be realized. Let there be joy and harmony in every home and in every family. Then Russia, too, will stand strong and indestructible.

“I wish you a happy New Year 2013!” the president said.

Moscow Police Disperse Unsanctioned Rally

2012/12/31

MOSCOW, December 31 (RIA Novosti) - Writer and radical protest leader Eduard Limonov, the head of the unregistered Other Russia party, was detained along with several dozen other demonstrators on Monday at a traditional Strategy-31 protest rally that has now ended in Moscow’s Triumfalnaya Square.

"About 50 people took part in the unsanctioned action on Triumfalnaya Square, which is just one-fourth the number that took part on December 31 last year," a police spokesman told RIA Novosti.

Police are now taking down their cordons and leaving the square.

The event was being covered by about 50 journalists and bloggers.

They converged on Limonov when he arrived at the square. He was detained by police soon after.

Russian opposition groups rally on the last day of each month that has 31 days in defense of their right to freedom of assembly, as enshrined in Article 31 of the Russian Constitution.

They had filed an application to hold a sanctioned meeting, but City Hall rejected their request, citing the legal violations committed by the applicants at previous unsanctioned rallies.

The chief of police in central Moscow had warned the organizers on Thursday against holding the unsanctioned protest.

Russia Approves Stiffer Illegal Immigration Penalties

2012/12/31

MOSCOW, December 31 (RIA Novosti) – The punishment for those who organize illegal immigration into Russia just got tougher under new amendments to the Criminal Code signed by President Vladimir Putin.

Those responsible for organizing the illegal entry of non-citizens into Russia, their stay in the country or their transit through it now face up to five years in prison, up from two previously, according to the document, which has been published on Russia’s official legal information website.

If they are acting as part of an organized group with the goal of carrying out criminal activity in Russia, the maximum sentence is now seven years, up from five.

The amendments also include stiffer fines and longer community service penalties for offenders.

Putin spoke of the need to toughen punishment for illegal immigration in his annual address to the Federal Assembly on December 12.

Russia's Ex-Deputy Defense Minister Kobets Dies

2012/12/31

MOSCOW, December 31 (RIA Novosti) – Former-Deputy Defense Minister, and General of the Russian Army, Konstantin Kobets, has died in Moscow at the age of 73, Russia's Defense Ministry Press Office confirmed on Monday.

“The funeral for General of the Army Kobets will take place on January 2,” the press release adds. Defense Minister Shoigu has established a commission under the Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff, Col. Gen. Alexander Postnikov, to oversee the funeral.

Konstantin Kobets was born in 1939 in Kiev, and served with the army since 1956. He rose steadily through the ranks. In 1988 he was appointed Chief of USSR Armed Forces' Communications and Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and 1991 he was appointed chairman of the new body – the RSFSR State Committee for Defense and Security.

That year, Kobets supported Boris Yeltsin during the hard-line coup attempt, which cemented him in observers' eyes as a key Yeltsin loyalist. He headed the main military inspectorate until May 1997.

Accusations of corruption began to surface against him in the mid 1990s. In July 1996 he told journalists that these allegations were part of a smear campaign “that undermines national security as a whole.” In May 1997 he was dismissed and arrested on suspicion of bribery. The case against him was closed, by amnesty, in 2000, Kommersant noted in a 2007 report.

He held numerous orders, medals and awards recognizing his record of service.

Kremlin: August 1 to be Russia’s WWI Remembrance Day

2012/12/31

MOSCOW, December 31 (RIA Novosti) - August 1 will be the date on which, each year, Russia remembers its soldiers who fell during the First World War, the Kremlin Press Service announced on Monday.

“The following changes are introduced to the Federal Law on Days of Military Glory and Remembrance Days in Russia, adding the date of August 1 as a Day of Remembrance for the Russian soldiers who fell in the First World War of 1914-1918,” the press release says.

President Putin suggested creating a memorial to the Russian soldiers who fought in World War I (WWI) during his state of the nation address of December 12.

Allied to Britain and France in WWI, Russia is thought to have lost about 1.5 million soldiers at the front, with about 5 million wounded – according to the history site firstworldwar.com, although some historians question these figures.

Russia’s participation in WWI was downplayed in the Soviet Union, largely due to the Bolshevik view of it as an “imperialist war” that paved the way for revolution.

The Treaty of Brest Litovsk, signed on March 3, 1918, officially terminated Russia's involvement in the war.

Nuclear Town Zoo Celebrates 'Year of the Snake'

2012/12/31

TOMSK, December 31 (RIA Novosti) – A zoo in the closed nuclear town of Seversk, near Tomsk in Siberia, is marking the New Year by unveiling the latest additions to its reptile exhibit, four strikingly colored snakes.

According to the Chinese horoscope, 2013 is the year of the black water snake.

“Seversk Zoo will unveil the latest inhabitants of its reptile and amphibian section, these strikingly colored young snakes. First there are two color variations of the Honduran milk snake – albino and tangerine. And second, two color variations of the queen python – bumblebee and pastel,” the zoo statement says.

The zoo confirmed that these colorings are the result of selective breeding, and are not found in the wild. The snakes will be on show to visitors in 2013, once they are older and stronger.

However, as a closed nuclear town, access to Seversk for foreigners and Russians alike is restricted. Foreigners require approval from Russia's Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) to enter the town, and the application process takes about 45 days, according to information on the town's website.

Formerly known as Tomsk-7, Seversk is home to the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC), one of the world's leading nuclear centers.

The SCC was founded in 1949, according to the International Science and Technology Center site, to "eliminate the US monopoly in nuclear armaments," but no weapons-grade plutonium has been produced at Seversk since Rosatom closed the last plutonium-producing reactor in 2008.

Seversk remains at the forefront of Russia's nuclear power industry. In late September 2012 the Tomsk Region and Rosatom signed an agreement on developing an experimental lead-cooled nuclear reactor at the SCC under the Federal Program for Advanced Nuclear Technologies 2010-2020.

Meanwhile In the Subway of Saint Petersburg

2012/12/30

This video was shot in Gorkovskaya subway station of St. Petersburg. We are not going to comment this somehow and try to give any explanations, just see and conclude on this yourself.

What is happening there, do you think?

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Committee: Runway 'Not a Factor' in Fatal Moscow Plane Crash

2012/12/30

MOSCOW, December 31 (RIA Novosti) – The fatal plane crash at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Saturday was not due to the condition of the runway, the Interstate Aviation Committee said on Monday.

According to a statement by the Interstate Aviation Committee released on Monday, the runway at Vnukovo, Moscow's third-busiest airport, was cleaned 1 hour 20 minutes before the crash, and the friction coefficient was checked again 15 minutes after the incident.

“It stood at 0.63, which satisfies the landing requirements for this kind of airplane,” the statement confirms.

The Tupolev Tu-204 medium-haul airliner overshot the runway while landing at Vnukovo airport on Saturday evening. It was arriving from the Czech Republic.

There were eight people on board the plane at the time of the crash, all of them were crewmembers.

The Interstate Aviation Committee is examining the flight recorders recovered from the wreckage.

The Moscow city transport prosecutor’s office has launched a criminal investigation into the airline’s compliance with aviation safety regulations. Pilot error, bad weather, and technical faults are all potential causes for the crash currently being considered.

Five people died in the crash, three others remain in hospital in a serious condition. All the victims have been identified.

The plane was owned by the Moscow-based Red Wings airline, which operates 8-10 Tu-204 planes, each with a capacity to carry up to 210 passengers.

Tu-204 passenger aircraft

Over 128,000 Russian Policemen to Maintain Order on New Year

2012/12/30

MOSCOW, December 31 (RIA Novosti) - Over 128,000 policemen will be providing security across Russia during the New Year’s celebrations on December 31 and January 1, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

“Over 22,000 New Year’s festive events will be held across the country on the night between December 31 and January 1. About 7.5 million people will attend the festivities and the order will be maintained by over 128,000 policemen,” the statement said.

The security in the Russian capital will be provided by over 4,600 policemen and additional 18,000 law enforcers will be doing the same in the Moscow Region.

Forestry services have also beefed up their patrols in Moscow Region’s forests to prevent illegal cutting of fir trees, which people usually bring to their houses and decorate for New Year celebrations.

In the Felt World

2012/12/30

Irina Andreeva is someone who creates an amazing world from felt objects. She seeks for inspiration in special places, abandoned houses and gets it from nature. Her personal exhibition has recently opened in the city of Izhevsk.

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