It seems that deeds of the nature become more and more unpredictable: unexpected snow in March and unbearable heat in September make us think that we come closer and closer to the edge of something terrible. Meanwhile it has probably always been like that – people were not always ready to what the nature had for them. Like those who lived in Perm, Russia, in 1914.
Links to explore: See even more of English Russia: |
Past always seems to be better than it really was. As if people were kinder, the country was stronger, the city was cleaner… But photos like these ones return us to reality – those times were rather contradictory. They were made in 1984 in Moscow by a Dutch traveller Aad van der Drift.
“Glory to the communist party of the Soviet Union!”.
“March 4th, 1984 – Come to the elections!”
Links to explore: See even more of English Russia: |
In Belarus Republic there is a museum called “Line of Stalin”. It is supported by president of Belarus (as stated on their website) and it is not about Stalin as a mass killer or Stalin as a dictator, it is about Stalin’s fortifications system to protect the Soviet Union. So they have a monument of Stalin with flowers and wreaths, their official logo is featuring Stalin in what looks to me heroic image:
This place is located thirty kilometers from Minsk, an entrance ticket costs some 3 euros.
This was one of the opposition areas but Minsk was invaded by the Nazis too fast and most of the objects of this Line were exploded, still some have been preserved.
They started to restore the Line of Stalin nine years ago, the museum was finally opened by the 60s anniversary of the Victory Day.
“Soviet borders are sacred and inviolable”.
Links to explore: See even more of English Russia: |
MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - A drifting Russian ice base, that would become the hotspot of tourist and research activities in the Arctic next month, started clearing up an ice runway for its future guests on Monday.
"Today, an Il-76 military transport plane airdropped two bulldozers and five metric tons of fuel for them. They have already started laying an ice runway for Antonov An-72 transport planes," Russian Air Force spokesman Col. Igor Klimov said.
Food, fuel, polar tents and other necessary supplies were delivered to the location by planes earlier this month.
The Barneo Research Station is set up annually since 2002 by the Russian Geographical Society on an ice floe at a latitude of some 89 degrees north, approximately 110 kilometers (68.4 miles) from the North Pole.
Normally, it opens in early April and operates for about a month. Its guests can travel to the North Pole on skis, by dog sled, or by helicopter.
As the tent camp and the runway are located on a constantly moving ice floe, the base has to be built from scratch every year.
MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - No meetings are currently scheduled between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministries, a senior Russian diplomat said Monday.
"Sergei [Lavrov] has not yet returned from Paris, but when he returns, I'm sure he'll let us know," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said in regard to a possible meeting between Lavrov and acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deschytsia.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine have plunged to unprecedented lows this year amid the unconstitutional ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych and the subsequent decision by residents of Crimea to leave Ukraine and rejoin Russia.
Russia maintains the new Western-backed authorities in Kiev, who seized power in a coup last month, lack authority as they were not democratically elected to lead the country.
Moscow has repeatedly insisted that President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled Ukraine to resurface in southern Russia, remains the only legitimate head of state until elections are held.
The authorities of Crimea also refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Kiev government and announced a referendum on rejoining Russia. The reunification treaty was signed in late March, after some 97 percent of voters supported the move.
MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow is prepared to resolve property disputes with Ukraine surrounding the termination of bilateral agreements on the basing of the Black Sea Fleet, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said on Monday.
The lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, voted on Monday to terminate several agreements on the lease of the Russian Black Sea fleet base in Crimea, since the region became Russian territory earlier this month.
"We do not exclude that in regard to Russia's unilateral termination of these agreements, that there most likely will be legal, financial, property and other issues that will have to be negotiated with Ukraine," Karasin said during his speech in the country's lower house of parliament.
"We are ready to discuss these issues with the government of Ukraine, which we hope will be formed democratically and constitutionally, and will represent the entire population of Ukraine, to give respect and abide by fundamental human rights not only in words, but in action, including the rights of the Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine," he continued.
The measures to be scrapped include a 1997 agreement on the conditions of the fleet's stay in Crimea, which was extended by 25 years in a 2010 deal by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
In exchange, Ukraine received a discount of $100 on each 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas imported from Russia, which was provided for by cutting export duties on the gas, money that would have gone into the Russian state budget.
The Kremlin said earlier this month that as the base is no longer located in Ukraine, there were no legal grounds for the discount to be continued.
MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - The legitimacy of the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine depends upon "transparency, fairness and taking the interests of the regions into account," a senior Russian diplomat said Monday.
"We hope that the conditions for holding the election will be provided for," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told journalists in Moscow.
The comments came shortly after the kickoff of campaigning for Ukraine's May 25 presidential elections on Saturday. Twenty-four candidates have so far announced their plans to join the race, seven of whom have already been registered by authorities.
Karasin said that Ukraine, which has been in the throes of a political crisis since late November, must undertake major constitutional reform, taking the views of the country's disparate regions into account. "The success of any election held in Ukraine depends mainly on this," he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed at talks in Paris on Sunday to seek a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, showing signs of agreement on the need for a federal constitution in the country.
"We were united with John Kerry in thinking that Ukrainians should themselves ensure the inclusive nature of this process," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters. "We firmly believe that the current leadership in Kiev must offer all regions the right to participate in the constitutional reform process on an equal footing."
Crimea, previously an autonomous republic within Ukraine, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the government in Kiev which seized power as a result of a coup last month, instead rejoining Russia following a referendum on the issue.
Other mainly Russian-speaking regions of eastern Ukraine have challenged the legitimacy of the new authorities in the country. Rallies have swept across eastern Ukraine, the industrial center of the country, with residents demanding a referendum to decide on the future of their own regions.
Russia has consistently warned that the new government in Ukraine has a dangerous fascist element of Ukrainian ultranationalism, leading Moscow to take steps to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine.
MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - A proposal to withdraw Russia's voting rights in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is a provocation, a spokesman for the Russian parliament said Monday.
"There are initiatives in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to withdraw Russia's voting rights or suspend the [Russian] delegation's powers," Sergei Naryshkin said.
"There are different angles to this provocation, but in terms of parliamentary democracy this is a step which confirms political weakness," he added.
Addressing reporters, Naryshkin confirmed Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, will consider adopting a resolution on the issue Tuesday.
Naryshkin added the move by Europe would be a heavy blow to democratic values and the very essence of the parliamentary system.
"I assume that this step is an attempt by the US to exclude European countries from dialogue with Russia," he said.
In Naryshkin's opinion, Europe's direct negotiations with Russia are a thorn in the side of American attempts to establish hegemony over policy on the continent.
"We'll see what is more important for PACE: effective dialogue with Russian members of parliament or directives imposed by the US," he said.
The text of the resolution to be taken up on Tuesday was introduced Friday and notes that the European proposal is based on biased assessments of the situation in Ukraine and Crimea.
Crimea held a referendum two weeks ago in which over 96 percent of voters supported re-joining Russia. Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which has a special status in the region, officially became new subjects of the Russian Federation earlier this month after President Vladimir Putin ratified the treat on reunification.
MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian unmanned Progress resupply spacecraft is readying for an April 9 launch from the Baikonur space center to deliver essential cargo to the International Space Station, the Russian space agency Roscosmos has said.
"The spaceship will carry more than 2.5 tons of diverse cargo, including fuel for the ISS, additional hardware, food, water and oxygen for the crew, as well as scientific equipment for conducting experiments," the agency said in a statement.
The craft, which is now being fueled by a team of experts, will soon taxi to a hangar where it will be readied for the upcoming launch.
Baikonur, the world's largest space launch facility, is situated on the sandy steppes of western Kazakhstan in Central Asia.
The Progress M-23M is one of the latest generation of Progress-M spacecraft, which routinely conduct resupply missions to the International Space Station. Its predecessors made history carrying provisions to a range of Soviet and later Russian stations, including the famed Mir station that plunged into the Pacific Ocean in 2001 during a controlled de-orbit maneuver.
A total of 130 Progress spacecraft have supported orbiting outposts over the past three decades, lifting tons of supplies to low Earth orbit.
The Progress features an automated docking system, called Kurs, which will handle the rendezvous with the ISS under the supervision of the station's crew. A manual docking system serves as a backup system in the case of technical issues.
The next launch of a Progress, the M-24M, is scheduled for June.
SIMFEROPOL, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Crimea on Monday to announce an ambitious plan aimed at meeting the needs of the peninsula's citizens, just 10 days after its reunification with Russia.
"No citizen in Crimea or Sevastopol should lose anything following reunification with Russia. They should only benefit," Medvedev said.
"This is what people are waiting for - the creation of conditions for a calm and well-deserved life, confidence in the future and the feeling that they are part of a strong state," the prime minister added. "We should satisfy these expectations."
Medvedev proposed a sweeping development program to improve the lives of Crimea's residents, ranging from revamping the region's healthcare and education systems to boosting its ailing economy.
Medvedev announced that a ministry for Crimean affairs will be created in the Russian government to oversee the program, to be led by Oleg Savelyev, an official in the Economic Development Ministry.
Russia will designate Crimea as a special economic zone with tax breaks to attract investors, Medvedev said at the meeting in Crimea's capital, Simferopol.
The prime minister also called for an opening of Russian bank branches across the peninsula, adding that provisions to provide loans in rubles have already been taken.
Addressing development issues, Medvedev focused on social concerns, saying pensions in Crimea would be raised gradually until they reach the national level.
Medvedev confirmed Monday that an adequate supply of rubles has been made available to allow Crimeans to exchange all of their Ukrainian currency, which is to be phased out by the end of next year. He also vowed to protect private deposits at local banks, which total 90 billion rubles ($2.5 billion).
Last week, Crimea adopted the Russian ruble as an official currency, in addition to changing the region's time zone to Moscow time, symbolically finalizing the region's incorporation into Russia.
Speaking on measures to help alleviate the region's water shortage, Medvedev said one possibility would be the construction of a desalination plant to supply the region's two million residents with fresh water. He also promised upgrades of the peninsula's roads and other infrastructure.
Medvedev said last week Russian companies could double gas production in Crimea in the next few years in a bid to secure the energy independence of the region, which still depends heavily on Ukrainian utilities.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, who has been tasked with taking charge of Crimean issues, earlier said that Russia was ready to deal with possible blackouts, adding that cuts in power by Ukraine would be unprofitable for that country's energy sector.
Medvedev called on government officials Monday to spend their summer holidays in Crimea, in a bid to increase tourist flows to the region, famous as a popular Soviet resort destination.
"I am sure that many of our citizens will see again the clean sea, unique nature and of course, hospitality of Crimeans," he said.
Crimea, previously an autonomous republic within Ukraine, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the government in Kiev which seized power as a result of a coup last month, instead rejoining Russia following a referendum on the issue.
MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian military is drafting a security plan for Crimea through 2020 in an effort to ensure the work of Russian servicemen in the former Ukrainian region, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.
The Defense Ministry is due to consider the plan on Friday, Shoigu told a meeting of senior commanders after discussing issues related to the deployment and development of forces in Crimea.
Russia, which has mandatory conscription for men for one-year terms, has said Crimean residents will be drafted into the army beginning next year, but their service will be limited to the territory of the Black Sea peninsula until 2016.
The Defense Ministry said earlier this month that less than 15 percent of the 18,000 Ukrainian troops stationed in Crimea decided to leave the peninsula after it rejoined Russia last week. President Vladimir Putin ordered Shoigu on Friday to hand over to Ukraine military equipment of units stationed on the peninsula that had elected to depart.
Crimea, previously an autonomous republic within Ukraine, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the government in Kiev which seized power as a result of a coup, instead rejoining Russia following a referendum on the issue earlier this month.
SIMFEROPOL, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Crimea on Monday to discuss issues on developing the republic and the city of Sevastopol.
The premier's trip to the region comes just 10 days after Crimea and Sevastopol became new subjects of the Russian Federation.
Mevedev will hold a meeting on the social and economic development of Sevastopol and Crimea. Deputy premiers, federal ministers, and the heads of profile organs will also participate in the meetings.
MOSCOW, March 31 (RAPSI/RIA Novosti) – Sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia over the recent events in Ukraine will not concern regular Russian citizens, head of EU mission in Moscow Vygaudas Ušackas told Kommersant daily on Monday.
According to Ušackas, the sanctions won't affect Russian citizens. On the contrary, several Baltic and Mediterranean countries relaxed the visa procedures for Russians, in an effort to attract more tourists.
The US and EU have imposed sanctions on senior Russian officials, whom they believe assisted Crimea's reunification bid, and warned Russia of international isolation if tensions over Ukraine continue to escalate.
Russia's Foreign Ministry earlier said that talking to Russia in the language of sanctions is "inappropriate and counterproductive" and warned its Western partners that sanctions would have a boomerang effect.
Crimea, formerly an autonomous republic within Ukraine, held a referendum earlier this month in which voters overwhelmingly supported a move to rejoin Russia after having been undemocratically gifted to Ukraine by Soviet leaders just over a half century ago.
MOSCOW, March 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has no intentions or interests whatsoever to cross the Ukrainian borders, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.
Lavrov’s remarks during an interview with Rossiya television come in response to Western allegations that Russia has been building up its military contingent near Ukraine in preparation for military intervention in the country.
Lavrov said that rather than shifting the burden of responsibility for the Ukrainian crisis on Moscow and “painting the situation in bright tones and colors,” the West should recognize its own responsibility for the atrocities committed in Ukraine.
The minister said efforts to resolve the Ukrainian standoff “must be collective and sincere.”
Last week, Lavrov said that Russia was collecting “all of the facts that show the lawlessness of neo-nationalists and extremists” as well as on the violence that has racked the country.
He reiterated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand to the new Ukrainian government and “their Western patrons” to urgently end lawlessness and violence in the country.
“He [Putin] said that we would defend the rights of Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine, using the whole arsenal of political, diplomatic and legal means. There’s nothing I can add,” Lavrov said.
Calls for secession have been spreading across Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking southeastern regions after Ukrainian ultranationalists, who make up the bulk of the erstwhile opposition, rose to political prominence.
Talk turned to action in Crimea, a predominantly Russian-ethnic peninsula, which voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia in a referendum on March 16. The region’s reunification with Russia was finalized last week.
Western powers refused to recognize the results of the Crimean referendum.
The US and EU have imposed sanctions on senior Russian officials, whom they believe assisted Crimea’s reunification bid, and warned Russia of international isolation if tensions over Crimea continue to escalate.
US President Barack Obama threatened Moscow earlier this month with more sanctions targeting key sectors of its economy, should Russia engage in "further incursions into Ukraine.”
“Isolation is a term invented by our Western partners, who are trying to act according to their neo-imperial nostalgic ambitions. When something is done not the way they want it, they immediately trying to grab their “sanctions stick,” but the time for such actions has already passed. They should focus on engaging everyone in joint efforts, not on isolating their partners,” Lavrov said.
Several southeastern Ukrainian regions with large ethnic Russian populations have also refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government in Kiev and have expressed concern about the appointment of far-right politicians to key posts and a growing frequency of official ultranationalist rhetoric.
The minister said the current crisis in Ukraine is rooted in failure of Kiev authorities to reconcile the interests of the western and south-eastern regions of the country.
“We are convinced that Ukraine needs a deep constitutional reform…and, frankly, we believe that the only path for the sustainable development of the Ukrainian state is the creation of a federate nation,” Lavrov said.
Latest contacts between Russia and the West show the signs of progress in developing a common approach toward finding a diplomatic solution for the Ukrainian crisis, the minister said.
“Our approaches are coming together bit by bit,” he said.
“My latest meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in The Hague and my contacts with Germany, France and some other countries show prospects of emerging common initiative that could be offered to our Ukrainian colleagues,” Lavrov continued.
According to the minister, Russia has handed an informal document outlining its vision of Ukraine’s future to the US, EU, China and some other countries, including the BRICS members.
“I can say that federation is no longer a forbidden word in our talks,” Lavrov said. “I am certain that we must insist on it not because it’s our fancy but because it’s a demand put forward by southern and eastern regions [of Ukraine].
“Maybe, someone knows better, and a certain magic formula can be found within the framework of a unitary state. [But] it is very hard to live together in a unitary state when the western, eastern and southern parts [of Ukraine] celebrate different holidays, pay tribute to different heroes, speak in different languages, think differently and tend towards different European cultures,” he continued.
Russia’s top diplomat said that Russia had two main suggestions for Ukraine – federalization and making Russian the country’s second official language.
“I have no idea of why this is incompatible with the basis of the Ukrainian statehood,” he said.
Copper wire production is a beautiful and loud process. We are going to trace it from start to finish in the shops of the “Russian copper company”.
First of all they bring copper scrap to the factory.
The scrap may be different, everything that contains copper can be made use of.
Then the scrap is heated to make “soup” from molten copper. Practically all scalpings burn out.
To provide high temperature they inject oxygen under pressure by means of a special “syringe”.
The temperature is getting higher and the “soup” starts boiling.
The copper is boiling in such a “cannon”.
Links to explore: See even more of English Russia: |
