Новости за 21.10.2016

Monastery’s fortunes rose and fell with those of Moscow

Photographs by William Brumfield

Ships were sold to Cairo after Paris refused to hand them over to Moscow

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz’s claims Egypt may agree to sell two amphibious helicopter carriers Mistral to Russia for a token sum of one dollar are nothing but 'TGIF nonsense', Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov has said.

The show by the Belgian contemporary artist has been 10 years in the making
Angelos bvba/ Jan Fabre

The man who measures the clouds (1998)

A meeting with St. Petersburg thugs gives one Scotsman food for thought

Whenever I am asked the horrendous question “What is Russia like then?” I experience an internal shudder and a sigh (how can I answer that in one line?). Then I suppose I serve up the standard line: “Russia is like Europe. They have the same shit we have here. Just there are little differences.” It’s my standard Pulp Fiction line. My years living and working in Russia actually opened my eyes, stage by stage, as to how Russia... Читать дальше...

Experts say it could be the same tiger seen earlier outside the city

Specialists in Vladivostok have captured a young tiger roaming the streets of the city. Residents reported the wild cat to authorities, Interfax reports, and wildlife protection officers went to the location and caught the animal.

Bird’s-eye view of the Tobolsk Kremlin, Siberia

Bird’s-eye view of the Tobolsk Kremlin, Siberia (1,160 miles east of Moscow).

The humanitarian pause in Aleppo came into effect at 8 a.m. on Oct. 20

The humanitarian pause in Aleppo has been extended by one day, it will be in force from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 22, Head of the Main Operations Directorate at Russia’s General Staff, Sergei Rudskoi, told reporters on Oct. 21.

The Moscow Patriarchate holds 36% of the bank’s shares

The head office of the Peresvet bank in Moscow has been closed, a TASS correspondent reported.

The Abramoviches of the times of Ivan the Terrible and Nicholas II
The history of the Russian oligarchy began a long time ago. Merchants played an important role in the Novgorod Republic as early as the 12th to 15th centuries. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible (16th century), a man named Anika Stroganov, closely associated with the government, was the richest entrepreneur.

He received millions of hectares of land from the tsar, built his enterprises there, and used the money to send scouts and colonists to the Urals. Читать дальше...

Watch this video footage of joint drills with forces from the two countries
Battalions from the Russian and Egyptian parachute corps have been working together in an exercise to capture and liberate buildings from terrorists in a village in Egypt as part of the first Russo-Egyptian military training deal, dubbed “Defending Friendship in 2016.”

These exercises are taking place at Alam El-Khadem, not far from Alexandria, from Oct. 15-26. Roughly 500 soldiers are taking part in the manoeuvers.  

How much does it cost to rent an apartment in Russia’s capital?
In October 2016, the most expensive apartment for rent in Moscow is in a modern complex on the west side of the city. Encompassing 3,122 square feet, furnished with expensive furniture and equipped with a 300-foot terrace, the owner is asking 800,000 rubles ($12,800) per month, according to the INKOM-real estate company, writes Lenta.ru.

Second place on the list of most expensive Moscow apartments is a 3,445-square-foot residence on Ostozhenka Street... Читать дальше...

The Primorye entertainment center is daily visited by over 1,000 people
Tigre de Cristal, the first casino integrated into the Primorye entertainment resort in the Russian Far East has yielded almost 500 million rubles ($8 million) in tax revenues and payments to extra-budgetary funds during the first year of its work, the regional administration said on Oct. 21.

"G1 Entertainment, a resident company of the Primorye integrated entertainment resort, launched the work of its first facility, Tigre de Cristal, in October 2015. Читать дальше...

Russia and Guatemala have agreed on taking steps to diversify bilateral trade and finalize the ratification of the reciprocal protection of investments agreement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced following talks with his Guatemalan counterpart, Carlos Morales.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu discuss the operation in Syria

Russia’s anti-terror operation in Syria has revealed some design and production flaws of Russian combat hardware, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Oct. 21.

New app can find appetizing dishes with the help of neural networks

"I'd like to eat…" With these words the Borsch app greets users. Then you type in the name of the desired dish, or click one of the photos showing burgers, steaks, omelets, or sushi. Under each photo is a restaurant's name and its distance from you.

One of them does indeed live a fairytale life, the other is lying
 

This week Russian social media have seen heated debates about the fake account of "rich" Russian pensioner Boris Bork, when Moscow PR manager Roman Zaripov claimed that Boris Bork's Instagram was his project.

A new Russian grammar test for the Third Certificate Level
 

Special section: Test your Russian>>>

The growing number of overweight Russians could prove very costly

Countries such as the United States and Mexico are well-known for the wide waistlines of many of their citizens, with both countries struggling with a well-documented obesity epidemic. But Russia is sitting on a fatness time bomb of its own, with the number of people classed as overweight having increased drastically in the last 15 years.

Presidential humor can trigger laughs, or groans

The Pessimist, the Optimist, and the Bedbug

Enough to buy houses, shoes and soap, among other things

The Arzamas web portal has recently published estimates of what Russian writers could buy with the royalties earned from their famous works. According to the publication, Russia’s first professional writers earned more than a living wage.

The oil production freeze is not the key topic of the Russia-OPEC energy dialogue (due in Vienna on October 24 - TASS), but this topic would be on the agenda, Russia's Minister of Energy Alexander Novak told reporters on Oct. 21.

Engineers hope the new vehicle will bring the country racing success

The sixth Silk Road rally, a prestigious international marathon race, set off from Moscow’s Red Square on July 8. The world’s leading rally drivers are taking part in it.

The social network created by Pavel Durov remains Russia’s most popular

When in October 2006 Pavel Durov, a 22-year-old philology graduate of St. Petersburg State University announced the launch of VKontakte (now known as VK), social networks in Russia were only beginning to gain popularity. Facebook still did not have a Russian-language interface and the most successful network was Odnoklassniki (“Classmates”), launched in March 2006 and oriented primarily toward adults looking to reconnect with schoolfriends. Читать дальше...

One tiny village survives, thrives and even welcomes tourists

"You won't find any authentic kalitka pies in Petrozavodsk," a woman tells me as we get in line at a food shop. "There aren't any traditional Karelian pastries here." The implication is that the further from the regional capital, the better the kalitkas are. The stuffing in these pies is the secret to their success.

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin has strongly criticized the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who had made no mention about the presence of terrorist organizations Jebhat al-Nusra and Islamic State (both banned in Russia) in Syria in his speech at the meeting devoted to the issue.