"A tug-boat leaving the port cut off the dog from the shore. Three emergence workers headed to help the animal. One of them put on a wetsuit and tying a rope around himself started to crawl towards the dog across the ice. Then he crawled back to the shore bringing the dog with him," the emergencies ministry’s branch said.

Despite the fact that the dog was 50 meters away from the shore, neither the emergency worker nor the dog suffered any injuries.

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean’s Avacha Bay which has recently frozen over due to low temperatures. However, emergency workers say that the ice is unstable. 

Read more: Moscow traffic cop pulls woman out of frozen Moscow River

The decision was taken by the city’s inter-departmental commission on renaming territorial entities. The square is located in the Sokol area near a street named after Salvador Allende, "the president of Chile who was Castro’s friend," the source said.

In the nearby Khoroshevsky district in the Russian capital, there is a street renamed in honor of late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

Moscow’s authorities earlier planned to name two driveways in the Severnoye Medvedkovo district after Castro.

The leader of the Cuban Revolution, founder of the first-ever socialist state in the Western hemisphere, Fidel Castro died on Nov. 25, 2016 at the age of 90.

Read more: 5 examples of the Soviet love affair with Castro’s Cuba

"I call on the members of the United Nations Security Council as a body directly responsible for maintaining peace and security to make the first step. My concrete proposal is as follows: a resolution on inadmissibility of nuclear warfare should be passed at a Security Council meet at the level of heads of state," Gorbachev wrote in an article published in the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily.

"It would be right if such a resolution be initiated by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump as the presidents of the countries possessing more than 90 percent of global nuclear arsenals. They bear special responsibility," the former Soviet leader underscored.

Source: Tass

Read more: Putin, Trump seek to give fresh start to ailing Russian-U.S. ties – experts

"Security authorities have received information - in a private house in Khasavyurt’s Keldysh Street was sheltering a group of armed people, involved in crimes of terrorist character," the Committee’s information center said.

A security alert was announced in the city at 08:20 am.

"Russia's FSB blocked a house, where armed bandits sheltered, local residents were evacuated." the Committee said. "To the demand to lay arms and surrender, the criminals opened fire."

No losses among servicemen or civilians, the Committee added.

The house is being searched now. Identification continues.

Source: Tass

Read more: Whatsapp helps Chechen police foil terror attacks

The Russian and U.S. teams are in Group B along with the Japanese team.

The Universiade’s opening ceremony is due on Jan. 29 at 4:00 pm Moscow time.

Next Universiade is due in Krasnoyarsk in 2019. 

Source: Tass

The Russian picture dictionary: Winter sports

The Universiade opening is due on Jan. 29. The competitions will continue to February 8.

"We are paying special attention to students’ sports," the official said. "The Universiade features leaders of students’ sports, the closest reserve of the national team, thus, like always, our team unites good athletes, many of who are promising, serious athletes."

"Our team has always been among leaders of students’ sports, and thus, of course, in Alma-Ata our team will be competing for the highest positions," he added.

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"No doubt, this Universiade is special," he continued. "This year, will take place world championships in all winter sports, many qualifying competitions for the Olympic Games."

"This is why may our leaders, who are students yet, will prefer world championships," he said. "Thus, we cannot present our leading team, but the nearest reserve has a unique opportunity to demonstrate itself."

"All organizational issues have been settled, everything goes smoothly," the deputy prime minister said. "I simply want to wish success to our team, and our athletes have always fought and will fight for the highest positions."

About 2,000 athletes from 55 countries will participate in the Universiade, competing for medals in 13 kinds of sports at eight sports facilities.

Source: Tass

"The positive call was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair," the White House said in a statement, commenting on the results of the conversation.

Partners in the struggle against terror

The two leaders discussed in detail "pressing international problems," including the developments in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the strategic stability and non-proliferation, the situation around Iran’s nuclear program and the Korean Peninsula, the Kremlin said in a statement. "The key aspects of the Ukrainian crisis have been touched upon as well. It has been agreed to establish partner-type cooperation in those and other areas," the statement reads.

Putin and Trump placed a special emphasis on the fight against terrorism. "The presidents spoke in favor of creating real coordination of Russian and American actions with a purpose to defeat the ISIL (the former name of the Islamic State) and other terrorist groups in Syria," the Kremlin statement reads.

Alexei Pushkov, a member of the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council, wrote in his Twitter account that discussing coordination in anti-terrorism efforts "represents a qualitative change" in bilateral ties, while the first deputy chairman of this committee, Frants Klintsevich said the Islamic State will literally see its last days if Moscow and Washington join forces.

Беседа Путина и Трампа оправдала надежды: прошла со знаком плюс, став прологом к личной встрече. Координация в борьбе с ИГ- качеств. сдвиг.

The head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee said the declared intention to coordinate anti-terrorism effort was the most important result of the talk. "The main result of the first talk between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump was an agreement to coordinate efforts to defeat the IS. This is what the entire clear-headed world is expecting from the Russian-U.S. relations," Leonid Slutsky said.

Lawmaker Nikolai Kovalev, who formerly headed Russia’s security service FSB, named "coordination of efforts in Syria, joining forces, exchange of information" and an end to U.S. weapon supplies to the Syrian opposition as the first practical steps that the U.S. may make in the declared joint Russian-U.S. antiterrorism struggle. He said Washington previously refused to cooperate with Moscow on the issue, but "this situation may now change drastically."

Business ties

Putin and Trump also discussed restoring trade and economic ties, that could "further stimulate consecutive and sustainable development of bilateral relations."

Kirill Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said the results of the first official contact between the presidents of Russia and the United States send a positive signal to investors. "Placing the emphasis on restoring trade and economic cooperation is very important," he said.

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The head of the State Duma’s committee on science and education, Vyacheslav Nikonov, also pointed at the economic part of the discussion. He said that the declared readiness to restore trade and economic ties "may envisage a partial cancellation of sanctions."

"Of course, the word ‘sanctions’ was left out, but restoring trade and economic ties stipulates that this issue has to be approached as well," said the lawmaker, who is also a prominent Russian expert on foreign affairs.

First step

Russian politicians were overly positive about the results of the first Putin-Trump talk after the transition of power in the United States.

"Naturally, a phone conversation between the two presidents is not enough to solve all problems in the Russian-U.S. relations, which had been accumulating for years. But the first step has undoubtedly been made," senator Klintsevich said, adding that Trump appeared to be taking cooperation with Russia seriously. However, he warned against jumping into optimistic conclusions before the US makes its first practical steps.

Konstantin Kosachev, who heads the International Affairs Committee of the Russian parliament’s upper house, said the phone conversation apparently "returned sense and reason" into the Russian-U.S. dialogue. "Hopefully, behind the laconic mention of the matters discussed, there is determination - bilateral determination, not only on our behalf - to introduce the new format of relationship, the relations of partnership instead of rivalry," he said.

Vyacheslav Nikonov also described the phone talk as "a very good start." "They set the bar very high at the talks," he said. "The fact that they managed to discuss this (wide range of issues) in 45 minutes means that there were no major disagreements."

Source: Tass

What would Russian-American cooperation in Syria look like?

"Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to have the possible time and location of their personal meeting determined," the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

According to the Kremlin press service, Putin, Trump have also discussed tackling terrorism, Middle East developments, Arab-Israel conflict, strategic stability. The presidents have also noted importance of restoring trade, economic ties between Russia and the U.S. and a prior importance of joint efforts in tackling terrorism, coordination of actions for fighting IS in Syria.

Vladimir Putin has also congratulated Trump on official accession to presidency and wished success.

Source: Tass

Read more: 5 hot topics for the Putin-Trump phone call

"In any case this is not a goal in itself," he said, adding that the assets will only be sold if "it is efficient and improves the state of the assets themselves and is beneficial for the Russian Railways from the financial point of view."

According to Dvorkovich, "there are plans" to sell the company’s assets this year, though "the plans themselves and particular cases will be discussed separately."

Earlier Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said in an interview with Bloomberg that the privatization plan regarding Russian Railways’ assets may include TransContainer.

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Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov said earlier that the Ministry is ready to consider the positions of market players, Russian Railways in the first place, regarding the monopoly’s controlling stake in TransContainer.

Russia’s TransContainer is an operator of over 24,000 container flatcars, around 64,500 high-capacity containers, and 45 freight terminals over the Russian railway network.

The company’s shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange, depositary receipts are traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Source: Tass

"This week has already become record-setting for Gazprom. This is the fourth day in a row that the company hits all-time highs of daily supplies to non-CIS countries. The new all-time record reached on January 27 topped 636.4 mln cubic meters," the report said.

Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria demonstrated the strongest dynamics in terms of growth of gas purchases from Russia in the period between January 1 and 27, with an 11.2%, 5.1% and 15.9% rise year-on-year, respectively, Gazprom said.

Earlier the company’s board chairman Viktor Zubkov said that 2017 gas supplies to non-CIS countries may be higher than last year’s though this depends on a variety of factors. Particularly, Gazprom gas exports to non-CIS countries surged 23.7% (or 2.7 bln cubic meters) on January 1-23, 2017 to 14.1 bln cubic meters.

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Russia’s gas supplies to Italy went up 1.1% in 2016 compared with 2015 to 24.7 bln cubic meters, to Bulgaria - by 2.1% to 3.18 bln cubic meters, Greece - by 35% to 2.68 bln cubic meters, Serbia - by 4.3% to 1.75 bln cubic meters, Romania - by 740% to 1.48 bln cubic meters, Croatia - by 54.8% to 0.76 bln cubic meters, Macedonia - by 56.5% to 0.21 bln cubic meters.

Source: Tass

"I am not telling the time, but I think the decision on Cairo is close," he said, though refraining from giving time for flights to Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh. The official said as yet he did not plan meeting with Egypt's representative on that topic.

"As yet, a meeting is not planned (with head of Egypt's civil aviation authority)," he said, "but anyway, like we said earlier, a priority is to open flights to the Cairo airport, and then we shall continue working on the rest."

On Jan. 27, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told reporters a delegation of Russian aviation specialists may visit Cairo in February to carry out the final check of the airport’s security. "Most likely, in February. I hope this visit will be the last," he said.

A week earlier, a group of Russian experts returned to Moscow after inspections of airports of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. Now the Transport Ministry is preparing a report for the government on the security of Cairo airport. It is expected that a gradual resumption of flight connection between the countries, will start from that airport.

The flight connection between Russia and Egypt was interrupted more than a year ago after the crash of the Russian aircraft on the Sinai.

Source: Tass

No further details regarding the telephone conversation were provided.

Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the Russian and U.S. leaders would have a telephone conversation on Jan. 28, adding that no detailed discussion of the accrued issues should be expected.

"It is going to be the first telephone contact after President Trump has taken office. Naturally, it is hard to expect substantive contacts on the whole range of issues," Peskov told the media. "Let us be patient and wait."

He kept quiet about which most crucial issues Putin and Trump might discuss.

Source: Tass

5 hot topics for tomorrow’s historic Putin-Trump phone call

Transfer expenses of Russian clubs skyrocketed 383% on an annualized basis last year. 

Source: Tass

How to get your Fan ID for the 2017 Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup

By this achievement, Medvedeva beat a record set at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 by Yuna Kim of South Korea (228.56 points)

Medvedeva, 17, also has separate records in short programs and in free skates to her credit. For instance, she got 79.21 points last December in the final of ISU's Grand Prix series for the short program.

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She won gold at the European Championships for the second year on end.

Another Russian figure skater, Anna Pogorilaya, got silver (211.39 points). Carolina Kostner of Italy finished the tournament with bronze (210.52 points).

This is the second gold meal for the Russian team at the Ostrava championships. On Thursday, Yevgenia Tarasoca and Vladimir Morozov won the tournament in pairs.

Source: Tass

Read more: Figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva makes list of most successful youngsters

A military and industrial conference will be held in India in spring to discuss the deliveries, repairs and maintenance of Russian weapons, and also the efforts to set up joint ventures as part of the "Make in India" concept, the vice-premier said.

"In this connection, we’re also ready to offer this machine [MiG-35] for the Indian Air Force. No doubt, the talk will be about this," Rogozin said.

Russia’s United Aircraft-Building Corporation held an international presentation of the most advanced MiG-35 fighter jet in the Moscow Region on Jan. 27. The plane’s flight tests began on Jan. 26.

The MiG-35 was among the bids at India’s MMRCA tender for the delivery of 126 fighter planes. At that time, Russia lost to France’s serial-produced Dassault Rafale. However, after many years of negotiations, India decided to limit the purchase of French aircraft to 36 machines.

Source: Tass

Read more: MiG-35 fighter jet has big potential in Syria-like conflicts

The award ceremony took place at the Mosfilm studios in Moscow on Jan. 27.

The film is built around the intertwining stories of three main characters during the Second World War: Russian aristocrat-emigrant and member of the French Resistance Olga (Yuliya Vysotskaya), a French collaborator Jules (Philippe Duquesne) and a high-ranking SS officer Helmut (Christian Clauss).

4 questions about Konchalovsky's ‘Paradise’

Eastablished in 2002, the Golden Eagle Award is an accolade by the National Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences of Russia to recognize the excellence of professionals in the film industry, directors, actors and writers.

Paradise’s rivals this year were Nikolay Lebedev’s Flight Crew, Nikolay’s Khomeriki’s Icebreaker, Alexei Mizgirev’s The Duelist, and Alexei Krasovsky’s Collector.

Source: Tass

Film director Andrei Konchalovsky: I have no desire to go back to Hollywood

The first official brothels opened in St. Petersburg in the middle of the 19th century. Medical and police committees were set up in 1843 to register prostitutes, and one year later a law on prostitution was passed. It regulated the living conditions in brothels and outlined the rights and obligations of their owners. By the turn of the century both the brothels and tastes in women had changed, but the fundamental system of this legal business remained.

Madams

The brothel keeper was a woman between 30 and 60 years old who resided in the brothel. The keeper's primary responsibility was to have her girls registered with the medical and police committees. She was also responsible for maintaining order in the brothel, as well as making sure that prostitutes followed the rules of hygiene and that the girls' papers were up to date. For her troubles, the madam took two-thirds of a prostitute's earnings.

Many madams abused the girls because of their disenfranchised status, often robbing them of their earnings. Prostitutes found themselves in virtual slavery and often were unable to leave because of the large debts to their madam.

Yellow-ticket prostitutes

After registering with the police, the prostitute’s internal passport was taken away and she was issued a yellow identity card, or ticket, hence this category name. The girls had frequent medical examinations, and worked in a specific brothel. Later in the 19th century, the authorities introduced strict accounting, enabling yellow-ticket prostitutes to officially make money and to shake off the madam's stranglehold on them.

Yellow-ticket prostitutes included both educated women, who spoke several languages, and completely degraded women operating in dirty and squalid dens and skid row bunkhouses.

Prostitues in Russian Empire / Archive Photo

In his novella, Junior Captain Rybnikov, Aleksandr Kuprin described a top-rate brothel:

“This establishment was a cross between an expensive brothel and a luxurious club, with its smart entry, a stuffed bear in the lobby, carpets, silk curtains and chandeliers, and lackeys in frocks and gloves. Men would come here to end their night after the restaurants had closed. Here you could play cards, enjoy expensive wines, and choose from a wide variety of beautiful, fresh women, who would be rotated frequently.”

Blank-sheet prostitutes

A solitary sex worker not associated with any brothel was known as a blank-sheet prostitute. For the most part these girls were caught in police raids and forced to register with the medical and police committees. They were issued special blank sheets, hence the name.

Blank-sheet prostitutes were the least secure of all sex workers. Not working in a particular brothel, they found themselves dependent on the landlord of their rented room, or were forced to risk their lives walking the streets alone on a nightly basis. These girls were frequently assaulted by criminals and psychopaths. In a series of violent murders in St. Petersburg in 1908-10, blank-sheet prostitutes were the main target.

Not all independent streetwalkers, however, risked their lives. There existed a subcategory of so-called aristocracy prostitutes, those who entertained their patrons in quality apartments. St. Petersburg newspapers in the early 20th century frequently ran advertisements similar to the ones below:

“A girl without a past, with an irreproachable reputation but without any means will eagerly offer all she has to anyone willing to lend her 200 roubles.”

or

“A young, merry girl who loves life and its delights would like to come in the service of an old man for decent remuneration.”

It should be noted that ordinary blank-sheet prostitutes were banned from the city center. St. Petersburg's Alexander Park had a scandalous reputation in the early 20th century. Most of the girls operating in the park had close links to the city's criminal underworld.

Secret prostitutes

By the beginning of World War One, the number of St. Petersburg sex workers operating without yellow tickets or blank sheets had grown incomparably higher. These unofficial streetwalkers were often very young girls, and this secret prostitution market was under complete control of criminals.

Secret prostitutes did not undergo medical examinations, and therefore ran a much greater risk of getting infected with sexually transmitted diseases, which began to spread rampantly. Around 50% of all prostitutes had syphilis in 1910; by 1914 their share had reached 76%.

Prostitutes without blanks, detained by police. / Archive Photo

At the same time, child prostitution was thriving in St. Petersburg. Some girls were offering sex services in exchange for a box of sweets or a nice dress. They were controlled by adult female pimps, who often passed the girls off as their younger relatives. There were even brothels for those who preferred very young girls, sometimes just 10 years old.

By February 1917 the “liberating” revolution liberated morals, too. The medical and police committees were dissolved, effectively outlawing all prostitutes, who could no longer expect any help from the state.

Revolutionary Russia abolished prostitution as a profession that did not fit into the communist concept of a new, liberated woman.

This is an abridged version of the article first published in Russian by Arzamas Academy.

15 reasons you should never ever visit St. Petersburg

"This is a splendid plane with remarkable characteristics, which can accomplish missions both on the ground and in the air and can subsequently be used in local Syria-like conflicts," the general said.

Russia tested many advanced aircraft in Syria, including Sukhoi Su-34 (Fullback) bombers and Su-35 (Flanker-E) fighter jets. The Russian air task force also employed Tupolev Tu-95MS (Bear) and Tu-160 (Blackjack) strategic bombers in the Syria operation for the first time, he said.

What would Russian-American cooperation in Syria look like?

Russian Aerospace Force Commander-in-Chief Bondarev earlier said the MiG-35 would become Russia’s sole light fighter jet. The plane’s flight tests started in January. As was reported earlier, the plane will be undergoing manufacturer’s tests in the Moscow Region throughout 2017.

Source: Tass

"Until recently the main tourist attraction of the Penza region was the Tarkhany museum, the birthplace of Mikhail Lermontov, the famous Russian writer. But today the sculpture park ‘Legend’ is another major attraction", - says Valentina Dusavitskaya, the curator of the gallery ART Penza at “Legend”, - Not long ago when I was giving a tour, some visitors admitted that they found out about us from their German friends. And this is not the first time Russians have learned about ‘Legend’ from foreigners”.

Photo courtesy: K. Volkov

We stand in front of an iron swing that reminds me of a curling piece of ribbon. At the bottom of this ribbon is a place where you can sit and swing. Two kids are swinging now, while their parents swim in the lake nearby. Every time the sculpture moves, the 40 bells ring – they’re hidden inside. This interactive piece of art was created by Italian sculptor Bettino Francini. And it’s only one of the 3,000 sculptures that surround us.  

Photo credit: Natalia Maiboroda

Located about 600 km from Moscow, Penza has a population of more than 500,000, but is rarely mentioned in the Russian media. No wonder so few people know that one of the biggest open-air sculpture parks in Russia can be found just outside the city. “Legend” will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year.

Over the past years artists from around the world came here to transform this rural landscape into a contemporary art center. Today, the park, situated 20 km away from Penza, hosts sculptures made by artists from 69 countries. Animals, people, characters from fairytales, geometric shapes – all kinds of sculptures adorn the open fields. 

Photo credit: Natalia Maiboroda

Although there are various styles represented, they match each other well: The bunch of iron giraffes make good company for the marble woman and the swinging stones. Pegasus fits in with the colourful abstract sculptures on the background. Your eye looks to the horizon, but still can’t see the limit of this park.     

The Legend begins

Photo courtesy: K. Volkov

I enter the park, and am struck by its size. You can easily spend two hours wandering between iron and marble creatures, both small and grandiose. The idea to fill the area with works of artists from around the globe came from Yury Tkachenko, the director of “Legend”, sculptor and former Associate Professor at Penza State University of Architecture.

“In fact, Penza had a strong sculpture tradition. I wanted to bring local sculpture out of the shadows”, - admits Yury Tkachenko. “The best way to fill the area with great works is to organize an International Sculpture Symposium. An event like that benefits everyone. The artist receives a grant and all the necessary materials. In the end, his work is displayed permanently in the park. We received more than 1,000 applications annually, but we can choose only 50 artists.”

Photo credit: K. Volkov

The first International Sculpture Symposium in Penza was held in 2008. Around 50 participants experienced that rainy Russian September and worked without any of the comforts of home. It is hard to believe that back then sculptors were literally working in an open field:

Photo courtesy: K. Volkov

Today, the park offers a hotel for visitors. Around 300 sculptures are spread around the well-equipped park. The gallery itself holds more than 3,000 paintings. Recently, this symposium began to operate under the auspices of UNESCO (provided by the Commission for UNESCO of the Russian Federation.)  

Uniting nations

Photo courtesy: K. Volkov

Valentina and Yury give me a tour of the park. They point out a colourful iron sculpture in front of the hotel near a sandy beach. This work, which symbolizes a family, was made by well-known Japanese sculptor Satoru Takada at the very first symposium. Since then he has worked at “Legend” eight times. This year he plans to finish an ambitious project – one of the biggest Japanese gardens in the world.

Photo courtesy: K. Volkov

“I’ve worked in many countries over my 40-year career. But I want to establish an art exchange between Russia and Japan”, recalls Takada.

Nedim Hadziahmetovic, a Serbian sculptor who has created six monumental works for the open-air park and four iron pieces for the gallery, says that he spent about 9 months in Penza over the last 8 years.

“I’ve also done about 30 paintings here when the inspiration struck me”, - he admits. “My works can be found in 14 different countries, like China, Gabon and even Iran. But what brings me to Penza is the advantages it offers, both professional and personal. The park provides excellent working conditions in a multicultural environment”.

Photo courtesy: K. Volkov

Visitors take selfies with a colorful man who can barely hold up a piece of iron three times his size. This work was made by Chinese sculptor Liu Yang, who has worked in 20 countries.

“I’ve participated in 50 symposiums around the globe. My friends ask me why I keep coming back to this remote Russian town. Well, this place and the people here inspire me. I think that “Legend” has been shaping not only Russian art scene, but also global”.

Photo courtesy: K. Volkov

The 10th International Sculpture and Painting Symposium Penza 2017 will be held at 'Legend' from 17 April until 24 August in the hotel complex Art Penza.

Trump and Putin are scheduled to have their first phone conversation on Saturday, Jan. 28, but the dialogue has been immortalized already.

A patient of a Moscow dental clinic engraved silhouettes of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on his teeth.

The picture’s author, dentist Lev Levchenko, wrote in his blogpost that the engraving was done on ceramic. 

The artist first made the engraving with a fine brush, and then baked it in a dental oven and covered the material with a layer of dental transparent glaze. The cost of a single crown begins at 1000 euros, the doctor wrote.

Read more: 5 hot topics for tomorrow’s historic Putin-Trump phone call>>>

Russian experts compiled a list of the main international policy issues that the presidents can agree on, not necessarily during the first discussion, but in the foreseeable future.

1. Syria and the fight against IS

Donald Trump has often spoken about his determination to fight the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, in collaboration with Russia. On Jan. 24, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer confirmed the Trump administration's willingness to cooperate with any country in the fight against IS, including Russia. Experts noted that the joint fight on terror in Syria will most likely be one of the key issues during the Putin and Trump discussion.

Leonid Isaev, senior professor at the HSE Department of Political Science, said that judging by Trump's statements, he plans to act pragmatically in Syria.

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"Trump's statement on creating zones of responsibility in Syria basically correlates to the country’s division into spheres of influence for Russia, Turkey and Iran that was formulated in December," said Isaev, adding that most likely the U.S. will preserve its influence in areas controlled by the Kurds, not trying to overthrow Assad or have Iran withdraw its forces. 

2. Sanctions 

Trump has discussed the issue of lifting sanctions on Russia. The U.S. president suggested linking it to nuclear disarmament. However, Russia is skeptical of this idea, and the Russian presidential press secretary said, "it’s unlikely."

Nevertheless, the way Trump formulated the question is rather interesting, remarked Professor Andrei Sushentsov, program director of the Valdai International Discussion Club and MGIMO. 

"The new administration is not tying the sanctions issue to the Ukrainian crisis and the question of Crimea's status," said Sushentsov. "This is obviously positive for bilateral relations." 

Recently there have been rumors that Trump has already prepared an order to lift sanctions on Russia. The Kremlin, however, has officially said it does not know anything about this.

3. Nuclear weapons and missile defense

The preservation of strategic stability, including in the sphere of nuclear weapons, is another important subject matter for Putin and Trump, said Sergei Karaganov, honorary chairman of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. In his view, Russia and the U.S., along with other nuclear powers, must find a new approach in the sphere of nuclear security, "which would be based not on the reduction or increase of nuclear arsenals, but on the preservation of the global status quo." 

Such an approach would stabilize the world better than attempts to sign new disarmament treaties, which in the event of unsuccessful talks, can only worsen relations, as was the case during the Obama administration.

4. Ukraine and European security 

Sergei Karaganov also believes that Putin and Trump can agree to end Russia-NATO tension in Eastern Europe. This is possible because Trump, unlike his predecessor, is not a keen supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

What would Russian-American cooperation in Syria look like?

"We freeze the situation on a bilateral basis, including in Ukraine, and agree to contacts between NATO's military and Russia with the aim of freeing ourselves from this completely useless, artificial confrontation," said Karaganov, describing the most optimistic scenario. However, the expert admits that time is needed to solve these problems and one conversation between Putin and Trump is not enough.

5. The fate of Russians in U.S. jails 

Another issue on which Russia and the U.S. can find a compromise is the problem of Russian citizens Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko, who are in American jails.

Bout was given a jail sentence after his arrest in Bangkok in 2008, and was charged with illegally trading weapons. Yaroshenko was detained by U.S. special forces in Liberia in 2010 and charged with drug contraband.

Russia has demanded the extradition of its citizens on many occasions, but unsuccessfully. Andrei Sushentsov remarked that Trump, after discussing the situation with Putin, can indeed send the Russians back home - a presidential order would be enough. 

"Movement in this direction already began with Obama and I think that Trump's reputation will not suffer if this issue continues moving," said Sushentsov.

UPD on Jan. 28: Putin, Trump agreed to keep in touch regularly during phone call

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Lewis through the looking glass

On July 4, 1867, Lewis Carroll’s close friend and colleague Henry Liddon proposed “that we should go together to Russia”, and Carroll gladly agreed. Both men were strong supporters of reunifying the Eastern and the Western Churches, a hot topic of the day, so their trip was officially sanctioned.

They began with St. Petersburg, which captivated Carroll in particular. Even a short stroll after dinner seemed incredible. “It was full of wonder and novelty,” he wrote, “the enormous width of the streets … the huge illuminated signboards over the shops, and the gigantic churches, with their domes painted blue and covered with gold stars – and the bewildering jabber of the natives – all contributed to the wonders…”

They continued on to Moscow where, according to some scholars, Carroll came up with the idea of Through the Looking-Glass. In his diary he wrote that Moscow was a unique city where the scenes of big city life were reflected through a false mirror.

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“The most interesting day” of the journey was August 12, when the pair visited the Troitsky Monastery, where they encountered the most influential figure in the Russian Church: Vasiliy Drosdov Philaret, the Metropolitan of Moscow.

After Moscow Liddon and Carroll made their way to Nizhny Novgorod, where they visited the World’s Fair. Here they were “constantly meeting strange beings, with unwholesome complexions and incredible costumes.”

Carroll’s Russian journey was a landmark event for the writer, and he never left England again.

Russian Alice

Lewis Carroll himself had an undoubted impact on Russian literary culture. Alice in Wonderland (1865) was first published in Russia in 1879 with the title Sonya in a Kingdom of Wonder. Interestingly, neither the translator’s nor illustrator’s name appeared on the title page, and the translator’s identity is still a matter of speculation. There are now more than 30 Russian versions of the book, including ones by Anton Chekhov’s brother Mikhail Chekhov and the prominent children writer and translator Samuil Marshak.

Nabokov’s version, Anya in Wonderland, was first published in 1923 in Berlin and is one of the most popular translations. His idea was to let Russian readers experience as much pleasure in reading the work in translation as in the original. Hence he retold the story in a Russian style, including allusions to great Russian poets in the book’s verse elements.

The literary critic Nina Demurova produced another excellent translation. Unlike Nabokov she did not russify Alice’s story; rather she retained all of Carrol’s neologisms and his general style.

Yefrem Pruzhansky’s cartoon adaptations of the books (1981 & 1982) are classics of Soviet cinema and among some of the most surreal screen versions of Alice’s adventures. Pruzhansky uses blurred backgrounds, dark and mysterious colors, characters all out of proportion and a blue-haired Alice. Interestingly, these psychedelic movies are more popular with adults than children, but most people agree that Carroll himself would have approved of Pruzhansky’s interpretation of his books.

Grisha Bruskin and Sasha Pirogova will represent Russia at Venice Biennale

Semen Mikhailovsky, the Commissar of the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, spoke about the project at a press conference in Moscow on Jan. 27. Three artists will each create installations on the pavilion’s two floors: Grisha Bruskin; Sasha Pirogova; and the Recycle Group (Andrei Blokhin and Georgy Kuznetsov).

The installations created by Bruskin, whose art can be seen at MOMA in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, is called, "A Change of Decorations." It is a "metaphor of the new world order," as the artist calls it, displaying blurred borders, migration and relations in society.

The Recycle Group, which participated in a 2015 Venice Biennale parallel program with a separate exhibition, will make the installation, "Blocked Content."

The young video artist, Sasha Pirogova, who in 2014 received the Innovation Prize for achievements in the field of contemporary art, will present her new video, "Inner Physics." She said the project, "allows for the possibility to overcome death."

All three projects will be interrelated not only through their theater-oriented theme and the pavilion's space, but also thanks to an audio installation, whose music is being written by composer Dmitri Kurlyandsky," said Mikhailovsky.

Mikhailovsky said the budget for the pavilion is between $750,000 and $800,000, out of which $115,000 was provided by the Russian Culture Ministry.

Read more: Yuko Hasegawa to curate Moscow Contemporary Art Biennale>>>

A traffic officer on the scene, 34-year-old Captain Alexei Konyaev, did not wait for rescuers to arrive, and instead jumped into the icy water and pulled the young lady out of the car to safety. Source: Moskva Agency

A traffic officer on the scene, 34-year-old Captain Alexei Konyaev, did not wait for rescuers to arrive, and instead jumped into the icy water and pulled the young lady out of the car to safety, reported (in Russian) Gazeta.ru citing Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Irina Volk.

The policeman was later diagnosed with hypothermia and lacerations on both wrists.

Broken car glass

The officer managed to get into the car with the help of a piece of ice that he used to break the car window, and then he pulled the woman out of the sinking car.

After, "his colleagues and eyewitnesses used a towing cable to help the policeman and the woman get ashore," said Volk, adding that the courageous police officer has already been recommended for a state honor.

The policeman was later diagnosed with hypothermia and lacerations on both wrists. Source: Moskva Agency

Second rescuer

According to TASS, a bystander at the scene of the accident also helped (in Russian) to rescue the woman.

"Police are now looking for this man to learn of his condition, express gratitude for saving the woman, as well as find out details of the accident," said the TASS source.

According to the media, the second rescuer is Murat Shomakhov.

Read more: Explosion in Moscow subway station injures 10>>>

The news that the Russian expert hacked into the largest social network in the world, and was paid for it, made international headlines. But Leonov insists he is not a hacker - "I am a cyber security specialist."

The difference is that he works on the "white" side, that is, he finds vulnerabilities in programs and tells developers about it.

"The main rule for researchers is not to go too deep, while hackers will go further," said Leonov. "When a researcher finds a point of entry he says, 'That's enough, you take it from here."

Arrests send shock waves through Russia’s cyber community

Leonov grew up in St. Petersburg, studied at a technical school and is now "thirty something." He does not want to dwell on his age, just like he does not want to speak about politics, nor the scandals surrounding the U.S. Democratic Party hack and the alleged Russian groups behind it. 

"Russian hackers are now exploited to frighten people like vodka and bears," said Leonov. "Some people need an enemy in order to justify certain actions, and an invisible enemy is very convenient."  

What he did for Facebook is just a hobby. "I work independently," said Leonov. "Some play poker, and others go fishing. Well, I look for vulnerabilities."

Inserting the code

"Great bug from a responsible reporter who got $40K." This was the tweet that Alex Stamos, director of Facebook's information security department, posted on Jan. 17.

 "I am glad to be one of those who broke Facebook," Leonov wrote in his blog after he was told of his reward. Previously, Facebook's largest payment was $33,500, given to Brazilian security researcher, Reginaldo Silva, in 2014.

In April last year other researchers discovered a vulnerability in one of the most common image processing modules, ImageMagic. It’s used to scale and convert images in Facebook's news feed.

Everything you wanted to know about Russian hackers, but were afraid to ask

Leonov noticed that the function, "share news on Facebook" takes the news' title image from other servers. It also turned out that neither Facebook nor ImageMagic checked whether the downloaded file is indeed a JPEG format image or something else.

"Having noticed this, I checked how a service, in this case Facebook, processes an image that I can manage and whose content I can change," said Leonov.

According to the international Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), such a vulnerability has the highest ranking. But its weakness largely depends on where the code is inserted. 

"Let's imagine that the computer is isolated from the Internet and the company's entire infrastructure," said Leonov. "Inserting the code in that computer is not very good, but not fatal. If the computer, however, has access to the user database, this is very bad."

He contacted Facebook's technical support in November and corrected the error.

No Russian school of hacking

Leonov works in the security department at SEMrush, an international IT company that develops instruments for online marketing. He spends his free time on crowdsourcing platforms where companies post announcements for testing products.

Leonov is one of the top 100 researchers on the Bugcrowd platform. Among Bugcrowd and other platform clients are companies such as General Motors, Uber, Pinterest and Mail.ru.

Leonov does not believe in a particular Russian school of hacking, or a Russian signature. Photo: Andrei Leonov. Source: Facebook

Leonov said that after he found the vulnerability in Facebook he was not flooded with job offers, and he "remains the person he always was."

He does not believe in a particular Russian school of hacking, or a Russian signature. There are just intelligent people all over the world. He also believes that vulnerabilities are found everywhere.

"I use the same Internet service set that every person uses," said Leonov. "I don't have Instagram, for example, but not because it's bad - I just don't photograph myself eating or in an elevator."

"I am disturbed by the fact that the average user has a maximum of three passwords: one for all types of junk, one for important sites and one for the most important mail, which is used for registering all the other accounts," said Leonov.

However, speaking about his hobby – finding vulnerabilities – Leonov says that is a very boring and an unremarkable process.

"There are no 3D visualizations that we see in films about hackers," Leonov chuckled.

Read more: British and Russian TV probing 'hacking attack' on 'Sherlock'>>>

Books, films, concerts

UK responses to the centenary began late last year with screenings at cinemas in Soho and Bloomsbury of Revolution: New Art for a New World. A partially dramatized documentary, featuring Tom Hollander as the voice of Kazimir Malevich and Matthew Macfadyen as the voice of Lenin, the film shows artists inspired, and later crushed, by political changes.

1917: Stories and poems from the Russian Revolution

Soon afterwards, London’s Russian cultural center Pushkin House launched a fifteen-month collaborative venture, Project1917. As part of the project, you can talk to a Rasputin chatbot online (and get answers from the mad monk’s letters). Pushkin House director, Clem Cecil said: “The events of 100 years ago profoundly affected the course of world history”, calling Project17 a “playful, yet serious way to become immersed in those events.”

Dash Arts, a London-based arts center with an international perspective, in a series of events called REVOLUTION17, is dedicating the year to “vibrant and urgent performance from the turbulent Soviet century”. They are reviving their pop-up summer dacha and – in the meantime – planning lively gigs, talks, readings and films, including Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin.

A final “explosion” of theater, music and art will start in October, the culmination of five years that Dash Arts have spent immersed in the cultures of the post-Soviet countries. Also in October, the Barbican is planning a screening of Eisenstein’s 1928 film October: Ten Days that Shook the World; their program describes the Bolshevik Revolution as an event “whose far-reaching consequences are still being felt to this day”.

Art and the avant-garde

London’s Royal Academy will be jumping on the anniversary bandwagon in February with a new exhibition called Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932, featuring crowd-pleasing modernists like Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich together with socialist realist works by Vera Mukhina or Alexander Deineka.

Boris Kustodiev’s painting 'Bolshevik' (1920) 
depicts how the 
Revolution was 
made by the nation / RIA Novosti

February also sees the launch of Calvert 22’s “year-long program of events” marking the centenary in partnership with the Hermitage and culminating in a first solo UK exhibition of works by Moscow conceptualist Dmitri Prigov. As usual, the Shoreditch-based gallery are taking a thoughtful look at the idea of revolutionary art.

Samuel Goff, a Slavonic Studies researcher at Cambridge, writes in the Calvert Journal: “There is still something hackneyed about the artistic vocabulary used to denote the world-changing events of one hundred years ago.” He suggests that historians look beyond the established clichés of 20th century Russian art: “When visualizing 1917, we should all remember that we’re dealing with a revolution, and try turning things on their heads for once.”

Myths and (post)-modernists

In April, the British Library attempts to do just that with an exhibition subtitled Hope, Tragedy, Myths, promising: “A fresh look at the Russian Revolution” and using items like Nicholas II's diary and a draft of Trotsky’s speech to recount “the multi-layered and complicated history with an unbiased eye.” Tate Modern joins the party in November, marking the centenary of the October Revolution, with exhibitions that Goff praises for their fuller range of artists and inclusion of pioneering later conceptualists.

The Tate has an excellent collection of Russian modern art and will celebrate the “wave of innovation and design in Russia” with two major shows. Red Star Over Russia will use rarely seen posters and photographs to explore the “unique visual identity” created by Russian and Soviet artists between the first 1905 revolution and the death of Stalin in 1953”.

Nina Vatolina Fascism – The most evil enemy of women;1941 Tate / Image courtesy the David King Collection.

The second Tate exhibition has a contemporary angle, placing Ilya Kabakov’s late-Soviet works alongside installations made with his niece Emilia after the late 1980s (when he immigrated to the United States). The trendy new Design Museum in Kensington is marking the centenary with an exhibition of unrealized plans that “explores Moscow as it was imagined by a bold new generation of architects and designers in the 1920s and early 1930s.”

Theater and humanity

2017 is also set to be another bumper year for Russian drama in London. Chekhov is ubiquitous as ever; there is a more unusual outing for Alexander Ostrovsky’s Talents and Admirers in March, the UK premiere of Gorky’s The Last Ones in June, and the Questors theater group present a new thriller set in the perestroika-era. The Arcola will be following up The Lower Depths (which runs until Feb. 11) with a “Revolution” season, including a production of The Cherry Orchard with the same cast.

In this first production, Gorky’s desperate characters achieve a compassionate sense of shared humanity that is powerful and timely. The Lower Depths was first performed in 1902, directed by Konstantin Stanislavsky for the Moscow Arts Theater and the director himself took on the role of beaten-up card sharp Satin (played here with faded rock star grandeur by Jack Klaff). “Humankind is not you or me,” explains Satin, with drunken benevolence in the final act, “humankind is you and me, and them … all rolled into one.” In a world with increasing global inequality, these are still revolutionary words.

Seeing a new world: Art born of the Bolsheviks

Beef Stroganoff: A noble dish, remade for the masses

The origin of Russia's favorite meat dish dates to experiments performed by the personal chef of Count Grigory Orlov in the 18th century. The culinary wizard invented Veau Orloff — baked veal with potatoes, mushrooms and onions in Bechamel sauce. This is considered the prototype of French-style Meat. Veau Orloff was served for the first time for the Count when he was in Paris, which is probably why all its subsequent versions are called 'French-style Meat.'

Ingredients:

How to make it:

1. Lay out the small chunks of meat on a baking tray smeared with vegetable oil.

2. Cover the pork evenly with a layer of onion rings.

3. Cut the peeled potatoes into thin slices and place them on top of the onions.

4. Grate the hard cheese and sprinkle it over the meat. Afterwards, profusely cover it with mayonnaise using a tablespoon or a cooking brush.

5. Bake the dish at a temperature of 180-200 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes. You can tell if the dish is ready by the top layer of cheese. If the crust is golden, then the French-style Meat is ready.

Turn off the oven, take out the dish and let it cool for 10 minutes.

Russian hardcore cuisine: Jellied beef with pickled mushrooms

French-style meat is a special dish for me, but to be honest, until some time ago I never made it. One day, however, I came across an ad for a cooking competition and decided to participate. Rarely do I respond to such proposals, but my inner voice suggested that I prepare something particular. The idea of making French-style Meat came to me immediately. I guess I remembered my childhood, when this dish was associated with New Year’s and other festive holidays.

Without looking in a cookbook, my wife and I decided to work intuitively. We placed the layers of meat, onions, potatoes, cheese and mayonnaise into a round pan, and we decorated the surface with mustard grains and coriander and "drew" a pattern resembling the form of the French musketeers' capes. Meanwhile I boiled two chicken eggs and used them to make two happy pigs, adding pieces of raw carrot to create noses, ears and tails. Mustard beads were used as eyes. Surrounded by the pigs, cherry tomatoes and green salad leaves, the dish impressed the jury and we won a prize - some home appliances and most importantly, professional cooking knives. I still use them with pleasure.

Ever since then, I frequently make this dish at home, in different versions, including French-style Fish, in which I substitute the meat with a tender fish fillet.

Find more info on Russian cuisine and delicious events in the Russian Kitchen!

Curling is a sport that I never understood, at least I didn’t understand the point of watching it. You have two teams. One person is sliding and pushing a stone on the ice and another person uses something like a broom to make the stone go faster. It seemed so boring on TV and I could not understand the adrenaline that the guys got playing it. But, we decided to try it out. Russia is the home of winter sports and curling is an Olympic sport, so there has to be a point to it. One Sunday we decided to try it with my kids and another family.

Iva Pracevic

Arriving at the ice, you get a special pair of shoes and team jackets. A Russian instructor explained the rules in 15 minutes; you get your broom and you are ready to go. The tricky part is to learn how to slide in order to propel your stone as far as you can, but not too far from the red dot on the other side. You slide on one leg on which you have the plastic part that I professionally call - the slider. It looks so damn easy when you look at other people doing it. But when my turn came, I put so much effort into it that each time I landed on my back. After three tries I realized that the black thing around my knee is there to slide on and I was feeling like a real Curler.

Iva Pracevic

My biggest issue is my competitiveness. If I play something, I’m really in it. That’s how I managed to break my toe playing football in our apartment. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. But if you ever need me to explain to your kids - `Why you shouldn't play football in the apartment’ - then call me.

Iva Pracevic

I will be an amazing speaker with real life experience. But lets get back to Curling. So, I am waiting for my daughter to slide the stone. I am ready to broom the ice to make it more slippery. But the stone goes faster then expected and I need to get to it. I turn and try to take a step with my left leg, (forgetting it’s the one with the slider). My left leg goes under me. My right leg follows and I hit the ice full force with my butt. I got up faster than I fell.

The competitiveness in me screaming - 'Of the three kids, there you are the only one spread flat on the freaking cold ice!' I stroll along pretending it’s a normal thing. But, oh my God. The next two days I was at home with my butt telling me where it’s located every minute of the day. Fortunately, it got better soon. But falling at 36 and when you’re younger actually makes a huge difference. I have a new mantra now – It’s just a game; no need to kill myself if I’m not participating in the Olympics!

Iva Pracevic

In the end, the other family won, but actually we found out a great thing. During the game the guys were very good wiping the ice with the broom. So, my plan is to buy some stones, place them around the apartment. Put a broom dipped in cleaning solution next to the entrance of our apartment, and when my husband comes home and sees the stones he’ll take the broom without thinking and start working around the stones. Good practice for him; clean flat for me.

Iva Pracevic

And yes, if you try this please let me know if it works for you?! Until my butt fully recovers I’ll continue to practice a less dangerous Russian sport; one that is very good for the cold winter months - drinking vodka!!!!

About the author:

Iva Pracevic is a former career woman who moved from Croatia to Moscow with her husband and two children.

In the course of trying to reconcile what she was told about Russians with what she really saw, she decided to start a blog.

Every week she posts exciting and humorous stories about her adventures.

Go to https://funnynotesblog.blogspot.ru/ for more insightful and entertaining stories.

Read more: Making it in Moscow

Isolated from the outer world, the city lacked food and fuel. Lake Ladoga was the city's only link with the outside world, ensuring that precarious deliveries of urgent supplies could be made by water in summer and over ice in winter.

Hundreds of thousands of residents died of hunger and cold during the first winter of the blockade, even though makeshift hospitals and canteens had been set up everywhere. Residents planted kitchen gardens, which were guarded round the clock.

Getty images

The Germans tried to shell and bomb the city into submission. Most of Leningrad's buildings were damaged, thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands wounded.

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In November 1941 Leningrad started experiencing food shortages. Food stamps had long been introduced for more equal distribution of the shrinking stocks of foodstuffs. Around 780,000 residents died of cold and hunger during the first winter of the siege.

Boris Kudoyarov/RIA Novosti

The city's water supply was disrupted, so residents had to collect water from cracks in the asphalt on Nevsky Prospect caused by artillery fire.

Getty images

During the hardest days of winter, when there was neither heating nor electricity, people would tune into radios for news of the outside world.

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Residents rarely ventured out unless they had to because they were often too emaciated to cover even short distances. Faint with hunger, many collapsed and died from exposure to the cold. The corpses of the dead were collected from the streets and taken away.

Anatoliy Garanin/RIA Novosti

To keep up morale, the Musical Comedy Theater performed for the public in the city's Alexandrinsky Theater. Prominent Soviet pianist Dmitry Shostakovich wrote his world-famous Leningrad Symphony No. 7 during the siege.

Getty images

Trenches were dug and barricades erected on the outskirts of Leningrad to defend the city from all sides. Everyone did his or her bit. Residents also made a point of keeping their city tidy: They kept streets clear of snow, ice, and dirt.

Grigoriy Chertov/RIA Novosti

Children who had lost their parents and found themselves trapped inside Leningrad were sent to orphanages; whenever possible, school classes were organized for them. Often, however, children simply helped adults working in factories. At the Linotype factory children assembled machine-guns for the frontline.

Getty images

German troops load shells in a heavy artillery piece. Similar ordnance and artillery guns were used to protect the city and throughout the Eastern Front.

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The only lifeline connecting Leningrad to the outer world across Lake Ladoga was busy day and night. In the summer boats ferried food supplies across its waters; during the winter trucks drove over the ice of its frozen surface. The driver's doors on all the vehicles were removed to allow the driver to leap to safety if the truck broke through the ice and sank.

Getty images

Russian troops wore white camouflage to blend in with the snow on the frontlines around the city and throughout the Eastern Front during the winter months.

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It was not only people that required protection.  Workers at the city’s famous Hermitage Museum removed priceless masterpieces from their frames and hid them in the museum's basement during the war.

Getty images

People sheltered from air raids in cellars across the city.

Boris Kudoyarov/RIA Novosti

Loudspeakers warned residents of incoming artillery fire. A rapid metronome signal marked the beginning of raids; a slower signal the all clear.

Grigoriy Chertov/RIA Novosti

Artillery and bomb damage left gaping holes in buildings. Patriotic posters were put up on the facades of ruined buildings to warn residents of danger zones - and to partially cover up the unsightly scenes.

"The new top diplomat is interested in maintaining good relations with Russia that would flourish,’ he said.

"Russia is on the new minister’s agenda, it can hardly be otherwise, since it is Europe’s important and biggest neighbor," Schaefer noted.

Gabriel replaced Frank-Walter Steinmeier who will become the country’s next President in mid-February. Gabriel will remain the Vice Chancellor of Germany. 

Source: TASS

Last year “Pyatnitsa continuously tried to reach the DailyMotion administration via all possible means — contacting the company’s headquarters and getting in touch with their country manager,” said Gazprom Media’s press office.

After “a number of attempts,” Pyatnitsa filed its first suit last May. This action was related to videos from the Magazzino shows, which DailyMotion deleted after the court ruling.

Another dispute began in August, when Pyatnitsa noticed episodes of its new show, Patsanki, on the video-sharing platform.

“Again, the channel used all possible means to contact DailyMotion, but never received any response,” Gazprom Media told EWDN.

On Dec. 2, based on these charges, a Moscow court ordered that access to Daily Motion be blocked in Russia.

DailyMotion told Vedomosti that the company never received any claims from Gazprom Media and plans to appeal.

The Russian copyright battlefield

“Like our Russian and foreign colleagues, we are protecting the rights related to our TV shows using available legal means,” said Gazprom Media.

Russia blocks LinkedIn: A welcome warning for global players?

The company pointed out that in 2015 another of its subsidiaries, TNT, reached an amicable resolution in a dispute with YouTube. The case was related to TNT’s shows, Fizruk, and Chernobyl, which had been displayed on the international video platform.

“YouTube provided TNT with the necessary technical means to identify and withdraw the videos that involved copyright infringements,” said Gazprom Media.

Russia strengthened its anti-piracy legislation in 2013. In July last year, Roskomnadzor reached an agreement with the Motion Picture Association of America regarding copyrights and their protection.

Earlier this month the Russian regulator blocked access to Kinogb.net following a legal claim of copyright infringement brought by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Recently Rokomnadzor also blocked access to LinkedIn, but for entirely different reasons. The U.S. professional social network had not complied with Russia’s legislation on personal data, which requires that Russian user data be stored on servers that are physically located on Russian territory.

First published by East-West Digital News

Read more: Everything you wanted to know about Russian hackers, but were afraid to ask

"An agreement has been reached (with Russia’s Transport Minister - TASS) to lift embargo on flights performed by Somon Air to four cities - Krasnoyarsk, Krasnodar, Ufa and Orenburg," he said, adding that "the flights from Zhukovsky will be performed on a parity basis, the state-owned Tajik Air is also permitted to fly from Zhukovsky."

Moscow's 4th airport opens in Zhukovsky

The commission side-stepped the decision on flights of the Yamal airline from Zhukovsky airport in Russia’s Moscow region to Tajikistan until the summer season (lasts from March to October), Ganjalzoda said.

"Currently, Ural airlines fly from Zhukovsky to Dushanbe twice a week and now Tajik Air and Ural airlines will also fly to Khudzhand on parity basis," he said.

Flights between Russia and Tajikistan were suspended in December 2016 as the Tajik airline Somon Air was banned to perform flights to Russian regions, except Moscow and St. Petersburg. Earlier Tajikistan refused to agree flights by Yamal from Zhukovsky airport in the Moscow region to Khudzhand in the north of Tajikistan, saying that this would break the parity between the countries on the number of airlines selected for serving flights.

Source: TASS

Earlier, the U.S. reported it was prepared to take action against countries breaching trade agreements, and demanded a revision of the terms and conditions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, in order to make it “fairer.”

Russian experts ponder Trump's 'Superheroes squad' taking power

The Trump administration said that reducing the U.S. trade deficit with its largest partners is the primary mission of its new trade policy. In the case of China, which Trump believes devalues the yuan in order to support exports, that deficit exceeded $290 billion over the first 10 months of 2016.

International experts are warning that a unilateral hike in tariffs may backfire on the U.S. Speaking at the Davos forum, World Trade Organization (WTO) head Roberto Azevedo reminded the audience about the risks of the domino effect, when reciprocal tariff hikes result in a sharp reduction in both imports and exports.

What Russia stands to gain

The World Bank estimates that Russia would have had zero direct economic effect from the TPP agreement coming into force, while China would have faced a potential reduction in the volume of exports. However, had the TPP and its sister Trans-Atlantic Partnership been implemented, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which involves Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, would have found itself isolated in terms of trade and investment, said Evgeny Vinokurov, who heads the Center for Integration Studies at the Eurasian Development Bank.

Now that the U.S. has withdrawn from the TPP, this gives Russia and the EAEU a chance to develop trade and economic ties with Asia-Pacific countries.

Siberian company makes charcoal in honor of Trump and Putin meeting

As an EAEU member Russia already has a free trade agreement with Vietnam, one of the TРP signatories. In particular, Russian automotive manufacturers KamAZ and AvtoVAZ have reached agreements on localizing their production in that country. KamAZ reports that it managed to double the size of exports to countries outside the former Soviet Union in 2016, including thanks to deliveries to Vietnam, the company's largest market after the CIS.

Russia is in talks on simplifying trade with other Asian countries. For example, an agreement on economic cooperation is being prepared with China. Even though that agreement does not provide for a reduction in customs duties, it is expected to simplify the mutual movement of commodities by lifting non-tariff restrictions and reaching agreements on mutual quality inspections.

Moscow is also looking into the possibility of setting up free trade areas with Singapore, South Korea, and India. Apart from that, Russia is a party to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which is used as a separate platform for free trade area talks.

China, for its part, will now have greater freedom in promoting its own Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) project, said Alexey Portanskiy, professor at the Higher School of Economics and senior researcher at the International Economics Institute of Europe in the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Portanskiy noted, however, that China's alternative may prove less comprehensive than the TPP would have been, because potential parties to it are so far actively protecting their markets.

Read more: Putin-Trump phone talk scheduled for Jan. 28>>>

Roscosmos State Corporation has already pulled all Proton-M vehicles from the launch schedule, and sent the engines back to the manufacturer for additional checks.

Engine problems

Ivan Moiseyev, head of Russia's Space Policy Institute, explained that Roscosmos did the right thing.

“A rocket engine operates at temperatures that melt most materials, and so it relies on a complex cooling system,” said Moiseyev. “Even isolated instances of improper materials used in engines pose a real threat.”

Life in space: Liquid spices and 16 sunsets a day

It's not the first time that Russian launch vehicles have had engine problems. On Dec. 1, Russia lost the Progress MS-04 resupply ship due to an engine malfunction.

The engines of the Soyuz-U launch vehicle, which suddenly disintegrated at an altitude of 115 miles, was built by the Voronezh Mechanical Plant (VMP). It also supplies engines for Protons.

The inquiry put the blame for the Progress loss on VMP, leading to the resignation of its general director. All Soyuz-U engines were recalled for inspection. 

“In such instances, an inquiry board is normally set up to identify and eliminate the possible crash causes, and until these have been tackled there will be no further launches,” said Moiseyev.

Delayed launches

Roscosmos reported on Jan. 25 that it was carrying out “a thorough quality inspection” of the entire Proton-M system, including “those parameters which had been overlooked for decades.” This also applies to the VMP engines.

Criminal case opened over embezzling $1 mln at Vostochny Cosmodrome

Moiseyev said checking the Proton engines may take around six months, and during that time there will be no Proton launches.

“Any recalled engine needs to be checked not only in connection with the original reason for recall but also for other potential problems,” said Moiseyev. ldquo;This process takes time.”

The next Proton launch is not likely to happen until early summer. Kommersant reported that Proton vehicles were initially expected to be used in at least eight out of the 27 Russian space launches scheduled for 2017.

Until further notice

Moiseyev added that the rocket's type and payload capacity is unique to each lunch, meaning that replacement of the scheduled Protons will be impossible.

Roscosmos spokesman Igor Burenkov told Kommersant FM radio that the corporation would suffer financial losses due to the cancelled launches.

Still, he emphasized that Roscosmos’s priority was, “identifying the cause [of the malfunction] while still on the ground.” The current launch schedule will be revised within several weeks.

The VMP engines for Protons will be inspected by Energomash Corporation.

Energomash CEO Igor Arbuzov told Kommersant that the company’s subsidiary,Chemical Automatics Design Bureau, originally developed the Proton engines, so it can carry out the extra inspections.

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"The participation of Sergey Lavrov in the Munich conference on security policy issues is planned," the diplomat said. "As for the Russian delegation and its members, we will officially announce this later."

Speaking on the meeting with the U.S. delegation, Zakharova said Russia is waiting for Washington to take a decision on the level of its participation in the conference. "We will judge by who will be delegated to Munich," she said, adding that "after this there can be talk about the contacts."

The Munich Security Conference will be held on Feb. 17-19, 2017. It is traditionally attended by heads of state and government, senior officials from international organizations and leading experts. Russian representatives have been attending the conference since the late 1990s.

Source: TASS

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Overall, 2017 agricultural exports are expected to exceed imports, according to a new report by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), the Gaidar Institute, and the Russian Foreign Trade Academy.

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In 2015 Russia was second in the world for wheat, barley, buckwheat and sunflower oil exports. If this trend continues food exports this year can exceed food imports, and "the country will become a net exporter," said the report.

Some experts disagree, however. "Such a development is unlikely this year," said Andrei Sizov, executive director of SovEcon, an research and analysis center. The volume differences between exports and imports is still quite significant, Sizov pointed out, and he does not see factors that would lead to a drastic increase in exports or a decrease in imports.

"If the economy will start to grow then this can actually lead to a growth in imports," said Sizov. "Moreover, the ruble is getting stronger, which would make exports more expensive and less competitive globally."

Exports needed for growth

Russia's main food exports are grain and vegetable oil, and the domestic market is already saturated with poultry, pork and sugar.

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"Further development requires export, and if that doesn’t happen then there won’t be growth in these sectors whose domestic markets are saturated," said Vasily Uzun, one of the authors of the report, and chief scientific researcher at the Center for Agro-Food Policy. 

"Certain items grow well in Russia - carrots, potatoes, onions, cabbage, and etc.," said Uzun. "They are relatively cheap, and so Russia can compete with them on the world market. We need a state policy to support getting food to world markets."

The government, however, has made it clear to farmers that they should not look to it for more support, which will remain at the level of last year, said Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev earlier this month. He also recommended that farmers not expect a quick cancelation of the anti-Russian sanctions, and instead, continue to use the restriction on imports to their advantage.

"We had a very good harvest and have superb transport capabilities, but it’s still not clear how the world market will react," said Alexander Korbut, vice-president of the Grain Union. Many things depend on market prices, but they are difficult to predict, added the expert.

First published in Russian by Gazeta.ru

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The business news agency, says Vitaly Orlov, co-owner of fishing giant Karat Holding, is worth now $1 billion - even though his name is not to be found lists of the most influential businessmen.  

"Orlov has built a fortune that the Bloomberg Billionaires Index values at $1 billion, benefiting from the colliding forces of global trade and sanctions that today define Vladimir Putin’s Russia. While his business derives as much as 60 percent of its sales from outside the country, it’s also seen a surge in domestic consumption as sanctions limit food imports," writes Bloomberg.

As a result, Norebo Holding, which is part of Karat, began satisfying domestic demand for mackerel, herring and capelin (a type of smelt) without reducing the volume of its fish exports.

Orlov has been working in the fishing industry since 1993. His first enterprise, Ocean Trawlers - along with Norebo now part of Karat - was founded in 1997. Orlov is also head of the Murmansk Trawling Fleet and the Rybprominvest joint stock company.

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The two-time and reigning European bronze medalists were widely seen as frontrunners in the competition following their spectacular win at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Marseille, where they set a personal best.

"It is hard to explain how dearly this gold medal cost to us, it was a long road that required a great effort. We had to prove to the judges that we deserve this victory," Morozov said. "We were sure of our performance in the short program and the free skate, so we weren’t nervous."

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The Russians led after the short program and sealed their victory on Jan. 26 evening, scoring 227.58 points in total.

"For two years in a row, we won bronze awards, and this path toward gold was a very difficult one. We hope that more victories will follow. As far as the world championships are concerned, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it," he added.

The world championships will take place in Helsinki between March 29 and April 2.

Tarasova, in her turn, also described the victory as hard, adding that the pair had to replace a quad twist with a triple one due to an injury that she received during training.

"As far as my fall is concerned, it looked more serious than it really was, everything is fine. If not for this incident, we would have done the quad twist lift. We said in the beginning of this season that we are not going to cancel it, but we had to due to the circumstances," the skater added.

The pair’s coach Nina Mozer said the decision to leave the quad twist out was made was a last-minute one.

"The decision not to make the quad twist lift was made by me," she said. "Zhenya was skating with an injury. We did an x-ray Sunday, and I decided not to take the risk, because we were unable to practice the twist lift for more than a week."

Last year's European silver medalists Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany received 222,35 and finished second this year as well. The bronze went to Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France (220,02), who were second after the short program.

2014 Olympic silver medalists Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov of Russia were fourth (216,51), followed by another Russian pair, Natalia Zabiiako/Alexander Enbert (200,75).

Source: TASS

"The minister and I decided to increase the quota for foreign students, and we asked for 50,000 more places, which is around 30% more than the current number," said Ogorodova.

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Ogorodova said Russian universities are prepared to accommodate the increased number of foreign students. 

The government's investments in science and education over the past several years have been instrumental in creating educational opportunities for foreign students, including programs in English, at many Russian universities.

Ogorodova said that medical, engineering, pharmaceutical, and IT programs are particularly popular with foreign students in Russia.

There are also plans to simplify the visa requirements for foreign students enrolled at Russian universities by giving them a visa to cover the entire period of studies, instead of re-applying every year for a visa. A relevant bill has been submitted to the government.

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"Yes, I confirm this," Peskov said.

U.S. media reports earlier said that Trump, who was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president on Jan. 20, will hold his first phone conversation with Putin on Jan. 28.

Trump said in a Fox News interview on Jan. 26 he planned to have a phone conversation with Putin in the coming days. "He [Putin] called me after I won, but I haven’t had a discussion, but I understand we will be having a discussion soon," he said.

The U.S. leader also said that it would be mutually beneficial for Washington and Moscow to have improved ties. "I don’t know Putin, but if we can get along with Russia that’s a great thing, it’s good for Russia, it’s good for us," Trump said. "We go out together and knock the hell out of ISIS [the Islamic State terrorist group outlawed in Russia]."

Source: TASS

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Film director Andrei Konchalovsky: I have no desire to go back to Hollywood

The ceremony was held in the European Parliament during the Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony organized by the European Jewish Congress, and the honor was presented by the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR).

Konchalovsky was granted the medal for his latest film, Paradise, which dwells on the topic of the Holocaust. Paradise won the Silver Lion for best director at the 2016 Venice International Film Festival, and was shortlisted for the Oscars as best foreign-language film.

“Throughout his professional career Andrei Konchalovsky has shown deep understanding and sensibility towards human tragedies,” reads the ECTR press release.

“Our historical memory is in more danger than ever before, with the amount of easily accessible information weakening our memory,” TASS quoted (in Russian) Konchalovsky as saying.

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Gref, however, responded to the charges by calling the lawsuit a "scam."

"I believe this is a typical scam," Gref told RBC. "A lawsuit concerning an unpaid debt under Russian jurisdiction is filed in a New York court - this is clearly a PR stunt and a way to avoid responsibility."

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The bank has been sued for $750 million - $500 million as compensation for business losses, and $250 million as compensation for moral damages.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Sergey Poymanov and Irina Pogdornaya, the controlling shareholders in Pavlovskgranit, one of the largest granite producers in Europe.

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The plaintiffs accuse the defendants of conspiring "to take advantage of a market downturn" in order to conduct a hostile takeover of Pavlovskgranit. They also claim that the defendants tried to eliminate the company as a competitor.

"While pretending to offer realistic restructuring options, they purposefully maneuvered Mr. Poymanov into a position where he was essentially trapped," according to the complaint.

The document also said that Gref, "used his reputation and influence in the government to shield the defendants’ actions from the investigations and reviews of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service."

The list of defendants also includes: the NEO Centre Consulting Group and its vice president, Oleg Gref; Sberbank Capital and its CEO, Ashot Khachaturyants; co-owner of the National Non-Metallic Company, Yury Zhukov; and about twenty other companies and individuals. According to the complaint, Zhukov was the ringleader in the conspiracy.

The statement claims the defendants conducted the operation covertly from Russian authorities. Pavlovskgranit's assets were put under Zhukov’s control. The defendants allegedly used offshore companies and proxies to exercise the takeover. 

U.S. banks were also involved and a part of the funds raised were invested in the United States. According to court records, the case file was closed to the public immediately after the lawsuit was filed.

A scam

"Banking involves having to strongly protect one's interests, and I've researched the history of this affair," Gref told journalists. "We ended it in 2011-2012. The plaintiff was not paying its debts. We offered various options to restructure that debt, but the plaintiff tried to use contacts in the government, approaching all possible officials, trying to pressure us."

Pavlovskgranit's story was reviewed by "all possible state agencies," - from the Accounting Chamber, to the State Duma and the presidential administration.

"If we had been raiding after the 2008-2009 crisis, in terms of assets, the entire country would belong to us," Gref quipped.

Before Gref's press conference, a Sberbank press officer told RBC that the bank acted lawfully in the Pavlovskgranit case and called Poymanov’s lawsuit an attempt to avoid responsibility. 

"The bank has information proving that Poymanov is trying to avoid responsibility, including criminal responsibility," said the Sberbank official.

Why lawsuit in the U.S.?

Fedor Kozlov, a managing partner at Fedor Kozlov & Associates in Chicago, said the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. for several reasons.

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"First, PPF Management LLC is a law firm that feels more confident in an American court," said Kozlov. "They have experience with cases involving banking in the post-Soviet landscape and in a Russian court their chances would not be as good as their opponents."

Second, Pavlovskgranit is Europe's largest producer of non-metallic materials. This creates formal grounds for believing that the conflict's negative consequences have changed the situation on the American market, which gives the U.S. courts the right to use the principle of extraterritoriality. 

"Third, PPF understands very well that Sberbank is very careful with its foreign assets and the threat of a foreign court freezing them is a more significant blow for the bank than any decision coming from a Russian court," explained Kozlov.

In addition, Kozlov remarked that from the viewpoint of Anglo-Saxon law, such lawsuits are normal. For example, British law allows a citizen of any country to file a lawsuit with the Royal Court. Only one condition must be met - the defendant must be summoned correctly. It’s for this reason that the lawsuit involving Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich took place in London.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 20 in the New York County of Manhattan, and Judge Paul Gardephe will preside. According to court data, attorneys from several New York law firms will represent the defendant.

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The film was directed by Nicolas Kullmann, grandson of Maria Kullmann the founder of Pushkin House.

The life of Boris Pasternak will be shown at Pushkin House on Jan. 30, 6:15pm. For tickets visit www.pushkinhouse.org

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The annual ceremony marks the friendship and collaboration Russia and the UK enjoyed during World War Two and the two countries' joint efforts to fight the Nazis and their regime, which brought death and harm to millions of Jews and others.

All are welcome to join the ceremony, which begins at 11am at the park, in Lambeth Road, London, SE1 6HZ.

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Later that day Russian combat jets together with fighter planes from the international coalition flew to the area and wiped out IS units that were preparing to attack Syrian government forces.

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The Pentagon later flatly denied that any joint air strike had taken place.

Russian expert, Sergei Rogov, scientific director of Moscow think tank, the Institute for US and Canadian Studies, said:  "Until the new U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has his team set up it is too early to speak about radical changes in America's approach to Russia."

Rogov believes that by the end of the week, Trump will order the Pentagon to set new targets and missions for the U.S. military in Syria.

Russian response

Experts believe that the next combat zone for the Russian air force will be Idlib Province, where more than 30,000 militants and their families are sheltering after taking advantage of humanitarian corridors following the fall of Aleppo to Syrian government forces.

"With our support the Syrian Army will try to surround the terrorists, liberating the western part of Aleppo Province, as well as the northern part of the provinces of Hama and Latakia," said Vladimir Yevseyev, a military expert and deputy director of Moscow's CIS Institute.

Combat in these areas is likely to last through the summer, after which Russian and Syrian forces will focus on the eastern front, on the cities of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, he said.

"I hope that we will begin to actively collaborate with the U.S. and the war in Syria will not last longer than another year," Yevseyev added.

American scenarios

Experts agree on one thing: Donald Trump's decisiveness and his desire to put an end to the Islamic State.

"Varying approaches are possible: Sending a ground contingent to Syria to conduct combat operations; increasing financing of the so-called moderate opposition and the Kurds, which will aggravate Turkey, America's key ally in the region; or the development of a real plan of military cooperation with Russia," Rogov thinks.

Kremlin urges U.S. to consider aftermath of setting up safe zones in Syria

But Rogov stresses there will be challenges to any plans to collaborate that are formulated.

"The idea of cooperating with Russia will encounter fierce resistance in the Pentagon. It is extremely doubtful that Trump and American society will agree to a ground operation to defeat IS according to the Afghan or Iraqi model. Therefore, we should not exclude the possibility of military cooperation," he said.

If cooperation does take place, it will be the first such military alliance between Russia and the U.S. since World War Two II. "But it is still too early to speak about this," Rogov concluded.

Russian military experts were not surprised that the Royal Navy spent $1.7 million to follow Russian warships last summer as they passed near the British coast, and it’s in fact a small amount in terms of the UK’s overall military budget.

"The English acted in the interests of their country," remarked Commander (Retired) Igor Kasatonov, former head of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. "Following foreign ships that are close to one’s shores is a normal practice for any country. The servicemen must stay close to foreign ships in order to have a clear understanding of what is happening and what the other side is doing."

This money would have been spent with or without the Russian ships passing through the English Channel, experts said. The Russian naval group included the Admiral Kuznetsov, the only aircraft carrier in the Russian navy.

"They have money budgeted for combat preparation and conducting expeditions, and knowing that the Kuznetsov would sail close to British shores they had obviously planned such expenses," explained Captain (Retired) Dmitri Litovkin, now a military observer at Izvestia. "This is a part of the defense ministry's budget, which would have been spent on the need's of the navy anyway."

Valuable training for both sides

This peaceful naval encounter gave both countries a unique training opportunity.

"The English practiced intercepting this group and hitting it with a missile," said Litovkin. "Such military procedures are absolutely normal, and we also carried out certain tasks and used them for practice. This was training for both sides."

Admiral Kasatonov confirmed such practices among the navies of various nations, but emphasized the Royal Navy’s more practical use of this opportunity. Shadowing the Russian ships allowed the British military to test and update their intelligence on the Russian aircraft carrier.

"Closely following foreign ships is part of reconnaissance, to see if there is anything new on these ships, whether they have new technology," said Kasatonov.

The Russian naval group headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier arrived in the Mediterranean Sea on Nov. 1, and joined the anti-terrorist operation in Syria two weeks later. Earlier this month, the Admiral Kuznetsov sailed to the Russian port of Severomorsk in the framework of a reduction of Russia's military presence in Syria.

Keep calm: No need to panic over warships in the English Channel

1. It was built on the "Tsarist" road

In 1712 Peter the Great transferred the Russian capital from Moscow to the recently built St. Petersburg. Afterwards the road between the two cities became an important "governmental route." In the course of the following two centuries, as the road was used by the Tsars, towns and monasteries were erected alongside it. In the second half of the 18th century, during Catherine the Great's reign, the road was paved with stone, and 11 grand travel lodges were built for the empress to rest in - one every 40 miles. The palace in Tver's Old Town, situated near the Volga River, is one of the most sumptuous.

2. Architecturally, it differs from the other palaces

Most of the travel lodges are not very architecturally expressive: The modest two-story edifices with a triangular frontispiece in the center were built according to one model and most of the time, when not required to host the empress, they functioned as post offices and lodgings for imperial officials, members of court and other guests. The palace in Tver was an exception. It was constructed in the style of the grand St. Petersburg residences and was used for balls and receptions. In 1767 Catherine stopped at the palace during an important journey from St. Petersburg to Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk, about 560 miles east of Moscow) in which she was accompanied by almost 2,000 people, including the Austrian, French and British ambassadors. Only the Petroff Palace in Moscow could compete with it in terms of the grandeur of its decorations.

3. It occupies the site of a bishop's house that had burned down

The beginning of major construction in Tver began after the fire of 1763, which destroyed the wooden Kremlin and other ancient buildings. Architect Peter Nikitin, creator of the general plans for many provincial Russian towns (including Kaluga and Torzhok) went to Tver to restore the city in accordance with the new approach to town planning. It is thanks to him that Catherine the Great remarked that Tver had become "the second most beautiful city after St. Petersburg." Nikitin designed the palace for the area on the banks of the Volga where the house of Tver's bishop had once stood.

4. Designed by famous architects

The best architects of the time were hired to build and rebuild the palace. Nikitin's assistant during construction was the young Matvey Kazakov, who later would go on to build the Kremlin Senate in Moscow, Moscow University and Petroff Palace. Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe, who built the Small Hermitage and the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, designed the interior décor for the bedchamber and other rooms. At the beginning of the 19th century the palace was reconstructed for new owners by Carlo Rossi and Joseph Bové. Rossi was the architect for the General Staff Building on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, while Bové built the Bolshoi Theatre. The icons for the palace's magnificent church were painted by the best portraitist of Catherine's time, Vladimir Borovikovsky.

Carlo Rossi. View of Travel Palace in Tver, 1800

5. The interiors resembled those of imperial palaces in St Petersburg

Initially, the interiors were executed in the manner of the grand residences. They contained luxury textile wallpaper, Dutch ovens with tiles, parquet floors, plaster columns that imitated marble, extravagant stuccowork, mirrors, wrought iron stairs, bronze chandeliers, paintings and sculptures. It is known that the empress fell in love with the palace and that contemporaries mentioned its sumptuous decorations in their memoirs.

6. It was a social hub

Early in the 19th century the palace's function changed. Besides hosting the emperors during their travels, it became the residence of the governor general of Tver Region, George Duke of Oldenburg and his wife Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, sister of Emperor Alexander I, who personally participated in the palace's remodelling. At the time the palace became one of the centers of Russia's social life and a fashionable literary salon. It was here that illustrious historian Nikolay Karamzin read to Alexander I chapters from his History of the Russian State.

Archive photo of the palace / Public domain

7. Restoration began in 2012

Restoration of the palace began in 2012. During Soviet times key elements of the décor were lost and many objects stolen. Now reconstruction work has returned the palace to its original splendour. The pictorial panel painted by Russian artist of Italian descent, Fyodor Bruni was restored on the grand staircase and the Canaletto canvases decorating it transferred to the museum halls. In particular, the palace had managed to preserve its luxurious sets of furniture featuring gilded sphinxes on the armrests that were designed by Carlo Rossi, and armchairs with swans created by another celebrated architect, Andrey Voronikhin, who designed St. Petersburg's Kazan Cathedral.

8. Before the revolution it was a museum

For the last 50 years the halls of the palace have housed the Tver Regional Art Gallery. But it had already become a museum well before the Bolshevik Revolution. In 1894 an exhibition of Moscow and St. Petersburg artists was organized in the palace and two years later the building was turned into a public historical-archaeological museum. In the 1960s paintings by famous 18th and 19th century Russian painters such as Borovikovsky, Levitan, Korovin and Serov were put on display in halls that had been restored after the destruction wrought during World War Two.

Read more: Gatchina Palace: Catherine the Great’s lover, her son and other stories

Russian virtuoso pianist, Boris Berezovsky, is to play at London's Royal Festival Hall, Feb. 28. Recordings of the acclaimed musician's classical recitals have won top international prizes, including the BBC Music Magazine Award and the Choc de la Musique award.

The evening program includes Ludwig van Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" sonata, Frederic Chopin's Impromptu No. 3 (and two other sonatas), and Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 8, the last in the famous Russian composer's trilogy of War Sonata's, written during World War Two.

For more information and tickets visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk.

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