Around Moscow

Around Moscow

1999: In the evening of August 31, an explosion...

1999: In the evening of August 31, an explosion went off in the Okhotny Ryad shopping centre on Manezhnaya Square near the Kremlin. Forty-one people were wounded (one woman later died in hospital). In the early hours of September 9, an explosion ripped through a nine-storey apartment house in Guryanova Street, causing the central part of the building to tumble. Ninety-two people died, 264 were wounded, including 86 children. The neighbouring houses were damaged too. Early on September 13, a blast razed an eight-storey apartment house in Kashirskoye Shosse (highway). As many as 124 people were killed, including 13 children, and nine people were wounded. The neighbouring buildings were hit too. 2000: In the evening of August 8, an explosion went off in the underpass on Pushkinskaya Square, central Moscow. Seven people died instantly, 100 people were wounded (five of them died later in hospital). 2001: In the evening of February 5, an explosive device placed under a stone bench was activated at the Belorusskaya metro station (the ring). Ten people were wounded, the bench was completely destroyed, and the interior of the station was slightly damaged. 2002: In the evening of October 23, a terrorist detachment headed by Movsar Barayev took hostage all the spectators and actors, over 800 people, including 80 foreigners, during the Nord Ost performance in the Dubrovka theatre centre. The terrorists demanded that federal troops be withdrawn from the Chechen republic. On October 26, a special operation to liberate the hostages left all the terrorists - 32 men and 18 women - dead. Besides, 128 hostages died, including eight people from CIS and non-CIS countries. 2003: In the afternoon of July 5, two suicide bombers activated explosive devices strapped to their belts during he Krylya rock festival in the Tushino aerodrome, in the immediate vicinity to it, though only one of them exploded fully. Besides the terrorists,11 people died, including one child. At least 35 people were wounded (three of them died later in hospital). Over 60 people asked for medical treatment. Late on July 9, security guards detained a woman who had an explosive device in her bag in the Imbir cafe, 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street. During the bomb disposal, an FSB officer was killed by a blast. The woman, Zarema Muzhikhoyeva, a Chechen native, was later sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Moscow City Court. In the morning of December 9, a female suicide bomber exploded herself near the National hotel in Okhotny Ryad Street (close to the Kremlin). Besides the terrorist, five people were killed, 13 wounded, including a Chinese citizen. 2004: In the morning of February 6, a suicide bomber activated an explosive device strapped to his belt in a train going from the Avtozavodskaya to the Paveletskaya underground stations. The train was 300 metres short of Paveletskaya. Thirty-nine people died on the spot, including Armenian and Moldovan citizens, and about 140 people were wounded. On March 15, on the 23rd km of the Krym highway in the Moscow region, staffers of the Moscow Mainline Electricity Transmission Grids discovered three damaged masts of the LEP-500 (electricity transmission lines). The damage was caused by an explosion. Besides, they found an explosive devices consisting of three cartridges for a grenade launcher on one of the masts, and another two explosive devices and a piece of fabric resembling the flag of the Chechen republic of Ichkeria. (RIA Novosti, September 1)

A first-year pupil from a school in the...

A first-year pupil from a school in the Russian Volga Region has designed the emblem for the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft, the Federal Space Agency said.

Another round of talks between Moscow and...

Another round of talks between Moscow and Washington on a new strategic arms deal will open in Geneva on Monday, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday.

Arctic peoples and their cultural inheritance...

Arctic peoples and their cultural inheritance are vulnerable to rising global temperatures, the Russian president"s adviser on climate change said at the Fifth Arctic Leaders" Summit in Moscow on Wednesday.

A Soyuz TMA-18 piloted spacecraft with a...

A Soyuz TMA-18 piloted spacecraft with a new space crew has docked with the International Space Station (ISS) in the automatic mode, Mission Control said on Sunday.

A Thai Airways Boeing 747 with 330 passengers...

A Thai Airways Boeing 747 with 330 passengers on board made an emergency landing after an engine caught fire shortly after takeoff, a Thai news agency reported on its website on Friday.

A total of 18 people, including eight children...

A total of 18 people, including eight children, were injured during New Year celebrations in Moscow over the careless use of fireworks, Moscow"s emergencies center said on Sunday.

A Tu-204 plane en route from the Egyptian...

A Tu-204 plane en route from the Egyptian resort of Hurghada performed an emergency landing one km from Moscow"s Domodedovo airport, a police source told RIA Novosti on Monday.

A United Airlines Boeing 767, which made...

A United Airlines Boeing 767, which made an emergency landing en route from Washington to Moscow on an island of the Azores in the mid-Atlantic on Wednesday, should reach its destination on Thursday, a passenger told RIA Novosti.

British programmer Peter Moore, 36, who...

British programmer Peter Moore, 36, who had been in captivity in Iraq for two and a half years, arrived back in Britain on Friday.

Danish company Novo Nordisk, a world leader...

Danish company Novo Nordisk, a world leader in production of anti-diabetic medicine, has signed an agreement to build an insulin plant in Kaluga, the regional administration"s press service said on Wednesday.

Dmitry Medvedev drove a car through Moscow...

Dmitry Medvedev drove a car through Moscow for the first time as president on Friday.

Easter celebrations in Moscow were held...

Easter celebrations in Moscow were held in a calm atmosphere, with an extra 3,000 officers providing security following the recent terrorist attacks, police said on Sunday.

Global oil markets will face a shortage...

Global oil markets will face a shortage of oil as the global economy exits recession and supply fails to keep pace with recovery in demand, a Russian business daily reported on Tuesday, citing Goldman Sachs" analysts.

Israeli aircraft bombed up to six targets...

Israeli aircraft bombed up to six targets in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Friday after a Palestinian rocket attack killed a civilian in southern Israel.

Israel"s Airports Authority on Tuesday launched...

Israel"s Airports Authority on Tuesday launched a pilot "self check-in" automated security system for passengers traveling abroad, a national daily said.

It was the dead of night, and all was quiet...

It was the dead of night, and all was quiet in the rural settlement on the Moskva River, but the residents were still on guard to keep the surrounding city out of their small piece of paradise.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who...

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who fled the capital Bishkek amid violent opposition protests, said on Thursday he no longer has any real power but vowed not to resign, local news agency 24.kg reported.

Military preparation training should be...

Military preparation training should be reintroduced in all Russian schools to increase patriotism in youth, the country"s chief military prosecutor said in an interview with a Russian government daily to be published on Thursday.

MOSCOW, June 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President...

MOSCOW, June 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said ensuring stability grain prices and guaranteeing food security are priorities for the agricultural sector, a Kremlin press release said on Saturday.

MOSCOW, May 4 (RIA Novosti) - Amnesty International...

MOSCOW, May 4 (RIA Novosti) - Amnesty International said in a report released Thursday that racially motivated attacks are on the increase in Russia, and blamed the government for not doing enough to tackle the problem. Non-white foreigners have been the victims of a number of attacks in recent months across the country, but particularly in St. Petersburg - the location for this year"s annual summit of the group of eight leading industrialized nations on July 15-17. "Russia"s record on racism is incompatible with the country"s place on the international stage and undermines its standing in the world," a press release quoted Amnesty"s secretary general, Irene Khan, as saying. "It is time for the Russian authorities to address the country"s deteriorating human rights record and live up to their international obligations if they seek to be international players." The human-rights group cited figures from Moscow"s Sova analytical agency that said 28 people were murdered and 366 attacked on racially motivated grounds in 2005. But it said the actual figure "could be much higher as many racially motivated crimes are either not reported at all or not registered as such," as many are filed under charges of "hooliganism." Amnesty said local and national authorities were not doing enough to deal with the problem. "Some regional authorities have taken initiatives to address racism, but they are woefully inadequate and isolated," the press release quoted Khan as saying. "The time has come for the federal government to put into action a comprehensive national plan to give the fight against racism the high priority it deserves." Assailants are often members of "well-organized groups professing a racist, neo-fascist and violent ideology," and there may be as many as 50,000 members of such groups across the country, Amnesty said, citing NGO figures. Official statistics say there are 150 such groups in the country, with 5,000 members. The group also cited discrimination - usually explained as "counter-terrorism measures" - against people from the troubled North Caucasus, who are 21 times more likely to be stopped in random document checks on the Moscow metro, according to a study. Over a thousand protestors took to the streets of St. Petersburg - President Vladimir Putin"s hometown - on April 11 in the wake of the slaying of Lamzer Samba, a fifth-year student at the city"s State Telecommunications University. Samba, from Senegal, was killed on his way home from a nightclub in the south of the city center with a group of fellow African students April 7. Police found a gun with a swastika at the scene. A nine-year-old girl of mixed Russian and African origin was hospitalized after being stabbed near her apartment building in St. Petersburg March 25. The parents of another nine-year-old girl, Khursheda Sultonova, an ethnic Tajik who died in February 2004 after being attacked by a group of young men, have launched an appeal with a city court against a jury decision to clear a defendant of the killing of their daughter. The jury convicted the main defendant in the trial of robbery and hooliganism, but cleared him of murder charges. Six others were found guilty of hooliganism, and another was cleared of all charges. In March, a Moscow City Court found Alexander Koptsev guilty of a knife attack on nine people at a central Moscow synagogue in early January, and sentenced him to 13 years in prison. Other violent attacks on non-white foreigners in St. Petersburg in recent months include an killing of a man from Mali, who was stabbed to death in February, and the murder of a student from Cameroon last December and of a Congolese student in September. Routine attacks by skinheads and youth gangs on foreigners with non-Slavic features have also been reported in other Russian cities. The central city of Voronezh alone has seen at least seven apparently racially motivated killings over the past six years, including the murder of a Peruvian student in October last year.

MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian...

MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed amendments to the criminal law stipulating criminal liability for offences damaging investors" rights on the securities market, the Kremlin press office said on Sunday.

MOSCOW, October 10 (RIA Novosti) —...

MOSCOW, October 10 (RIA Novosti) — India and Russia will extend their strategic and military partnership when they sign a new military cooperation agreement in December, an Indian daily said on Saturday.

Moscow police will provide journalists with...

Moscow police will provide journalists with "safe passage" cards to ensure they can be identified among groups of protesters while covering rallies and riots, a police spokesman said on Friday.

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator...

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Tatyana Sinitsyna) - Four Baltic nations - Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland - have decided to build a powerful nuclear plant together.

One of the U.S"s largest coffee chains Dunkin"...

One of the U.S"s largest coffee chains Dunkin" Donuts has re-entered the Russian market and has plans for expansion, the company"s franchisee for Russia and Ukraine said on Wednesday.

Pakistan confirmed on Wednesday that the...

Pakistan confirmed on Wednesday that the top Taliban military commander had been captured last week, the BBC reported.

Pakistan"s president signed a bill to increase...

Pakistan"s president signed a bill to increase punishment for harassment of women at workplace, national television reported on Saturday.

Police are investigating the circumstances...

Police are investigating the circumstances of the death of fugitive Russian businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin"s mother in Moscow, a police source said on Sunday.

Police in Finland"s southern city of Espoo...

Police in Finland"s southern city of Espoo have said the bodies of six people have been found in a shopping mall after a shooting spree earlier in the day, Finnish news agencies reported on Thursday.

Polish Foreign Ministry press secretary...

Polish Foreign Ministry press secretary Petr Paszkowski said the Tu-154 passenger plane with Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashed some 300-400 meters from the runway near the Russian city of Smolensk on Saturday while landing in heavy fog.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and another...

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and another 131 people traveling with him to commemorate mass killing of Polish officers during World War Two died on Saturday when his plane crashed on landing in western Russia.

Pumping of Russian natural gas to Europe...

Pumping of Russian natural gas to Europe via the Baltic Nord Stream pipeline will start in September 2011, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

Restrictions on professional video and photo...

Restrictions on professional video and photo shoots in Red Square and the Kremlin will be lifted soon, the government agency in charge of presidential security said on Thursday.

Russia and seven other countries signed...

Russia and seven other countries signed on Monday a declaration to create an international research consortium for information security.

Russia and the United States should introduce...

Russia and the United States should introduce the arms reduction treaty for ratification simultaneously, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday, vowing that Moscow would not delay the process.

Russia expects to boost arms sales by 12%...

Russia expects to boost arms sales by 12% in 2010, the Federal Agency for Military Cooperation said on Wednesday.

Russia has launched a national domain name...

Russia has launched a national domain name .аЂа„ - Russian Federation - using the Cyrillic alphabet instead of Latin letters on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the national domain coordination center said.

Russia has not yet decided on the date for...

Russia has not yet decided on the date for the delivery of advanced S-300 air defense systems to Iran, a Russian defense industry official said on Wednesday.

Russia is concerned over the rise of terrorist...

Russia is concerned over the rise of terrorist activity in Yemen and supports efforts by the Yemeni authorities to tackle extremism in the country, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Russia is ready to help Poland organize...

Russia is ready to help Poland organize events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre of Polish prisoners of war by the Soviet Union, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

Russian diplomats and special services are...

Russian diplomats and special services are trying to return to Russia a 12-year-old boy who has been living for several years in the Dominican Republic, presumably after being abandoned by his Russian adoptive parents.

Russian multi-billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov...

Russian multi-billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov plans to launch mass production of inexpensive electric cars in Russia and has already received the backing of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a business daily reported on Wednesday.

Russian passenger planes returning from...

Russian passenger planes returning from Europe have no problems with their engines despite the spread of ash from a volcano in Iceland, Transportation Minister Igor Levitin said on Monday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama signed on Thursday a new treaty on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons to replace the START 1 treaty, which expired in December 2009.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev approved...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev approved on Friday a long-term policy for the development of the national defense industry.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday demanded the introduction of price ceilings for utility tariffs.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday proposed amendments to the country"s criminal legislation to fight the illegal seizure of companies.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia could raise the issue of the scrapping of a new arms reduction treaty should the United States create an "imbalance," but hopes this will not happen.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday he does not rule out running for president again in the 2012 election.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin did...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin did not plan to hold talks with Alexander Lukashenko during his visit to Belarus, the Russian government said on Tuesday, denying speculation the Belarusian president had gone to Venezuela to avoid a meeting.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday will take part in the opening ceremony of a trans-Atlantic sea cargo transportation route in St. Petersburg and hold talks with the Danish premier, the government said Sunday.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will announce on Thursday the establishment of a joint venture between Russian automaker Sollers and Italy"s car giant Fiat, a Russian business daily said on Tuesday.

Russian specialists have helped almost 150...

Russian specialists have helped almost 150 people affected by the Chilean earthquake since they arrived to the devastated country, a Russian emergencies ministry spokeswoman said on Sunday.

Russia plans to export $9-$10 billion worth...

Russia plans to export $9-$10 billion worth of arms annually over the coming years, the country"s state arms regulator said on Monday.

Russia"s Constitutional Court reaffirmed...

Russia"s Constitutional Court reaffirmed on Friday that Moscow should obey Strasbourg human rights court decisions and ordered further legislative and other reforms to ensure their implementation.

Russia"s crude oil output grew 1% year-on-year...

Russia"s crude oil output grew 1% year-on-year in January-November 2009 to 451.63 million metric tons (3.3 billion barrels), the Energy Ministry said on Wednesday.

Russia"s Defense Ministry rubbished on Saturday...

Russia"s Defense Ministry rubbished on Saturday media reports of corruption linked to purchases of Daimler AG vehicles.

Russia"s leading stock exchanges, MICEX...

Russia"s leading stock exchanges, MICEX and the RTS, opened on Monday with their key indexes going down on news of terrorist attacks in the Russian capital, but recovered soon afterwards.

Russia wants to encourage private companies...

Russia wants to encourage private companies to invest in space exploration, the head of the country"s space agency said on Thursday.

Russia will provide Abkhazia financial assistance...

Russia will provide Abkhazia financial assistance worth over 10 billion rubles ($330 million) in the next three years, Russia"s ambassador to the former Georgian republic said Thursday.

Russia will restore the complete radar coverage...

Russia will restore the complete radar coverage of its western borders when a new radar facility in the southern town of Armavir becomes fully operational by mid-2010, the Space Forces commander said.

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State Technology Corporation Rostekhnologii...

State Technology Corporation Rostekhnologii plans to establish a joint venture with Israel Airspace Industry for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the Russian corporation"s head said on Wednesday.

Talks on introducing visa-free travel between...

Talks on introducing visa-free travel between Russia and the European Union are hindered by political issues, Russia"s EU envoy said on Friday.

The body of the last missing mountaineer...

The body of the last missing mountaineer was found in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria on Saturday, a local emergencies spokesman said.

The development of the Shtokman gas condensate...

The development of the Shtokman gas condensate field in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea will start in the spring of 2011, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Saturday.

The head of a Moscow traffic police battalion...

The head of a Moscow traffic police battalion whose subordinates commandeered several private cars to stop a runaway vehicle but refused to pay compensation for damage was officially reprimanded on Tuesday.

The Kaluga regional authorities and Berlin-Chemie...

The Kaluga regional authorities and Berlin-Chemie, a member of the leading Italian pharmaceutical holding Menarini Group, agreed on Friday on the construction of a new pharmaceutical factory.

The next Russia-EU Summit will take place...

The next Russia-EU Summit will take place in Rostov-on-Don on May 31 and June 1, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

The Russian and NATO top military officials...

The Russian and NATO top military officials will hold their next meeting May 6 in Brussels to finalize a draft treaty they approved Tuesday, Russia"s envoy to the alliance, Dmitry Rogozin, said.

The Russian government would like to see...

The Russian government would like to see more active cooperation with the U.S. Congress to facilitate trade between the two countries, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

The Russian navigation system Glonass will...

The Russian navigation system Glonass will cover 100% of the Earth"s surface by yearend, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday.

The upcoming tests of Russia"s troubled...

The upcoming tests of Russia"s troubled Bulava ballistic missile will determine whether it will be put in service with the Russian Navy or scrapped, a senior Navy commander said.

The U.S. Discovery space shuttle successfully...

The U.S. Discovery space shuttle successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) manually after a malfunction on board the shuttle, Russian Mission Control"s NASA representative Sergei Puzanov said.

Two suspected militants were killed on Monday...

Two suspected militants were killed on Monday by police in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia"s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, a local police official said.

Ukraine"s parliament on Thursday approved...

Ukraine"s parliament on Thursday approved Mykola Azarov, 62, an ally of President Viktor Yanukovych, as prime minister.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he...

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he is ready to visit North Korea if it helps to restart the six-party talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. President Barack Obama has finally...

U.S. President Barack Obama has finally brought America closer to European universal healthcare systems. It took him almost a year to persuade Congress to approve his healthcare reform. The House approved it by a majority of only seven votes (219 to 212) on March 21. The amended bill will be submitted to the Senate but this will be a sheer formality, since the Senate is dominated by Democrats and the endorsement procedure has already been agreed upon.