Exhibitions

A Lexus RX400h car worth 1.3 million rubles...

A Lexus RX400h car worth 1.3 million rubles (more than $43,000) has been stolen from a St. Petersburg traffic police officer, the Operativnoye Prikritiye news agency has said.

Alfa Bank is to invest around $240 million...

Alfa Bank is to invest around $240 million in Mirax Group to continue construction of a Moscow skyscraper, planed as one of the world"s tallest buildings, a Russian business daily said on Monday.

Almost 1,800 passengers of the Russian air...

Almost 1,800 passengers of the Russian air company VIM-Avia have been stranded at French Alps Chambery airport due to heavy snow, a company"s spokeswoman said on Sunday.

A Moscow court has thrown out a slander...

A Moscow court has thrown out a slander claim by Russian brewers against the country"s top drug and alcohol control official over statements they say "demonize" beer.

A new Russian nuclear-powered multipurpose...

A new Russian nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine should enter service by late 2010, the developer said on Wednesday.

An passenger plane en route from Warsaw...

An passenger plane en route from Warsaw to Smolensk on Saturday crashed during landing in heavy fog in southwest Russia, killing all passengers on board, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

Anti-smoking posters showing a cigarette...

Anti-smoking posters showing a cigarette being extinguished on the body of a sleeping baby have been harshly criticized by the Moscow Advertisement, Information and Design Committee.

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, Deputy Chairman...

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchy"s Department of External Church Relations Is it appropriate to wear such obvious religious symbols as a hijab (a Muslim headscarf), a skullcap, or a large Crucifix, at schools, government offices or other public premises? This issue, which is being widely debated in western Europe today, was a burning one many years ago in the USSR. I remember very well how Soviet children were not allowed to wear their crosses to school, not just by teachers: there was a campaign against those crosses in the national media at the time. In 1980s, when I went to school, one no longer could be sent to GULAG for wearing a crucifix, but it was nevertheless clearly indicated that by professing your faith in public you were making yourself an outcast of society, an enemy of the generally accepted totalitarian atheist ideology. It is painful to think that such problems could still await countries that have never known totalitarianism. I do not think they would benefit from stringent regulation of what schoolchildren, teachers, or civil servants should or should not wear. Naturally, a police officer would look ridiculous wearing a large cross on top of his or her uniform, preaching in the street instead of enforcing law and order. But we still must not forget that many religions and faiths prescribe their followers certain lifestyles, which are reflected in specific symbols. "Barbarian" in the eyes of Western peoples, they look perfectly natural and habitual to their adherents, who see the ban on their lifestyles as both a form of cultural and philosophical aggression. Each ethnic group must understand that their concepts of what is appropriate or inappropriate in public are not necessarily universal and acceptable to everyone. Moreover, the interdependence of religious norms and social order is different for different traditions. In Western society, which is referred to as post-Christian, religion is becoming more of a private business, whereas for most Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Orthodox Jews and many others, religion cannot be separated from the social structure. I once read in one airline"s in-flight magazine which topics are considered to be inappropriate for discussing over a mobile phone in public: sex, politics and religion. It seems that the religious element in a person"s life is viewed as indecent these days. One is allowed to be religious, but it is best not to talk about it outside one"s home or religious community. Faith should not find its way into public debates, mainstream media, education, and even the social services. In other words, it should not be let outside "the walls of churches and apartments." This, in fact, was the requirement of the communist authorities in the USSR. Still, religion"s social role does break through, just like grass grows through concrete. The current hijab debate is an eloquent example. It may even appear that the advocates of radical secularism are already short of arguments, as they increasingly prefer to resort to the "not allowed, and that"s that" reasoning, which sounds so similar to that of the decrepit Soviet regime in the 1980s. Now that one comes to think of it, what are the advocates of secular social order so scared of? Of the day when it becomes clear that all the talk about humanism and its "neutral world outlook" is nothing more than a hackneyed political and journalistic metaphor? To my mind, secularism is a religion, too - one believing in Man, and putting Man into the centre of the universe. For a consistent follower of that religion, a heavily made-up woman and a man sporting a bow tie are also displaying their "faith" in public. Is it not time different lifestyles based on different outlooks are given equal rights? Headscarves are also widely discussed in modern Russia. Women have to cover their heads in Russian Orthodox churches during services. Many of them, even young ones, have started wearing headscarves elsewhere, even at home. Muslim women have stood up for their right to wear hijabs in photos on id

A Russian delegation led by Deputy Prime...

A Russian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin will pay a two-day visit to Istanbul on Thursday to discuss the construction of Turkey"s first nuclear power plant and other energy projects.

A Russian photojournalist has won an award...

A Russian photojournalist has won an award in one of the most prestigious international photo contests, the Sony World Photography Awards 2010 in Cannes, France, in the category Commercial/Music.

A smell of char was the reason for a Washington-Moscow...

A smell of char was the reason for a Washington-Moscow passenger airliner emergency landing in Azores earlier in the week, a spokeswoman for United Airlines said.

A U.S. security spokesman assured reporters...

A U.S. security spokesman assured reporters on Friday that Moscow and Washington had overcome their "historical" differences.

A young composer from St. Petersburg, Russia"s...

A young composer from St. Petersburg, Russia"s second largest city, has written a symphony in honor of the Shtokman gas condensate field in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea, the Sinemafonika producer company said on Friday.

Ben Southall, the winner of the "Best job...

Ben Southall, the winner of the "Best job in the World," has been stung by a deadly jellyfish as he jetskied near a tropical island in Australia"s Great Barrier Reef.

BRUSSELS, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - NATO...

BRUSSELS, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Russian envoy to the Western military bloc Dmitry Rogozin will hold an extraordinary meeting on Thursday.

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon...

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon has cancelled a diplomatic visit to Russia because of the volcanic dust cloud which has caused the closure of airspace across much of Europe.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton...

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Monday that Palestine may become an independent and viable sovereign nation within the next two years.

European airlines are pressing national...

European airlines are pressing national aviation authorities to ease a flight ban over the spread of ash from a volcano in Iceland as losses mount and passengers remain stranded.

Former UN envoy to Afghanistan Peter Galbraith...

Former UN envoy to Afghanistan Peter Galbraith has dismissed allegations by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that foreign observers were involved in a plot to put a puppet government in power during last year"s disputed elections, the BBC has said.

Fugitive Russian businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin...

Fugitive Russian businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin may be detained, if he comes to his mother"s funeral in Moscow, a police source said on Sunday.

Gazprom announced on Monday it had agreed...

Gazprom announced on Monday it had agreed terms with Italy"s energy company Eni on joining the Elephant oilfield in Libya in an asset-swap deal.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said...

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Tuesday Greece is ready to sign a contract with Russia for the construction of the Greek section of the South Stream pipeline project.

Heads of the largest transnational corporations...

Heads of the largest transnational corporations operating in Russia will sign on Wednesday an obligation not to bribe Russian officials, Russian business daily Vedomosti said on Tuesday.

ISTANBUL, October 4 (RIA Novosti) - The...

ISTANBUL, October 4 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian and Icelandic delegations have failed to reach an agreement on a loan to Iceland but consultations will continue, the Russian finance minister said Sunday.

It will take Russia four or five years to...

It will take Russia four or five years to return to the deficit-free budgets that the country enjoyed before the global financial crisis hit, Deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin said on Wednesday.

KHABAROVSK, September 22 (RIA Novosti) -...

KHABAROVSK, September 22 (RIA Novosti) - A synagogue in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk has been attacked, territorial law enforcement agencies said Friday. "The attack occurred last night," the police press service said. "Four unidentified assailants pelted the building with stones, smashing windows and a glass door. There were no casualties." An investigation has been launched. This is not the first attack on the Khabarovsk synagogue. Several months ago, Molotov cocktails were hurled at the building. Ethnically and religiously motivated violence has been on the rise across Russia in the past year. On September 15, Moscow"s City Court sentenced Alexander Koptsev, who was found guilty of stabbing nine people in a synagogue in January 2006 and of fueling religious hatred, to 16 years in prison. Koptsev was initially given a 13-year prison sentence in March for attempted murder, but was cleared of race hate charges. Russia"s Supreme Court overturned the lower court"s decision in June and ordered a retrial after both Koptsev"s lawyers and prosecutors appealed the verdict. In their appeals, Koptsev"s lawyers argued the defendant was mentally unstable, while prosecutors said a 13-year sentence was insufficient and pressed for 16 years in a maximum-security prison. "The defendant shouted anti-Semitic slogans because he was hysterical that day," defense lawyer Roza Saribzhanova said. "He believes in reincarnation and did not want to kill anyone, but wanted to be killed." But the public prosecutor demanded the defendant be found guilty of attempted murder and fuelling interethnic and religious hatred. The court also questioned two medical experts who confirmed previous psychiatric tests that diagnosed Koptsev with a schizophrenic disorder. The experts concluded that the defendant was unbalanced at the time of the attack.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of...

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of the Yukos oil giant who is facing new charges of oil and oil revenue embezzlement, said on Thursday the prosecution"s accusations were paradoxical and devoid of logic.

Moscow and Minsk will soon reach an agreement...

Moscow and Minsk will soon reach an agreement resolving differences over the supply and transit of Russian oil in 2010, the Russian energy minister said.

MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...

MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s Admiral Panteleyev missile destroyer has detained a boat carrying 29 suspected pirates off the Somali coast, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) - Suspected...

MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) - Suspected pirates seized by a Russian warship off the Somali coast earlier this week could be tried in Russia, media said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...

MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s Navy took over command of the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group from Romania Saturday prior to an active phase of a Blackseafor exercise, the press service of the Russian Black Sea Fleet said. Formally established at Turkey"s initiative in 2001, Blackseafor - which comprises Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, Georgia and Russia - conducts search and rescue operations, and environmental monitoring, and organizes goodwill visits among Black Sea countries. Its charter says Blackseafor can also be deployed for peacekeeping operations under a UN or OSCE mandate. Captain I Rank Mikhail Sukhval who will coordinate Blackseafor"s joint activities during the next year praised current contacts between the fleets of the Blackseafor countries.

MOSCOW, February 16 (RIA Novosti) - The...

MOSCOW, February 16 (RIA Novosti) - The mausoleum at Red Square, where the embalmed corpse of Vladimir Lenin is housed, will be closed for two months for maintenance works on Monday.

MOSCOW, February 20 (RIA Novosti) - Viktor...

MOSCOW, February 20 (RIA Novosti) - Viktor Yanukovych, due to be sworn in as Ukraine"s president on February 25, will visit Moscow in the first ten days of March, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti) - A British...

MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti) - A British company has developed a water cannon which could be used to prevent pirates from boarding commercial ships at sea, the BBC reported.

MOSCOW, January 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia...

MOSCOW, January 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia launched on Thursday a Proton-M rocket carrying a military satellite on board from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, the Defense Ministry said.

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

MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - Police have set free all the protesters detained in an unauthorized rally in downtown Moscow on Saturday, the Moscow interior department said on Sunday.

MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian...

MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian Pacific Fleet task force that has been on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden is to pay an official visit to the port of Klang in Malaysia, a spokesman for the Russian Navy said.

New Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych...

New Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has dismissed the presidential envoy to the Crimea, the predominantly Russian-speaking Black Sea autonomous republic, as part of his plans to shake up his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko"s pro-Western establishment.

North Korea"s top nuclear negotiator plans...

North Korea"s top nuclear negotiator plans to discuss the resumption of six-party talks on his country"s nuclear program during his visit to the U.S. in March, South Korea"s Yonhap said on Friday.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan...

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will discuss military and economic cooperation, including a $2.2 billion loan to buy Russian arms, during his first visit to the South American country, a Russian government source said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin"s tough warning...

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin"s tough warning to U.S. poultry producers has cast a shadow over future imports of a product that has a special place in the history of post-Soviet Russia -U.S. chicken legs.

Russia and France have not yet agreed on...

Russia and France have not yet agreed on the purchase of a French helicopter carrier for the Russian Navy, a Russian deputy defense minister said on Wednesday.

Russia and India signed on Friday a host...

Russia and India signed on Friday a host of high-profile deals during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin"s working visit to the country.

Russia and South Ossetia have signed an...

Russia and South Ossetia have signed an agreement on establishing a permanent Russian military base in the former Georgian republic, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Wednesday.

Russia and the United States may sign a...

Russia and the United States may sign a nuclear arms reduction pact to replace the outdated START treaty in March or April, the Russian president"s aide said on Wednesday.

Russia and the United States signed on Thursday...

Russia and the United States signed on Thursday a new pact on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons to replace the START 1 treaty, which expired in December.

Russia has cautioned its nationals against...

Russia has cautioned its nationals against visiting Bangkok in the next couple weeks due to continuing opposition protests in Thailand, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Russia has launched a cargo module to the...

Russia has launched a cargo module to the International Space Station (ISS), mission control said on Wednesday.

Russia has provided U.S. investigators with...

Russia has provided U.S. investigators with data on Nazi death camps which could lead to the prosecution of alleged WWII war criminals, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said Monday.

Russia has sent its proposals on a Russian-Venezuelan...

Russia has sent its proposals on a Russian-Venezuelan bank being set up by the two countries to Caracas, a deputy Russian finance minister has said.

Russia is set to hold the first test of...

Russia is set to hold the first test of its futuristic fifth-generation fighter jet on Friday, a source at the country"s largest aircraft producer said on Thursday.

Russia may raise oil export duty on its...

Russia may raise oil export duty on its Urals blend from the current $253.6 to $268.9 per metric ton from March 1, following trends on global oil markets, a Finance Ministry official said.

Russia may undertake the large-scale resettlement...

Russia may undertake the large-scale resettlement of residents of single-industry towns in a bid to tackle high unemployment in the country"s depressed regions, a business daily said on Thursday.

Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers...

Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers discovered on Friday a "cashbook" of militants killed in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan the previous day, the FSB said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will take part in an international conference on Afghanistan in London on January 28, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and Polish...

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) resumed natural gas talks on Tuesday amid conflicting reports.

Russian mobile operator VimpelCom announced...

Russian mobile operator VimpelCom announced on Thursday a US GAAP profit of $283 million for the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with a net loss of $816 million the previous year.

Russian police have seized 1.4 tons of sturgeon...

Russian police have seized 1.4 tons of sturgeon and 9 kg of caviar in two separate incidents, police said on Friday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered the government to consider the use of fines to deal with endemic corruption.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that he would not have introduced the death penalty moratorium in Russia in 1996 but Moscow will stick to its international obligations.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with his Palestinian counterpart on Tuesday to discuss the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks, a Kremlin source said.

Russia on Thursday put a new military satellite...

Russia on Thursday put a new military satellite into orbit, a spokesman for the Space Forces said.

Russia"s answer to Silicon Valley, being...

Russia"s answer to Silicon Valley, being created from scratch near Moscow, should be given tax breaks for at least five years, the Russian billionaire coordinating the project said on Thursday.

Russia"s largest privately held oil company...

Russia"s largest privately held oil company, LUKoil, plans to drill the first exploration well at the West Qurna-2 oil field in Iraq, LUKoil CEO Vagit Alekperov said on Wednesday.

Russia"s major international airlines are...

Russia"s major international airlines are continuing to make regular flights to Kyrgyzstan, Aeroflot and S7 spokesmen said on Thursday.

Russia"s National Oil Consortium on Friday...

Russia"s National Oil Consortium on Friday paid Venezuela a bonus of $600 million for participation in the development of the Junin-6 deposit, the head of a company making part of the consortium said.

Russia"s Post Service has proposed changing...

Russia"s Post Service has proposed changing the country"s International Post customs to round-the-clock operations to expedite postal deliveries to Russia, following delay complaints by global postal operators, a business daily reported on Wednesday.

Russia will back sanctions against Iran...

Russia will back sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear program if an international consensus is reached, a diplomatic source said on Tuesday.

Russia will not float out a new nuclear-powered...

Russia will not float out a new nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine as planned on May 7 due to technical reasons, a source in the shipbuilding industry said on Tuesday.

Sexual minorities have the right to stage...

Sexual minorities have the right to stage public marches in St. Petersburg, the city"s newly appointed ombudsman said on Monday.

The Bank of Russia is ready to buy any gold...

The Bank of Russia is ready to buy any gold that may be sold by the State Depository for Precious Metals and Gems, the bank"s first deputy chief said on Monday.

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 lawmakers of the Moscow Region parliament...

The lawmakers of the Moscow Region parliament intend to boost cooperation with Finland in energy and in particular use the country"s experience in electric power.

The president of Russia"s Volga Republic...

The president of Russia"s Volga Republic of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiyev, said he would not seek a fifth presidential term and would step down in March.

The Russian-British joint oil venture TNK-BP...

The Russian-British joint oil venture TNK-BP has confirmed its readiness to sell a huge Siberian gas field after several years of attempts to recoup its investments, a business daily reported on Wednesday.

The Russian Navy is planning to conduct...

The Russian Navy is planning to conduct at least four test launches of the Bulava ballistic missile at the end of June, a senior Navy official told RIA Novosti on Friday.

The United States will probably make a statement...

The United States will probably make a statement on its strategic missile defense plans upon signing a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia in Prague this week, the Kremlin said.

Thousands of people have gathered outside...

Thousands of people have gathered outside the parliament building in Niger"s capital, Niamey, supporting a military coup that overthrew President Mamadou Tandja earlier this week, AL Jazeera has reported.

Three drunk passengers have been arrested...

Three drunk passengers have been arrested and taken off a flight en route from London to Emirates, SkyNews website reported.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has...

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has abolished Ukraine"s National Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration, the presidential website said on Saturday.

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