One-piece 1,600 gram emerald found in Russia to be put up for auction

© Press service of Malyshevsky Mine

YEKATERINBURG, January 29. /TASS/. Geologists at the Malyshevsky Mine in the Sverdlovsk Region have found a one-piece 14-centimeter emerald having a mass of 1.6 kilograms. It is the largest-ever emerald mined at the deposit since the 1990s, the press-service of the public corporation Rostech (incorporating the Malyshevsky mine) told TASS on Monday.

“The crystal was spotted at the right moment and raised to the surface, thereby preserving it in the original condition. The emerald’s mass is 1.6 kilograms, length, 14 centimeters and width, seven centimeters. The state-run repository Gokhran has already evaluated the find. It is of second-rate quality, because it is not transparent and its color is light-green. The crystal was protruding from wall. It was noticed by a foreman and the deputy chief geologist,” the source said.

No name for the emerald has been chosen yet. Experts estimate the mineral’s value at 4 million rubles.

According to the press-service, the just-found crystal is the largest one-piece emerald to have been discovered at the Malyshevsky deposit over the past few decades.

Until just recently the 1.2-kilogram emerald mined in the early 1990s was considered to be the largest. It was named President in honor of Russia’s first president, Boris Yeltsin. Specialists at the Urals Academy of Mining estimated the crystal at $1.2 million. Currently it is kept in the Gokhran collection.

© Press service of Malyshevsky Mine

The Malyshevsky emerald and beryllium deposit is the largest deposit of emeralds in Europe, one of the three largest in the world and the sole one in Russia. It processes 93,700 tonnes of rock a year to produce an annual 1.5 kilograms of emeralds, 30 kilograms of beryls, and 100 grams of alexandrites. Also it mines phenakites, euclases, chrysoberyls, phenacites, alexandrites, phlogopites, lithium, rubidium and cesium.

Later in the day, it was announced the one-piece 1.6-kg emerald found in the Sverdlovsk Region will be put to an electronic auction and its starting price tentatively amounts to 4 mln rubles ($70,900), a representative of the Rostec Corporation told TASS on Monday.

“The gem remains in the company so far and will be presented at an electronic auction. The tentative price is about 4 mln rubles ($70,900) but we expect a major increase during the trading session. The gem has not yet received the name. We would like that it is selected on a competitive basis and think about details of this contest right now,” the representative said.

 

 

“Death of Stalin”: Satirical Film Not to be Distributed in Russia: Denies it is Censorship

© filmpro.ru

KAZAN, January 25. /TASS/. Withdrawing of the distribution certificate for The Death of Stalin movie has nothing to do with censorship, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“I don’t agree that it is a manifestation of censorship,” he said.

Russian Culture Ministry yanks distribution certificate for The Death of Stalin

January 23, 18:52UTC+3

 

The Death of Stalin, a British-French political satire film directed by Armando Iannucci, is based on a graphic novel by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin

MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. The Russian Cultural Ministry has decided to withdraw the distribution certificate for the British-French political satire film The Death of Stalin, Acting Director of the ministry’s Cinema Department Olga Lyubimova told TASS on Tuesday.

On Monday, a public screening of the picture took place, attended by film industry figures, State Duma (lower house of parliament) MPs, representatives of the Russian Historical Society as well as members of the Culture Ministry’s Public Board. According to the Board’s head Yuri Polyakov, the movie should not be screened in Russia as it seems to be a tool for “ideological struggle.” He pointed out that, “nobody spoke out in favor of the film as a work of art.” The movie industry people who watched the flick requested the Culture Ministry yank its distribution credentials.

“The distribution certificate for The Death of Stalin has been withdrawn,” a spokesperson for the Culture Ministry said.

A group of the Russian Culture Ministry’s lawyers earlier requested Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky yank the distribution certificate for The Death of Stalin, citing the film’s extremist nature.

“The Death of Stalin is aimed at inciting hatred and enmity, violating the dignity of the Russian (Soviet) people, promoting ethnic and social inferiority, which points to the movie’s extremist nature,” the attorneys said. “According to the rules of issuance and withdrawal of film distribution credentials, such a certificate must be withdrawn in case a movie contains information the dissemination of which is prohibited by Russian legislation,” the address says.

According to the lawyers, the film portrays some historical characters, including Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov, in a distorted way. “Zhukov is portrayed as a militant comedian, while he was actually a prominent commander, a gifted strategist and a marshal of the Soviet Union, who made a great contribution to our army’s victory in the Great Patriotic War, so his name is inextricably linked to the great Victory. However, the movie shows no respect for our history and the memory of previous generations,” the address stressed.

“We are confident that the movie was made to distort our country’s past so that the thought of the 1950s Soviet Union makes people feel only terror and disgust,” they added.

The Death of Stalin, a British-French political satire film directed by Armando Iannucci, is based on a graphic novel by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin. The Russian release of the picture, which premiered worldwide in September 2017, is due for release January 25. The movie is centered on the pursuit for power in the USSR following the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. The film stars Steve Buscemi, Jason Isaacs and Olga Kurilenko to name a few.

Putin takes icy plunge into waters of Lake Seliger

All photos courtesy Alexei Druzhinin, Russian Presidential Press and Information Office, TASS.

Putin often attends church services during major Orthodox Christian holidays, but this is the first time the Kremlin has reported that the president has participated in the ice swimming event

MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a monastery to the northwest of Moscow on Thursday and took a dunk in the icy waters of Lake Seliger to celebrate the Epiphany, which commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“On the occasion of Epiphany, Putin attended a liturgy and also took part in the Epiphany bathing in Lake Seliger,” Peskov said.
Putin visited the Nilo-Stolobensky monastery in the Tver Region after wrapping up his working visit to St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.

TVER REGION, RUSSIA – JANUARY 19, 2018: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin dips in the icy waters of Lake Seliger during the celebration of Epiphany. In Eastern Christianity, the feast of Epiphany commemorates the Baptism of Jesus. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the holiday according to the Julian calendar. Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS
Ðîññèÿ. Òâåðñêàÿ îáëàñòü. 19 ÿíâàðÿ 2018. Ïðåçèäåíò Ðîññèè Âëàëèìèð Ïóòèí âî âðåìÿ êðåùåíñêèõ êóïàíèé íà îçåðå Ñåëèãåð. Àëåêñåé Äðóæèíèí/ïðåññ-ñëóæáà ïðåçèäåíòà ÐÔ/ÒÀÑÑ
TVER REGION, RUSSIA – JANUARY 19, 2018: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is about to dip in the icy waters of Lake Seliger during the celebration of Epiphany. In Eastern Christianity, the feast of Epiphany commemorates the Baptism of Jesus. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the holiday according to the Julian calendar. Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS
Ðîññèÿ. Òâåðñêàÿ îáëàñòü. 19 ÿíâàðÿ 2018. Ïðåçèäåíò Ðîññèè Âëàëèìèð Ïóòèí âî âðåìÿ êðåùåíñêèõ êóïàíèé íà îçåðå Ñåëèãåð. Àëåêñåé Äðóæèíèí/ïðåññ-ñëóæáà ïðåçèäåíòà ÐÔ/ÒÀÑÑ

This winter season, central Russia has not encountered traditionally cold weather and this night the temperature failed to go below minus 6-7 degrees Celsius, Peskov said. This is not the first time Putin has gone for such icy ritual immersions. The president has taken part in the ice-hole bathing event “for several years already,” he added.

Putin often attends church services during major Orthodox Christian holidays, but this is the first time the Kremlin has reported that the president has participated in the ice swimming event.

The ritual dunks in frigid waters take place overnight to January 19 on one of Orthodox Christianity’s major holidays, Epiphany. However, ice swimming is a folk custom rather than a religious ritual.

The love for the Motherland is extremely important: Vladimir Putin

© Alexey Nikolsky/Presidential press service/TASS

MOSCOW, June 21. /TASS/. The loss of patriotism is the first step to a global catastrophe and needs to be prevented, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with teachers.

“It is a very dangerous thing, the first step to a global catastrophe,” he said. “We should by no means let this happen,” the Russian leader added.

At the same time, he emphasized the importance of preserving national identity. “This is what allows us to pick up our spirits and close ranks,” he pointed out. The president also said that this referred to various nationalities living in Russia, as well as to the nation in general. “This is what unites us, this is what we’ve got,” Putin stressed.

He then quoted a poem by 19th century poet Mikhail Lermontov, entitled Motherland, in which the poet said that he had “a strange love” for his country. Putin quoted the lines where Lermontov says he loves Russia’s forests and rivers, as well as the song and dance of drunken countrymen.

“The love for the Motherland is extremely important,” the head of state said.

He added that if people felt this love, they would not leave the country to reside abroad.

Depression in Muscovites Caused by Dark December: Moscow saw only 6-7 minutes of sunlight

© Ilya Pitalev/TASS

Darkest December: Moscow got 7 minutes of sun in final month

According to Moscow State University’s observatory, Moscow saw only six or seven minutes of direct sunlight in December 2017

January 16, 2018

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Muscovites witnessed one of the darkest months in history in December 2017 when they saw sunlight for just six or seven minutes, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Roman Vilfand said on Tuesday.

“According to Moscow State University’s observatory, Moscow saw only six or seven minutes of direct sunlight in December. Once learning about this, many people comprehend why they were suffering from depression,” Vilfand told a news conference.

By mid-January, the sun began shining on Moscow longer than in November and December.

Coldest Place on Earth Actually Draws Tourists: Yakutsk, Russia

Coldest Place on Earth Actually Draws Tourists: Yakutsk, Russia

In this photo taken January 13, 2018, Anastasia Gruzdeva poses for selfie as the temperature dropped to about -50C (-58 degrees Fahrenheit) in Yakutsk, Russia © sakhalife.ru photo via AP

YAKUTSK, January 17. /TASS/. Life has been going on as usual in the Oymyakon District in northern Yakutia, Russia, where temperatures have recently exceeded minus 60 degrees Celsius (-76 degrees Fahrenheit). Moreover, the region, considered to be the Northern Hemisphere’s Pole of Cold, has been welcoming foreign tourists.

YAKUTSK, RUSSIA – JANUARY 16, 2018: Local residents seen in a city street. This past weekend temperatures in some areas in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) dropped to -60 degrees Celsius and lower. Vadim Skryabin/TASS

“January has been particularly cold this year, temperatures of minus 65 were recorded on Sunday,” said Tamara Vasilyeva, a local historian and a guest house owner. “Tourists from all over the world come here to experience freezing cold. This year, we have welcomed tourists from India, China, Vietnam, Switzerland and Australia,” she added.

According to Vasilyeva, tourists are first and foremost interested in extremely low temperatures and the local way of life. “We take them on ice fishing trips, to folk concerts, and show them horses bred in extremely cold climate,” she said, adding that she was currently receiving a shooting team from Japan who were working on a documentary about the Pole of Cold. “Today they went to bathe in the Indigirka River, while the temperature was minus 58 degrees. Some parts of the river do not ever freeze because there are some hot springs,” the guest house owner said.

Temperatures in the Ust-Nera town dropped to minus 62 degrees Celsius (-79.6 degrees Fahrenheit) this week, chair of the Oymyakon district deputy council Tatyana Alfyorova said. “Everything is going on as usual: people go to work, only dress warmer. Utility and emergency services have been put on alert,” she added.

CORRECTS DATE In this photo taken on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, Anastasia Gruzdeva, left, poses for selfie with her friends as the temperature dropped to about -50 degrees (-58 degrees Fahrenheit) in Yakutsk, Russia. Temperatures in the remote, diamond-rich Russian region of Yakutia have dropped to near-record lows, plunging to -67 degrees Centigrade (-88.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas. (sakhalife.ru photo via AP) 

According to her, schools have been closed recently. “However, children continue to attend a sports school. They play tennis and football, so life never stops,” Alfyorova said.

The Tomtor area in Yakutia’s Oymyakon district is believed to be the Northern Hemisphere’s Pole of Cold. Temperatures of minus 67.7 degrees Celsius (-89.9 degrees Fahrenheit) were recorded there in February 1933. The Oymyakon valley is one of the coldest permanently inhabited places on earth.

North Korean Miracle Drugs Sold Online By Russian Distributor: Sanctions Schmanctions

Lekar Korea is a Russian distributor for  Pugang Pharmaceutic Company. Royal Blood Fresh is one highly touted product (see full video below). Injections claim to be a cure-all for the immune system–even the common cold.

http://www.lekarkorea.com/Eng/RoyalBlood.htm

Other products:

Sahyang Injection for women cures everything from depression to epilepsy to sexual dysfunction in women. It is a musk extract.

http://www.lekarkorea.com/Eng/Sahyang-Inj.htm

 

NeoViagra.

NeoViagra promises increased testosterone, better reach, prolonged intercourse and better orgasms!

http://www.lekarkorea.com/Eng/NeoViagra.htm

It’s Christmas Day in Russia & almost 70 other countries on January 7

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends Christmas service at Church of Saints Simeon and Anna in St. Petersburg in 2018. Photo by Alexey Nikolsky, TASS.

MOSCOW, January 7. /TASS/. Orthodox Christians in Russia and other countries around the world are celebrating Christmas on January 7.

Christians conclude a four-week fast during which they confess their sins and receive communion. And on Christmas Eve they have special fasting, “until the first star,” in memory of how the Magi came first to the birthplace of Christ following the movement of the star in the sky. At present, a candle in front of the altar, which is lit at the end of the Christmas Eve service at about noon, symbolizes the star.

 

Photo by Dmitry Feoktistov, TASS.

Russia’s main Orthodox cathedral is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, built to commemorate the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. This year, Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending an overnight Orthodox Christmas service at the Transfiguration Cathedral in Saint Petersburg.

The Russian Orthodox Church today has more than 36,000 churches and 900 monasteries in almost 70 countries. Religious services are conducted during the night and in the morning in all Orthodox churches on all continents.

January 7 is also Christmas day for Orthodox Christians in Serbia, Jerusalem, Georgia, and the monastic community of Mount Athos in Greece, one of Orthodox Christianity’s holiest sites. January 7 is a national holiday in Russia along with Belarus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia.

North Korea willing to send delegation to PyeongChang Olympics

Photo: North Korean figure skaters Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik, courtesy Yonhap.

SEOUL, Jan. 1 (Yonhap) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Monday his country is willing to send its delegation to the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea.

“The Winter Games to be held in South Korea will be a good occasion for the country. We sincerely hope that the Winter Olympics will be a success,” Kim said in his New Year’s Day message. “We have readiness to take various steps, including the dispatch of the delegation.”

Winter Olympics Torch Relay, Preparations Underway: Photo Highlights

The leader also said that the North is open to talks with South Korea to discuss its participation in the games.

It marked the first official announcement by North Korea over its willingness to attend the Winter Games, which will be held from Feb. 9-25.

Russia to participate in parade of athletes at 2018 Olympics opening

Russia to participate in parade of athletes at 2018 Olympics opening

Photo: Russian bobsledders at the 22nd Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, 2014. Stanislav Kraslinkov, TASS

December 29, 2017

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Russian athletes will participate in the parade of national teams at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang, Alexander Zhukov, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), told TASS on Friday.

“Russian athletes will take part in the opening ceremony of the Games in PyeongChang and they will participate in the parade of athletes under the Olympic flag,” Zhukov said in an interview with TASS.

Earlier in the day, Anastasia Zadorina, the head of ZASPORT sports outfit design company, told TASS that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved a new design of the Russian team’s ceremonial uniform for the 2018 Olympics.

According to her, the initially designed uniform underwent some changes as “In line with the requirements, we took off the tricolor (the Russian national flag), the national emblem and added the required OAR emblem.”

Winter Olympics Torch Relay, Preparations Underway: Photo Highlights

The Executive Board of the IOC announced its decision on December 5 to suspend the Russian national team from taking part in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang over multiple doping abuse allegations.

The IOC, however, stated that doping-free athletes from Russia could go to the 2018 Olympic Games under the classification of neutral athletes, or the OAR status, which stands for ‘Olympic Athlete from Russia.’

The upcoming Olympics, which are 23rd Winter Games, will take place in South Korea’s PyeongChang on February 9-25, 2018.